Indonesian Media - Media Freedom

Media Freedom

Since the transition to democracy, thousands of new print publications and radio stations have started up across the country, and more television broadcasters, including regional stations, have licenses. The government cannot revoke these publishing and broadcasting licenses based on what the outlets write and say. President Abdurrahman Wahid further weakened the government's ability to control the media when he abolished the Ministry of Information at the outset of his administration. The censorship board for motion pictures (Indonesian Film Censorship Board, Lembaga Sensor Film) remained in existence, however, mainly to police "public morality" (nudity, sexuality) rather than political statements, and President Megawati Sukarnoputri reestablished the Ministry of Information on her ascension to power. In the absence of significant government repression, spurious defamation lawsuits by private individuals have become the principal means of stifling media scrutiny. The most prominent of these cases involved businessman Tomy Winata, who sued Tempo editor-in-chief Bambang Harymurti. Harymurti was convicted and given a one-year prison sentence, which the Supreme Court overturned.