Irmawati, Makassar – Around 30 journalists from the Makassar Journalists Coalition yesterday held a silent protest in front of the Stella Maris Hospital at Penghibur Street, in Makassar, South Sulawesi. They plastered their mouths with black tape as a sign of rejection against all forms of press criminalization.

"We insist that the Press Law be applied when there are disputes involving the media," said Makassar Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI) chairman, Andi Fadli. He said, there are efforts to silence the press by penalizing and charging journalists as crime suspects, like South Sulawesi's Police chief, Insp. Gen. Sisno Adiwinoto, who is currently suing Makassar-based journalist Upi Asmaradhan.