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Al-Jazeera cancels Papua documentary screening
Ary Hermawan , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 07/02/2009 11:12 PM | World
In what seems to be a last minute decision, television news network Al-Jazeera English decided not to premiere on Thursday a highly-sensitive documentary highlighting the plight of Papuans. It also removed the film’s synopsis from the list of feature films it will broadcast, which is published on its website.It remains unclear, however, whether the Qatar-based TV-channel had postponed or completely called off the screening of the controversial documentary that will likely disturb the government in Jakarta. The Jakarta Post tried to reach Al-Jazeera officials for confirmation Thursday but to no avail.
The film’s screening is extremely sensitive as Indonesia will hold its second presidential election on July 8.
Titled Pride of Warriors, the documentary was directed by Australian filmmaker Jono van Hest, who claimed to have smuggled six video cameras into the troubled West Papua province. He said the filmmaking was inspired by the arrival of 43 Papuans seeking refugee status from the Australian government in 2006.
Van Hest has not replied to emails from the Post for comments.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said the government had not made any contact with Al-Jazeera to protest the TV channel’s decision to air the documentary and to request it cancel the screening.
“I do not know if they have called it off or postponed it. I waited for the film but it was not aired,” he said, adding the government had been disturbed by the documentary.
“It is a sensational film that is very one-sided. If it is true that the filmmaker had smuggled the cameras then he has violated Indonesian law and also the principles of journalism.”
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Ingin tahu tetapi tak heran (not verified) — Fri, 07/03/2009 - 7:42am
a very interesting development indeed. It is kind of Ironic the program in question is "Witness". Is this yet another case of the TNI intimidating a witness to human rights abuse? Seems to happen all the time in this country, when are we going to shake of the Suharto era?
SO Al Jazeera, who pride themselves on being an alternative voice, have decided that this film will upset the TNI butchers too much. Al Jazeera are really not the champions of freedom of speech or journalistic integrity after all, they are just the same as any other Eurocentric colonial media empire after all their posturing, just as much in the service of human rights abusers as CNN and Fox and BBC. This is the network that went in saying that it was on the side of the oppressed, seems like they are now on the side of the oppressor. Another sad day for press freedom.
Reading between those lines, one has to ask exactly what kind of direct or indirect, implicit or explicit, pressure has been brought on Al Jazeera by the Indonesian government? Were issues of access to Indonesia raised or implied?
And who is the real villain in this piece? Is it a filmmaker who had to smuggle cameras because the Indonesian military keep out all foreign media, and arrest and disappear anyone helping a journalist? Is it the Indonesian media in general for being too timid to properly raise the issues of human rights abuses in Papua? Or is it the current Indonesian government, scared of a military led nationalist diversionary backlash via Prabowo or WIranto next week? After all Kopassus are present in the highlands of Papua handing out Prabowo's electoral material.
The question is, is this kind of censorship really in the interests of the ummah? Does this reflect well on the Islamic values Al-JAzeera says guide it? Surely if all this is merely a propaganda film, then it should be out in the open and discussed as such?
It will be interesting to see if this comment is published here, to see whether press freedom affects JP too.
Markus Hagenauer (not verified) — Fri, 07/03/2009 - 2:26pm
Teuku Faizasyah said, "that the filmmaker had smuggled the cameras then he has violated Indonesian law and also the principles of journalism." Is it a principle of journalism to look away, if a government wants to hide something? Does not the law that forbids international journalists to report from West Papua violate the freedom of the press?