The death of journalist Marasalem Harahap alias Marsal who was shot in his car adds another criminalization to the media crew,
The case of violence accompanied by the confinement of Tempo journalist Nurhadi in Surabaya in March 2021 is one of the cases of violence that shows that press freedom in Indonesia is still far from expectations. The chairman of the Indonesian Television Journalists Association (IJTI) Surabaya, Lukman Rozaq, called the acts of violence carried out by law enforcement officers against journalists as shameful and heartbreaking.
“The violence against Tempo journalist, Nurhadi, is a very shameful and heartbreaking event. How can the apparatus be so repressive and so harsh on this journalist, who at that time was indeed on duty to investigate the bribery case at the Directorate General of Taxes in Jakarta," said Lukman Rozaq.
Miftah Farid Rahman, from the Advocacy Division of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Surabaya, asked law enforcement officials to carefully read and study the Press Law, so they can understand the work of media workers. The case of violence experienced by Tempo journalist in Surabaya, Nurhadi, is proof that the trend of violence has never been resolved, especially those related to issues of corruption and exploitation of natural resources.
“This has happened many times that journalists have been victims of violence, victims of intimidation, and victims of their work equipment being damaged. We hope that the police will learn, will read the Press Law, and will understand that the work of the press is for public work, the work of the press is to seek information so that the public's need for information is met. If the police are still obstructing the police, it is the same as blocking the public from getting information,” said Miftah Farid Rahman.
A Surabaya journalist took an action to reject the violence carried out by the police against a Tempo journalist in Surabaya, Nurhadi, while reporting (Photo: VOA/Petrus Riski).
A Surabaya journalist took an action to reject the violence carried out by the police against a Tempo journalist in Surabaya, Nurhadi, while reporting (Photo: VOA/Petrus Riski).
The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia recorded 90 cases of violence against journalists from May 2020 to May 2021. This number increased from the same period previously, which was 57 cases. The forms of violence experienced by journalists range from intimidation, destruction of work equipment, physical violence, threats and terror, to punishment or criminalization. AJI recorded 58 cases involving the police as perpetrators of violence.
Head of the Advocacy Division of AJI Indonesia, Erick Tanjung, said that the case of public dissemination of personal information or doxing had become a new threat of violence experienced by journalists in the last two years. In the last year, there were 14 cases of digital terror experienced by journalists
Law expert from Airlangga University Surabaya, who is also the declarator of LBH Pers, Herlambang Perdana Wiratraman, said that recent digital attacks on journalists have shown the decline of democracy in Indonesia, which no longer respects civil liberties and freedom of the press. Herlambang said the law must be enforced to ensure press freedom and democracy in Indonesia.
“This case is a trend of attacks on civil liberties that have also occurred in the issue of press freedom, along with the decline of democracy in Indonesia since 2015, so the trend continues to decline. Therefore, today the biggest challenge in promoting press freedom is how to ensure that law enforcement is carried out with more integrity and progressiveness, including ending impunity,” he commented
Despite having the Press Law Number 40 of 1999, Herlambang said that press freedom is still far from expectations because violence is still an option for action if there are problems in reporting. Thus, the political commitment of the organizers of power needs to be proven to ensure that press freedom and democracy in Indonesia are carried out consistently.
“There will be no effort to build a good climate for press freedom, without strong political support or commitment from the administrators of power.