- Balibo.com.au
VIVAnews - Board of judges at the Jakarta Administrative Court declined a lawsuit filed by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) of Jakarta over the banning of Australian motion picture "Balibo" by the Indonesian Film Censorship Board.
The verdict was read by Chief of Judges, Guruh Jaya Saputra, yesterday, August 5. The judges believed that the banning was in line with Governmental Regulation No.7/1994 on film censorship board.
In response to the decision, the Legal Aid Center for Press, which advocate AJI, seemed upset. They saw that the verdict was against Article 60 of Law on Motion Picture which obligates the censorship board to hold talks with film producers.
Legal Aid Center for Press Executive Director, Hendrayana, said the verdict will be a serious precedent on the freedom to acquire information.
"The verdict has aided bury the fact of the killing of journalists in Indonesia," he said.
In early December of 2009, the censorship board banned "Balibo" in Indonesia. The film was based on evidence given to an Australian coronial inquest that found Indonesian troops murdered the reporters in cold blood.
Indonesia claims the reporters -- two Australians, two Britons and a New Zealander -- were killed in crossfire, and has refused to cooperate with an Australian war crimes investigation launched this year.
The ban has stirred debate over the nature of free speech and democracy in Indonesia, which has failed to prosecute any of its military officers over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in East Timor.
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Translated by: Bonardo Maulana W
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