Indonesia: Two writers honoured for daring to speak out

Jakarta - Despite efforts to protect journalists, freedom of the press sits on shaky ground in Indonesia, according to two writers honored last week for their courage in the face of persecution.

Upi Asmaradhana, a journalist and freelance videographer based in Makassar, and Semuel Waileruny, a human rights activist in Ambon, received Hellman/Hammett grants last week for their commitment to free expression.

The grants, given annually by the New York-based Human Rights Watch, are awarded to writers who have suffered political persecution or human rights abuses for offending people in power.

“[Upi and Semuel] engage in nonviolent advocacy through their writing, and because they expressed their opinions, they have been prosecuted,” said Andreas Harsono, an Indonesian consultant for Human Rights Watch and a journalist.

Upi was arrested and tried in 2009 for criminal defamation after he accused Insp. Gen. Sisno Adiwinoto, the South Sulawesi police chief, of illegally threatening media freedom.

Sisno had publicly urged government officials to file charges against any journalist they felt had defamed them or tarnished the region’s image.

A Makassar court acquitted Upi of the charges, but prosecutors appealed. Upi told the Jakarta Globe in an e-mail that he was still waiting for a ruling from the Supreme Court.

“The threat of criminal punishment is still present — remember I am not yet fully free,” wrote Upi, whose home was vandalized in March. “But this does not mean we’re frightened or that we’ll stop calling for freedom of the press and freedom of expression.”

Semuel has similarly been persecuted for his work. A scholar, lawyer and political activist, he has written several books critical of the government and military. After a communal conflict broke out in 1999 between Muslims and Christians in the Maluku Islands, he was convicted of treason for his involvement with the South Maluku Republic (RMS), a separatist group. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, of which he served less than half.

“Imprisonment not only affected me, but also my wife, children, relatives and friends who struggled alongside me,” Semuel wrote in an e-mail to the Globe on Sunday.

Semuel, who helped establish the human rights organization Tamasu to assist prisoners in the Maluku Islands, recently published a book that claims the Indonesian Military (TNI) inflamed sectarian conflict in the region.

“After my release [from prison], and while I was writing my book, high-ranking police officers visited me,” he said. “I was under constant surveillance from police and military intelligence.”

“I have also received threats over the phone,” he added. “But for me, that’s the risk [of the job].”

The pair received their awards about a week after Gatot Supriyanto Machali, a radio broadcaster critical of China’s human rights record, was sentenced to six months in prison and a year of probation for administrative violations. Gatot said the conviction followed a years-long campaign by the Chinese government to have his station in Batam, Riau Islands, shut down. France-based Reporters Without Borders condemned the sentence as politically driven and disproportionate to the offense.

“Freedom of the press in Indonesia is at this time still far from what we hope for,” wrote Upi, who is coordinator of the Coalition of Journalists Against Criminalisation of the Press. “Journalists continue to be murdered.”

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit based in New York, Indonesia is one of 20 countries with the highest murder rates for journalists. It ranks 18th, behind Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone. CPJ reports on its Web site that eight journalists have been murdered in Indonesia since 1992, including three in 2010. Six of the murders were committed with impunity.

Indonesian journalists must also contend with restrictive laws, Upi said.

“Apart from threats of physical violence, many regulations in Indonesia threaten freedom of the press at this time,” Upi wrote, citing the Political Party Law, the Pornography Law, the Electronic Transactions Law, the Freedom of Information Law, the Criminal and Civil Code and the intelligence bill.

According to Andreas of Human Rights Watch, there are more than 100 articles that govern freedom of expression in Indonesia.

Upi said he hoped the grants would encourage fellow journalists to continue expressing the truth in the interest of the public, despite the dangers.

“The Human Rights award will renew our spirits,” Upi said. “We dedicate this award to the journalists who have died doing their duty.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media