Sania Mashabi, Jakarta – Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance Confederation (KASBI) Chairperson Nining Elitos says that Law Number 11/2020 on Job Creation has had the totally opposite effect to the government's stated desire to increase prosperity and create job opportunities.

Jakarta – Newly elected Labour Party General Chairperson Said Iqbal says that the party was established based on the wishes of several labour organisations to begin struggling in parliament and not in the streets as they have been doing up until now.

Jakarta – The criminalisation of activists in 2019 and 2020 has been cited as one of the factors for the decline in the quality of democracy in Indonesia.

Based on a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), democracy in Indonesia scored its worst figure ever with a score of 6.3 and was in 64th place out of 167 countries.

The Semarang State University (Unnes) Student Executive Council (BEM) has joined in criticising the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Ma'ruf Amin.

Jakarta – Forty-four Student Executive Councils (BEM) from several different campuses along with a number of civil society organisations have slammed the University of Indonesia (UI) authorities for summoning UI BEM representatives over a Twitter posting criticising President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Makassar – Students from the Total Reformasi Struggle Front (FPRT) held a protest action on Jalan AP Pettarani in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar on Friday May 21. They were commemorating reformasi or the May 21, 1998 anniversary of former president Suharto announcing that he would step down from the presidency.

Muhammad Saifullah, Banda Aceh – Scores of workers held a long-march from the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque to the Simpang Lima traffic circle in the Achenese provincial capital of Banda Aceh to commemorate International Labour Day which fell on Saturday May 1.

Priyo Setyawan, Yogyakarta – Hundreds of workers from the People's Alliance for Unity (Arus) held a peaceful action commemorating May Day at the zero kilometre point intersection in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on Saturday May 1.

Bandung – Trade unions from across West Java commemorated Labour Day or May Day 2021 by holding an action in front of the Sate building in the provincial capital of Bandung in Saturday May 1.

Makassar – Commemorating International Labour Day or May Day in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar on Saturday May 1, labour and student organisations held a protest action in which they set fire to tyres and demanding the annulment of the Job Creation Law and the payment of holiday bonuses.

Lukman Hakim, Surabaya – On Saturday May 1 hundreds of workers from the Indonesian Metal Trade Workers Federation (FSPMI) held a demonstration in front of the Negara Grahadi building on Jalan Gubernur Suryo in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya as part of activities commemorating International Labour Day.

Dian Erika Nugraheny, Jakarta – Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) Executive Director Damar Juniarto say that the state of freedom of expression in digital space worsened in 2020. He referred to it with using the term "alert level two" to describe the current situation in Indonesia.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia recorded 132 cases of violations of freedom of expression which were suffered by social groups in 2020.

Nicholas Ryan Aditya, Jakarta – Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) political desk head, Khalisa Khalid, says that they were concerned from the start that the enactment of the Job Creation Law would impact on environmental protection.

The following is a statement by the Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI) in response to a police summons for KASBI General Chairperson Nining Elitos over alleged health protocol violations during the commemorations of International Women's Day (IWD) in Jakarta on March 8.

Viva solidarity!

Jakarta – The environmental non-government organisation (NGO) Trend Asia has criticised the government's decision to remove coal ash from the category of hazardous and toxic wastes (B3). According to the group, the move will only benefit business and elite groups.

Nicholas Ryan Aditya, Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) recorded 351 cases of civil rights violations across the country in 2020. YLBHI organisational development division head Febionesta said that the cases were dominated by violations against freedom of expression and the right to convey an opinion in public.

Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – The Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) recorded 241 cases of agrarian conflicts in Indonesia throughout 2020.

Irfan Kamil, Jakarta – Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Chairperson Abdul Manan says that there were many cases of violence against journalists in 2020.

Manan said that what are referred to as violence against journalists are actions which can be categories as attempts to obstruct journalists from doing their job.

Jakarta – Enlightened Indonesia Foundation Executive Director Adhityani Putri says that the government should be more aggressive in realising its commitments to addressing climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.