The Human Rights Network for Democracy in Indonesia
Alert
Attack on Left Party in Indonesia
Over the past months, the newly formed Indonesian National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) has come under repeated attack from conservative and fundamentalist groups, including Forum Betawi Rempug (FBR), Front Pembela Islam (FPI), Pelajar Islam Indonesia, the Indonesian National Patriotic Movement, the Front in Defence of the Red and White Flag, and the Anti-Communist Movement (GERAK). In all of the attacks, which have ranged from disrupting meetings to armed groups attacking peaceful rallies, the Indonesian authorities have failed to hold anyone responsible. In fact, instead of detaining the perpetrators, the typical response from the Indonesian police forces has been to pressure Papernas to end their peaceful political activities. This is taking place in a renewed atmosphere of intimidation of the Indonesian left, accompanied by the attorney general stifling academic discourse of the events surrounding the alleged coup attempt on September 30, 1965, and the following three years of massacres of ethnic minorities and groups affiliated with the former Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). To read more on these events, see the article “Left party, historians under attack in Indonesia.”
Please write a letter to the head of the Indonesian Police, General Sutanto, asking him to protect the political rights of Papernas and other Indonesian activists. Below is a sample letter, feel free to modify it for your own use.
Letters should be sent to:
General Sutanto, Chief of National Police Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3 Jakarta Selatan INDONESIA Tel.: +62-21-721 8012 Fax: +62-21-720 7277 Email: kapolri@polri.go.id or poliri@polri.go.id and theIndonesian Embassy at Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, 2020 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036; Tel.: (202) 775-5200 Fax : (202) 775-5365 Email: info@kbri.org
Please send copies to: Papernas at papernas@yahoo.com and Komnas HAM Indonesia info@komnasham.go.id and us at indonesia.rights@gmail.com
The Honorable General Sutanto
Head of the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia
Dear Sir,
I am writing to you about the attacks carried out by FPI (a right-wing fundamentalist religious group) and others against the activists of PAPERNAS (a political organization in Indonesia) documented by the media in several areas including Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Jakarta. I want to state my deep concern in hearing about the violent acts, which are a violation of the political and human rights of the individual victims and the group as a whole. Furthermore, I am outraged that the Indonesian Government and police force have yet to take any decisive actions to hold people responsible for the clearly illegal violent actions of FPI, GERAK, FAKI and Forum Betawi Rempuk.
As a concerned friend, I urge the Government of Indonesia and National Police of the Republic of Indonesia to:
- Immediately launch a thorough investigation, including full prosecution of those responsible, before further damage is done to democratic and human rights reputation of the Republic of Indonesia.
- Guarantee that all political organizations in Indonesia are free to voice their views without fearing violence and impunity for groups that may be responsible for attacks.
Thank you,