No subject

Megawati has come to be regarded by many of her compatriots as scarcely better 
than the dictator against whom she struggled.

In Jakarta, corrupt businessmen and cronies of the old regime continue to wield 
power, untouched by the weak courts. In the rebel province of Aceh, Indonesian 
soldiers fight a war as bloody and brutal as the one pursued by Suharto in East 
Timor. And all over the country, peaceful opponents of the Government are being 
locked up for no more than defacing Mrs Megawati's photograph.

There is widespread disillusion among the student demonstrators who drove 
Suharto from power in 1998. "Reform has failed," read one of the banners at a 
demonstration marking the fifth anniversary of Suharto's demise in May.

"Revolution is the answer."
Two of the world's most respected human rights organisations published 
simultaneous reports yesterday describing the dismal record of Mrs Megawati's 
Government.

"Moves towards greater political freedoms are being undermined by the 
prosecution and imprisonment of peaceful political, labour, independence and 
other activists," Brad Adams, of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, 
said. "With less than one year to go before Indonesia's first direct 
presidential elections, to be locking up individuals who criticise the 
Government is an alarming development for the electoral process."

According to the reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, Mrs 
Megawati's Government has locked up 39 people for peaceful political activities.

Several of these have been in the provinces of Aceh and Papua, where peaceful 
civilian groups, as well as armed guerrillas, are campaigning for independence.

Four trade union activists in Borneo got six-month sentences after organising 
peaceful protests against low wages. But the most extraordinary are the 
convictions under Dutch colonial era laws against "insulting the President".

portraits of Mrs Megawati and Hamzah Haz, her Vice-President, last year in 
Jakarta; in January, two men demonstrating against rising fuel prices burned 
similar photographs in the city of Yogyakarta. They were all jailed for up to 
three years.

More disturbing, however, are renewed reports of unpunished brutality by the 
TNI, the Indonesian armed forces. Hopes that Mrs Megawati would exercise a 
moderating influence are dying in the face of continuing carnage in Aceh.

"There is a total atmosphere of impunity where soldiers think they can get away 
with murder," Charmain Mohamed, of Human Rights Watch, said. "Because 
effectively they can."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Asia Times 
July 12, 2003
Megawati takes a page from Suharto
By Jim Lobe 

Washington (Inter Press Service) - Two of the world's largest human-rights 
organizations say the government of Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri 
is filling the country's jails once again with political prisoners, only five 
years after all prisoners of conscience were released with the ouster of former 
president Suharto. 

In separate reports released on Thursday, London-based Amnesty International 
and New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for the release all 
political prisoners and the repeal of Suharto-era legislation used to prosecute 
and imprison activists who are merely engaged in peaceful political expression. 

"Moves toward greater political freedoms and respect for freedom of expression 
are being undermined by the prosecution and imprisonment of peaceful political, 
labor, independence and other activists," said Brad Adams, the director of 
HRW's Asia division. 

"With less than one year to go before Indonesia's first direct presidential 
elections, to be locking up individuals who criticize the government is an 
alarming development for the electoral process," he added. 

Since 1998, according to the two reports, at least 46 people have been 
imprisoned for political expression - 39 of them since Megawati became 
president two years ago. 

The increased repression, according to the reports, is taking place behind a 
veneer of a new democratic government and greater freedoms than existed during 
the Suharto period. In many ways, according to activists interviewed by the two 
groups, that makes the trend more difficult to fight. 

"Under Suharto, there were thousands of political prisoners and everyone knew 
about it," said defense lawyer Habib Rachman, who was interviewed by 
HRW. "People would go to the prisons every day to visit them out of solidarity. 
Now, no one knows about it and they are forgotten." 

Most human-rights concerns are instead focused on the situation in rebellious 
Aceh province, where the armed forces (TNI) launched what is being described as 
a brutal counter-insurgency operation in May. Although journalists - except 
those who have been "embedded" with TNI forces - have been excluded from the 
natural-gas-rich province, reports of hundreds killed and scores detained, 
beaten and tortured have leaked out in recent weeks amid growing concern among 
both Indonesian and international human-rights groups. 

But attention should also be paid to what is happening to ordinary political 
activists who are being prosecuted in Jakarta itself under provisions that 
still exist in the country's criminal code that, for example, 
punishes "insulting the president or vice president" with up to six years' 
imprisonment. Other crimes under the act include "sowing hate" against the 
government. 

Since late 1992, according to the two groups, at least 14 political activists 
have been sentenced to prison and three others are facing trial under the law. 
In most cases, the defendants have been arrested after they participated in 
peaceful political demonstrations.

"Repressive legislation used under the authoritarian regime of former president 
Suharto has no place in a country which claims to be set on a path towards a 
fully fledged democracy," said Ingrid Massage, who heads Amnesty's Asia and 
Pacific Program. 

Last October, Nanag and Muzakkir, two young political activists, were found 
guilty by a Jakarta court and sentenced to one year in prison after expressing 
their dissatisfaction with the pace of political reform by stamping on pictures 
of Megawati and her vice president, Hamzah Haz. 

Their treatment provoked a major debate in the domestic media about the 
implications of the prosecution. An investigation launched by HRW, however, 
found that they were neither the first nor the last to be prosecuted under the 
laws that actually date from the colonial period. 

This spring, for example, Ignatius Mahendra, chairman of the Yogyakarta branch 
of the National Democratic Students' League, and Yoyok Eko Widodo, a member of 
the Street Buskers Union, were among the latest to be imprisoned under charges 
of insulting the executive. Each was sentenced to three years in prison after 
being found guilty of burning portraits of the president and vice president. 

Last week, Muhammed Nazar, a political activist in Aceh, was sentenced to five 
years in prison for "spreading hatred against the government" by participating 
in peaceful pro-independence meetings this year. 

"Draconian colonial-era laws - which most Indonesians assumed had been 
relegated to the dustbin of history - in the Indonesian Criminal Code have been 
dredged up to facilitate politically motivated prosecutions, and once again are 
being used as a political tool to silence dissent," the HRW report said. It 
added that the trend was "particularly worrisome" in view of next year's 
scheduled parliamentary and presidential elections. 

"The repeal of these laws is long overdue," Amnesty's Massage said. "Any legal 
provisions that criminalize peaceful political activities must be repealed as 
soon as possible." She also called for Megawati to commit herself publicly to 
cease all such prosecutions which "call into question [the] commitment to a 
pluralistic society based on respect for human rights". 

The HRW report, titled "A Return to the New Order?", suggested that the 
prosecutions are related in part to Megawati's weak political position. She 
took office only after her predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid, resigned, and she 
has come to depend heavily on the TNI as a major source of support, 
particularly given her uneasy relationship with the Islamic parties in her 
coalition government. 

The military has used Megawati's weakness to enhance its political clout behind 
the scenes and promote new legislation that would further entrench its role and 
power in policing and other civilian functions. One proposed article would 
permit the military to take action against any activities deemed to constitute 
a threat to the nation's sovereignty, or territorial integrity,without civilian 
or even presidential oversight. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UPI
Analysis: Indonesian law may hurt state 
By Sukino Harisumarto
Published 7/11/2003 11:03 AM

Jakarta, Indonesia, July 11 (UPI) -- A new Indonesian bill, likely to become 
law, that allows convicted criminals to seek the presidency if their cases are 
under appeal, has sparked debate in the world's fourth-most populous nation.

Despite widespread opposition to the move, which also allows college dropouts 
to seek the highest office, the House of Representatives Monday passed 
legislation on the country's first direct presidential election since 
independence in 1945. The provisions allowing high school graduates and 
convicted criminals whose cases are under appeal to run for the presidency are 
the most controversial.

The bill was tailored to pave the way for incumbent President Megawati 
Sukarnoputri, chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-
P, to seek re-election next year. The daughter of Sukarno, Indonesia's founding 
father and first president, is a university dropout.

The bill also opens a window of opportunity for one of her key political 
rivals, Akbar Tandjung, chairman of the Golkar party, which holds the second-
largest number of seats in parliament. Tandjung, who is also speaker of the 
House, was sentenced to a three-year jail term after being convicted of graft 
for receiving $4.8 million in illicit funds. He remains free pending appeal.

"If Pak Tandjung is acquitted (by the Indonesian Supreme Court) of all charges, 
he must be prioritized (as the party's candidate) due to his position as party 
chairman," said Jusuf Kalla, a Golkar party leader. Pak is the Indonesian term 
for mister.

Leaders from PDI-P, Golkar and several small parties reached a compromise on 
contentious issues, ending the prolonged debate on the bill.

Political experts and activists from non-governmental organizations criticized 
the bill, alleging it is the result of horse-trading and reflects the vested 
interests of the parties.

Megawati must sign the bill before it becomes law, but given the extensive 
involvement of her own party in the deliberations, the signing is a mere 
formality.

"Even somebody who was convicted for stealing a sandal is not proper to become 
a president," argued Amin Sahid Husni, a representative from one of the small 
political parties.

Saldi Isra, a constitutional law expert from West Sumatra's Andalas State 
University, echoed Husni's view, criticizing the lawmakers' lack of sensitivity 
to public concerns.

"The passing of the law was a betrayal of democracy and the reform's ideals...a 
rotten conspiracy between the Golkar Party and political parties born in the 
reform era," Judicial Watch Indonesia said.

Before Monday's endorsement, PDI-P members had long insisted that candidates 
with only high school degrees should be allowed to run for the presidency; 
lawmakers from Golkar had lobbied to allow people accused of crimes or 
convicted criminals appealing their convictions to join the presidential race.

J. Kristiadi, a political expert from Indonesia's Center for Strategic and 
International Studies, said given the country's corrupt judicial system, the 
bill could lead to the country being run by a convict.

"Do not expect to have a credible and qualified president in the 2004 
presidential election," Kristiadi said. "If a convict is elected president, it 
will disturb further legal processes."

He added that the majority of eligible voters in Indonesia are poorly educated 
or live in rural areas, making them easy targets of vote-buying politicians.

However, Vice President Hamzah Haz, who is chairman of the third-largest Muslim-
based United Development Party, said he had no objection to allowing an accused 
criminal to run for president.

"We have always respected the principle of presumption of innocence," Haz 
said. "But, if later the Indonesian Supreme Court should find a presidential 
candidate is formally guilty, then he or she cannot be nominated any longer."

Amien Rais, chairman of parliament's upper house, the People's Consultative 
Assembly, or MPR, acknowledged the bill on the direct election of the president 
was a reflection of "democratic flaws" in Indonesian politics.

"To me, this is no surprise," he said. "Anyway, as this is a direct 
presidential election by popular vote, the candidates will certainly be 
appraised by the people."

Rais is chairman of the National Mandate Party, and most probably will be a 
presidential candidate.

Legal observers have said money-politics and judicial corruption are widespread 
in the country. The latest index issued by Transparency International ranks 
Indonesia at 96 out of 102 countries, marking it as one of the most-corrupt 
countries in the world.

"Bribery has now become a common practice in our judiciary," said legal 
activist Luhud M. Pangaribuan. "The judiciary can be bought like a commodity."

Critics also point out the inconsistency in standards to which public officials 
are held. If provincial governors or district chiefs are accused of a crime, 
they will be temporarily discharged, while a convicted criminal is to be 
permitted to run in the presidential election.

The law, which sets the date for a presidential election between June and 
August 2004, prevents political parties that garner less than 5 percent of the 
vote in the scheduled April 5 parliamentary election from fielding candidates 
for the top job.

"Now, many people are expecting a new historical event in Indonesia...that's a 
direct presidential election," said Isra. "Maybe, and not surprisingly, we are 
waiting for a convicted criminal to be elected as a president or a vice 
president." 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Opinion and Editorial 
July 15, 2003 
Killers among us 

If nine months of relative peace after the Bali catastrophe have allowed 
Indonesians to lapse into a false sense of security, then the events of the 
past few days should take them firmly back to reality: the terrorist game is 
far from over here.

If nothing else, the two successive bomb blasts that ripped through the House 
of Representatives building on Monday should be reminder enough that even a few 
moments of laxity could have some dire consequences.

In Monday's incident, it was fortunate that only a bit of damage was inflicted 
on the building and no one was hurt, the national legislature having gone into 
recess. The incident, however, brings to light the inadequate security systems 
that prevail, even at the Indonesian national legislature, which is supposed to 
be one of the most tightly guarded non-military venues in the country, it being 
a frequent target of noisy and sometimes violent street demonstrations. 

And it could have been worse. Police officers said over the weekend that they 
had arrested nine suspected members of the Jamaah Islamiah (JI) regional 
terrorist organization, which investigators are holding responsible for last 
year's Bali bombings. The arrests, they said, took place in a number of cities, 
including Jakarta and Magelang, in Central Java. One of the key suspects, known 
as Ikhwanuddin, was reported to have committed suicide by shooting himself in 
the chest when he was about to be questioned while in police custody. 

In a related raid in the Central Java capital of Semarang, officers said they 
had found and seized more than 1,000 bomb detonators, almost a ton of potassium 
chlorate, 350 pounds (160 kg) of TNT, 65 PETN high-explosive detonators, 11 
shoulder-launched rockets, more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition, two M-16 
assault rifles, timers as well as maps and documents from the safehouses of the 
plotters. Part of that material was taken by Ikhwanuddin to Jakarta, where the 
plotters had planned to launch a number of bomb attacks on public places such 
as shopping malls and possibly churches. They apparently had also planned to 
assassinate a number of politicians, among them Roy B.B. Janis, Pramono Anung, 
Jacob Tobing and J.E. Sahetapy -- all from the Indonesian Democratic Party of 
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) as well as a businessman named Ciputra. 

At least those are the things that the police have chosen to make public so 
far. But what to make of it all? The list of materials seized by the officers 
and the names that were reportedly contained on their "hit list" are certainly 
enough to create some alarm among those allegedly targeted for assassination. 
All of these developments certainly justify the terror alert that was issued 
over the weekend by the National Police Chief, Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, especially 
for the residents of big cities like Jakarta and Semarang, who would be wise to 
heed the good general's warning seriously. 

However, as we all know that one of the main purposes of terrorism is to 
destabilize society by striking fear and panic into the hearts of the 
population at large -- by attacking "soft targets" if necessary -- people 
living elsewhere had better heed Gen. Bachtiar's warning as well, especially 
those living or staying in towns and cities visited by foreigners, such as 
Yogyakarta, Bandung and Medan. 

It must be said that for some reason or another many Indonesians tend to 
disregard statements and warnings that are issued by officialdom. It pays to 
bear in mind, however, that there are parties out there who do not feel so 
kindly towards the present secular-nationalist dominated regime of President 
Megawati Soekarnoputri -- or towards the military, for that matter -- with whom 
the Free Aceh Movement is currently at war. 

All in all, Indonesians should feel free to think of the terrorist warnings as 
they see fit. Nevertheless, for the sake of their own safety and for the well-
being of their families and their communities, wisdom dictates that they not 
dismiss those warnings, and that they alert the authorities whenever they 
witness any suspicious goings on taking place in their neighborhoods, like 
people unloading a ton of chemicals into a recently rented house. The price of 
apathy in this matter could well be another Bali tragedy taking place elsewhere 
in this country. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
July 17, 2003
Security tightened at key facilities 
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government appealed to the public to stay calm but vigilant in the face of 
renewed terror attacks targeting Indonesia, while ordering security to be 
tightened at key installations across the country.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang 
Yudhoyono said people were asked to conduct their routine daily activities but 
were asked to immediately report to security officers whenever they noted 
anything suspicious. 

"We ask people to remain calm and keep an eye out for anything suspicious that 
may lead to acts of terror," Susilo told a press briefing. 

"I must underline this because security authorities in Southeast Asia have 
informed us that acts of terror are likely to continue in the future and are 
targeting countries, including Indonesia." 

Susilo said he had called for heightened security at all government buildings 
and public facilities and ordered that all these premises be guarded by 
professional security officers. 

"(The measures) also include tighter security at government institutions that 
keep weapons, ammunition and explosives," he said. 

He further asked the country's intelligence, immigration and customs and tax 
officials to improve coordination. 

Security measures will be intensified at seaports and airports across the 
country, particularly in Greater Jakarta and Central Java, where police 
captured nine suspected members of the Jamaah Islamiyah terrorist group, said 
Susilo. 

JI, a regional terrorist group that has been linked to al-Qaeda, is said to be 
responsible for last year's Bali bombings which killed 202 people, mostly 
foreign tourists. 

Before the Bali blasts, senior government officials -- including Susilo and 
Vice president Hamzah Haz -- routinely denied that terrorists were targeting 
the world's most populous Muslim nation. 

The government's move on Wednesday came on the heels of a fresh bomb blast that 
rocked the House of Representatives compound on Monday, while a suspected JI 
leader Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi escaped from Cramp Crame prison in the 
Philippines. 

The two events took place only days after the police announced that they had 
arrested nine JI members led by a man identified as Mustofa and seized more 
than 1,000 detonators and other explosives, assault rifles and ammunition after 
a nationwide crackdown on terrorist cells in 11 cities in Java between July 4 
and July 11. 

Around 30 suspected JI members are facing charges of terrorism at district 
courts in Denpasar, the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar and the East Java 
town of Lamomgan. Susilo asserted that the trial had made Indonesia more 
vulnerable to terrorist attacks compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors. 

Some of the defendants are also being charged with masterminding a series of 
blasts in Jakarta and other places in 2000 and 2001, including alleged JI 
leader Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. 

A series of blasts had taken place in Jakarta and the North Sumatra capital of 
Medan before the explosion in the House compound. 

The police have yet to name any suspects in the House blast, which caused no 
injuries. 

"In October, Indonesia will also host the ASEAN Summit in Denpasar, and of 
course, many parties may use this event to create terror," Susilo said. 

Indonesia will also hold the annual convention of the People's Consultative 
Assembly between Aug. 1 and Aug. 10. 

Susilo said the government offensive against Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels 
may spark acts of terror perpetrated by the separatists to draw both national 
and international attention. 

But when asked whether JI or GAM were responsible for the recent blast in the 
House compound, Susilo said: "It could be any group. We don't know yet. Let's 
just wait for the results of the police investigation." 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The American Reporter 
July 11, 2003 
Indonesian Journalism: From Liberation To Defamation 
by Andreas Harsono, American Reporter Correspondent
Jakarta, Indonesia 

JAKARTA, Indonesia, July 10, 2003 -- It began in June last year when Kompas, 
Indonesia's largest daily newspaper, published a report about former president 
Abdurrahman Wahid's intention to remove a young politician from his key party 
post. Kompas quoted "a source" as saying that Cholil Bisri, a senior member of 
the party, had objected to Wahid's proposal and threatened to resign if 
secretary-general Saifullah Yusuf was removed. Wahid reportedly said that Yusuf 
was involved in "money politics" -a practice of vote buying among Indonesian 
politicians. 

It was published deep inside Kompas' pages, but the report still immediately 
stirred up party officials. Bisri is a respected Muslim ulema, or teacher, who 
is also a deputy speaker of Indonesia's People's Consultative Assembly -the 
highest state institution in this, the world's largest Muslim country. 

Wahid was Indonesia's first democratically-elected president. He is also known 
as an advocate of religious tolerance. In the 1970's and '80s, Wahid, who is 
affectionately known as Gus Dur, regularly wrote columns for Kompas and other 
newspapers. Yusuf, too, is a former journalist who once worked for the Detik 
tabloid paper and is a distant relative of Wahid. 

Wahid denied the report. Reportedly angered, he asked his lawyer, Salim 
Muhammad, to file a law suit against Kompas. Salim told the police on June 14 
that the report was wrong. He alleged that Kompas had slandered Wahid. 

Some media outlets reported the lawsuit, including Kompas, but no news of it 
was published after that. Citizens were left in the dark. Did the police move 
on the report's findings? Did Kompas apologize? Did Wahid drop the law suit? 

Welcome to the complexities of Indonesia's media politics. 

Indonesian journalists first tasted freedom after the fall of authoritarian 
President Suharto (like many indonesians, he used just one name) in May 1998. 
His successor, B.J. Habibie, helped pass a new press law that abandons the 
Dutch-inherited 250-year-old newspaper licensing regulations. When Wahid took 
over the chief executive's seat from Habibie, he made an even bolder decision. 
He abolished the notorious Ministry of Information - the government propaganda 
arm and media censor. `Indonesians were free to publish any newspaper – and 
they did. According to the Indonesian Publishers Association, the number of 
newspapers jumped from around 260 in May 1998 to more than 600 last year. The 
number of radio stations increased by a third to more than 800. National 
television networks climbed from only six in the Suharto era to 11 by 2003 - 
excluding channels which broadcast just regionally. The number of persons 
describing themselves as journalists also jumped from around 6,000 to more than 
22,000. 

The result was quite spectacular. Indonesian media became aggressive. They 
targeted politicians, generals, clerics, etc. Many of the media also labelled 
their stories "investigative reporting" - despite their lack of experience in 
day-to-day journalism. Many politicians, including Wahid, have been embarrassed 
or worse, even having to step down from power, at least partly due to media 
exposure of wrongdoing. 

Meanwhile many complaints were made about sloppy reporting. Journalists too 
easily granted the status of anonymity to sources. Indonesian newspapers also 
don't use bylines, deepening the sense of authoritarian speech. The Kompas 
story on Wahid, for instance, was jointly written by Mohammad Bakir and Elok 
Dyah Messawati. But the word "written" is perhaps too strong a word, as in the 
paper it read only "by MBA/LOK" - the acronyms of "Mohamad Bakir" and "Elok 
Dyah Messawati." 

The innovation of bylines, which was introduced in the Western media in the 
late 19th century, is still a foreign idea among Indonesian journalists. It is 
not to say about other innovations such as fire wall, columnist et cetera. Many 
protocols, which are the heart of this practice of gathering and selecting 
information, are not yet implemented in Indonesian newspapers. It is not 
surprising that many politicians stated that Indonesian journalists here are 
widely seen to be "kebablasan" - "over the limit." 

Eriyanto, a media analyst with Pantau magazine, found out last year in a survey 
that 15 percent of Jakarta's mainstream media reporters had 
received "envelopes" - money inside envelopes that is given to journalists 
after interviews or media conferences. They also do not understand that the 
gifts given to them usually have strings attached. 

Indonesia's Press Council reported that between April 2000 and December 2002, 
it had received 277 media complaints, most of them in Jakarta (131). The record 
holders are Kompas daily (13), Tempo magazine (9) and the Media Indonesia daily 
(9) - three of the most serious publications in Indonesia. The complaints don't 
necessarily mean that these three mainstream voices offer bad journalism but 
that proportionally, these three received more complaints than others. 

The practice of anonymity climaxed on March 8, when dozens of thugs stormed the 
office of Tempo magazine - the Indonesian equivalent of America's Time 
Magazine - in downtown Jakarta, protesting a Tempo report about business tycoon 
Tomy Winata and beating up some Tempo journalists, including editor-in-chief 
Bambang Harymurti and staff writer Ahmad Taufik, a hero of the anti-Suharto 
revolution. 

The anonymous source was a "consulting designer" who was quoted by Tempo as 
saying that Winata had submitted a proposal to the Jakarta government to 
renovate the huge Tanah Abang market. Winata reportedly submitted the proposal 
prior to the burning of the market, and ther article may have left unsaid an 
implication that Winata, a businessman with a shadowy reputation, may have 
ordered the burning. 

He was angered. Winata denied both the proposal and the attack. Ciputra, a 
property tycoon who owns a significant share of Tempo, issued a statement 
saying that Tempo was wrong. "There was never such a proposal," Ciputra said. 
The police arrested some of the thugs and have prosecuted them. Winata filed a 
lawsuit against Ahmad Taufik and PT Tempo Inti Media, demanding a total of 
US$14.6 million in compensation. 

The lawsuit is based on Taufik's statement on the chronology of the March 8 
attack. Taufik closed his statement by saying that Tomy owned "entertainment 
spots and gambling dens." Tomy's legal team said that the statement had 
inflicted losses on their client as many of Tomy's partners had canceled their 
business deals with him. 

Inadequate understanding of journalistic procedures and tight business 
competition have created many difficult situations among Indonesian 
journalists. Many editors are also not well equipped to deal with the growing 
complexities of media phenomenon. The arrival of television and internet also 
added the difficulties. 

Muhammad A.S. Hikam, a close adviser to Wahid, told me that Wahid had dropped 
the lawsuit against Kompas after berating Muhammad Bakir - who wrote the 
anonymous article. Hikam said Bakir had apologized and admitted that the source 
was Saifullah Yusuf himself. "Bakir was systematically used by Saifullah," said 
Hikam. 

But Bakir told me that he had gone to see Wahid to calm the high tension 
between the men. "Kompas management asked me to calm him down," Bakir said, 
adding that he had actually interviewed four sources, which included Yusuf, but 
not Wahid. He said he did not write the story himself. "I just gave a diskette 
to Elok and she was the one who wrote the story," he said. 

"I did no wrong. I apologized because he is a respected figure. I myself am a 
member of the Nahdlatul Ulama and he used to be the chairman of the Nahdlatul 
Ulama." 

Bakir gave me the three other names, apparently forgetting that a journalist is 
supposed to keep secret his anonymous sources' names. Elok told me that every 
Kompas reporter has the right to grant anonymity as long as he or she believes 
in the source. 

It is no wonder that the quality of Indonesian journalism has nosedived 
seriously. And ironically, it has happened when these journalists won the 
freedom to write what they wish.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~