Jakarta – Three farmers were arrested by police after holding a protest action opposing an oil refinery which coincided with a visit by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to the construction site of the PT Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI) refinery in Jenu, Tuban, East Java, on Saturday December 21.

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) says that the statement by Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs, Mahfud MD, who said that there have been no human rights (HAM) violations under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is a misleading narrative.

Jakarta – A civil society coalition calling themselves the People’s Front for Human Rights Bandung (Bara Hamba) is urging the Minister for Human Rights and Justice (Kemenkumham) to revoke the Human Rights Friendly City award which was recently given to the West Java provincial capital of Bandung.

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.

Farih Maulana Sidik, Jakarta – Students from a number of different campuses held a demonstration in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta to commemorate International Human Rights Day on Tuesday December 10.

The students, who marched from the nearby Horse Statue, were joined by workers, the majority of which wore red clothing.

Putu Ayu Palupi – Scores of students in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta held a protest action at the Pal Putih Monument on December 10 to commemorate International Human Rights Day.

Muhammad Ridwan – Becoming an activist, especially a human rights defender, often means confronting the law. Human rights defenders are not exempt from the treat of criminalisation.

The threat of criminalisation was revealed from data compiled by the Civil Society Coalition for the Protection and Defense of Human Rights (HAM).

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) recorded 1,056 cases related to violations of freedom of assembly in different parts of Indonesia between 2015 and 2018.

Oleh Farid M. Ibrahim – Welcoming December 1, 2019 yesterday, activists from the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) and its supporters in a number of different countries held actions in which they brought and flew the Morning Star independence flag. Several activities were coordinated on social media through the hashtag #GlobalFlagRaising.

Shinta Maharani, Yogyakarta – Around 100 students from the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) along with various other organisations held a protest action demanding a referendum for West Papua at the Gajah Mada University (UGM) traffic circle in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on Sunday December 1.

Rahmat Rahman Patty, Ambon – A protest action by scores of Papuan students calling themselves the Struggle Committee for Democracy and Human Rights in front of the World Peace Gong in Ambon City, Maluku, was broken up by police on Sunday December 1.

Muhammad Ridwan – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid has asked for the discriminative requirements in the selection of candidate state civil servants (CPNS) to be scrapped.

Budiarti Utami Putri and Fikri Arigi, Jakarta – The head of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence’s (Kontras) monitoring bureau, Rivanlee Anandar, believes that the speech by Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto about the

Eva Safitri, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud Md says that cases of human rights (HAM) violations are still being used as a political commodity and his ministry is serious about resolving them through a non-judicial mechanism.

Eva Safitri, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud Md says that Veronica Koman has gone back on her promise to the Indonesian government. He says that Koman should return Indonesia to accept her scholarship obligations.

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.

Yulida Medistiara, Jakarta – The Nusantara Traditional Community Alliance (AMAN) has criticised the government’s plan for couples to take pre-marital lessons on family life and children’s welfare before they can get married. AMAN believes that it will be difficult for traditional communities to qualify for this.

Jakarta – The 2019 selection of candidate state civil servants (CPNS) has created a polemic related to a special requirement which is being applied by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) that applicants not have a deviant sexual orientation.

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.

Dian Kurniati, Jakarta – The Presidential Palace has confirmed that it plans to revive the law on a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) which was annulled by the Constitutional Court in 2006.