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AJI declares police enemies of press freedom
The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) named the police enemies of press freedom for the fourth time during an event held to commemorate World Press Freedom Day on Sunday
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he Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) named the police enemies of press freedom for the fourth time during an event held to commemorate World Press Freedom Day on Sunday.
"We declare the police enemies of press freedom, with 11 reported attacks on journalists by police from May 2014 to May 2015," said AJI advocacy department head Iman D Nugroho in Menteng Park, Central Jakarta, on Sunday.
The attacks allegedly committed by the police topped the 37 recorded attacks against journalists from 2014 to 2015.
Apart from the police, several security personnel, some citizens, a city council member and a doctor were reported to have committed violence against journalists.
The police were first called enemies of press freedom in 2007
The police were also seen as having failed to bring justice in murder cases involving eight journalists, including Muhammad Fuad Syafrudin, a journalist from Yogyakarta's Bernas daily.
The AJI highlighted that police had continued to criminalize journalists despite the 1999 Press Law and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the National Police chief and the Press Council, in which the police agreed to hand over cases involving journalism to the council.
"The police do not seem to understand the job of journalists. All journalists should be protected, not subjected to violence," said AJI head Suwarjono on the sidelines of the event. (fsu))(+++)
