[nasional_list] [ppiindia] 'Media Curbs Signal Return to Suharto Era'
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- Date: Fri, 10 Feb 2006 22:38:09 +0100
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INDONESIA:
'Media Curbs Signal Return to Suharto Era'
Fabio Scarpello
JAKARTA , Feb 10 (IPS) - Civil society activists are warning that a series of
amendments effected on the country's broadcasting laws, this week, are a step
backward into Suharto-era media censorship.
''I fear that this could be the start of a clampdown on freedom of expression.
Broadcast news will be the first to suffer, then it will be the print media,''
Abdullah Alamudi, member of the Press and Broadcasting Society of Indonesia,
told IPS.
The government implemented a series of amendments aimed at putting 'some order'
in the country's unregulated broadcast media that has seen the mushrooming of
over 100 television and radio stations since the fall of former dictator
Suharto in 1998.
Approved by the government in November 2005, the new laws were put on hold for
over two months due to a massive public outcry. But they were finally
implemented on Feb. 6.
Importantly, the new rules take away power from the Indonesian Broadcasting
Commission (KPI) and hands it back to the government. The KPI is a
semi-government body set up to monitor broadcasters.
Government will now award licences to local radio and TV stations and decide
who can and cannot be put in charge of a media company. Further, the new laws
give the government tools to limit ownership of broadcasters and
cross-ownership of media.
However, what has angered analysts most is the provision that forbids
Indonesian radio and TV stations from broadcasting live foreign news.
The clampdown does not apply to direct short-wave radio or to cable, satellite
or Internet services but hits Indonesia's 160 smaller radio and TV stations
quite hard. These stations make regular use of programmes produced by
established international organisations. Some of these media outlets have vowed
to defy the government and keep using live foreign news.
Particularly popular throughout the archipelago are programmes from the British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the Voice of America (VoA), Germany's Deutsche
Welle, Dutch Radio Hilversum, Radio Australia and Qatar's Al Jazeera.
The ban has puzzled local journalists and media experts who have often said
that foreign media institutions have helped raise the standards of local media
and professionalism.
''I do not understand what the reasoning of the government is. Foreign news
complements local news and banning it does not make sense at all,'' Ignatius
Haryanto, former journalist and now chairman of the Institute for Press and
Development Studies, told IPS.
Minister of communications and information Sofyan Djalil has justified the
government decision on the grounds that some of the foreign content is not
suitable for ''Indonesia's cultural environment''.
"I don't have a problem with news from VoA or BBC, because those propagate, for
instance, democracy, rule of law and other constructive issues such as that.
But what of, for instance, radio broadcast from Mongolia or from North Korea
and relayed to Indonesia? What they propagate is simply something contrary to
the values and to the philosophy of the country," he was quoted as saying.
Djalil also stressed that the laws forbid only the live and unedited broadcast
of foreign news. "There is a policy to delay the broadcasts for a few seconds,
if there is unsuitable material, it can be censored," he said.
The minister's reasoning has failed to convince media watchdogs and most
analysts. Reporters Without Borders said nothing could justify depriving
millions of Indonesians programmes, the quality of which are rarely contested.
Christopher Warren, president of the International Federation of Journalists,
said he was quite dismayed by the government decision. "We are appalled at the
new regulations limiting the broadcast of foreign programmes. It is essential
that the Indonesian public have access to a variety of media perspectives, and
we implore the Indonesian government to respect the public's right to freedom
of information," he said in a statement.
According to Alamudi, the real reason for the crackdown is that the government
fears media it cannot control.
''I think the real reason is that they are afraid. The foreign media cannot be
told not to publish one thing or the other. They are very independent, while
local media have always had to be a bit more careful,'' he said.
Alamudi also warned that the broadcast bill could be just the first step in a
concerted attack against freedom of expression in Indonesia.
''Today, the radio and the TV, but if they get away with that, tomorrow it
could be the newspapers and the magazines,'' he said.
According to Alamudi, the government has already expressed its intention to
impose a licence on all print media.
''The licences would lead to control over the media as the government would
then be in the position to refuse it to the newspapers or the magazines that do
not conform to their view,'' he said.
During his 32 years in power, former dictator Suharto used a compulsory
publishing licence system to keep media under tight control. The licence, known
as SIUPP, was scrapped in 1998. At present, publications in Indonesia just need
to register with the government.
Haryanto, while warning against letting down the guard, made a point of
reminding the public that Indonesia's press is rather free at present.
''I think freedom of the press is quite good in Indonesia. The media can speak
and write whatever they want without big problems. Newspapers attack the
government or scrutinise public officials and it is fine,'' he said.
''But we are always scared that the government will start another clampdown,''
he added. (END/2006)
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