On freedom of speech in West Papua

JUBI, one of the rare independent Papuan tabloids

A good press educates the nation and not the other way around. Professional journalists criticize the government, rather than blindly praising it.

Sadly, in Indonesia, regarding the news of the Papua conflict, the national mainstream media seem to act as the mouthpiece of the government by presenting a one-sided narrative which cornered the opposition. 

The question is, are Indonesian medias under the pressure of the government, or do they auto-censor to gain the government's favor?

Theoretically, freedom of speech is guaranteed by the Indonesian constitution. However, the reality is different, especially in Papua, which is ranked 33rd out of 34 provinces in Indonesia based on the press freedom index released by the Press Council in January.

In this most eastern indonesian province, peaceful demonstrations are often brutally responded to by security forces, as happened a few days ago in Sentani. Some independent reporters and journalists were intimidated and even jailed on the grounds of defamation.

The silencing of democratic space risks exacerbating the escalation and causing the Papuans to lose trust in the Indonesian government. Until now, there has been no clear resolution to the conflict that has lasted more than 60 years!

I.P.