(AJI/IFEX) – The following is a 9 May 2000 letter to President Abdurrahman Wahid by the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) Jakarta Office, of which AJI is a member: 9 May 2000 His Excellency Abdurrahman Wahid President, Republic of Indonesia Office of the President Bina Graha, Jalan Veteran No. 17 Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia Fax: 62 […]
(AJI/IFEX) – The following is a 9 May 2000 letter to President Abdurrahman Wahid by the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) Jakarta Office, of which AJI is a member:
9 May 2000
His Excellency Abdurrahman Wahid
President, Republic of Indonesia
Office of the President
Bina Graha, Jalan Veteran No. 17
Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia
Fax: 62 21 3452685
Your Excellency,
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) Jakarta office is greatly alarmed over an exaggerated action of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) civilian guard in Surabaya, East Java province, who rallied at and occupied the Jawa Pos daily’s office. This action forced the daily to cancel its Sunday edition.
On Saturday, May 6, 2000 dozens of NU’s civilian guards, popularly called Banser, came and occupied the Jawa Pos’s office. They protested some articles accusing the President and top NU leaders of corruption in the Saturday edition of Jawa Pos. The controversy erupted because these articles quoted Tempo magazine that alleged that Hasyim Muzadi, NU chairman, received Rp 35 billion (US$4.37 million) from the State Logistic Agency (Bulog). However, the daily neglected to recheck the information as on May 3 Tempo sent a personal letter signed by the executive editor to Hasyim Muzadi apologizing and admitting that Tempo made a mistake. The editor said the magazine had wrongly written Muzadi’s name instead of Hasyim Wahid, Gus Dur’s brother.
The action of Banser also forced the paper to cancel its Sunday edition. According to Arief Affandi, the daily’s managing editor, “We decided not to publish the Sunday edition since we technically and psychologically could not work that night,” said Affandi. He said dozens of Banser members had occupied the daily’s office since Saturday afternoon, switching off the reporters’ computers and disconnecting telephone lines.
Following tense negotiations, and after Jawa Pos failed to publish its Sunday edition, the sides reached a settlement. The newspaper will issue a retraction and an apology for seven consecutive days, starting Monday, May 8 for the offending articles. It was agreed to make a donation for the building of a mosque but not the 35 billion (US$4.4 million) first sought by Banser. The newspaper will also investigate the reporters responsible for the articles, with the possibility that they will be fired.
As an organisation of journalists dedicated to the defence of our colleagues and the promotion of press freedom, we condemn the attack in the strongest possible language because it shows the deterioration of the state of press freedom in Indonesia. We are sure that you will agree that the use of force and terror against newspapers, on whatever pretext, cannot be condoned. Journalists should be able to carry out their professional duties without fear of harassment and attack and that such incidents foster a climate of fear that inhibits journalistic investigation and can promote self censorship.
We call on you to use your immense influence to prevent the use of mob intimidation by Banser to force Jawa Pos or other media into submission, since for 15 years you chaired the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) mass organisation to which Banser is affiliated.
We respectfully remind you that your action will reaffirm your commitment to protect press freedom in Indonesia as you said in a conference on Press Freedom in Southeast Asia, on May 3 organized by SEAPA and UNESCO. “The Indonesian government has to protect the press from the many forces who do not want freedom,” Your Excellency said in remarks made at the beginning of the conference. We further ask that you do everything in your power to ensure that all journalists are able to carry out their professional duties without fear of intimidation.
We thank you for your attention to this matter, and look forward to your response.
Sincerely
Lukas Luwarso
Country Director
Solahudin
Coordinator of Advocacy
Recommended Action
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His Excellency Abdurrahman Wahid
President, Republic of Indonesia
Office of the President
Bina Graha, Jalan Veteran No. 17
Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia
Fax: +62 21 3452685
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