Tempo, DeTIK, Editor lose their licenses

JAKARTA (JP): Three major news magazines, Tempo, Editor and DeTIK, lost their publishing licenses at the same time yesterday for repeatedly ignoring the government's warnings about the way they reported news events and managed their operation.

Director General for Press and Graphics Subrata announced the government's decision to revoke their licenses at a hastily convened press conference at his office.

Subrata said he signed the letters revoking the licenses on behalf of Minister of Information Harmoko, and these were presented to the proprietors of the three magazines yesterday afternoon.

The move was based on a 1984 decree by the Minister of Information which regulates the issuance of press publishing licenses, more popularly known as SIUPP.

The revocation of the licenses is almost the same as closing the organizations down; they can only be revived under very strict government terms, including changes in management and editorial boards. They also have to use new names.

Tempo, the oldest of the three, was faulted for the way it had been writing its news recently, Subrata said, without making any specific references to articles or issues.

However, when asked if the decision was based on Tempo's coverage of the government's procurement of German warships, he did not deny it.

Subrata said Tempo had been issued six written warnings, including three stern ones, and no less than 33 verbal warnings since it had been allowed to reappear in 1982 after it was temporarily closed for the way it reported the general election.

He also recalled in 1982, Tempo's proprietors pledged to help maintain national stability and public order and said they would refrain from reporting stories that were divisive. According to Subrata, they also pledged to maintain the good name and integrity of the government and the national leadership.

National stability

"We constantly reminded them every time we convened a meeting with chief editors," Subrata said.

"We've been forced to take this step for the sake of the development of a free, healthy and responsible press, and in the name of national stability," he said.

Tempo first hit the streets in 1971 and has since become the nation's leading weekly magazine, providing insightful reports and analysis of current events.

Editor and DeTIK were faulted for their management which the government said violated the terms of their SIUPP.

According to Subrata, Editor, which was founded in 1987 mostly by former Tempo journalists, since 1989 has been managed by people entirely different from those stipulated in the SIUPP.

By regulation, the magazine had to notify the changes in the top three management posts (chief editor, publisher and general manager) to the government within three months.

They too had been given repeated warnings, Subrata said.

DeTIK is the newest of the three and the most aggressive in their reporting of current events. Some even considered it to be the vanguard of the political openness and press freedom.

Subrata said DeTIK' had moved away from its original mission, as stipulated in its SIUPP issued in 1986, which was to report on detective and criminal news.

Since 1993, the magazine changed its format into a tabloid and has been reporting general and political news, according to Subrata. Its proprietors have been repeatedly warned and told to go back to its old format and mission, he added.

Subrata said that in all three cases, all proper procedures were observed by the government, including the written and verbal warnings. He also said the Press Council, the industry's watchdog, had been consulted.

The move came less than two weeks after President Soeharto made harsh remarks to the effect that some newspapers and magazines had been fanning the controversy over the government's purchase of warships from Germany to the point of creating instability.

Not concerned

Minister of Information Harmoko had since warned that the government was reviewing possible actions against some of the publications which had violated the code of ethics.

For many in media circles, yesterday's decision did not come as a surprise.

In its last edition, which came out yesterday, DeTIK's Letter from the Editor column was typed in white with a black background. It pledged its allegiance to the state and concluded "We will continue to think independently."

During the brief question and answer session yesterday, Subrata said the questions of the employees and journalists of the three magazines had been discussed with their proprietors.

When asked if the government was not concerned that its decision could dent its image abroad, he replied: "Clearly national interest should come first."

The 1984 ministerial decree, which empowered the Minister of Information to revoke the SIUPP, has been the subject of controversy with many people in the press industry saying that it runs counter to the 1982 Press Law which guarantees press freedom.

Two Jakarta-based newspapers, respectively Sinar Harapan and Prioritas, were among the first victims of the 1984 decree, in 1986 and 1987 respectively. They subsequently resurfaced under new managements as Suara Pembaruan and Media Indonesia.

In 1990, the Jakarta-based weekly Monitor magazine lost its license and its chief editor, Arswendo Atmowiloto, was subsequently sent to jail. (05/emb)