950807

Indonesia's maverick

journalists vow

to fight on

JAKARTA: Indonesia's unrecognised journalist association celebrated its first anniversary on Monday at a Jakarta court where three of its members are on trial and vowed it would not stop fighting for press freedom.

"Nothing can stop us from fighting for press freedom. When there are things that should be corrected, we will fight and move on," Achmad Taufik, chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI)'s presidium, told Reuters.

Taufik is one of the three AJI members currently on trial in Jakarta on charges of expressing hostility and hatred against the government through "Independen", an underground magazine published by the group.

Dozens of AJI members turned up the court on Monday to celebrate the birthday of their organisation, sitting with the three defendants sipping soft drinks and eating cookies in the court's waiting room for defendants.

AJI has led opposition to the government's move to crack down on errant publications since last year's banning of three political magazines noted for their outspoken coverage of sensitive political issues.

Other AJI members on trial are Eko Maryadi, a journalist for the magazine and Danang Kukuh Wardoyo, an assistant.

If found guilty, the three men face seven years in jail.

While Taufik said he perceived the trials, which started in June, as obstacles in the organisation's struggle, he said these could be overcome.

"We see these trials merely as obstacles in our struggle, but we are sure we can overcome them," said Taufik, who was speaking before the separate trials resumed.

AJI, which has about 80 members, was established by journalists in the wake of last year's banning to counter the government's official union, the PWI, which it claims does not represent independent journalism.

The government has defended its ban on the magazines saying they overstepped the bounds of their charter and threatened national stability. It has also accused AJI journalists of insulting the president and other crimes.

Gunawan Mohamad, founder of one of the banned magazines Tempo and one of the signatories of the declaration leading to the establishment of AJI, said on Monday AJI had a role in making people aware that journalists were independent.

"Journalists are independent, they are not the power's tool," he said. "It (AJI) also serves remind the PWI not to be the errand boy of (Information Minister) Harmoko," he said. -Reuter