A group of New Zealand protestors have questioned whether Indonesia's new President will support genuine media freedom in West Papua.
The group gathered outside Indonesia's embassy in Wellington yesterday, calling for media freedom in West Papua.
This follow's last week's conviction of two French journalists for misusing their tourist visas to work in Indonesia's Papua province.
The pair, who were arrested and detained in August, were sentenced in Jayapura to two and half months in prison.
One of the protestors, the New Zealand MP Catherine Delahunty, says Indonesia seems unprepared to open up Papua region to journalists because it has something to hide.
"Will the new President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, who claims to want a new approach to West Papua and is in fact visiting West Papua as a first act of his Presidency, will he support genuine media freedom?"
Catherine Delahunty says unlike in West Papua, journalists are still able to report in the most troubled parts of the world such as Syria and Palestine.
NZ protestors call for media freedom in West Papua, outside Indonesia's embassy in Wellington Photo: RNZI
