Jakarta – There is concern that the general elections in Aceh will not be democratic if the province is still under a state of marshal law. It is believed that this will also make it difficult of journalists to uphold journalistic standards and there is concern that this will result in reports on the elections which are unbalanced and one sided.

This was brought up during a discussion titled “Reporting on Election Preparations in Aceh” at the Hotel Acacia in Jakarta on Wednesday March 3. Appearing at the event as speakers were Farid Gaban from the General Elections Commission Media Centre, Abdullah Alamudi from the Dr Soetomo Press Institute, Santoso from the Press Council and Syaefurrahman Albanjani from the ANTV television station.

Gaban said that if marshal law is not canceled it would be better not to hold elections in Aceh. Essentially, he was of the view that there cannot be fair elections under these conditions. “There is nothing that can be done democratically under militarism”, he said by way of explanation.

Santoso agreed with Gaban saying that marshal law is identical with a state of war while democracy represents freedom. It is impossible for the two to be reconciled he said.

Santoso acknowledged that there had been a promise by the Aceh emergency military command (PDMD) that they would not intervene in the elections. Furthermore, the PDMD had also explained that the security situation in the territory had been getting more conducive since marshal law came into force almost nine months ago. But he was worried however that “No matter how secure the situation is, if a state of marshal law remains [in force] it will create the image that the elections are undemocratic”.

In general, all of the speakers were concerned that journalists who are covering the elections in Aceh will find it difficult to uphold proper standards of journalism. Alamudi was of the view that the situation will not be very different to the coverage of the conflict in Aceh which has occurred to date. His assessment was that journalists who have been covering the conflict in Aceh frequently violate these journalistic principles. “These violation mainly happen in terms of the accuracy of reports, one sided coverage which ignores the principle of covering both sides, a tendency for the media to side with the security forces, and [the use of] labeling”, said Alamudi.

Alamudi acknowledged that one of the reasons for these violations was because of restrictions and pressure by the military. However journalists, editors as well as program producers should use a check list in order to maintain balanced reporting. In this way, the tendency by the media to fall into the trap of labeling, which is what the military wants, can be avoided.

Gaban added that in order to get rid of this impression, it would be best if journalists covering the conflict be given adequate training. Gaban, who is also the former editor of Tempo Magazine, also suggested that journalists try to show empathy towards the Acehnese people who are suffering more and more because of the conflict. On way to do this he suggested, was for journalists to write more feature reports which dig deeper into what is being experience by the Acehnese people, particularly with regard to the elections.

[Translated by James Balowski.]