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Protesters put pressure on Metro TV, Kompas TV over ‘biased reporting’
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Standoff: Protesters pass by a Kompas TV satellite news gathering van on Jl. Merdeka Selatan in Jakarta on their way to the National Monument square on Friday to join a mass gathering to demand the arrest of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama in a blasphemy case. (JP/Fachrul Sidiq)
P
olice personnel had to protect television crews of Kompas TV and Metro TV from the crowd as they were reporting live on a mass gathering in Central Jakarta on Friday.
The incident began with dozens of protesters walking down Jl. Merdeka Selatan to join a rally at the nearby National Monument (Monas) square. The situation heated up when some of the protesters started shouting in front of the crews’ satellite news-gathering (SNG) vans, accusing the TV stations of biased reporting in the blasphemy case against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama.
Other protesters quickly followed suit, demanding the crews stop reporting and leave the scene. They accused the TV stations of one-sided reporting that tended to be pro-Ahok.
The situation, however, was quickly contained when police personnel approached and asked the group to leave. They then asked the crews to park their SNG vans at the City Hall compound.
Kompas TV field producer Alvi Apriayandi said he was disappointed about the rejection, but added they would still carry out their duty to report the rally objectively.
"This incident is unfortunate, because the protesters had promised to stage the rally in a peaceful way. However, we appreciate the security officials' quick action to guard us," he said. (fac/hwa)
