Subject: CPJ on Indonesian Press & Foreign Press
in E Timor
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1999 17:39:54 -0400
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Below is a report on the press situation in Indonesia prepared by the Committee to
Protect Journalists. It is also available on the web at www.cpj.org. Please circulate to
other journalists and press organizations.
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA Phone:
(212) 465-1004 Fax: (212) 465-9568 Web: www.cpj.org E-Mail: info@cpj.org A. Lin Neumann,
Consultant on Asian Issues, CPJ Phaya Thai Court Unit L, 65/2 Soi Kolit - Thanon Phaya
Thai Bangkok, Thailand 66-2-653-7393-office 66-2-252-3429-residence email:
lin_neumann@csi.com
NO TURNING BACK: Indonesia's Press Strives to Maintain It's Hard-Won Freedom
Introduction On the eve of Indonesia's first free elections in more than a generation,
government officials eagerly point to the country's open and virtually unfettered press as
one of the major accomplishments of interim President B.J. Habibie's tenure. With the
Indonesian economy still reeling from the Asian economic crisis, unrest simmering in many
provinces, and the corrupt legacy of former President Suharto's "New Order"
regime still virtually untouched by either official investigators or the courts, the
expansion of press freedom is one of the current administration's few tangible reforms.
"You may do anything," Habibie told a delegation from the Committee to
Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Press Institute during a May 14 meeting.
"I will never, never tolerate that the Indonesian government will interfere with the
freedom of the press. Freedom of the press is very important. Not only for politics but
also for economics."
Habibie's comments notwithstanding, the newly free media still face a range of
threats-everything from onerous laws that remain on the books to armed paramilitary groups
offended by press coverage of their activities. Journalists also risk being blamed by
reactionary forces for fomenting disorder and unrest, merely for covering the turmoil that
continues to rattle Indonesian society.
And even as Habibie acknowledges the important role the media play in educating a
citizenry and sustaining a healthy economy, he has been unwilling to use the power of the
federal government to ensure the safety of journalists working in embattled East Timor,
the territory facing its own historic vote just a month after the federal elections.
Despite evidence that elements of the Indonesian military have armed many of the
pro-Jakarta militias in East Timor that are responsible for attacking both foreign
correspondents and local journalists there, the president and other high-ranking officials
say they can do nothing to curb the violence.
In this special report, CPJ explores the new status of the media at this critical
crossroads-measuring the extent to which progress has already been made in freeing up the
channels for vigorous political debate, and identifying some of the challenges facing the
media during this difficult transition period. Part Two of the report concentrates on the
particular hazards facing journalists working in East Timor, where violence and threats
against the press occur almost daily.
The research and reporting for this work was conducted in Jakarta by A. Lin Neumann,
regional consultant to CPJ's Asia program, who joined the recent delegation to the country
sent by IPI. Co-authored by Neumann and CPJ's Asia program coordinator, Kavita Menon, the
report includes excerpts from CPJ's conversations with Indonesia's President B.J. Habibie;
East Timorese publisher Salvador Ximenes Soares; and opposition party leader Abdul Wahid.
Supplementary information-including CPJ's documentation of press freedom abuses, the
text of the draft press law currently under consideration in Indonesia, and details about
the joint IPI-CPJ mission to the country-can be found on CPJ's website at:
http://www.cpj.org.
Part I Indonesia's Press Flourishes Despite Uncertainty Officials Point to Flowering of
Media as a Sign of Progress Journalists in Jakarta estimate that 1,000 new publications
have sprung up throughout the country since Suharto was forced from office a year ago.
While some of them are supported by one or another of the 48 political parties vying in
the June 7 elections, many others profess independence and seek readers rather than
partisan victories. Where once a single official journalists' union, the Indonesian
Journalists Association (PWI), held sway over the entire profession by official decree,
some two dozen new press associations have formed in the past year. The Ministry of
Information, which used to be the chief gatekeeper and stumbling block to anyone seeking
to open a newspaper or magazine, now processes license applications in a matter of hours
and aims to do away with official registration altogether.
Indeed, the aggressiveness of the new press can be startling. One paper is called
simply Oposisi! (Opposition), and its regular broadsides against Suharto's legacy of
corruption and nepotism leave readers no doubt about what it is opposed to. Another is
called Gugat!, which means "accuse" in Indonesian. The tabloid has as its motto
"Trial by the Press."
"What we have done here is for the sake of the country," Information Minister
Yunus Yosfiah told the CPJ-IPI delegation. "Because we do believe that freedom of the
press will help our democracy."
Yunus is an unlikely champion of the free press, given his past as the military
commander who led an October 1975 assault on the East Timorese town of Balibo in which
Indonesian troops murdered five journalists-two Britons, two Australians, and a New
Zealander-who were attempting to film a documentary on the invasion. In a recent interview
with Australia's Sydney Morning Herald, Yunus for the first time admitted leading the
military campaign in Balibo, but continued to deny any direct responsibility for the
massacre of the journalists. CPJ has called for an official investigation that would
clarify his role in the infamous attack.
Indonesian journalists have been loath to push Yunus about his past, giving him high
marks for the work he is doing now to protect their interests. In addition to reforming
the licensing process, Yunus has invited experts from the London-based anti-censorship
group Article 19 and representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to help reshape Indonesia's restrictive press laws. He has
also quietly sought out senior journalists for advice, and risked the ire of his
colleagues in suggesting that the government ought to get out of the information business.
By abolishing regulations that allowed the information ministry to revoke publishing
licenses, censor foreign publications, and blacklist foreign journalists, Yunus has given
further evidence of his commitment to improve conditions for the independent media. Many
say that without him, Habibie would not have gone as far or as quickly down the road
toward a free press.
Despite the rapid improvement in working conditions, journalists in Jakarta note that
they still must operate with virtually no legal protections. A draft press law-known as
Draft 10B-has been endorsed by both Yunus and most journalists' associations, but it has
yet to be passed by the parliament. If adopted, the law would end government licensing,
create a press council to mediate disputes, and enshrine the media's right to scrutinize
government affairs.
Currently, both local press groups and international organizations such as CPJ and IPI
have urged the government to enact the press law as soon as possible. Many press observers
are hoping the government will use the lame-duck parliamentary session scheduled after the
June elections as the opportunity to push through the new law.
While a pending broadcast law provides for greater government regulation of electronic
media than that proposed for print, it is still a great improvement over past practice, in
which the government dictated the content of all broadcast news programming. The country's
electronic media have already become quite open, despite the fact that most television
networks and many radio companies are still Suharto's cronies.
The ongoing problems with ownership are apparently mitigated by the fact that the newly
open marketplace has shown little tolerance for the party line. With Suharto discredited
and requirements for pro-government content lifted, the ruling Golkar Party no longer has
the ability to dominate the political scene unchallenged. Owners of broadcast outlets are
under pressure to meet the public's appetite for credible news and information. Leaders of
the major opposition parties voice little criticism of broadcast coverage, and most insist
that they are getting a fair amount of airtime for their views.
It can, however, be a sobering experience to push even reform-minded activists on the
subject of a free press, because there exists a deep fear of disorder and chaos in
Indonesia, and many worry that a free press might become irresponsible. "A press law
is needed to give responsibility to the press," said Abdul Wahid, the international
relations chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB), a major Muslim-based opposition
party. "Sometimes there is too much freedom with the press. It needs to obey the
rules."
Fikri Jufri, the publisher of Indonesia's leading news magazine, Tempo, worries about
the impact of such attitudes. "We are used to living in an environment in which order
and development are needed and constantly emphasized. That breeds a mentality of
censorship." Banned by the government in 1994, Tempo resumed publication last
October, and Jufri says it is a race against time to see if the press can convince the
public and political leaders that the benefits of free expression far outstrip its costs.
Journalists are attempting to forestall future repression by holding seminars and
discussions on ethics and working to build a press council that will be responsive to
public concerns over irresponsibility. Publishers are quietly hoping that new publications
don't offend public sensibilities by pushing the envelope too far in what remains a
conservative, overwhelmingly Muslim country. Media groups have supported the creation of a
dozen or more watchdog organizations around the country that investigate and respond to
complaints against the press. Even the most vocal of Indonesia's press associations, the
once-banned Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (Alliance of Independent Journalists, or AJI), has
started a monthly publication called Independen Watch to monitor the quality of press
reports.
But Leo Batubara, the executive director of the Indonesian Newspaper Publishers
Association, says that the focus must remain on watching the government, whose operations
remain opaque and where access to information is still severely limited by an official
culture of secrecy. And the proposed new press law will not prevent journalists from being
subject to criminal penalties as stipulated under Indonesia's harsh criminal code, which
contains an estimated 35 provisions that could be used to intimidate the press. Such vague
offenses as discussing Marxism, defaming public officials, disturbing social harmony,
creating unease in others, and intruding on privacy can still be invoked against
journalists, and it seems likely that press advocates will turn their attention to
revisions of the penal code once the press law is enacted.
Yunus has convened a committee to review such statutes, and Habibie has pledged to
revise the criminal code if he is re-elected. Other reforms-such as a freedom of
information act modeled on the law in the United States, or a blanket constitutional
provision guaranteeing free speech-have been discussed but are not yet on the legislative
agenda.
Older media professionals caution that the euphoria of the post-Suharto era could prove
short-lived. In the first years after "President for Life" Sukarno was
overthrown in 1966, there was also a burgeoning public debate and greater openness before
Suharto gradually shut the door to a free press. "We have to say never again,"
said Batubara. "We have to keep fighting."
Part II Disappointing Response to Attacks on Press in East Timor It's Not Our Problem,
Say Indonesian Officials In the run-up to August's United Nations-sponsored vote on East
Timor's future status, political instability in the territory has escalated dramatically,
prompting fears of a full-scale civil war. This grim backdrop is darkened further by the
scarcity of independent news and information reaching East Timor's citizens as they choose
whether to accept Indonesia's offer of integration with wide-ranging autonomy, or pursue
complete independence.
Pro-integration militias, nervous at the prospect of Jakarta's abandonment, launched a
murderous campaign in February to terrorize the local population, and, not coincidentally,
embarked on a series of attacks clearly designed to suppress media coverage of the
atrocities.
When asked whether the information ministry might attempt to intervene with militia
leaders on behalf of the press, Yunus replied flatly that "We don't have any special
treatment for journalists here."
The man who is making a reputation for himself as the champion of a free press
apparently draws the line at offering any comfort to those covering East Timor. As an
active duty lieutenant general who has served as a military commander in East Timor, Yunus
appears sympathetic to the militias' point of view. "The militias perceive that
foreign journalists go to East Timor just to give information about the anti-integration
side of the story," he said. "So the international world doesn't know about the
integrationist side-that is what angers the militias."
Indonesian officials tend to characterize the conflict in East Timor as a battle
between more or less equally matched sides: on the one hand, "integrationists"
who favor continued union with Indonesia; on the other, pro-independence forces who favor
a break with Indonesia. The emergence of pro-integration militias, Indonesian officials
say, is only a natural outgrowth of the current political instability.
Many international observers say that the official characterization is far-fetched, and
that the violence and fear gripping East Timor is a consequence of the rushed timetable
for the referendum-an effort by Habibie to curry favor with the international community on
the eve of the June 7 national elections.
With intense international focus on East Timor-especially from nearby Australia and
former colonial master Portugal-many foreign correspondents are on the front lines of a
very dangerous situation. Pro-Jakarta militia members, armed with guns and knives, have
repeatedly roughed up and threatened reporters and photographers for writing stories
perceived as favoring the pro-independence side. Militia members have also struck at
journalists' vehicles with machetes, iron bars, and rocks-in some cases, to prevent
journalists from gaining access to scenes of recent violence, and in others, to punish
them for their investigations. After dark, most journalists hole up in local hotels
because it is too dangerous to go out at night, when armed bands roam the streets.
East Timorese newspaper publisher Salvador Ximenes Soares-whose paper, Suara Timor
Timur, had its offices ransacked by militia forces on April 17 and was forced to cease
publication for weeks-is walking a fine line, attempting to prepare the territory's
citizens for the sudden referendum while also taking care to avoid the militias' wrath.
"We are trying to publish balanced views," Soares told CPJ in Jakarta, "but
it is difficult. It is very difficult to publish a newspaper in these times."
As East Timor's only newspaper, Suara Timor Timur is an easy target for groups eager to
block news from reaching the territory. The paper has been the object of constant threats,
especially when it publishes views that anger the pro-Jakarta forces. On May 11, shortly
after the paper managed to cobble together enough funding and equipment to resume basic
operations, it was forced to cease publication for a day when a militia group threatened
to attack the newspaper office again over Suara Timor Timur's published interview with a
pro-independence activist. A number of staff members have gone into hiding or fled to
neighboring islands to escape death threats. Soares, a former member of parliament from
the ruling Golkar Party, lays the blame for such troubles at the feet of the Indonesian
government.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, who negotiated the pact with Portugal that led
to referendum plan, was dismissive of complaints against the militias, and shrugged off
suggestions that the government bears any responsibility for the violence in East Timor.
"It is unfair and untruthful to say that the Indonesian military is behind these
groups or arming them," Alatas said. "They are arming themselves."
"There are hundreds of journalists going to East Timor," Alatas added.
"We have been telling them, 'You should know where you are. Don't think you are above
the fray.' I believe some journalists have been very active in East Timor and they cannot
avoid being attacked. It is a situation of conflict. These journalists should know they
are in harm's way."
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