Jakarta – Activist Veronica Koman has addressed the different positions taken by the Indonesian government in response to calls to resolve the Papua problem and in its response to the coup d'etat in Myanmar.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition is concerned that the newly established national defense reserve component (komcad) will be used to control domestic security threats.

Arya Kiet – Coinciding with International Human Rights Day today, December 10, 147 Catholic priests in Papua have called for an end to violence in Papua and have requested that bishops give more serious attention to the issue for the sake of the safety of religious community members in Indonesia's eastern-most provinces.

Nicholas Ryan Aditya, Jakarta – Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) researcher Arif Nur Fikri has reported the group's findings on human rights violations throughout 2020. Kontras found 40 incidents of human rights violations in Papua between January and November 2020.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) director Al Araf is asking on the government to reevaluate the security policies applied to bring the conflict in Papua under control.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia investigator Ari Pramuditya has criticised a recommendation by Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD to deploy more troops in Papua.

Toyiban, Manokwari – Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has approved a program to recruit 1,000 Special Autonomy non-commissioned officers  (Bintara Otsus) which was proposed by the West Papua/Kasuari/XVIII Regional Military Command (Kodam).

Jakarta – Deputy Defense Minister Wahyu Sakti Trenggono says that the wars being waged at the moment are not always in the form of military or physical attacks.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) says that the government is overly simplifying the phrase “low level of nationalism” among young people by involving them in the National Defense Program.

Jakarta – Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) National Coordinator Ubaid Matraji says that the military training on university campuses planned by the Defense Department could weaken student’s critical thinking.

On Monday July 27 in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta, SOLIDER (People’s Solidarity for Democracy) held a commemoration of the Kudatuli affair (the July 1996 riots), which was a manifestation of the conflict between the ordinary people and the New Order regime of former president Suharto.

On Tuesday July 15 a protest action against Papuan Special Autonomy (Otsus) Chapter II was held at the zero kilometre point in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta. The joint action was initiated by the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) and the Indonesian People’s Front for West Papua (FRI-WP).

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.

Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch group Imparsial is asking the government to review the planned involvement of active TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (Indonesian police) officers in the Agency for Pancasila Ideology Education (BPIP).

Ali Umar – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo must change the government’s approach in resolving the Papua problem. At the start of his first term in office, Widodo managed to offer a new hope in efforts to find a dignified solution in Papua. He granted amnesty to Papuan political prisoners and guaranteed the upholding of human rights there.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) is urging the government to halt the involvement of the TNI (Indonesian military) in disciplining people for violating Covid-19 health protocols at crowded locations. The presence of TNI members shows that the government intends to handle the Covid-19 pandemic with a security approach.

Jakarta – The panel of judges in the Central Jakarta District Court have handed down jail sentences against Surya Anta and five other Papuan activists charged with treason. The Five other defendants are Charles Kossay, Ambrosius Mulait, Isay Wenda, Anes Tabuni and Arina Elopere.

Tsarina Maharani, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) is calling on the government to establish an independent team to investigate the fatal shooting of two people in Mimika, Papua, on April 13.

Jakarta – The public prosecutor has demanded that six Papuan activists each be sentenced to one year and five months in jail. The prosecutor said that the six defendants had been proven to have violated Article 106 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph 1 of KUHP 1 on treason.

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia – Indonesian Human Rights Watch Imparsial is warning the government that military training for civilians in the Reserve Component (Komcad) will create new problems, one of which is horizontal conflicts between communities.