Surabaya – In anticipation of the Session of the MPR in March next year, the Information Minister General (ret'd) Hartono said that he has issued strong warnings to fifteen newspapers about their reporting of news. 'The government has made it clear that as long as no one violates the law, they can continue, but when violations occur, the law will take its course,' said the Minister.

He said the newspapers had been warned because of 'mischievous' reporting, out of proportion to the matter in hand. 'Disproportionate reporting can mislead the public,' he said.

Although pressed by journalists, he refused to divulge the names of the papers warned. 'We are still investigating. If any have broken the law, the law will take its course.'

He said there had also been discussions with editors in chief about their reporting during the MPR session during which guidelines were put forward, the Minister said.

He said that besides these fifteen, some other papers have been issued with warnings for other reasons, such as not conforming with their requirements of their licences.

[The remainder of the report is about the difficulty being confronted by the print media because of the shortage of supply of newspprint, and the increase in prices. Some newspapers have annnounced cuts in the number of pages because of the supply difficulties.]