Threats to the press

Threats to the press

I would like to comment on PDI-P leader threatens press,
students (The Jakarta Post, Feb. 24, 2003). Minister of manpower
and transmigration, Jacob Nuwa Wea's rage about Rakyat Merdeka's
often hair-raising coverage of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's
leadership might be in some way understandable. But threats like
"Rakyat Merdeka, I warn you ...", and "... if they insist on
insulting PDI Perjuangan leaders, they will have to face
thousands of PDI Perjuangan supporters" allow no excuse. In a
democratic country the media should be free to publish whatever
it thinks necessary.

But every democratic country has also to deal with an
unavoidable by-product of press freedom: The so called yellow
press. In order to boost sales, those tabloids tend to satisfy
the lowest and most primitive instincts of the masses. They
produce suggestive headlines, but no substance except for gossip.
They stop at nothing for a sensational, slippery story.

Journalists working for the yellow press are mostly not an
honor to their demanding profession -- to put it mildly. Only a
journalist without a sense of shame and responsibility could
produce a headline like Mega lebih ganas dari Sumanto (Rakyat
Merdeka, Dec. 30, 2002), meaning to say that president Megawati
was more ferocious than Sumanto, who is accused of cannibalism.

I am sure that millions of people share Minister Jacob's
indignation about such disgusting journalism, but the threat to
mobilize thousands of supporters of Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) against those who permanently abuse
press freedom is in every respect the wrong answer.

The serious question arises: What will be the impact? Who will
bear the responsibility if the PDI Perjuangan supporters run
amok? Since the law protecting press freedom took effect in 1999,
more than 100 violent attacks against journalists and newspaper
offices have occurred. I only recall the storming of the Jawa Pos
(in May 2000), when about 100 of NU's Banser members occupied and
destroyed the offices and forced the newspaper to close down.

Oppressed by an authoritarian government or by an
authoritarian mob: What is the difference? In a democratic
country, slander and libel cases should be solved by the criminal
code, and not by misled masses of supporters who see violence as
rightful means to enforce their will.

German researcher Thomas Hanitzsch said that "The task of the
media is not to educate ... as this is the task of ...
teachers ..." (the Post, Dec. 31, 2002). I disagree. I think that
the media has a very important educational task to fulfill,
especially when it comes to political education. The media
should, for instance, educate their readers, listeners and
viewers that press freedom implies also their freedom, and that
the end of press freedom will end their freedom too.

HILDE MAY, Jakarta