The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has agreed to meet with a group of independent journalists this Friday to discuss the recent banning of a number of publications.

The group, called the Coalition of Independent Media Activists, said that many publication permits have been unfairly denied by the home affairs ministry, which is in charge of issuing and renewing such annual permits.

"We have proof that there are double standards practised in the issuance of publication permits," said coalition spokesperson Ahmad Lufti Othman, whose magazine Detik was banned last month.

The publication of Lufti's monthly youth magazine Al-Wasilah has also been suspended for about one month pending renewal of its permit. Both Detik and Al-Wasilah have been warned by the ministry for its coverage of opposition political news.

"The home affairs ministry has been issuing permits to many inexperienced publishers but those who have been in the business for a long time were not given permits," he told malaysiakini .

Lufti said that the application of some members of the coalition for the publication permits have been rejected many times without any reasonable grounds.

He added that when permits were denied, the home affairs ministry would not bother to discuss the issue with the editors. None of the editors had been contacted by the ministry for clarification or discussion, he said.

Last Wednesday, the 14-member group, comprising editors, writers and cartoonists, sent a petition to Suhakam to protest against the lack of press freedom in Malaysia ([#1]Free press petition to be sent to Suhakam[/#])., Sept 27).

The petition demanded for a repeal of the Printing Presses and Publications Acts (PPPA) which the organisers said is undemocratic and against the principle of press freedom.

It also called for the practice of awarding permits to be abolished; it asked that publications be banned only after a court decision, and that printers should not be held liable for any mistakes or inaccuracies perpetrated by publishers, editors or writers.

The petition also demanded for an enactment of laws to protect editors and journalists from mandatory prison sentences or detention without trial for offences committed in the course of duty.

First step in yearly permits

Lufti said that in the upcoming meeting with Suhakam, the group will highlight the personal experiences of editors and journalists who had previously worked in publications critical of the government, such as Harakah , Detik and Al-Wasilah , and demand an explanation on why these publications were either curbed or banned.

"We understand that perhaps the government cannot move so soon on the issue of PPPA because there are many aspects that need to be studied," he said, adding that he hopes there will be some effort in resolving the issue of yearly permits as a first step.

Last month, the home affairs ministry refused to renew the permit of the weekly tabloid Eksklusif on the grounds of biased reporting ([#2]'Eksklusif' banned for 'imbalanced reporting'[/#], Sept 6).

It is learnt that Suhakam will be represented by Harun Hashim, Mehrun Siraj, Zainah Anwar and Hamdan Adnan at the meeting.

Yesterday, Suhakam had a meeting with newspaper editors, which was attended by malaysiakini even though it was not invited. Suhakam officials have stressed to those present that the discussions during the four-hour, closed-door meeting should not be reported.