インドネシア総選挙とジャーナリズム国際セミナーに参加して
インドネシアの将来を決める総選挙が６月７日に行われる。スハルト時代の強権政治を知る者として、今度の選挙で民主主義が定着することを祈っている。
私は６月３日から７日までジャカルタに滞在して、選挙と報道について調査する。アジアの民間選挙団体の選挙監視員の一人としても活動する。８月８日には東ティモールの住民に、独立かインドネシアとの併合かを問う「直接投票」が行われる。これも現地で調査したいと思っている。
私はインドネシアの選挙に深くかかわることになったのは、４月初めにジャカルタで開かれた「インドネシア総選挙とジャーナリズム国際セミナー」に参加してからだ。インターバンドというＮＧＯから、セミナー出席を求められて、日本代表のジャーナリストとして報告してきた。
以下は、４月２３日に都内で開かれた報告会のレジュメである。
１９９９年４月２３日
インドネシア総選挙とジャーナリズム国際セミナーに参加して
浅野 健一（同志社大学文学部社会学科新聞学専攻教授）
ファクス ０４７１ー３４ー８５５５
E-mail:kasano@mail.doshisha.ac.jp
VZB06310@niftyserve.or.jp
（メールの場合は、お手数ですが、両方に送ってください）
アジアを代表する民主的選挙を監視する民間団体ＡＮＦＲＥＬ（Ａｓｉａｎ Ｎｅｔｗｏｒｋ
ｆｏｒ Ｆｒｅｅ ａｎｄ Ｆａｉｒ Ｅｌｅｃｔｉｏｎ）が１９９９年４月３日および４日にインドネシア・ジャカルタで「インドネシア総選挙におけるジャーナリズムの役割」（Ｔｈｅ Ｒｏｌｅ ｏｆ Ｊｏｕｒｎａｌｉｓｍ ｉｎ Ｉｎｄｏｎｅｓｉａ）をテーマにした国際会議を開いた。
会議参加者は、インドネシア選挙管理委員会（ＫＰＵ）、国連開発計画、コンパスなどを訪問した。
この会議には８カ国のジャーナリスト・ジャーナリズム研究者、政治学者らが参加し、「各国の選挙におけるジャーナリスト経験」を発表。ＡＮＦＲＥＬ日本代表を務める首藤信彦東海大学政治経済学部教授を通じて、日本を代表する発表者として私が招請された。
元共同通信ジャカルタ支局長時代に、スハルト政権に追放された経験を持つ私としては、今後のアジア全体の民主主義の前進のためにも、この申し出を受けた。
セミナーでは、私の友人であるタイのＮａｔｉｏｎ編集局長でタイ記者協会会長のＫａｖｉ Ｃｈｏｎｇｋｉｔａｖｏｒｎ氏をはじめ、８カ国のジャーナリスト、研究者がした。
３月２日から１５日までインドネシアを旅行したばかりだったが、充実した旅になった。
セミナーでは古くからの友人、ジャカルタ・ポストのスサント編集局長が基調講演。インドネシアの記者が、スハルト時代の意識からそう変わっていないと指摘。記者教育の重要性を訴えた。
私はシンポジウム、「日本の選挙におけるジャーナリズムの役割」を発表（英語、別紙参照）した。
《日本は経済、工業の面では超一流だが、政治の面では発展途上国でえある。政治的自由、民主主義、人権などを闘いで勝ち取ったのではなく、侵略戦争の破綻からペーパーとして入手したので、社会全体にまだ根付いていない。日本でも、自由で公正な選挙が行われているとは言い難い。インドネシアの選挙で民意が反映されるように、日本の市民も協力したい。そのことが日本の民主化をすすめることにもなる。》 「日本における選挙違反の刑事罰適用など法律との関係は」「取材をしていると権力を持つ人々と同じ考えになることがあると思うが、どうか」などの質問があった。
日本でもジャーナリストは記者クラブに安住して当局者や大企業役員と同じ発想になってしまうことがよくある。意識して、社会的弱者、少数者の中に入り、声なき声を汲み上げたいと答えた。
セミナーでは東ティモールの独立プロセスと、総選挙の関係が度々話題になった。主催者の中心的団体だったインドネシア独立記者連盟（ＡＪＩ）のメンバーは、一致して、「東ティモールの併合は国際法違反 東ティモールでは総選挙を行うべきではない」と述べた。タイの代表も「東ティモールでの選挙実施に反対」を繰り返し強調した。
ＫＰＵでは旧知のブヨン・ナスティオン氏から話を聞いた。「東ティモールはどうしたらいいか」と逆に聞かれた。
コンパス訪問では ヤコブ・ウタマ社主をはじめ選挙担当の編集局幹部、一線記者らと懇談した。「１９５５年以来の自由選挙で、どういう取材をしたらいいのかまだ分からない」というデスクの声が印象に残った。
「ゴルカルに投票しないとさまざまな不利益があると脅され、教え込まれてきた農村部の有権者の意識をどう変えるかが重要だ」
アミン・ライスが党首を務める国民信託党（ＰＡＮ）の幹事長は「有権者への啓蒙にはメディアの役割が重要だ」と語った。 （以上）
続いて、私がシンポジウムで発表した「日本の選挙におけるジャーナリズムの役割」のテキストペーパーを紹介したい。
Seminar: THE ROLE OF JOURNALISTS IN ELECTIONS IN INDONESIA
"A Journalist's Experiences with Elections in Japan"
By Kenichi ASANO
Professor of Journalism
Doshisha University
Kyoto, Japan
Let me introduce myself briefly:
My name is Kenichi Asano, and I worked as a Kyodo News reporter from 1972
to 1994. I was assigned as Jakarta bureau chief of Kyodo News from 1989
to 1992. I became a professor of journalism at Doshisha University in
April 1994. Doshisha is the second-oldest private university in Japan.
Over the years, I have also published several books concerning my
experiences in Indonesia *(1).
I had been assigned to a three-year stint in Jakarta. Yet, because I was
a conscientious reporter and did my job maybe too well, I ended up being
expelled by the Suharto government and the Indonesian military.
During my stay here, I had covered Jakarta's informal meetings for
solving the Cambodian problem, and had flown to Cambodia several times. I
personally respect the Indonesian officials, including Menteri Deplu Pak
Ali Alatas, who made many contributions toward solving the Cambodian
crisis.
I was very happy when I heard that the Suharto regime had come to an end
on May 21, 1998. When I was interviewed by the Tokyo Broadcasting System
(TBS) television network on May 17 -- just four days earlier -- I
predicted the Indonesian people would force Suharto to resign before
July. I was shown to Japanese TV viewers as the "Japanese correspondent
most hated by the Suharto government and the Japanese embassy in Jakarta."
IMPORTANCE OF UPCOMING ELECTION
I believe the upcoming general election in Indonesia is very important
for the entire Asia-Pacific region. The Indonesian people have not
experienced free and fair elections for almost 40 years. I hope this
general election will be a real start toward a new Indonesia.
Let me explain my experiences in covering elections in Japan, for the
Indonesian journalists and citizens gathered here. Generally speaking,
the level of politics in Japan is not so high -- compared with Japan's
world ranking in technology or economics.
I worked at the Chiba Prefecture bureau of Kyodo News from 1974 to 1981.
Chiba lies in the east of Tokyo, where the New Tokyo International
Airport (Narita) is located. Many conservative party candidates in that
area distribute 10,000-yen bills to voters' homes. Big companies also
force their employees to vote for a candidate who will work for industry.
Political parties are not that matured, either. "The only party in Japan
that you can call a 'political party' in the understanding of the West is
the Japan Communist Party," Philippe Pons of the French newspaper Le
Monde once told me. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has been
ruling Japan for most of the postwar era, represents Japanese business
circles and the bureaucracy. Other parties, such as those that work for
certain institutions like trade unions or religious organizations, are
not real political parties. Some politicians in Japan are even linked
with the "yakuza," the Japanese mafia. Political parties in Japan, as a
whole, are not well-united by political ideology.
Less than 60 percent of the Japanese population votes in national
elections nowadays. In urban areas, a majority of citizens do not vote at
all. In local elections for governors or mayors, the voting rates are
sometimes around 30 percent.
I personally think that such weaknesses of Japanese democracy stem from
our country's history. In implementing democratic principles, the
Japanese people did not fight enough. Our new Constitution was introduced
to us only after the Japanese imperial army had surrendered. It came
wrapped for us in a paper package. We lack the tradition of grassroots
democracy. Throughout history, the Japanese people have hesitated to
criticize authority.
In most Asian countries, however, the people have fought for their
independence and to restore freedom from military rule.
Another factor contributing to the poor state of democracy in Japan today
is Japanese journalism. Political reporters are mostly the "lap dogs" of
prominent politicians. Perhaps you know about the notorious "kisha
clubs," Japan's "unique" press club system -- an exclusive, closed system
of media organizations that is supported by major newspapers and
broadcasting companies.
Political news reporters usually depend on leaks from ruling-party
members of parliament. Such reporters often visit the private residences
of politicians and high-ranking officials. In that way, political news in
Japan is far from being objective and impartial reporting.
DEMOCRACY AT WHAT COST?
Japan is a rather young player in the field of modern democracy. There
were no voting rights for Japanese women in the prewar period. Up to Aug.
15, 1945, when Japan surrendered, the nation had been under a
totalitarian fascist regime that caused chaos throughout Asia. Japanese
democracy was built at the cost of more than 20 million innocent citizens
all over the Asia-Pacific region -- including more than three million
people in Indonesia. Imperial Japan foolishly treated Asian people as
"sons and daughters" of Emperor Hirohito. It forced Asian people to
believe in Japan's own ideology of an "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity
Sphere."
Imperial Japan, when confronted by those who strontly resisted the
Japanese miltary's invasion, was forced to retreat. But not before more
than three million Indonesian people lost their lives due to violence,
hunger and disease during the three-and-a-half-year attack on the country
by the Japanese imperial army.
To this day, issues concerning compensation to "romu-sha" (forced
laborers), former "heiho" (assisting soldiers) and "ianfu" (sex slaves)
-- all of whom were forced to serve the Japanese imperial army -- remain
unsolved. At the same time, the Japanese government still does not teach
its citizens the true history of Japan, including the 50 years of
military expansionism after Japan "integrated" Taiwan in 1895.
In Japan, ultra-rightists are still very active. A movie titled "Pride,"
which glorified wartime prime minister Hideki Tojo as a hero, was widely
accepted by Japanese society. Yoshinori Kobayashi's cartoon book
"Senso-ron," which views Japanese expansion into Asia as having liberated
Asian peoples from Western imperialism, sold more than half a million
copies.
I am very much concerned these days by the Japanese government, and most
Japanese people, ignoring Article 9 of our precious Constitution. This
article not only denounces the threat of use of military force as a means
of settling international disputes, but also prescribes that "land, sea
and air forces, as well as other potential war forces, will never be
maintained." In reality, the Japanese Self-Defence Force (SDF) budget is
the third largest in the world. "If you look at the SDF from abroad,"
high-ranking Japanese diplomats openly say, "it is undoubtedly a military
force."
Japanese people must adopt the "rule of law" principle in politics. Due
process in politics is absolutely necessary.
THE ROLE OF A FREE PRESS
Brian Covert, an American journalist living in Osaka, Japan, clarifies
the duties of journalists as follows:
-- To fulfill the journalistic role in a democratic society, journalists
have to be an independent "watchdog" over authority.
-- Journalists should speak up on various social issues. They should show
the way for promoting reforms in society.
-- Journalists must maintain a healthy skepticism toward authority.
-- Journalists should act as "voices of the voiceless," speaking on
behalf of minorities.
-- Journalists should promote the free flow of information -- ethically.
-- Finally, and most importantly, journalists must work to earn the
credibility and respect of the general public.
To carry out free and fair elections, a free flow of information is
essential. In other words, free access to public documents is needed.
Active journalism can check on what the authorities are doing. A free
press is most essential to the dynamism of a modern society.
The new trend toward "public journalism" (or "civic journalism") that is
practiced in communities in several nations is worth looking at: The news
media not only report what is going on, but also help set the agenda of
issues for the election. In this type of public journalism, the citizens
themselves participate in news-making activities.
I think you can agree with me that the most important role of journalism
is to provide people with a wide range of information so as to promote
democracy. With such information in hand, the people can then decide for
whom to vote.
Through the recent development of the Internet and other new media, we,
the citizens of the world, can work on setting up a "universal principle"
of journalism. At its best, journalism indeed serves the interests of
global citizens -- not merely the interests of any one state.
DEMOCRACY AS A UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE
Several Asian leaders condemn Western countries as being hypocrites.
"Democracy and human rights differ from country to country. Western
countries are forcing their concepts on developing countries," Suharto
often said.
I do not agree with the opinions, made by several Asian leaders, that a
representative democracy and the concepts of human rights are
Western-made and do not comply with traditional Asian cultures. Suharto
went so far as to say that development should come first -- before
democracy!
The idea of democracy and human rights are universal. It is true that
"democracy" as a concept was developed in Europe and America. But when we
take a broader look, we can see that deomocracy is actually the total
accumulation of the long history of human beings throughout the globe.
In January 1997, Ramos Horta, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and East Timor
independence leader, said to me in Osaka these words: "Malaysian leaders
condemned the killing of Islamic people in former Yugoslavia, saying it
went against the principle of universal human rights. Dictators always
try to deprive dissidents of freedom because they fear the people's
thoughts and beliefs. The term 'human rights' that we use is not an
invention of Western countries at all."
Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma said this to me on Dec. 28, 1996, when I
visited her country: "I hope the Japanese people have enough courage to
work for democracy and justice. I am fighting for our democratic rights.
What is most important is the 'rule of law.' Without the rule of law, it
is impossible to make progress. The idea of democracy will never
disappear."
In closing, I recall the Asia-Africa Congress at Bandung in 1960.
Indonesia was a great leader of the decolonization movement in the 1950s
and '60s. The Indonesian people fought for freedom and human dignity
against both Dutch and Japanese colonialism.
I also know that many Indonesian journalists devoted their lives to
telling the truth under the former Suharto regime. Such journalists
continued to fight against corrupt officials, even in the face of
constant threats and harassment by the intelligence and police forces.
The most impressive thing I have heard as a Japanese journalist in
Jakarta was the true story of how the young Indonesian independence
movement leaders in 1928 adopted the language of the small minority as a
national language. It is amazing to know that Sukarno and other youth
leaders chose the Malayu (Malayan?????) language, rather than Javanese or
other prominent languages. This, to me, shows how deeply rooted
Indonesian democracy is in the grassroots.
*(1)
(Japanese-language books)
-- "Expulsion Order: 1,200 Days in Covering Indonesia," Nihon Hyoronsha,
1993
-- "Japan Could Become the Enemy of the World," Sanichi Shobo, 1994
-- "Japanese Universities and the Asia-Pacific War," Nihon Keizai
Hyoronsha, 1996 (with Atsushi Shirai, et al)
-- "The Emperor's Reporters: The Major Newspapers' 'Invasion of Asia',"
Three A Network, 1997
English-language articles I have also written:
-- "Greens field a swamp campaign," South (business magazine of the
developing world), May 1990
-- "Indonesia's political dilemma," The Japan Times, Nov. 1, 1990
-- "Japanese militarism rings alarm bells," New Straits Times, Malaysia,
Dec. 21, 1991
-- "Japan's Troubled News Media," The Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 29,
1997
[END]
Copyright (c) 1999, Prof.Asano Ken'ichi's Seminar Last updated 1999.05.22