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Media violence still rampant in Indonesia, latest index shows
Indonesia has recorded a slight improvement of 0.7 point in the latest Journalist Safety Index, but still ranks in the bottom two-fifths of the RSF's Press Freedom Index for last year.
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Press IDs are scattered in front of a handmade floral card next to a bowl of flowers with incense on May 3, 2023, during a rally to mark World Press Freedom Day at Malang City Square in East Java. (JP/Nedi Putra)
T
he Journalist Safety Index 2024 by the Safe Journalism Consortium, published on Thursday, revealed that violence against media workers remains rampant in Indonesia despite a slight improvement from a score of 59.8 in 2023 to 60.5 last year, putting the country’s journalists in the “somewhat protected” category.
Last year saw at least 167 reported cases of violence against journalists, from physical abuse to censorship and cyberattacks, according to the joint report produced by the Tifa Foundation, the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) and the Indonesian Association for Media Development (PPMN), with the support of pollster Populix and the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta.
The report is based on a survey of 760 active journalists conducted from Oct. 30 to Dec. 6, and includes analysis of data from the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) as well as interviews of related stakeholders.
One notable finding is that 79 percent of respondents said they felt threatened during the transition of power between the outgoing administration of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his successor Prabowo Subianto. The majority of respondents also expressed concern over the possibility of future bans on coverage.
During the report’s launch on Feb. 20, Noudhy Valdryno of the Presidential Communications Office acknowledged the importance of press freedom for both the public and government.
“We will try to build more solid communication with the media and also provide [journalists] with better access to information,” Noudhy said.
Read also: Two suspects arrested in arson case that killed North Sumatra journalist
