Richard Ness : Blog : Thoughts on The NYTimes and NGO Behavior

Thoughts on The NYTimes and NGO Behavior - 05 Nov 2005
by Eric

Just wanted to welcome you to the site. As many of you know my father Richard Ness is currently on trial in Indonesia for a crime that never happened and is currently facing ten years in prison and a US$ 60,000 fine. He is accused of polluting the environment and causing illnesses when independent studies have repeatedly confirmed that there is no environmental damage, that wastes are disposed in accordance with the applicable environmental regulations, and most importantly medical analysis has established that there is no incidence of arsenic or mercury poisoning among the local community.

For a variety of reasons that are best described as political, the scientific facts that unambiguously show that my father is innocent were put aside in favor of lies and misinformation.

Two factors stand out as important explanations for the existence of the criminal trial against our father. First we observed that there is a systematic pattern of slanted reporting by the New York Times. Second, certain NGOs have used the platform of public interest to wage a dirty campaign of misinformation. The New York Times reporting combined with the dramatic campaign by NGOs encouraged regulatory excesses leading to unnecessary and unfair detention of five innocent individuals.

Further, what outraged us the most is that this fake case imposed a travel ban on our father that prohibited him from attending the funeral of his eighteen month old granddaughter in Minnesota. You can imagine the pain and the outrage we feel. We believe that unfair and incomplete reporting by Jane Perlez of the New York Times contributed to the detentions and the travel ban. While there are several parties involved in the fabrication of this case, the inaccurate reporting by the New York Times reporter Jane Perlez stands out. So there should not be any doubt about the very personal nature of our feelings about Jane Perlez and the cohort of reporters who are trying to protect and cover up Jane Perlez's investigative failures.

As you would see on this website, we provide analysis and reports that prove that Jane Perlez violated the basic codes of professional journalism. We would establish that just like the journalistic failures of Jason Blair and Judith Miller, Perlez's writings were not adequately scrutinized for accuracy and balance by the New York Times newsroom managers.

We would also provide data and results to show that NGOs in Indonesia have campaigned on the platform of lies and misconstrued facts for private benefits rather than public interest as NGOs are supposed to be.

We are launching this website to keep our family and friends in the US and Indonesia, and members of the press informed about the case. We hope to make this site a place from where you would find the truth about those who are not telling the truth. The Untold Story of Buyat Bay has started. Read the introductory blogs Jane vs Jane and other forthcoming opinion pieces.