The Jakarta Post, September 14, 2006
Regulator shuts down Ambon radio stations over permits
M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
The broadcasting regulator in Maluku says it is determined to clean up the airwaves,
shutting down several radio and TV stations that have been operating in Ambon
without the necessary permits.
Eight radio stations and the Ambon affiliate of television station TransTV have been
shut down over the last several months by the Maluku chapter of the Indonesian
Broadcasting Commission (KPID).
In an operation earlier this month the regulator, in cooperation with the Maluku Radio
Frequency Monitoring Board, sealed off the eight radio stations.
The eight stations shut down represent more than half of the 15 radio stations
operating in Ambon. The broadcasting commission identified the eight as Radio Bara,
Radio Pelangi, Radio Manusela, Radio Titasomi, Radio Peace FM, Radio Amakora,
Radio Suara Tauhid and Radio M25.
"We will let them resume operating after they have submitted their operating
documents, including their business and operating licenses," Izaac Tulalessy, a
member of the Maluku KPID, told The Jakarta Post in Ambon on Saturday.
Tulalessy said the commission had given the station owners three months to submit
all the necessary documents, beginning Sept. 1.
"We have given them a three-month deadline to submit their operating permits. If they
fail to do this we will give their frequencies to other radio stations we consider more
qualified," he said.
Three other stations -- Radio Kabaressi, Radio Dian Mandiri and Radio Rock FM --
have been warned they could face closure over various administrative requirements
they have failed to fulfill.
"We will give them until Sept. 21 to complete their documents, and failing this they
will have their establishments sealed off," Tulalessy said.
He said the commission closed the stations in line with an article in the 2002
Broadcasting Law that requires radio stations to apply for broadcasting permits with
the KPID before beginning operations. The permits are then processed by the
Information and Communications Ministry, which issues the frequencies.
Several stations that received their broadcasting permits during the previous New
Order administration escaped being shut down, despite not having renewed their
permits with the new Information and Communications Ministry.
"We have not closed some stations such as Radio DMS and Radio Sangkakala that
have broadcast permits from the old information ministry. The only difference is that
applying for the permits at that time was more lengthy and complicated compared to
now," Tulalessy said.
Regarding the action against the TransTV affiliate, Tulalessy said the station had not
obtained a frequency permit to relay its programs in Ambon and surrounding areas.
While the broadcasting commission says it is only enforcing the law, some observers
have accused it of overstepping its authority.
An official at the Maluku Media Center, Yani Kubangun, criticized the closures, which
she said were illegal. She said almost half of the radio stations in Ambon had been
set up before the establishment of the Maluku KPI or the passage of the 2002
Broadcasting Law.
"The law cannot be applied retroactively. The KPID is being unfairly repressive by
banning the stations and sealing off their offices, including their equipment. They
should be given time to comply with the law," Kubangun said.
She said the closures also represented a threat to press freedom because a number
of the stations aired news programs.
"This will kill Ambon's dynamism. This is the same as the shutting of newspapers by
the government during the New Order regime, and it could trigger social problems,"
she said.
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