'Tempo' protested by Tomy Winata supporters over fire report
'Tempo' protested by Tomy Winata supporters over fire report
M. Taufiqurrahman and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta
A group of people protested outside the offices of Tempo magazine
on Saturday, demanding the retraction of an article about plans
by businessman Tomy Winata to renovate Tanah Abang market in
Central Jakarta, which was gutted by fire last month.
The 200 or so protesters, who said they were from the Artha
Graha Group (GAG) and the Indonesian Young Bulls (BMI), arrived
at the Tempo offices on Jl. Proklamasi in Central Jakarta at
about 11 a.m. Riot police had arrived at the building about an
hour earlier.
Four protest leaders forced their way into the newsroom and
demanded to speak with chief editor Bambang Harymurti and editors
Ahmad Taufik and Karaniya Dharmasaputra.
The men then forced Taufik to reveal the sources in the
magazine's story about Tomy's Rp 53 billion (US$5.9 million) bid
to renovate Tanah Abang market. The businessman made the bid long
before fire destroyed much of the market on Feb. 19.
The four men then attacked Bambang and Taufik before police
moved in and took the men to the Central Jakarta Police station.
Tempo reported in its March 3 edition that Tomy made the
proposal three months ago, long before the market was gutted by
fire. The article also called Tomy a "big scavenger".
Tomy's lawyer, Desmond J. Mahesa, said his client never
submitted a proposal to renovate the market before the fire, and
that the magazine's use of the phrase "big scavenger" had injured
Tomy.
A team of lawyers representing Tomy sent a warning to Tempo on
March 7.
The editorial staff of the magazine has decided to run a
correction in its next edition, which will go to print on
Saturday.
In an interview aired on El Shinta radio station, Tomy said he
did not organize the protest at Tempo and expressed sympathy for
the incident.
"It was not me who mobilized them. (However), with the article
Tempo created a killing machine that might mobilize all of the
victims of the Tanah Abang market fire to take revenge against
me. Tempo should have provided undeniable proof in its report,"
he said.
Mahesa said most of the protesters work as security guards at
the Artha Graha Group and that Tomy knows them.