Mass arrests in West Papua violate freedom of expression and create climate of lawlessness

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has appealed to Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo to stop the mass arrests of Papua natives. “A total number of 2,704 Papuans have been arrested since April 25, 2016, in the scope of peaceful protests against Indonesia's rule in West Papua – 96 since last Friday,” said Ulrich Delius, the STP’s Asia consultant in Göttingen on Wednesday. “Usually, the arrestees are released after a little while, but the indiscriminate attacks create a climate of lawlessness – a measure to intimidate peaceful demonstrators in order to prevent further protests against the Indonesian policy. If Indonesia defines itself as the largest democracy in Southeast Asia, then it must respect the freedom of expression in the country.”

Indonesian human rights organizations such as the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) have documented the arrests and verified the identities of the persons concerned. Many of the arrestees are supporters of the “National Committee of West Papua (KNPB)” which advocates for the independence of the former Dutch colony. The KNPB had organized demonstrations to commemorate May 1, 1969 – the day Indonesia took over West Papua following a rigged referendum.

“Indonesia’s policy of intimidation reflects the helplessness of the government in Jakarta, which is trying to suppress the Papuan peoples’ struggle for self-determination with increasing violence and repression,” said Delius. “This, however, has the opposite effect: There is a significant increase in public protests. Also, the KNPB – which was only founded in 2008 – is growing stronger.”

When Widodo became president in October 2014, many people hoped that this would lead to an improvement of the human rights situation in West Papua. But they were disappointed. Under the leadership of President Widodo – who had received praise for his commitment to civil rights – the Papua natives experienced a massive increase in violations of their rights. Thus, four people lost their lives in a crackdown on a demonstration on December 1, the national holiday of the Papuans. Further, 145 people were injured, and the security forces arrested 355 Papua activists.

In police custody, the Papua natives often become victims of torture and inhuman treatment. Some of the Papuans who were arrested in May 2016 reported beatings and inhumane treatment as well.

Header photo: Dominic Hartnett via Flickr