The Merdeka West Papua Support Network condemns the bombing attack at the editorial office of Media Jujur Bicara or Jubi TV this early dawn of October 16. Molotov cocktails were suspected to have been thrown by two people on a motorbike in Jubi's yard, burning two parked cars.
Witnesses said the office was under surveillance by unknown men before the bombing.
The Indonesian Television Journalists Association (IJTI) Papua-Maluku strongly condemns the terror attack saying that it is “not only a physical threat, but also a direct attack on press freedom and democracy in Papua.”
IJTI said that the bombing is part of the “systematic effort to silence press freedom and democracy in Papua” thus calling for Papuan journalists to stand united against ”all forms of intimidation."
This is not the first bombing attack related to Jubi. On January 23, 2023, a bomb exploded outside the house of Jubi founder and editor Victor Mambor. But in October, Mambor was informed that the police investigation had been terminated months prior without any clarity amid all available video footage and evidence.
Mambor is an award-winning journalist, former Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Papua chair, and member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Mambor and Jubi are renowned for their critical reporting and support for the West Papua movement for human rights and freedom.
Last April 2024, Mambor and the Jubi team visited several cities in Australia for the West Papua Film Festival produced under the Jubi TV Documentary Program. The touring festival aims to raise awareness of internal displacement, historical oppression, and coercion under the Indonesian government occupation, arts and culture, and the aspiration for self-determination.
We stand with Jubi and Mambor and all the journalists braving the most dangerous situation for the press and democracy in West Papua. The Indonesian government maintains its ban on United Nations officials and journalists to enter and report inside West Papua.
These violent assaults are nothing but utmost desperation to sow fear and intimidation from those in power to expose the reality in West Papua, and silence and vilify any efforts to amplify the West Papuan’s call, Papua Merdeka!
Reference:
Merdeka West Papua Support Network
Comentarios