Indonesia Independence Of Press Ranked 101

Freedom of the press in Indonesia is ranked 101 in the world in the period of 2009, while in Asia it’s on 175. “Freedom of the press in Indonesia since 2003 until 2009 continued to fluctuate and remain in the top 100 ranking, except in 2002,  Indonesia could be on the order of 57 in the world,” said Vice Chairman of the Press Council in Makassar, Bambang Harymurti, Friday.

According to him, freedom of the press in Indonesia has not fully supported, so no wonder if his position at the Asian level was still above the 170 ranked. “The ranking of the independence of the press in Indonesia was below 100, because our legal system does not support the freedom of the press,” he said.

It was also due to Indonesia do not currently have a regional human rights court in Southeast Asia, as well as countries in Europe and America, if there is a dispute of the press, journalists are not prosecuted when on journalistic duty. In this regard, he said, the Indonesian press is not pure free yet, tried to be kept no longer to criminalize  press.

But with the existence of ITE Law precisely assessed the government will limit the freedom of the press and freedom of expression again, like when the era of the New Order (Order Baru). He further said that press freedom can not be achieved if without the support of the community. Therefore, since the government was opened reform, freedom of the press who previously confined, continue trying to help promote applied democracy. “For example, escorting the media crowded and Chandra seed cases and cases Prita be evidence of the press force to defend the public interest,” he said.
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