Jakarta, November 13, 2015— An international delegation of media and freedom of expression organisations met with the Indonesian government to discuss the state of media in the country. It highlighted concerns regarding journalist safety and an environment that poses significant threats to freedom of expression.
At a meeting on Thursday, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan re-committed, on behalf of the Widodo administration, to free press access to Papua and promised to review outstanding cases of killings of local journalists raised by the mission. The Minister was open to further communication with the media and civil society, and welcomed further recommendations.
The International Partnership Mission to Indonesia travelled to the country to meet with journalists, government and civil society representatives to review the media environment one year on since its first visit in December 2014. Significantly, it also conducted a fact-finding visit to Papua.
Publicly declared open to foreign journalists by President Joko Widodo in May 2015, Papua and West Papua have been restricted for international media for half a century. Access remains problematic, with obstacles being raised by local military and police. The mission met with Papuan journalists and media activists who described an atmosphere of surveillance and intimidation, as well as claims of security agents posing as journalists.
The mission also heard about challenges to freedom of expression more broadly across the country. Continued violence against the media and the failure to bring perpetrators to justice fuels further attacks, and leads to self-censorship. The digital space is an emerging front line for the media, meanwhile the Electronic Information and Transactions Law and the broader Criminal Code are being abused to silence critical voices.
“In a region where the press is under sustained attack, Indonesia has a leadership role to play in defending media freedoms,” the mission said. “There has been little demonstrable progress following the recommendations offered by the mission a year ago, and despite significant interventions by local civil society organisations. The government of President Widodo should do more to advance media freedom and protect journalists.”
On its first visit, the mission was briefed on the 2009 Anak Agung Prabangsa murder case in Bali, which as a result of cooperation between media, police and local government resulted in the prosecution not only of the killers but also of the mastermind.
“The Prabangsa case proves that Indonesia can tackle impunity,” the mission said. “We welcome the dialogue that has begun with the Widodo administration.”
The Mission will publish a report of its findings and recommendations by the end of November. Recommendations from the IPMI visit in 2014 are available here: www.tifafoundation.org/international-partnership-mission-to-indonesia/.
Editorial note:
The International Partnership Mission to Indonesia visited the country from November 9th-13th and visited Jakarta, Jayapura and Makassar.
CONTACTS
Jose Antonio Belo
South East Asian Journalist Unions (SEAJU)
Kulachada Chaipipat
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
Céline Cornereau
Media Legal Defence Initiative
celine.cornereau@mediadefence.org
Sumit Galhotra
Committee to Protect Journalists
Esben Q. Harboe
International Media Support (IMS)
Andrew Heslop
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)
andrew.heslop@wan-ifra.org
Michael Karanicolas
Centre for Law and Democracy
Edward Pittman
Open Society Foundations Program on Independent Journalism
edward.pittman@opensocietyfoundations.org
Oliver Spencer-Shrestha
ARTICLE 19
Jane Worthington
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
Recent News
Mamunur Rashid Nomani charged with violating Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act
Journalist Mamunur Rashid Nomani, editor of the local online news portal Barishal Khobor, has been charged with violating Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act (DSA), following an accusation claiming that he secretly filmed the mayor of Barisal and his family. Nomani rejects this, alleging instead that he and two of his acquaintances – Kamrul Mridha, working for […]
Media Defence extends partnership with three organisations in sub-Saharan Africa
As part of Media Defence’s project Empowering Women in Digital Rights Advocacy, we are building a strong legal defence network in sub-Saharan Africa. To achieve this goal, we are providing financial assistance to organisations to establish legal aid units or media defence centres. We are excited to announce that, as part of this project, we are extending […]
15 Years of Impact: Internet Shutdowns
This year marks Media Defence’s 15th anniversary. To celebrate this milestone, we will be taking a look at the ways in which freedom of expression has been threatened around the world, and how we have sought to protect it. The internet has become an essential part of modern life. It has transformed the way we […]