Kurniawan Hari and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – A number of legislators on Monday regretted most reports on Aceh by both domestic and international media, and demanded the government to find a mechanism to control media reporting in the troubled province.
They said that most media made provocative reports on the military operation and mentioned little about the humanitarian activities and law enforcement programs in Aceh. Sidharto Danusubroto of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) especially criticized a report on television featuring soldiers dragging a dead body.
Fellow legislator Yasril Ananta Baharuddin of the Golkar faction also criticized the media for using the terminology "military operation" instead of "security-restoring operation".
"Operation to restore security is the fourth item on the four-step operation for Aceh. So why has it becomes the main focus?" Yasril asked during a hearing with Minister of Communication and Information Syamsul Mu'arif.
The legislators suggested that Minister Syamsul find a way to control reports from the mass media.
Meanwhile, Slamet Supriyadi from the Military/Police faction added that, for the sake of the existence of the unitary Republic of Indonesia, the national press should write stories that benefit the nation.
Responding to complaints from legislators, the minister said that at present, the government would not impose restrictions on the media. Syamsul said the government could only appeal to the media to provide more coverage on the government's overall program in Aceh, instead of on stories that benefit the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
"But, if the situation gives the government no other choice, [media] restriction will be unavoidable," Syamsul added.
Separately, Ashadi Siregar, a lecturer at Gadjah Mada University's School of Communication Studies, said on Monday that instead of moving against the media, the government and the military should investigate the alleged human rights abuses in Aceh as reported by the media. "That's what news reports are for," he said, adding that the country should have an independent ombudsman to investigate various media reports that are disputed by the public, including the military.
Ashadi, however, regretted the military's move to question the reports and even threatening to sue the media that carried articles on the military's alleged human rights violations.
Supporting an earlier statement by Press Council chairman Atmakusumah Astraatmaja, Ashadi noted that media reports could not be accepted as truth in a legal sense and therefore, the media could not be required to take legal responsibility for its coverage in Aceh.
Ashadi told media not to be afraid of the military's move if they believed that their reports were based on fact. "This [occurrence] teaches journalists to learn how to research facts from credible sources. They don't have to be afraid if they exercise the basic principle of journalism," said Ashadi, who leads a journalism institution in Yogyakarta.