Police blasted for failing to uphold press freedom
Police blasted for failing to uphold press freedom
Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Frequent cases of violence and intimidation against journalists
by police personnel across the country reflects their serious
lack of understanding of the freedom of the press, an activist
says.
"Recent abuses against journalists by police show that they
refuse to support press freedom amid the reform era," Adnan
Pandupradja, who chairs Police Watch, a non-governmental
organization, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He also criticized the police for failing to control their
members who often used violence to deal with journalists covering
sensitive events.
The number of reporters who have become easy targets of
attacks by security forces has increased steadily since President
Megawati Soekarnoputri ascended to the presidency in July 2001.
According to the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), at
least 58 cases of physical assaults on reporters were recorded
from May 3, 2001 to May 3 this year.
The victim of the latest attack, Wisnu Dewabrata of the
leading Kompas daily was beaten by police officers while covering
a labor strike at PT Maspion based in Sidoarjo, East Java on
Wednesday.
The officers, who chased striking workers that clashed with
them, also seized Wisnu's identity card and camera.
Earlier last month, an SCTV reporter suffered a similar
assault from police personnel in the troubled province of Maluku.
Socio-political observer Fachry Ali concurred, saying the
police were sill reluctant to support press freedom in the post-
Soeharto regime.
The police still feel they are soldiers, not public security
personnel who must protect members of the society, including
journalists, Fachry said.
He told the police to consider the media a partner instead of
an enemy in carrying out their duty of enforcing the law.
He and Adnan urged National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar to
take a stern action against his members who assault and
intimidate members of the press.
"If Gen. Da'i is serious in upholding press freedom, he should
issue a firm instruction to all his personnel to stop violence
against journalists," Adnan said.
A similar view was expressed by retired police general
Awaluddin Djamin, who said Da'i should seriously look into
attacks on reporters.
He said the police must take firm legal action against their
officers involved in attacks on members of the press because it
was one of the "sensitive" national issues.
"This could boost the police's credibility," he added.
Awaluddin also backed moves by publishing companies to
prosecute police members accused of beating or intimidating their
reporters.
Yet, he denied claims that assaults on journalists meant that
the police were campaigning against the media so as to be able to
reestablish repressive security measures against troublemakers as
was practiced under Soeharto's 32-year authoritarian rule.