Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform is urging the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) to be transparent in its deliberations on the Draft Presidential Regulation (Perpres) on the Role of the Indonesian Military in Tackling Terrorism.

Surabaya – Thousands of protesters from the Movement Alliance Against the Omnibus Law (Getol) packed Jl Pahlawan in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya on Thursday July 16. Roads in the vicinity of the rally have been closed off since earlier this afternoon.

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.

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, 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.

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD has scolded non-government organisations (NGOs) who frequently cite the TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (Indonesian police) for creating problems and committing human rights (HAM) violations in conflict prone areas.

Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition is calling on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to withdraw the Draft Law on Job Creation (RUU Cipta Kerja) which has been submitted to the House of Representatives (DPR). The Coalition is also asking the DPR to halt the deliberations into the draft submitted by the government.

Lani Diana Wijaya, Jakarta – Papua activist Paulus Suryanta Ginting – one of six defendants being tried for treason – says that police provided logistical assistance for demonstrators protesting in front of the State Palace.

Muhammad Ridwan – The administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has now been working for 100 days of Widodo’s second term in office.

Jakarta – The police have been cited as the principle actor in incidents of violence when land conflicts have broken out throughout 2019. These findings were based on an annual report by the Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA). Some 279 agrarian conflicts occurred in 2019, although this number is lower than last year which saw 410 cases.

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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.

Jakarta – A representative of the Islamic-based Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS), Jazuli Juwaini, has asked Defense Minister (Menhan) Prabowo Subianto to pay more attention to missionaries or religious leaders in Papua.

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.

Jakarta – Jakarta Metro Jaya regional police chief Gatot Eddy Pramono has emphasised that they will not issue permits for people wanting to hold protests in Jakarta. The ban will remain in place from Tuesday October 15 through to the inauguration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Vice President elect Ma’ruf Amin on Sunday October 20.

Sydney – Veronica Koman, who is currently on the Indonesian police’s wanted persons list, met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Australia on Tuesday October 8.