TAPOL Statement on the designation of Haris and Fatia as Suspects and Intimidation of Amnesty International Indonesia
London, 22 March 2022Freedom of expression in Indonesia is not improving, and the situation is of increasing concern where the opinion being expressed is critical of the human rights situation of West Papuans.On Thursday 17th March 2022, hundreds of militia members of Laskar Merah Putih, (Red and White Warriors) demonstrated outside the office of Amnesty International Indonesia (AII). They accused both Usman Hamid, Director of Amnesty International Indonesia and his organisation, of being provocateurs and of acting for foreign interests, and undermining Indonesia’s sovereignty. This followed...
Pernyataan TAPOL atas Penetapan Haris dan Fatia sebagai Tersangka serta Intimidasi terhadap Amnesty International Indonesia
London, 22 Maret 2022Kebebasan menyatakan pendapat di Indonesia tidak kunjung membaik. Kondisinya bahkan bisa mengkhawatirkan jika pendapat yang dikemukakan adalah pandangan kritis terhadap persoalan hak asasi manusia (HAM) rakyat West Papua.Kamis, 17 Maret 2022, kantor Amnesty International Indonesia (AII) didemo ratusan anggota milisi reaksioner yang tergabung dalam Laskar Merah Putih (LMP). Mereka menuding Direktur Amnesty International Indonesia Usman Hamid serta lembaganya sebagai provokator dan pengemban kepentingan asing, yang merongrong kedaulatan negara karena mengecam pelabelan...
Penganiayaan dan Penyiksaan Anak di Puncak Papua Bukti Negara Tidak Serius Lindungi Anak di Papua
Tim Advokasi HAM untuk Papua mengutuk keras tindakan penganiayaan dan penyiksaan terhadap 7 anak di bawah umur sehingga menyebabkan satu diantaranya meninggal dunia. Berdasarkan kronologis yang telah kami verifikasi, ketujuh anak tersebut diduga kuat dianiaya dan disiksa oleh aparat TNI karena dituduh mencuri senjata di Pos PT Modern, Bandara Tapulunik Sinak, Kabupaten Puncak, Papua. Peristiwa ini tentu menambah panjang deretan catatan buruk kekerasan oleh Aparat di Papua.Berdasarkan kronologi yang telah kami verifikasi:Bahwa telah terjadi pencurian senjata di Sinak pada tanggal 22 Februari...
The Torture of Children in Puncak Papua is Evidence that the State is Not Serious About Protecting Children in Papua
1 March 2022The Advocacy Team for Human Rights in Papua (Tim Advokasi HAM untuk Papua) strongly condemns acts of persecution and torture of seven minors, causing one of them to die. Based on a timeline of events that we have verified, it is suspected that the deceased child was heavily persecuted and tortured by the military (TNI), because they were accused of stealing weapons from Pos PT Modern Tapulunik Sinak, Puncak Regency, Papua. This event certainly adds to the long list of violence committed by the security forces in Papua.This is the verified timeline:The weapons theft occurred in...
Militarisation, Conflict and Injustice in Maybrat Regency, West Papua
Located right in the heart of the Bird’s Head Peninsula at the Northwest corner of West Papua, Maybrat has often been hidden from the world’s view, due to its remoteness, lack of coverage and seeming peacefulness. Following a period of military expansion in the region, Maybrat has been the scene of violence between the military and West Papua’s pro-independence armed group, TPNPB (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional Papua Barat, the National Liberation Army of West Papua). This briefing shows drivers of recent conflict in Maybrat, especially militarisation and natural resource contestation. This...
Militerisasi, konflik, dan ketidakadilan di Kabupaten Maybrat, Papua Barat
Terletak persis di jantung semenanjung Kepala Burung, ujung barat daya West Papua (lihat peta di bawah), Maybrat kerap kali tersembunyi dari pengamatan karena terpencil, kurang diberitakan dan ada ilusi kedamaian. Pascaperluasan militer di wilayah tersebut, Maybrat menjadi titik konflik antara Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) dan Tentara Pembebasan Nasional Papua Barat (TPNPB). Briefing ini menunjukkan faktor-faktor pemicu konflik terkini di Maybrat, khususnya militerisasi dan perebutan sumber daya alam. Konflik itu telah meningkatkan ketegangan terutama di dua distrik di Maybrat, tempat...
Militarisation, Conflict and Injustice in Maybrat Regency, West Papua
Located right in the heart of the Bird’s Head Peninsula at the Northwest corner of West Papua (see Figure 1 below), Maybrat has often been hidden from the world’s view, due to its remoteness and lack of coverage. As one of the regencies that sprang up in the process of forming new administrative subdivisions (pemekaran) in 2009, Maybrat is part of the wider province of West Papua.Figure 1: Map of West Papua Province. Maybrat Regency is the landlocked green region near the centre. (Source: Monitor Keadilan)Below are some basic statistics:Area: 5,461.69 km² Population: 40,64998.65%...
Free Leo Idjie, Lawyer in the Kisor and LK Cases in West Papua
Free Leo Idjie, Lawyer in the Kisor and LK Cases in West Papua (as published in change.org)The criminalisation of lawyers and activists in West Papua is happening again. This time the target is Leonardo Idjie, lawyer and human rights defender from LBH Kaki Abu (Kaki Abu Legal Aid Institute), Sorong, West Papua.Criminalisation efforts against Leo began whilst he was accompanying the Kisor case and the case of LK, a child accused of breaking the law (anak berhadapan hukum, ABH), at Sorong State Court.Whilst representing these two cases, LBH Kaki Abu encountered numerous...
LK and Systemic State Violence in Papua
TAPOL and Kaki Abu Legal Aid released a video entitled "LK dan Pusaran Kerasan di Papua (LK and Systemic State Violence in Papua)". This campaign video calls for the release of LK, a child accused of having broken the law (ABH) in Maybrat, #WestPapua, who was subjected to torture and forced to undergo an unfair trial.Click this link to watch the full video.
Constitutional Court orders revisions of Omnibus law, but two-year grace period allows room for more exploitation
On 25 November Indonesia’s Constitutional Court issued an order to the Government and parliament to change parts of the ‘Omnibus Law’ (UU Cipta Kerja). The Court also forbade the passing of any further implementing regulations and policies associated with the law in a two-year grace period. If the necessary changes are not made within two years, the Court ordered that the Omnibus Law would become “permanently unconstitutional”. The Constitutional Court’s judgement will put further pressure on the Government to reconsider the Omnibus law. But a two-year grace period could also be exploited. By...
Mahkamah Konstitusi putuskan Omnibus Law harus direvisi, tapi dua tahun masa revisi tetap membuka ruang eksploitasi
Pada 25 November 2021 Mahkamah Konstitusi (MK) memutuskan agar Pemerintah dan Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) Republik Indonesia mengubah beberapa bagian Undang-Undang Cipta Kerja (UU CK/Omnibus Law). MK juga melarang penerbitan peraturan pelaksana dan kebijakan lainnya yang terkait dengan undang-undang tersebut dalam tenggang dua tahun ke depan. Bila hal itu tidak dilakukan, MK memutuskan bahwa Omnibus Law akan menjadi “inkonstitusional secara permanen”.Putusan MK tersebut akan semakin menekan pemerintah untuk kembali mempertimbangkan peran Omnibus Law. Namun, dua tahun masa revisi tetap bisa...
Friendship requires honesty: UK needs to raise human rights and democracy in Indonesia
On Nov. 11, the UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, visited Indonesia during a week-long trip to Southeast Asia. Truss’s outing happened in the context of the UK’s post-Brexit objectives of “tilting” towards the Indo-Pacific region.In her meetings with Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Truss aimed to deepen cooperation between the UK and Indonesia in economy, security and technology. Yet there are several issues which should also have been aired by Truss during her visit. The question of the military’s continuing power and its impact on human rights...
Friendship requires honesty: UK needs to raise human rights and democracy in Indonesia
On Nov. 11, the UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, visited Indonesia during a week-long trip to Southeast Asia. Truss’s outing happened in the context of the UK’s post-Brexit objectives of “tilting” towards the Indo-Pacific region.In her meetings with Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Truss aimed to deepen cooperation between the UK and Indonesia in economy, security and technology. Yet there are several issues which should also have been aired by Truss during her visit. The question of the military’s continuing power and its impact on human rights...
TAPOL Statement regarding the attack against Veronica Koman’s family and situation of Human Rights Defenders in Indonesia
TAPOL is deeply concerned about a series of escalating threats and attacks made against the family of prominent Indonesian human rights lawyer and defender, Veronica Koman in Jakarta. These threats and attacks indicate a worsening situation for human rights lawyers and defenders in Indonesia, with other prominent human rights defenders being subjected to police investigations. The incidents against Koman’s family have in recent weeks involved an arson attack outside the house of her parents on 24th October. Two weeks later, on Sunday 7th November, assailants left an explosive device outside...
TAPOL calls on the UK Government to apologise for its role on 1960s massacre in Indonesia
Media StatementLondon, 3 November 2021UK Government should apologise for encouraging 1960s massacres of alleged leftists in Indonesia and appoint independent counsel to investigate On 17 and 24 October, the Observer newspaper published new research undertaken by academics and journalists, disclosing the existence in 1965 of a covert unit in the UK Foreign Office. The unit spread disinformation purporting to be from Indonesian ‘patriots’ living outside Indonesia, encouraging massacres. Since the fall of the New Order dictatorship in Indonesia in 1998, many revelations have come to light about...
TAPOL mourns loss of Max Stahl, legendary filmmaker who committed his life to East Timor
TAPOL is sad to report the death of Max Stahl, the legendary journalist and filmmaker who will be remembered, above all, for filming the Santa Cruz massacre in East Timor on November 12, 1991. The massacre of 271 people happened in the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, where Indonesian security forces opened fire on graveside mourners. It was a turning point in the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. Max’s footage came about whilst he was preparing material for the television documentary ‘In Cold Blood: the Massacre of East Timor’. It was shown in many countries and played an important role in...
Urgent Action by ELSHAM Papua
URGENT ACTIONNo.15/DIR-ELSHAM/UA/XI/2021ToMarsekal TNI Hadi Tjahjanto
Panglima Tentara Nasional Indonesia
Mabes TNI Cilangkap Jakarta Timur 13870
IndonesiaDear Chief Marsekal TNI Hadi Tjahjanto,ELSHAM Papua is supported by 24 institutions and civil society organisations from across the land of Papua, throughout Indonesia, and internationally, expressing deep concern over the shooting of two children in Sugapa, Intan Jaya Regency, Melpianus Sondegau (2 years old) who died, and Yoakim Majau (6 years old) was a victim of gunshot wounds. The shooting of these two children was...
The Indonesian military and counter-terrorism: new business, same old ways
From the early 2000s, terrorism in Indonesia was regarded as a matter of ‘security and order’, and dealt with by the police and its militarized anti-terror unit, Densus 88. However, in 2018, legislation was amended which marked a shift in that the Indonesian military was again given a key role in countering terrorism. In 2021, this legal provision was brought into play as the main West Papuan armed resistance, the TPNPB was designated as a ‘terrorist’ organisation by the Government. The move further cements the military’s power and authority, which has been growing for twenty years, and has...
Militer Indonesia dan Kontraterorisme: Bisnis Baru, Cara Lama
Sejak awal 2000-an, terorisme di Indonesia dilihat sebagai masalah “keamanan dan ketertiban” yang ditangani oleh kepolisian dan satuan antiterornya yang termiliterisasi, Detasemen Khusus 88 (Densus 88). Namun, tahun 2018, perubahan undang-undang antiteror menandai kembalinya peran militer dalam melawan terorisme. Tahun 2021, peraturan itu digunakan saat kelompok perlawanan bersenjata terbesar di West Papua, TPNPB, ditetapkan sebagai organisasi teroris oleh pemerintah.Penetapan tersebut semakin meningkatkan kekuasaan dan otoritas militer, yang sebetulnya telah tumbuh dalam dua puluh tahun...
Militer Indonesia dan Kontraterorisme: Bisnis Baru, Cara Lama
Sejak awal 2000-an, terorisme di Indonesia dilihat sebagai masalah “keamanan dan ketertiban” yang ditangani oleh kepolisian dan satuan antiterornya yang termiliterisasi, Detasemen Khusus 88 (Densus 88). Namun, tahun 2018, perubahan undang-undang antiteror menandai kembalinya peran militer dalam melawan terorisme. Tahun 2021, peraturan itu digunakan saat kelompok perlawanan bersenjata terbesar di West Papua, TPNPB, ditetapkan sebagai organisasi teroris oleh pemerintah.Penetapan tersebut semakin meningkatkan kekuasaan dan otoritas militer, yang sebetulnya telah tumbuh dalam dua puluh tahun...