Press told to do more to end discrimination<\/p>\n
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A prominent human rights activist urged national press over the
\nweekend to do more to put an end to rampant racial discrimination
\nin the country by helping to build better understanding and
\nawareness of racial issues.<\/p>\n
Esther I. Yusuf from Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa said on Saturday
\nthat the national press were eager to uncover incidents of
\ndiscriminatory treatment, but did little to eradicate racism.<\/p>\n
"Many media stop at the sensation of unraveling discrimination
\nissues and do not go further so that the public have a thorough
\nunderstanding and awareness of it," Esther said.<\/p>\n
She, however, failed to explain how the national press could
\ncontribute to eradicating discrimination.<\/p>\n
Esther, who won the human rights Yap Thiam Hien award in 2001,
\npointed to the case of issuing identity (ID) cards for
\nIndonesians of ethnic Chinese descent as an example.<\/p>\n
Although media coverage brought the discrimination case to
\nlight and forced the government to address the issue, the public
\nhad yet to understand and to be aware of other similar
\ndiscriminatory practices, she said.<\/p>\n
"What about the regulation that requires family registration
\ncards and the (Indonesian Citizenship Certificate) be shown for
\nIndonesians of Chinese descent to get ID cards," said Esther.<\/p>\n
Chinese-Indonesians are still required to show their
\ncitizenship certificate, or SBKRI, to prove their Indonesian
\ncitizenship when applying for official documents such as birth
\ncertificates and passports.<\/p>\n
The public, she said, had yet to be made aware of gender
\ndiscrimination connected to racial discrimination against
\nChinese-Indonesians.<\/p>\n
"In this patriarchal society, children born of an ethnic
\nChinese mother and a non-Chinese father do not need an SBKRI, but
\nin the opposite case, they do," she said.<\/p>\n
Esther expressed the hope that the 2003 International
\nFederation of Journalists' Journalism for Tolerance Prize would
\nencourage Indonesian journalists to be more thorough in
\nuncovering and combating discriminatory issues.<\/p>\n
The IFJ is an annual competition held to promote tolerance and
\npluralism, combat all forms of discrimination and build an
\nunderstanding of cultural, religious and ethnic differences.<\/p>\n
The competition is open to all journalistic works --
\nelectronic, print or broadcast on television or radio -- produced
\nduring the year.<\/p>\n
The competition will award 3,000 Euros to each regional winner
\nfrom Latin America, Central and Western Africa, Eastern and
\nSouthern Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Last year, the first year the competition was held, Indonesian
\njournalists took two prizes in the category of radio and
\ntelevision media, while the prize for print and online media went
\nto a Thai journalist.<\/p>",
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