AJI Blasts Hary Tanoe for Filing Police Report against Tirto.id
28 April 2017 10:12 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Independent Journalist Alliance (AJI) Jakarta chapter has blasted the Indonesia Unity Party (Perindo) chairman Hary Tanoe for filing a police report against local online media outlet Tirto.id. The chairman of media giant MNC Group has accused Tirto.id of defaming him in an article titled “Ahok Hanyalah Dalih untuk Makar” (a translation of published The Intercept piece titled ‘Trump’s Indonesian Allies In Bed With ISIS-Backed Militia Seeking to Oust Elected President’).
“If Hary Tanoe feels prejudiced by Tirto.id’s reporting, he should have taken an action as regulated in the Press Law: the right of reply or [file] a complaint with the Press Council, instead of filing a police report,” AJI Jakarta chairman Ahmad Nurhasim said yesterday. Hary Tanoe earlier on Tuesday reported Tirto to Jakarta Metro Police over alleged libel.
In the article published by Tirto on April 19, Hary was referred to as a supporter and financial backer of a treason plot.
Hasim said that Hary’s action of filing a police report could threaten press freedom in Indonesia. According to AJI, the media mogul does not fully understand the meaning of press freedom and press law.
He said that as a person who owns media companies and makes money off the media Hary ought to set good examples of how to resolve any dispute with journalists. The Press Law No. 40/1999 holds that any disputes that could not be resolved through the right of reply shall be referred to the Press Council.
AJI Jakarta advocacy coordinator Erick Tanjung has urged Jakarta Police not to follow up on the report. “Police have to hand over the report to the Press Council. Let the Press Council decide on whether the reporting violates journalism ethics or not,” Erick said.
The National Armed Forces (TNI) generals were also mentioned in the published Tirto piece. The article has left the TNI headquarters furious and it had planned to file a police report. The TNI, however, has softened its stance, saying it would only file a complaint with the Press Council.
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