Indonesia: Protesters target Tempo newsroom

Protesters targeted the Indonesian magazine company, Tempo following the paper's publication on a politician allegedly involved with money laundering. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia urge the protesters to resolve the complaint through the Press Council.

Caption: Protestors gathered outside Tempo's office. Credit: Fajar Januarta/Tempo

People from Kushin Ryu Karate Do Indonesia (KKI), a local martial arts school in Jakarta, protested outside the Tempo Jakarta office on March 12. The demonstration claimed the paper published a biased report in December 2019 alleging Oesman Sapta Odang, the former Regional Representatives Council speaker and head of KKI was part of a casino money laundering scheme between 2011 and 2018.

KKI deputy chairperson Edy Guswar Pasaribu met with the chief editor of Tempo Setri Yasra to hear the protesters’ demands while the demonstration took place, In the meeting, Tempo requested a further meeting with Sapta Odang to clarify information on the alleged bias reporting.

AJI “condemns the protest. The Press Law clearly explains the mechanism to solve the complaint. Those who are not satisfied with the coverage of the media can submit their reports to the Press Council.” It is the responsibility of the Press Council to “adjudicate and analyse whether the media disobeyed the code of ethics or not”, AJI added. 

The IFJ said: “Complaints must be actioned through the Press Council mechanisms to uphold press freedoms. The IFJ urges the protesters to seek a peaceful resolution without violence or intimidation."

For further information contact IFJ Asia - Pacific on [email protected]

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 140 countries

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