After the fall of the authoritarian regime under the power of Indonesian former President Soeharto, a violation against the right of expressing the truth seems threatening the journalists. The empirical facts showing numerous cases of intimidating, silencing, imprisoning and assassinating the journalists, are continuous up to this time.
I had not finished editing the language of the last chapter of an investigation report related to the cause of violence experienced by journalists during the new order regime when I suddenly widened my eyes and read an email from the Alliance of Independent Journalist (AJI) informing that Muhammad Syaifullah, a journalist and the Head of Kompas Bureau in Kalimantan was dead. There was a strong allegation that his death was linked to a report of uncontrollable illegal logging and coal mining in East Kalimantan.
Supposing that the allegation is true, a fatal violence happened to journalists in the new order regime has reoccurred. Previously, when the authoritarians of new order regime still controlled the journalists’ movement, a Bernas newspaper journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin (whose nickname was Udin) was found murdered and covered with blood on August 16,1996 in Jogjakarta.
Later on, a brutal assassination to a freelance journalist of Delta Post Sidoarjo, Herliyanto, reoccurred in Probolinggo on April 2006. His body was found in a teak wood forest of Tarokan Village, Banyuanyar, Probolinggo, East Java, with a slashed wound on his head and the intestines were spilt over his stomach.
Not long after Herliyanto’s death, another tragic death happened to Anak Agung Prabangsa, a Radar Bali’s journalist on February 2009. His body was found floating on the sea surface with shredded cuts of a sharp object. The investigation by AJI brought in a conclusion that the two murders were very closely related to the revelation of corruption, collusion, and nepotism cases involving local government officials.
When the allegation of Muhammad Syaifullah’s death which is associated with the revelation of corruption cases is proven, people should be remorseful. We startled and had no idea how it could happen. A journalist who works without thinking about his loaves and fishes but public interest had been the victim of the uncivilized killers in this reformation era.
Apparently threats from the democracy and law enforcers to the corruptors do not only threaten anticorruption activist like an Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) investigator Tama Langkun, but also endanger all journalists in Indonesia. They now become apprehensive seeing the brutal and repressive actions committed by the assassin-like criminal of authoritarian-militarism countries in the past regime.
Their fear is basically reasonable. When a journalist is on his duty to find facts and then threatened, they will no longer be comfortable working as a journalist even though the press code protects them.
That is why journalists should always be careful and keep their eyes open. The idea to equip them with self-protection training from sudden attacks as what Philippians journalists do is not overreacting. Moreover, they should be equipped with a gun as well. Take, for example, after they investigate a corruption case. The investigation could possibly result in violence or death.
In a country where Marcos the dictator ruled, the journalists were trained to protect themselves when they had to stand facing violent criminals. Not only a face to face fighting technique, but also an ability to evacuate, run away from an attack, and recognize scentless and invisible powder like poison, were given to them.
Besides, at a Savety First Training in Jakarta some time ago, the Vice Deputy of Information, Philippine Ministry of Defense Ramon P Zagala said there was nothing wrong with giving combating technique to journalists when they had to do investigation coverage in a violent or problematic area. The training can be a gun firing exercise and how to wear a bulletproof vest when covering an incident in a conflict area or after reporting coverage of a corruption case involving state officials.
He did not make it up when uttering his worries. The investigation of the Research team for Journalist Victims of Violence done by the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) found a fact that at least 368 journalists had been the victims of violence during the new order regime. 18 of them stated they had been imprisoned and tortured because of their writings.
Either physical or nonphysical, the acts of violence did not happen to the journalists only once or twice in the reformation era. They wrote news about the government officials’ awful behaviors in 13 provinces such as conspiracy, corruption, gambling, illegal logging, prostitution backing, and infidelity. Apparently, those violations become the primary cause of violence against the journalists. Nonetheless, the spirit of maintaining the truth and reporting news does not loose their guts.
More than a few journalists admitted they had been injured more than twice when they revealed state officials’ crime and wrote about it. The research shows that most journalists who become the victims (62 percent of 368 interviewed respondents) said they knew exactly the perpetrators were the members of military service (the Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia – ABRI) at that time.
From those 62 percent, the frequent answer was recorded; they know exactly the perpetrators’ unit. They mentioned that most of them were ground forces (71%), police (42%), and intelligent service (24%). Violence is not merely a military monopoly to silence press media. Governmental apparatus as state servant, who actually should act as public servant as well, are involved in the effort of shutting the media up. They do not deserve to be called public servant when they add up the foul image of their institution.
However, this is all the facts we should know. The governmental apparatus did not hesitate to commit violence against journalists. The research result tells us that more than a half of the respondents (57%) had been the victims of violence by the regents, 32 percent by the mayors, and 11 percent by the head of sub districts. The culture of committing violence as a problem solution seems to extend to various instances and institutions as if it were a shortcut to solve problems, including violence against journalists.
Like a circus performer, being a journalist is as walking on a tip of a pen stuck on a banana stem. It is sharp, pointed, and slippery, has no foundation, and often causes people to get slipped. Working as a journalist or reporter for a mass media is also like stepping his left foot to the door of a prison and his right foot to the porch of hell. Yet, journalists should take the risk working in a country where many victorious corruptors live.
*) Eddy J Soetopo, of the media researcher IMSS as the Head of Research Team for Journalist Victims of Violence During the 32-year New Order Regime – Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (1998). He had worked as a journalist at Kompas-Gramedia, Bangkit Tabloid, Indonesia Hospital Magazine, Voice of Human Right (VHR) and Suara Perempuan Papua Tabloid. Currently working as executive director of IMSS (Institute for Media and Social Studies) and editor-in-chief of the media website sarklewer.com
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