Indonesia

2015

  
Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, President Widodo's right-hand man, discusses conditions for journalists with the press freedom delegation in Jakarta. (Sumit Galhotra/CPJ)

One year on, challenges remain for press in Indonesia

“Change does not come overnight,” President Joko Widodo’s right-hand man, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, told an international delegation of 10 media and freedom of expression groups that visited Indonesia last month.

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Slideshow: Journalists freed

While just under 200 journalists are behind bars, CPJ witnessed several memorable releases in 2015, including in Vietnam, Ethiopia, and even secretive Eritrea. Some of the journalists had spent years behind bars; they endured isolation and several say they were tortured. This year, CPJ’s advocacy contributed to the release of at least 31 journalists. Some…

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Neil Bonner and Rebecca Prosser, center, in court in Indonesia in October. The British filmmakers were sentenced for visa violations on November 3. (Reuters/Beawiharta)

Two British journalists convicted in Indonesia over visa violations

New York, November 3, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the conviction of British filmmakers Neil Bonner and Rebecca Prosser who, according to reports, were sentenced to two and a half month in prison in Indonesia today. The conviction represents a failure of the government to reverse its long-standing anti-media policies.

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Neil Bonner and Rebecca Prosser are escorted into court in Indonesia on October 22. The British filmmakers are on trial for working without a journalist visa. (AFP/Iklil Faiz)

Two British filmmakers on trial in Indonesia over visa regulations

New York, October 22, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the continued detention and trial of two British filmmakers who have been held in Indonesia since May 28. They are being held with the general prison population in a provincial jail in Batam, according to family members.

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Indonesia should pursue justice in 1996 murder of journalist Udin

This past month marked 19 years since Indonesian journalist Fuad Mohammad Syfruddin was murdered. On August 16, 1996, Udin, as he was popularly known, died from injuries he sustained during an attack by unidentified assailants in his home. Udin, a correspondent for the Yogyakarta daily Bernas, had written articles on land disputes and local government…

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A scene from Joshua Oppenheimer's documentary 'The Look of Silence.' (Courtesy of Drafthouse Films and Participant Media)

Increased risks for filmmakers and sources in documentaries’ Golden Age

Joshua Oppenheimer travelled to New York for today’s premiere of his documentary “The Look of Silence,” but one place he won’t travel is Indonesia, where he says his work on this and an earlier film puts him at risk. Earlier this week, Laura Poitras, the Academy Award-winning director of the documentary CITIZENFOUR, filed a lawsuit…

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President Joko Widodo, center, on a state visit to Abepura prison in Papua in May. The Indonesian leader has promised reporters access to the restive region. (AFP/Romeo Gacad)

In Indonesia, promising steps on Papua access but more work needed

Last month Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, announced his intention to allow international journalists access to restive regions including Papua and West Papua–an issue the Committee to Protect Journalists has long advocated for.

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Widodo’s lifting of ban on foreign media in Papua is step in right direction

Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced over the weekend that his government would allow foreign journalists to report unrestricted from the country’s eastern Papuan provinces, breaking a virtual 50-year blackout of international news coverage of the restive region. The announcement raises the prospect of an independent media check on one of Asia’s most under-reported civil conflicts…

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A rally in Jakarta for the Free Papua Movement. Restricted media access to the Indonesian region has left the ongoing fight for secession under reported. (Reuters/Pius Erlangga)

Media restrictions in Papua underscore Indonesia’s wider problems

With more than 50 years of restricted media access, one of the least covered armed conflicts in the world is the long-simmering struggle between Indonesia’s military and the secessionist Free Papua Movement. Under Indonesia’s seven successive post-independence governments–the early ones led by autocratic strongmen, the recent ones more or less democratically elected–the world has been…

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2015