Human rights in Indonesia
Encyclopedia
Indonesia
n government actions have been noted as a concern by advocates for human rights
. Both Human Rights Watch
and Amnesty International
have criticized the Indonesian government on multiple subjects.
, Human Rights Watch
stated :
, in its 2007 Report for Indonesia , stated:
Additionally, on March 6, 2007, the U.S. State Department released its Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Indonesia , which stated:
, including the 2005 Indonesian beheadings of Christian girls.
, and the often corrupt judiciary and military has also led to political altercations with several human rights groups.
, and on July 28 passed the US Congress 2006 Foreign Relations Authorization Bill H.R. 2601 which made specific mention of the ongoing genocide
and legitimacy of its sovereignty of West Papua. Section 1115 was specific section referring to Indonesia and on 30 July 2005 the Jakarta Post reported:
Although not mentioned in the US media, Section 1115 had become a leading Indonesian news story through August and September 2005. In the United States, the US Senate had since early 2001 been rejecting repeated efforts by the Bush
administration to have US funding of the Indonesian military resumed, a ban which had been reluctantly imposed by the Clinton
administration after TNI officers were filmed coordinating the Dili Scorched Earth campaign. By writing and passing Section 1115, the US Congress joins the Senate's earlier efforts to reduce, if not disengage, from the US fiscal and political support of the Indonesian military
, a change of policy which brings both houses into conflict with the Bush administration and the executives of companies such as Bechtel
.
Though Section 1115 states humanitarian and legal reasons for its existence, an additional factor would be security concerns due to ongoing employment of Al Qaeda related terrorist militia by the Indonesian military and their continued funding programs for the Al Qaeda network. Given that the Senate opposition since 2003 has been strengthening on account of the TNI involvement in the death of Americans at the Timika mining site in 2002, the 2005 decision by Congress may reflect a desire to find more economical methods of cripling the Al Qaeda network.
Following President SBY's denouncement of Section 1115, Indonesian lobby groups such as The US Indonesia Society began renewed efforts to promote an Indonesian image of good management and renewed non-militant behaviour under General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration. SBY follows the administration of Megawati
who in 2001 gave a public speech to the TNI instructing all members that they should disregard the issues of human rights in enforcing Indonesian unity and repressing any independence movements.
(OPM) in the Papua conflict
, in which the OPM seeks the secession of Papua and West Papua. High profile prisoners from this movement include Filep Karma
and Buchtar Tabuni
, both of whom are considered to be prisoners of conscience
by Amnesty International
.
A report to the Indonesian Human Rights Network by the Allard K Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic, Yale Law School alleges human rights
violations in the region. The Indonesian military denies allegations of human rights abuses in Papua.
President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
effected a policy change in 2005 away from "law and order" and towards economic development to arrest separatism in Papua. In May 2010, the release of Papuan political prisoners who had demonstrated for independence was announced. In October, a video emerged apparently showing soldiers kicking and abusing alleged separatists in Papua. The Government confirmed that the men were members of the military. The minister for security said their actions were excessive and unprofessional, and that they would be punished.
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n government actions have been noted as a concern by advocates for human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. Both Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
and Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
have criticized the Indonesian government on multiple subjects.
Annual reports of Human Rights Watch, US State Department, and Amnesty International
In its 2007 World ReportWorld Report
World Report is CBC Radio's morning news program, airing weekdays at 5, 6, 7, and 8 AM, and Saturdays and Sundays at 6, 7, 8, and 9 AM. It lasts 10 minutes...
, Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
stated :
Continuing areas of concern in Indonesia include impunity for past human rights violations, the slow pace of military reform, conditions in Papua, imposition of the death penalty, and infringements on freedom of expression and religious freedom.Similarly, Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, in its 2007 Report for Indonesia , stated:
Perpetrators of human rights violations continued to enjoy impunity for violations which occurred in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) and Papua. In Papua, cases of extrajudicial executions, torture and excessive use of force were reported. Across the country, ill-treatment or torture in detention facilities and police lock-ups continued to be widely reported. Three people were executed in September, sparking increased debate about the death penalty. At least 13 people were sentenced to death. Freedom of expression remained under threat with at least eight people prosecuted for peacefully expressing opinions.
Additionally, on March 6, 2007, the U.S. State Department released its Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Indonesia , which stated:
The government generally has been unable to adequately address serious human rights abuses committed in the past. Inadequate resources, weak leadership, and limited accountability contributed to continued abuses by security force personnel, although with sharply reduced frequency and gravity than under past governments. The following human rights problems occurred during the year: unlawful killings by security force personnel, terrorists, vigilante groups, and mobs; torture; harsh prison conditions; arbitrary detentions; a corrupt judicial system; warrantless searches; infringements on free speech; restrictions on peaceful assembly; interference with freedom of religion by private parties, sometimes with complicity of local officials; intercommunal religious violence; violence and sexual abuse against women and children; trafficking in persons; failure to enforce labor standards and violations of worker rights, including forced child labor.The year 2005 was notable for a series of attacks against minority Christians in Poso
Poso
Poso is the main port and transportation hub for the northeastern coast of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Its geographical location is .Poso is one of ten regencies in Central Sulawesi Province, located exactly in the middle of the province on the shore of the gulf of Tomini, right in the central...
, including the 2005 Indonesian beheadings of Christian girls.
Death Penalty
Indonesia's continuation of capital punishmentCapital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
, and the often corrupt judiciary and military has also led to political altercations with several human rights groups.
HR 2601 Section 1115
In 2005, the US Congress revised the previous fifty six year US policy of silence about human rights abuses in IndonesiaIndonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, and on July 28 passed the US Congress 2006 Foreign Relations Authorization Bill H.R. 2601 which made specific mention of the ongoing genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
and legitimacy of its sovereignty of West Papua. Section 1115 was specific section referring to Indonesia and on 30 July 2005 the Jakarta Post reported:
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned the U.S. not to interfere in Indonesia's domestic affairs after the U.S. House of Representatives recently approved a bill that questions the status of Papua.
Although not mentioned in the US media, Section 1115 had become a leading Indonesian news story through August and September 2005. In the United States, the US Senate had since early 2001 been rejecting repeated efforts by the Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administration to have US funding of the Indonesian military resumed, a ban which had been reluctantly imposed by the Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
administration after TNI officers were filmed coordinating the Dili Scorched Earth campaign. By writing and passing Section 1115, the US Congress joins the Senate's earlier efforts to reduce, if not disengage, from the US fiscal and political support of the Indonesian military
Military of Indonesia
The Indonesian National Armed Forces in 2009 comprises approximately 432,129 personnel including the Army , Navy including the Indonesian Marine Corps and the Air Force ....
, a change of policy which brings both houses into conflict with the Bush administration and the executives of companies such as Bechtel
Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation is the largest engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 5th-largest privately owned company in the U.S...
.
Though Section 1115 states humanitarian and legal reasons for its existence, an additional factor would be security concerns due to ongoing employment of Al Qaeda related terrorist militia by the Indonesian military and their continued funding programs for the Al Qaeda network. Given that the Senate opposition since 2003 has been strengthening on account of the TNI involvement in the death of Americans at the Timika mining site in 2002, the 2005 decision by Congress may reflect a desire to find more economical methods of cripling the Al Qaeda network.
Following President SBY's denouncement of Section 1115, Indonesian lobby groups such as The US Indonesia Society began renewed efforts to promote an Indonesian image of good management and renewed non-militant behaviour under General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration. SBY follows the administration of Megawati
Megawati Sukarnoputri
In this Indonesian name, the name "Sukarnoputri" is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name "Megawati"....
who in 2001 gave a public speech to the TNI instructing all members that they should disregard the issues of human rights in enforcing Indonesian unity and repressing any independence movements.
Western New Guinea
International human rights organizations have criticized the Indonesian government's handling of protesters from the Free Papua MovementFree Papua Movement
The Free Papua Movement is a militant organisation established in 1965 to encourage and effect the violent overthrow of the current governments in the Papua and West Papua provinces of Indonesia, formerly known as Irian Jaya to secede from Indonesia, and to reject economic development and...
(OPM) in the Papua conflict
Papua Conflict
The Papua conflict is an ethnic separatist insurgency in Indonesia, predominantly in the Papua and West Papua provinces on the island of New Guinea. Since the withdrawal of the Dutch colonizers in 1963, the militant Free Papua Movement organization has conducted a low-level campaign of attacks on...
, in which the OPM seeks the secession of Papua and West Papua. High profile prisoners from this movement include Filep Karma
Filep Karma
Filep Jacob Semuel Karma , commonly known as Filep Karma, is a Papuan independence activist currently imprisoned for raising the Flag of West Papua in Jayapura, the capital of Indonesia's Papua Province...
and Buchtar Tabuni
Buchtar Tabuni
Buchtar Tabuni is a Papuan independence activist, leader of the National Committee for West Papua . Amnesty International considered him to be a prisoner of conscience....
, both of whom are considered to be prisoners of conscience
Prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...
by Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
.
A report to the Indonesian Human Rights Network by the Allard K Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic, Yale Law School alleges human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
violations in the region. The Indonesian military denies allegations of human rights abuses in Papua.
President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono AC , is an Indonesian politician and retired Army general officer who has been President of Indonesia since 2004....
effected a policy change in 2005 away from "law and order" and towards economic development to arrest separatism in Papua. In May 2010, the release of Papuan political prisoners who had demonstrated for independence was announced. In October, a video emerged apparently showing soldiers kicking and abusing alleged separatists in Papua. The Government confirmed that the men were members of the military. The minister for security said their actions were excessive and unprofessional, and that they would be punished.
See also
- Jakarta riots of May 1998Jakarta Riots of May 1998The May 1998 Riots of Indonesia were incidents of mass violence that occurred throughout Indonesia, mainly in Medan in the province of North Sumatra , the capital city of Jakarta , and Surakarta in the province of Central Java...
- Freedom of religion in IndonesiaFreedom of religion in IndonesiaThe Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right in practice. There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the Government during the reporting period, and government policy continued to contribute to the generally free...
- LGBT rights in IndonesiaLGBT rights in IndonesiaLesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Indonesia will face legal challenges and prejudices not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Traditional mores disapprove of homosexuality and cross-dressing, which impacts public policy...
(Gay rights)
External links
- Freedom of expression in Indonesia - IFEXInternational Freedom of Expression ExchangeThe International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....
- The US Indonesia Society
- AHRC Urgent Appeals translated into Indonesian as well as legislations regarding human right issues in Indonesia.
- Tapol - a UK based NGO focusing on human rights issues in Indonesia