'Tempo' wins case against PPM

'Tempo' wins case against PPM

Urip Hudiono and Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The Central Jakarta District Court dismissed on Wednesday a
lawsuit filed by youth organization Pemuda Panca Marga (PPM)
against Tempo magazine.

In his ruling, presiding judge Mulyani rejected two legal
arguments from Tempo lawyers that the plaintiff was improperly
represented by their lawyers in their civil lawsuit against the
weekly and that the PPM's allegations against the defendants --
chief editor Bambang Harymurti, journalist Ahmad Taufik and
publisher PT Tempo Inti Media -- were overstated.

The judges agreed with Tempo's argument that the allegations
were vague and obscure.

"Their vagueness is illustrated by the fact that the plaintiff
charged the defendant using both Articles 1365 and 1372 of the
Civil Code, when the articles are for different matters," said
Mulyani, who was accompanied by judges Agus Subroto and Binsar
Siregar.

Article 1365 stipulates punitive damages for a felonious act,
while Article 1372 deals with slander.

Since the charges were unclear, Mulyani said they were
unacceptable and the judges had no need even to enquire about the
case's legal substance.

The PPM accused Tempo of publishing a libelous statement in an
article titled Terror on Kontras, in the weekly's June 2, 2003
edition. In the article, the weekly said that PPM members, who
attacked the office of the Commission for Missing Persons and
Victims of Violence (Kontras) on May 27, 2003, were "of a baser
dignity", and described them elsewhere as a "gang" and "children
of former soldiers".

The PPM initially agreed to make peace with the weekly, but
inexplicably filed a civil suit on Dec. 22, 2003.

The PPM had demanded the weekly pay a whopping Rp 250 billion
(US$ 27.17 million) in damages and run a public apology in
national media for three consecutive days. The group had also
asked the court to revoke Tempo's publication license for at
least two years.

Tempo lawyer Azas Tigor Nainggolan considered the verdict a
sign that press freedom would prevail in the country.

PPM lawyer Abdul Salam, meanwhile, said his client would use
the 14 days given by the court to consider whether they would
appeal or not.

Separately, Bambang Harymurti reported Central Jakarta Mayor
Hosea Petra Lumbun to the National Police for giving false
testimony during the trial for a separate libel suit filed by
well-connected businessman Tomy Winata against the weekly. The
mayor said he was never interviewed by Tempo.

Bambang, who was accompanied by lawyer Darwin Aritonang, said
Tempo reporters Indra Darmawan and Juli Hantoro had conducted the
interview with the mayor. As evidence, Tempo presented a print-
out from state telecommunications company PT Telkom, showing a
telephone call made from the weekly's office to Hosea's cellular
phone.

Bambang said Lumbun had violated Article 242(2) of the
Criminal Code for perjury, which carries a maximum sentence of
nine years in prison.

However, the officers who received the report asked Bambang to
file the report with the Central Jakarta Police instead, since
the location of the incident was within that precinct's
jurisdiction.