3 Dec 2015

Foreign journos assaulted during Papua rally

10:14 am on 3 December 2015

Two foreign journalists have been assaulted by Indonesian police while covering a rally by Papuan students in the capital, Jakarta.

The Australian Brodcasting Corporation's Archicco Fuilianno and Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen were covering the demonstration on Tuesday when police reportedly asked Mr Archicco to erase his footage.

The Jakarta Globe reports that he was beaten by an officer when he didn't comply.

Papuan pro-independence demonstrators stage a protest while police (L) armed with tear gas guns take position in Jakarta on December 1, 2015, before police fired tear gas at a hundreds-strong crowd hurling rocks during a protest against Indonesian rule over the eastern region of Papua.

Papuan pro-independence demonstrators stage a protest while police (L) armed with tear gas guns take position in Jakarta on December 1, 2015. Photo: ROMEO GACAD / AFP

Ms Vaessen recorded the incident, but police reportedly erased the footage.

The chief of the Indonesian Alliance of Independent Journalists, Surwarjono, has urged national police to investigate, saying it's clear that officers violated the law.

Despite president Joko Widodo's efforts to allow foreign journalists to operate more freely, West Papua remains a very sensitive issue to the Indonesian government.