Frontpage of Blog Nameknamuk (Jubi)
Merauke, 6/2 (Jubi) – Merauke Regent Romanus Mbaraka has reported an Internet blog to the police, accusing it of defamation.
Merauke Police chief AKBP Sri Satyatama said Tuesday that the report concerned articles published on http://nameknamuk.wordpress.com/ in October 2013 that Mbaraka deemed to be insulting. The author of the blog remains unidentified.
“I have read the posts on the blog. An investigation is under way to find out who the blogger is,” he said.
Libel is a violation of the law, he said.
The chief of the Crime and Investigation Unit of the Merauke police, First Inspector Agus Siswanto, said investigators were seeking to question the people behind the blog.
In its 2013 year-end report, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in Jayapura noted that access to the internet among Papuans has improved.
The growth of websites and social networking activity that conveyed information about Papua, according to AJI Jayapura, are undeniably influencing socio-political dynamics in Papua.
The “war” of information about Papua is a new phenomenon. The distortion of information about Papua has becoming a “common” thing. The development of the internet means that the mainstream media are no longer be the primary source of information among Papuans.
This situation is inevitable and people should exercise caution when dealing with information. (Jubi/Ans/rom)
