Surabaya's mayor to be reprimanded

Surabaya's mayor to be reprimanded

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. said
yesterday that he has ensured Surabaya's mayor will be
reprimanded for threatening journalists.

"I called East Java Governor Basofi Sudirman this morning to
ask him to rebuke the mayor of Surabaya. A government official
should protect his citizens, including the press," Yogie told
reporters after meeting President Soeharto at Bina Graha.

An official should not go around threatening people, he added.

Surabaya Mayor Sunarto Sumoprawiro lashed out at the
Indonesian press with uncharacteristically harsh words last
Friday. He threatened to clamp down on journalists who write
negative articles about Governor Basofi.

According to local press accounts, Sunarto said that "I'm the
authority here. No matter what you do, I will prevail. Don't you
dare write bad stuff, or I'll make you my enemy. I'll seek you
out. I'll demolish your homes and turn them into parks."

His remarks drew criticism from officials and senior
journalists in Jakarta.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said government officials
should accept criticism leveled against them. He described the
mayor's reaction as "inappropriate".

The Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Journalists,
Sofyan Lubis, appealed to government officials not to judge
critical journalists hastily as if they all had bad intentions.

Leading sociologist Mely G. Tan of the Indonesian Institute of
Sciences said that the mayor's reaction reflected that
Indonesians, particularly government officials, do not take
kindly to criticism.

"Openness towards criticism has not yet emerged in our
society. Government officials still take criticism personally and
regard it as a threat to their positions," Mely told Antara.

Her only suggestion was that journalist write in a way that
does not directly criticize an official.

Mely underlined, however, that the journalists' association
should not let the matter rest and should even file a lawsuit
against the mayor.

If the association dismissed the case "other officials would
learn that threatening journalists does not carry real risk," she
said. (emb)