KNews.id- The United States (US) Department of State has released Reports on the Practice of Human Rights (HAM) in various countries, including Indonesia. One of the topics discussed in it is arbitrary deprivation of life and unlawful or politically motivated killings.Quoted from the 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Indonesia as seen on the website of the US Department of Foreign Affairs, Friday (15/4), there are a number of things that are highlighted in the report. In ‘Section 1. Respecting the Integrity of People’, one of the points discussed is Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings.
“States’ Annual Reports on Human Rights Practices – Human Rights Reports – cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political and labor rights, as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international treaties.
The US State Department submits reports on all countries receiving aid and all member states of the United Nations to the US Congress pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Trade Act of 1974,” the report said.
The US has been issuing Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for nearly five decades. The US claims the report is aimed at providing a factual and objective record of the status of human rights worldwide – by 2021, covering 198 countries and territories.
“The information contained in these reports is particularly important or urgent given the ongoing human rights abuses and abuses in many countries, the continuing decline of democracy on several continents, and the creeping authoritarianism that threatens human rights and democracy,” it wrote. US Department of State.
In a report related to human rights practices in Indonesia, the US discussed the unlawful killings that occurred. The report on the unlawful killing began with a statement about the many reports related to operations in Papua and West Papua.
“There have been many reports that security officials carried out arbitrary or extrajudicial killings. Many of these reports relate to counter-insurgency operations by security forces against armed separatist groups in Papua and West Papua,” the report said.
The report stated that many cases of alleged extrajudicial killings were not investigated by the authorities. Even if an investigation is carried out, according to the US, it will ultimately fail to reveal the real facts.
“Official statements regarding allegations of abuse sometimes contradict reports by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the frequent inaccessibility of areas where violence occurred makes proving the facts difficult,” the report said.This US human rights report cites a KontraS report which states that there were 16 deaths allegedly due to abuse by security forces between June 2020 and May 2021. This US report also cites a statement by Komnas HAM regarding the shootings of FPI soldiers.
“KontraS also reported 13 deaths allegedly due to police shootings during the same period. On January 8, Komnas HAM released its report on the December 2020 police shooting of six members of the Islamic Defenders Front on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road in West Java Province. The Commission found that the police unlawfully killed four front members who were already in police custody and called the killings a violation of human rights.In April a police spokesman stated that three police officers from Polda Metro Jaya had been named suspects and were under investigation, noting that one in three had died in an accident in January. On August 23, the media reported that they had filed charges against the two suspects at the East Jakarta District Court,” the report said.
The report also contains the case of the arrest of Samsul Egar in Baubau, Southeast Sulawesi. The report stated that Samsul Egar died shortly after being arrested.
“On April 25, the Baubau Police of Southeast Sulawesi Province arrested Samsul Egar on suspicion of being involved in drug trafficking. According to media reports, the police are after Egar; after he was arrested, he was seen handcuffed on the ground and unconscious. Egar was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. Human rights organizations reported that Egar had bruises on his body. Police allegedly did not tell Egar’s family they believed he was a drug dealer until 28 days after his death. As of September 10, there is no indication that the authorities have investigated the report or taken action against the officers involved,” the report said.
The report also contains the involvement of the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) group in the murder of four farmers. The US says security forces have killed MIT leader Ali Kalora.In addition to the unlawful killings, the US report also contains about freedom of assembly and organization. In its report, the US alluded to NGO statements that said COVID-19 restrictions were often the reason for preventing anti-government demonstrations.
“The law provides for freedom of assembly, and outside Papua the government generally respects this right. The law requires demonstrators to provide written notice to the police three days before a planned demonstration and requires police to issue a receipt for written notice. This receipt acts as the de facto license for demonstration. Restrictions on public gatherings imposed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic limit the public’s ability to demonstrate. NGOs claim that the government is selectively imposing COVID-19-related restrictions to prevent anti-government protests,” the US wrote in its report.
“Police in Papua routinely refuse to issue receipts for such demonstrations, believing that they would include calls for independence, an act prohibited by law,” the US report continued.
The US also highlighted freedom of association in Indonesia. The US puts a spotlight on LGBT advocacy organizations and the disbandment of FPI.“The constitution and laws provide for freedom of association, which is generally respected by the government. Regulations on the registration of organizations are generally not onerous. However, some LGBTQI+ advocacy groups reported that when trying to register their organizations, they were unable to explicitly state that they were an LGBTQI+ advocacy group on their registration certificates,” AS wrote.
“In December 2020, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD announced a joint ministerial decision declaring the Islamic Defenders Front, a hardline Islamic organization, ‘unregistered’ and banning its organization, symbols and activities. The Islamic Defenders Front’s license to operate as a religious organization expired in June 2019; it operated without a clear legal status for 18 months.
Mahfud MD stated that so far the organization had violated the law and violated public order and refused to change the articles of association to conform to the law, in particular the national ideology of Pancasila. The coalition of leading human rights organizations issued a statement stating that while they criticized the Islamic Defenders Front’s violent actions, hate speech, and lawlessness, the joint ministerial decision was inconsistent with the country’s constitution and constituted an unfair restriction on human rights. of associations and expressions,” the report continued. (AHM)
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