Jayapura, Papua – Press freedom in Papua was classified as “rather free,” with the province scoring 68.87 on the 2021 Press Liberty Index (IKP) to rank 33 rd out of 34 provinces, the Indonesian Press Council has informed.
” The IKP put Papua Province 33 rd out of 34 provinces, a decreased of 1.16 points compared to 2020 (when its score was taped) at 70.04,” Indonesian Press Council member M Agung Darmajaya mentioned during a public discussion on the future of press flexibility, in Jayapura, Papua, on Saturday.
In 2020, the Press Liberty Index of Papua Province, for the very first time, remained in the classification of “relatively complimentary,” he included.
” One of the elements that affected ball game was low coordination in between city government and journalists,” he stated. The city government did not provide a place designated for reporters, he explained.
Information distribution was not transparent and there were some events of violence against reporters, consisting of physical violence, intimidation, terror, and destruction of reporting devices, he stated.
Factors that affected the score consisted of intimidation and criminalization of journalists, Darmajaya included.
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” For instance, there was a case of a journalist who was expelled while covering news. On the other hand, there were errors in news reporting due to weak media professionalism,” he described.
As a result, there were 27 cyber media persons who were reported to the Press Council over complaints of false reporting, he informed.
” The good side is, there is more training for journalists this year, organized by journalist companies in cooperation with regional NGOs,” Darmajaya said.
The general public discussions on the future of press liberty in Papua likewise received a positive response from the Indonesian Reporter Association, the Presidential Personnel Office, the National Commission on Person Rights (Komnas HAM), Military Resort Command 172/ PWY, Papua Authorities, spiritual figures, and media agents, he added.
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