Granada, Spain – Indonesia's Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) was awarded the International Press Institute's "Free Media Pioneer '97" prize Monday at the opening of the group's sixth annual meeting.

Satrio Arismunandar, secretary-general of AJI, accepted the award before a gathering of more than 500 journalists and other members of the media from around the globe.

In a brief opening statement King Juan Carlos applauded journalists for their "sacrifices and unselfishness" on behalf of democracy. The king urged the media to be the voice of "dialog, tolerance and mutual respect between peoples and cultures. "

The award presentation was made by Charles Overby, president and CEO of The Freedom Forum along with Peter Preston, chairman of the International Press Institute and editorial director of The Guardian and Observer newspapers in England.