Wednesday, August 12, 2020

1) RSF calls on Facebook to restore censored Papua press freedom article


2) Indonesian soldiers run library to boost Papuan students’ literacy 
3) A tale of Indonesian soldiers’ care for boosting Papuans’ literacy
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1) RSF calls on Facebook to restore censored Papua press freedom article 
By Pacific Media Watch -  August 12, 2020




Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on Facebook to restore an article that was censored for violating its rules on nudity and has urged the social media platform to be more transparent and responsible about respect for the free flow of information.
“Your post goes against our community standards on nudity or sexual activity” was the terse message that Professor David Robie, director of the Auckland-based Pacific Media Centre, RSF’s Oceania partner, received from Facebook whenever he tried to share an article about press freedom in Melanesia, especially the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua, reports RSF.
Posted on August 6 on the International Federation of Journalists website, the article described the contents of the latest issue of the Pacific Journalism Review, a research journal published by the Pacific Media Centre.
Facebook’s algorithms censored it because, according to an automatic message sent to Dr Robie, “some audiences are sensitive to different things when it comes to nudity”.
The closest thing to nudity in the IFJ article was a photo of an anti-racism protest by Papuan students showing two of the participants in traditional highlands costume – consisting of necklaces and penis sheaths.

‘Tyranny’ of algorithms“Anybody with common sense would see that the photograph in question was not ’nudity’ in the community standards sense of Facebook’s guidelines,” Dr Robie said, condemning the “tyranny” of the platform’s algorithms.
A former journalist himself as well as an academic, Dr Robie tried to report the mistake to Facebook three times on August 7, without success.
“There is no proper process to challenge or appeal against such arbitrary rulings,” he said.

RSF contacted Mia Garlick, the person responsible for Australian and New Zealand policy at Facebook, to get her position on this issue, but had not received any substantive response at the time of writing.
“This utterly absurd case of censorship shows the degree to which Facebook’s arbitrary algorithms pose serious threats to the free flow of information and, by extension, to press freedom,” said Daniel Bastard, head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk.
“As Facebook has imposed itself as a leading conveyor of news and information and, as such, is bound by the requirements of responsibility and transparency, we call on its regional desk to immediately lift the censorship on this article.”
Exploiting algorithmsThis is not the first time that Facebook has censored content about the rights of Indonesia’s Papuan population on “nudity” grounds. It deleted a Vanuatu Daily Postarticle in April 2018 because it was accompanied by a photo of Papuan warriors in traditional costume taken by the Australian photographer Ben Bohane in 1995.
Pro-Indonesia trolls and fake Facebook accounts are known to report this kind of photo to Facebook, exploiting its algorithms to get content they dislike censored.
The issue of West Papua, the Indonesian-ruled western half of the island of New Guinea, is taboo in Indonesia and accessing its two provinces is very difficult for independent journalists, who need a special visa to go there.
When pro-independence demonstrations erupted in August 2019, the Indonesian authorities imposed an internet blackout on the region, preventing journalists from covering the protests.
Indonesia is ranked 119th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2020 World Press Freedom Index.
Republished from the Pacific Media Centre’s partner Reporters Without Borders’ website.
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2) Indonesian soldiers run library to boost Papuan students’ literacy 
 14 hours ago

Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - The Indonesia-Papua New Guinea Border Security Task Force from the 125/Simbisa Infantry Battalion demonstrated its care for boosting Papuan students' literacy by developing the habit of reading and piquing curiosity through a mobile library service.

Operated by three army personnel, led by Second Sergeant J. H. Manullang, the mobile library serves the students of Sota Village, Merauke District, Papua Province, the task force's commander, Lt Col Anjuanda Pardosi, noted in a statement on Wednesday.

The mobile library serves students living in the Indonesia-PNG border area amid the ongoing global pandemic of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that has disrupted learning activities at schools.

The mobile library service is envisaged to stir local students to develop a habit of reading since it will broaden their mind and expand their knowledge of several aspects of life. "Books serve as a window of the world," he emphasized.

Through books offered by the mobile library service, a habit of reading can be cultivated among the local students, Pardosi affirmed, adding that apart from rousing their curiosity, the free library service is also part of the task force's territorial operational program.

The residents of Sota Village welcome the mobile library service offered by the border security task force.

"We thank the task force personnel for their care for our kids," stated Alfons Katop, a resident of Sota Village in Sota Sub-district, Merauke District, whose administrative area is part of the Indonesia-PNG border area.

According to ANTARA, the development of human resources remains a tricky challenge for Papua and West Papua as the human development index of scores of these provinces remains lower as compared to that of other provinces in Indonesia.

Referring to Indonesia's 2019 human development index, the scores of Papua and West Papua were recorded at 64.7 and 60.84 respectively.

However, at the global level, Indonesia's human development index ranks behind several other countries.

As the world's fourth most populous country, Indonesia had yet to rank among the world’s most literate nations.

John W. Miller's study in collaboration with Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) in 2016 indicated that the top 10 most literate nations are Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, Germany, Latvia, and the Netherlands.

The study of Miller, a noted researcher of CCSU, further revealed that Indonesia had ranked 60th out of the 61 countries. Its rank was better than just that of Botswana though far left behind by Singapore, ranking 36th, and Malaysia at 53rd position.

Miller’s 2016 study synthesized "literacy achievement tests (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study and Programme for International Student Assessment) and literate behavior characteristics (population, newspapers, libraries, years of schooling)".

Miller asserted that a nation's literate behaviors contribute to its successes and failures in dealing with the demands of the world's knowledge-based economics.


Related news: Lend support for continuation of special autonomy status: Papua figure

Related news: Awaiting final fate of Papua, West Papua's special autonomy funds


EDITED BY INE

 
Reporter: Muhsidin, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf

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3) A tale of Indonesian soldiers’ care for boosting Papuans’ literacy


Indonesian soldiers, stationed in Papua and West Papua, have demonstrated exemplary capability in maintaining peace and stability in both provinces for decades in their endeavors to safeguard the country's territorial integrity.

The soldiers are chiefly tasked with securing peace and stability in the country's easternmost provinces. However, they concurrently also live and mingle with members of local communities, thereby offering them a close glimpse into the challenges faced by native Papuans in their day-to-day lives.

The two provinces are reeling from a shortage of teaching staff on account of the fact that native Papuans not just reside in coastal areas but also in remote mountainous and hilly areas.

Consequently, the development of human resources in Papua and West Papua remains a tricky challenge, as the human development index of scores of these provinces remains lower than that of other provinces in Indonesia.

Referring to Indonesia's 2019 human development index, the scores of Papua and West Papua were recorded at 64.7 and 60.84 respectively.

In dealing with this challenging reality, commanders have assigned soldiers, particularly those stationed near the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea (PNG) border areas, to serve as voluntary teachers at schools.

Several members of the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea (PNG) Border Security Task Force in Merauke District, Papua Province, have adeptly shouldered this responsibility.

They have extended voluntary assistance to teachers at 12 elementary schools in the sub-districts of Sota, Neukenjerai, Eligobel, and Ulilin in Merauke District since July 2019.

They teach reading, writing, and mathematics to students, Commander of the task force at the Army Strategic Reserves Command's (Kostrad's) MR 411/PDW Infantry Battalion Major Rizky Aditya noted in a statement made available to ANTARA last February.

As a live example, the army personnel have been edifying the students of the Sota Christian Elementary School, one of the schools located in the Indonesia-PNG border area.

Aditya highlighted his men’s keenness to fill the gap of teacher shortage there.

Major Sergeant Catur Budi Satriyo, a member of the Kout Sota Command Post, is among the soldiers regularly teaching reading, writing, and mathematics at this Christian Educational Foundation (YPK)-owned school.

The students and teachers warmly welcome t‏hese voluntary teachers. Edowardus Burman Tenjap, a fourth-grade student at YPK's elementary school, expressed happiness and pride on being taught reading, writing, and mathematics by the soldiers.

"Thank you for teaching us," he stated.

Julianus Noya, speaking on behalf of all teachers, also expressed gratitude to Indonesian army personnel for the assistance extended to their pupils over the past six months.

"This voluntary teaching program is immensely valuable to our students," Noya remarked.

The Indonesian army personnel are not merely filling the gap of teacher shortage but are also providing transportation services to the students.

The Raiders Battalion 300/Brajawijaya Command has sent its trucks to drive local students to their schools, though the students are unable to avail transportation services daily owing to the limited number of these vehicles.

"We help the students get to schools on time. The schools are located at quite a distance if they are to be traversed by foot," Commander of the Raiders Battalion 300/Brajawijaya Command Lt Col Ary Sutrisno explained.

If the trucks are not available, the local students have to cover some 15 kilometers on foot to their schools, he pointed out.

Bastian, one of the students regularly taking the TNI truck, admitted to the transportation service regularly provided by the TNI as being immensely helpful, as it enabled him and his peers to reach schools on time.

The Indonesian soldiers also care for boosting the native Papuan students' literacy.

The Indonesia-Papua New Guinea Border Security Task Force from the 125/Simbisa Infantry Battalion has demonstrated its care by developing the habit of reading and piquing curiosity through a mobile library service.

Operated by three army personnel, led by Second Sergeant J. H. Manullang, the mobile library serves the students of Sota Village, Merauke District, Papua Province, according to the task force's commander, Lt Col Anjuanda Pardosi.

The mobile library serves students living in the Indonesia-PNG border area amid the ongoing global pandemic of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that has disrupted learning activities at schools.

The mobile library service is envisaged to stir local students to develop a habit of reading since it will broaden their mind and expand their knowledge of several aspects of life.  

"Books serve as a window of the world," he emphasized.

Through books offered by the mobile library service, a habit of reading can be cultivated among the local students, Pardosi affirmed, adding that apart from rousing their curiosity, the free library service is also part of the task force's territorial operational program.

The residents of Sota Village are appreciative and glad that the mobile library service is being offered by the border security task force.

"We thank the task force personnel for their care for our kids," stated Alfons Katop, a resident of Sota Village in Sota Sub-district, Merauke District, whose administrative area is part of the Indonesia-PNG border area.

The literacy-related community services offered by the Indonesian soldiers since several years have contributed notably to the regional and central government's endeavors to enhance the quality of human capital in Papua and West Papua.

Related news: Indonesian soldiers run library to boost Papuan students' literacy

Related news: Lend support for continuation of special autonomy status: Papua figure


EDITED BY INE
By Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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