http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/FI18Ae01.html
Jakarta court puts media freedom behind bars By Gary LaMoshi DENPASAR, Bali - A Jakarta court on Thursday sentenced a leading magazine editor to a year in jail for libel in a case seen as a landmark for press freedom in Indonesia, a country supposedly in the era of reformasi. The verdict deals a harsh blow to press freedom and reinforces Indonesian courts' reputation for bizarre decisions, a key barrier to investment. The court found three journalists from Indonesia's most respected news magazine Tempo guilty of libel, but, citing Indonesia's 1999 Press Law, the three-judge panel ruled that only editor-in-chief Bambang Harymurti should be punished. The ruling adds fuel to the controversy over using the criminal code rather than the press law in media cases. Thursday's verdict ignored Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan's advice to judges not to criminalize media cases, as well as an appeals court ruling on Tuesday that overturned two previous convictions in related cases against Tempo because the suits were not brought under the press law. (None of the suits against Tempo have been brought under the press law). Business magnate Tomy Winata has filed at least seven lawsuits against Tempo, most related to an article published on March 3, 2003, headlined "Ada Tomy di Tenabang?" (Is Tomy in Tanah Abang?). The article examined pervasive rumors of Winata's involvement in a February 2003 fire that gutted Jakarta's Tanah Abang, an aged textile market complex on the city's increasingly fashionable outskirts. Redevelopment under fire The article included reporter Ahmad Taufik's account of redevelopment plans for the market filed by an associate of Winata's from a source inside the city government. After the fire, Tanah Abang merchants told Taufik they had been asked to approve a redevelopment plan and that many market tenants had balked. In Indonesia, fires are a common tool for convincing reluctant occupants to leave property that tycoon's desire, and, in an earlier article for Tempo's daily newspaper, Taufik reported that merchants suspected arson in the blaze. City officials have not investigated the cause of the fire. Taufik's March 3 article also included Winata's denial of involvement with the redevelopment plans, backed by additional quotes from Central Jakarta Mayor Hosea Petra Lumbun and the president of the company that operates Tanah Abang. The article raised the possibility that business rivals had tried to taint Winata by associating him with the Tanah Abang plan. Expert testimony at the trial declared the March 3 article overall favorable to Winata. But Winata didn't think so. On March 9, thugs identifying Winata as their "boss" stormed Tempo's office, destroyed equipment and assaulted Taufik and another employee while police reportedly looked on. Winata has denied any connection to the incident, though he admits police called to ask his advice on handling the episode. Two days later, Winata filed a complaint against Tempo that led to this latest trial. Taufik, Harymurti and the article's copy editor were charged with criminal defamation and publishing false information that led to a public disturbance. Prosecutors demanded two-year jail sentences for the trio with the stipulation that, if convicted, Harymurti begin his sentence immediately, even if he files an appeal. The court denied that motion, and Harymurti remains free pending appeal. Denial allowed to ride The closely watched trial was at times reduced to a farce. Both Winata and Mayor Lumbun testified they never talked to Tempo, despite authenticated tape recordings and phone records confirming such conversations. Their denials were a key plank in the prosecution's case, but judges refused to delay their verdict until the results of Tempo's perjury complaints against the two men were revealed. But the real farce is that a criminal trial over a news article took place at all in Indonesia's era of reformasi, a period that began after former president Suharto's authoritarian rule was brought to an end. For three decades Suharto's government shackled the press. Tempo, along two other popular news magazines, was shut down in 1994 after reporting a disagreement between the military and future president BJ Habibie over the purchase of defective East German naval vessels. Tempo didn't resume publishing until 1999, after Suharto's fall. In the wave of post-Suharto reforms, Indonesia passed a press law that provides a public forum for grievances against the media. Under the press law, complainants are guaranteed a right of reply to articles, a press council mediates disputes, and, if mediation fails, aggrieved parties may file charges against the publication, with a maximum fine of Rp500 million (US$58,000). However, there is no requirement that the public use the press law for its grievance against the media. Indonesia's compliant police, prosecutors and courts have made it easy for those with power to short circuit the press law and seek criminal and civil judgments with far higher fines against publications and individuals, along with jail time for journalists. Presidential leadership President Megawati Sukarnoputri led the way, endorsing a lawsuit last year against two editors of the Rakyat Merdeka (People's Freedom) newspaper for caricatures and articles that she called offensive. The editors were convicted and currently are appealing the verdict. Megawati and her rival in Monday's presidential run-off election, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, have not commented on Thursday's verdict. Tempo and its employees have faced at least nine suits, none brought under the press law. Winata has brought seven of these cases and won favorable lower court verdicts in four out of the five decided so far. A libel verdict centering on an article on Winata's possible involvement in a proposal for a casino in Southeast Sulawesi handed down in January levied a fine of $1 million, not the equivalent in rupiah, the first time an Indonesia court had fined a defendant in a foreign currency. Experts cited the dollar denomination as an attempt to add to the publication's hardship. Tempo lawyers said the verdict smacked of collusion between the court and Winata. The same court earlier dismissed charges against David Tijoe, who led last March's assault on the Tempo office. The US dollar fine was not the first time the courts had taken extraordinary measures in a Tempo case. A day after the March 9 assault on Tempo's headquarters, Tempo founder Goenawan Mohamad made comments targeted at Winata that spurred him to launch a civil defamation case against Goenawan. As a result, prosecutors sought possession of Goenawan's home in hopes of selling it to guarantee for a possible future fine. In all, Tempo has been sued for the equivalent of nearly $100 million, and current judgments under appeal total more than $45 million, in addition to possible jail time for employees. Under Suharto, the government could sign an order to shut down publications and jail journalists, or worse. Now the government says the media is free, but journalists still face criminal prosecution and violence as in those days, with the added twist that publications face the threat of bankruptcy through ruinous fines. Until Indonesia's government takes Chief Justice Manan's advice to force litigants to use its press law in media cases and stops tolerating violence against the media, claims of a free press will remain bankrupt. Gary LaMoshi, a longtime editor of investor rights advocate eRaider.com, has also contributed to Slate and Salon.com. He's worked as a broadcast producer and as a print writer and editor in the United States and Asia. He moved to Hong Kong in 1995 and now splits his time between there and Indonesia. (Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] for information on our sales and syndication policies.) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. 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