Please note:
Iwanggin
Sabar Olif was acquitted in January 2009. See Amnesty International:
Human Rights Lawyer Cleared in Indonesia
Letter to Secretary of State Rice on
Iwanggin Sabar Olif
PO Box 21873, Brooklyn NY 11202
October 31, 2007
The Honorable
Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
Department of State
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Madame
Secretary,
We are writing in order to bring to
your urgent attention the arrest of human rights lawyer Iwanggin
Sabar Olif in Jayapura on October 18, 2007. According to statements
by officials at the time of his arrest, the arrest was made under a
law dating to the Suharto dictatorship era which criminalizes
"insulting the President." That law was ruled unconstitutional by
the Indonesian Constitutional Court in December 2006.
Specifically, Olif is accused of forwarding to five close
associates a text message that alleged that President Yudhoyono was
involved in a program targeting ordinary Papuans with poisoning,
kidnapping and other actions, reports of which have recently swept
West Papua. Olif did not write the message.
This arrest occurred in the context
of a broad crackdown on Papuan critics of the Yudhoyono government.
Papuan human rights advocates who met in June with senior UN
official Hina Jilani have been especially targeted. As you know,
Jilani visited West Papua in June as representative of the UN
Secretary General regarding human rights defenders.
We are especially concerned that
witnesses to the arrest of Olif have said that a detachment from
"Team 88" carried out the arrest. Contradicting these eyewitness
accounts, the Indonesian government has claimed that Team 88
personnel were not involved in the arrest. Any involvement by the
U.S.-funded Team 88, purportedly an anti-terrorism unit, is of
particular concern for two reasons. In this case, the Indonesian
police appear to be confusing dissent with terrorism, and Team 88
personnel have been credibly accused of torture, kidnapping and
other fundamental violations of human rights.
We strongly urge that the United
States Embassy in Jakarta closely monitor developments related to
the arrest of Iwanggin Sabar Olif, especially to assure that he is
not mistreated in detention and that he is not the victim of
injustice.
More broadly, the United States
Government should probe the ongoing crackdown targeting human rights
defenders and religious leaders in West Papua with a view to
pressing the Indonesian Government, and more specifically the
security units acting in its name, to end the intimidation of human
rights defenders. Among those targeted are: Alberth Rumbekwan, Chief
of the Indonesia National Human Rights Commission for West Papua,
human rights advocate Christian Warinussy of Manokwari, and Father
John Jongga, a Catholic Priest in the Jayapura Diocese. Amnesty
International, among other leading international human rights
organizations have issued reports on this crackdown.
Finally, we remain deeply concerned
by reports that the United States-supported Team 88 continues to
violate fundamental human rights. This raises questions about the
effectiveness of any human rights training which may accompany U.S.
assistance to Indonesia’s security forces. Absent an end to these
violations and punishment of those who have violated human rights,
we urge an end to United States support for Team 88.
Sincerely,
Ed McWilliams,
West Papua Advocacy Team
John M. Miller, National Coordinator, East Timor and Indonesia
Action Network
cc: Senator Robert Byrd, Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee
Senator Thad Cochran, Ranking Member, Senate Appropriations
Committee
Senator Patrick Leahy, Chair, Senate State, Foreign
Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee
Senator Judd Gregg, Ranking Member Senate State, Foreign
Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee
Senator Joseph Biden, Chair, Senate Foreign Relations
Committee
Senator Richard G. Lugar, Ranking Member, Senate Foreign
Relations Committee
Senator Barbara Boxer, Chair, Senate East Asia and Pacific
Affairs Subcommittee
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Ranking, Senate East Asia and Pacific
Affairs Subcommittee
Senator Bill Nelson, Chair, Senate International Operations
and Organizations, Democracy Human Rights Subcommittee
Senator David Vitter, Ranking, Senate International Operations
and Organizations, Democracy Human Rights Subcommittee
Representative David Obey, Chair, House Appropriations
Committee
Representative Jerry Lewis, Ranking Member, House
Appropriations Committee
Representative Nita Lowey, Chair, House State, Foreign
Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee
Representative Frank R. Wolf, Ranking, House State, Foreign
Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee
Representative Tom Lantos, Chair, House Foreign Affairs
Committee
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking, House Foreign
Affairs Committee
Representative Eni Faleomavaega, Chair, House Asia, the
Pacific and Global Environment Subcommittee
Representative Donald A. Manzullo, Ranking House Asia, the
Pacific and Global Environment Subcommittee
Representative William Delahunt, Chair, House International
Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight Subcommittee
Representative Dana Rohrabacher, Ranking, House International
Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight Subcommittee
also
---
United States Department of State
Washington, D. C. 20520
November 28, 2007
Mr. Ed McWilliams
PO Box 21873
Brooklyn, NY 11202
Dear Mr. McWilliams:
Thank you for your letter of October 31 regarding the arrest of
Iwanggin Sabar Olif in Jayapura on October 18. Although the human
rights situation in Indonesia has improved in recent years, we share
your concern about abuses that still take place, and we continue to
press for greater human rights reform.
The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta has been closely monitoring developments
related to the arrest of Mr. Olif. Embassy officials have repeatedly
expressed concern about the case with the Government of Indonesia
and have urged the Government to carefully review the grounds for
the arrest in order to determine whether such detention was
warranted based on the facts of the case. Additionally, Embassy
officials have met with Mr. Olif s lawyer, Amon Berokorui, who
reported that during his multiple visits with Mr. Olif, he has found
Mr. Olif to be in good condition. We will continue to urge the
Government of Indonesia to expeditiously conclude the investigation
and either file a credible charge or release Mr. Olif.
According to all available information, the involvement of
Detachment-88 in this case was limited and has since ceased because
terrorism charges are not being pursued. The U.S. government will
continue to give close attention to any allegations of misconduct
involving these units. We believe that U.S.-supported training of
Detachment-88, which is conducted in accordance with Leahy Amendment
requirements, helps instill professional standards of conduct.
Additionally, we will continue to monitor the Government of
Indonesia's treatment of all Papuan human rights defenders and
religious leaders and to press government officials at all levels on
the necessity to respect fundamental human rights.
Sincerely,
Michael Orona
Deputy Office Director
Bureau Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Radio
New Zealand International
Papua human rights campaigner charged over SMS messages
Posted at 01:59 on 13 December, 2007 UTC
A Papuan human rights campaigner has been formally charged with
insulting Indonesia’s president in a series of mobile phone SMS text
messages.
Sabar Iwanggin, who works
for the human rights organisation Elsham, was arrested in Jayapura
in October by Indonesian police and was held in police custody until
this week when charges were laid.
He is now being transferred
to the community prison in Abepura to await trial next year.
Elsham’s Paula Makabori
says the content of the SMS messages referred to the alleged
involvement of Jakarta in a recent wave of reports of Papuans being
food poisoned.
But she says Mr Iwanggin is
being unfairly singled out for messages passed around thousands of
Papuans.
“It’s like: why don’t those
thousands of people be put into the jails together with Sabar?
Because they all received the same SMS and for writing to their
friends and families because of their concern about human rights in
West Papua and the deteriorating situation over there.” Elsham’s
Paula Makabori
