Tempo's case should be heard openly: Experts

Tempo's case should be heard openly: Experts

JAKARTA (JP): The government's announcement that it plans to
appeal against a court ruling in favor of the banned Tempo
newsweekly has sparked calls that the hearing of the appeal by
the Supreme Court be conducted openly.

While most legal experts are calling on the government to
accept the verdict of the Jakarta State Administrative Court, two
of them said that if Minister of Information Harmoko goes ahead
with his plan to appeal the decision, the hearing should be
conducted in the open rather than behind closed doors as is the
current practice.

Former justice minister Ismail Saleh said in an interview with
the Kompas daily yesterday that high-profile cases such as the
Tempo litigation should be open to the public.

"With open procedures, both the public and the press can see
for themselves all the debates that occur in the courtroom," he
said. "So, when a decision is made, the public won't be taken by
surprise."

Ismail's suggestion was quickly taken up by Loebby Loqman, a
professor of law at Jakarta's University of Indonesia.

"In principle, all court trials should be open to public ...
in the Netherlands, whence all our laws originate, the public can
attend trials," Loebby told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

The State Administrative Court ruled on Wednesday that
Harmoko's decision to revoke the publishing license of Tempo last
June was against the law. The court ordered the minister to
rescind his decision and give Tempo its license back.

The court heard two actions against Harmoko. One filed by
Tempo's senior journalist and founder Goenawan Mohamad and the
other by a group of the magazine's employees. Judge Benjamin
Mangkoedilaga, who heard both cases, made the same ruling in
respect of each.

Harmoko immediately declared that he intended to file for an
appeal, raising concerns among some legal experts and press
freedom activists that the jubilation that followed Wednesday's
ruling could be premature.

Loebby and Ismail argued for an open hearing at the Supreme
Court because, they said, it would be a form of public education
about the legal system in Indonesia.

Loebby, however, doubted that the wish would be realized.

"It really is a good suggestion, but whether it can be carried
out is another question," he said.

"There's this firmly-established tradition (in Indonesia) of
closed court sessions, especially when it comes to appeals."

He was said he was concerned that high profile cases, such as
the Tempo lawsuits, would pit the courts against those who have
political power and that juridical considerations might be
overridden by political interests.

"There's the possibility that the ex-Tempo employees may lose
in higher courts because of the overriding political factors," he
said.

Loebby said he would rather see the government simply accept
the verdict. "The minister should return the publishing license
to its function, which is merely as an administrative
procedures."

Ridwan Widyadarma, a staff lecturer at Diponegoro University
in Semarang, called the court's ruling "a very valuable lesson
for this country."

Ridwan too believed that, judging from the evidence at the
trial, Harmoko should drop his plan to appeal to the Supreme
Court.

Communication expert Novel Ali, also from Diponegoro
University, lauded the court's ruling in the lawsuit against
Harmoko.

He said it might help dispel the image that "political
communication channels are dominated by the formal political
institutions only."

He said the ruling would also be beneficial in creating a more
favorable image of Indonesia in international legal fora.
(swe/har)