Ed Davies, Jakarta – Indonesia is continuing to arrest and hand down heavy prison sentences to activists in Papua for peacefully supporting independence in the remote eastern area, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.
Papua, two provinces on the west half of New Guinea island, has long been under the scrutiny of Western groups critical of how Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, treats the mainly Christian and ethnically distinct area.
Indonesian security forces have been fighting a low-level separatist insurgency in Papua for decades.
"All too often Papuans not involved in the armed insurgency are caught up in anti-separatist sweeps or arrested as troublemakers for peacefully expressing their political views," the rights group said in a report.
The report noted yearly problems when some activists tried to raise the Papuan national flag on Dec. 1 to commemorate the day in 1961 when colonial ruler Holland offered the area independence.
"Most years these attempts end in clashes with local security forces intent on stopping what they see as treasonous activities," it said, adding that arrests almost always occur, and sometimes trials and convictions.
"At other times activists are arrested merely for publicly expressing support for Papuan independence, or for attending peaceful meetings to talk about self-determination for Papua."
A senior Indonesian government official said the government did not interfere in the courts, but if by flying a flag or holding protests activists were shown to calling for the break up of Indonesia, it was right they should be examined by courts.
"Nowadays, such things are rare. NGos are trying to blow things up so that they can get funding," Setya Purwaka, head of the Papua desk at the office of chief security minister, told Reuters. He was responding to the general theme of the report.
Colonial era laws
The report said two sets of criminal laws were generally used, including colonial era articles of Indonesia's Criminal Code, criminalising "public expression of feelings of hostility, hatred or contempt toward the government."
The other most often used was one outlawing rebellion, frequently used against those arrested for alleged participation in, or support of, separatism, the report said.
Jakarta took over Papua from Dutch colonial rule in 1963. In 1969 its rule was formalised in a vote by community leaders which was widely criticised as political theatre.
The report highlighted the case of two independence supporters, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage. It said the two were jailed in May, 2005, to 15- and 10-year terms for organising peaceful celebrations and flying the Papuan national flag in the provincial capital of Jayapura on Dec. 1, 2004.
It also detailed other cases where it said defendants were convicted for peaceful expressions. "These convictions are not an aberration. They reflect government policy," the report said.
Owing to restrictions on access to Papua, the report said it relied on interviews with defence lawyers, local rights groups and analysis of trial documents.
Indonesia has denied any systematic rights abuses. Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono said last year there were some "violations" in Papua by rogue elements in the military but insisted these acts were perpetrated by individuals. He also suggested the media exaggerated problems in Papua.
A 2001 law also gives Papua, with a population of two million, a bigger share of revenue from its rich mineral and natural resources and more freedom in running its own affairs.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said he wants to end conflict in Papua and to speed up development.
The report urged Jakarta to unconditionally release anyone held or imprisoned for peaceful expression of political views.
It also called for a repeal of some of the articles of law used in these cases and to end restrictions on access to the area for journalists, diplomats and human rights organisations.