Goenawan Mohamad, founder and editor of Tempo magazine in Jakarta, Indonesia, has been selected by the University's Nieman Fellows to receive the 1997 Louis Lyons award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism.

The 1997 Class of Nieman Fellows cites Mohamad for his courage in making information available in spite of government repression, and for his consistent commitment to the highest standards of journalism.

Working in a dictatorial system in which the press is controlled by threats, intimidation, and banning, Goenawan Mohamad has been the most consistent and visible voice for freedom of the press in the country for two decades. His magazine, Tempo, was closed and all its journalists banned by the Soeharto government in 1994 after publishing details of the corrupt purchase of aging East German destroyers by the government. It was the second closure of the publication. The ban on the magazine and staff this time meant that they were not allowed to work at any news organization -- all of which have to be licensed by the government. Rather than leave the country, Mohamad has chosen to stay and to continue to work to

broaden freedom in Indonesia.

He formed the Alliance of Independent Journalists in order to continue pushing for press freedom and has been responsible for the publication of an underground newspaper, Suara Independen, which documented attacks on journalists and investigated serious stories ignored by the controlled press. It has also been seized and banned. Mohamad nonetheless still publishes an Internet version of Tempo. As head of the Institute for the Studies on Free Flow of Information and the Independent Election Monitoring Committee, Mohamad continues his free press struggle. As the selection committee says, "He has shown a consistent commitment to the highest

standards of journalism, an unchallenged commitment and courage to spreading information and to freedom of expression for all throughout Indonesia. He has shown bravery and valor in the face of consequences that can only be described as grim. In doing so, he has given hope to the struggling journalists of Indonesia who look to him for guidance in the profession and in the greater fight for a truly democratic Indonesia."

In announcing this year's Lyons Award, the Fellows also made a special mention of the 69 Algerian journalists who have been killed since 1993 by the military-backed regime in Algeria. The Algerian journalists were honored by the Nieman Class of 1994 when the award was presented to Abdelhamid Benzine, who valiantly tried to save his newpaper, Alger Republicain.

The Nieman Foundation administers a midcareer fellowship program that since 1938 has brought over 1,000 American and foreign journalists to Harvard University for a year of academic study. The Lyons Award honors Louis M. Lyons, who was a beacon for journalistic integrity during his 25 years as curator of the Nieman Fellowship Program.

The award, which carries a $1,000 honorarium, will be presented to Mohamad in Cambridge on Tuesday, May 6, by Curator Bill Kovach and the 1997 Class of Nieman Fellows.