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From the IFEX Communique  # 5-33     19 August 1996

A19 REPORTS ON "CENSORSHIP & THE BROADCAST MEDIA" IN INDONESIA;
RSF REPORTS ON PRESSURE ON MEDIA PRIOR TO 1997 ELECTIONS

"The role of the broadcast media has been almost completely
ignored" in Indonesia, with attention focused on the threats
faced by the print media, says ARTICLE 19 (A19) in a June report
entitled "Muted Voices, Censorship and the Broadcast Media in
Indonesia". A19 notes that radio and television have a much
broader reach than print media in Indonesia, where an estimated
40 million out of the over 190 million citizens own a radio,
"over 60 per cent of them in rural areas, and there are around 9
million televisions with an estimated audience of 90 million
viewers." The total circulation of the print media is around 15-
16 million, with a primarily urban readership. A19 comments, "The
past few years have seen very significant developments in the
broadcast media with the advent of commercial television." The
report questions whether "the advent of commercial television
[has] represented a new and more genuine `openness' on the part
of the government than that offered to the print media."

The report also surveys the controls placed on broadcast media,
pro-government bias of state-run broadcasters, and "the
implications arising from issues of ownership." A19 says, "It
also examines the largely discreet but essentially effective
means by which the government holds the broadcast media in check
and ensures its subservience to the powers that be. What it
reveals is a complex panorama of competing tensions as both the
government and the broadcasters struggle... to meet the ...new
threats and opportunities, presented by technological advancement
and the rapid development of Indonesian society." A19 concludes
that the broadcasting system needs to be reformed urgently, in
part "because without reform it will be impossible for other
political parties to compete on an equal footing with the long-
ruling Golkar party" during parliamentary elections in 1997.

In addition, A19 says the future of broadcasting will be
influenced by the current parliamentary debate on a new
broadcasting bill (Rancangan Undang-Undang Penyiaran, RUUP),
which was submitted to the government by the House of
Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, DPR) on 6 May 1996.

In a June report on a mission to Indonesia in March, Reporters
sans frontieres (RSF) warns, "The bill, which outlines the
direction Indonesian broadcasting policy should take in future,
represents a fresh challenge to journalists and gives new grounds
for concern to those seeking to defend the free flow of news." In
the report, "Indonesia: Pre-election tension", RSF says the
Indonesian government has employed a number of weapons "to bring
the media into line, apart from arresting journalists, which is
the most visible aspect of its policy of repression." These
weapons include the dominance of the 50-year-old Association of
Indonesian Journalists (Persatuan Wartawan Indonesia, PWI), "the
only media organisation recognised by the government, which acts
as official watchdog in editorial offices." The report also says
the government can control the media by cancelling publishing
licences at will "to ban any critical publication and stifle any
hint of independent journalism." In addition to "this strict
system of legal surveillance, other, less formal, practices" are
used. "Newspaper editors [are] regularly summoned by government
officials, orders [are] given over the telephone to editorial
staff (known as `budaya telepon', or `telephone culture') and
journalists [are] banned from going to certain parts of the
country."

The RSF report says, "A series of incidents has made these
weapons permanent fixtures of government policy and set the scene
for a clampdown by the authorities, who are particularly
sensitive about the media as the June 1997 elections draw
nearer." They include the confirming of the prison sentences of
three journalists and an office assistant last March, and the
rejection of an appeal to overturn the 1994 banning of "Tempo"
magazine. "The government's attitude towards media coverage of
the start of the election campaign provided further evidence of
its tougher line," concludes RSF.

More information about Indonesia is available in RSF's "1996
Annual Report". For further details, contact RSF at 5, rue
Geoffroy Marie, Paris 75009, France; Tel: +33 1 44 83 84 84; Fax:
+33 1 45 23 11 51; E-mail: rsf@calvanet.calvacom.fr. Both the
report, "Indonesia: Pre-election tension", and the "Annual
Report" can be accessed on the RSF WWW site at:
http://www.calvacom.fr/rsf. For more information or a copy of the
A19 report, "Muted Voices, Censorship and the Broadcast Media in
Indonesia", contact A19 at 33 Islington High St., London N1 9LH,
UK; Tel: +44 1 71 278 9292; Fax: +44 1 71 713 1356; E-mail:
article19@gn.apc.org.

** ** **

The IFEX "Communique" is published weekly in English, French and
Spanish by the IFEX Clearing House, Toronto. The facility is
operated by the Canadian Committee to Protect Journalists (CCPJ)
in partnership with the member organizations of the International
Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX). Material for the
"Communique" may be submitted to the CCPJ, 490 Adelaide Street
West, Suite 205, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 1T2, CANADA; E-mail:
ifex@web.net; Tel: (1-416) 703-1638; or Fax: (1-416) 703-7034.
Editor: Kristina Stockwood. Subscriptions are available by e-mail
and surface mail. The views expressed in the "Communique" are the
responsibility of the sources to which they are attributed.

___________________________________________________
Bruce Girard
Pulsar - AMARC
Email: bgirard@pulsar.org.ec
http://www.web.net/amarc/pulsar.html
Tel: +593-2-525521    Fax: +593-542818
Av. America 3584, Casilla 17-08-8489, Quito, Ecuador