JAKARTA: Two Australian newspapers are being sued for publishing articles based on leaked US cables that allege President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and a number of state officials had misused their authority.
The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald are being sued by officials from the Federation of National Enterprise United Workers Union over the article titled “Yudhoyono ‘Abused Power,’” which was published on Friday.
The civil lawsuit was filed at the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday on behalf of Tri Sasono, Sunardi, Ahmad Surono and Suparto.
“The accusation has ruined the pride of a nation because what they have done has given [Indonesia] a reputation of a corrupt country,” said the plaintiffs’ lawyer Habiburokhman, as quoted by news portal tempointeraktif.com.
The plaintiffs accuse the newspaper of not following adequate checks and balances. They have called for both the owner of the newspapers, Fairfax Media, and the US Embassy to apologise to the Indonesian people and demanded the apology take up a full page in both newspapers over three consecutive days.
The plaintiffs have also demanded that the newspapers pay $1 billion in damages.
Meanwhile, around 60 people rallied in front of the US Embassy at Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan on Tuesday over the leaked diplomatic cables cited in the article.
“The US government must apologise for leaking cables that have hurt the Indonesian people,” a demonstrator said.
They brought copies of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, tearing them apart before throwing throwing them in a bin with “Junk Newspapers” written on it.
The demonstration only lasted 40 minutes before police dispersed the group. - Jakarta Globe/Pacific Media Watch
Pacific Media Watch
