Radio Era Baru Files Second Complaint Against Chinese Interference

Johny Nelson Simanjuntak, an investigator for the Indonesian Human Rights Committee (Komnas Ham Indonesia), holds a letter from the Chinese Embassy to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The letter asks the Ministry to prevent Radio Era Baru from broadcasting. (Xie Menghan/The Epoch Times)

JAKARTA, Indonesia–Indonesia’s broadcasting watchdog has responded again to pressure from the Chinese Embassy by asking Radio Era Baru (New Epoch Radio) to stop broadcasting. The station responded by filing a complaint with Komnas Ham Indonesia, the Indonesian Human Rights Committee.

At a press conference on March 10, Raymond Tan, a representative of the station, said that the Chinese Embassy has been trying to close it down ever since the station was founded. An official from Komnas Ham said the Embassy acted in defiance of the law in attempting to interfere with Indonesia’s internal affairs.

Tan said Chinese officials visited the Indonesian Broadcast Commission in 2007 asking the government to shut down the radio station because it had been airing criticism of Beijing’s human rights conditions, including news of the suppression of Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Falun Gong practitioners.

The letters were delivered by the officials to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Department of Espionage, the Department of Communication and Information, and the Broadcast Commission.

Tan showed the letters from the Chinese Embassy and news of Chinese officials visiting the Broadcast Commission, as well as the letter of March 8 from the Broadcast Commission asking the station to shut down.

Johny Nelson Simanjuntak, an investigator for Komnas Ham, exhibited letters from the Chinese Embassy to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as evidence of why the radio station was not able to obtain a license and was ordered to halt its broadcasts.

Simanjuntak called on the government of Indonesia to handle this case carefully. He believes it could be the start of a malicious cycle.

He said the first time the station filed a complaint, Komnas Ham also wrote a letter to the Department of Communication and Information. That was on Oct. 16, 2008, but the department has not yet responded. “The Department’s attitude did not seem to change,” Simanjuntak said.

Simanjuntak confirmed that Komnas Ham will continue to write to the Broadcast Commission to inquire why the station was not approved for a license. Radio Era Baru owns qualified hardware and technology and broadcasts content that is legal.

Simanjuntak plans to meet with officials from the Chinese Embassy. He will ask them to explain why they want to block Radio Era Baru.

Radio Era Baru’s lawyer Hendrayana told New Tang Dynasty TV (NTDTV) that he asked the government offices, broadcasting watchdogs, and Broadcast Commission to “respect legal procedures instead of trying to intimidate and suppress the radio station.”

Read the original Chinese article.