ID :
368957
Wed, 05/27/2015 - 10:48
Auther :

FREEDOM OF PRESS IN PAPUA WILL LEAD TO POSITIVE REPORTING

Jakarta, May 27 (Antara) - Freedom of press in Papua will allow foreign journalists to freely cover the area and will lead to positive news reporting about Papua, according to the Indonesian Press Council. "Freedom of press offers an opportunity to explain to the public about Papua's real condition," member of the Indonesian Press Council I Made Ray Karuna Wijaya noted here on Tuesday. Implementing freedom of press necessitates the Indonesian government to allow access to foreign press to objectively witness and report on the conditions in Papua. The Press Council has urged the government to establish a press and journalistic code of ethics on news coverage in Papua for all journalists, both foreign and domestic, so that all reporting will have a positive impact on the communities in Papua and West Papua Provinces. According to Wijaya, granting permission to foreign journalists to cover Papua is a positive step forward from the standpoint of freedom of the press, which will benefit the people in Papua and West Papua. "Based on the universal principles of journalism, the freedom of press in Papua is not only expected by foreign journalists," he said. The Indonesian government has granted access to foreign journalists to cover all areas of Papua Island, which comprises Papua and West Papua provinces. The freedom of press policy was announced by President Joko Widodo on Sunday (May 10) after Indonesia restrained foreign journalists from covering Papua for several years.

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