Abepura
(Indonesia) (AFP) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Saturday decades-old
reporting restrictions for foreign journalists in Papua would be lifted and
ordered the release of a group of political prisoners in the insurgency-hit
eastern province.
The moves
signalled that Widodo, who took office last year, is easing the tight grip that
Jakarta has long kept on the mineral-rich province, where poorly armed fighters
have for years fought a low-level insurgency against the central government.
Widodo has
taken a keen interest in Papua, pledging to improve livelihoods in the
heavily-militarised area which lags behind other parts of Indonesia in terms of
development.
He revealed
in an interview with a group of reporters in Abepura, Papua, that from Sunday
foreign journalists would be allowed full access.
"Tomorrow
I will declare it," he said. However, implementing the change could prove
tough.
Human
Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono predicted there would be resistance
from some quarters, including the foreign ministry which currently oversees the
visa issuing process.
He said
there would also be "a lot of pressure to implement it" in the coming
months.
Indonesia
has long been deeply sensitive about foreign journalists covering Papua.
Applying for permission to go there is complex, and it is rarely granted.
Punishments
for foreigners caught illegally reporting can be harsh -- two French
journalists were given short jail terms last year for trying to make a
documentary on the separatist movement without authorisation.
Presidential clemency
The
disclosure came shortly after five political prisoners -- convicted over a 2003
raid on an Indonesian military weapons arsenal -- were granted clemency by
Widodo. They will soon walkfree from Abepura prison.
Dozens of
Papuan separatists are in jail for committing treason for acts such as raising
the pro-independence "Morning Star" flag and taking part in
anti-government protests.
Widodo
shook hands with the five ethnic Melanesian prisoners at the prison, presenting
each with a letter confirming the remainder of their sentences was being
waived.
"Today
we are releasing these five detainees to stop the stigma of conflict in
Papua," he told reporters at the prison.
"We
need to create a sense of peace in Papua. This is just the beginning."
The release
marks a change in approach from previous governments. During the 10-year rule
of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, only one political prisoner in Papua was
granted clemency, according to Human Rights Watch.
However
Human Rights Watch's Harsono called on Widodo to go further by offering
prisoners amnesties. Prisoners have to request clemency and admit guilt before
it is granted, but this is not a requirement for an amnesty.
There are
still regular flare-ups of violence in Papua, where insurgents are fighting on
behalf of the mostly ethnic Melanesian population.
Indonesian
troops are regularly accused of abusing Papuan villagers in the name of
anti-rebel operations, but Jakarta denies allegations of systematic human
rights abuses.
Jakarta
took control of Papua, which forms half of the island of New Guinea, in 1963
from former colonial power the Netherlands.
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