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Police charge pro-liberation activist as govt attempts to end internet blackout
The East Java Police have named human rights lawyer Veronica Koman a suspect for allegedly instigating unrest surrounding Papua.
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Solidarity: An activist holds up a poster during a demonstration in Jakarta on Aug. 23, in protest of the internet blackout in Papua and West Papua, imposed following riots in a number of the provinces’ cities. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
W
hile pledging to gradually lift its internet restriction in Papua and West Papua, the government has taken another strong measure against a human rights activist who has supported the provinces’ calls for independence.
The East Java Police has named human rights lawyer Veronica Koman a suspect for allegedly violating four different laws, including the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, by reportedly encouraging Papuans and West Papuans to riot.
East Java Police chief Insp. Luki Hermawan said the police had decided to name Veronica as a suspect after conducting a preliminary hearing on Tuesday night. The activist, he further said, had “aggressively provoked” citizens via twitter account @VeronicaKoman by giving out information surrounding the recent protests and riots.
A string of protests and riots erupted in the two provinces after security personnel and members of mass organizations were heard using racial slurs against Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, because they thought the students were refusing to celebrate Indonesian Independence Day.
Veronica posted a series of reports on the incident on Twitter.
“This is how Indonesian police charged into the West Papuan students’ dorm, shot teargas into it and arrested the unarmed students,” the police chief said as he quoted one of Veronica’s tweets posted on Aug. 18.
The tweet also featured photographs showing the police arresting dozens of Papuan students living at the dorm.
