INDONESIA: Calls for legal review
Updated
Indonesian Press organisations are calling on the country's judiciary to conduct a major review of defamation articles in the criminal code. Their calls come as a District Court in West Java sentenced a prominent journalist to three month's probation for publishing an opinion article that was deemed to have insulted the Attorney general's office.
The latest case is one of several that have cast doubts on press freedoms in Indonesia.
Presenter: Girish Sawlani
Speakers: Chairman of the Indonesian Association of Journalism Education, Zulkarimein Nasution
SAWLANI: It's been six months since Indonesia's supreme court ordered Time magazine to pay over a hundred million dollars in damages to Indonesia's late former president Suharto. Time was accused of defaming Mr Suharto in an article that alleged he and his family had stolen more than 15 billion dollars from the nation's coffers - sparking concerns of the lack press freedom in the country.
Those issues have once again been cast into the limelight when last week the Depok district court in West Java sentenced Bersihar Lubis, a prominent journalist from the Koran Tempo daily to a month in prison. He was found to have insulted the Attorney General's Office in an article he wrote for his paper. Although his sentence was subsequently downgraded to three months probation, the district court's decision prompted an outcry from Indonesia's media fraternity who are now calling for a judicial review of defamation articles in the Criminal code.
Heru Hendratmoko is the President of the Alliance of Independent Journalists.
HENDRATMOKO: It was a very disappointing decision by the Depok district court because the judges are still using criminal codes instead of the press laws. Previously from the South Jakarta district court they already used press law in the Tempo case then the judge released them from the court, that is not followed by the Depok district court. It's a very disappointing decision.
SAWLANI: Bersihar Lubis was adjudged to have violated article 207 of the Criminal Code which prohibits publicly insulting a public officer or agency. While Bersihar's article was an opinion piece, district court judge Suwida said the journalist was responsible for the content of his work. But Heru Hendratmoko says such laws are no longer relevant in a democracy.
HENDRATMOKO: They are from the colonial Dutch era. ...it's unconstitutional because under the constitution all citizens have a right to express publicly. There is a guarantee from the state that everybody, every Indonesian people have freedom of expression, orally or written.
SAWLANI: The event follows several other court decisions that have led to the imprisonment of journalists convicted under article 207 of the Criminal Code. And this has prompted press organisations to demand a judicial review and subsequent abolishment of defamation articles by Indonesia's Constitutional Court. Mr. Hendratmoko is confident that changes will be made.
HENDRATMOKO: I personally am very optimistic that the report will be agreed by the Constitutional Court. Previously, the Constitutional Court has already put off some article against the president and vice president.
SAWLANI: But head of the Indonesian Association of Journalism education, Zulkarimein Nasution, says making amends to defamation articles in the criminal code will not be an easy task.
NASUTION: Unfortunately , it's not there specifically for the press, for the journalists, but it's for the general behaviour that the law would like to protect people from doing things that inconvenience other people. So I think removing that article is not such a simple thing because mainly it's not for the journalism activities.
SAWLANI: He says member of the press and lawmakers should seek a resolution through dialogue.
NASUTION: The government and the journalists and the participation of the social and political layers of our society should sit together, talk friendly, openly, this is the problem and how we can solve it for the benefit of the nation.
