Foreign media descend on troubled city<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The capital, already swamped by students and
\nantigovernment protesters, also dealt with an invasion of another
\nkind -- foreign media bent on landing the scoop on the latest
\npolitical developments.<\/p>\n
Anecdotal evidence and observations of The Jakarta Post found
\nthem crowding the city's hotels, whose occupancy rates had
\nplunged to about 30 percent during the economic crisis but soared
\nduring the media blitz.<\/p>\n
Over the past three weeks, at least 400 foreign journalists
\nwere camped in several five-star and smaller hotels, such as the
\nMandarin Oriental, Sari Pan Pacific, Hotel Mulia Senayan, Gran
\nMelia, Sheraton Media, Cemara Hotel, Ibis, Sabang and
\nMetropolitan Hotel.<\/p>\n
Among them were print, radio and television journalists,
\nincluding photographers and camera crews, from all over the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
"This is probably the biggest group of foreign journalists
\nafter the APEC meeting held here in 1994," A. Seely of the
\nMandarin Hotel said.<\/p>\n
The global television network that always tries to be ahead of
\nthe rest, CNN, deployed at least 11 crew members.<\/p>\n
A reliable source said reinforcement of the network's existing
\ncrew here was needed because of the rapidly changing
\ndevelopments.<\/p>\n
Reporters themselves were tight-lipped. "Not at this moment,"
\nsaid one CNN staff member when asked for an interview.<\/p>\n
Michael Rastrup Smith of Berlingske Tidente TV of Copenhagen
\nsaid Indonesia was seldom heard of when he first arrived in Asia
\nnine years ago.<\/p>\n
It may have been a case of no news is good news.<\/p>\n
"What happens now is that more news is emerging. First the
\nforest fire, the plane crash in Medan, then the SilkAir plane
\naccident, and the latest is the economic turmoil which led to the
\nstudents' movement. That's why I think Indonesia has become a
\ncenter of attention now," Smith said.<\/p>\n
Most shocking of all was that Soeharto, who had ruled for 32
\nyears with little fanfare, suddenly became the main topic of
\nconversation around the world.<\/p>\n
"Soeharto has been leading this country with a low-profile
\nstyle... so the change here is quite sensational," said the man
\nwho also works for TV Asia.<\/p>\n
He said he hoped the country could go through a peaceful
\ntransition to create a more democratic government.<\/p>\n
"The only thing which is quite hard for me is the climate. The
\npeople here are very warm and helpful."<\/p>\n
John R. Stanmeyer, a photographer from Time magazine, has many
\nmemories, not all good, of his short time here.<\/p>\n
"Well, I've been here since the Trisakti students' funeral on
\nMay 13. My welcome sign was a brick pelted on my head when the
\nriot broke at Citraland Mall," he said.<\/p>\n
At last count, Stanmeyer had lost four of his cellular phones.<\/p>\n
"Some of my friends here also lost their phones, wallets or
\nother valuable belongings."<\/p>\n
He was also roughed up by some people -- "probably secret
\npolice" -- who tried to take away his film and pushed him down an
\nalley.<\/p>\n
"They brought me to a police station. I kept saying 'no, no,
\nget away from me' and I told them I had a driver nearby. Luckily
\nI could get rid of them," he said.<\/p>\n
Everything paled compared to seeing his local driver beaten in
\nfront of him when they tried to pass a military post near Glodok,
\nWest Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"They (the officers) asked us to turn around. When we did
\nthat, they suddenly punched my driver's face over and over again.
\nThe officers were yelling and laughing. That's crazy..<\/p>\n
"I kept saying 'stop it... stupid... why are you beating
\nhim? He did not do anything wrong.' But anyway, we went through
\nthe blockade."<\/p>\n
Worst experience?<\/p>\n
"Well, I was trapped on a 20-story hotel roof in Cempaka
\nPutih, Central Jakarta, when the looting and burning started. It
\nwas totally dark, the next door building was on fire and we broke
\nthe roof key... luckily we survived the incident after climbing
\ndown the building," he said.<\/p>\n
"But I love it... the picture... the moment, the people. It
\nis certainly a great moment."<\/p>\n
Lim Heung Sick of Korea's Munwha Broadcasting Corporation said
\nhis trip to Jakarta was full of color and funny experiences.<\/p>\n
"When I came here last Thursday, there was a road blockade. I
\nwas forced to take a motorbike or taxi... but at first I didn't
\nunderstand why my local guide kept saying 'Korea,'<\/p>\n
"It turns out that he was afraid that the mob would attack us
\nbecause we looked Chinese."<\/p>\n
Worldwide Television News (WTN) sent at least seven crew
\nmembers to cover the turmoil.<\/p>\n
Producers Tim Irwin said he was surprised Soeharto resigned
\n"in an orderly way".<\/p>\n
"But this is quite good for the people. I have to say that
\nthis is far from what I expected."<\/p>\n
Darren Conway of BBC recounted a near mugging in the House of
\nRepresentatives.<\/p>\n
"A man tried to grab my cellular phone but I pushed him away,
\nThe phone fell but he did not get away with it."<\/p>\n
Most of the foreign crews have already started to pack their
\nbags as the action dies down. They gathered for a farewell party
\non Friday night.<\/p>\n
"Maybe it is a little bit turbulent, but we hope for the best
\nfor the country," one of the departing journalists said.
\n(edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/foreign-media-descend-on-troubled-city-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}