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Activists, journalists petition gov't to make Aug.16 Anti-Violence against Journalists Day
Remembrance: Journalists, activists and NGOs concerned with the media read out a petition at the grave of Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, aka Udin, an Indonesian journalist who was killed in Gedongan village, Bantul, Yogyakarta on August 16, 1996
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Remembrance: Journalists, activists and NGOs concerned with the media read out a petition at the grave of Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, aka Udin, an Indonesian journalist who was killed in Gedongan village, Bantul, Yogyakarta on August 16, 1996. The petition calls for the official designation of Aug. 16, the day Udin died, as Anti-Violence against Journalists Day, beginning in 2015. (JP/Bambang Muryanto) (JP/Bambang Muryanto)
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span class="inline inline-center">Remembrance: Journalists, activists and NGOs concerned with the media read out a petition at the grave of Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, aka Udin, an Indonesian journalist who was killed in Gedongan village, Bantul, Yogyakarta on August 16, 1996. The petition calls for the official designation of Aug. 16, the day Udin died, as Anti-Violence against Journalists Day, beginning in 2015. (JP/Bambang Muryanto)
The Yogyakarta-chapter of Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) together with a number of NGOs concerned with mass media have issued a public petition urging the Indonesian government to establish Aug.16 as Anti-Violence against Journalists Day starting in 2015.
'AJI records that Indonesia has a bad record on journalist protection. Since 1996, there have been at least 12 cases of journalist killings,' AJI Yogyakarta deputy chairman Pito Agustin Rudiana said.
Pito was speaking on Saturday at the grave of Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, aka Udin, a Bernas journalist who was killed in Gedongan village, Bantul, Yogyakarta.
Journalists and pro-democracy activists visited the grave to commemorate Udin's struggle, who died on Aug.16, 1996, three days after being brutally beaten by a number of unidentified persons allegedly angered by a journalistic investigation undertaken by Udin.
'This commemoration is a form of our respect for the role Udin played as an journalist committed to ideals," said Pito.
The public petition, which was supported by media watchdog Rumah Perubahan Lembaga Penyiaran Public (House for Public Broadcasting Institution Reforms), Society Concerns About Media (MPM) and Media Regulator and Regulation Observer (PR2Media), was handed over to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
It has been noted that over the last 18 years, police have exhibited an unwillingness or an inability to identify and arrest the perpetrators, who remain at large. Based on the Criminal Code (KUHP), there is a possibility for authorities to close the case without resolution.
'Impunity in the Udin case has encouraged acts of violence against journalists who are performing their journalistic duties and caused a wave of violence that has never ended,' said Pito.
The public petition, which was also forwarded to Social Affairs Minister Salim Segaf Aljufri, Press Council chairman Bagir Manan and 2014 president-elect Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, seeks the make Aug 16, whic is the day Udin died, as an opportunity to consolidate a national commitment to protecting journalists and members of the press.
'The day Udin died should be commemorated as Anti-Violence against Journalists Day because the Udin case is the most outstanding case of violence against journalists and it has captured both national and international attention,' said Pito. (ebf)
