Indonesia should restore internet access in restive Papua region
Bangkok, August 22, 2019—Indonesian authorities should immediately restore internet access to the provinces of Papua and West Papua and refrain from imposing any restrictions on journalists covering civil unrest in the region, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Indonesia denies media visa for France 24 reporter
Bangkok, January 12, 2016 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Indonesia’s refusal to issue a media visa to French journalist Cyril Payen. The Bangkok-based senior reporter for France 24 television received notice of the denial from Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs without explanation on Friday, he told CPJ.
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…
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…
Two French journalists convicted, sentenced in Indonesia
New York, October 24, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s conviction and sentencing to prison of French documentary filmmakers Thomas Dandois and Valentine Bourrat on charges of breaking immigration laws in Indonesia. The two were sentenced to two months and 15 days in prison and are expected to be released next week because of…
Indonesia arrests two French journalists reporting in Papua
New York, August 11, 2014–Indonesian authorities have detained two French journalists since last week, according to news reports. Documentary filmmakers Thomas Dandois and Valentine Bourrat were detained after reporting on the separatist movement in the restive eastern region of Papua and have been accused of entering the country illegally on a tourist visa, the reports…
Gunmen fire on plane, kill Indonesian journalist
New York, April 10, 2012–Gunmen opened fire on a small plane landing at an airport in Mulia, a town in Indonesia’s restive Papua region, on Sunday, killing a journalist and injuring four others, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Indonesian authorities to launch an immediate investigation and bring the perpetrators…