Sukma Indah Permana, Yogyakarta – A film showing of the documentary Buru Island My Homeland (Pulau Buru Tanah Tanah Air Beta) at the offices of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in the Umbul Harjo area of the Central Java city of Yogyakarta has been closed down by police.
The film showing about the lives of former Buru Island political prisoners which was organised by AJI as part of International Press Freedom Day was initially threatened with closure on the grounds that it did not have a permit.
At around 7pm on Tuesday May 3, officers from the Yogyakarta municipal police (Polresta) arrived led by operational section chief Police Commander Sigit.
When asked about a permit, the AJI organising committee explained that the event would not involve large numbers of people and that an invitation had already been submitted to the Yogyakarta provincial police chief and the deputy police chief.
Sigit however, who continued to ask for a permit, then requested that the event be stopped. “This [event] doesn’t have a permit, there was no notification”, explained Sigit.
A short time later members of a social organisation wearing military fatigues arrived and began shouting for the event to be closed down. Scores of police officers then took up positions and prevented the group from entering the venue. Sigit again insisted that the event be stopped, this time on the grounds of avoiding a conflict.
AJI members again explained that the event was part of the commemorations of International Press Day. The Indonesian national anthem Indonesia Raya was also sung by scores of people at the venue. Police however refused to budge and the event was closed down.
The situation at the venue became tense with scores of police remaining on guard until 8.30pm, even after the event had been closed. (sip/dra)
[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the report was Acara Pemutaran Film ‘Pulau Buru Tanah Air Beta’ di AJI Yogya Dibubarkan Polisi.]
