He said to newsmen here on Saturday the Australian media (The Age and Sydney Morning Herald) had been irresponsible because they just took data for them from a Wikileaks website and failed to check the truth first to the sources concerned.
"It is regrettable that the media of a country boasting itself to be a democracy have failed to conduct a check and a recheck to people reported in their stories and so their credibility is worth questioning," he said.
"It is clear the Age has never checked with the persons reported," he said.
Marzuki also considered the stories tendentious and therefore the Indonesian people must question their motives. "Obviously they have a an intention of shaking the political stability under the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono," he said.
He appreciated foreign minister Marty Natalegawa that has summoned the US ambassador to Indonesia to ask for his explanation. He said the move was correct.
He said "if the stories came from them the US must apologize. But what is important is that people must not be provoked by such reports," he said.
Marzuki called on the government to take correct measures with regard to the Australian media and if necessary they must take legal action against them.
He said the impact of the stories was not only domestic but also abroad as the country`s role in world affairs could be affected.
"The impact can also be on the investment sector and therefore the motives must be clarified," he said.(*)
(H-YH/HAJM)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
