Police bar reporters from filming protests

Police bar reporters from filming protests

Police on Sunday attempted to stop reporters from covering
protests held in conjunction with the arrival of Asian-African
leaders in Bandung. The protests, however, went unnoticed by the
leaders as the police had cordoned off the streets leading to the
main venues the night before.

Nevertheless, some overzealous officers still tried to prevent
television crews from filming the protests. One officer, Adj.
Comr. Bodhi, was seen trying to stop a Metro TV cameraman from
filming a KAMMI demonstration on Jl. Ciateul in support of
Palestinian independence.

"They argued that Ciateul was part of the Cordon Three
security sector and thus no journalists were allowed. That's
strange because accredited journalists with passes to cover (the
higher security) Cordon One sector were allowed to shoot what
they pleased," said Metro TV reporter, Iwan Gumilar.

It is estimated that a total of 1,000 people were involved in
various protests on Sunday. Also holding a rally was a group
calling itself the People's Opposition Front which criticized the
Asian-African leaders for neglecting the welfare of their own
people and still being dependent on the United States and
institutions like the IMF and WTO. --JP