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Like UN Indonesia Press Bans Prabowo Visiting US Despite Record In West Papua Condemned

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Thread Photo
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - CJR - PFT

UN GATE, Oct 14 – In the United Nations from which SG Antonio Guterres has banned Inner City Press 834 days for asking about his complicity in the killing of civilians in Cameroon and their mass imprisonment by China in Xinjiang, on August 3 Inner City Press wrote to the Indonesia Mission, as incoming UN Security Council president, with questions about Cameroon, Somalia and UNsexploitation.

There was no answer from IndonesiaUNNY. As the month went on, the Indonesia Mission blocked Inner City Press on Twitter, amid attacks in Indonesia itself on media criticizing the government for its COVID-19 response, see below.

This now, in mid October: condemnation of the visit the United States of serial human rights violator Prabowo Subianto.   ETAN urged that any visa be withdrawn and no weapons or training be promised to Indonesia.  Prabowo is currently the Minister of Defense of Indonesia and reportedly will be visiting the U.S. from October 15-19. In 2001, Prabowo asked a reporter rhetorically "Do I have the guts. Am I ready to be called a fascist dictator?" 

Apparently yes.

For the past 20 years Prabowo has been banned from travel to the U.S. under laws that bar visas for serious violators of human rights. He is the ex-son-in-law of Indonesia’s former dictator Suharto.  Prabowo has been accused of involvement in countless rights violations in Timor-Leste as well as West Papua, Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia.

 During the chaos of the political and economic crisis of 1997-1998, soldier’s under Prabowo’s command were responsible for kidnappings and murders of pro-democracy activists. Prabowo admitted to his role in these crimes, and he was discharged from the military.

He has repeatedly supported anti-democratic reforms in Indonesia such as controlling the media -- see the Indonesia Mission to the UN ham-handed refusal to answer Press questions and blocking of it on the Press, totally undiplomatic -- and has expressed hostility and suspicion towards Indonesia’s religious minorities. His appointment as Defense Minister, and his statements since taking office, show that he is interested in militarizing politics similar to under Suharto’s dictatorship during the New Order.    

 The Indonesian military still asserts considerable power and influence, which has been enhanced under the presidency of Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Prabowo is one of a number of former military officers in the Jokowi government. Indonesia's security forces continue to violate human rights, especially in West Papua.

 Prabowo has twice run for president of Indonesia, in 2014 and 2019, losing both times to the current president. He is reportedly interested in running again in 2024 and is widely considered the front runner. We'll have more on this - the UN's censorship for corruption, by the Indonesian mission, calls for it.

   Djani on August 31 did a stakeout with a dwindling group of sycophant correspondents, who repackaged his bragging about Iran and spin of loss on his one resolution like propaganda. We will continue to report on West Papua going forward.

 In early August Inner City Press tweeted the questions, and re-submitted them the comment box on the Mission's website. Nothing. This as Indonesia's foreign minister Retno Marsudi bragged online, "Under the theme “Advancing Sustainable Peace, Indonesia assumes Presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of August 2020."

  Apparently Indonesia PR Dian Triansyah Djani could only handle questions from pre-screened in-house correspondents, one of whose media has no story by her since 2017, another with no stories at all, at least one - actually, more -- a repeated #MeToo violator.

  He took only six questioners, none on sub Saharan Africa. One of the six was a long retired photographer of UN bribers, who asked about tourism in Bali. As Inner City Press live tweeted, questions came to it about West Papua, on which we'll have more. Djani told a correspondent in a leafy backyard that he, too, lives in New Rochelle, and pitched Batik face masks. It was pathetic. He gave a bonus round for a Maki plant to ask him to trash Armenia about Nogorno Karabakh. We'll have more on this.

 Indonesia has not said a word about the slaughter in Cameroon, nor about the Tel Aviv UN sexploitation exposed by Inner City Press.

  The Program belatedly went up - with countries on which Indonesia ignored and censored questions: Somalia, where UNMAS sent local staff to be killed, and Yemen. There will be COVID (which the UN helped spread in South Sudan) on August 12; closed on Lebanon on August 11, closed on Syria August 5, closed on North Korea August 27, Middle East August 25 and on other days. Nothing on Cameroon or DRC.

  After Inner City Press again on August 4 covered and live tweeted Indonesia's and Djani's session with tame UN NGOs, including one which after lobbying to oust Inner City Press praised Indonesia's human rights record without mentioned West Papua - as Inner City Press immediately did - the Indonesian Mission blocked @InnerCityPress on Twitter. Photo here

  Now in October, with Inner City Press still blocked and banned, the Indonesia mission is bragging about gagging softball UN correspondents in Batik: "Happy to see our colleagues wearing Flag of Indonesia colorful batik masks Smiling face with sunglasses  Stay safe & stay healthy everyone!  #IniDiplomasi #IndonesianWay #BatikDay."

  Those depicted are from Turkish state media, Pass Blue, and even -- totally inappropriately - Melissa Fleming's Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit which bans Inner City Press without even explaining why. Get down with oppression. Today's UN is corrupt.

  This is a pattern: Media organisations in Indonesia have reported a spate of digital attacks directed at critical coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia are deeply concerned that the hacking attacks are aimed at restricting critical reporting and suppressing media freedom.  At least four media organisations have been targeted in an unprecedented series of digital attacks. On August 21, the Tempo news website was replaced with a black screen with the word ‘hoax’, in bold red font splashed across it. The same day articles, including two articles critical of the Indonesian intelligence agency’s role in the pandemic response, were removed from the website of tirto.id.  The Director of the Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers), Ade Wahyudin, on August 21 said the hacking is a legal violation. Wahyudin said there are mechanisms to deal with news reports deemed to be false, which involve submitting the right of reply or filing a complaint to the Press Council.

Indonesia has been president of the UN Security Council. This is the cesspool of censorship into which Guterres has turned the UN.

When Guterres' spokes- / hatchetman Stephane Dujarric holds his noon briefings this month while refusing all questions from Inner City Press despite an on camera promise. And Indonesia? We'll report.

Watch this site.

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