2) 19 DISTRICT HEADS IN PAPUA SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS’ PROBATION
3) HRW calls for tougher measures to combat violence against journalists
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WEDNESDAY, 26 APRIL, 2017 | 15:14 WIB
1) Hary Tanoesoedibjo Reports Allan Nairn to Metro Jaya Police
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Unity Party (Perindo) chairman Hari Tanoesoedibjo has filed a police report against US journalist Allan Nairn. Perindo legal division head Chris Taufik said that Allan is accused of defaming Hary for referring to him as a financial backer of a mass demonstration staged in November last year that demanded Ahok be jailed for blasphemy.
The police report was filed on Nairn’s investigative article published on local media Tirto.id titled "Ahok Hanyalah Dalih untuk Makar" (a translation of published The Intercept piece titled 'Trump's Indonesian Allies In Bed With ISIS-Backed Militia Seeking to Oust Elected President'). According to Chris, Hary has denied the reports. He also pointed to the lack of specific information in the piece.
Hary, the owner of media giant MNC Group, has denied Allan's claims that he had tried to reach him for comment on the report. "He said that a request for comment had been made, that [Hary] had declined to comment. When was the request made? [He] never have received one," Chris said.
Chris said that Hary prefers to file a police report since he feels that Nairn had violated the law. An option to resolve the dispute through the Press Council, he said, will only be taken to address works of journalism. Chris expects the police to immediately name a suspect in the case. "It's not a journalistic product. There was no 'check and balance', the sources were obscure," Chris said.
Earlier, Nairn's piece had invoked a reaction from the National Armed Forces (TNI). The TNI Headquarters spokesman Major General Wuryanto believed that the piece—which said that the TNI had planned to overthrow the government by backing the anti-Ahok rallies—was not based on facts. The TNI had opted to file a complaint with the Press Council. "We should have been asked for comment," Chris said.
Tirto.id chief editor Atmaji Sapta Anggoro said he will take responsibility for the publishing of the report. "Should the Press Council summoned [tirto.id], we will surely cooperate and be ready to comply," Atmaji said.
EGIADYATAMA | YOHANES PASKALIS | RIKY FERDIANTO
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2) 19 DISTRICT HEADS IN PAPUA SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS’ PROBATION
Jayapura, Papua | Wed, April 26, 2017 | 06:50 pm
NETHY DHARMA SOMBA THE JAKARTA POST
The Jayapura District Court has sentenced 19 district heads from Jayapura regency, Papua, to six months’ probation for election violations.
The judges read out the sentence in a hearing on Tuesday, during which the court also ordered the defendants to pay Rp 600 million (US$45,146) in fines.
Presiding judge Sarifuddin said the 19 district heads joining with the Jayapura regency’s District Heads Association were guilty of rejecting a re-vote. In so doing, they violated Article 188 of Law No.11/2015 on the home ministry, Article 71 of Law No.10/2016 on regional elections and Article 55 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison.
“The 19 district heads are legally and convincingly guilty of committing a crime by intentionally making a joint decision that benefited one of the Jayapura regent and deputy regent candidate pairs,” said Sarifuddin, accompanied by two panel members, Abdul Gafar Bungin and Lidya Awinero.
Should the 19 district heads violate the probation, they will be sentenced to three months in prison.
The 19 district heads made a decree to reject a re-vote at 229 polling stations in 17 districts across Jayapura regency. The Jayapura Elections Supervisory Committee demanded the re-vote, claiming that it had found that 788 Polling Station Working Committee officials had been replaced without the consent of the Jayapura General Elections Commission.
Gustav Kawer, a lawyer for the district heads, said he would talk with his clients about whether they would accept the ruling or file an appeal. (ebf)
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3) HRW calls for tougher measures to combat violence against journalists
Marguerite Afra Sapiie The Jakarta Post
Jakarta | Wed, April 26, 2017 | 10:49 pm
Rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Indonesian government to adopt bolder steps to ensure the dismissal and prosecution of security officials implicated in violence against journalists.
HRW deputy Asia director Phelim Kine specifically called UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova to publicly address the increase in assaults against journalists during the commemoration of the 2017 World Press Freedom Day next week.
UNESCO has chosen Jakarta to host its annual World Press Freedom Day commemoration on May 3 and thus “it should use the occasion to urge President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to take more decisive action in response to the issue,” Kine said.
“World Press Freedom Day should be a time to celebrate the role journalists play in society, but in Indonesia the focus too often is on reporters’ fears,” Kine said.
“The Indonesian government should reverse the dangerous deterioration of freedom of the press in the country and prosecute security force personnel who physically assault journalists.”
The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) revealed the number of violence against journalists cases increased to 78 incidents in 2016, including attacks by security forces, from 42 in 2015 and 40 in 2014. Only a few of attackers in those 78 incidents were properly brought to justice.
Investigations by the HRW found that the abuse included destruction of journalists' equipment, harassment, intimidation, threats and assault. Theses acts typically occurred in provincial capitals and smaller cities, but less commonly in Jakarta, where journalists are more aware of their rights. (ebf)
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