Rachland Nashidik, Indonesia

It is well-known that the safety of Indonesian human rights defenders is in jeopardy, especially for defenders who live in the conflict zones of Aceh and Papua. Recently, not only defenders who live in conflict areas, but also those in cities such as Jakarta and Makassar, have received death threats.

The term “human rights defenders” became popular in Indonesia when Munir, a prominent Indonesia human rights lawyer was killed on board a flight from Jakarta to the Netherlands on 7 September 2004. Both state officials and civil society assume that “human rights defenders” are only NGO activists. The society still needs to understand that human rights defenders can be people who promote and protect human rights in a variety of peaceful ways. They can be teachers, doctors, journalists, priests, community leaders, peasants, laborers, indigenous people, etc.

Imparsial believes that the situation of HRDs in Indonesia has not changed since the situation under Suharto’s regime of New Order between 1965 and 1997. Under Suharto's regime, military and police actively oppressed HRDs. Under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s regime the military and police continue to be active in oppressing hrds, along with thugs and militias, known as “preman”, who are indirectly supervised by the military or the police.

Imparsial notified that in 2004, at least 165 Human Rights Defenders were the victims of abuse. The methods of abuse ranged from persecution, criminalisation, torture, kidnap, and murder. The authorities always protect the perpetrators.

Throughout the transitional situation in Indonesia, Human Rights Defenders are still targets of abuse. Especially since Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono gained power, the power of the military which decreased during Wahid’s reign has rapidly strengthened.

The power of the military and intelligence authorities in Indonesia increased after the US declared war against terrorism. Several draconian laws such as the Terrorism Law, which allows police and intelligence authorities to arrest a person for 7 days without a warrant, and the Law on the Indonesian Military, which gives the military a key role in politics, prevent Indonesian Human Rights Defenders from doing their hard work to promote and protect human rights.