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Gerindra convinced of press freedom under Prabowo's leadership
The Gerindra Party says presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto will guarantee the freedom of the press in Indonesia, and is convinced that under his leadership, there would be no more restrictions on press freedom, such as those seen during the New Order era
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he Gerindra Party says presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto will guarantee the freedom of the press in Indonesia, and is convinced that under his leadership, there would be no more restrictions on press freedom, such as those seen during the New Order era.
'If Pak Prabowo is elected president, I'm sure that we would enjoy much more press freedom,' Gerindra's patron council member Martin Hutabarat said on Wednesday, as quoted by kompas.com.
Martin said the press in Indonesia was currently forced into submission by Law No.40/1999 on the press, and was heavily influenced by globalization. He said members of the House of Representatives needed to support the 1999 Press Law that resulted at the beginning of the reformation era.
'The direction of press freedom in Indonesia has been determined by the House instead of the president. So what we have now is different to what happened in the New Order era,' said Martin.
As a member of the House's Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, Martin further said that in the context of globalization, it would no longer possible for Indonesia to put restrictions on the press. Thus, he said he was not sure that any president chosen in the upcoming election, including Prabowo, could send the Indonesian press back to its old ways.
'The main enemy of the press is not the president. It's likely that the president would be powerless in facing the press,' said Martin.
He said it would likely be media investors and owners who would restrict press freedom. "Many media investors don't have an adequate understanding of the freedom of the press as they have always focused only on maximizing profits," he said. (gda/ebf)
