Victor Mambor at the Pacific Media Centre in 2014: He knows how to get "inside" information in Indonesia -- ask a non-Papuan. Image: Del Abcede/PMC |
When journalist and media activist Victor Mambor wants information
from inside Papua, Indonesia, he knows how to get it — he has to ask
someone who isn’t Papuan.
“I’m Papuan so when something happens, I ask the police about it but
they don’t give me an answer,” says Mambor. “My friend, who isn’t
Papuan, can ask the same thing and get an answer.”
The situation epitomises how Mambor has had to operate in order to fill the pages of his Papuan-based newspaper, Jubi.
“If you want to be a real journalist in Papua and committed to
ethics, it’s very hard, from the reporting to the salary,” says Mambor.
“There’s a double standard for Papuan journalists and a lot of
discrimination.”
The Indonesian government has used the long-standing conflict in
Papua to justify implementing harsh rules in the region, offering
limited opportunities and restricted access to journalists. While
authorities may withhold information from local Papuan journalists — who
are identified by their family name or physical characteristics —
foreign journalists have little chance of even accessing the region.
But while the lack of access to Papua means that coverage of the
region remains limited, some say that the coming year will be a test for
Indonesia as it gets set to host UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day
celebrations on May 3, 2017.
Many Papuan journalists say they are fed up with the
censorship, self-censorship and dangers that go along with reporting
from and about the region and they are ready to let the world know.
Human rights abuses
Papua and West Papua have a long-standing history of human rights abuses, ever since the Free Papua Movement (OPM) began its low-level guerrilla war against the Indonesian state in the 1960s. Since then, West Papuans have protested for independence, accusing the Indonesian government of violence and abuses of freedom of expression.
Papua and West Papua have a long-standing history of human rights abuses, ever since the Free Papua Movement (OPM) began its low-level guerrilla war against the Indonesian state in the 1960s. Since then, West Papuans have protested for independence, accusing the Indonesian government of violence and abuses of freedom of expression.
In an Attempt to mask the Suppression of Papuan nationalism, the
Indonesian Government has long made outside access to Papua a challenge.
For journalists who do tackle the task of reporting on Papua, the
primary focus is often related to the environment, with topics on
resource extraction or corruption — topics very difficult and dangerous
to report on.
Recently, the Indonesian Government looked ready to open Access to
Papua, when President Joko Widodo made an announcement in May 2015
stating that the government would lift Restrictions on foreign media
access. But Phelim Kine, the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch
in New York, says that the announcement hasn’t pulled much weight.
“It was never followed up by any written decree, so while it was a
rhetorical opening to Papua, foreign media still can’t get in,” says
Kine. “And if they do get in, they’re subject to surveillance and
harassment that makes effective reporting very difficult.”
Kine says journalists routinely self-censor material, and that the
Indonesian government and security forces in Papua often place informers
into media organisations to monitor and influence coverage. At other
times, an intelligence operative will be required to follow a journalist
into the region, restricting what they can report on and how sources
offer testimony.
The result is that little or no coverage exists about the realities
inside Papua, where civilians — especially in remote areas — are victims
of civil, social and economic rights violations.
Stolen land
Many in the region have no access to health or education services, or risk having their land stolen by the police or military. Because of their isolation, they have no one to whom they can report the violations.
Many in the region have no access to health or education services, or risk having their land stolen by the police or military. Because of their isolation, they have no one to whom they can report the violations.
But as much as authorities within Papua have tried to censor
incriminating material, much of the news that comes out of the region
remains negative, says Lina Nursanty, the World Association of
Newspapers and News Publishers’ (WAN-IFRA) Indonesian Media Freedom
Committee chair and a West Java-based freelance editor.
“Whenever we hear anything about Papua, it’s always about a tribal
war or human rights abuses,” says Nursanty. “The news we get from there
is always violent.”
As hosts of next year’s UNESCO World Press Freedom Day celebrations,
Indonesia has the challenging task of convincing the world that it
deserves to act as a platform for media freedom.
Nursanty says that while attending last year’s Press Freedom Day
event in Helsinki, she joined a meeting with the Indonesian ambassador,
where the discussion of Papua was at the top of the agenda.
“The Indonesian Press Council representative said that our biggest
homework for next year is press freedom in Papua,” says Nursanty.
The Indonesian press council is currently creating a press freedom
index for each region. And while the country’s overall index is
improving, many Papuan journalists say it is not enough.
World Press Freedom Day
Mambor says that at next year’s World Press Freedom Day, he is willing to expose the truth about Papua, even if it puts his personal safety at risk.
Mambor says that at next year’s World Press Freedom Day, he is willing to expose the truth about Papua, even if it puts his personal safety at risk.
“We need to take the opportunity to tell the world about what’s
happening in Papua,” says Mambor. “We need to say how we are not granted
freedom of the press and about the discrimination there. I’m already
past paranoia. I’ll talk about what’s going on. I’m not worried.
Sometimes you have to take the risk.”
The WAN-IFRA Indonesia Media Freedom Committee is organising a joint
reporting trip to Papua at the beginning of 2017. The initiative will
see 10 Indonesian media organisations provide a week of joint coverage
from the region, working with local Papuan journalists to shift the
national news agenda and provide more detailed coverage of issues of
importance to Papuans.
Sumber : asiapacificreport.nz/2016/12/16/indonesia-faces-chance-to-prove-it-is-more-journalist-friendly-in-2017/
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