Andreas Harsono
Human Rights Watch
Indonesia
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Past articles by Andreas:
A Papuan Human Rights Hero Has Died
Filep Karma, a prominent Papuan activist and former political prisoner, was found dead Monday on a beach in the Papuan city of Jayapura. He had been on a diving trip with his brother-in-law and nephew, and apparently went diving alone after his relatives left the trip early. → Read More
Yet Another Victim of Indonesia’s Blasphemy Law
Indonesia’s toxic blasphemy law has claimed another victim, this time a former government minister over a social media post deemed insulting to Buddhists. → Read More
Indonesian Islamic College Bans Magazine Reporting Sexual Abuse
One would hope that an educational institution that learned of sexual assaults on campus would focus on holding perpetrators accountable and preventing further incidents rather than targeting the messenger. But instead of recognizing and valuing a student magazine’s groundbreaking and thorough investigation, the State Islamic Institute in Ambon ordered its shutdown. → Read More
Indonesia Military Finally Ends Abusive ‘Virginity Test’
Indonesia’s armed forces have finally ended all so-called “virginity tests” as part of the recruitment process for women. The Indonesian government should investigate the decades of trauma this policy has wrought on women and provide support for those affected. → Read More
Indonesia Military Finally Ends Abusive ‘Virginity Test’
Indonesia’s armed forces have finally ended all so-called “virginity tests” as part of the recruitment process for women. The Indonesian government should investigate the decades of trauma this policy has wrought on women and provide support for those affected. → Read More
Mining, Protests and a Young Villager’s Death in Sulawesi
On February 12, a young man was taking part in a seemingly routine protest by the Aliansi Rakyat Petani (Alliance of People’s Farmers) about five kilometers from his home in Tada village in Central Sulawesi. Farmers and other local residents had been organizing almost daily protests since January 2021, demanding the revocation of the license for PT Trio Kencana, a mining company. → Read More
Carmel Budiardjo: A Lifetime Campaigning for Everyone in Indonesia
In August 2005, I visited Carmel Budiardjo, then an 80-year-old human rights campaigner, in her London townhouse. We talked on the second floor, which was also the office for Tapol, the human rights organization that she helped set up in 1973 (in Indonesian, the word “tapol” stands for tahanan politik – political prisoner). → Read More
Indonesia Army Chief to Terminate Unscientific ‘Virginity Test’
Indonesian Army Chief Gen. Andika Perkasa told army commanders in July that the required medical check-up in the recruitment process for female officers should be similar to the male medical test, signaling the end of the so-called “virginity test.” → Read More
Indonesia Supreme Court Supports Mandatory Jilbab Rule
A recent ruling by Indonesia’s Supreme Court cancelled a government regulation issued in February that allowed millions of girls and women in thousands of state schools a basic freedom: to choose whether or not to wear a jilbab – Muslim apparel that covers the head, neck, and chest. → Read More
Indonesian Law Hampers Mosque Construction
Hundreds of Muslims in Indonesia this week demanded that the local government in Sraten village, East Java, stop the Muhammadiyah congregation from building a mosque. → Read More
Brave Indonesian Women Discuss Freedom to Choose What to Wear
Women held a news conference to support a new government decree that allows schoolgirls and teachers to choose whether to wear a jilbab (the common term in Muslim-majority Indonesia for a head, neck, and chest covering) in state schools. → Read More
Brutal Attack in Indonesia Targets Christian Farmers
On November 27, Islamist militants attacked the Christian-majority village of Lembantongoa in Sulawesi, Indonesia, killing the village elder and three other Christian farmers. → Read More
Covid-19 Spreads in Indonesia’s Overcrowded Prisons
At least 17 prisons in Indonesia have Covid-19 cases, with 120 inmates and 18 officials infected with the coronavirus, according to a joint report from human rights groups → Read More
Fatal Shooting in a Mining Town in Papua
Eight armed men attacked a mining area in Timika, Papua in easternmost Indonesia earlier this week. They shot and killed Graeme Thomas Wall, a New Zealand miner, and wounded four Indonesian workers, two seriously. → Read More
COVID-19 Threatens Indonesia’s Overcrowded Prisons
As the Indonesian government battles the COVID-19 outbreak – calling on Indonesians to respect physical distancing, closing schools and offices, even emptying the streets – a Jakarta court has continued to hold weekly trial sessions of six West Papuan activists charged with “treason.” → Read More
Indonesia Arrests Yet More Indigenous Papuans
The list of political prisoners in Indonesia’s West Papua and Papua provinces is growing higher, as at least 110 people were arrested for raising the Papuan national flag over the weekend. → Read More
Indonesian Woman Tried for Blasphemy Over Mosque Incident
An Indonesian woman with a psychosocial disability faces up to five years in prison for an altercation at a mosque, the latest victim of Indonesia’s toxic “blasphemy” law. → Read More
Indonesia’s President Urges Delay on Criminal Code Vote
Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced on Friday he wanted parliament to delay its vote on the country’s proposed new criminal code. The pending bill contains dozens of articles that violate the rights of women, religious minorities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people – and ultimately all Indonesians. → Read More
Indonesian Officers’ Racist Slurs Trigger Riots in Papua
Indigenous Papuans angered by decades of racism rallied in 30 cities across Indonesia, including Jakarta, this week, after video circulated of Indonesian militias racially abusing Papuan students. → Read More
Indonesian Woman with Mental Health Condition Charged with Blasphemy
Indonesian police last week senselessly detained and charged a woman with a mental health condition with blasphemy after she entered a mosque in Bogor, a Jakarta suburb, wearing shoes and accompanied by her dog. → Read More