TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Senior minister talks climate in DC, targets activists in Jakarta
The Indonesian Constitution stipulates that everyone is free to express their opinion in public and protects the right to seek, receive and convey information and ideas, orally and in writing, through print and electronic media.
Change Size
Haris Azhar, then coordinator for the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), gives oration during a protest called #MelawanGelap (#FightingDarkness) in front of the Presidential Palace in this file photo. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
O
n Oct. 17-19, coordinating maritime affairs and investment minister and close confidant of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Luhut Pandjaitan, visited Washington, DC to discuss climate, COVID-19 and China. Luhut dined with President Biden’s climate envoy John Kerry, met with national security advisor Jake Sullivan and spoke on “The Role of China in Southeast Asia” at the Catholic University of America.
Apparently missing from the agenda: the criminal defamation suit that Luhut has brought against two human rights defenders in Indonesia.
In August, activists Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti released a YouTube video in which they discussed a recent report by several civil society organizations about human rights violations committed at mining operations in Papua.
The Economics and Politics of Military Deployment in Papua: The Case of Intan Jaya documents the deployment of military forces in the central highlands of Papua, where escalations in armed conflict between the military and the West Papua National Liberation Army have led to violence against civilians.
In the video, Haris and Fatia discuss Luhut’s connection to several companies that own or control mining operations in the region, highlighting potential conflicts of interest for the minister and his similarly implicated colleagues.
Luhut struck back with claims of defamation and reputational damage. When the activists refused to apologize, Luhut threatened legal action under the Electronic Information and Transactions Law and Articles 310 and 311 of the Criminal Code, which allow for criminal charges to be filed in response to accusations of defamation.
In addition to failing to respect, protect and fulfill the rights in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which was ratified by Indonesia in 2006, Luhut’s efforts to silence the activists violate national law.
