'Tempo' to go ahead with 'dummy' edition

'Tempo' to go ahead with 'dummy' edition

JAKARTA (JP): Tempo journalists said yesterday that they will
go ahead with the publication of their new "introductory" copy
later this week despite government opposition.

Tempo's former chief editor Goenawan Mohamad, during a
gathering on Wednesday night to mark the magazine's closure one
year ago, said that the introductory copy, known in the magazine
industry as a dummy, is legal. "If anybody says differently, just
prove it with a legal argument," he challenged.

Support for the plan came from one of the lawyers who
represented Tempo at the Jakarta State Administrative Court in
their legal battle against the government's decision to close the
magazine.

Trimoeljadi D. Soerjadi said court rulings in civil cases,
unlike criminal cases, can be carried out immediately, even if
the losing party is still appealing the decision.

"If Tempo can and has the ability to resume publication, then
it should go ahead," Trimoeljadi said.

The government, however, has interpreted the case differently,
he said.

The administrative court last month ruled that the revocation
of Tempo's publishing license was illegal. Judge Benyamin
Mangkoedilaga ordered Minister of Information Harmoko, the
defendant, to return the license to Tempo.

Minister Harmoko on Tuesday warned that he would take action
if Tempo journalists went ahead with the publication of the
dummy. He said that the move contravened the regulation that
requires every publication to carry government permits.

The minister called the plan "unethical" and said there was
still no legal certainty given that the government, through the
Attorney General, intends to file an appeal with the High State
Administrative Court.

The publication of the dummy, originally planned for
Wednesday, has been delayed until this weekend. It is one of a
series of activities organized by Tempo journalists to mark the
one year since they lost their publishing license.

Last night Tempo journalists launched two books: Mengapa Kami
Menggugat (Why Are We Litigating), a collection of articles
illustrating their court battle, and Independen (Independent),
which addresses a bulletin by the same name issued by the
Alliance of Independent Journalists.

On Wednesday, they presented the Suardi Tasrif Award in
recognition of the people's contribution to the fight for press
freedom. The recipients were three members of the alliance who
are currently on trial for sowing hatred against the government
by distributing the bulletin to the public.

Goenawan said the dummy edition is intended as a test run for
Tempo journalists to prepare them to manage the magazine if they
win the license back.

Bambang Harymurti, the senior journalist coordinating the
dummy edition, said the publication does not need a government
license because it is intended for a limited audience.

"We are not selling it to the public. Most will be sent to
advertising agencies," he said.

Bambang also said that he had consulted with the magazine's
lawyers about the legality of the dummy and he was satisfied that
Tempo journalists were not breaking any laws.

Around 3,000 copies of the dummy will be released on Saturday
just before the scheduled 'wayang kulit' shadow puppet show being
held for the first anniversary of Tempo's closure.

The 78-page dummy edition will run a cover story on the
newsprint shortage. (23/imn)