excerpts: One case study examined in the report showed the challenges
countries face when trying to reform firms owned or controlled by
militaries. In Indonesia, Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
disclosed that it paid millions to the Indonesian Armed Forces for
security services … Since 2003, the company has avoided making
payments directly to individuals in the military, instead making them
to headquarters. However, the story has still remained in the news:
The United Steelworkers sent a letter in November 2011 to the U.S.
Justice Department calling for an investigation into violations of
U.S. foreign bribery law over the payments.
… At the time, the company said it reports all the financial
contributions it makes to governments … Indonesia, meanwhile, passed
several laws in 2004 officially requiring the government to shut down
or take over businesses owned by the military by October 2009, but the
report said that effort has only been “partially successful.”

The Wall Street Journal
January 26, 2012

Military-Owned Businesses Pose Unique Corruption Risks

By Samuel Rubenfeld

photo: Indonesian Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro holds a PT
Pindad PM2 assault rifle during an exhibition at the military
headquarters in Jakarta on Jan. 18, 2012. Bay Ismoyo/Agence
France-Presse/Getty Images

Businesses owned by militaries around the world pose unique corruption
risks to the sectors in which they operate, a new report found.

The report, released Thursday by Transparency International’s U.K.
Defence and Security Programme, looks at how military-owned businesses
are structured, what the inherent corruption risks are for these
firms, and why and how the countries have made reforms to their
military-owned companies.

“Once the military begins to engage in economic activities, it is
often difficult to end such practices. In most situations, corruption
becomes rampant and a major problem which (sic) harms the state and
the national economy as well,” the report said.

Introducing a profit motive into the military increases the chance for
distraction, the report said. Looking at case studies in China,
Indonesia, Turkey and Pakistan, the report found that distraction
often leads to outright graft, and in the more extreme cases that
manifests itself in the form of embezzlement of state funds, tax fraud
and even brutal coercive practices on workers.

One case study examined in the report showed the challenges countries
face when trying to reform firms owned or controlled by militaries. In
Indonesia, Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. disclosed that it paid
millions to the Indonesian Armed Forces for security services.

Since 2003, the company has avoided making payments directly to
individuals in the military, instead making them to headquarters.
However, the story has still remained in the news: The United
Steelworkers sent a letter in November 2011 to the U.S. Justice
Department calling for an investigation into violations of U.S.
foreign bribery law over the payments.

At the time, the company said it reports all the financial
contributions it makes to governments.

Indonesia, meanwhile, passed several laws in 2004 officially requiring
the government to shut down or take over businesses owned by the
military by October 2009, but the report said that effort has only
been “partially successful.”

The reasons for a lack of success? The laws were unclear and didn’t
explicitly require the military to surrender its businesses. Moreover,
the military isn’t exactly volunteering to hand over the companies,
and the oversight team supposedly in charge of the effort didn’t have
the power to force it to happen.

“Despite the good intentions of the government’s reform agenda, it has
failed to see it through. Nonetheless, they have managed to eliminate
a vast proportion of the military’s commercial enterprises,” the
report said of Indonesia’s efforts.

Read the report below:

TI UKDSPMilitaryownedbusinesses

Interpol faces legal threat for helping oppressive regimes hunt dissidents

Interpol has issued a "red notice", above, for Benny Wenda, a tribal leader who campaigns for independence for the West Papua region from Indonesia. Wenda has been granted asylum in the U.K. on political grounds, according to Fair Trials International.

By Ian Johnston, msnbc.com

LONDON — A landmark lawsuit alleging that dictatorships and other oppressive regimes are using Interpol’s alert system to harass or detain political dissidents is being planned by rights activists and lawyers.

Campaigners allege that rogue states have fabricated criminal charges against opposition activists who have been given refuge in other countries and then sought their arrest by obtaining "red notices" from the global police body.

There are currently about 26,000 outstanding red notices. While they are only designed to alert other nations’ police forces that an Interpol member state has issued an arrest warrant, some countries will take suspects into custody based on the red notice alone.
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In one case, Rasoul Mazrae, an Iranian political activist recognized by the United Nations as a refugee, was arrested in Syria in 2006 as he tried to flee to Norway after a red notice was issued.

Mazrae was deported back to Iran, where he was tortured, according to a report by Libby Lewis, of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. He was later jailed for 15 years, Amnesty International says.

‘Torturers and murderers’
In one of the latest cases, a red notice has been issued for Benny Wenda, a tribal leader who campaigns for independence for the West Papua region from Indonesia. He was granted asylum in the U.K. after claiming he had been tortured and prosecuted for inciting people to attack a police station. Wenda says he was in a different country at the time of the incident.

• Wanted activist Benny Wenda tells of ‘bow and arrows’ revolt

Mark Stephens, a leading British human rights lawyer, told msnbc.com that the red notice system can allow Interpol to unwittingly become "an aider and abettor of torturers and murderers in oppressive regimes."

Amid mounting anger within the legal community, the U.K.-based rights campaign group Fair Trials International is now seeking people who allege their red notices are politically motivated to take part in a class action lawsuit against Interpol.

If successful, the case would potentially make France-based Interpol subject to the rulings of a court for the first time.

That would have implications not just for political dissidents, but could also create an extra legal hurdle for any country seeking to extradite alleged terrorists, murderers, international fraudsters, and other criminals based in another country.

Jago Russell, the chief executive of Fair Trials International, highlighted that Interpol’s 190 member states include "countries that routinely abuse their criminal justice systems to persecute individuals."

Despite this, there is no independent court where someone can challenge a notice and "no remedy for the damage that notices can cause," he said.
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Iran, Syria, Myanmar, Sudan, Belarus and Zimbabwe ­ all widely condemned for human rights abuses by their governments ­ are members of Interpol and each country currently has red notices listed on its website.

"Powerful international organizations with the ability to ruin lives have to be accountable for their actions," Russell wrote in an email.

"Interpol’s own credibility relies on proper accountability mechanisms to weed out cases of abuse, but if Interpol refuses to put its own house in order it could ultimately be up to the courts to step in and demand action," he added.

There have been legal challenges to Interpol’s decisions heard in some countries’ courts in the past, but these have failed "to hold the organization to account," Russell wrote.

Russell hopes that a court with jurisdiction over a number of countries, such as the European Court of Human Rights, will take a different view.

"This would no doubt be a long, hard process but with thousands of people affected by red notices every year and, with the rule of law at stake, it would be worth the fight," he said.

Political persecution

Fair Trials International is currently highlighting Wenda’s case in particular and trying to help get his red notice removed.

He escaped from prison before being sentenced and fled Indonesia in 2002. Wenda traveled to the U.K., where he was granted asylum due to Indonesia’s persecution of him on political grounds, according to Fair Trials International.

Wenda then renewed his campaign, meeting politicians and others as he traveled the world. He also has a website highlighting the West Papuan cause.

Benny Wenda, leader of the West Papuan Independence Movement, attends a protest in London on April 15, 2010.

In 2011, he became aware that Interpol had issued a red notice. According to those details of the notice that have been made public by Interpol, Wenda is wanted for "crimes involving the use of weapons/explosives" by the Papua Regional Police.

According to Wenda, he was charged with inciting an attack on a police station and burning buildings that resulted in the deaths of a number of people even though he says he was not in Indonesia at the time.
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Wenda says he was tortured, held in solitary confinement, and the judge and prosecutor requested bribes among other irregularities during the trial.

Wenda believes the red notice was sought partly to try to prevent him from traveling outside the U.K. to highlight the plight of West Papuans.

A report by the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at the Yale Law School in 2003 found that "the West Papuan people have suffered persistent and horrible abuses" at the hands of the Indonesian government since the area was annexed in 1969. It also accused Indonesian military and security forces of engaging in "widespread violence and extrajudicial killings."

The research team concluded that historical and contemporary evidence "strongly suggests that the Indonesian government has committed proscribed acts with the intent to destroy the West Papuans … in violation of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide."

‘My people are crying’
Wenda says that his people continue to be "killed, raped and tortured."

"I think Indonesia is just trying to stop me and my campaign. I think that’s the reason. I think this is just political motivation," Wenda told msnbc.com. "I’m not terrorist, I’m not criminal. Who’s real terrorist or criminal? It’s Indonesia itself.

"My people are crying … That’s why I am up and down the country, traveling the world, telling the truth."

Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2012 also highlights that the U.S. provides "extensive military assistance to Indonesia" and adds that "impunity for members of Indonesia’s security forces remains a serious concern, with no civilian jurisdiction over soldiers who commit serious human rights abuses."

Jennifer Robinson, a London-based human rights lawyer and member of International Lawyers for West Papua, told msnbc.com in an email that "the charges that form the basis of the Interpol warrant are the very same politically motivated charges brought against Benny in 2002 — and the very same charges that were the basis of the UK’s decision to grant him political asylum."

London-based human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson arrives at a hearing for U.S. Army Private First Class Bradley Manning’s at Fort Meade, Md., on December 20.
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"I attended his trial in West Papua on these charges, heard the evidence and witnessed the flagrant breaches of due process at that trial. I am witness to the fact the charges are without evidential basis," she added. "This was recognised by the U.K. in granting Benny refugee status for the political persecution he suffered in Indonesia. Now Indonesia is seeking to abuse the Interpol system to extend its political persecution across borders, undermining the protection afforded to Benny under the U.N. Refugee Convention."

In addition to the threat of arrest in the country of refuge, Fair Trials International says that a red notice makes international travel risky ­ partly because countries tend to deal with each one on a case-by-case basis.

And even if a court in one country decides not to extradite the wanted person, the red notice remains and another country could take a different decision.

The stigma of being wanted for an alleged crime can also make everyday life difficult — by making it hard to get a bank account, for example, due to background checks.

Michelle Estlund, a Coral Gables, Fla.-based lawyer who writes a blog focusing red notices, told msnbc.com that there should be some kind of quasi-judicial proceedings to level the "playing field" between an Interpol member state and an individual. Part of the issue, she said, is that Interpol initially assumes that red notice applications are properly submitted.

"If you are I are playing basketball and I haven’t followed the rules and I haven’t told you where the hoop is, it’s going to be very hard for you to win, especially if the referee is presuming everything I do to be right," Estlund said.

Little transparency?
It is possible to complain about red notices but critics say the procedure suffers from a lack of transparency.

Complaints to Interpol that red notices are issued because of politically motivated charges are considered internally at first and then by a specially created body called the Commission for Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF).

However, the panel — which consists of five unpaid commissioners and three members of staff — holds its discussions in private and does not have to give any reasons for its decisions.

There are few successful challenges. According to statistics published in the commission’s latest annual report, 16 percent (or 32) of 201 requests that it received in 2010 raised questions about "the application of Article 3 of Interpol’s constitution." Article 3 prohibits Interpol from activities of a "political, military, religious or racial character."
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The CCF dealt with 170 requests in 2010 and 26 percent (or 44) of those cases resulted in the deletion of an Interpol file. Assuming 16 percent of those were Article 3 complaints, then just seven people had red notices removed in 2010 after claiming they were being prosecuted for political or other such unjustified reasons.

Billy Hawkes, the CCF’s chairman, said the body examined complaints "very thoroughly."

"We recognize the dangers of red notices being used inappropriately for political objectives," he told msnbc.com from Dublin, Ireland. "Obviously we must all be concerned about the rights of individuals and dangers of abuse of the red notice system."

Hawkes warned, however, that adding judicial oversight of Interpol’s red notices could hamper its ability to help catch criminals.

"We must remember that the object of a red notice is to have fugitive criminals stopped as quickly as possible, so they can face trial in the country they have committed the crime," he added.

One potential obstacle to taking legal action against Interpol is a deal it made with the French government that gives it immunity from some French laws. It is unclear how a European court would regard that deal.

‘Unfairness’
Anand Doobay, a U.K.-based lawyer, confirmed to msnbc.com that he was "investigating the possibility of some kind of legal challenge on behalf of clients who are affected by politically motivated prosecutions which have resulted in Interpol red notices being issued."

"The unfairness which is caused by having an unwarranted Interpol red notice is very difficult to address," he said.
"What we are looking at is ways of trying to deal with the unfairness."

Estlund, the Florida-based lawyer, said oppressive regimes should not be expelled from Interpol because they might become "safe havens for people who have committed real crimes."

Instead she argued that red notice requests from countries with a record of corruption should be subject to greater scrutiny. "I do think Interpol is capable of doing that," she added. "I don’t think it’s too much to hope that that will happen."

A statement emailed to msnbc.com by an Interpol spokeswoman on Jan. 11 said there were 26,051 valid red notices at that time, including 7,678 issued in 2011.

It listed three ways people "can challenge a red notice and/or the national arrest warrant upon which the request was submitted":

• argue their case before the national authorities of the requesting country;
• contact the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files;
• or request their country to take the case itself and protest against the red notice.

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The statement added that the "issuance of a red notice is not a judicial decision." "Each Interpol member country decides for itself what legal value to give red notice within their borders," it said.

"Interpol’s role is not to question allegations against an individual, nor to gather evidence, so a red notice is issued based on a presumption that the information provided by the police is accurate and relevant," the statement added.

Human Rights Watch Demands Release
of Papuan, Moluccan Activists

by Sita W. Dewi

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging the Indonesian
government to release all political detainees, including Papuan and
Moluccan activists, who have been held for peacefully expressing views
opposing the government.

“Police violence in Papua got a lot worse in 2011,” HRW deputy
director for Asia Elaine Pearson said in a statement published on its
website, www.hrw.org, on Monday.

“The common thread is the failure of the Indonesian government to
protect the rights of all its citizens,” Pearson added.

In its 676-page report, HRW assessed progress on human rights during
the past year in more than 90 countries, including in Arab countries
where revolutionary uprisings bloomed.

In October, police used excessive force when arresting more than 300
Papuans involved in a three-day Papuan Congress near Jayapura, the
capital of Papua province. At least three men died and more than 90
were injured. No police officers were punished but five Papuan leaders
were charged with treason, according to the report.

HRW also cited that at least 15 other Papuans, including Filep Karma,
who has been imprisoned since December 2004, were convicted of treason
for carrying out peaceful political activities. Around 60 more people
throughout Indonesia, mostly activists from Maluku Islands, are also
imprisoned on charges related to peaceful acts of free expression.

Several of the prisoners have suffered from long-term illnesses,
exacerbated by poor medical care in prison, HRW noted.

“The Indonesian government’s jailing of people for peacefully
expressing their political views is an ugly stain on the country’s
human rights record,” Pearson said. “Indonesia’s reputation as a
rights-respecting democracy will be tarnished until all of these
prisoners are released.”

The watchdog pointed out that access to Papua in 2011 remained tightly
controlled. Few foreign journalists and human rights researchers could
visit independently without close monitoring of their activities.
(mtq)

World Report 2012: Indonesia

Events of 2011

DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES:

World Report Chapter: Indonesia 2012 (PDF)

RELATED MATERIALS:
Policing Morality

Over the past 13 years Indonesia has made great strides in becoming a stable, democratic country with a strong civil society and independent media. However, serious human rights concerns remain. While senior officials pay lip service to protecting human rights, they seem unwilling to take the steps necessary to ensure compliance by the security forces with international human rights and punishment for those responsible for abuses.

In 2011 religious violence surged, particularly against Christians and Ahmadiyah, a group that considers itself Muslim but that some Muslims consider heretical. Violence continued to rack Papua and West Papua provinces, with few effective police investigations to hold perpetrators accountable.

Freedom of Expression

While Indonesia today has a vibrant media, authorities continue to invoke harsh laws criminalizing those who raise controversial issues, chilling peaceful expression. Indonesia has imprisoned more than 100 activists from the Moluccas and Papua for peacefully voicing political views, holding demonstrations, and raising separatist flags.

The new Law on State Intelligence passed in October, contains vague and overbroad language that could facilitate abuse. For instance, anyone who even negligently leaks confidential information about intelligence activities is subject to imprisonment, raising fears the law could be used to prosecute journalists, political opposition members, or human rights activists who publish information in the public interest about government abuses.

Indonesia’s criminal libel, slander, and "insult" laws prohibit deliberately "insulting" public officials and intentionally publicizing statements that harm another person’s reputation. In July the Supreme Court overturned an acquittal of Prita Mulyasari, who complained of poor medical treatment over emails to friends, and convicted her on internet defamation charges. Despite acquitting Mulyasari in a related civil case, the Supreme Court sentenced her to a six-month suspended sentence.

Military Reform and Impunity

Impunity for members of Indonesia’s security forces remains a serious concern, with no civilian jurisdiction over soldiers who commit serious human rights abuses. Military tribunals are held rarely, lack transparency, and the charges frequently fail to reflect the seriousness of the abuses committed.

In January a military tribunal in Jayapura, Papua, convicted three soldiers from Battalion 753 and sentenced them to between eight to twelve months imprisonment. Despite video evidence of six soldiers involved in brutally torturing two Papuans, the tribunal tried only three of the six soldiers, and on lesser military discipline charges rather than for torture. The soldiers have not been discharged.

In August the Jayapura military tribunal convicted three soldiers from the same battalion regarding an incident in which soldiers shot and killed Reverend Kinderman Gire on the suspicion he was a separatist. Again, the tribunal only convicted them of "disobeying orders," and sentenced them to six, seven, and fifteen months in prison respectively.

In June President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed his brother-in-law Lt.-Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo as the new army chief. Pramono commanded a Kopassus team that was deployed to East Timor in 1999. During that time, in the run up to a referendum on independence, pro-Indonesia militias or security forces killed more than 1,000 civilians.

The armed forces retain extensive business holdings despite a law requiring the government to shut down these businesses or take them over by October 2009.

Freedom of Religion

In 2011 incidents of religious violence got more deadly and more frequent, as Islamist militants mobilized mobs to attack religious minorities with impunity; short prison terms for a handful of offenders did nothing to dissuade mob violence. The government failed to overturn several decrees that discriminate between religions and foster intolerance. According to the Setara Institute, which monitors religious freedom, there were 216 cases of religious attacks in 2010 and 184 cases in the first nine months of 2011.

In February more than 1,500 Islamist militants attacked a house in Cikeusik, western Java, killing three and seriously wounding five Ahmadiyah men. The incident was caught on film. Public outrage generated around the case prompted the authorities to act quickly in investigating the attack. In July the Serang district court sentenced 12 men to between three and six months imprisonment for disturbing public order, incitement, and assault, but not for manslaughter. Police and prosecutors failed to present a fully compelling case against the 12 defendants. Police did not conduct thorough investigations, and prosecutors did not call key eyewitnesses to the attack. The prosecutors also sought reduced sentences, contending that the Ahmadiyah provoked the attack.

In August the Serang court convicted one of the Ahmadiyah members seriously injured in the attack, Deden Sudjana, for assault and disobeying police orders, sentencing him to six months imprisonment.

In 2011 Islamist mobs attacked Ahmadiyah communities and mosques in various places, including West Java, Banten, and South Sulawesi. In August in Makassar, South Sulawesi, a lawyer who represented the Ahmadiyah was assaulted.

In April an Islamist suicide bomber attacked a police mosque in Cirebon, West Java, killing himself and injuring at least 28 people. The bomber had previously been involved in violent protests over a blasphemy trial and an anti-Ahmadiyah attack in Cirebon in 2010. In September another Islamist suicide bomber attacked a church in Solo, Central Java, killing himself and wounding 14 churchgoers.

In February Islamists also attacked three churches in Temanggung, Central Java, after the district court convicted controversial preacher Antonius Bawareng of blasphemy. The court sentenced him to five years in jail, the maximum penalty for blasphemy, but Islamists called for him to be executed. The Semarang district court later convicted eight of the Islamists involved in the attack, sentencing them to between five months and one year imprisonment.

Minority congregations reported that local government officials arbitrarily refused to issue them permits required, under a 2006 decree, for building houses of worship. Those who attempted to worship without a permit faced harassment and violence.

In January the Supreme Court ordered the reopening of a Presbyterian church known locally as GKI Yasmin, overturning the Bogor administration’s ruling which had revoked the church’s building permit. However, Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto refused to comply. Government ministers offered the church “relocation.” In October an Islamist organization began to harass churchgoers who were holding Sunday services on a sidewalk outside the sealed church.

Senior government officials­including Minister of Religious Affairs Suryadharma Ali, Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi, and Minister of Human Rights and Law Patrialis Akbar­continued to justify restrictions on religious freedom in the name of public order.

Papua/West Papua

In August internal military documents­mainly from Kopassus, Indonesia’s special forces­were made public, exposing how the Indonesian military monitors peaceful activists, politicians, and religious clergy in Papua. The documents show the deep military paranoia in Papua that conflates peaceful political expression with criminal activity. Several of those named in the documents as targets have faced arrest, imprisonment, harassment, or other forms of violence.

Access to Papua in 2011 remained tightly controlled. Few foreign journalists and human rights researchers can visit independently without close monitoring of their activities. Since October the vice president’s office has set up the Unit to Accelerate Development in Papua and West Papua, which is focused on economic development. Its board members include some veterans of peace talk over Aceh.

In July over 500 representatives of Papuan civil society met at a peace conference in Jayapura, organized by a government-funded peace-initiative network.

Violence in Papua worsened in July and August with several unrelated attacks in which more than two dozen people were killed or seriously injured. Seventeen people were killed in Puncak Jaya in July when two rival political camps clashed in an election dispute.

In Puncak Jaya there has been a long insurgency between the Free Papua Organization (OPM) and the Indonesian military. The OPM commander in Puncak Jaya claimed responsibility for several attacks against the Indonesian military in July, including one in which an Indonesian military chopper was shot down, injuring seven soldiers and killing one.

In October security forces used excessive violence when arresting more than 300 Papuans involved in a three-day Papuan Congress. At least three men were killed and more than 90 were injured. Six Papuan leaders were charged with treason.

Aceh

Aceh’s provincial government continued to implement a repressive Sharia-inspired dress code with disregard for women’s agency and a law on "seclusion," banning association between unmarried men and women in "isolated" places. The provisions are enforced primarily through a Sharia police force that harasses, intimidates, and arbitrarily arrests and detains children, women, and men. Local community groups also forcibly enter homes and assault and publicly humiliate couples they suspect are committing "seclusion." Police make little effort to deter and prosecute such assaults. In April two couples were publicly caned under the “seclusion” law.

At this writing it was unclear what effect a decision by Partai Aceh, the main party of the former rebels, to boycott December 2011 local elections would have. The party claimed that Jakarta-sponsored election regulations were not in line with the 2005 Helsinki peace agreement that ended the decades-long conflict in Aceh.

Migrant Domestic Workers

Migrant domestic workers continue to face abuses both during the recruitment process in Indonesia and while employed abroad. The government has failed to stop local recruiters from charging prospective migrants exorbitant fees that leave them highly indebted, which contributes to situations of forced labor abroad.

In May Indonesia and Malaysia signed a new Memorandum of Understanding on Indonesian domestic workers traveling to Malaysia. The revised agreement includes some improved benefits for migrant domestic workers, allowing them to keep their passports instead of having to surrender them to their employers, and guarantees them a weekly day off. But the agreement does not set a minimum wage, as Indonesia had wanted, and perpetuates recruitment fee structures that leave workers indebted.

In June the Saudi government executed Ruyati binti Sapubi, a 54-year-old domestic worker from western Java. She was convicted of murdering her Saudi employer, who she claimed was abusing her.

Child Domestic Workers

Hundreds of thousands of girls in Indonesia are employed as domestic workers. Many work long hours, with no day off, and are forbidden from leaving the house where they work. In the worst cases, girls are physically, psychologically, and sexually abused by their employers. Despite supporting the landmark International Labour Organization convention in June that extended key labor protections to domestic workers, Indonesia’s domestic laws exclude all domestic workers from the basic labor rights afforded to formal workers. A domestic workers law that was introduced in 2010 has since stalled in parliament.

Key International Actors

Indonesia assumed the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) in 2011, holding an ASEAN summit in Jakarta in May and Bali in November. In May Indonesia committed to “uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights” when it was elected by the General Assembly to become a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, but left unaddressed which concrete steps would be taken to fulfill pledges on key issues like freedom of religion and expression, and accountability of abuses by military forces.

The United States continued to provide extensive military assistance to Indonesia. In July US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indonesia Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa co-chaired the second annual Joint Commission of the US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership. In November President Barack Obama visited Indonesia as part of the ASEAN Summit in Bali.

The US also continued to reengage with Kopassus, and provide significant support to Detachment 88, Indonesia’s counterterrorism police. Similarly, the Australian government continued cooperation with both units.

In July the European Parliament issued a resolution on human rights in Indonesia, condemning recent attacks on Christians and Ahmadiyah properties.
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In view of the fact that there has been no response from Freeport -Indonesia or Freeport McMoran, ‘I, Anthonius Alomang, as executive-director of Lemasa, the Association of Amungme tribal people, herewith warn Freeport in Mimika district that we may close you down.’

‘As director of Lemasa, I declare on this day that we will close Freeport down,’ Alomang told a group Amungme people, addressing them at the meeting hall in Mile 32, Kuala Kencana, Timika.

He said that this was not just a joke but a very serious matter because already more than a month has elapsed without the Freeport management making any response to the statement issued by Tom Beanal, the Torei Negel.

The reason why a statement was made by the Torei Negel himself, said Alomang, speaking before representatives of the Kamoro Tribe and other tribes in Papua as well as representatives of various Indonesian groups in Mimika, is that ever since Freeport has been present here, what has been happening is quite unacceptable to the people who hold customary rights to the land.

The people who were already poor and have become even poorer, and they have seen that there has been not a shred of compassion in the practices towards the local people. This includes murders by unaccountable groups as well as corruption practised by the Freeport management who have never been called to account for all this.

As previously reported by Jubi on 7 December last year, the Torei Negel, Tom Beanal issued a nine-point statement expressing his attitude regarding the ten crucial issues that have been experienced by the Amungme people ever since PT-FI first arrived in Mimika.

Yet, up to this day, there has been no response whatever from the management of Freeport or from McMoran.

But no details are yet available about what these measures might be.

Indonesia Police, Prosecutors Engaged
in Torture: Papua Poll Confirms

by Agus Triyono

A survey carried out by nongovernmental organizations between July and
September last year showed there was a widespread belief among
respondents in Papua that police engaged in practices of torture.

For the survey, the Jakarta and Papua offices of the Legal Aid
Institute (LBH) spoke to 205 respondents from various fields: police,
prosecutors, customary and tribal leaders, commentators, criminal
suspects and even inmates at Abepura Prison in Jayapura, Papua.

The results showed that respondents identified several institutes as
engaging in torture: the police (61 percent), prosecutors (31 percent)
and prison officials (8 percent).

The findings echo the results of a previous survey by LBH Jakarta, in
which respondents identified police as the main perpetrators of
torture among all branches of law enforcement.

“The Papua survey confirms our earlier findings, with more than 60
percent of respondents identifying police as being engaged in
torture,” LBH researcher Laode M. Syarif said at the announcement of
the survey results in Jakarta on Friday.

He said respondents to the survey also identified the three main
methods of torture employed by law enforcement officials against
suspects and inmates at Abepura: physical, psychological and sexual
violence.

“Physical violence includes such acts as grabbing, dragging hitting
and crippling,” Syarif said. “Psychological torture includes
threatening people at gunpoint, while sexual violence includes
disrobing suspects, photographing them in forced intimate poses,
groping and forcing them to perform oral sex on each other.”

He said police resorted to these extreme measures because they were
incapable of getting the information they sought from the suspects in
cases.

“It’s the easiest way to get a confession,” Syarif said. “These
practices are carried out in defiance of a directive issued by the
National Police chief in 2009 on implementing human rights standards
and principles during the course of an investigation,” he said.

Syarif sad the survey also indicated key differences in the way better
educated suspects were treated by police. Suspects who had received a
secondary education or higher were more likely to be tortured.

“There are also indications that suspects with an income of Rp 3
million [US$ 326] are less likely to be tortured than lower income
suspects,” Syarif said.

At the end of 2010, an investigation undertaken by LBH Jakarta in
Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar and the Acehnese towns of Banda Aceh and
Lhokseumawe uncovered proof that police were engaged in acts of
torture.

According to that study, Surabaya was perceived as having the highest
rates of torture committed by police, with 93.8 percent of 96 suspects
and inmates claiming torture was most widely carried out by police.

Police responded coolly to the survey. National Police spokesman Saut
Usman Nasution said police respected the LBH’s opinion and would take
steps to look into the matter.

However, he questioned the methods used by the LBH in carrying out its survey.

Index: ASA 21/001/2012
10 January 2012

Government must ensure accountability for police violence in Bima

The Indonesian government must ensure accountability for the deaths of at least three people and injuries to dozens of others at a peaceful protest in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara province in late December.

If ongoing investigations find that the security forces committed unlawful killings or torture or other ill-treatment, then those responsible, including persons with command responsibility, must be prosecuted in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness, and victims provided with reparations.

On the morning of 24 December 2011, some 100 protesters blocked the road to Sape port near Bima, demanding the revocation of an exploration permit issued to a gold mining company. They cited environmental concerns and fears it would threaten their livelihoods. An estimated 600 police including the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) unit, Criminal investigation unit and intelligence officers were mobilised to the port to disperse the protesters. According to credible reports, the police opened fire and used excessive force against the protesters, killing at least three people and injuring around 80 others, including women and children. The police subsequently arrested at least 56 Bima residents for their involvement in the demonstration and for allegedly possessing weapons. According to local sources, at least 37 are still detained.

An initial investigation by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) found indications that the police had committed human rights violations. According to the commission, the Bima district police chief had given orders to use force and the police punched, kicked and dragged the protesters who had put up no resistance. The commission also found evidence that the police had tampered with the crime scene by collecting empty bullet shells scattered in the area of the shooting.

Amnesty International recognizes the challenges involved in policing demonstrations. However, in this case the security forces appear to have violated the rights to life and to freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, both non-derogable rights under the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Indonesia is a state party.

The police also appear to have contravened the Indonesian police regulation on the Use of Force in Police Action (No 1/2009). The Regulation provides for, among other things, that force should be used only as a last resort, in proportion to the threat posed, and designed to minimize damage or injury.

Internal police disciplinary proceedings held in Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara province, found five police officers in breach of police procedures for beating and kicking the protesters while attempting to disperse them. They were reportedly given punishments of three days’ detention, written reprimands and postponement of further training.

While Amnesty International welcomes any internal disciplinary process into police misconduct, it must never replace bringing those suspected of offences involving human rights violations before civilian courts.

The police leadership should also immediately conduct a thorough review of police tactics and use of weapons during public order policing, with a view to ensuring that they comply with international standards, in particular the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

Amnesty International also urges the Indonesian authorities to set up an independent police complaints mechanism to deal with human rights violations by police officers or empower existing bodies such as the National Police Commission or the National Human Rights Commission so that they can carry out independent investigations and submit their findings to a public prosecutor or to the police internal disciplinary body.

ENDS/

Public Document
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK www.amnesty.org

Link: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA21/001/2012/en

Simon Tuturop has finished his prison sentence in Fakfak. From outside the jail Tuturop said “Having been in prison for years doesn’t mean that I will be quiet, instead prison was a place for study and self-reflection about how to build a struggle together with other brothers and sisters. Unity is the key”

(Photo @Elsham Advocacy Team & Foker Fakfak available at www.andreasharsono.net)

23 December 2011

Andreas Harsono

www.andreasharsono.net

Translated by TAPOL

[Comment: The release of the five prisoners is very welcome, but dozens more Papuans remain incarcerated for peaceful political activities, such as flag-raisings, having been convicted of makar (treason) under Article 106 of the Indonesian Criminal Code.  Indonesia must be pressed to end the practice of charging persons exercising their right to freedom of expression with criminal offences, such as makar.  It should order the unconditional release of all those in detention for non-violent political activities as part a comprehensive policy to end the punishment of freedom of expression.  It should also ensure that victims of arbitrary detention and torture and ill-treatment in detention, and their families, receive adequate reparations and assistance to access services needed for recovery and rehabilitation. TAPOL]

Five political prisoners, imprisoned for raising the Morning Star flag on 19 July 2008 in front of the Fakfak Act of Free Choice building, were freed today. They were condemned to four years in prison by the Fakfak court and have now been released having served three years, five months and three days of their sentence.

Simon Tuturop, Tadeus Weripang, Benediktus Tuturop, Tomas Nimbitkendik and Teles Piahar were collected from the prison by Freddy Warpopor, the Fakfak Area Coordinator of Foker NGO Papua, and other friends by two minibuses and several motorbikes, according to a Foker NGO press release.

The group left the prison at 09:30. They went to the house of Eligius Warpopor, a community leader in Gewerpe Village, where they were greeted by the people of Gerwerpe. Simon Tuturop made a speech thanking the people of Gewerpe Village, as well as the Papuan Customary Institute (Lembaga Adat Papua), Elsham Papua, Foker NGO, LP3BH Manokwari, Amnesty International and the ICRC. He said that they had helped to greatly reduce their suffering in prison.

Simon Tuturop being welcomed by the people of Gerwerbe Village.

Photo @Elsham Advocacy Team & Foker Fakfak

Simon Tuturop, originally from Fakfak, is a leading figure of the non-violent movement for Papua liberation. In 1982 he joined in a proclamation of West Papuan independence in Jayapura. He was sentenced to twelve years in Kalisosok prison, Surabaya. In 1998, as President Suharto fell, Tuturop and other political prisoners across the whole of Indonesia were set free. He then went to work in Aceh, to help with social projects for Achenese people who had become refugees of Indonesia’s war with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)

On 19 July 2008, Tuturop led a flag-raising of the Morning Star flag where 44 people were arrested by Indonesian police. Five were found guilty by the Indonesian court in Fakfak and convicted of treason under articles 106 and 110 of the Indonesian criminal code. Elsham Papua, LP3BH Manokwari and Foker NGO Papua regard them as innocent prisoners of conscience who did not committed any violent acts. To express a desire for independence is part of the freedom to express political aspirations. It is not a criminal act. These three organisations continued to advocate for them and defend them.

Tadeus Waripang returns to his home in Kampung Wayati.

Photo @ Elsham Advocacy Team & Foker Fakfak

The group then continued their journey to Wayati Village to bring Tadeus Weripang back home. The people of Wayati Village and the village chief were already waiting for Tadeus Weripang’s arrival.

Warpopor said, “It was a great welcome, despite the tumultous atmosphere. Some people shed tears.” Village chief Plerius Kondawe gave his thanks to the three organisations.

The villagers asked Freddy Warpopor to explain about President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s meeting with Papuan church leaders. Warpopor encouraged the villagers to pay attention to any developments which may arise. He said that President Yudhoyono “was already open to dialogue with the Papuan people.”

“Let’s all support this process, so that we can determine the right format that Papuans will later use in the dialogue, and another important thing is that this struggle is a non-violent struggle. Let’s unite to save the country and this land of Papua,”said Warporpor.

Posted by Andreas Harsono at 9:24 PM

Translated by Tapol

http://www.andreasharsono.net/2011/12/tapol-papua-dibebaskan-di-fakfak.html

Vote mining giant Freeport as worst company in Public Eye’s worst company award: http://www.publiceye.ch/en/vote/freeport/

SUMMARY

Precious metals in exchange for death and exploitation: The Arizona-based mining corporation has operated the Grasberg Mine, the world’s largest gold and copper mine in West Papua, for 45 years without regard for nature and people. The mine produces 230,000 tons of tailings contaminated with heavy metals every day, resulting in a blanket of copper-laden waste covering over 200 square kilometers (90 square miles) and up to 15 meters (50 feet) deep that kills everything in its path and threatens a World Heritage site. In a large strike at the end of 2011, two strikers were shot dead by the police and union members received death threats. Switzerland is the fifth-largest trading center for Freeport’s precious metals (after the U.S., Japan, Indonesia and Spain).

ABOUT FREEPORT MCMORAN

Headquarters: Arizona, USA
Industry: mining
Revenue / Profit: USD 19 billion / USD 4.3 billion (2010)
Owned by: publicly-listed corporation
Employees: 29,700
CEO: Richard C. Adkerson
Website: www.fcx.com

IRRESPONSIBLE CORPORATE BEHAVIOR

Freeport McMoRan has been exploiting West Papua for four decades. Thanks to 1967 deal with then-dictator Suharto, the corporation has been able to brazenly help itself to the vast gold and copper reserves of West Papua . As a result, Freeport contaminates the environment, drives the indigenous population into slums, and ruins their religious and cultural sites. They have removed a mountaintop considered sacred by local indigenous people to create the world’s largest copper and gold mine. The activities of Freeport lead to social disintegration and the creation of ghettos. This form of economic colonization inhibits the development of society, drives people to prostitution, and promotes the sharp rise in HIV infections in the West Papuan population.

CONSEQUENCES

The mine produces 230,000 tons of tailings contaminated with heavy metals every day, resulting in a blanket of cement-like waste covering over 200 sqaure milesand up to 15 meters (50 feet) deep that kills everything in its path. The Lorentz National Park, a World Heritage site, is increasingly threatened by Freeport’s toxic waste. The displaced population lives in slum-like conditions: In the mining town of Timika, more than half the population lives below the poverty line. Crime, prostitution and HIV infections are steadily rising. The corruption of military and police adds oil to the fire in West Papua’s already unstable political climate. The potential for conflict surges, with repeated riots, injuries and deaths. More than 160 people have been fatally shot by the military in the surroundings of Freeport’s Grasberg Mine.

CURRENT STATUS AND DEMANDS ON THE COMPANY

Thousands of underpaid mine workers went on strike at the end of 2011, temporarily paralyzing the mine. In light of Freeport’s catastrophic practices, the company’s financial partners must distance themselves from Freeport; the Norwegian Government Pension Fund has already taken this step. The Indonesia Human Rights Committee claims Freeport cannot operate the Grasberg Mine without committing human rights violations and irreversible environmental destruction, and therefore calls for the closure of the mine.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The Indonesian Human Rights Committee:
www.indonesiahumanrights.org.nz

Occupy Phoenix against Freeport:

Asian Times on the 2011 strike:
www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/MK02Ae01.html

The Norwegian Government Pension Fund’s Disinvestment from Freeport:
www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fin/press-center/Press-releases/2006/Two-companies—Wal-Mart-and-Freeport—.html?id=104396

Report by the NGO Etan: tan.org/news/2008/09freeport.htm

• Local News

By
Ricky Binihi

There will be no rest and tranquility in West Papua until Vanuatu’s Melanesian brothers and sisters are granted their freedom.
Let the message of freedom ring in the mountain tops of West Papua where OPM guerillas operate and into the streets of Jayapura where Indonesian Police systematically torture Melanesians.
That is the statement the leaders of Vanuatu and the West Papua National Council for Liberation and members of the newly established West Papua Decolonisation want to resonate in all the cities in Melanesian Spearhead Group countries and Jakarta.
Vanuatu leaders and West Papua Liberation leaders have agreed to now conduct their struggle of self determination ‘on the high plane of dignity and discipline’.
Encouraged by the statement of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, leaders and the people of Vanuatu, West Papua National National Coalition for Liberation on December 16 established a West Papua Decolonisation Committee.
Head of the WPNCL in Vanuatu Mr Andy Ayamiseba said the purpose of the Committee is to concentrate on petitioning the UN Decolonisation Committee for the re-inscription of West Papua in order for it to be granted the due process of decolonisation, which is an alternative strategy to solve the longstanding political conflict in West Papua.
That strategy was used by the Fathers of Vanuatu Independence in the late 70s to convince the United Nations that the New Hebrides was not part of France and Great Britain. Eventually London succumbed to the cry for freedom, followed by Paris.
Membership of the Committee will consist of the Leaders of WPNCL and prominent Vanuatu politicians including former Head of States and Prime Ministers.
Ordinary and financial membership would be opened to dignitaries and people with expertise from other countries.
Vice Chairman of WPNCL, Dr John Ondawame said the creation of the Committee is our response to the never ending violence committed by the Indonesian armed forces in West Papua.
“Regardless of the pleas by our people and encouragement by the International community for peaceful dialogue, however, bloodshed and suffering are still continued in West Papua. We call upon all people of West Papua to unite in supporting this diplomatic efforts,” Ondawame said.
Human rights activist Ms Paula Makabory said the work of the committee could encourage Indonesia to stop the violence and resolve the issue peacefully. She believes that only a peaceful West Papua will allow people to full participate in development.
“The establishment of the Committee is a Christmas Gift to the children, women and men of West Papua,” she said
The Secretary General of WPNCL, Mr Rex Rumakiek said the establishment of the Committee reaffirms the UN Secretary Generals vie that West Papua issue is a Decolonisation concern and the best place to for it to be discussed is the UN Decolonisation Committee.
Mr Ayamiseba said the formation of the Committee puts the Wantok Bill passed in Parliament on 19 June 2009 in action.
A former Vanuatu Prime Minister who together with the late Father Walter Lini put Vanuatu on the List of Decolonisation said “this is the noblest ideal and least Vanuatu could do for ending the suffering in West Papua.”
Three days after the Committee was established in Vanuatu, Prime Minister Sato Kilman signed a Development Cooperation Agreement with Indonesia recognising West Papua as an integral part of Indonesia.
But everyone in Vanuatu, including the majority of Kilman’s minister and the World know that West Papua was never part of Indonesia. The 1969 Act of Free Choice organised by UN where only 1025 people who were selected by the Indonesia Military to participate in was a scam.
Now only the UN can undo their wrong that is why a West Papua Decolonisation Committee was established here so that it could petition the UN Decolonisation Committee for the re-inscription of West Papua.