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Indonesian press freedom still on edge especially in Papua, observers say
Journalists are caught in a maelstrom of proliferating false information on social media and threats to their own safety and their work, showing that freedom of the press remains precarious, especially in the region of Papua, observers say.
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Press freedom illustration (Shutterstock/File)
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ournalists are caught in a maelstrom of proliferating false information on social media and threats to their own safety and their work, showing that freedom of the press remains precarious, especially in the region of Papua, observers say.
Alliance of Independent Journalist (AJI) chairman Sasmito Madrim noted that press freedom in Indonesia had declined again this year, citing the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Index that ranked Indonesia 117 out of 180 countries surveyed in 2022, down from 113 in the previous year. The country was ranked 119 in 2020 and 124 in 2019.
He said that press freedom rankings such as the RSF used several indicators ranging from politics to the security of journalists, the latter of which was also found to be lacking, with the AJI recording 43 cases of violence against journalists in 2021.
“These cases range from terror and intimidation to digital attacks against journalists. And if we look at the cases based on the perpetrators, the police are often the dominant offenders,” Sasmito said during a webinar discussion hosted by the United States cultural center @america in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He also said the trend had shifted from physical to digital-based attacks, such as hacking, doxing and attacks on media websites, while the 2008 Electronic Information and Transaction Law was sometimes used to criminalize critics including journalists.
Sasmito said press freedom was even more uncertain in the region of Papua, especially as foreign journalists were required to obtain travel permits from the government to enter the region.
He pointed out that of the 69 requests by foreign journalists between 2016-2020, 14 of them were denied by the Indonesian government with the most cases in 2019 when nine requests were denied.
