Terror Against Merauke Journalists

Unknown assailants are terrorising Merauke (West Papua) journalists throughout July 2010. The peak was when journalist Ardiansyah Matra’is was found dead in the Gudang Arang rivers on July 30, 2010.

Matra’is was a freelance journalist. He used to work the weekly tabloids Papua Fokus and JUBI. He also worked stringer jobs for commercial TV stations like ANTV and various local stations like TopTV. He was reported missing by his wife earlier after taking his kids to school. He was found by the search and rescue team. Police has yet to confirm the cause of his death.

Matra’is's death was tragic as Merauke journalists have been terrorised by text messages sent by unknown persons. Many journalists and activists have received threatening texts such as the following: 

"What if we kidnap female journalists, rape them, murder them, and dump their bodies in front of police and TNI (armed forces) headquarters? That would be interesting". 

"You coward journalists, don't dare to play with fire if you don't want to get burned. Fire will burn your whole bodies. If you still want to eat on this land, then don't create a mess. We have all your data, be prepared to be butchered".

"Don't be a coward journalist and hide behind the police, we will kill you one by one until there none of you left. But our main targets are your female journalists. Remember this threat".

Similar messages were received by journalists Indri (Tabloid JUBI), Sulo (Cenderawasih Pos daily), and Lala (Bintang Papua daily). Lala was the first to report to the police. Her message included threats of torture, rape and murder.

Merauke's Police Chief Djoko Prihadi said the terror against journalists is a criminal offense. He told the press that to find out the culprits the police is working together with Densus 88 to form an investigative team. He said to protect journalists he has deployed officers assigned for the very purpose.

Activists told EM that the terror cases are related to the ongoing local regency elections, however the Chief denied it. “They are all assumptions, we can't confirm  because we've found no evidence," said Chief Prihadi. 

Meanwhile, journalists told EM sources that they will continue to report with cautions, and link up with international journalist safety groups.