No specific reasons were given for the banning, except that "the publications had already been warned". Almost all of the Indonesian middle class and business class rely on Tempo, Detik and Editor as their major source of political analysis and comment. They have a combined circulation of over 800,000.
A naval ship scandal involving technology and research minister Habibie and amounts of over $1 billion, the massive Indonesian Development Bank scandal involving former minister Sudomo and tens of millions of dollars; open speculation of who will be next president; front page coverage of the murder of trade union leaders; discussion of the new Peoples Democratic Union (PRD) — all these issues have panicked Suharto, who has now carried out his threat of June 9 that he would take "firm action" against those media fanning the controversy over Habibie's ship project.
Within half an hour of the news of the bans, activists were beginning to organise using the phones and faxes of NGOs and student groups. A press statement by the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) called the move illegal and unconstitutional. It referred to the banning as a "disaster" for the process of democratisation.
The PRD called the banning an "arbitrary abuse of power", indicating the repressive character of the regime. The PRD stated that the magazines had provided society with "honest, truthful and objective reporting essential to the process of democratisation".
On June 22 two spontaneous rallies of YLBHI activists and journalists from Tempo and Detik converged on the Ministry of Information carrying banners reading "Hang Harmoko" (the minister for information). Officials refused to meet with the demonstrators.
On June 23, a thousand journalists, students and prominent intellectuals converged again on the ministry and called for Harmoko to meet with their representatives. Eventually senior officials met with prominent human rights lawyers Adnan Buyung Nasution, Mulyana W. Kusuma and H.J. Princen as well as Muslim parliamentarian Sri Bintang Pramukas and representatives of the magazines. The officials reaffirmed that the banning were legal and proper.
Outside, the demonstration continued peacefully, though with some skirmishes when rattan-armed police attempted to force protesters to the opposite side of the street.
Protests also took place on June 23 in Bandung, Salatiga, Solo, and Surabaya in Java and in Medan and Padang in Sumatra. In Bandung, security forces blocked journalists, supported by students from the Bandung Islamic University, marching to the provincial parliament. In Salatiga some 300 students and leading intellectuals from Satya Wacana Christian University, including George Aditjondro and Arief Budiman, held a rally.
No support for ban
Other sections of the press reacted angrily, although many have opted for a cautious approach. Media Indonesia, a newspaper that many consider will be the next banned, printed an editorial comprising a black square in which there was nothing but two teary eyes.
Jakarta Post described the decision as "truly shocking". But the newspaper added that democratisation was now "unstoppable". The prestigious and traditionally cautious Kompas daily editorialised that the ban was a "blow to openness".
On June 22, Jakob Oetama, national head of the Newspaper Publishing Association, called on the government to reconsider the ban. The head of the Indonesian Journalists Union, Tribuana Said, called on the government to issue new licences as soon as possible.
The chairperson of the government's own National Human Rights Commission, Ali Said, called the ban a step backwards, saying that the mass media play a significant role in upholding human rights and democracy. The Forum Demokrasi group and Ali Sadikin of the Petition of 50 also made statements condemning the ban.
Brigadier General Syarwan Hamid, head of Armed Forces Public Information, said that the move was regrettable and didn't need to have happened. He stated that conflicts were inevitable in the process of openness and that both government and society should take advantage of this in a passive manner.
Another indication of the armed forces distancing themselves from the ban is that no army units have been present at the recent demonstrations in Jakarta, only police units.
Beginning of end?
Sugeng Bahagijo, chair of the Peoples Democratic Union, told Green Left Weekly that Suharto had made a strategic error and that this could mark the beginning of the end for his rule. It is clear that the ban was precipitated by the coverage of differences within the government over Habibie's purchase of 39 former East German naval ships. Habibie is considered to be one of the possible successors to Suharto and a very close confidant.
Suharto himself stepped into the controversy over the project by denying that Habibie had acted without consulting anybody in the government and explaining that he had been acting on Suharto's instructions. The Indonesian navy had already stated it was not consulted.
However, coverage of the Habibie scandal was just the last straw. Increasing activism on the part of students, workers and farmers has brought a range of new issues onto the political agenda which have been more and more boldly reported in the media. The bolder reporting has spread to cover several major financial scandals. The Suharto clique, of which Harmoko and Habibie are key figures, has been more exposed. Under this increased pressure, Suharto panicked.
There has never been such widespread opposition to the government on any issue. Moreover, now establishment institutions have felt directly what students, workers and others have been feeling for a long time. As one senior and experienced Indonesian journalist told Green Left Weekly, "Now more people will begin to realise that human rights are an issue for everybody, not just former political prisoners and students".