Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The National Police officially filed a criminal report with their own detectives Thursday alleging the cover illustration on this week's Tempo magazine constitutes slander.
Police have accused Tempo of violating Criminal Code articles 207 and 208, which criminalize humiliation of the government or a state intuition, said Sr. Comr. M. Panggabean, deputy chief of the National Police Legal Assistance Division.
National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi promised the detectives would be "impartial" in investigating the institution's own report.
"We are professionals. Our detectives must not be involved in conflict of interest even if the report is from the police themselves," Ito said at the National Police's 64th anniversary ceremony at the Mobile Brigade headquarters in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java.
"We live under the rule of law. We have rules that all of us must obey,"he added.
Ito denied accusations that the legal action was taken at the order of National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri, whom the magazine previously alleged is connected to organized crime in the coal mining industry in Kalimantan.
Bambang said that the legal action could criminalize media actions. "We will see," he added. He said the case would be a "precious lesson for both the police and the media."
The latest edition of Tempo featured a caricature on its front page depicting a police officer surrounded by three piggy banks on its cover page. The story is alleges several senior police officers have implausibly large bank accounts.
Bambang reiterated his regret that the magazine used pigs to signify the police. Pigs are considered haram (forbidden) in Islam.
"We are ordinary human beings. If you want to criticize us, don't do it like that. Police officers who are now assigned to remote areas and border areas, must feel pain when they see the magazine's cover," Bambang told reporters
Although police have chosen a legal way to settle the dispute, Bambang said police also considered mediation through the Press Council, as Indonesian law recommends.
National Police Commission secretary Adnan Pandupradja said police complaint filed against the magazine was not tactical and could evoke a wave of criticism of the police.
"If they file a criminal lawsuit against the magazine, it would mean that police themselves must investigate the case. It would be a conflict of interest and could generate even stronger criticism," he said.
Emerson Yuntho of the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said police should investigate officers whose bank accounts had been questioned instead of "criminalizing the magazine."
Bambang Widodo Umar, a police expert from the University of Indonesia, agreed. "Just go and investigate the allegations and make the results public," he said.
He added that the lawsuit would only increase public distrust. "The police must know the origins of their personnel's wealth." (ipa)