The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa) and Charter 2000, a Malaysian citizen's media initiative, have demanded an investigation into last Saturday's mob attack o­n Tempo news magazine's office in central Jakarta.

Some 200 people protested outside the office against an article in the March 3-9 edition of the magazine. During the incident, two senior editors were allegedly assaulted, while a reporter was injured.

Tempo had reported that contractor Tommy Winata had submitted a Rp53 billion renovation proposal to the Jakarta administration in January to build a business centre at Tanah Abang, which housed the region's largest textile market. Last week, the market burnt down.

The report entitled 'Is Tommy behind "Tenabang"'? described Winata as a "big garbage collector". The protesters demanded a correction of the article, an apology and for the sources to be identified.

'Use legal means'

Seapa country director Lukas Luwarso, in a letter dated March 10 to Winata and Police Commissioner Sukrawardi Dahlan, said the attack marked a dark day for press freedom in Indonesia and particularly for the magazine.

The protesters, who had gathered at 10am, had first tried to crash the gate to the magazine's premises. They were described as "thugs" from Winata's company and Banteng Muda Indonesia.

During initial negotiations between Winata's men and Tempo staff, a protester allegedly threw a wooden tissue box at an editorial staff member. He deflected the box, but it hit a reporter, cutting his upper cheek and requiring medical treatment.

According to the letter, the talks became heated. The leader of the protesters then threatened the journalists, saying, "If no o­ne is brought to the police, I cannot guarantee that nothing will happen to Tempo ...the mass is already fuming."

Eventually, editor-in-chief Bambang Harymurti and editors Karaniya Dharmasaputra and Ahmad Taufik went to police headquarters. While negotiating with the protesters, Harymurti and Dharmasaputra were allegedly punched by a Winata supporter employed by the Artha Graha Group.

"As an organisation dedicated to the protection of journalists and the promotion of freedom of the press, Seapa Jakarta deplores the protesters' actions. Winata and his supporters have legal means at their disposal to protest, as well as a right of response. Their violent approach points to a further deterioration of freedom of the press, which is an essential recipe for democracy," Luwarso said in his letter.

"Winata and his supporters must also realise that Article 4 (Paragraph 4) of Regulation No 40/1999 guarantees the confidentiality of news sources. Seapa demands that police uphold justice in handling this case by prosecuting those responsible for the attack, especially those who ordered it."

Right of reply

Charter 200 coordinators Anil Netto and Dr Mustafa K Anuar expressed solidarity with the Tempo journalists, saying they regard the incident as an attack o­n press freedom.

"To its credit, Indonesia has press freedom laws that penalise those who prevent journalists from disseminating information to the public," they said in a statement issued in Penang.

"If (Winata's) supporters were unhappy about the article, they should have insisted o­n the right of reply instead of taking the law into their hands."

The statement also cited a Jakarta Post report that police were present when the protesters attacked the office, and called o­n Indonesian authorities to conduct investigations.

Meanwhile, a March 8 report posted o­n the Tempo Interactive site quoted Harymurti as saying that Winata had recently preferred charges against the magazine.

"This is o­ne of the risks of journalism," he said, adding added that the news o­n Winata covered both sides of the story.

He said he was convinced with the truth of the news content but that "like in court, if we have new evidence, then there could be changes".