26 January 2005
MEDIA RESTRICTIONS THREATEN TSUNAMI RELIEF EFFORTS
As relief efforts continue in Asian communities devastated by the December tsunami, ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) are warning that restrictions on media are threatening to impede efforts to provide effective assistance.
ARTICLE 19 says it is "gravely concerned" by the Indonesian government's policy of limiting the movement of journalists in the province of Aceh, one of the areas most affected by the tsunami.
"The media plays a central role in monitoring relief efforts, strengthening the transparent and accountable delivery of aid and reconstruction, and conveying the views of the Acehnese people to the rest of Indonesia and the world. The media should, therefore, be granted reasonable access to affected areas and be able to report on their findings without hindrance," the organisation says.
On 13 January 2005, authorities in Aceh ordered foreign journalists and aid workers to report their movements and seek military accompaniment when traveling beyond the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, or the town of Meulaboh, reports CPJ.
At least one journalist has since been denied permission to report on relief activities outside these towns. Bruno Bonamigo, a producer for Radio Canada International, was barred from reporting on the relief efforts of Doctors Without Borders (Medecins sans frontières, MSF) in the northern Aceh town of Sigli.
Prior to the announcement, CPJ and IFJ say other journalists were harassed by officials. On 29 December 2004, "Chicago Tribune" reporter Michael Lev and Indonesian journalist Handewi Pramesti were detained for 28 hours for undisclosed reasons shortly after arriving in Meulaboh. The Indonesian military flew them to the city of Medan before releasing them.
In a separate incident, Indonesian Special Forces ordered two Australian journalists to leave an area near Banda Aceh after they witnessed a clash on 6 January between Indonesian soldiers and alleged Free Aceh Movement rebels.
ARTICLE 19 is urging the international community to work with governments in tsunami-affected areas to ensure that the free flow of information is a priority within relief and reconstruction efforts. In a letter to the Consultative Group on Indonesia, a consortium of donor agencies headed by World Bank President James Wolfensohn, the organisation called on the Group to "state unequivocally that reconstruction efforts in Indonesia can only be achieved through and with a strong and free media, and that violations of freedom of expression will not be tolerated." (See full text of letter: http://www.article19.org/docimages/1895.doc)
In other developments, IFJ says it has raised nearly US$100,000 from its member unions to support journalists, media staff and their families who have been affected by the tsunami disaster. US$30,000 in immediate humanitarian assistance has been donated to the Alliance of Independent Journalists (Aliansi Jurnalis Independen, AJI).
IFJ has also signed a project contract with AJI for trade union development over the next three years, which will include support to rebuild AJI's operations in Aceh.
Visit:
- ARTICLE 19: http://www.article19.org/
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/protests/05ltrs/Indonesia14jan05pl.html
- IFJ: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=2896&Language=EN
- BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4206055.stm
- ReliefWeb: http://www.reliefweb.int
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