Indonesia 'does not forbid' foreign journalists<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Overseas-based journalists may have to ask for
\napproval from security authorities to enter Indonesia's strife-
\ntorn areas of Aceh, Maluku and Irian Jaya, Minister of Foreign
\nAffairs Alwi Shihab said.<\/p>\n
However, Alwi was quick to add that the policy remained a
\nproposal and was not aimed to restrict foreign journalists from
\ngathering news in the three violence-prone territories.<\/p>\n
\"It's for the sake of their own safety that they should obtain
\npermission from the local authority to cover news there,\" Alwi
\ntold The Jakarta Post on Sunday.<\/p>\n
He said the procedure which requires overseas-based
\njournalists to register with the security authorities was needed
\nbecause on numerous occasions in the past the government had been
\nblamed for incidents involving media workers.<\/p>\n
Alwi said no decision had been made by the government on the
\nproposal as it surfaced during a discussion between political and
\nsecurity affairs ministers recently.<\/p>\n
He asserted that if approved, the policy would not affect
\nrepresentatives of the foreign media in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"The regulation would apply only to those who do not live in
\nthe country. It probably won't affect Indonesian citizens who
\nwork for foreign press agencies or newspapers,\" Alwi said.<\/p>\n
Irian Jaya, also known as Papua, and Aceh are home to
\nseparatist rebels, while the Malukus have been racked by a
\nChristian-Muslim war since January, 1999. Thousands have been
\nkilled in violence in these areas, which have intensified since
\nthe fall of former president Soeharto in 1998.<\/p>\n
A press statement released by the ministry last week quoted
\nits spokesman as saying that foreign journalists were advised to
\nacquire a letter of recommendation from the ministry, otherwise
\nthey run the risk of being returned to Jakarta if discovered by
\nthe police.<\/p>\n
The Foreign Correspondents Club could not be reached for
\ncomment, but a source close to the association said foreign
\njournalists had sought a meeting with President Abdurrahman Wahid
\nregarding the proposed regulation.<\/p>\n
Secretary-general of the Association of Independent
\nJournalists (AJI) Didi Supriyanto lashed out at the proposal,
\naccusing it of lacking common sense.<\/p>\n
\"Those who are involved journalistic work in strife-torn areas
\nrepresent people who wish to know what's really going on out
\nthere and who have the right to information,\" Didi told the Post.<\/p>\n
He said people who took up journalism as their profession
\nnaturally understood the risks involved.<\/p>\n
\"The government should not use security reasons to forbid any
\njournalist bound for restive areas. That's part of their job,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He described the policy as \"a bad precedence\" of government
\ncontrol over the press.<\/p>\n
\"The current government is following the footsteps of
\nSoeharto's New Order regime. It must have something to conceal,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
AJI, he said, would lodge an official protest to the
\ngovernment for what it termed a \"violation of public rights,
\npress freedom and the 1945 Constitution\". (dja\/sur)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-does-not-forbid-foreign-journalists-1447893297",
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