News From: Mediamudansa.Com, By Jornalist : Ekipa Media Mudansa
Editór : Orlando Magno
(Dili) Change - In relation to a letter of notification sent by the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) to an independent newspaper, a Press Council considered that PNTL attempted to destroy the Journalistic Service as well as the Association of Journalists of Timor-Leste, and considered that PNTL violated the Freedom of the Press because it only used the criminal proceedings code law to criminalise journalistic products.
There, the PNTL's letter of notification to the independent edition of the newspaper relating to the 11 / 10 / 2022, entitled "Ejiction dimite Gastao, Commissioner Mateus: PNTL received a letter from Vice MI, MJ, and Vice MOP" in another news entitled "Desponspect Vice MJ sending a letter to the PNTL Command to Demit Gastao" PNTL's act was an act representing the regime of dictatorship during the Indonesian occupation to disrupt journalists and the media from telling the truth.
On 21 October, the Independent Journal received a letter of notification from the PNTL, through the Criminal Investigation Service, number 112 / Gab / CHEFE / SIC / PNTL / X / 2022, characterised as " Urgent" to identify the journalist Domingos Gomes and the Head of the Independent Journal Editor, Jorginho Dos Santo, pursuant to Article 53 of the Criminal Procedure Code for allegedly committing the crime.
The President of the Press Council Virgilio da Silva Guteres informed that if the PNTL makes a notification to the chief of the publisher or the director of information, the notification must be based on the media law because the media law states that the right to respond should be directed to the maximum responsible of the media because Article 34 of the media law is clear.
President of the Press Council Virgilio da Silva Guteres.
"The long term has been destroying the freedom of the press because the PNTL has started criminalising the journalism work and criminalising the media because we have summoned journalists to come to an interrogatory investigation of the media content," said the President of the KI to the media Change in his office on the main quarter of Dili, Monday 24 / 10 / 2022.
Virgilio stated that the media is not a journalist because the journalist only wrote the decision to publish the news to the chief of the publication and not a journalist.
"Our appeal to PNTL In Timor-Leste there is a specific media law that regulates the media bodies and regulates issues relating to freedom of the press that is the media law 5 / 2014 within the law guarantees for single or plural citizens or the same institutions as the PNTL to express their right to respond to the media when there is an incorrect news content," explained the President of KI Virgilio.
He added that everyone who knows the right to answer should read it well because everyone has equal circumstances.
"Our recommendation for the right of public and officials to respond and ratify, asks the police and other judicial bodies not to try to criminalize the work of journalists because journalists are not crimes," said Virgilio.
He suggested, For the police and other judicial bodies to know the specific law regulating the media and regulating the behaviour of journalism if there is a complaint about journalism ethics ask the PNTL a box to the Press Council if the police want to make a notification there must be a reference to the media law not to use the criminal code.