US Religious Freedom Commission calls for Indonesia military reform

The  United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has just released its annual report. The commission maintains Indonesia on its Watch List (the Indonesia chapter begins on page 255 of the PDF), citing governmental restrictions and violence against some religious minorities, including concerns

about new government decrees that are used to severely restrict, and in some provinces even ban, the activities of the Ahmadiyya community; the forced closures and vandalism of places of worship belonging to Christian, Hindu, and Ahmadiyya groups in some localities; the growth and political influence of religious extremists; the deepening sectarian divisions in Papua due to human rights abuses perpetuated by the military and police; and the harassment and arrest of individuals considered deviant under Indonesian law. USCIRF policy recommendations include urging the Obama administration to deal with pressing social, political, and economic concerns by supporting government offices, religious groups, and civil society organizations in Indonesia working to promote religious freedom, counter extremism, teach tolerance and human rights, pursue legal reform, and build interfaith alliances.

The commission in its recommendations cites the need for reform of the Indonesian military and the need to deny assistance and visas to "any police or military unit or security agency personnel found to have engaged in violations of human rights." It does not name Kopassus explicitly. It calls for the removal from conflict areas of officers indicted in East Timor. It stresses the police role in counter-terrorism, but highlights that the U.S. trained "counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88 ha[s] exacerbated existing sectarian tensions in Sulawesi. Local religious leaders claim that Detachment 88’s harsh tactics increased sympathy for extremists in Central Sulawesi and attracted religious militants from other regions. For example, in April, 2008 police shot and killed Madi, a sect leader involved in a 2005 clash with police." (page 257)

From the reports recommendations (page 266)

In addition, as part of U.S.-Indonesian counter-terrorism cooperation, the U.S. should ensure that any future ties with the Indonesian military and police should include, as priorities:

 reform of the Indonesian military, including transfer to civilian control, training in international human rights standards, technical assistance in military law and tribunals;

 transfer or removal from Papua, the Malukus, or Central Sulawesi any security, police, and militia personnel indicted for activities related to serious human rights abuses and war crimes by the UN's Serious Crimes Investigation Unit (SCIU) and the Ad Hoc Human Rights Court for East Timor in Jakarta;

 dedicated funds for training Indonesian police in counter-terrorism techniques and protecting human rights in areas of sectarian conflict, including fellowships to the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Bangkok, Thailand and participation in UN Police training programs (UNPOL); and

 denial of U.S. assistance, training, or visas for any police or military unit or security agency personnel found to have engaged in violations of human rights.

Timor Pictures - Then and Now

Timor Archives draws attention to a set of rarely-seen photos taken in December 1975 during Indonesia's invasion of East Timor. The blog says that the 52 images were posted on Facebook in mid-2009 by an East Timorese. There is discussion of the images on the blog here. The complete set of photos is here.

----

Notes from Abroad posted photos of today's May Day parade in Dili. Red flags, a marching band!

UPDATE: Xinhua reports that 

In Timor-Leste, its Labor Union (KSTL) Saturday demanded the government to amend the labor regulation set by United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), saying its minimum wage regulation cannot afford to finance the life of labors.

The demand was conveyed by KSTL spokesperson Carolino Marques at a press conference to commemorate the International Labor Day held in Lesidera.

The labors demanded the government to replace the existing labor regulation with the one drafted by the Timor-Leste government itself.

"We want the government to amend the regulation No. 5/2002 on minimum labor wages set by UNTAET since it is no longer afford to finance our families," Carolino said.

Carolino said that the regulation set minimum labor wage at 85 U.S. dollars per month, an amount that is hardly able to cover the monthly needs of a labor's family.

The KSTL spokesperson said that the government also needs to issue regulation on overtime payment as many companies operating in the country were yet to pay the overtime payment for workers who work more than 8 hours in a day.

The KSTL also demanded the government to open more jobs for the youths, many of whom were still left unemployed.

Responding to the labors' demand, Timor-Leste secretary for labor affairs, Benditu Dos Santos Freitas, said that the government is drafting a labor law that would provide minimum wage of 200 U.S. dollars per month.

The draft law is being discussed in the parliament at the moment, Benditu said. He added that after the draft law is enacted by the parliament, each firm operating in the country will be obliged to abide by the law immediately.

Any company found of violating the law will be fined ranging from 100-1,000 U.S. dollars, depending on the company's size."

Please support ETAN, Donate today!

We are writing to urge you to support the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). As the Obama administration considers lifting all limits on military assistance to Indonesia, including the deadly Kopassus, we need to keep up the pressure. ETAN's strong and clear voice for justice and accountability is as crucial as ever.

We count on your financial support so we can bring out the facts, keep up the pressure and continue the fight for justice and democracy in East Timor and Indonesia.

Noam Chomsky recently wrote, "I have long admired the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN), a clear, effective, and very much needed voice in support of justice, human rights, and accountability. ETAN is the only U.S. group to focus solely on both East Timor and Indonesia...."

Independent journalist Allan Nairn, speaking on Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! last month described how after the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre which they survived, "a grassroots movement grew up in the United States, including the East Timor Action Network, and we were all able to pressure the US Congress to cut off a lot of the military aid to Indonesia. That was under the dictatorship of General Suharto. And that cutoff had a huge effect within Indonesia."

ETAN won't rest on past victories; we will be working on the following in the coming months:

* providing an alternative perspectives when President Obama makes his delayed visit to Indonesia in June. We are preparing op-eds, fact sheets and other backgrounders. We are working with groups in Indonesia to raise important human rights issues and to oppose U.S. assistance to Indonesia's largely un-reformed military.

* working with groups in Timor-Leste (East Timor) and elsewhere to strengthen international support and expand activism for justice and accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity during Indonesia's U.S.-backed occupation of Timor.

* actively opposing any U.S. plans to train Indonesia's deadly Kopassus special forces. Kopassus which stands accused of some of the worst human rights violations in East Timor, West Papua and elsewhere. Many of you signed ETAN's online petition petition expressing your opposition to this dangerous and illegal proposal.l.

* analyzing the impact of U.S. aid to Timor-Leste looking at the projects and their impact.

And look for us in late June in Detroit at the US Social Forum. ETAN is planning a workshop and will be tabling. If you are planning to attend, let us know and look for us there.

ETAN remains an important source of information and analysis to journalists, decision-makers and activists. We maintain an active presence online through our website, a blog, Facebook, e-mail lists, and Twitter. We actively monitor ongoing threats to human rights in both countries, applying pressure in defense of activists and others.

You can donate safely through ETAN's website here. Or you can mail your donation. To support ETAN’s political advocacy work, write a check made out to “East Timor Action Network.” For ETAN’s educational efforts, tax-deductible donations of over $50 can be made out to “A.J. Muste Memorial Institute/ETAN.” Please mail your donations to: ETAN, PO Box 21873, Brooklyn, NY 11202-1873.

Thank you.

A luta continua,

John M. Miller
National Coordinator

P.S. Help put ETAN's finances on a firmer footing. Please consider making a recurring pledge of support via credit card to ETAN. You can choose the amount and frequency of the donation and it is automatically deducted from your credit card..

Temporary visas no longer available at land crossing into Timor-Leste?

UPDATE: Charles Scheiner reports on the east-timor listserv that

On 3 February 2010 the Council of Ministers adopted Decree-Law 5/2010 "on Access to Visa on arrival and in transit in Timor-Leste," ( http://www.jornal.gov.tl/?mod=artigo&id=2566 in Portuguese) which became effective on 16 March. It prohibits visa-on-arrival at the land border for practical implementation reasons.

The same problem exists in the other direction -- even though people of many nationalities can get Indonesian visas-on-arrival when flying into Bali or other Indonesian airports, they cannot get them when travelling from Timor-Leste to West Timor by land, and are required to have visas in advance.

A post on a travel bulletin board reports that several travelers could not get visas to enter Timor-Leste via the land border.

My girlfriend and I tried to cross the border from Indonesia to Timor Leste 18 Apr, but were denied visa at the border and told that from now you have to fly to Dili to get visa on arrival. The web page of the immigration department of Timor-Leste says nothing about this new rule, and we had checked several times the last days before we tried to cross.

Anybody else who has tried to cross the border recently? We are both from Norway, and a Chinese guy on the same minibus as us were also denied entry. Annoying, as we had travelled for several days to get there!

Anyone else encounter similar problems? Has there been a change of policy? Is Timor-Leste trying to limit tourism?

Comments on the U.S. Department of State Country reports on Human Rights Practices for 2009

Full post here


East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN)

West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT)

Comments on the U.S. Department of State Country reports on Human Rights Practices for 2009

Contents

• Police Violations
• Timor-Leste
• Transmigration
• West Papua
• Aceh
• Munir

 The bulk of the U.S. State Department's annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on Indonesia (covering 2009) catalogs continuing human rights violations in Indonesia, offering a generally useful and fairly-detailed chronicle of those abuses and the continuing impunity extended to those violating rights, principally the Indonesian military and police. However, the report's overview mischaracterizes the reports contents and some key developments are ignored. While we do not examine the Timor-Leste  report in detail, except as noted below, some of the errors we and La'o Hamutuk noted last time have either been corrected or were not repeated. However, several of the criticisms we made last year still apply.

As in the past, the State Department, in both its summary and the main body of the report, pulls its punches when addressing security force human rights violations, obstruction of justice and other crimes. The police and the military remain largely unaccountable to a judicial system that is deeply corrupt and cowed by the power of the security forces. The military continues to evade civilian control. Militias, established by the military in Aceh, West Papua and elsewhere are similarly unaccountable. Their role is ignored in the report.

Indonesia's official National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) questioned the report's overall tone, calling the document "too optimistic." The chair of the commission Ifdhal Kasim told the Jakarta Globe "There has been practically no improvement in the handling human rights violations in Indonesia." He told the newspaper that "the country's mechanisms for tackling human rights violations had failed, pointing out that no cases of human rights abuse were brought to the courts in 2009."

The report's overview wrongly contends that "civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces." The statement is partially qualified with an acknowledgement that "the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) continued to be partly self-financed weakened this control," but the those few elements of the military's business empire that were purportedly placed under "civilian" control were in fact turned over to the Ministry of Defense, which is populated principally by active duty and retired senior military personnel. A member of Indonesian Parliament who sits on the commission overseeing defense and foreign affairs has noted that only 13 percent of the millions of acres owned by the military has been certified. Military involvement in illegal business activities and overall impunity further limit civilian control.

In one of the most important oversights, the report leave out the severe and repeated human rights violations in Merauke and Keerom, in West Papua at the hands of a unit of Indonesia's Special Forces (Kopassus). A June 2009 Human Rights Watch report What Did I Do Wrong? - based on interviews documents how Kopassus soldiers "arrest Papuans without legal authority, and beat and mistreat those they take back to their barracks," underscoring that the Kopassus personnel continue to violate rights with impunity even as the U.S. government considers resuming training Kopassus after 12 years. In the fall, six Kopassus officers met with a Human Rights Watch official to deny the abuses detailed in the report. These denials lacked credibility. The Kopassus officers also sought to identify the report's author in a not too subtle effort at intimidation. The State Department's failure to take note of this important human rights reports is inexplicable.

In its substantive paragraphs, the State Department report notes that the military continues to be involved in people trafficking and, as during the Suharto era, to collude with "developers" in forcing farmers and others off their land. However, the report leaves out the systematic failure of the government to prosecute these crimes.

The introduction to the report also contends that "The government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however, security force personnel committed a number of killings in the course of apprehending alleged criminals and terrorists." This claim ignores accounts that military personnel (belonging to the Special Forces or "Kopassus") likely-assassinated civilian activists in Aceh in 2009 because of their political advocacy (confirmed in part after the report came out). The report acknowledges only three killings in Aceh - there were at least 29 mysterious killings and assaults - and fails to report on the background of security force violence that provides context to understand the nature of those killings.

The State Department report fails to identify Article 106 of the Indonesian Criminal Code which criminalizes peaceful political dissent. The article, which dates to the Dutch colonial era and which was used extensively by during the Suharto dictatorship to punish dissenters, remains a tool of prosecutors, particularly in West Papua. Article 106 criminalizes dissent as constituting rebellion and/or treason and is not compatible with Indonesia's obligations to protect free speech under terms of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Articles 19-21). Indonesia signed the convention in 2006.

Read the full post here