Muhammad Ridwan – Amnesty International Indonesia has responded to a case involving an interfaith activist from West Sumatra, Sudarto, who has been charged with hate speech. Amnesty believes that Sudarto was in fact defending religious minorities’ right to worship.

Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan became the target of subtle insinuations by Jakarta Archbishop Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo after he visited the Cathedral in Central Jakarta for Christmas evening mass on Tuesday December 24.

He insinuated that Baswedan “turned up all of a sudden” in the middle of the Christmas church mass.

Resky Novianto, Adi Ahdiat, Jakarta – Throughout 2019, most of the violence against journalists in Indonesia was committed by police. This was revealed in the Alliance of Independent Journalists’ (AJI) 2019 End of Year Report which was released on Monday December 23.

Ahmad Bil Wahid, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has issued a report on the handling of human rights (HAM) issues in 2019 in Indonesia. Kontras concluded that there has been a retreat on human rights issues this year.

Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) says that violations against freedom of religion and belief (KBB) occur because the law is bias towards the majority. Imparsial researcher Amelia says that several regulations guarantee the right to freedom of religion and worship but others threaten this freedom.

Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) has found scores of violations against freedom of religion and worship (KBB) or intolerance in Indonesia over the last year.

Imparsial Program Coordinator Ardimanto Adiputra said that the violations against freedom of religion and worship occurred in a variety of forms.

Jakarta – Civil freedoms under the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo are seen as having declined. Based on the results of a Saiful Mujani Research Center (SMRC) survey between May and June 2019, 43 percent of respondents said they were afraid of expressing an opinion in public.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) says that civil freedoms under the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo have tended to worsen. LSI Executive Director Djayadi Hanan said that the worsening of civil freedoms has occurred in concert with a decline in several other democratic indictors.

Jakarta – The 2019 Press Freedom Index in Papua is still in the lowest position out of Indonesia’s 34 provinces. The Press Freedom Index for Papua stands at 66.56 or “slightly free”, or only one level above “almost free”.

Racism by the ruling class through the security forces and reactionary civil militia groups against the Papuan people has triggered a fight back. The siege and attack on the Papuan student dormitory in the Central Java city of Surabaya on August 16 triggered a wave of anti-racist protests in Papua and across Indonesia.

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) recorded 78 cases of violations of freedom of expression in public between January and October 2019. These 78 cases involved 6,128 victims, 51 of which died. The data was obtained from the outcome of advocacy and complaints received by YLHHI and its 16 branch offices around Indonesia.

Reza Gunadha, Eleonora Padmasta Ekaristi Wijana – Lawyer and human rights activist Veronica Koman has been awarded the Sir Ronald Wilson Human Rights Award by the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID).

The ACFID presented the award to Koman at its annual conference in Sydney on the evening of Wednesday October 23.

Jakarta – Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Chairperson Abdul Manan predicts that violence against journalists by security forces will still represents a real threat under the next administration of president and vice president elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Ma’ruf Amin.

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) says that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s move to postpone the enactment of the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) will not resolve the problem.

Jakarta – The Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) includes jail sentences for anyone who spreads communist, Marxist and Leninist teachings in public.

Jakarta – The Social Alliance for Democratic Justice (AMUKK) held a protest action opposing the first stage in the enactment of the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Jakarta on Monday September 16.

Hans Arnold Kapisa, Jakarta – West Papuan human rights activist and Manokwari Legal Aid Assessment, Research and Development Institute (LP3BH) Director Yan Christian Warinussy is critical of the 61 figures that were included in a delegation of Papuans who held a meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the State Palace today.

Dian Kurniati and Adi Ahdiat, Jakarta – The Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) has been widely criticised as being undemocratic.

Devina Halim, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid is of the view that the naming of Veronica Koman as a suspect could create fear among the public about speaking out on issues related to human rights (HAM) violations in Papua.

Since the siege on the Papuan student dormitory in Surabaya, a wave of demonstrations by the Papuan people has taken place. Massive protest actions have taken place in at least 14 districts in Papua and West Papua provinces.