“It's getting worse in 2019, when we have the Uprising related to racism. There's a phobia, I think, from the state for us to express our opinion.” (Esther Haluk, West Papuan Woman Activist)
“In terms of the degrading situation we have seen, certainly across a whole number of different categories, the police, and groups they have worked alongside, such as militia groups… the atmosphere they have created has led to a chilling effect on the civil society and the feeling to be able to freely express opinions and demonstrate in West Papua” (Ian Moore, TAPOL Campaigner)
SAFEnet and TAPOL together hosted a webinar, “Status and Trends of Freedom of Expression, Assembly, and Digital Rights in West Papua”, to share findings from our reports documenting Freedom of Expression and Assembly and Digital Rights in West Papua. The event explored the trends we have seen since the 2019, including repression directed against demonstrations, internet and online-related attacks, including criminalisation, anonymous attacks against HRDs and more, as well as arbitrary arrests on those peacefully expressing their views and intimidation and harassment.
SPEAKERS
• Ian Moore, TAPOL Campaigner
• Unggul Sagena, SAFEnet Researcher
• Esther Haluk, KINGMI Church Woman Activist
• Made Supriatma, Visiting Research Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
MODERATOR
• Nurina Savitri, Amnesty International Indonesia
Watch the full video recording here.
The press release and our full report are also available to read.