Global civil society alliance, CIVICUS is extremely concerned about the risks facing activists in the region of Papua following new counter-insurgency operations in the region since late April 2021. The Indonesia authorities must ensure that these operations do not lead to abuses and that activists are not targeted.
On 9 May 2021, police arrested Victor Yeimo, a pro-independence activist and international spokesperson of the West Papua National Committee (Komite Nasional Papua Barat/KNPB), who has been vocal about human rights violations perpetrated by the Indonesian security forces in Papua.
He is being detained at the Police’s Mobile Brigade Headquarters in Abepura where he was taken without prior notice to his lawyers and denied access to his family. He has been charged for treason, broadcasting false information, disrespecting the national flag and other charges for his involvement in 2019 anti-racism protests in the province, where there were some incidents of violence and arson. The protests were met with excessive force by the security forces and the prosecution of dozens of activists. One of the reasons cited for his arrest was also his participation in the Human Rights Council in March 2019, which is a clear case of reprisal.
According to a human rights group, Papua’s police chief, Mathius Fakhiri, said that the police are still “digging up” cases against Yeimo. With the climate of impunity in the region, the activist remains at risk of torture and ill-treatment.
“Victor Yeimo’s arbitrary arrest and detention appear to be simply retaliation for speaking up about abuses by security forces and for his political activism. Unless the authorities produce credible evidence that he was involved in any violence, the charges against him must be dropped and he must be released immediately,” said Josef Benedict, a researcher from CIVICUS.
Indonesian military operations in Papua intensified in response to the 25 April killing of the head of the State Intelligence Agency, Brigadier General Gusti Putu Danny Nugraha, in the Puncak Regency by the West Papua National Liberation Army (WPNLA). President Joko Widodo responded to the killing by ordering the security forces to arrest every member of the group responsible for the general’s death. The Jokowi administration later declared an unnamed “armed criminal group” a terrorist organization, apparently referring to the WPNLA.
“The designation of the armed movement as terrorists would undermine any peaceful resolution to the decades-long conflict and only increase human rights violations by the security forces in the region. It will also put peaceful pro-independence activists and others working to end the conflict in Papua at risk,” added Benedict.
There have also been concerns about internet disruption around the military operations which human rights groups believe have been done deliberately by the authorities. In 2019, the government shut down internet service in Papua region during weeks of protests. The shutdown was later found to be unlawful.
There have been severe human rights violations in the Papuan region by the Indonesian security forces spanning arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment and unlawful killings, including of activists, under the guise of suppressing separatism. Dozens of peaceful pro-independence political activists have been prosecuted for treason (Articles 106 and 110 of the Criminal Code) for raising the Morning Star flag– a symbol of Papuan independence - or participating in peaceful protests over the last two decades. Access to foreign journalists and human rights observers have also been restricted.
Despite continued promises by President Joko Widodo to address the grievances of Papuans, they continue to face discrimination and exploitation in the resource-rich region.
Civic space in Indonesia is rated as obstructed by the CIVICUS Monitor.