Tempo, DeTIK, Editor lose their licenses

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)