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Journalists reporting Papua unrest struggle to deliver news amid internet blackout
The internet blackout has frustrated journalists reporting from the restive provinces as they struggle to gather information quickly and accurately.
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Some 7,000 people from four regencies in Papua march along the street, dancing and chanting “Papua Merdeka” (Free Papua) on Aug. 26. (JP/Courtesy of Bonny Lanny)
S
ecurity measures and internet blackout are a swift response from the government against massive protests that turned into unrest in Papua and West Papua in the past two weeks, following the racist persecution of students from the country’s easternmost province in East Java.
The internet blackout has frustrated journalists reporting from the restive provinces as they struggle to gather information quickly and accurately and deliver live news reports. To make matters worse, e-commerce platforms and application-based service companies have also been affected by the blackout.
INews TV reporter Cornelia Mudumi Agaki expressed her disagreement of the government’s decision to restrict internet access in Papua, saying it was a form of technological setback that had a negative impact on locals and journalists in the area.
"I feel like I'm back in the Stone Age. As a journalist, the blackout deeply troubles me because I cannot deliver live news reports or quickly provide updates to the public,” she told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Cornelia explained that the blackout had “mutilated” the information she delivered to the public, adding that she could no longer send long or in-depth news reports and even struggled to deliver short reports.
She expressed hope that the blackout would be lifted soon or that the government would at least grant access to journalist to deliver information.
Meanwhile, for Darma Somba, an online media journalist from Jayapura, Papua, the blackout had made it difficult for her to update her articles.
