A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
(Full Story)
Search This Blog
Back to 500BC.
==========================
Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Friday, April 28, 2017
Pressure on Indonesia as World Press Freedom Day looms
A policeman kicks photographer
Ikshan Arham of the 'Rakyat Sulsel' newspaper during a student protest
at Makassar State University on Nov 13, 2014. Source: Human Rights
Watch/Hasrul Said/Radar Makassar
HUMAN Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi”
Widodo to take decisive action to protect journalists ahead of Jakarta
hosting World Press Freedom Day on May 3.
While acknowledging “considerable gains” in media freedom in the country
since the fall of Suharto’s New Order military dictatorship in 1998,
HRW this week urged Jokowi’s administration to crack down on abuses of
press freedom by state security forces.
Back in March, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organisation (Unesco) announced its decision for Jakarta to host World
Press Freedom Day 2017.
“World Press Freedom Day should be a time to celebrate the role of
journalists in society, but in Indonesia, the focus too often is on
their fears,” HRW deputy Asia director Phelim Kine said.
“The Indonesian government should reverse the dangerous deterioration of
press freedom in the country and prosecute security force personnel who
physically assault journalists.”
The theme of World Press Freedom Day this year is “Critical Minds for
Critical Times: Media’s Role in Advancing Peaceful, Just and Inclusive
Societies”.
Unesco will run events in partnership with the Indonesian Press Council
and government on journalists’ safety, countering violent extremism,
press freedom in Southeast Asia and other topics.
Moreover, the UN agency will host a roundtable on the feasibility of a
mechanism to promote and protect freedom of expression in the region –
with proposed solutions including a dedicated Special Rapporteur or
independent commission.
During the era of democracy, Indonesia’s media landscape has expanded
exponentially, with more than 100,000 reporters working for 1,000
newspapers, 2,000 radio stations and hundreds of television networks
across the vast archipelago.
Indonesia’s most popular English-language daily The Jakarta Post this week celebrated its 34th anniversary.
- 0 replies2 retweets1 like
34th Anniversary: May we grow and bloom together bit.ly/2p0833H #jakpost34th
0 replies1 retweet2 likes
Nevertheless, the safety of journalists in Indonesia remains a major concern. The newly-released World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders ranks Indonesia at 124 out of 180 countries – below Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates and neighbouring East Timor.
When Jokowi was elected in 2014, activists had hoped his administration
would drive improvements in the protection of human rights, but had
expressed disappointment with progress, including regarding the
government’s continued use of the death penalty.
Indonesian non-profit Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) has documented some
577 examples of violence against journalists since 2008. Last year saw a
sharp rise in incidents, with 78 assaults on journalists compared with
42 in 2015.
Journalists have seen significant threats to their safety while reporting on the Aksi Bela Islam movement against Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama after his allegedly blasphemous comments last September.
During a mass rally in the capital last November, for example, reporters were verbally
and physically abused by protestors, with one TV crew being expelled
from Istiqlal Mosque for supposedly biased reporting.
But HRW says attacks are more common in smaller cities and regional
areas than in Jakarta, where journalists are more aware of their rights
and supported by stronger professional organisations.
The NGO’s research has
found an “atmosphere of fear and self-censorship in many newsrooms due
to abuses and threats by security forces and local authorities that go
unpunished.”
“The Indonesian government has an obligation to address the security
threats to journalists so that they don’t risk physical violence for
doing their jobs,” Kine said.
“World Press Freedom Day observances in Jakarta will be a cynical public
relations exercise unless the Indonesian government, with Unesco’s
help, puts media freedom at the top of the agenda.”