'Tomy Winata's lawsuit unlawful'

'Tomy Winata's lawsuit unlawful'

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In front of a court attended by a number of prominent community
figures and outspoken political activists, the East Jakarta
District Court heard on Wednesday the defense team representing
media icon Goenawan Mohamad, which underlined in their argument
that the libel suit filed by businessman Tomy Winata against
their client was unlawful.

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, noted
sociologists Imam Prasodjo and Ignas Kleden, and economist Faisal
Basri attended the hearing in a show of support for Goenawan and
the Tempo media group, against what they called "a threat to
press freedom through thuggery".

They denounced attempts by individuals with financial clout to
bully judges into rule in favor of their interests.

At the hearing, the defense appealed to the court that the
libel suit against their client was obscure and unlawful, as was
the court's issuing a preventive seizure order against Goenawan's
house in Pulo Mas, East Jakarta, and the office building of Koran
Tempo daily on Jl. Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.

The two properties were seized as collateral for Tomy's demand
for Rp 21 billion (US$24.7 million) in compensation.

The defense argued that the seizure of Tempo's property
contradicted a Supreme Court ruling. The ruling in question
stipulates that seizures cannot be executed against a property
owned by a third party -- Koran Tempo is the lessee of an office
building that is the individual property of Husein Astrawinata.

Lawyer Darwin Aritonang also said that Koran Tempo daily was
not the only newspaper that could be accused of defamation, as
other media publications in the country ran the statement by
Goenawan that was at the center of the legal dispute.

Aritonang also indicated that the suit was flawed from the
outset, as Goenawan's legal status was unclear.

"It mentions him as an individual, a senior editor of Tempo
and a respected figure of the national press. Which of these
labels is the correct one?"

Tomy filed a civil suit against Koran Tempo and Goenawan on
June 5, 2003, over news articles published on March 12 and March
13, one of which was titled Don't let the country fall into the
hands of thugs/TW.

The court approved Tomy's request to seize Goenawan's house as
collateral, while the South Jakarta District Court is set to
seize the Koran Tempo office building on Thursday at around 10
a.m., despite the objection filed by the defendants.

East Jakarta District Court head Sjarnubi defended the court's
decision to seize Koran Tempo's property, which was taken almost
immediately, saying: "We could issue a seizure order even before
the request for it is presented to panel of judges."

Gus Dur: Tomy must be stopped

In a courtroom teeming with journalists and supporters of press
freedom, former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid stated his
case clearly on Wednesday that efforts by businessman Tomy Winata
to threaten press freedom had to be stopped.

"Who in the world does he think he is, that he thinks he can
abuse the law for his own interests?" he said.

Gus Dur said that aside from Tomy's effort to exploit the
country's legal system, he also had to be stopped from conducting
shadowy business dealings.

"This is why I tried to put him in jail while I was still in
power," Gus Dur told the cheering audience.

During his administration, Gus Dur once ordered the arrest of
Tomy for allegedly running a gambling den aboard ships in the
Thousands Islands regency, off the north coast of Jakarta.

Tomy escaped prosecution, as there was not enough evidence to
support the charge.

Flanked by Tempo co-founder Goenawan Mohamad and chief editor
Bambang Harymurti, Gus Dur called on the panel of judges to
uphold the law, despite the bullying from those with financial
power.

Gus Dur had barely finished his last sentence when East
Jakarta District Court deputy head Zarkasri entered the courtroom
and asked him to meet Sjarnubi.

Looking irritated, Gus Dur left the gathering and the court,
to the surprise of everyone in the courtroom. It is not known
what transpired in the interview between Gus Dur and Sjarnubi. --
JP