Human Rights 11 - Indonesia at Melbourne

Indonesia at Melbourne: 2017 in review

Corruption, Death Penalty, Foreign Policy, Gender, Human Rights, Law, Media, Politics, Religion, Review, Security, Society

Indonesia at Melbourne will again be taking a short break over Christmas and New Year. In this final post for 2017, we look back at the analysis and commentary featured on the blog and podcast throughout the year. Thanks again for your loyal readership and support, and we look forward to seeing you again mid-January.

AILA's unsuccessful petition: a narrow escape from overcriminalisation

Analysis, Human Rights, Law, Religion

Last week, the Constitutional Court rejected a petition from the Family Love Alliance (AILA) that sought to criminalise consensual sex outside marriage. Rafiqa Qurrata A'yun writes that AILA’s petition was an attempt to bypass the normal process of formulating criminal law, and could have had serious consequences for the rights of citizens.

Talking Indonesia: war on drugs

Human Rights, Law, Talking Indonesia

What prompted President Joko Widodo to declare a drug emergency in Indonesia? Have his hard-line policies achieved their intended results? And what is the future for drug policy in the country? Dr Dirk Tomsa discusses these issues with Ricky Gunawan, director of LBH Masyarakat, in the latest Talking Indonesia podcast.

Djohan Effendi: a passionate defender of pluralism

Analysis, Human Rights, Religion, Society

Former State Secretary and Islamic scholar Djohan Effendi died in Geelong, Victoria, on 17 November after a long illness. His former student Ihsan Ali-Fauzi remembers a quietly principled man who was committed to challenging religious exclusivism.

Self-determination and rights abuses: Papua petitions the UN

Analysis, Foreign Policy, Human Rights

West Papuan independence activists surprised many in September when they delivered a petition to the UN signed by 1.8 million Papuans and Indonesian settlers. Dr Richard Chauvel writes that while this petition may not get far, so long as Indonesia fails to address rights abuses by the security forces, the issue will continue to be raised at the international level.

Is Indonesian democracy in decline?

Analysis, Human Rights, Politics

Is Indonesia seeing the emergence of a 'Neo-New Order'? Is democracy really in peril? Following his interview on Talking Indonesia last week, Professor Todung Mulya Lubis writes that although many aspects of Indonesian democracy are functioning well, there is serious cause for concern.

Talking Indonesia: democracy in peril?

Human Rights, Politics, Talking Indonesia

What does the recent attack on the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) mean for human rights and civil society in Indonesia? What are the challenges facing the government as it heads toward the 2019 election? Is Indonesia's democracy in peril? Dr Jemma Purdey explores these questions and more with pre-eminent human rights lawyer Professor Todung Mulya Lubis.

Telegrams confirm scale of US complicity in 1965 genocide

Analysis, History, Human Rights

On 17 October, dozens of declassified files confirmed that the United States had detailed knowledge of and actively supported Indonesian military efforts to destroy the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and its alleged sympathisers. Dr Jess Melvin, who was involved in the declassification project, looks at the most significant revelations.

Talking Indonesia: human rights on film

Arts, Human Rights, Talking Indonesia

"Istirahatlah Kata-Kata" has won praise for its depiction of the life of poet and activist Widji Thukul in exile. In Talking Indonesia this week, Dr Jemma Purdey chats to the film's director, Yosep Angi Noen, about how film can provide new opportunities for dealing with histories that remain obscured.

Posted in: Human Rights