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EAST TIMOR:
RSF protests over 'information sabotage' of referendum
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Title -- 2321 EAST TIMOR: RSF protests over 'information sabotage' of referendum
Date -- 28 August 1999
Byline -- None
Origin -- Pacific Media
Watch
Source -- Reporters sans Frontieres, Paris, 27/8/99
Status -- Unabridged
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PRESS RELEASE
Reporters sans frontieres
30 August 1999 - Referendum in East Timor
RSF SAYS PRO-JAKARTA MILITIA AND THE INDONESIAN ARMY HAVE SABOTAGED FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION
The people of East Timor go to the polls on 30 August to vote on the autonomy or independence of the territory invaded by Indonesia in 1975. The organisation of the voting and the electoral campaign have been marred by violence from pro-Indonesian paramilitary groups supported by Jakarta, particularly against independent East Timor and Indonesian journalists and foreign correspondents.
The Indonesian police and army have also been guilty of harassment of Indonesian reporters and have on several occasions failed in their duty to protect the media.
Indonesian broadcasters, most of which are controlled by people close to the government, often "forget" to present the views of those campaigning for independence.
Reporters Sans Frontieres considers that the atmosphere prevailing since the election date was announced and throughout the campaign is bound to affect the result. As we believe that there can be no free and fair elections without a free press, our organisation condemns the violence, intimidation and harassment carried on against journalists by the "pro-integration" militia, and to a lesser extent by the Indonesian army, with the obvious intention of preventing people in Indonesia and East Timor from having full access to information about the poll.
Reporters Sans Frontieres believes that the Indonesian government is largely to blame for this situation because it has failed to take the appropriate steps to disarm the militia and provide adequate protection for reporters in the territory, enabling them to work freely and safely.
The authorities recently gave clear proof of their negative attitude: on 23 August Amy Goodman, a journalist with the American station Pacifica Radio and presenter of the programme "Democracy Now!", said she had been prevented from boarding a plane for Dili, the capital of East Timor, at Bali airport. She was told she could not go to East Timor because her name was on a blacklist. Amy Goodman was one of the two American reporters in Dili in 1991 when the Indonesian army fired into a crowd, killing over 200 people (the government says 50).
According to various sources, the Indonesian army, police and secret service have been threatening journalists for several months and have refused to give them any protection. In early August, a reporter with a newspaper based in Jakarta was summoned by members of the Intelligence Agency and told not to use a story the paper was about to print.
On 15 August, a photographer with the daily Kompas received two calls, one from an army officer and one from a militiaman, warning him against having his work published and accusing him of being "pro-independence" - which amounts to an open threat in East Timor.
Those two recent examples are typical of the attitude of the Indonesian armed forces and militia. But the most serious incidents occurred in April during an offensive by pro-Jakarta militia.
On 17 April, the Besi Merah Putih (Red and White Iron) militia sent several of its members to wreck the offices of the independent newspaper Suara Timor Timur in Dili. All its equipment was destroyed and two journalists subsequently decided to go into hiding in Jakarta. The newspaper had to suspend publication for two weeks. Since it has been back on sale, Suara Timor Timur has changed its editorial line for fear of reprisals from the militia.
Other instances illustrate the pro-Indonesian militias' determination to prevent foreign journalists from doing their work freely. On 25 August, John Stanmeyer, a photographer with Time Magazine, and his East Timor assistant were violently beaten by a group of about 20 people as they were taking pictures outside the Dili headquarters of the pro-Indonesian militia Aitarak. They had been covering a pro-independence demonstration that had gone off without trouble. In the spring several other journalists were prevented from doing their work.
On 17 April, Bernard Estrade, bureau chief of the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Jakarta, and Marie-Pierre Verot, a French freelance, were assaulted and threatened with execution after being thrown out of the home of independence movement leader Manuel Jose Carrascalao. The house had been attacked by over 100 supporters of the "pro-integration" movement. A Dutch journalist from Volkskrant and a Briton from The Banker were also targets of death threats near the house.
Foreign reporters - particularly Australian and Portuguese - have been victims of many assaults, especially when covering demonstrations and political rallies by campaigners for independence, or going to the scene of clashes or massacres.
On 18 May John Martinkus, of the news agency Australian Associated Press (AAP), was arrested by militia wearing the colours of Indonesia as they were trying to go to an area where massacres had been reported.
On 10 May, the Sydney Morning Herald said: "A journalist from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) was driven off after being threatened with a weapon, a journalist from AAP was struck on the back with a rock, and militia shouting threats took aim at a Canadian special correspondent, Ian Timberlake, and seven other journalists..." All of them were trying to go to a Dili market where a student had been murdered.
On 4 May, also in Dili, Mark Dodd, a reporter with the Australian daily The Herald, was arrested along with several other journalists by members of the pro-Indonesian militia Aitarak, who also assaulted and threatened to kill his driver. The militia ordered Jason South of the Australian weekly The Age and a cameraman from Reuters TV to leave the scene, firing shots in the air. Unfortunately, this list of violations of press freedom is by no means exhaustive.
These attacks on foreign reporters, and particularly Australians, have been more or less endorsed by people close to the Indonesian government.
On 30 May Eurico Guterres, leader of Aitarak and a candidat for Golkar (Indonesian President Habibie's party) in the June 1999 legislative elections, said: "Australian journalists are extremists", and added that he would "kill anyone who goes to East Timor and does not report exactly what I say".
Reporters Sans Frontieres has no knowledge of journalists and media in East Timor being intimidated by groups that support independence.
Reporters sans frontières
International Secretariat
Asia-Pacific desk
5, rue Geoffroy Marie
75009 Paris-France
Tél : (33) 1 44 83 84 84
Fax : (33) 1 45 23 11 51
E-mail : asie@rsf.fr
Web : www.rsf.fr
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