KPU, KPI join forces to curb media abuse (hamka)

The General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) signed on Thursday a memorandum of understanding (MoU), agreeing to work together in monitoring the use of broadcasting as a campaign tool for the 2014 legislative election. The monitoring was deemed necessary to prevent broadcast media from being abused and exploited for political purposes, KPU chairman Husni Kamil Manik said during the signing ceremony at the KPUs headquarters in Central Jakarta. The use of broadcasting for campaigning is not allowed until 21 days before the 2014 elections quiet period. However, we have found some parties that used broadcast media for campaigning purposes, even before we determined which parties were eligible to compete in the election, he said. KPI chairman Mochamad Riyanto said some political parties used means other than advertisements and in so doing, misused broadcast media for political purposes. One may use talk shows and public service announcements carrying messages that are beneficial to a specific political party, he said. The Press Council, meanwhile, recently acknowledged that numerous media companies, owned by politicians, could be exploited to run programs and advertisements that supported owner-affiliated political groups. Indonesias top three media magnates are politicians. They are Golkar Party chairman and 2014 presidential candidate Aburizal Bakrie, NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh and the former chairman of NasDem Partys council of experts, Hary Tanoesoedibjo. The KPU and the KPI, therefore, would invite stakeholders, such as the Association of Indonesian Private Televisions (ATVSI), the Press Council, the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) and the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), as well as political parties to formulate a regulation on the matter, Mochamad said. We will talk with the stakeholders tomorrow and the political parties next Monday so that we may have a regulation to improve the quality of broadcasting content and to ensure that political parties have equal opportunities to campaign through the broadcast media, he said. To improve the quality of broadcast content, the regulation will aim to increase the amount of content geared toward emphasizing the importance of democracy and the exercise of citizens political rights, according to Mochamad. The regulation also aimed to curb content with messages that discredit and defame other parties, he said. The KPU and the KPI had also agreed to establish a committee, drawing members from both commissions as well as other bodies such as the Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu), to focus on monitoring broadcast media during the campaign period, he added. According to Commission Regulation No. 15/2012 on stages and organization of the 2014 election, the campaign period started on Jan. 11, 2013 and will last until April 5, 2014. At the moment, however, the 10 political parties eligible to contest the presidential and legislative elections may only conduct indoor campaigns. During the campaign period, political parties are prohibited from holding rallies, public meetings or advertising activities until 21 days before the quiet period. Public or open meetings and the use of mass media advertising is only allowed between March 16, 2014 and April 5, 2014. (han)

National Police play down report on religious violence (wulan)

The National Police have downplayed a report claiming them to be complicit in attacks against religious minorities in the country, adding that they have taken action against those who have broken the law. On Thursday, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report slamming Indonesian authorities, especially the police, for allowing hard-liners to persecute religious minorities such as the Shia and Ahmadiyah. The authorities reluctance to take action against hard-liners has led to a mounting number of attacks against minorities to 264 last year, a significant jump from 144 cases in 2011, according to data from Indonesias Setara Institute. If there is any law violation, the police will enforce the law. There is no omission, National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto told The Jakarta Post on Friday However, Agus implied that, under specific circumstances, the police could not solely protect minorities from assaults. If, at the time, the police officers were outnumbered by a mob, an omission could happen, he said at National Police headquarters in South Jakarta. The HRW report showed that the police and other government authorities had bowed to the power of large, angry mobs. Violence and discrimination against religious minorities, particularly Ahmadiyah, Bahai, Christians, and Shia, deepened, the report said. Parishioners of the Filadelfia Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) in Bekasi and the Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) in Bogor faced intimidation when trying to worship during Christmas 2012. Some members of the congregations claimed that the police personnel, who were present at that time, did nothing when hard-line local residents attacked and showered them with sewage and rotten eggs. Incidents of violence against religious minorities were frequent and occasionally deadly. Islamist militants mobilized mobs to attack religious minorities with impunity, the report reads. Responding to the criticism, Agus called on all elements of society to maintain peace and religious tolerance. We expect the public to understand that they should not take the law into their own hands. Please respect each other. Violence will not solve our problems, he said. National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said that the police would make their focus on dealing with communal conflicts, including those that were triggered by religious intolerance, more thorough and careful. Weve determined three priorities this year; corruption, terrorism and social conflicts, he said after a police annual meeting on Thursday. Agus said that during the meeting, which involved all chiefs of police (Kapolda), they mapped more than 16,000 conflict hot spots across the archipelago. When the chiefs get back to their regions, they should discuss this with the regional administrations and Indonesian Military [TNI] personnel in the region, Timur explained