Image and world press<\/p>\n
Beyond a doubt Indonesia was a good host during last week's
\nmeeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders,
\nalthough some parties tried to tell the world this country had no
\nright to do the job due to its human rights record.<\/p>\n
To the foreign press and human rights organizations,
\nIndonesia's image problem worsened greatly with the banning of
\nthe Tempo, DeTIK and Editor weeklies in the middle of this year.
\nAnd the verdict recently handed down to Muchtar Pakpahan, the
\nleader of the SBSI independent trade union, by a district court
\nin Medan only added spice to the foreign focus of attention as
\nthe APEC conference neared.<\/p>\n
The journalists who came here to cover the APEC meeting
\nclearly held the belief the situation was such that anti-
\ngovernment elements among the public, in particular the people of
\nEast Timor, the former Portuguese colony, would do something to
\ntry to steal the show. After all, Nov. 12 marked the black day
\nin 1991 when 50 demonstrators -- by the authorities' count --
\nwere killed when they clashed with troops in Dili. It was
\ntherefore not surprising when the cameras of the foreign TV
\nnetworks focused on the 29 young East Timorese protesters who
\njumped over the spiked fence of the United States embassy in
\nJakarta on Nov. 12, just a couple of days before the historic
\nmeeting of the APEC leaders in Bogor. Other foreign cameras were
\nequally ready to record Dili demonstrators doing their best to
\nprovoke the Indonesian security authorities, who refrained from
\nanswering violence with violence.<\/p>\n
It is not so much that the Timorese students felt the need to
\nconverge on the capital from various parts of the country that
\nhurts us, but that we had to watch the ugly demonstrations by
\npeople whose province is so much better developed now than it was
\nwhen the Portuguese deserted it two decades ago. And perhaps even
\nmore ironic is the fact that many of the demonstrators are
\nstudents, young people who have benefited from the education
\nprovided by Indonesia, something their elders had limited, if
\nany, access to under colonial rule.<\/p>\n
Just how a handful of foreign correspondents happened to be
\nwaiting outside the U.S. embassy right when the demonstrators
\narrived is only one of the many questions arising in relation to
\nthe protests both in Jakarta and Dili. Even Minister\/State
\nSecretary Moerdiono has said he cannot understand how that came
\nto be. Nor is it easy to comprehend how journalists just happened
\nto turn up with cameras when the disturbances broke out in Dili.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the foreign journalists were simply exhibiting their
\nhigh standards of professionalism. However that may be, they
\ncertainly portrayed Indonesia in a negative light before the
\nnations of the world, prompting the authorities to accuse some of
\nthem of fishing in troubled waters; a charge they have denied.<\/p>\n
While we can only guess what happened, the worldwide reportage
\nof the demonstrations by the foreign media seems to have brought
\nhome sharply the message that in this age of globalization, fewer
\nand fewer things can be hidden from the world's eyes.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of all of this negative
\nnews coverage is that we are still unable to balance the flow of
\ninformation, the bulk of which flows from western organizations.
\nFor that reason, Moerdiono's down-to-earth statement yesterday,
\nthat Indonesia must present a positive image to the outside world
\nalthough it may take some time and a great deal of effort, is
\nheartening.<\/p>\n
As Moerdiono said, all Indonesians must work hard to improve
\nour nation's image.<\/p>\n
And clearly, there are a lot things this nation can do to
\nachieve a better image, among them granting once and for all the
\nhuman rights stipulated by our Constitution, including freedom of
\nexpression and freedom of association by eliminating regulations
\nthat curtail them.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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