Page 90 - SCANDAL AND DEMOCRACY

Reformasi 75

legislators to concede to several student demands critical for the transition, particu-
larly a decree guaranteeing the right to free speech.
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A key incentive for the heavy coverage was, of course, increased audience share,
and not all reporting supported the students’ agenda. Television stations, as the next
chapter will describe, were still owned by Suharto’s circle and favored the military and
the ruling party, Golkar, over the students.
Regardless of motivation or partisan bias, both print and broadcast media imposed
unprecedented scrutiny on the legislative process. All five private TV stations, once
barred from airing parliamentary discussions on the economy, were now broadcasting
breaking updates on the session’s controversial proceedings. ANteve even showed
a satiric montage of legislators dozing off and chatting on their cell phones during
the session. Throughout, Jakarta’s radio stations broadcast blow-by-blow accounts,
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interspersed with live interviews, bringing the highly charged atmosphere of the
streets right into listeners’ homes and cars. The volatility they presented made gov-
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ernment tolerance of this coverage even more remarkable, particularly since television
and radio were broadcasting demands to expel the military from politics and dissolve
the current parliament.
In the end, this tolerance was limited. With memories of images showing brutal-
ity toward students in May still vivid, security forces were hostile to journalists carry-
ing cameras. The day before the November session, soldiers assaulted five journalists
covering an altercation with students on a central Jakarta boulevard. On the session’s
second day, police and soldiers turned on three photojournalists filming a clash out-
side a downtown university campus, kicking one reporter and clubbing another as he
tried to flee, damaging their cameras and sending all three to the hospital.
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The reaction of the media was significant for its solidarity. General Wiranto apolo-
gized to the photojournalists when he visited them in the hospital and later vowed
to punish the soldiers responsible. This response failed to mollify media representa-
tives, who were particularly angry that soldiers had started the assaults after reporters
showed their press cards. “It is hard to escape the impression that ABRI [Angkatan
Bersenjata Republik Indonesia, Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia] has no
clear desire to control its violent character,” read a statement from AJI. “The word
‘sorry’ is very easily said, much as ABRI sees little difficulty in opening fire on or
clouting unarmed citizens peacefully protesting.” Over two hundred journalists
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staged a mass protest on the parliament’s front steps, using their access to this sanc-
tum to get the government’s attention. They also filmed the gathering to ensure the
public would see it on the evening news.
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As the session proceeded, reports only grew bolder, as images of soldiers in full
riot gear brandishing weapons filled television and print media. Then, as legislators
were voting for the last resolutions on Friday, November 13, soldiers fired into the
crowds, killing three protestors and injuring hundreds more. Later that night, troops
fired on the students again, fatally wounding another three.
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The print press responded by filling the next morning’s front pages with graphic
photographs and large headlines, some dripping with blood. As citizens marched down
otherwise empty streets to honor the fallen students, Jakarta was again filled with an
eerie mix of anger and sadness. Even the popular daily Pos Kota —owned by Golkar
leader and former information minister, Harmoko—condemned the crackdown with
sensational coverage that drew crowds of readers to newsstands.
In a televised statement, President Habibie extended condolences to the victims’
families but also spoke of attempts by “various societal groups” to use the students