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.

Racism by the ruling class through the security forces and reactionary civil militia groups against the Papuan people has triggered a fight back. The siege and attack on the Papuan student dormitory in the Central Java city of Surabaya on August 16 triggered a wave of anti-racist protests in Papua and across Indonesia.

Surabaya – A protest action by the United People’s Struggle Alliance (APPR) to commemorate Youth Pledge Day at the East Timor governor’s office in the provincial capital of Surabaya was joined by various labour and student organisations as well as protesters from the Surabaya Papua Student Alliance (AMP).

Jakarta – Activist and human rights lawyer for Papuan affairs, Veronica Koman, has met with Australian parliamentarians in Canberra. She said that during the meeting she asked the government of the Kangaroo Country to play a more active role in ending the bloodshed in Papua.

Jakarta – Two international non-government organisations (NGOs), namely the Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) from Holland and the Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) from Canada, have written to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in relation to the prosecution of Veronica Koman.

Jakarta – Papua Student Alliance (AMP) lawyer Veronica Koman has finally spoken out about being declared a suspect by the East Java provincial police for inciting an incident at the Papuan student dormitory in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya in August.

Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) believes that the police have failed to look at the context when they declared Veronica Koman and Surya Anta suspects. Komnas HAM Deputy Chairperson Sandrayati Moniaga said that both are included in the ranks of human rights defenders.

Dian Kurniati and Adi Ahdiat, Jakarta – The Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) has been widely criticised as being undemocratic.

Devina Halim, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid is of the view that the naming of Veronica Koman as a suspect could create fear among the public about speaking out on issues related to human rights (HAM) violations in Papua.

Glery Lazuardi, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition is calling on the government to postpone the ratification of the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) because it still contains articles on insulting religion and blasphemy which are open to multiple interpretations and are applied in a discriminative way.

Andita Rahma, Jakarta – The deputy chairperson of the House of Representatives’ (DPR) Commission I, Golkar Party politician Satya Widya Yudha, supports a plan by the National Police (Polri) to monitor chats on WhatsApp message groups. This, he said, will be done to prevent the spread of fake news.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) is urging Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs (Kemenko Polhukam) Wiranto to cancel the formation of a legal team tasked with monitoring the remarks, actions and thoughts of certain figures who are allegedly threatening state sec

Jakarta – Indonesian Police Chief (Kapolri) General Tito Karnavian is threatening to use the maker (treason, subversion, sedition) articles to deal with mass movements or people’s power protests which have been called for by several parties following the April 17 presidential and legislative elections (pemilu).

The following is a statement by the Organisation of Socialist Youth Groups (OKMS) on the terrorist attack against worshipers performing Friday prayers in Christchurch New Zealand.

Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) hopes that the police will soon provide an explanation for the arrest of an activist from the Foundation for Legal Education and Democracy (LPHD), Iwangin Sabar Olif.

M Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) says it is disappointed that eight Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) activists in Banda Aceh have been named as suspects by the police saying that the police are protecting the interests of a company that appropr

Rini Kustiani, Jakarta – A volunteer who has been working in Aceh since the tsunami disaster submitted a judicial review of the hate sowing articles in the Criminal Code to the Constitutional Court on Wednesday March 21.

For more than a month, Iqbal Siregar (36), an activist from the Islamic Youth Movement (Gerakan Pemuda Islam, GPI), has been incarcerated in the holding cells of the Metro Jaya local police. He spends his days in a cell measuring 5 x 6 metres with criminal suspects. Iqbal has absolutely no relationship with the world of crime.