By: Ageng Wibowo Jakarta (Antara) - Female journalist Normalita Sari Wahyuni has to let her unborn child go after she was beaten by Rantau Panjang village official while doing her news covering over a land dispute. The beating incident of the local Paser TV reporter occurred when Normalita was covering the land dispute between a group of people led by the Rantau Panjang village chief Aliansyah and a local citizen group headed by H Nurdin. According to the Indonesian Police Spokesperson Brigadier General Boy Rafli Amar, at 08.00 pm on Saturday (2/3), about 40 people came to Nurdin's house which is being built by two employees. The workers were told to leave, then the cottage was demolished and the wooden materials burned, he said. The incident started when Nurmila Sari Wahyuni assigned by Paser TV Editor on Saturday, March 2, 2013 to cover the land dispute in the village of Rantau Panjang, Paser district. While at the site, a number of people from the village official group asked Nurmila not to cover the event, but she was brutally beaten by about 16 men of the group when she took out her camera. At the time of the incident, Nurmila also has asked the authorities not to conduct violence, but the request was ignored by the groups and continuing hitting the TV journalist which causes injuries and her miscarriage her two weeks pregnancy. Nurmila was beaten until she fell and then one of the perpetrators crushed her stomach which caused bleeding and fetal loss, where currently she is still hospitalized in Panglima Sebaya Local General Hospital, in Paser District. From the incident, the local police has also detain one suspect who became the culprit of the tragic incident, Rantau Panjang hamlet chief Aliyansyah. "We've named Aliansyah, the hamlet chief as a suspect," said East Kalimantan Police spokesperson Commissioner Antonius Wisnu Sutirta, Monday, March 4, 2013. Anthonius said the suspects allegedly helped molest the victim. The police continue to investigate to find the other offenders. "It is likely the culprit of this incident consist of a number of people," said Antonius. Shortly after the incident, the Paser Resort Police named one suspects, Aliansyah, the Rantau Panjang village secretary on the beatings of a female Paser TV journalist. As a result of his actions, the village secretary has violated Article 170 of the Criminal Code on beatings and violence acts. Criticism uproars upon the brutal incident Following the female journalist beating incident, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) of Balikpapan City condemns the violence act against journalists that broke out in East Kalimantan province. "This incident really hurt the spirit of freedom of the press that had already become the pillars of democracy of this country," said the alliance's secretary, Novi Abdi, Sunday, March 3, 2013. According to Novi, in performing their duties journalists are covered by the law of the press. Any party who are hampering their reporting duties can be sentenced of 6 months imprisonment and a fine of Rp500 million. "Especially in this case, the victim had to miscarriage her two weeks old fetus," she said. Novi said that the AJI Balikpapan had contacted the victim to be asked about the chronology of events and will advocate for the victim to assist in the handling of the law. In line with AJI, the Indonesia Television Journalists Association (IJTI) for East Kalimantan also strongly condemned the actions and demand the village officials who conducted the disgraceful act can be prosecuted. "On this occasion, IJTI requires police to conduct a thorough investigation and bring the perpetrators to be prosecuted," said the East Kalimantang IJTI chief Fitriansyah Adisurya earlier after the incident. In line with IJTI, Chairman of Commission I of Parliament of East Kalimantan, Sudarno also condemned this action. He asked the local authorities to take action about the incident and remove the village official from his office. "No reason, such officials should be prosecuted, removed and taken to the law," said Sudarno. In addition to the following two journalist associations, Indonesian Women Journalists Forum (FJPI) of Aceh also condemns the brutal beatings. "We condemn this action because it is done by the government officials and its citizens. We also urge law enforcement to take the case to its conclusion," said FJPI Chairman of Aceh, Saniah LS, in Banda Aceh on Monday, March 4. "We are very sorry to Nurmila and deeply regret this incident was done by a government officer, the head of the village. Even with deliberately letting other people join to beat her up in group," she said. FJPI expects this case to be addressed by the law and the perpetrators to be punished. "The case is a violation against the Act No. 40 of 1999 on the Press and the Criminal Code because this incident is considered as a crime," she said. (*)

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