Indonesia Monthly Report July 2021 Introduction
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Indonesia Monthly Report July 2021 Introduction Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) collects information from various (local and international) organisations and media resources to monitor the human rights of religious minorities and marginalised groups in Indonesia. In July 2021, human rights violations occurred against indigenous groups, women, children, and people with disabilities. This report is intended to raise awareness of the situation of minorities in Indonesia and encourage constructive policy changes by national and international bodies. Indonesia Country Profile Full Name: Republic of Indonesia Government: Presidential Constitutional Republic with an elected legislature Population: 276 million (276,745,367) (Worldometer, n.d.) Capital: Jakarta Largest City: Jakarta Area: 1,811,570 km2 Major languages: Javanese (70 million), Sundanese (25 million), Malay (10 million) Madurese (9 million), Minangkabau (7.5 million), Bahasa Indonesian (6.7 million), Balinese (3 million), Buginese (2.5 million) (Country Studies, n.d.) Major religions: Islam (87%), Christian (9.87%), Hinduism (1.69%), Buddhism (0.72%), Other religions (0.56%) (Statista, n.d.) Major ethnicities: Javanese (40.06%), Sundanese (16%), Batak (3.8%), Sulawesi (3.2%), Madurese (3.03%), Betawi (2.9%) (Jakarta Globe, 2016) Life expectancy at birth: 72.3 years (Worldometer, n.d.) Image Source: https://aseanup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/indonesia_sm_2008.gif Current situation Over the years, Indonesia has been at the centre of constant turmoil, and an increasing number of human rights violations have been observed under the governance of President Joko Widodo. The country is still struggling to provide fundamental human rights to all citizens. Current issues in Indonesia include violations of rights of indigenous people concerning customary law and ancestral lands; ongoing and violent conflicts between West Papuans and the Indonesian government as a new special autonomy law passed; discrimination and violence against women and children, as well as people with disabilities.violations of rights of indigenous people concerning customary law and ancestral lands; ongoing and violent conflicts between West Papuans and the Indonesian government as a new special autonomy law passed; discrimination and violence against women and children, as well as people with disabilities. Indonesia’s government has continuously struggled to prevent human rights violations among religious, ethnic, indigenous, sexual, LGBT+ minorities, and women. The Indonesian government has been accused by civil society actors of abetting widespread and regular attacks on various minorities in the form of discrimination and hateful rhetoric of government officials. Security forces rarely face justice, even in cases of serious abuses (Human Rights Watch, n.d.). Human Rights Issues in Indonesia Indigenous Peoples’ Rights House of Representatives Passes the Papuan Special Autonomy Law Amendment Despite Public Opposition in Papua Image Source: https://thediplomat.com/2021/07/protests-greet-indonesias-renewal-of-papuan-autonomy-law/ July of 2021 has been a difficult motnh for Indonesia in terms of establishing and preserving the rights of indigenous people. This was caused by conflicts that worsened the strenuous relationship between indigenous people and the Indonesian government. The people of Papua and West Papua have demanded their independence for decades, ever since the dictatorship regime under President Soeharto in the 1960s. However, the Indonesian government refused to acknowledge their demands for autonomy until 2001, under the Papua Special Autonomy Law Number 21 of 2001. The government considered Special Autonomy as a particular authority acknowledged and granted to the Papua Province to regulate and manage the interests of the local people on its initiative. It is based on the aspirations and fundamental rights of the people of Papua (Article 1, section B, the Papua Special Autonomy Law Number 21 of 2001). Twenty years after the adoption of this law, the inequalities and discrimination against the indigenous people in Papua are still visible within the Indonesian government. In this context, the House of Representatives passed a new autonomy law for Papua on July 15th of 2021, amending the Papua Special Autonomy Law Number 21 of 2001. This law aims at developing Papua’s poorest regions. House Speaker Puan Maharani highlighted the importance of the newly enacted bill, which was long-awaited by the communities of Papua and West Papua (Rahmad Nasution, 2021). The bill accommodates the need to regulate the privileges of indigenous Papuans in the political, education, health, economic, and labour sectors, as well as to support customary communities (Rahmad Nasution, 2021). However, the allocation of special autonomy funds was set to expire in November 2021. According to the Papua Special Autonomy Law Number 21 of 2001, there will be an immediate extension of the allocation of funding by two more decades (Rahmad Nasution, 2021). The Papua Special Autonomy Law was originally passed in 2001 as a response to the growing demands of independence in Papua, home to decades of low-level separatist insurgency. Activists and Papuan separatists claim that the revisions, which involved the amendment of 18 articles of the law and the additions of two new articles, will further dilute the critical aspects of decentralization and autonomy in how the region is governed (Strangio, 2021). The unilateral decision by the government of Indonesia to revise and extend the Special Autonomy Law has been considered a flagrant violation to the right to self-determination of the West Papuan people (TAPOL, 2021). Furthermore, according to Political Prisoner or TAPOL, an organisation monitoring human rights in Indonesia, Article 76 of the law paves the way for the division of the Papua region into more administrative areas. This, in turn, could lead to further marginalization and militarization in the region (TAPOL, 2021). Consequently, the renewal of the Papua Special Autonomy Law is unlikely to quell calls for a more substantial form of autonomy for Papua and West Papua, if not their outright independence. Given the Indonesian government’s track record and the fact that the initial intention of the Papua Special Autonomy Law in 2001 was to pacify the growing demand for the independence of Papua, further militarization may be inevitable. Lack of Identification Documents Prevents Indigenous Communities from Getting Vaccinated Image Source: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/lack-of-id-cards-bars-indigenous-indonesians-from-much-needed-vaccines/ As COVID-19 cases in Indonesia have increased since July 2021, a requirement that vaccine recipients must have a national identity number or identification document is limiting the access of Indonesia's indigenous population to the vaccine (Mongabay, 2021). A recent health ministry decree on vaccine implementation stipulates that having a national identity number known as NIK, which appears on ID cards is a prerequisite to access various services, including the COVID-19 vaccine (Mongabay, 2021). It does not consider that members of vulnerable communities, such as indigenous people in remote areas, often lack these ID cards. Only 20,000 of the 20 million members of the leading advocacy group for indigenous peoples have received their first shot, according to Rukka Sombolinggi, secretary-general of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) (Mongabay, 2021). President Joko Widodo has a target of vaccinating 208 million out of 270 million people in Indonesia, despite the lack of ID cards among indigenous people in remote places. Orang Rimba tribe member Mijak Tampung stated that more than half of the members of his community in the Makekal Hulu forest in Jambi province, on the island of Sumatra, do not possess an ID card (Mongabay, 2021). On July 29th of 2021, the Civil Society Coalition Group for Access to Vaccination for Indigenous Peoples and Vulnerable Groups sent a letter to the president and other government officials asking for access to vaccines for indigenous people in remote places (Mongabay, 2021). While Indonesia's indigenous people have coped relatively well at the start of the pandemic last year, the newer Delta variant is rapidly reaching many indigenous communities, in Aru Kayau, North Kalimantan Province; Lamandau, Central Kalimantan Province; Tana Toraja and North Toraja, Sigi, Central Sulawesi Province; and Aru Island, Maluku Province (Mongabay, 2021). Indonesian Government and Air Force Apologise for the Use of Excessive Force Against Indigenous Papuan Man Image Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2021/07/28/air-force-apologizes-after-video-of-violence-against-papuan-goes-viral.html The government and Air Force of Indonesia have apologised for the actions of two officers who used excessive force to pin down a deaf indigenous Papuan man. The apology comes after a video of the incident was widely shared online. The video shows the altercation between the Papuan man in question, Steven Yadohamang, and a food stall owner in the Papuan town of Merauke (Lamb & Costa, 2021). The incident was broken up by two uniformed Air Force officers. While one officer held Yadohamang’s hands behind his back and forced him to the ground, the other pressed his head into the ground with his boot for a prolonged period. Although Yadohamang was seen screaming in pain in the video, the two men continued to trample on his head and body while other officers spoke on