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Human rights deteriorated in Indonesia in 2020: Amnesty
An annual report by Amnesty International has found that human rights in Indonesia deteriorated last year, with the government failing to stop unlawful killings in Papua and West Papua.
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A protester sits on a road as police-fired tear gas obscures the scene behind him during a demonstration against the Job Creation Law in Harmoni, Central Jakarta, on Oct. 8, 2020. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
T
he human rights situation in Indonesia deteriorated in 2020 as the government failed to stop rampant unlawful killings in the Papua region and critical voices continued to be stifled by a draconian anti-defamation law, Amnesty International Indonesia found in its latest annual report.
Amnesty recorded 19 cases of unlawful killings by security forces in West Papua and Papua last year, claiming the lives of 30 people, said Usman Hamid, the director of the organization’s Indonesian office.
One notable case was the killing of the head of the Indonesian Evangelical Christian Church, Yeremia Zanambani, in Hitadipa, Intan Jaya, Papua, on Sept. 19, 2020.
The police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) claimed an armed group was behind his death. However, activists in Papua who were in close communication with the priest’s family rejected this and alleged that the military had shot Yeremia during a search for members of an armed group suspected of killing two military officers.
Amnesty noted that similar incidents continued to take place this year. At least six people died in four unlawful killing cases in Papua and West Papua from January to March.
Read also: TNI personnel behind killing of Intan Jaya Pastor, series of violence: Independent team
Amnesty also highlighted the rarity of investigations into reports of unlawful killings by security forces in Papua and the impunity of the perpetrators.
