PRESIDENT ASKS MEDIA TO EXERCISE SELF-CENSORSHIP
The Jakarta Post - February 9, 2008SEMARANG (Antara): President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked the national press to exercise self-censorship in the absence of government controls.
"I really want self-censorship to be practiced. I put hope in the Press Council, senior journalists and chairmen of journalist organizations to boost the principle by giving priority to information which is newsworthy," the President said during the commemoration of National Press Day and the 62nd anniversary ofthe Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) on Saturday.
He said he has repeatedly urged self-censorship on the part of the media since becoming President in 2004.
Self-censorship should be considered by the media because the era of press control by the government is over and should never be repeated, he said.
President Yudhoyono also asked the press to reflect on the extent to which they have contributed to the development of democracy in Indonesia and to national character building. (***)
Source: The Jakarta Post - www.thejakartapost.com