Victory for the people

The Central Jakarta District Court turned down last week Sinivasan Marimutu's lawsuit against Tempo weekly magazine. The same panel of judges -- on the same day -- also agreed to Sinivasan's request to withdraw the lawsuit his company (PT Texmaco Group) had filed against Kompas daily.

The court's decisions, like candlelight in the dark for the nation, boosted the hope that efforts to build a better Indonesia in the future are not futile.

It is not just because the court favored Tempo, Kompas or the national press community. It is because the court has just favored the people of Indonesia, who should no longer worry about losing access to information in the public domain.

It is true that the national press was shocked upon learning the plaintiffs' demand for a huge sum in compensation. There is also a belief among the public that court decisions depend more on the size of the bribe offered (to law enforcers) than the evidence under consideration.

Wednesday's verdicts indicate strongly that we still have bright judges who want the public to enjoy the right to information, as stipulated in Law No. 40/1999 on the press.

We do hope that in the future the courts will use the press law to deal with press-related cases on the basis of lex specialis or special law, which involves special professions, instead of lex generalis or (general) criminal law.

-- Koran Tempo, Jakarta