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Indonesia criticized for restricting media access in Papua
Jakarta Post - May 10, 2015
"The Indonesian government has for decades effectively blocked foreign media from freely reporting in Papua by only allowing access to foreign journalists who get special official permission to visit the island," HRW said in a statement on Saturday.
The New York-based rights group said the government had rarely approved these applications, hampering efforts by journalists and non-government groups to report on breaking events.
"Official minders invariably shadow journalists who do get official permissions, strictly controlling their movements and access to people they want to interview," the statement said.
HRW noted that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo himself had told a group of foreign reporters during his visit to Papua's provincial capital of Jayapura on Saturday that he would declare a complete lifting of those restrictions on May 10.
However, the group said, the President did not provide any details, and it was uncertain how quickly and how effectively the Foreign Ministry, which has long regulated foreign media access to Papua, would implement the measure.
"There are also serious questions about the degree to which Papuan security forces will respect the right of foreign media to freely operate in Papua," said HRW.
The government detained two French journalists, namely Thomas Dandois and Valentine Bourrat, for violating news coverage regulations in August 2014. "Indonesian authorities detained the two French journalists who were producing a documentary, and threatened them with 'subversion' charges for allegedly filming members of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM)," said HRW.
On Oct. 6, 2014, a court in Papua's city of Jayapura convicted them of "abusive use of entry visas," sentenced them to time served, and released them the same day.
HRW added that although the government permitted Indonesian domestic media to report from Papua, there were serious questions about the reliability and objectivity of their reporting in the face of government efforts to control the flow of information from the island.
"Official documents leaked in 2011 indicate that the Indonesian military employs about two dozen Papua-based Indonesian journalists as informers," it said.
"The military has also financed and trained journalists and bloggers, warning them about alleged foreign interference in Papua, including by the US and other governments," it went on.
HRW Asia deputy director Phelim Kine said if President Joko Widodo was serious about addressing Papua's violations of human rights, he should start by releasing all political prisoners, freeing the media, and demanding meaningful investigations into abuses.
"Every one of Indonesia's political prisoners is an affront to basic human dignity and makes a mockery of Indonesia's claim to being a rights-respecting nation," he said. (ebf)
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