(Jakarta) – Indonesian authorities should drop treason charges and release at least 22 activists detained since August 2019 for peaceful acts of free expression concerning Papua, Human Rights Watch said today. These abusive prosecutions show backtracking by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration in dealing with the human rights situation in West Papua and Papua provinces.
Ahead of Papuan nationalists’ “Independence Day” on December 1, foreign diplomats and United Nations officials should monitor demonstrations in Papua and West Papua provinces and the law enforcement response.
“Papua may be a sensitive topic in Indonesia, but that’s no excuse for rounding people up and sending them to prison for peaceful acts of expression,” said Elaine Pearson of Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should drop charges and immediately free people detained for just possessing flags or organizing a protest.”
Each year Papuans attempt to raise the Papuan national Bintang Kejora (“Morning Star”) flag. That frequently results in clashes with local security forces who consider this to be a treasonous activity against the Republic of Indonesia.
Human Rights Watch takes no position on Papuan claims to self-determination, but supports everyone’s right, including for independence supporters, to express their political views peacefully without fear of arrest or other forms of reprisal. The arrest and imprisonment of people for peacefully participating in symbolic flag-raising ceremonies amounts to arbitrary arrest and detention in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Indonesia is a party.
Indonesian authorities arrested the 22 people in August and September following at times violent demonstrations in Papua and West Papua provinces during which thousands of people took part in rallies protesting racism against Papuans. The protests took place after a video circulated of Indonesian militias racially abusing indigenous Papuan students outside their dormitory in Surabaya on August 17.
Papuans demonstrated in at least 30 cities across Indonesia, including Jakarta. Rioting Papuans burned down the local parliament building in Manokwari, as well as prisons in Sorong, West Papua province, and Jayapura, Papua province.
Most of the 20 men and 2 women awaiting trial in 4 cities are charged with treason (makar) under articles 106 and 110 of Indonesia’s Criminal Code. The maximum penalty under article 106 is 20 years in prison, which can be doubled if also convicted of mobilizing others to commit treason, under article 110. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has previously criticized articles 106 and 110 for being “drafted in such general and vague terms that they can be used arbitrarily to restrict the freedoms of opinion, expression, assembly and association.”
The authorities have also accused Veronica Koman, an Indonesian human rights lawyer who has tweeted videos and photographs of the unrest, of “provoking” the demonstrations. Indonesian police asked the Australian consulate in Surabaya “to track her down” in Australia and indicated they would issue an Interpol red notice against her.