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.

Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) says that violations against freedom of religion and belief (KBB) occur because the law is bias towards the majority. Imparsial researcher Amelia says that several regulations guarantee the right to freedom of religion and worship but others threaten this freedom.

Yulida Medistiara, Jakarta – The Nusantara Traditional Community Alliance (AMAN) has criticised the government’s plan for couples to take pre-marital lessons on family life and children’s welfare before they can get married. AMAN believes that it will be difficult for traditional communities to qualify for this.

Jakarta – The 2019 selection of candidate state civil servants (CPNS) has created a polemic related to a special requirement which is being applied by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) that applicants not have a deviant sexual orientation.

Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) has found scores of violations against freedom of religion and worship (KBB) or intolerance in Indonesia over the last year.

Imparsial Program Coordinator Ardimanto Adiputra said that the violations against freedom of religion and worship occurred in a variety of forms.

Dian Kurniati, Jakarta – The Presidential Palace has confirmed that it plans to revive the law on a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) which was annulled by the Constitutional Court in 2006.

Rahel Narda Chaterine, Jakarta – A group of students from the Semanggi Student Action Front held a commemoration marking 21 years since the Semanggi I tragedy. They even managed to put up a huge banner demanding that the perpetrators of human rights violations be brought to trial.

Kristian Erdianto, Jakarta – During a working meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto explained the concept of defense and security which he will pursue over the next five years.

Muthia Kusuma, Jakarta – National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Commissioner Choirul Anam has noted a number of reports related to alleged human rights violations involving the desecration of religion which have still not be resolved.

Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has criticised remarks by the new Attorney General ST Burhanuddin when he explained the obstacles to resolving cases of past human rights (HAM) violations to the House of Representatives’ (DPR) Commission III on Thursday November 7.

Adi Ahdiat, Jakarta – Research and international digital rights advocacy institute Freedom House says that internet freedom in Indonesia has worsened compared with last year.

According to their rating, in 2018 Indonesia was rated as 54 out of 100, but in 2019 its position dropped to a ranking of 51.

Jakarta – Civil freedoms under the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo are seen as having declined. Based on the results of a Saiful Mujani Research Center (SMRC) survey between May and June 2019, 43 percent of respondents said they were afraid of expressing an opinion in public.

Jakarta – The 2019 Press Freedom Index in Papua is still in the lowest position out of Indonesia’s 34 provinces. The Press Freedom Index for Papua stands at 66.56 or “slightly free”, or only one level above “almost free”.

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.

Wahyu Setiawan, Valda Kustarini, Jakarta – Amnesty International believes that resolving cases of human rights violations in Papua is more important than creating a new province. Amnesty Executive Director Usman Hamid says that this is not the right solution for Papua at the moment.

From an oped piece titled This is Bahasa Indonesia.

The betrayal of the mandate of reformasi – the political reform movement that began in 1998 – has angered Indonesia’s youth, students and the ordinary people.

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).

Alfian, Makassar -- The momentum of Youth Pledge Day on Monday October 28 was used by students and local people in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar to again take to the streets to voice their demands.

Surabaya – Hundreds of workers and student from various different organisations calling themselves the United People’s Struggle Alliance (APPR) held a demonstration at the East Java governor’s office on Jl Pahlawan in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya.