Protest: IndonesiaParticipants of the International Federation of Journalist’s (IFJ) The Challenge of Public Service Broadcasting in Asia Conference, issued the following protest demanding the release of Indonesian Broadcast Journalists Held Hostage.
Protest:
This meeting of participants of the IFJ’s Challenge of Public Broadcasting in Asia conference, representing 13 countries from the Asia-Pacific region and members of the IFJ’s global Public Broadcasting Campaign Committee, meeting in Colombo from 1-3 December 2003:
EXPRESSES grave concerns about the wellbeing of Indonesian broadcast journalist Ersa Siregar and cameraman Fery Santoro both from private broadcaster RCTI, held hostage by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Aceh, Indonesia since 29 June 2003.
NOTES that although the GAM agreed on 19 August to release the journalists, that the Indonesian Government has failed to date to remove blocks to allow the secure release of these journalists from hostage.
DEMANDS the Indonesian President to direct the Indonesian military to remove any blocks impeding the release of these broadcast journalists and to allow the free movement of human rights organisations in the province of Aceh so that they may receive the journalists.
Colombo
3 December 2003
