A worldwide coalition of human rights and other organizations has written an open letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, calling on him to work to achieve substantive justice for the people of Timor-Leste.
Press Releases
On 18 October, members of the anti-terrorist squad, Detachment 88 arrested Iwanggin Sabar Olif, a human rights activist in Jayapura. A few days later, he was moved to Jakarta where he is now being held at police headquarters.
Calls for the release of prisoners jailed under Indonesia’s draconian ‘hate-sowing’ laws, including Papuans Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage, have been reiterated today by TAPOL, which promotes human rights, peace and democracy in Indonesia.
The presence in Papua of a senior Indonesian army officer indicted on crimes against humanity charges in East Timor (now Timor-Leste) endangers human rights defenders and political activists and is a sign of the Indonesian government’s lack of commitment to justice and accountability.
When the governor of Jakarta, Sutiyoso, rejected a request earlier this week to attend and testify at the inquest into the death of British journalist Brian Peters, he was showing contempt for a long-delayed effort to examine the circumstances that led to the deaths of the 'Balibo Five' in October 1975.
In an open letter to the presidents of Indonesia and Timor-Leste, a worldwide coalition of three dozen human rights organizations led by groups from Indonesia and Timor-Leste have called on President Yudhoyono and President Ramos-Horta to close the bilateral Commission for Truth and Friendship (CTF).