Freedom of Speech & Expression

August 2020

News/Indonesia
Kompas.com – August 22, 2020

Dian Erika Nugraheny, Jakarta – The recent hacking of the Tempo.co website has not intimidated Tempo’s editors who will continue to take a critical stand in their reporting.

News/West Papua
Suara Papua – August 20, 2020

Charles Maniani, Jayapura – On Wednesday August 19, officers from the Abepura sectoral police (Polsek) forcibly broke up a Papuan People’s Solidarity action collecting funds to provide financial assistance to exiled Papua activist and human rights lawyer Veronica Koman.

News/West Papua
CNN Indonesia – August 18, 2020

Jakarta – Hundreds of Papuan students from the East Java cities of Malang and Surabaya held an action on Tuesday August 18 commemorating the racist incident that befell them one year ago.

News/West Papua
CNN Indonesia – August 14, 2020

Jakarta – Activist Veronica Koman says that she is ready to be discarded by the Indonesian government if her activities as a Papua human rights defender are deemed not to support the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

News/West Papua
CNN Indonesia – August 14, 2020

Jakarta – Papuan human rights activist Veronica Koman is questioning the attitude of the Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) which she says ignored her written report to them about the death and rape threats against her.

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.