INDONESIA PRESS FREEDOM RANKING DROPS

       Indonesia's press freedom ranking slipped this year to 117th from 100th place last year, according to a survey by Paris-based civil society groups Reporters Without Borders.

      The organization, which also functions as a consultant for the United Nations, referenced the killing of two jornalists, and death threath several others received, mainly for their reports on the environment in Indonesia.

       The 178 countries included in the survey were ranked solely based on events between Sep 1, 2009, and Sept 1, 2010. The report took into account press freedom violations only, according to the Reporters Wihout Borders official website www.rsf.org.

       In Indonesi's case the NGO recorded that a cameramen working for SUN TV was killed in August in Tual, the eastern province of Maluku, by a group of villagers when he was attempting to cover a clash between the villagers and residents of neighboring village.

       An investigative journalist whose body was found on July 30, in a river in the eastern province of Papua - where media coverage is highly restricted - was reported to have commited suicide according to NGO.

       The journalist had been suffering from depression for months after soldiers threatened him over his report on ilegal logging there.

      In July, Jakarta-based Tempo magazine's headquarters were hit by petrol bombs thrown by unknown assailants.

       The attack was allegedly linked to the magazine's report that several Indonesian police generals had suspiciously large bank accounts.

       Copies of that issue of the magazine were removed from shelves of stores by men wearing police uniforms.

       A reporter working at the local daily of Harian Aceh was physically abused and has received death threats against him and his family alledgedly from soldiers for his reports on illegal logging, according to the report.