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UN calls on Indonesia to protect Veronica Koman
A panel of United Nations human rights experts have expressed support for human rights lawyer Veronica Koman in response to the East Java Police naming her among suspects of causing unrest in Papua and West Papua
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span>A panel of United Nations human rights experts have expressed support for human rights lawyer Veronica Koman in response to the East Java Police naming her among suspects of causing unrest in Papua and West Papua.
Veronica, who is a lawyer for the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB), has regularly tweeted videos of marches and rallies in various cities and regions since protests first broke out in Papua and West Papua on Aug. 19.
Because of the internet blackout in the country’s easternmost provinces from Aug. 21, her tweets have been one of the only sources of information from the restive region.
The UN experts said the Indonesian government must protect the rights of all to peaceful protest, open access to the internet and protect the rights of Veronica and others reporting on protests in Papua and West Papua.
“We call for immediate measures to ensure the protection of freedom of expression and address acts of harassment, intimidation, interference, undue restriction and threats against those reporting on the protests,” the experts said in a written statement on Monday.
The experts include Clement Nyaletsossi Voule from Togo, the special rapporteur on the right to peaceful assembly and association; David Kaye from the United States, the special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Dubravka Šimonović from Croatia, the special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences; Meskerem Geset Techane from Ethiopia, the chair of the working group on discrimination against women and girls; and Michel Forst from France, the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.
By Sept. 4 internet access had been recovered and the UN experts commented: “Access to the internet contributes to preventing disinformation and ensuring transparency and accountability.”
The East Java Police have named Veronica among the suspects of causing unrest in Papua for allegedly provoking people to riot via her social media updates. She was charged under several articles of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, Law No. 1/1946 on misinformation, Article 160 of the Criminal Code, as well as Law No. 40/2008 on the eradication of racial and ethnic discrimination.
The UN experts said that they welcomed actions taken on alleged racial abuse against Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, but Veronica should be protected from retaliation and intimidation, as well as dropping charges against her so she can continue to report on human rights in Indonesia independently.
The police also investigated Veronica’s bank account, suspecting that she had conducted dubious transactions.
The experts also expressed concern over indications that the Indonesian authorities were considering to revoke Veronica’s passport, block her bank accounts and request Interpol to issue a red notice to locate her, saying that restrictions on freedom of expression not only undermined discussion of Indonesian government policy but also jeopardized the safety of human rights defenders reporting on alleged violations.
The experts also urged the Indonesian government to engage in genuine dialogue with the protesters.
Previously, Netherlands-based nonpolitical and independent foundation for legal workers Lawyers 4 Lawyers and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada had written a joint letter to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to express the organization’s concern about the charges against Veronica.
“We have reason to believe that the criminal charges filed against Veronica Koman are connected to her legitimate activities as a lawyer. Moreover, these charges interfere with the fundamental right to legal counsel for people whose human rights may have been violated by Indonesian security personnel,” Lawyers 4 Lawyers executive director Sophie de Graaf said in a written statement received by The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Veronica herself uploaded a written statement to her social media that she would not respond to the allegations against her so as not to distract from the main problems facing Papuans.
She said the actions against her were just one of many examples of the large-scale intimidation Papuans face.
“I reject all attempts at character assassination that are being directed at me, the official lawyer for the Papuan Student Alliance [AMP]. The police have abused their authority and have overestimated their efforts to criminalize me, both in their methods and in exaggerating the facts,” Veronica said.
