September/October 2000 | Contents

INDONESIA: THE PRICE OF STORY

Hoesin Kalahapan thought that an independent small-town newspaper could make a difference in the new Indonesia. A loosening of central authority after President Suharto resigned in May 1998 allowed a free press for the first time in thirty years, so he returned in 1999 as the managing editor of the weekly Tabloid Menara.

There was indeed press freedom, but local advocacy groups documented thirty cases in the first six months of 2000 in which journalists were threatened and attacked -- usually by private individuals or mobs. And what happened to Kalahapan was worse.

In the capital of the remote province of East Kalimantan, Kalahapan was working a story about a missing "reforestation fund" provided by the central government to the province. "I had data and documents -- I wrote a story asking where the money went," he says. "I did not accuse anyone."

On February 21, Kalahapan was snatched at knifepoint near his home, held for several hours and warned to drop the story. Three weeks later, he was again kidnapped, beaten, and warned to stay away from the story or die. The story had a life of its own, however. Provincial authorities could not account for the money and a high-profile national magazine ran a piece accusing the governor of mishandling the funds. Kalahapan fled in March for Jakarta.

On April 3 he was lured to a false meeting and again abducted. Blindfolded and driven to what seemed to be a remote location. A series of men interrogated him, accusing him of attacking the provincial governor. Each evening he would be dangled by his feet, beaten, and questioned. Cold and weak, he thought he would die. Finally, after seven days, his captors dumped him in an outlying district of Jakarta. Kalahapan was taken to a safe house, where his pregnant wife and five-year-old daughter joined him.

Under the glare of local publicity, Kalahapan and his press allies feel that he may be safe from further attack, but no one is sure. "I can't say who did this," says Kalahapan, whose voice rarely rises above a whisper. "It must involve the political elite. But I am not the enemy of anyone. I was just being a reporter."

-- A. Lin Neumann

Neumann is a consultant on Asian issues to the Committee to Protect Journalists. He is based in Bangkok.