Tempo tries to lift battered spirits

Tempo tries to lift battered spirits

JAKARTA (JP): News of the government's decision to revoke
Tempo's publishing license came as a major shock to the
journalists and employees of the magazine yesterday.

Some of them said they had half expected this to happen since
the Minister of Information Harmoko sent signals that he was
taking stern actions against a number of press publications.
However, most did not think that the measures would be enacted as
quickly and severely as they were.

A number of female employees were seen crying while men put on
a brave face and tried to liven up the atmosphere as they
gathered at the seventh floor of the Bukaka Building, on Jl.
Rasuna Said, where Tempo has its offices.

Prominent lawyers and activists such as Adnan Buyung Nasution,
Marsilam Simanjuntak and senior journalists from other media
institutions were also there to lend comfort.

Editor in Chief Fikri Jufri, looking slightly pale and tired,
said he never expected the government to go as far as they did.

The license revocation would obviously affect the fate of
reporters and other employees at Tempo, but also those employed
by its agents including the delivery boys, Fikri said.

When asked about his immediate plans, Fikri said Tempo had no
intention of laying off its workers but, instead, will ask them
to "tighten their belts," pending a clearer picture of the
magazine's future.

"We hope that our reporters and employees have strong morals
and high spirits so they can accept this reality," he said,
adding that the magazine employs some 350 people, including
correspondents in the region and overseas.

Fikri, one of the original founders of the magazine 23 years
ago, said he regretted that the government had resorted to such a
measure.

He considered the measure, based on a 1984 ministerial decree,
as violating the 1982 Press Law which guarantees press freedom.

Tempo may have made some errors, but revoking its license was
not the way to punish the press, he said. He pointed out that the
government too had made some errors in the past.

He said the government could have taken the legal course and
brought Tempo to court if they thought the organization had
broken the law.

Meanwhile, in the offices of DeTIK magazine, there was
confusion when news of the government ban came to them yesterday
afternoon, as their editor Abdul Aziz was not around and its
deputy editor Eros Jarot was out of town.

"We don't know what to do. We're simply confused," said Dipo,
a journalist of the magazine.

Executives of the Editor magazine yesterday were not available
for comment on the government's ban.

A secretary who answered the phone said all the editorial
executives were holding a meeting to discuss the case. (rms)