Governor’s Suit Against Bali Post Continues

(9/30/2011)

Jakarta Globe quotes the head of the legal team for Bali governor Made Mangku Pastika as complaining that a subpoena delivered to the Bali Post for publishing unprofessional and deliberately misleading news reports has been ignored.

The original documents sent to the Bali Post demanded formal retractions be published by the newspaper and other Bali papers for seven consecutive days. The suit also demanded on behalf of Pastika damages amounting to US$11.1 million for incorrectly reporting that the governor had called for the dismantling of tradition villages (desa prakaman) units in Bali following a clash between two villages in the Klunkung regency that resulted in one death and numerous injuries.

The Bali Post website has embedded a film clip of the Governor clarifying his remaks on the dismantling of traditional villages, underlining that he was only suggesting the two villages involved in the violent outbreak might be disbanded if they failed to peacefully resolve their difference.

The governor’s lead lawyer in the case, Nyoman Sumantha, has also filed a complaint with the National Press Council headed by former Supreme Court justice Bagir Manan. Bagir and members of the Press Council team were scheduled to visit Bali in the last week of September to review the facts of the case between the governor and the Bali Post.

The complaint against the Bali Post alleges that news on the governor’s public statements were “a lie and not professional prepared” and were tendentious in nature, seeking to create conflict between the governor and the public.

The governor said any financial settlement in the case would be donated to traditional villages across Bali.

Related Article

[Bali Governor Sues Bali Post for US$11.1 million]
 
[Villagers Clash in Klunkung]