Page 60 - Varsity Special Issue

58 / Our Community / 59

ers in Indonesia are liable to be ar- had to allow Indonesian government
rested and prosecuted, according to to have access to our news website,”
Press Freedom Under journalists also say the police and the “Now they tell us a certain word-
Reporters Sans Frontiers. Indonesian she says.

government are hostile to them, and ing or a sentence is not appropriate
some journalists have been arrested. by sending us emails. They ask us
Yoon, a Korean journalist who has to avoid writing news stories which
Threat in Indonesia worked and lived in Indonesia since are controversial or they ask us to
1997, also feels worried that she might change some wordings in stories,”
be sent back home one day like Wal-
“The biggest challenge to work as
ton. “Our visas are issued to us by the she adds.
Indonesian government. We always a journalist is to stay safe. Our job is
have to show them what news stories to go out and speak to our sources.
we are writing lately,” she says. But if we take any step that the gov-
Journalists working in Indonesia are struggling with the declin- According to Yoon, after the re- ernment does not like or go against
ing press freedom. election of President Joko Widodo, the law, then we cannot carry on our
stricter guidelines for journalist visa job anymore,” Yoon added.
By Sarah Ryou in Jakarta application were introduced in 2019. Having covered news stories in
Applicants are required to submit ap- Indonesia for more than 20 years,
proval letter from a news agency, de- Paik Joo Yoon, editor-in-chief of the
tailed disclosure of a company profile Korean Community News is upset
and profiles of staff members who will by the declining press freedom in
visit the country. Indonesia.
Yoon, who writes news for Ko- “We feel very sorry that we can-
reans living in Indonesia adds that not produce proper news for the
censorship has been reinforced since Korean community. We sometimes
last year. “They used to erase some of get feedback from our readers say-
our articles uploaded to our website. ing that our news looks too ‘filtered’,”
When we first came to Indonesia, we Paik says.

Protestors ho lding a rall y to v o ice their disc o n ten t abou t go vernmen t ’ s cu rb o f press freedom and the revisi o n o f Indo nesian
Protestors holding a rally to voice their discontent about government’s curb of press freedom and the revision of Indonesian
rtesy o
f SBS News
)
nsti
tu
Constitution in Septemner 2019. (Photo courtesy of SBS News)
Co
ti
Photo c
ou
o
n in Septemner 2019. (
ate Walton, a 32-year-old Aus- has been banned by the Indonesian Borders, a non-governmental organi- NoConfidence. The rally which para-
tralian journalist has been government. Statistics of blacklisted sation supporting journalists around lysed some main roads in downtown
Kbanned from entering Indone- journalists are not open to the public the world, Indonesia ranks 119 out of Jakarta later evolved to become a riot
sia for taking photos of a street protest but there are reported cases of foreign 180 countries in the 2020 World Press in which many journalists and protes-
in Jakarta in June 2019. journalists being blacklisted, deport- Freedom Index. Critiques state that tors were injured and arrested.
The protest was held to rally ed, and jailed. the Indonesian press freedom is still
against a corruption law, which un- Journalists and academics must in the developing stage. “The aggression and
dermines a government agency to have a valid visa when conducting re- President Joko Widodo, popularly
fight corruption. search in Indonesia. Many have been known as Jokowi, failed to keep his pressure (the jour-
“As a writer, I loved researching imprisoned because they do not have campaign pledge about safeguard-
Jakarta and Indonesian culture. Just the correct type of visa. For instance, ing press freedom in his first term of nalists get) from
to get banned so suddenly, it is quite two British journalists, Rebecca office. The Journalist Association of
confusing… not only for me but other Prosser, and Neil Bonner, who worked Indonesia held a rally to voice their the government still
foreign journalists,” Walton says. She for National Geographic were impris- discontent about government’s curb
was forced to go back to Australia in oned for three months after being ar- of press freedom and interference of carries on until this
2019 after living in Indonesia for eight rested on Batam Island in May 2015 editorial independence after his re-
year, but she is still writing news sto- for filming a documentary without a election in May 2019. Protestors held day.”
ries about Indonesia and Australia. press visa. banners featuring their demands and
Walton was not the only one who According to Reporters Without discontent #JokowiResign and #Vote- Foreign journalists and local fix- Indo nesian reporter o n the street o f Bandung, Indo nesia in October 2020.
Indonesian reporter on the street of Bandung, Indonesia in October 2020.
(Photo courtesy of Fixindonesia)
( Photo c ou rtesy o f F ixindo nesia)