Thoughts for Press Day

Thoughts for Press Day

Once again Indonesia is marking its National Press Day with a
string of special events. This year those formalities are
concentrated in the city of Surakarta, Central Java.

Although we are well aware of the fact that a good deal of
skepticism exists in certain parts of our society as to the state
of our national press -- and hence about the real significance of
National Press Day -- there can be little doubt about the
significance of this year's commemoration of the event.

To freshen our memories, National Press Day marks the day the
Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) was born under very
extraordinary circumstances.

The date was Feb. 9, 1946, and the newly proclaimed Republic
of Indonesia was barely six months old. The very survival of the
infant Republic was being threatened -- not only by the modern
military might of the Netherlands, which was seeking to regain
its hold over what had been the Netherlands East Indies, but by
armed rebellions by dissident splinter pro-independence groups.
The atmosphere in Surakarta, like that in all other cities in
areas under the republic's jurisdiction, was that of a
beleaguered city.

It was under such circumstances that a number of senior
Indonesian journalists took it upon themselves to call together a
conference to set up an organization that would be representative
of the spirit of the national Indonesian press. Thus the
Indonesian Journalists Association was born.

Although the creation of the new association did not really
mark the birth of an indigenous freedom-oriented Indonesian press
-- that had existed even before the emergency of the independence
movement -- it nevertheless underscored and reinforced the link
that had always existed between the indigenous Indonesian media
and the freedom movement.

Now, as at the time of its birth, it is the objective of the
Indonesian Journalists Association to preserve that flame of
idealism.

The question is: Now that conditions are changed, what role is
there for the national Indonesian press to assume in helping to
fulfill the current collective aspirations of the nation?

We believe that the answer to that question is obvious. In the
years that lie ahead, one of the major challenges which will face
this nation is how to keep abreast of and benefit from the
dramatic changes which the age of information and globalization
is sure to bring.

There has been much talk lately about the need for this
country to prepare a new generation of leaders with vision in
order to be able to cope with the drastically changed conditions
of the coming new age. Indonesians, young Indonesians in
particular, have to be prepared to cope with the surging tide of
change and to use it to their nation's advantage. The huge
technological advances that have been made, the increasing
complexity of the social, economic and political problems that
confront us and the ever expanding linkage of interests among
nations demand the capability, and the willingness, on our part
to listen to the novel views, thoughts and ideas which reach us
from all directions.

Indonesians of the new generation must be prepared to
effectively answer the challenges of the coming age.

The national press can be of great help in making that process
smoother and less painful. But, in order for the Indonesian press
to function effectively and responsibly in this task, it must
have the necessary leeway. We believe it to be the task of the
contemporary national Indonesian press and everybody else
concerned, for that matter, to ponder this question with the
seriousness it deserves in the days that are ahead.