JAKARTA, INDONESIA — Contradictory guidance over whether they have permission to report the news here has journalists on edge.
According to a law that took effect in March, journalists from other countries must obtain police permission to report in certain areas of Indonesia. Police say the change adds a layer of protection, but journalists say it will likely be used to stifle reporting.
Since the law was implemented, though, the police have released guidance saying that a permit isn’t necessary.
According to a statement from Chief of Police Listyo Sigit Prabowo on that department’s official website, “Without the police permit, foreign journalists can still carry out their duties in Indonesia as long as they do not violate applicable laws and regulations.”
But the law explicitly states, “To fulfill journalistic activities, the following requirements must be met: a journalist’s activity permit issued based on statutory regulations.”
Journalists say the police statement that the permit isn’t required is intentionally misleading. The rule issued in March is, based on its language, mandatory, says Abdul Manan, chairman of law and legislations of the Indonesia Press Council.
“It is not a gray area,” he says.
The police probably won’t enforce the rule right away, he says, but “it can be like a backup card, which they can use whenever they need it.”
Global Press Journal requested an interview with the police agency, but its spokesperson, Sandi Nugroho, did not reply.
Another hurdle
Even before the new law and police guidance, it wasn’t easy for journalists from other countries to get permission to report here. The Ministry of Communication and Information regulates the current system, known as the Clearing House, to coordinate and supervise them. The forum consists of around 18 institutions, including a police institution and the state intelligence agency, Badan Intelijen Negara.
To receive a journalist visa, applicants must obtain letters of invitation from Indonesian officials and pass through the Clearing House, the processes and standards of which have never been public. In some cases, moving through the Clearing House takes years.
The new law will add yet another hurdle to the already-complicated process, says an Australian journalist who has reported from Indonesia. She spoke on condition of anonymity for fear that she wouldn’t be allowed to return to the country if she spoke out about the challenges in getting permission to report here. She worked in Indonesia for 15 years under a journalist visa and says the situation was difficult under President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, who governed from 2014 to 2024. Now, she says, “it is getting harder and harder.”
A European freelance journalist in Indonesia, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of deportation, says the process of getting a journalist visa is so complex that he works under a travel visa.
Indonesia is a paradox, he says, in that it’s complicated to secure status as a journalist — but once in the country, it’s easy to get in touch with sources, including officials.
Even so, he says, he avoids reporting on sensitive topics.
Red zones
Journalists say the new rule was likely designed in part to restrict them from visiting West Papua, a province where activists say systemic discrimination and human rights abuses have been ongoing for decades as some locals push for independence. The province holds significant stores of natural resources, including gold, copper and timber, and is a major producer of palm oil. Activists say exploitation is rampant.
Jokowi promised in 2015 that journalists could enter West Papua, but those who tried to do so faced military and police intimidation and deportation. In 2017, six journalists from Japan were arrested and deported for making a documentary on two indigenous groups. While journalists from other countries are often deported, local journalists who attempt to cross into certain areas in West Papua often face physical and digital threats, says Erick Tanjung, head of advocacy at the Alliance of Independent Journalists.
The environment is a sensitive topic in Indonesia, says Andreas Harsono, a Human Rights Watch researcher, as are LGBT rights. To protect their chances of getting visas, he says, most journalists from abroad avoid covering those issues.
Intimidation and violence
The police already curtail journalism through violence, Erick says. (Erick, like many Indonesians, prefers to use his first name when he’s referenced.) Police institutions are responsible for most attacks against local journalists in Indonesia, with dozens of cases in the last five years.
Journalists say the new rule edges the country closer to the situation they faced under President Suharto, who ruled with an iron fist from 1967 to 1998. After Suharto fell, Andreas says, “was the most open era for foreign press.” (Andreas, like Erick and many other Indonesians, prefers to use his first name when he’s referenced.)
But the situation has worsened since 2004, when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took power and began to threaten journalists. Recent years have brought more challenges. In 2021, the police explicitly forbade the media from airing any police violence, but the order was revoked less than two days later.
Erick hopes the same will happen with the new law. If it remains in place, he says, press freedom will return to pre-1998 levels. “This is undemocratic for a country that upholds democratic principles,” he says, underscoring the stakes for Indonesians if journalists can’t report freely. “The eyes of the world cannot see what is happening.”
