{"id":1579888,"date":"2024-03-29T07:25:20","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T07:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?p=99071"},"modified":"2024-03-29T07:25:20","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T07:25:20","slug":"indonesian-military-apologies-fail-to-mask-the-harassment-gagging-of-papuan-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2024\/03\/29\/indonesian-military-apologies-fail-to-mask-the-harassment-gagging-of-papuan-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"Indonesian military apologies fail to mask the harassment, gagging of Papuan leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"
COMMENTARY: <\/strong>By Ronny Kareni<\/em><\/p>\n Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding.<\/p>\n Nowhere is this more evident than in the plight of the leaders of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Markus Haluk and Menase Tabuni. Their unwavering resolve in condemning the situation has faced targeted harassment and discrimination.<\/p>\n The leaders of the ULMWP have become targets of a state campaign aimed at silencing them.<\/p>\n Menase Tabuni, serving as the executive council president of the ULMWP, along with Markus Haluk, the executive secretary, have recently taken on the responsibility of leading political discourse directly from within West Papua.<\/p>\n This decision follows the ULMWP’s second high-level summit in Port Vila in August 2023, where the movement reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for the rights and freedoms of the people of West Papua.<\/p>\n On March 23, the ULMWP leadership released a media statement<\/a> in which Tabuni condemned the abhorrent racist slurs and torture depicted in the video of a fellow Papuan at the hands of Indonesia\u2019s security forces.<\/p>\n Tabuni called for an immediate international investigation to be conducted by the UN Commissioner of the Human Rights Office.<\/p>\n Harassment not protection<\/strong> Since UU ITE took effect in November 2016, it has been viewed as the state’s weapon against critics, as shown during the widespread anti-racism protests across West Papua in mid-August of 2019.<\/p>\n\n
\nHowever, the response from Indonesian authorities was not one of protection, but rather a chilling escalation of harassment facilitated by the Criminal Code<\/a> and Information and Electronic Transactions Law<\/a>, known as UU ITE.<\/p>\n