Indonesia

(WPFC/IFEX) – The following is the full text of a letter sent by WPFC to the “Jakarta Post” in response to an article in that newspaper reporting proposals for licensing journalists in Indonesia: 22 July 1998 Editor Jakarta Post Jakarta, Indonesia To the Editor: The government of President B. J. Habibie, according to news reports, […]

(ISAI/IFEX) – According to the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Bob Hassan, owner of the weekly tabloid “ParOn”, closed the newspaper on 9 June 1998, without any prior discussion with the journalists and workers. The official reason for the closure is that the weekly was not selling well. Yet the closure took place after “ParOn” […]

(HRW/IFEX) – The following is the full text of a statement made available by HRW on 1 June 1998: (New York, May 28) — In an open letter today to new Indonesian Education Minister Juwono Sudarsono, the Human Rights Watch Academic Freedom Committee urges the government to dismantle immediately the mechanisms of control over academic […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The following statement was released by RSF on 29 May 1998: Two Indonesian journalists were released from jail on 28 May 1998, on the orders of the justice ministry. Andy Syahputra, who runs the printing works that handles the banned magazine of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (Suara Independen – AJI), was arrested […]

(HRW/IFEX) – Human Rights Watch (HRW) has stated that though the resignation of Indonesia’s long-serving President Soeharto is an important first step toward reform, it is still unclear whether his successor, President Habibie, has the will or the ability to do away with Indonesia’s authoritarian political system. According to Sidney Jones, Asia director of HRW, […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 23 May 1998, the new Indonesian information minister, Lieutenant-Colonel Yunus Yosfiah, declared that “there will be no problem [regarding press] freedom for the Indonesian media if they prove to be responsible and respect the ethical standards of their profession.” Reporters sans frontieres (RSF) would like to take this opportunity to point out […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has expressed concern over the fact that Yunus Yosfiah, the newly appointed Minister of Information, has been implicated in one of the most brutal attacks ever on journalists: the October 1975 murder of five reporters during the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. In October 1975 Yosfiah was […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – According to information released by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (Aliansi Jurnalis Independen or AJI) on 16 May 1998, there have been a recent series of violent and indiscriminate attacks by security forces against Indonesian journalists. The frequency of such attacks has increased over the past month as the level of student and […]

(RSF/IFEX) – According to information released by RSF on 18 May 1998, at least nine Indonesian journalists were attacked by the police or army while covering riots in Indonesia over the last week. Sayuti, of Media Indonesia, was shot by police at the 14 May riot in Jakarta. He was badly injured after being struck […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following statement was released by CPJ on 15 May 1998: To: Press Colleagues in Indonesia From: A. Lin Neumann, CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Dear Friends, During this time of turmoil and danger for those covering the crisis in Indonesia, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) remains concerned that attacks on the press […]

(WPFC/IFEX) – The North American National Broadcasters Association (NANBA), with the support of the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC), has joined with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in strongly urging the Indonesian government to relax visa regulations which restrict the freedom of foreign journalists in that country. The declaration comes in the wake of […]

(CCPJ/IFEX) – On 6 May 1998, Paul Watson, a foreign correspondent and photographer with the “Toronto Star” newspaper of Canada, was arrested by local police in Medan, Indonesia. He had been taking photographs of “a store being looted during violent protests against rising prices”, says the “Toronto Star.” Police confiscated his film when they arrested […]

(ISAI/IFEX) – The following is the press release issued by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) on 3 May 1998, in recognition of World Press Freedom Day: The Indonesian media was recently hit by a devastating blow as it too became a victim of the major economic and political crisis in Indonesia. The most damaging […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – According to information released by WiPC on 22 April 1998, actress and playwright Ratna Sarumpaet was arrested on 10 March 1998. She continues to be held in police custody in Jakarta and will be tried on charges of “unacceptable political activity” and “the expression of feelings of hostility . . . towards the […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – According to CPJ, there appears to be an ongoing campaign of intimidation and harassment directed by the Greater Jakarta Military Command against a number of journalists and news outlets in Indonesia. Under the guise of a continuing investigation into a bombing incident that occurred on 18 January 1998, reporters, editors and publishers have […]

(ISAI/IFEX) – According to ISAI, on 3 April 1998, Indonesian anti-riot police beat two Indonesian journalists and seized film from two foreign journalists while the reporters were covering a crack-down on student protests in the Javanese city of Yogyakarta. It was reported in the Indonesian media that journalists Bambang Soen, of the daily “Republika”, and […]