[Media-watch] FW: [media-squatters] Aceh embedded journalists

[david Miller]

http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/Weekly2003/05.13.2003/Indonesia.htm

The Jakarta Post
Sunday, May 11, 2003

Embedded journalists to cover military operations

By Tiarma Siboro

* Also: EMBEDDED IN IRAQ: WAS IT WORTH IT? (Washington Post)

JAKARTA (Jakarta Post/Pacific Media Watch): Learning from the U.S.-led
coalition in the Iraq war, the Indonesian Military (TNI) has called on 60
local journalists who will be "embedded" with its troops during their
operation in restive Aceh.

For the purpose, the journalists, who come from various print and electronic
media, will undergo four days of training provided by the TNI at the Sangga
Buana training camp belonging to the Army's Strategic Reserve Command in the
West Java town of Karawang.

During the training, which takes place from Sunday through Wednesday, the
reporters will learn basic military capabilities on the
battlefield,including the art of survival, technical basics of sea-landings
and air drops and how to be alert for bombs and bullets.

The training is mandatory, according to TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie
Sjamsoeddin, for journalists who want to cover the day-to-day operations
from the front line. Each journalist will receive a "licence" at the end of
the training.

The exercise is closed to journalists of any nationality from the foreign
media.

"I don't know whether there are any political considerations from the
Foreign Ministry (to exclude journalists working for foreign media), but for
me it is clear that we (the TNI) do not want any disturbance during the
operation," Sjafrie told a press briefing on Friday, referring to foreign
journalists who could cause problems.

Like soldiers, the journalists will also wear bullet-proof vests and helmets
when they cover a raid on Free Aceh Movement (GAM) camps. Sjafrie said the
presence of the media would ensure that soldiers would not violate human
rights.

To provide the flow of information on the ongoing operations, TNI has set up
media centers at its headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta and the
operation's central command in Lhokseumawe, some 230 kilometers east of the
Aceh capital of Banda Aceh.

The media center in Aceh will be equipped with satellite communications to
help the journalists send stories or broadcast news across the country.

Sjafrie said that the training would be necessary for journalists to know
the dos and don'ts during operations.

"Of course the journalists won't get enough sleep or may eat a little bit
late, but those are the conditions that must be accepted," Sjafrie said.

Media observers and practitioners have warned that the objectivity and
independence of media coverage in Aceh could be threatened should
journalists be embedded with the troops.

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