Media blasts curbs in Aceh<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The media criticized on Friday new guidelines for media coverage
\nin Aceh, saying that rules were effectively hampering the press
\nfrom obtaining balanced reports on the current integrated
\noperations in the conflict-torn province.<\/p>\n
Bambang Harymurti, the chief editor of the daily Tempo Koran,
\nsaid on Friday that the media had an \"obligation to observe and
\ntell our readers what is really going on in Aceh.\"<\/p>\n
Chairperson of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI)
\nAti Nurbaiti, meanwhile, said that the media restrictions made it
\nharder for the public to obtain a balanced report of the war.<\/p>\n
She said that learning from the perceived success of embedded
\njournalism in Iraq, the TNI invited journalists to cover the war
\nin Aceh to open up the military campaign to public scrutiny.<\/p>\n
\"But now we see more constraints apparently coming from the
\nTNI's realization of what public access can lead to -- exposure
\noutside their control,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The martial law administration in Aceh issued on Thursday a
\ndeclaration banning foreigners from visiting the province and
\nlimiting the movements of foreign journalists to the provincial
\ncapital Banda Aceh and the capitals of the province's 15
\nregencies.<\/p>\n
Aceh military administrator Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya said on
\nThursday that the guidelines were aimed at ensuring the safety of
\nforeigners in Aceh.<\/p>\n
But, foreign media correspondents in Indonesia lambasted the
\ndeclaration, saying the regulations had effectively banned
\nforeign media access to the province.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Foreign Correspondents' Club (JFCC) sent on Friday
\na letter to Coordinating Minister for Security and Political
\nAffairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Minister of Foreign Affairs
\nHassan Wirayuda, urging the government to ensure that foreign
\njournalists could travel freely to and within Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"Many of our members have reported from numerous conflict
\nzones around the world and find the restrictions being imposed in
\nAceh among the most restrictive ever encountered,\" the JFCC said
\nin the letter.<\/p>\n
Foreign journalists and correspondents may report only from
\nthe provincial capital Banda Aceh and the province's 15 regency
\ncapitals. Traveling between districts requires a military or
\npolice escort.<\/p>\n
It also questioned reports of the military banning local media
\nfrom providing any reporting or video footage to foreign media.<\/p>\n
The JFCC said that exchange of news materials was common
\npractice in the media industry, citing for example Indonesian
\ntelevision showing footage from international media.<\/p>\n
\"It is a violation of press freedom that local media are now
\nbeing prevented from offering their material, in turn, to foreign
\nmedia,\" said the JFCC in its letter.<\/p>\n
This criticism has come despite repeated discussions with
\ngovernment officials in the hope that the new rules would
\ncontinue to facilitate coverage of the war in Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"The JFCC is deeply concerned, however, that a series of
\ndelays and constantly changing government and military rulings is
\nin fact preventing foreign media access to Aceh,\" it said.<\/p>\n
The military arrested on Friday 25-year-old Takagi Tadatomo, a
\nJapanese freelance photographer, who took pictures of refugees in
\nthe Bireun regency.<\/p>\n
Aceh military operation spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad Basuki Yani
\nsaid that Tadatomo did not have a permit from the Ministry of
\nForeign Affairs and was told to leave Aceh on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Coverage by the local media is subject to restrictions as
\nwell. The TNI bans statement from rebels while at the same time
\nencourages the media to send embedded journalists reporting from
\nthe military side.<\/p>\n
Speaking in a gathering with journalists last week, Aceh
\nMilitary Operation Commander Brig. Gen. Bambang Darmono reminded
\nthem that Aceh was under martial law and that such stringent
\npolicies were fully legitimate.<\/p>\n
The tighter foreign media rulings add to concerns of a lack of
\npublic scrutiny over the war. Rights abuses were rampant in the
\nperiod between 1989 and 1998 when Aceh was declared a military
\nzone. Over 10,000 people died during the 10-year military
\noperation, mainly civilians.<\/p>\n
Now the TNI has turned a cold shoulder to local aid groups,
\nincluding the government sanctioned National Commission for Human
\nRights (Komnas Ham).<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, international aid groups and outspoken Acehnese
\nactivists have virtually left the province.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/media-blasts-curbs-in-aceh-1447893297",
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