Freedom of Speech & Expression

August 2020

News/West Papua
CNN Indonesia – August 12, 2020

Jakarta – The human rights based community Papua Is Us (Papua Itu Kita) has launched a fund raising campaign to assist human rights activists and lawyer Veronica Kaman who says that the Indonesian government has asked her to return scholarship money she was given amounting to 773 million rupiah (US$52,760).

News/West Papua
CNN Indonesia – August 12, 2020

Jakarta – Papuan activist and former political prisoner Filep Karma says there are differences in how demonstrations proceed in Papua and Jakarta. He says that in Papua, demonstrations are not as free and easy as in Jakarta.

News/West Papua
CNN Indonesia – August 11, 2020

Jakarta – Human Rights activist and lawyer, Veronica Koman, says that the Indonesian government has asked her to return scholarship money amounting to 773 million rupiah (US$52,760) which she received to pursue her master’s degree in Australia in 2016.

News/Indonesia
CNN Indonesia – August 3, 2020

Jakarta – West Papua province has again been recorded as having the worst democracy index. This year (2019), West Papua’s Democracy Index (IDI) was 57.62, even dropping lower from 2018 when it was 58.29 points.

July 2020

News/West Papua
CNN Indonesia – July 20, 2020

Jakarta – Arbi M. Nur, a student from the Khairun University (Unkhair) in Ternate, North Maluku, who was expelled by the university after taking part in a free Papua protest action, has now been charged with treason.

News/Indonesia
Kompas.com – July 17, 2020

Ihsanuddin, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid has slammed violence by police against peaceful demonstrators opposing the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation yesterday.

News/Indonesia
CNN Indonesia – July 13, 2020

Jakarta – Papuan activists and former political prisoner (tapol) Surya Anta has revealed that his first upload from a series of tweets (thread) on conditions at the Salemba prison in Central Jakarta posted on his Twitter social media account has suddenly disappeared.

News/West Papua
Radar Bali – July 7, 2020

Denpasar – The Bali City Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) visited at the Bali Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) offices in the Balinese provincial capital of Denpasar on Tuesday afternoon, July 7.

News/West Papua
Radar Bali – July 6, 2020

Denpasar – The Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) held another demonstration on Monday July 7 at around 10 am. Like earlier actions, the rally was held in the Renon area of the Balinese provincial capital of Denpasar.

June 2020

News/West Papua
Kompas.com – June 29, 2020

Tsarina Maharani, Jakarta – House of Representatives (DPR) Commission III member Taufik Basari from the National Democratic Party (Nasdem) has criticised the sentences demanded by the Balikpapan state prosecutor in a recent case of alleged makar (treason, subversion, rebellion) over the Morning Star flag being flown by Papuans.