Ismira Lutfia – The Press Council on Tuesday questioned President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's commitment to safeguarding press freedom in Indonesia, in light of his statement that his party had been the subject of relentless media reports.

"He should stay true to being a Democrat and make the press his partner," council chairman Bagir Manan said.

Bagir, speaking at a news conference, said that although it was the president's individual right to voice his disagreement with certain media reports, the fact the complaint came from the president could be seen as an attempt to influence coverage.

He also said that though the press had the obligation to carefully measure Yudhoyono's statements as the leader of the Democratic Party or as president.

Bagir cited the press reports on the alleged bribery cases plaguing the Democrats, saying they were reported in adherence to the journalistic code of conduct. He said what the press had been reporting were hard facts. The party's former treasurer, Nazaruddin, a fugitive suspect in a corruption case, was one such example.

"Those are the facts commonly known by the public and none of them are fictitious," Bagir said, adding that it was too early for Yudhoyono to complain that the press had blown up the issue of his party being mired in corruption allegations.

Bagir also said that it was acceptable for the press to pursue stories based on anonymous tip-offs, as long as the press verified the information in accordance with journalistic standards.

"Whether the allegations conveyed are true are not, it would be up to the law enforcers to prove that and they should take that as a starting point to probe the allegations," Bagir said.

Eradicating corruption is a public concern, Bagir said. As to whether the issue was hijacked to pursue other interests such as politics was another matter. He acknowledged that there was no press in the world free from certain political affiliations.

He called on the president and other government officials who believed they had been unfairly singled out by the press to lodge their complaints with the Press Council and avoid using their "dominant" position to express their disagreement with the press.

"Let's stick to the rules of the game and use the system we have to determine whether certain news reports have been unfair," he said, adding that it was human for the press to make mistakes but it could be solved with the existing system for correction. "It is a matter of perception whether the press exaggerates," Bagir said.