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.

Jakarta – A civil society coalition calling themselves the People’s Front for Human Rights Bandung (Bara Hamba) is urging the Minister for Human Rights and Justice (Kemenkumham) to revoke the Human Rights Friendly City award which was recently given to the West Java provincial capital of Bandung.

Rahmat Rahman Patty, Ambon – A protest action by scores of Papuan students calling themselves the Struggle Committee for Democracy and Human Rights in front of the World Peace Gong in Ambon City, Maluku, was broken up by police on Sunday December 1.

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 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.