Page 13 - IB JAN 2017

The Region
Indonesia fails media test in West Papua

gold and copper mines. be obligated to erase published material if
According to Blades, who has spe- ordered to do so by a court.
cialised in West Papuan and Melanesian Expressing concern over the new right,
affairs since 2004, “for years it seemed as Indonesia’s Institute for Criminal Justice
though separatists would be blamed for Reform (ICJR) warned that “this provision
any violence, even when it was [false]”. may become a tool of the government for
However, a situation that has witnessed censoring news, media and journalist
a spread of misinformation and lack publication[s]”.
of media attention is slowly improving
thanks to the introduction of technology The way forward
and social media. Experts say that Indonesia must protect
“Jakarta can’t keep a lid on it anymore,” its Internet freedoms by drafting clear
Blades said. “There are still ways they can rules on the implementation of the “right
control it, the messages coming out, but to be forgotten”.
not entirely.” Oxford professor Viktor Mayer-Schön-
Twitter and online news platforms have berger noted that the right could be a posi-
been particularly helpful giving interna- tive development if it is applied judicially
tional exposure to West Papuan issues. and its scope is narrowed, commenting:
One example is West Papua Media, an “Anything that helps our technologies
online news outlet considered to be one of to behave more like what we humans
the best sources of verifiable information are used to (like forgetting and forgiving
from Papua available in the English lan- over time) is a potential step in the right
guage. It currently has 12,575 subscribers direction.”
worldwide. But, he added: “I would want to make
sure that the right to be forgotten is not
Indonesia’s ‘right to be forgotten’ designed as an absolute remedy, with
Unfortunately for online activists, and information vanishing completely, but as
despite Saragih’s claim about media a relative remedy … that slows one down,
improvements, recent amendments to but does not make it impossible to reach
Indonesia’s Electronic Information and your goal.”
Transactions (ITE) Law include a “right Blades and Wayar both said that
to be forgotten” clause inspired by a 2014 journalist exchanges and professional
case at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) employment are necessary to support
against tech giant Google. high-quality local journalism.
The ECJ ruled that individuals can, un- While Indonesia may heavily restrict
der certain conditions, demand that search access to West Papua, it does not restrict
engines remove links with personal infor- Papuans from travelling outside. Wayar
mation about them. The European Com- suggested that foreign media groups
West Papua in the media mission, however, has made clear that the should invite Papuans abroad to attend
Indonesia has been able to use its po- “right to be forgotten” is not absolute and skills workshops, such as English courses
litical clout to ensure that little is known must be balanced with other fundamental and other training programs.
about West Papua today. rights, such as the freedoms of expression She also explained that bribery remains
“When I was in the Netherlands, many and the media. a strong challenge for local journalists,
people didn’t even know that West Papua A proposed EU Data Protection Regula- who are not paid for covering human
still exists,” Wayar recalled. “For more tion would require EU members to pass rights abuses and face the strong temp-
than 25 years, Indonesia hasn’t allowed national legislation to reconcile data pro- tation of receiving money for covering
[foreign] journalists to cover Papua, so tection with the freedom of expression. Indonesian policies favourably.
of course the international community Indonesia’s ITE Law, on the other hand, Blades said that “foreign media outlets
doesn’t know anything about it. And I makes no reference to press freedoms or [should] actively engage with [local jour-
cannot blame them or be mad about the how the “right to be forgotten” will be nalists] and use them as a correspondent
situation, because Indonesia made [it implemented, prompting experts to argue or pay them to do some work”.
that way].” that it lacks adequate data protection or He commented: “If there is some in-
The few times that West Papua does legal mechanisms to limit state power. ternational component in their work,
make international news, narratives Moreover, the amended ITE Law not it might make their work safer or less
reflect those of mainstream Indonesian only targets search results, but also origi- compromised. Or maybe that’s wishful
media and focus on separatist violence or nal content, meaning that all Internet con- thinking. I’m not sure.”
strikes at Freeport-McMoRan’s massive tent providers – from search engines, to
Grasberg mine, one the world’s largest online news outlets, to digital apps – could n International Press Institute

Islands Business, January 2017 13