Jayapura, Jubi – Intimidation and terror are still being experienced by journalists in Papua. Most recently, a bomb explosion allegedly targeted the home of Jubi journalist Victor Mambor in Jayapura City on Monday, January 23, 2023.
The police found explosion residue and the fuse of the bomb that exploded with a loud noise. The residue will be examined in a forensic laboratory to confirm the material of the bomb.
Gustaf R Kawer, director of the Papua Human Rights Advocates Association (PAHAM Papua), regretted the terror. “This is the umpteenth incident. Journalists and media workers in Papua have been treated like this, as well as activists. However, there has never been a follow-up from the police,” Kawer said in Jayapura City on Wednesday.
Kawer said journalists and the media are important pillars of a democratic country, therefore they needed special protection from the state. Moreover, journalists have been protected by Law No. 40/1999 on the Press.
Kawer said there should be no more threats, terror and intimidation against journalists. “If terror against journalists still occurs, there is an impression of negligence, even the impression that the State is behind the terror,” he said.
Kawer asked the police to be really firm in revealing the perpetrators and completing the legal process of the case. “If in the legal process there is involvement of members of the military, police, or other institutions, there must be strict sanctions,” he said.
“If all of that is done, of course there will be a deterrent effect for the perpetrators, and in the future the media and civil society will be in a better place in democracy. That way of course the country will be better,” he added. (*)
