Jakarta – Papuan students from the Action Committee Against Special Autonomy demonstrated in front of the Home Affairs Ministry offices in Jakarta on Tuesday July 14 against Special Autonomy (Otsus). The students said that the policy is not needed by the people of the land of the Bird of Paradise as Papua is known.

The following is a translation of a press release by 17 West Papuan organisations that have launched a Papuan People’s Petition (Petisi Rakyat Papua) to oppose the government’s discussion on renewing Papua’s Special Autonomy Law (Otsus) which expires next year.

M Nurhadi and Muhammad Ilham Baktora – An action calling for the release of Papuan political prisoners (tapol) which was held at the zero kilometer point in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on Monday June 15 has become heated. A small disturbance flared up because a police post loudspeaker was too noisy and disturbed the protesters.

Rakhmat Nur Hakim, Jakarta – The Indonesian police (Polri) were the institution which the public reported most to the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) in 2019. As many as 744 public complaints received by Komnas HAM questioned the police’s performance.

Rakhmat Nur Hakim, Jakarta – National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Deputy Commissioner Hairansyah says that 2019 was a gloomy year for human rights (HAM) in Indonesia.

Sorong – Four defendants charged with treason in Sorong City, West Papua province, were finally declared guilty and sentenced to eight months and 15 days jail at the Sorong District Court on Thursday May 28.

[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 – The Banyuwangi municipal police say that a clash in the Pesanggaran sub-district of Banyuwangi, East Java, in late March was trigged by a protest by a group of people opposing a mine operated by the company PT Bumi Suksesindo (BSI) on the pretext of preventing the spread of the corona virus.

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 Human Rights Defenders Coalition is urging President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to immediately order Indonesian police chief (Kapolri) General Idham Azis to put an end to violence by officers against environmental activists during the corona virus pandemic.

Jakarta – The group Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) has highlighted deliberations on the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) which have again been held by the House of Representatives (DPR) in the midst of the corona virus pandemic.

CR-SP16, Jayapura – Students from the Cenderawasih University (Uncen) in Jayapura demanded the immediate release of seven Papuan political prisoners (tapol) currently being held in the East Kalimantan city of Balikpapan during a protest action on Monday March 2 in front of the Uncen front gate in Jayapura city.

Jakarta – Several non-government organisations (NGOs) have rejected an invitation to hold a joint meeting at the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) to discuss the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation.

Devina Halim, Jakarta – Lawyer and human rights activist Veronica Koman says that today’s statement by Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD will only deepen the Papuan people’s wounds.

Jakarta – As many as 40 people’s organisations and civil society groups from the Indonesian People’s Faction (Fraksi Rakyat Indonesia, FRI) have expressed their opposition to the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation or RUU Cilaka.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and the Civil Society Coalition have highlighted the government’s bias towards employers and business in the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation.

At least 100 workers from the Jakarta Labour Movement (GBJ) held a rally in front of Post 9 in the North Jakarta port of Tanjung Priok on Thursday January 9.

The workers were opposing the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation which has now entered the final stage of deliberation.

Jakarta – The Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) has recorded that over the last five years conflicts involving mining have occurred on land covering some 925,748 hectares, involving at least 71 cases.

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Jakarta – Three farmers were arrested by police after holding a protest action opposing an oil refinery which coincided with a visit by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to the construction site of the PT Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI) refinery in Jenu, Tuban, East Java, on Saturday December 21.