From news.eff.org!baroque.clari.net!bass.clari.net!soprano.clari.net!e.news Mon Aug 19 13:19:39 1996 Path: news.eff.org!baroque.clari.net!bass.clari.net!soprano.clari.net!e.news Comment: O:4.1H; Distribution: cl-3,cl-edu,cl-4 From: C-reuters@clari.net (Reuter / Jim Della-Giacoma) Newsgroups: clari.tw.new_media,clari.world.asia.southeast Subject: Internet an active player in Indonesian politics Keywords: urgent Organization: Copyright 1996 by Reuters Message-ID: Lines: 67 Date: Sat, 17 Aug 1996 20:00:08 PDT Expires: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 20:00:08 PDT ACategory: international Slugword: INDONESIA-INTERNET Threadword: indonesia Priority: important ANPA: Wc: 590/0; Id: a1060; Src: reut; Sel: reute; Adate: 08-17-N.A; V: (SCHEDULED) Approved: e.news@clari.net Xref: news.eff.org clari.tw.new_media:2281 clari.world.asia.southeast:2943 JAKARTA, Aug 18 (Reuter) - Indonesians are turning to the Internet as an alternative source of information as political unrest spreads and authorities tighten supervision of newspapers and television, electronic media experts said on Sunday. An increasing number of users are tapping into an eclectic mix of political rhetoric, eyewitness accounts of demonstrations and arrests, debate, propaganda and disinformation available on Indonesia-related pages on the Internet, they said. ``The fact that the Internet is now important is evident from the frequent references to it by senior military officers,'' Gerry van Klinken, editor of Inside Indonesia magazine, told Reuters. ``Many -- but far from all -- dissenting individuals and groups in Indonesia regularly post to the online Indonesia-list,'' said John MacDougall, the list's main administrator. ``Some have used it as their primary outlet due to restrictions on the traditional media and the geographic limitations of the unauthorised underground print media,'' MacDougall. The small left-wing People's Democratic Party (PRD), whose leaders went underground after the government blamed them for riots in Jakarta on July 27, continues to post responses to the accusations on Indonesia-list, popularly known as ``Apakabar'' or ``What's the news?.'' Indonesia has been in the throes of political unrest for the past few months, since the government backed the ouster of Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) leader Megawati Sukarnoputri by a rival faction. A storm of protest against her ouster erupted and riots broke out after police raided the PDI headquarters in Jakarta and evicted supporters of Megawati, the daughter of late founding president Sukarno. At least four people died and scores of buildings and vehicles were set on fire in the violence, the worst in the city for over two decades. A harsh military crackdown after the riots has quelled unrest for now but dissent is widespread, political analysts say. There are no formal controls on the press and television news is distributed by the state but local newspaper editors have privately said they are expected to ensure reporting on dissent is limited. The independent Media Indonesia daily published a front-page appeal last month asking all newspapers to cease reporting on the PDI to ensure national stability, although the call was largely ignored. Activist groups are increasingly using electronic media to spread information and readers are responding with comments, the experts said. The audience remains small since only about 20,000 Indonesians are hooked up to the Internet but they are mostly from the politically well-informed middle class, they added. In March, Information Minister Harmoko said the government had no plans to regulate the Internet, unlike neighbouring Singapore, but activists said that did not mean authorities were not monitoring electronic media. Sidney Jones, executive director of the New York-based Human Rights Watch/Asia, said a university lecturer in the city of Yogyakarta, Prihadi Beny Waluyo, was recently questioned by the local military command about his postings on the Internet. ``He was reportedly accused of distributing E-mail messages and also of sending messages relating to the July 27 riots to a destination in Holland,'' Jones said in a letter to Arifin Siregar, Indonesia's ambassador in Washington, which was also copied to Reuters. Waluyo was not immediately available to confirm the report.