Jakarta – Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) National Coordinator Ubaid Matraji says that the military training on university campuses planned by the Defense Department could weaken student’s critical thinking.

Jakarta – Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan says that Government Regulation (PP) Number 41/2020 on changing the status of KPK employees into state public servants is the final step in weakening the KPK.

On Monday July 27 in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta, SOLIDER (People’s Solidarity for Democracy) held a commemoration of the Kudatuli affair (the July 1996 riots), which was a manifestation of the conflict between the ordinary people and the New Order regime of former president Suharto.

On Tuesday July 15 a protest action against Papuan Special Autonomy (Otsus) Chapter II was held at the zero kilometre point in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta. The joint action was initiated by the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) and the Indonesian People’s Front for West Papua (FRI-WP).

Sania Mashabi, Jakarta – Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Chairperson Asfinawati has revealed several indicators that show the Indonesian government wants to return to the era of Suharto’s New Order regime.

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.

Jakarta – TVRI’s Study from Home (BdR) program produced by the Ministry of Education and Culture will air the film Let the Words Rest (Istirahatlah Kata-kata) about pro-democracy activist and poet Wiji Thukul.

Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch group Imparsial is asking the government to review the planned involvement of active TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (Indonesian police) officers in the Agency for Pancasila Ideology Education (BPIP).

Ali Umar – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo must change the government’s approach in resolving the Papua problem. At the start of his first term in office, Widodo managed to offer a new hope in efforts to find a dignified solution in Papua. He granted amnesty to Papuan political prisoners and guaranteed the upholding of human rights there.

Jakarta – Another hammer-and-sickle flag case has again raised its head after a flag with the communist logo was found in Makassar. Over the years such cases have occurred unintentionally, have related to scholarly studies, hoaxes intended to trigger unrests, criminalisation of activists and the revival of identity politics.

[The following is a translation of a press release issued by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) following the release of five Papuan political prisoners on May 27.]

Jakarta – There has been much discussion on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) of late. This has raised the question of why discussions on the organisation which has been banned in Indonesia since 1966 has emerged in the month of May.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) has highlighted regulations in the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation which give the government the authority to evict people and appropriate their land without the complications of dealing with compensation.

Jakarta – The Labour Movement with the People (Gebrak) is urging the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) to halt the deliberations on controversial draft laws such as the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation and the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) in the midst of the corona virus epidemic.

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia – Indonesian Human Rights Watch Imparsial is warning the government that military training for civilians in the Reserve Component (Komcad) will create new problems, one of which is horizontal conflicts between communities.

Jakarta – Despite supporting President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in the 2014 and 2019 presidential elections, the Indonesian Confederation of Prosperity Labour Unions (KSBSI) opposes the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation.

Adrian Amurwonegoro, Denpasar – Scores of people from the Bali Gender Justice People’s Coalition (KRBAG), the majority of which were women, held a peaceful action at the Car Free Day Area in the Renon area of the Balinese capital of Denpasar on Sunday March 8.

Deti Mega Purnamasari, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) recorded a 300 percent increase in reported cases of sexual violence against women in the cyber world. This is a significant increase from 97 cases reported in 2018 to 281 cases in 2019.

From an op-ed piece titled The Obesity of the ‘Omnibus Laws’ Government Regulations

The government claims that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s so called Omnibus Law on Job Creation will simply some 1,244 articles covering 79 laws making it easier to attract foreign investment, and thereby create more job.

Andi Saputra, Jakarta – The Lokataru Foundation conducted a survey of students on their attitudes towards the policies of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation. The majority of respondents stated that they did not agree with the Omnibus Law because it is neo-New Order (Orba), authoritarian and repressive.