EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Indonesia is a multiparty
democracy. In 2009 voters reelected Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as president in
free and fair elections. Domestic and international observers judged the 2009
legislative elections free and fair as well. After more than 10 years of
democratic reforms, the security forces reported to civilian authority;
however, there were isolated instances in which elements of the security forces
acted independently of civilian control.
The suppression or abridgement of the rights of
religious and ethnic minorities was a problem. The government applied treason
and blasphemy laws to limit freedom of expression by peaceful independence
advocates in the provinces of Papua, West Papua,
and Maluku and by religious minority groups. Official corruption, including
within the judiciary, was a major problem.
Other human rights problems included killings by
security forces, abuse of prisoners and detainees, harsh prison conditions,
trafficking in persons, child labor, and failure to enforce labor standards and
worker rights.
On some occasions the government punished officials
who committed abuses, but judicial sentencing often was not commensurate with
the severity of offenses, as was true in other types of crimes.
Separatist guerillas in Papua killed members of the
security forces in several attacks and injured others. Suspected Papuan
separatists also killed a number of non-Papuan Indonesian migrants in Papua
throughout the year.
Section
1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful
Deprivation of Life
There were reports that the government or its
agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings during the year.
On June 14, unidentified members of the security
forces in Jayapura, Papua shot and killed Mako Tabuni, a leader of the National
Committee for West Papua (KNPB), which campaigns for self-determination for the
provinces of Papua and West Papua. The
circumstances surrounding Tabuni's death remained unclear, with Indonesian
National Police (INP) personnel asserting that Tabuni was shot while resisting
arrest and human rights advocates stating that he was shot in the back while
attempting to run away. Tabuni believed that he was the target of a government
assassination attempt that claimed the life of student activist Tejoli Weya on
May 1. Unknown actors shot Weya during a demonstration commemorating the 1963
transfer of Papua and West Papua from the Netherlands
to Indonesia.
At the time of the shooting, Weya was reportedly standing with Tabuni in the
back of a truck as it passed the Abepura military compound. Fellow KNPB members
and activists claimed that Weya was shot from the compound, and an autopsy
revealed that he was struck by fragments from a .22 caliber round. Police did
not investigate the case.
On July 27, members of the National Police Mobile
Brigade (Brimob) dispersed a demonstration by villagers of Limbang Jaya
village, Ogan Ilir Regency, in West Sumatra.
The Indonesian National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) found that Brimob
personnel shot 12-year-old Angga Prima as they tried to prevent a demonstration
from forming. Komnas HAM also found evidence that the South
Sumatra chief of police ordered Brimob to employ "repressive
measures" in dealing with local residents in Ogan Ilir. An ongoing land
dispute between villagers and the Indonesian corporation PT Perkebunan
Nusantara (PTPN) VII Cinta Manis led to the conflict. INP investigators
interviewed 120 Brimob members who took part in the clash, but none were
arrested or charged.
Violence continued to affect the provinces of Papua
and West Papua during the year. The remoteness
of the area made it difficult to confirm reports of burned villages and
civilian deaths. On June 6, following an incident in Wamena in which a child
was injured in a traffic accident involving two 756 Infantry Battalion soldiers
on a motorcycle, local residents beat the two soldiers, killing First Private
Ahmad Sahlan and severely injuring Sergeant Parloi Pardede. Subsequently,
50-100 members of the battalion descended on that neighborhood of Wamena,
killing Elinus Yoman, injuring a number of residents, and reportedly burning 87
houses. At year's end authorities had not arrested or disciplined any members
of the 756 Infantry Battalion for their roles in the incident. The Indonesian
Army claimed their soldiers had to defend themselves while attempting to
retrieve Sahlan's body. A few days following the event, a special
reconciliation ceremony occurred that included local villagers, civilian
officials, and security forces.
Much of the violence in Papua and West
Papua had a link to the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and security
force operations against OPM. For example, on August 23, police arrested four
persons who they alleged were OPM members as suspects in the August 21killing
of police officer Yohan Kasimatau at Enarotali
Airport in Paniai.
In addition to killings by security forces and OPM,
there were a number of violent incidents, including some killings by unknown
parties in Papua and West Papua. Unknown
attackers, whom government officials and human rights contacts suspected to be
Papuan separatists, killed a small number of non-Papuan migrants. On May 22,
chauffer Syaiful Bahri died at the hands of unknown assailants. Police
recovered his charred remains inside a rental car in a cemetery in Jayapura,
Papua. An autopsy revealed the Javanese migrant likely died after being stabbed
repeatedly.
Violence continued to occur along the road near
Freeport McMoRan's (Freeport's)
Grasberg gold and copper mine in Timika, Papua, including the killings of
security forces and workers. On January 9, unknown gunmen shot and killed two
workers of PT Kuala Pelabuhan Indonesia,
a Freeport
contracting company, along the road. Police recovered their bodies in a burned
vehicle. On February 7, at another point along the road, suspected OPM gunmen
shot and killed Brimob officer Ronald Sopamena.
In June 2011 the Supreme Court refused an appeal by
Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who was previously convicted in the 2004
poisoning of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib. Although human rights
groups continued to allege that members of the intelligence services were
involved in Munir's murder, the investigation appeared inactive.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances during the year. The government and civil society organizations
reported little progress in accounting for persons who disappeared in previous
years or in prosecuting those responsible for such disappearances.
In 2009 the House of Representatives (DPR) approved
the formation of an ad hoc court to pursue investigations of and possible
prosecutions for the 1998 abductions of prodemocracy activists. At year's end
the government had not established this ad hoc court.
c. Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The constitution states that every person shall
have the right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading
treatment. The law criminalizes the use of violence or force by officials to
elicit a confession, punishable by up to four years in prison, but the criminal
code does not specifically criminalize torture. In previous years law
enforcement officials widely ignored and rarely were tried under this statute.
More recently the government made some efforts to hold members of the security
forces responsible for acts of torture, but these efforts did not constitute
full accountability. Torture typically occurred soon after detention. There
were reports that detainees were beaten with fists, sticks, cables, iron bars,
and hammers. Some detainees reportedly were shot in the legs at close range,
subjected to electric shock, burned, or had heavy implements placed on their
feet.
Local nongovernment organizations (NGOs) reported
that torture continued to be commonplace in police detention facilities. The
NGO Commission on the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) reported
that between July 2011 and June 2012, it received 86 reports of torture with a
total of 243 victims. Eleven of these cases, involving 98 victims, occurred in
Papua.
On December 26, 2011, police arrested two teenage
brothers, Faisal and Butri Zen, in Sijunjung, West Sumatra,
for allegedly stealing money from a charity box at a local mosque. Two days
later the Sijunjung Regency Police informed the boys' family that the two had
committed suicide while incarcerated. Upon collecting the bodies, the boys'
family saw evidence that both had been severely beaten. The results of an
autopsy were never shared with the family or with Komnas HAM. In January Komnas
HAM cited evidence of torture and called for a full investigation.
Subsequently, a court convicted nine policemen of crimes related to
"maltreatment" and sentenced them to 21 days' detention.
Abuse of detainees in Papua came under heightened
scrutiny when, in 2010, a graphic video on YouTube showed several Indonesian
Armed Forces (TNI) personnel threatening one detainee, Telangga Gire, with a
knife to the throat and applying a smoldering stick to the genitals of another
detainee, Tunaliwor Kiwo. In January 2011 after a military trial, Second
Sergeant Irwan Rizkianto received a 10-month prison sentence, Private Yakson
Agu received a nine-month prison sentence, and Private Thamrin Mahagiri
received an eight-month sentence. All received the charged of disobeying orders
but not the more severe charge of abuse. The military discharged all three
during the year.
Three enlisted members of the Nabire-based 753rd
Infantry Battalion convicted for the 2010 killing of Papuan civilian Kinderman
Gire completed their prison terms and were discharged from the military.
Between January and June in Aceh, authorities caned
49 individuals publicly for crimes related to gambling, adultery, consuming
alcohol, or selling food during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Conditions at the country's 428 prisons and
detention centers were sometimes harsh and life threatening. Overcrowding was
widespread.
Physical Conditions: At the end of
the year, data from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights indicated that there
were 144,332 detainees in the system, in comparison with a designed capacity of
97,327. Prisons and detention centers in the Jakarta region were operating at 227 percent
of capacity. For example, according to the government, the Lapas Cipanang
Prison in Jakarta,
designed for 880 prisoners, held 2,572. There were reports that holding cells
in police stations in Papua were overcrowded, with as many as 18 prisoners in
cells designed for four. Human rights groups alleged that officials held many
Papuans in these conditions for months at a time.
According to government figures, 440 prisoners died
in custody between January 1 and December 1. Of those, 351 prisoners died as a
result of preexisting medical conditions, seven committed suicide, nine died
from wounds sustained during incidents of inmate-on-inmate violence, and 73
died from "other causes."
NGOs noted authorities sometimes did not provide
prisoners adequate medical care. Prison officials required jailed Papuan
independence activist Filep Karma to raise the money required for a medical
procedure. In July police in Papua detained a number of Karma's supporters for
fundraising on his behalf.
Guards regularly extorted money from and mistreated
inmates. There were widespread reports the government did not supply sufficient
food to prisoners, and family members often brought food to supplement their
relatives' diets. Family members reported prison officials often sought bribes
to allow relatives to visit inmates. Wealthy prisoners paid for special
treatment and more comfortable lodging. Officials held unruly detainees in
solitary confinement for up to six days on a rice-and-water diet.
Government data indicated that approximately 4.6
percent of inmates were women and 3.2 percent were juveniles. According to the
Directorate General for Corrections, in October there were 3,217 juvenile
convicted prisoners and 1,924 juvenile pretrial detainees.
By law children convicted of serious crimes should
serve their sentences in juvenile prisons. During the year NGO observers in
Papua reported that authorities held juveniles in the same facilities as adults
for prolonged periods during pretrial detainment. By law prisons held those
convicted by courts, while detention centers held those awaiting trial; in
practice officials held pretrial detainees at times with convicted prisoners.
Authorities generally held female prisoners in
separate facilities. In prisons that housed both male and female prisoners,
female prisoners were held in separate cell-blocks from male prisoners.
According to NGO observers, the conditions in female prisons tended to be
significantly better from those in male prisons, with less violence and a more
hygienic environment. However, female cell blocks within prisons that held
prisoners of both genders did not always have access to the same amenities as
their male counterparts. These included exercise and library facilities.
Administration: Record keeping was
considered adequate. Prisoners were permitted religious observance and, with
detainees, had reasonable access to visitors, although this access reportedly
was limited in some cases. International and local NGOs reported that in some
cases, prisoners did not have ready access to clean drinking water. The
government actively monitored prison and detention center conditions.
Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to
submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to request investigation
of credible allegations of inhumane conditions.
The criminal procedure code does not incorporate
alternative sanctions or sentencing for nonviolent offenders.
The national ombudsman can advocate on behalf of
prisoners and detainees on a variety of issues, including monitoring conditions
and treatment of prisoners; addressing the status and circumstances of
confinement of juvenile offenders; and improving pretrial detention, bail, and
recordkeeping procedures to ensure that prisoners do not serve beyond the
maximum sentence for the charged offense. In the past the ombudsman has
investigated prison issues and communicated his findings to the minister of law
and human rights and the Supreme Court. The Ombudsman's Office and the
Directorate General for Correctional Facilities signed a Memorandum of
Understanding on Supervision of Public Service for detainees and prisoners.
Monitoring: Since 2009 the government
has denied the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to
monitor prison conditions and treatment of prisoners nationwide including the
ability to meet and speak privately with prisoners.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or
Detention
The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention
but lacks adequate enforcement mechanisms. Some authorities violated these
provisions.
Role of the Police and
Security Apparatus
The president appoints the national police chief,
subject to confirmation by the DPR. The police chief reports to the president
but is not a full member of the cabinet. The INP has approximately 420,000
personnel deployed in 31 regional commands in 33 provinces. The police maintain
a centralized hierarchy; local police units formally report to the national
headquarters. The military is responsible for external defense but also has a
residual obligation to support the police with domestic security
responsibilities and resolving communal conflicts.
In Aceh the Sharia Police, a provincial body, is
responsible for enforcing Sharia.
The Internal Affairs Division and the National
Police Commission within the INP investigated complaints against individual
police officers. Additionally, Komnas HAM and NGOs conducted external
investigations with the knowledge and cooperation of the police. During the
year, 4,154 officers received disciplinary infractions.
In 2009 the INP implemented regulations that
standardized human rights regulations in the normal course of police duties.
However, impunity and corruption remained problems.
Arrest Procedures and
Treatment While in Detention
The law provides prisoners with the right to notify
their families promptly and specifies that warrants must be produced during an
arrest. Exceptions are allowed if, for example, a suspect is caught in the act
of committing a crime. The law allows investigators to issue warrants; however,
at times authorities made arrests without warrants. A defendant may challenge
the legality of his arrest and detention in a pretrial hearing and may sue for
compensation if wrongfully detained; however, defendants rarely won pretrial
hearings and almost never received compensation after being released without
charge. Military and civilian courts rarely accepted appeals based on claims of
improper arrest and detention.
Arbitrary Arrest: There were
reports of arbitrary arrest by police and security forces. On June 13, in
response to reports that OPM members had hidden a weapons cache in the area,
police and military personnel reportedly searched a number of dwellings on the
outskirts of Mulia in Papua. Although they found no weapons or evidence, the
security forces detained Wiron Kogoya, a craftsman from another village who was
passing through the area. Kogoya was released after being held for several
days.
Pretrial Detention: The law limits
periods of pretrial detention. Police are permitted an initial 20-day
detention, which can be extended to 60 days by the prosecutors while the
investigation is being completed; prosecutors may detain a suspect for a
further 30 days during the prosecution phase and may seek a 20-day extension
from the courts. The district and high courts may detain a defendant up to 90
days during trial or appeal, while the Supreme Court may detain a defendant 110
days while considering an appeal. Additionally, the court may extend detention
periods up to another 60 days at each level if a defendant faces a possible
prison sentence of nine years or longer or if the individual is certified to be
mentally disturbed. During the year authorities generally respected these limits
in practice. The antiterrorism law allows investigators to detain for up to
four months any person who, based on adequate preliminary evidence, is strongly
suspected of committing or planning to commit any act of terrorism; thereafter
charges must be filed.
By law suspects or defendants have the right to
legal counsel of their choice at every stage of an investigation. Court
officials will provide free legal counsel to persons charged with offenses that
carry a death penalty or imprisonment of 15 years or more, or to destitute
defendants facing charges that carry a penalty of five years or more. Suspects
have the right to bail and to be notified of the charges against them. Courts
generally respected these rights.
On March 16, Jayapura District Court convicted five
Papuan independence activists, including Forkorus Yaboisembut and Edison
Waromi, and sentenced them to three years in prison for their statements
declaring the independence of the "Republic of West Papua," display
of banned separatist symbols, and leadership roles at the October 2011 Third
Papuan People's Congress. Defense attorneys alleged during the trial that
police interrogated the accused without advice of counsel and beat those held
while in pretrial detention.
Amnesty: As in previous years, the
government offered remissions ranging from a few days to six months as a reward
for good behavior while incarcerated to most prisoners. In 2011 the government
offered a remission to Filep Karma that would have resulted in his release.
Karma declined the remission, stating he would accept release only if he were
fully exonerated and the government apologized for past abuses in Papua.
e. Denial of Fair Public
Trial
The law provides for an independent judiciary;
however, in practice the judiciary remained susceptible to influence from
outside parties, including business interests, politicians, and the security
forces. Low salaries and poor oversight continued to encourage acceptance of
bribes, and judges were subject to pressure from government authorities and
other groups, which appeared to influence the outcome of cases.
At times authorities did not respect court orders,
and decentralization created additional difficulties for the enforcement of
these orders. For example, local authorities in the city of Bogor continued to
disregard a 2010 Supreme Court decision related to a construction permit for
GKI Yasmin Church. In September local authorities again denied the
congregation's request to begin construction.
During the year a number of low-level and sometimes
mid-level soldiers were tried in military courts, including for offenses that
involved civilians or occurred when the soldiers were not on duty. If a soldier
was suspected of committing a crime, military police investigated and then
passed their findings to military prosecutors, who decided whether to prepare a
case. Under the law military prosecutors are accountable to the Supreme Court;
however, in practice military prosecutors were responsible to the TNI for the
application of laws.
A three-person panel of military judges heard
trials, while the High Military Court, the Primary Military Court, and the
Supreme Court heard appeals. Civil society organizations and other observers
criticized the short length of prison sentences imposed by military courts.
Four district courts located in Surabaya, Makassar,
Jakarta, and Medan are authorized to adjudicate cases of systematic gross human
rights violations with the recommendation of the Komnas HAM. The law provides
for each court to have five members, including three noncareer human rights
judges, who are appointed to five-year terms. Verdicts can be appealed to the
standing appellate court and the Supreme Court. The law provides for
internationally recognized definitions of genocide, crimes against humanity, and
command responsibility, but it does not include war crimes as a gross violation
of human rights nor does it require the prosecution of commanders in crimes
perpetrated by subordinates. None of the four district courts heard or ruled on
any cases during the year.
Under the Sharia court system in Aceh, 19 district
religious courts and one court of appeals heard cases. The courts heard only
cases involving Muslims and used decrees formulated by the local government
rather than the penal code. Critics argued that regulations for the
implementation of Sharia law were procedurally ambiguous, leading to
inconsistencies in its application. For example, defendants had a right to
legal aid, but this right was inconsistently implemented. Although Sharia cases
were supposed to be tried in closed hearings, during the year there were
numerous problems with trial proceedings going forward in open court.
Trial Procedures
The law presumes defendants are innocent until
proven guilty. Defendants have the right to confront witnesses and call
witnesses in their defense. An exception is allowed in cases in which distance
or expense is deemed excessive for transporting witnesses to court; in such
cases sworn affidavits may be introduced. However, in some cases courts allowed
forced confessions and limited the presentation of defense evidence. Defendants
have the right to avoid self-incrimination. In each of the country's 804
courts, a panel of judges conducts trials by posing questions, hearing
evidence, deciding on guilt or innocence, and imposing punishment. Both the
defense and prosecution can appeal. Defendants may access the prosecution's
evidence through application to the hearing panel's presiding judge.
The law gives defendants the right to an attorney
from the time of arrest and at every stage of examination and requires that
defendants in cases involving capital punishment or a prison sentence of 15
years or more be represented by counsel. In cases involving potential sentences
of five years or more, the law requires an attorney be appointed if the
defendant is indigent and requests counsel. In theory indigent defendants may
obtain private legal assistance, and NGO lawyer associations provided free
legal representation to indigent defendants. For example, Jakarta Legal Aid handled
959 cases during 2011. The law extends these rights to all citizens. In some
cases procedural protections, including those against forced confessions, were
inadequate to ensure a fair trial. There were reports from Papua that
defendants did not have access to attorneys of their choosing and that
authorities denied them adequate time and facilities to prepare a defense. With
the notable exceptions of Sharia court proceedings in Aceh and some military
trials, trials are public.
Political Prisoners and
Detainees
Credible international NGOs estimated that there
were more than 80 political prisoners at the end of the year. Most were
prosecuted under treason and conspiracy statutes for actions related to the
display of banned separatist symbols, and many were serving lengthy sentences
(see section 2.a.). Government officials affirmed publicly that they would not
tolerate the display of separatist symbols.
A number of Papuan independence activists,
including Filep Karma, were in detention or prison for raising a banned
separatist flag. Local human rights observers noted that enforcement of
flag-raising laws was not always consistent but was widespread across Papua and
West Papua provinces. These observers asserted that persons arrested for
political offenses often faced harsh treatment, including withholding of
necessary medical care (see section 1.c.).
On March 16, Jayapura District Court convicted five
Papuan independence activists, including Forkorus Yaboisembut and Edison Waromi
and sentenced them to three years in prison for their statements and leadership
roles at the October 2011 Third Papuan People's Congress (see section 2.b.).
Buchtar Tabuni, who was previously incarcerated for
a flag-raising offense in Papua and received a remission in August 2011, was
rearrested for his part in a 2010 prison uprising. On July 23, during Tabuni's
trial, Yusak Pakage, another Papuan political prisoner who had received early
release, was arrested for carrying a pocket knife in court.
Local human rights activists reported that local
activists and family members generally were able to visit political prisoners,
although authorities held some prisoners on other islands far from their
families.
Civil Judicial Procedures
and Remedies
The civil court system can be used to seek damages
for victims of human rights violations; however, widespread corruption and
political influence limited victims' access to this remedy.
f. Arbitrary Interference
with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The law requires judicial warrants for searches
except for cases involving subversion, economic crimes, and corruption.
Security forces generally respected these requirements. The law also provides
for searches without warrants when circumstances are "urgent and
compelling" and for the execution of warrantless wiretaps by the Anticorruption
Commission (KPK).
Security officials occasionally broke into homes
and offices. Authorities occasionally conducted warrantless surveillance on
individuals and their residences and monitored telephone calls. The Law on
State Intelligence passed in 2011 granted new authorities to the State
Intelligence Agency regarding surveillance and intercepting communications.
Some international and domestic NGOs warned that the law could empower the
government to stifle journalists, political opponents, and human rights activists.
The government used its authority to expropriate or
facilitate private acquisition of land for development projects, often without
fair compensation. In other cases state-owned companies were accused of
endangering resources upon which citizens' livelihood depended. In December
2011 the legislature passed an eminent domain law that allows the government to
appropriate land for the public good against the owner's wishes provided that
the government gives compensation.
During the year security forces allegedly used
excessive force while evicting individuals involved in land disputes, although
evictions of squatters living on government land and of street vendors
continued to decrease in Jakarta. The Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) recorded
198 agrarian conflicts during the year. According to KPA, these conflicts
involved 141,915 families and 963,411 acres of land.
Section
2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and
Press
The constitution and the law provide for freedom of
speech and press. While there was a vigorous free press, the government and
private actors at times restricted these rights in practice. Politicians and
powerful businessmen filed criminal or civil complaints against journalists
whose articles they found insulting or offensive; some journalists faced
threats of violence.
Freedom of Speech: Individuals and
organizations have the right to criticize the government publicly and privately
and could discuss almost all matters of public interest without reprisal. The law
criminalizes content that advocates separatism. Some NGOs and other
organizations alleged government monitoring of their organizations, and
government application of treason laws in cases of peaceful calls for
separatism in Papua limited the rights of individuals to engage in speech
deemed to be proseparatist. In August police in Manokwari reportedly arrested
10 Papuans for raising a banned separatist flag and calling for Papuan
independence.
Freedom of Press: The independent
media were active and expressed a wide variety of views. However, regional- and
national-level regulations were at times used to restrict the media. The
government continued to restrict foreign media, NGOs, and government personnel
from traveling to the provinces of Papua and West Papua by requiring them to
request permission to travel through the Foreign Ministry or an Indonesian
embassy. The government approved some requests and denied others ostensibly for
reasons regarding the safety of foreign visitors.
In September the Supreme Court required the
Ministry of Communication and Information Technology to refrain from allowing
any other parties to use Radio Era Baru's, a Chinese-language, Falun
Gong-affiliated radio station that authorities had closed in September 2011,
old frequency while the court was adjudicating two cases related to the
closure.
Violence and Harassment: The Alliance of
Independent Journalists (AJI) reported that from August 2011 to July 2012,
there were at least 45 cases of media intimidation, compared with 49 cases
during the same period in the previous year. On May 29, seven journalists from
several television stations were beaten by a dozen Indonesian naval personnel
in Padang, West Sumatra, while filming an expose on prostitution in the town.
Press accounts stated that the naval personnel provided protection to brothels
operating in the area.
On January 2, the Supreme Court sentenced three
suspects, in absentia, to four years in prison for the 2010 stabbing and
killing of television reporter Ridwan Salamun while he was filming a fight
between two villages in Southeast Maluku. At year's end police had not
apprehended the convicted parties.
Censorship or Content Restrictions: In 2010 the
Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional a long-standing law that gave the Attorney
General's Office (AGO) the authority to ban written material. The
Constitutional Court ruled that the AGO maintains the authority to monitor
written material and request a court order to ban written material.
Under the Blasphemy Law, "spreading religious
hatred, heresy, and blasphemy" is punishable by up to five years in
prison. On July 12, the Sampang District Court sentenced Shia cleric Tajul
Muluk to two years in prison for blasphemy following the issuance of a fatwa by
a local Islamic clerical council that called his teaching deviant. On September
21, the court extended the sentence to four years.
Although the Papua Special Autonomy Law permits
flying a flag symbolizing Papua's cultural identity, a government regulation
prohibits the display of the Morning Star flag in Papua, the Republic of South
Moluccas (RMS) flag in Maluku, and the Free Aceh Movement Crescent Moon flag in
Aceh. There were no reported new arrests related to the display of the RMS flag
or the Free Aceh Movement flag. However, police continued to imprison
individuals for raising the Morning Star flag in Papua. According to reliable NGOs,
between June and September, authorities arrested more than 60 people in Papua
for flag-related offenses. Police held most of them for one to three days
before releasing them.
Libel Laws/National Security: During the year
the practice of public figures and institutions involved in corruption or
personal disputes filing criminal and civil defamation complaints with police
continued and expanded to Twitter. For example, on June 25, Junior Attorney
General for Supervision Marwan Effendy filed a criminal defamation complaint
against Muhammad Fajriska Mirza for allegations of embezzlement made on
Twitter.
Internet Freedom
The government attempted to restrict access to the
Internet via the 2008 Information and Electronic Transaction Law. The law,
meant to combat online crime, pornography, gambling, blackmail, lies, threats,
and racism, prohibits citizens from distributing in electronic format any
information that is defamatory and punishes transgressors with a maximum of six
years in prison or a fine of one billion rupiah ($110,000) or both. According
to a November industry survey, there were 61 million (roughly 25 percent of the
population) Internet users, an increase of 10 percent over 2011. Of these, 58
million typically accessed the Internet using a mobile device such as a smart
phone or tablet.
On June 14, a court sentenced civil servant
Alexander Aan to 30 months in prison for posting statements and material that a
local council of Muslim clerics deemed atheistic and blasphemous. Aan was
convicted for violating an article of the law that forbids "knowingly and
without authority" disseminating information designed to inflict
"hatred or dissension on individuals and/or certain groups of community
based on ethnic groups, religions, races, and intergroups."
The Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology continued to request Internet service providers (ISPs) to block
access to pornographic Web sites and other offensive content. The ministry did
not have any internal mechanisms to block the Web sites in question.
Enforcement of these restrictions depended upon individual ISPs, and a failure
to enforce these restrictions could result in the revocation of an ISP's
license.
On September 18, the Supreme Court overturned the
criminal conviction of Prita Mulya, one of the first persons convicted under
the Information and Electronic Transaction Law. Mulya had complained about
treatment she received at a private hospital. The hospital had filed criminal
and civil complaints, and Mulya was sentenced to six months in prison.
Academic Freedom and
Cultural Events
The government continued restrictions on cultural
events. Generally it did not restrict academic freedom; however, in July the
Indonesian Defense University, a government-administered institution, dismissed
untenured lecturer Al Araf for publishing an opinion article that criticized
the government's plan to purchase tanks from Germany. The university previously
had reprimanded Araf for an article that pointed to financial irregularities in
the government's procurement of fighter jets from Russia.
Critics feared that the definition of pornography
in the 2008 antipornography law could be used to justify attacks on artistic,
religious, and cultural freedom. The law includes provisions allowing citizens
to "supervise" adherence to the law. In 2010 the Constitutional Court
ruled the law constitutional and not in violation of the freedom of religion
and expression provisions of the constitution.
During the year the government-supervised Film
Censorship Institute continued to censor domestic and imported movies for
content deemed pornographic and religiously or otherwise offensive. As recently
as 2011, the Film Censorship Institute censored politically sensitive films.
Societal pressure led to self-censorship by some media outlets.
b. Freedom of Peaceful
Assembly and Association
Freedom of Assembly
The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the
government generally respected this right in practice. The law generally does
not require permits for social, cultural, or religious gatherings; however, in
some places local government regulations require that those organizing a
demonstration obtain a permit.
During the year police arrested participants in
peaceful demonstrations that included protesters peacefully calling for land
reform (see section 1.a.) or the display of illegal separatist symbols (see
section 2.a.).
During the year there were a number of large
demonstrations throughout Papua; most were conducted in accordance with the law
and remained peaceful. However, on May 1, during protests commemorating the
transfer of Papua and West Papua from the Netherlands to Indonesia, police
arrested 13 demonstrators who attempted to raise a banned separatist flag near
the tomb of a Papuan independence movement leader in the town of Sentani. On
the same day, during a protest in Abepura, West Papua, an unknown person shot
and killed Tejoli Weya during an otherwise peaceful protest (see section 1.a.).
In October 2011 police and military units violently
dispersed participants in the Third Papua People's Congress, a gathering held
in Jayapura October 16-19. Activists displayed banned separatist symbols and
read out a declaration of independence for the "Republic of West
Papua" on the final day of the gathering. Police fired into the air and
detained hundreds of persons, all but six of whom were released the following
day. Three persons were found shot and killed in the area. Police spokesmen
claimed that the police were equipped only with rubber bullets and other
non-lethal ammunition. Police beat many of those detained, and dozens were
injured. Six of the leaders of the Third Papua People's Congress were convicted
on charges of treason and weapons possession and at year's end were serving
jail terms of approximately three years.
Freedom of Association
The law provides for freedom of association, and
the government generally respected it in practice.
Members of the Ahmadiyya religious group have not
held any national conferences since 2008, when the Bali police refused to issue
them a permit. In addition, some local governments continued to restrict their
right of assembly.
Some lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
advocacy groups reported encountering difficulties when attempting to register
their organizations.
c. Freedom of Religion
See the Department of State's International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement,
Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons
The law provides for freedom of internal movement
and generally allows for travel outside of the country. However, the
constitution allows the government to prevent persons from entering or leaving
the country. The Law on Overcoming Dangerous Situations gives military forces
broad powers in a declared state of emergency, including the power to limit
land, air, and sea traffic; however, the government did not use these powers.
The government cooperated with the Office of the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees,
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern.
In-country Movement: During the year
the government continued to restrict freedom of movement for foreigners to
Papua and West Papua provinces through a system of "travel letters,"
but enforcement was inconsistent.
Foreign Travel: The government prevented
arrivals and departures at the request of police, the AGO, the KPK, and the
Ministry of Finance. Some of those barred from entering and leaving were
delinquent taxpayers, convicted or indicted persons, individuals implicated in
corruption cases, and persons otherwise involved in legal disputes.
Internally Displaced
Persons (IDPs)
The international NGO Internal Displacement
Monitoring Center estimated in a December 2011 report that the combined number of
those still displaced and those who have returned or resettled but who
continued to face barriers that prevented them from enjoying the full range of
their rights may reach as high as 180,000. A lack of systematic monitoring of
return and resettlement conditions as well as difficulties in defining who is
still an IDP made it difficult to reliably estimate the number of IDPs.
Communal violence displaced hundreds of Shia residents in Madura following
August riots that left two dead and dozens of houses burned. Following the
violence, some government ministers called for the group's permanent
resettlement, as they would likely continue to be targets for Sunni hard-line
groups.
The law stipulates that the government ensure
"the fulfillment of the rights of the people and displaced persons
affected by disaster in a manner that is fair and in line with the minimum
service standards."
Protection of Refugees
Access to Asylum: The law does
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government
has not established a system for providing protection to refugees. Estimates of
the number of refugees and asylum seekers in the country varied. In July there
were 4,552 asylum seekers and 1,180 refugees registered with the UNHCR.
Approximately 20 percent of those were held in 13 immigration detention centers
throughout the country, while the majority of the remainder lived in boarding
houses through the assistance of the International Organization for Migration
(IOM). In 2011 the government reported 3,980 refugees or asylum seekers. Some
were applicants and others were dependents. Most refugees or asylum seekers
were from Afghanistan (59 percent), Iran (9 percent), and Pakistan (6 percent).
More than 1,100 Afghan refugees and asylum seekers were under the care of IOM.
Access to Basic Services: The government
prohibited refugees from working and accessing public elementary education.
Durable Solutions: According to
the Ministry of Housing, approximately 100,000 former East Timorese refugees
resided in West Timor. The government provided 10,400 houses for former
refugees in Kupang, Timor Tengah Selatan, Timor Tengah Utara, and Belu
regencies. Nearly 25,000 people continued to live in refugee camps. Conflicts,
mostly involving land disputes, between local people and former refugees
sometimes occurred. An April 2011 International Crisis Group paper stated that
many refugees were not well integrated into host communities and that former
refugees continued to return to Timor Leste in small but increasing numbers.
Section
3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their
Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political
Participation
The constitution provides for national elections
every five years. DPR members automatically are members of the People's
Consultative Assembly, a fully elected body consisting of the 550 DPR members
and 128 members of the House of Regional Representatives (DPD).
Recent Elections: In 2009 voters
reelected President Yudhoyono. Also in 2009 the country conducted its third
democratic legislative elections. In general, domestic and foreign observers
found the elections free and fair. The elections were a complex affair with
voters receiving ballots for the DPR, the DPD, provincial parliaments, and
regency and city councils. Thirty-eight national parties competed in the
elections, with an additional six parties in Aceh Province only. Irregularities
occurred, requiring 245 reruns in 10 provinces out of a total of 550 elections
in 33 provinces. Violence occurred in the lead-up to and during Aceh's
provincial elections in April.
In 2009 political parties were required to win a
minimum of 2.5 percent of the national vote to qualify for a seat in the DPR.
Nine parties met this threshold and won seats in parliament. The top three vote
getters were secular, nationalist parties, followed by the four largest
Islamic-oriented parties. President Yudhoyono's Democrat Party won a plurality
of seats, while the Golkar Party finished in second place. The Indonesia
Democratic Party of Struggle, led by Megawati Soekarnoputri, finished in third
place.
All adult citizens, age 17 or older, are eligible
to vote except active members of the military and the police, convicts serving
a sentence of five years or more, persons suffering from mental disorders, and
persons deprived of voting rights by an irrevocable verdict of a court of
justice. Married juveniles (i.e., those under age 17) are legally adults and
allowed to vote.
According to the General Elections Commission
(KPU), four provinces/special areas held gubernatorial elections during the
year, including in Aceh and Jakarta. Elections in Aceh were rescheduled three
times between November 2011 and April 2012 due to legal challenges and
Constitutional Court rulings. Systematic violence and intimidation by Party
Aceh marred campaigning and caused international and domestic observers to note
that preelection violence and tension may have kept some voters from the polls.
On the other hand, international observers viewed the election for Jakarta's
governor as credible and successful.
By year's end the Papua General Election Commission
announced plans to hold elections for governor and vice governor early in 2013.
Appointees have encumbered these positions since the terms of the previously
elected officials expired in mid-2011. During the year the Constitutional Court
upheld the practice of voting by acclamation in Papua, which has unique
electoral rules due to its special autonomous status. International observers
called on the KPU to develop clear guidelines for this voice vote that will
allow for an accurate count.
In 2011 the Elections Oversight Body, which handles
reports of electoral violations, received 1,718 reports of violations in 92
local elections out of a total of 115 elections. Of these, 565 were considered
administrative and handled by the Elections Oversight Body. There were 372
considered to be poll violations that involved criminal acts and which the
police investigated, resulting in 13 prosecutions. The remaining 781 cases were
not pursued due to lack of evidence.
Participation of Women and Minorities: There are no
legal restrictions on the role of women in politics. A law on political parties
mandates that women make up at least 30 percent of the founding members of a
new political party.
The election law passed prior to the 2009 national
elections included a nonbinding clause for parties to select women for at least
30 percent of the candidate slots on their party lists. The Constitutional
Court invalidated this clause when it struck down the law and ruled voters
could directly elect their representatives from an open-list ballot, regardless
of their position on closed party lists. The number of women in parliament
increased significantly, from 11 percent to 18 percent of the DPR seats and
from 19 percent to 27 percent of the DPD seats in the 2009 elections. During
the year women continued to hold four of 38 cabinet-level positions.
At the provincial level, there was one female
governor and one vice governor. Women held disproportionately few leadership
positions in local government in some provinces; for example, in Aceh the
highest position held by a woman was that of deputy mayor, in the city of Banda
Aceh.
In some parts of the country, non-Muslims
effectively were blocked from political office by a requirement that all
candidates must demonstrate their ability to read the Quran in Arabic. In
August the mayor of Gorontalo, the capital of Gorontalo Province on the island
of Sulawesi, delayed the inauguration of a subdistrict official because of his
inability to read the Quran with sufficient fluency to satisfy local
regulations.
There were no official statistics on the ethnic
backgrounds of legislators in the DPR. President Yudhoyono's cabinet generally
reflected the ethnic diversity of the country.
Section
4. Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government
The law provides criminal penalties for official
corruption, and the government generally tried to implement the law. Despite
the arrest and conviction of many high-profile and high-powered officials,
there was a widespread domestic and international perception that corruption
remained a part of daily life. The KPK and the AGO under the deputy attorney
general for special crimes have jurisdiction over investigation and prosecution
of corruption cases.
Since 2009 the government established
anticorruption courts in all 33 provinces. During the year the KPK conducted 45
inquiries, 26 investigations, and 14 prosecutions. As a result it recovered
approximately 1.3 trillion rupiah (approximately $135 million) in state assets.
In addition, according to the KPK's annual report, it recovered and prevented
the loss of more than 152 trillion rupiah ($16.8 billion) in state assets.
The police and the KPK clashed over corruption
issues. For example, when the KPK opened an investigation into INP procurement
of driving simulators, the INP responded by opening an investigation into
alleged misconduct in 2004 by a police official seconded to the KPK and working
on the driving simulator investigation.
Widespread corruption throughout the legal system
continued. Independent corruption watchdog groups implicated 84 anticorruption
court judges in corruption cases. Bribes and extortion influenced prosecution,
conviction, and sentencing in civil and criminal cases. Key individuals in the
justice system were accused of accepting bribes and of turning a blind eye to
other government offices suspected of corruption. Legal aid organizations
reported cases often moved very slowly unless a bribe was paid.
Between January and June, the National Ombudsman
Commission investigated 1,545 of 4,500 general complaints against government
officials.
Police commonly extracted bribes ranging from minor
payoffs in traffic cases to large bribes in criminal investigations. Corrupt
officials sometimes subjected migrants returning from abroad, who were primarily
women, to arbitrary strip searches, theft, and extortion.
On September 27, an anticorruption court judge
sentenced Miranda Goeltom, former deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, to three
years in prison for her role in bribing members of parliament for their support
in her bid to become deputy governor in 2004. In recent years more than 30
legislators have been convicted of accepting bribes in the case.
By law senior government officials, as well as
other officials working in certain agencies, are required to file financial
disclosure reports. The law requires that the reports include all assets held
by the officials, their spouses, and their dependent children. The report must
be filed upon taking office, every two years thereafter, within two months of
leaving office, and immediately upon request by the KPK. The KPK is responsible
for verifying disclosures and publicizing them in the State Gazette and on the
Internet. There are criminal sanctions for noncompliance in cases involving
corruption. In practice, not all assets are verified due to human resource
limitations within the KPK.
The Freedom of Information Act, effective in 2010,
grants citizens access to governmental information and provides mechanisms
through which citizens can obtain such information. The law allows for a
protected class of "secret" information, including information on
state defense and security, law-enforcement investigation and activities,
public officials, and business interests of state-owned enterprises. At year's
end many government entities remained unwilling or unprepared to implement the
law. According to an April study by the AJI, authorities granted 46 percent of
requests for information. According to the study, many officials either ignored
or lost requests.
Section
5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental
Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A number of domestic human rights organizations
generally operated without government restriction throughout the country,
investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases as well as
advocating for improvements to the government's human rights performance. The
government met with local NGOs, responded to their inquiries, and took some
actions in response to NGO concerns. However, some government officials,
particularly in Papua and Aceh, subjected the organizations to monitoring,
harassment, and interference as well as threats and intimidation. Activists
said intelligence officers followed them, took their pictures surreptitiously, and
sometimes questioned their friends and family members regarding their
whereabouts and activities.
Human rights and anticorruption activists reported
receiving threatening messages and other intimidation from unknown sources.
UN and Other International Bodies: Of the 180
recommendations made by member states of the UN Human Rights Council during the
Universal Periodic Review process, the government accepted 150 and rejected 30.
The security forces and intelligence agencies tended to regard with suspicion
foreign human rights organizations, particularly those operating in conflict
areas, and restricted their movement in these areas.
In 2009 the government cancelled the ICRC presence
agreement and suspended ICRC prison visits including confidential meetings with
prisoners throughout the country. It allowed the ICRC to make visits to Papua
and conduct a limited range of activities (such as providing training to
military and police, school curriculum development, and sanitation/technical
assistance to prisons).
Government Human Rights Bodies: A number of
independent government-affiliated bodies addressed human rights problems,
including the National Ombudsman, the National Commission on Violence against
Women (Komnas Perempuan), and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas
HAM). The public generally trusted Komnas HAM, Komnas Perempuan, and the
ombudsman, but government cooperation with their recommendations was not
mandatory and not usual.
In July Komnas HAM released its findings regarding
the anti-Communist purges of 1965 and 1966. Based on a four-year investigation,
the commission concluded that government actions, which included killing,
extermination, enslavement, eviction or forced removal of the population, the
deprivation of personal freedom, torture, rape, and enforced disappearance,
constituted a crime against humanity. President Yudhoyono directed the AGO to
study the findings and report back to him. However, the coordinating minister
for political, legal, and security affairs rejected the commission's findings
and publicly defended the purges. Human rights groups estimated that between
500,000 and 2 million people died in violence related to the government's
reaction to an alleged Communist plot to overthrow the Sukarno government. At
year's end the government had not filed any charges in cases related to those
events.
In 2009 the DPR approved the formation of an ad hoc
tribunal to investigate and prosecute the disappearance of human rights
activists. Twenty-four human rights activists and students disappeared between
1997 and 1998; ten later reappeared, accusing the military of kidnapping and
torture. One body was found, and 13 activists remained missing. Despite this
authorization, by year's end the government had not established this tribunal.
Although the 2006 Law on the Government of Aceh
states a human rights court would be established in Aceh, establishment of the
court remained stalled due to complications stemming from other national-level
legislation.
Section
6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution does not explicitly prohibit
discrimination based on gender, race, disability, language, or social status.
It provides for equal rights for all citizens, both native and naturalized.
However, in practice the government sometimes failed to defend these rights,
particularly for minority communities.
Women
Rape and Domestic Violence: The law
criminalizes rape, although the legal definition of rape covers only forced
penetration of sexual organs, and filing a case requires corroboration and a
witness. The law criminalizes marital rape. Reliable nationwide statistics on
the incidence of rape continued to be unavailable. Rape is punishable by four
to 14 years in prison, and the government imprisoned perpetrators for rape and
attempted rape; however, light sentences continued to be a problem, and many
convicted rapists received the minimum sentence.
The law prohibits domestic abuse and other forms of
violence against women. However, domestic violence was a problem. Violence
against women remained poorly documented and significantly underreported by the
government. Nationwide figures were unavailable. Most NGOs working on women and
children's issues believed the real figure was far higher than the available
government statistics, noting the tendency of many victims to keep silent. The
government's National Commission on Violence against Women, Komnas Perempuan,
reported domestic violence was the most common form of violence against women.
Social pressure deterred many women from reporting
domestic violence. In 2011 the Women's Legal Aid Foundation received 417
complaints of domestic violence, including physical and sexual harassment. They
also received 61 criminal complaints, of which 36 were related to sexual
violence.
Two types of crisis centers were available for
abused women: government-run centers in hospitals; and NGO centers in the
community. Nationwide, the police operated "special crisis rooms" or
"women's desks" where female officers received criminal reports from
female and child victims of sexual assault and trafficking and where victims
found temporary shelter.
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): According to
NGOs some FGM/C of women over the age of 18 occurred. A 2010 Ministry of Health
decree provides specific instructions prohibiting certain more drastic types of
FGM but explicitly permitting others. The decree states that doctors, midwives,
and licensed nurses may perform type IV FGM (a symbolic pricking or piercing of
the clitoris or labia) with the request and consent of the woman on whom it is
performed (see section 6, children).
Sexual Harassment: Although not
explicitly mentioned in the penal code, article 281of the code, which prohibits
indecent public acts, serves as the basis for criminal complaints stemming from
workplace sexual harassment. Violations of this article are punishable by
imprisonment of up to two years and eight months and a small fine.
Reproductive Rights: The government
recognized the right of individuals and couples to choose the number, spacing,
and timing of children and encouraged family planning. According to a study
published by an international NGO in August, on average 30 percent of women
surveyed over a four-year period who wanted no more children subsequently gave
birth. The study found that a number of factors influenced this statistic,
including the use of short-term rather than long-term contraceptive methods.
Although the government subsidized and provided access to contraception
throughout the country, the cost of contraception and poor medical
infrastructure often limited availability. An international NGO's 2010 report
indicated that unmarried women in particular were not provided adequate access
to contraceptives, and this continued to be a problem. According to the 2010
Demographic and Health Survey, 55.8 percent of married women used
contraception. The study also found that 93 percent of women received medical
prenatal care. The official maternal mortality ratio per the 2007 census (the
most recent available) was 228 per 100,000 live births. The primary causes of
maternal mortality were postpartum hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, and sepsis.
According to a 2010 World Bank review, there were several key factors in the
high rates of maternal mortality. While 79 percent of women had skilled birth
attendants at delivery, the uneven deployment of midwives at the community
level and the substandard training for many midwives and high use of
traditional birth attendants were contributing factors. Hospitals and health
centers did not perform at optimal levels in management of complications, and
there were problems with referrals for complications including financial
barriers or limited availability of qualified health personnel. Close to 50
percent of births occurred at home. A woman's economic status, level of
education, and age at first marriage also affected maternal mortality.
Discrimination: The law states that women
have the same rights, obligations, and opportunities as men; however, it also
states that women's participation in the development process must not conflict
with their role in improving family welfare and educating the younger
generation. The marriage law designates the man as the head of the family.
Women in many regions of the country, particularly in Papua, complained about
differential treatment based on gender.
Divorce is available to both men and women. Many
divorcees received no alimony, since there was no system to enforce such
payments. If there is no prenuptial agreement, joint property is divided equally.
The law requires a divorced woman to wait 40 days before remarrying; a man can
remarry immediately. The government continued to implement Sharia in Aceh. The
impact of this implementation varied across the province but, continuing the
pattern of the last few years, in general it appeared to be less intrusive due
to improved government oversight of the Sharia police. The most visible impact
on women's rights continued to be the enforcement of dress codes. Sharia varies
somewhat across the province; for example, in West Aceh District women are
required to wear skirts, a restriction not explicitly stated elsewhere. It was
not uncommon for Sharia police to briefly stop and lecture Muslim women whose
dress did not conform to local Sharia requirements on appropriate attire.
Local governments and groups in areas outside Aceh
also undertook campaigns to promote conformity by women with the precepts of
Sharia. Local regulations in some areas mandated the wearing of Islamic dress
by government employees. Vigilance in enforcing separation of sexes, fasting,
and dress codes increased during Ramadan. The Ministry of Home Affairs is
responsible for "harmonizing" local regulations that are not in line
with national legislation. Between January and August, the ministry evaluated
13,520 local regulations throughout the country and cancelled 824 deemed in
conflict with national law.
Women faced discrimination in the workplace, both
in hiring and in gaining fair compensation; however, there was progress in that
area, especially in public sector jobs. According to International Labor
Organization (ILO) reports, women's hourly wages as a percentage of men's wages
continued to increase. A 2009 ILO report showed significant progress towards
gender equality in labor market participation, employment, and wages. Gender
wage gaps narrowed between 2004 and 2008 in most sectors but widened in others
(professional, technical, and related workers). While women in administrative
and managerial jobs earned more than their male counterparts, they were
underrepresented at the managerial level. According to the government, women
constituted 47 percent of all civil servants as of October 2011 and more than
24 percent of senior civil servants, up from only 9 percent in 2009. Some
activists said that in manufacturing, employers relegated women to
lower-paying, lower-level jobs. Like their male counterparts, many female
factory workers were hired as day laborers instead of as full-time permanent
employees, and companies were not required to provide benefits, such as
maternity leave, to day laborers. By law, if both members of a couple worked
for a government agency, the couple's head-of-household allowance was given to
the husband.
Jobs traditionally associated with women continued
to be significantly undervalued and unregulated. For example, domestic workers
received little legal protection. Under the labor law, domestic workers are not
provided with a minimum wage, health insurance, freedom of association, an
eight-hour work day, a weekly day of rest, vacation time, or safe work
conditions. Consequently, as reported by NGOs, abusive treatment and
discriminatory behavior continued to be rampant.
Children
Birth Registration: Citizenship is
acquired primarily through one's parents; however, it can be acquired through
birth in national territory. Although the law provides for free birth
registration, this registration requirement was not enforced, and approximately
30 percent of citizen births were not registered. Without birth registration,
families may face difficulties in accessing government-sponsored insurance
benefits and enrolling children in schools. It was often impossible to be
certain of a child's age, and ages were falsified on identity cards, sometimes
with the cooperation of government officials.
A February ruling by the Constitutional Court
overturned a 1974 law that stipulated children born outside of registered
marriages shared civil ties only with their mother. The ruling provided for the
inclusion of DNA evidence in determining paternity and conferred inheritance
rights to the father's property for children born outside of registered
marriages.
Education: Although the law provides
for free education, in practice most schools were not free, and poverty put
education out of the reach of many children. By law children are required to
attend six years of elementary school and three years of junior high school;
however, in practice the government did not universally enforce these
requirements. Although girls and boys received equal educational opportunities,
boys continued to be more likely to finish school.
Some provinces and districts, such as South Sumatra
Province and Serdang Bedagai District in North Sumatra Province, have local
policies for compulsory education for 12 years or up to senior secondary.
Child Abuse: Child labor and sexual
abuse were serious problems. Child abuse is prohibited by law, but government
efforts to combat it generally continued to be slow and ineffective. The Child
Protection Act addresses economic and sexual exploitation of children as well
as adoption, guardianship, and other issues; however, some provincial
governments did not enforce its provisions. Komnas Perlindungan Anak reported
that during the year it received an average of 100 reports of cases of violence
against children per month.
According to Komnas Perlindungan Anak,
approximately 8.5 million children under the age of 18 were working because of
poverty.
Child Marriage: The legal distinction
between a woman and a girl was not clear. The law sets the minimum marriageable
age at 16 for a woman (19 for a man), but the Child Protection Law states
persons under age 18 are children. A girl who marries has adult legal status. Girls
frequently married before reaching the age of 16, particularly in rural and
impoverished areas. According to UNICEF, in the years 2000 to 2009, 22 percent
of women 20 to 24 years old were married or in union before they were 18.
Harmful Traditional Practices: FGM/C on
children was practiced in some parts of the country. Some NGO activists
dismissed any claims of mutilation, saying the ritual as practiced in the
country was largely symbolic. A 2010 Ministry of Health decree prohibits more
drastic types of FGM but explicitly permits doctors, midwifes, and licensed
nurses to conduct type IV FGM (a symbolic pricking or piercing of the clitoris
or labia). The decree requires the prior consent of the subject, a parent, or
guardian.
Sexual Exploitation of Children: While there is
no offense by the name of statutory rape under the law, the penal code forbids
consensual sex outside of marriage with girls under the age of 15. The law does
not address heterosexual acts between women and boys, but does prohibit same
sex acts between adults and minors. The 2008 Pornography Law prohibits child
pornography and establishes a maximum sentence of 12 years and fine of six
billion rupiah (approximately $625,000) for producing or trading in child
pornography. Nationally, UNICEF estimated that 40,000 to 70,000 children were
victims of sexual exploitation and that 30 percent of all female commercial sex
workers were underage. According to NGO estimates, 30 percent of the estimated
4,000 sex workers in Batam were children. The same NGO assessed that commercial
child sex had declined due to increased police efforts in the area.
A six-month foreign government investigative
agency's assessment of allegations of child sex tourism found no credible cases
of foreign persons travelling to the country to engage in sexual acts with
children. The assessment revealed multiple incidents of child sex abuse, but in
all cases the abuser was a local resident.
Displaced Children: According to
government reports, as of September there were 7,315 street children in
Jakarta, of whom 4,827 participated in a social welfare program run by the
Ministry of Social Affairs. The government continued to fund shelters
administered by local NGOs and paid for the education of some street children.
International Child Abductions: The country is
not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction. For information see the Department of State's report on
compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country_3781.html.
Anti-Semitism
The Jewish population was extremely small. There
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
Trafficking in Persons
See the Department of State's Trafficking in
Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons with Disabilities
The law prohibits discrimination against persons
with physical and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or provision of other state services. The law does not contain
specific requirements regarding access to air travel and other transportation,
but it mandates accessibility to public facilities for persons with
disabilities; however, the government did not enforce this provision (the
Surabaya International Airport, for example, is not disabled accessible). The
government classifies persons with disabilities into three categories:
physically disabled, intellectually disabled, and physically and intellectually
disabled. These categories are further divided for schooling. The government
restricts the rights of persons to vote or participate in civil affairs by not
enforcing accessibility laws. However, during the year's regional elections,
the government provided some Braille ballots for blind voters.
The law provides children with disabilities with
the right to an education and rehabilitative treatment. A November 2011 UNESCO
study found that children with disabilities were 59 percent more likely not to
receive a formal education than other children. According to one NGO, there
were 1.4 million children with disabilities in the country, and fewer than 4
percent had access to education. According to 2008-09 government statistics,
there were 1,686 schools dedicated to educating children with disabilities,
1,274 of them run privately. According to NGOs, more than 90 percent of blind children
were illiterate. Some young persons with disabilities resorted to begging for a
living. Children with disabilities were sent to separate schools, and
mainstream education for them was extremely rare. The country's universities
did not offer a degree in special education.
National/Racial/Ethnic
Minorities
The government officially promotes racial and
ethnic tolerance. Ethnic Chinese, who accounted for approximately 3 percent of
the population, played a major role in the economy and increasingly participated
in politics.
Indigenous People
The government viewed all citizens as
"indigenous"; however, it recognized the existence of several
"isolated communities" and their right to participate fully in
political and social life. These communities include the myriad Dayak tribes of
Kalimantan, families living as sea nomads, and the 312 officially recognized
indigenous groups in Papua. During the year indigenous persons, most notably in
Papua, remained subject to widespread discrimination, and there was little
improvement in respect for their traditional land rights. Mining and logging
activities, many of them illegal, posed significant social, economic, and
logistical problems to indigenous communities. The government failed to prevent
companies, often in collusion with the local military and police, from
encroaching on indigenous peoples' land. In Papua and West Papua, tensions
continued between indigenous Papuans and migrants from other provinces, leading
to several killings of migrants in the restive provinces.
As the government did not recognize
"indigenous people," it also did not recognize "indigenous
lands." The government did recognize some communal ownership rights.
However, access to ancestral lands continued to be a major source of conflict
throughout the country. Large corporations and government regulations displaced
people from their ancestral lands. Some land-rights NGOs asserted that
ineffective demarcation of land led to denying individuals access to their own
land. Central and local government officials reportedly extracted kickbacks
from mining and palm oil companies in exchange for land access at the expense
of the local populace. Land-rights advocates reported receiving threats from
government and private parties after publicizing these issues. The government
program of transferring migrants from the crowded islands of Java and Madura
diminished greatly in recent years. However, communal conflicts often occurred
along ethnic lines in areas with sizeable transmigrant populations.
Societal Abuses,
Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender
Identity
The 2008 Pornography Law bans consensual same-sex
sexual activity. In addition local regulations across the country criminalize
same-sex sexual activity. For example, the province of South Sumatra and the
municipality of Palembang have local ordinances criminalizing same-sex sexual
activity together with prostitution. The province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam's
legislature passed an ordinance regulating "immoral behavior,"
including consensual same-sex acts between adults, but at year's end the
governor had not signed it into law. Additionally, under a local ordinance in
Jakarta, security officers regard any transgender person found in the streets
at night as a sex worker. According to media and NGO reports, a number of
transgender individuals were abused and forced to pay bribes following
detention by local authorities. According to NGOs, many persons considered LGBT
issues as socially taboo. The government took almost no action to prevent
discrimination against LGBT persons, and in some cases it failed to protect
LGBT individuals from societal abuse. Police corruption, bias, and violence
caused LGBT individuals to avoid interaction with police. Sharia police in Aceh
reportedly harassed transgender individuals. NGOs reported religious groups,
family members, and the general public sometimes ostracized LGBT individuals.
LGBT organizations and NGOs operated openly,
although often without proper licenses (see section 2.b.). Certain religious
groups sporadically disrupted LGBT gatherings, and individuals occasionally
were victims of police abuse.
LGBT groups maintained a lower profile throughout
the year compared with previous years, in part due to concerns over physical
security. In September and October, the Q! Film Festival, subject of protests
in 2010, took place in Jakarta. Festival organizers informed police of their
plans to hold the festival, but police declined to provide protection. Police
officials stated that the organizers would have to obtain a letter of support
from the local Islamic Clerics Council (MUI) if they wanted police support.
Organizers chose not to engage with the MUI. As a result of the police
decision, three of eight venues originally scheduled to take part in the
festival backed out.
Police generally did not investigate cases that
involved police intervention during assaults by hard-line groups against LGBT
gatherings. Formal complaints by victims and affected persons were usually
ignored.
In criminal cases with LGBT victims, police
investigated the cases reasonably well, as long as the suspect was not
affiliated with the police. However, when investigating allegations of abuse by
police, investigators were unresponsive--even in the face of pressure from
Komnas HAM.
NGOs documented instances of government officials
not issuing identity cards to LGBT individuals. Transgender individuals faced
discrimination in obtaining services, including health and other public
services.
Other Societal Violence or
Discrimination
Stigma and discrimination against persons with
HIV/AIDS were pervasive. However, government policy encouraged tolerance, took
steps to prevent new infections, and provided free antiretroviral drugs,
although with numerous administrative barriers. The government position of
tolerance was adhered to unevenly at all levels of society; for example,
prevention efforts often were not aggressive for fear of antagonizing religious
conservatives, and in addition to barriers to access to free antiretroviral
drugs, potential recipients had to pay medical fees that put the cost beyond
the reach of many.
Minority religious groups were occasionally victims
of societal discrimination sometimes including violence. This included Ahmadis,
Shiites, other non-Sunni Muslims, Sunni Muslims, and Christians in areas where
these groups constituted a minority.
Section
7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association
and the Right to Collective Bargaining
The law, including related regulations and statutory
instruments, in general protects the rights of workers to join independent
unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively. Workers in the private
sector have broad rights of association, but the law places restrictions on
organizing among public-sector workers. Workers in the private sector formed
and joined unions of their choice without previous authorization or excessive
requirements. The law stipulates that 10 or more workers have the right to form
a union, with membership open to all workers, regardless of political
affiliation, religion, ethnicity, or gender. The Ministry of Manpower and
Transmigration records, rather than approves, the formation of a union,
federation, or confederation and provides it with a registration number.
To remain registered, unions must keep the
government informed about changes in their governing bodies. The law allows the
government to petition the courts to dissolve a union if it conflicts with the
state ideology (Pancasila) or the constitution. A union also may be dissolved
if its leaders or members, in the name of the union, commit crimes against the
security of the state and are sentenced to at least five years in prison. Once
a union is dissolved, its leaders and members may not form another union for at
least three years. There were no reports that the government dissolved any
unions during the year.
Although the law recognizes civil servants' freedom
of association and right to organize, employees may only form employee
associations with more limited rights. Employees of state-owned enterprises
(SOEs) are permitted to form unions. There were no cases during the year of
employees of SOEs attempting to form a new union.
The right to strike is recognized but substantially
restricted under the law. Under the Manpower Development and Protection Act
(the Manpower Act), workers must give written notification to the authorities
and to the employer seven days in advance for a strike to be legal. The
notification must specify the starting and ending time of the strike, venue for
the action, reasons for the strike, and include signatures of the chairperson
and secretary of the striking union. The law does not extend the right to
strike to most civil servants or to workers in SOEs.
All strikes at "enterprises that cater to the
interests of the general public or at enterprises whose activities would
endanger the safety of human life if discontinued" are deemed illegal.
Although this wording recalls the definition of an "essential
industry," the regulation does not specify the types of enterprises
affected, leaving this determination to the government's discretion. The same
regulation also classifies strikes as illegal if they are "not as a result
of failed negotiations."
Before striking, workers must engage in lengthy mediation
with the employer and then proceed to a government mediator or risk having the
strike declared illegal. In the case of an illegal strike, an employer may make
two written requests within a period of seven days for workers to return.
Workers who do not return to work after these requests are considered to have
resigned.
The law provides for collective bargaining and
allows workers' organizations that register with the government to conclude
legally binding collective labor agreements (CLAs) with employers and to
exercise other trade union functions. The law includes some restrictions on
collective bargaining, including a requirement that a union or unions represent
more than 50 percent of the company workforce to negotiate a CLA.
Although most CLAs provide workers with more rights
than the legal minimum provisions set by the government, more than a third of
employers reportedly violated the terms of the CLA with relative impunity.
Enforcement of CLAs varied based on the capacity and interest of individual
regional governments.
In practice the government did not effectively
enforce laws protecting freedom of association and did not effectively prevent
antiunion discrimination. Freedom of association, despite being guaranteed
under the law, is undermined by several common practices including the use of
contract workers and regular workers on short-term contracts to avoid labor
regulations. Employers commonly reassigned labor leaders to disrupt their union
building activities. Antiunion intimidation most often takes the form of
termination, transfer, or trumped-up criminal charges. Companies increasingly
sued union leaders for losses suffered in strikes.
Antiunion discrimination cases moved excessively
slowly through the court system, sometimes taking up to six years. Bribery and
judicial corruption in workers' disputes continued, and courts rarely decided
cases in the workers' favor. While dismissed workers sometimes received
severance pay or other compensation, they were rarely reinstated. During the
year 250 workers at PT Surya Gemilang Perkasa in Kabupaten Bogor, West Java
Province, and 700 workers at PT Amerta Indah Otsuka in Sukabumi, West Java
Province, agreed to a package with severance pay and wages due rather than
reinstatement because after extended disputes with the company they needed the
money.
Labor activists continued to claim that companies
orchestrate the formation of multiple unions, including "yellow"
unions, to weaken legitimate unions.
As of October, the appeal of a lower court ruling
to reinstate 30 unionists fired from the Surabaya Zoo in 2010 remained pending,
and the union activists had not been reemployed.
In practice the cumbersome process required for a
legal strike, as well as the government regulations included in the Manpower
Act, provided employers a clear means to obstruct a union's move to legally
strike. Therefore, strikes tended to be unsanctioned or "wildcat"
strikes that broke out after a failure to settle long-term grievances or when
an employer refused to recognize a union. The primary reasons for strikes
during the year were demands for an increase in the minimum wage and the use of
contract workers.
Employer retribution against union organizers,
including dismissals and violence, continued. Employers commonly used intimidation
tactics against strikers, including administrative dismissal of employees
through use of the appeals process described above. Some employers threatened
employees who made contact with union organizers. Management singled out strike
leaders for layoffs when companies downsized.
Following violent clashes between police and
strikers in 2011, the union leaders and the management of Freeport Indonesia
agreed to a CLA proposal to end the strike at the end of 2011. The agreement
stipulated that both sides would work together to achieve a 37 percent wage
increase over two years. From October 2011 to September 2012, salaries
increased by 24 percent, followed by a 13 percent increase in the year
beginning October 2012.
In recent years employers have repeatedly filed
criminal complaints against union officers following failed collective
bargaining negotiations or lawful strikes. In a number of cases, union officers
were prosecuted and even served prison time for destruction of property and
interference with profits as a result of complaints brought by employers. Some
provisions in criminal law have aided these tactics, such as a crime of
"unpleasant acts," which creates criminal liability for a broad range
of conduct. There were credible reports of the police investigating or
interrogating union organizers.
The increasing trend of using contract labor
directly affected unions' right to organize and bargain collectively. Under the
Manpower Act, contract labor is to be used only for work that is
"temporary in nature." However, many employers violated these
provisions, sometimes with the assistance of local offices of the Manpower
Ministry. In some cases, companies declared bankruptcy in order to avoid
severance payments required by law, closed the factory for several days, and
then rehired workers as contract labor at a lower cost. Union leaders and
activists usually were not rehired. Labor courts have ruled in favor of workers
who filed either for compensation or to be rehired. In most cases, however, the
company appealed to the Supreme Court where the labor court's decisions were
overturned.
b. Prohibition of Forced or
Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor;
however, there were credible reports that such practices occurred, including
forced and compulsory labor by children (see section 7.c.). Forms of forced
labor included domestic servitude, commercial sexual exploitation, and forced
labor in the mining, fishing, and agricultural sectors.
On April 12, parliament ratified the Migrant
Workers Convention.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child
Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
The law and regulations explicitly prohibit forced
labor by children. The Manpower Act establishes that child labor includes (1)
all working children age 5-12, regardless of the hours worked, (2) working
children age 13-14 who worked more than 15 hours per week, and (3) working
children age 15-17 who worked more than 40 hours per week. Additionally, child
labor also encompasses any person under the age of 16 who is engaged in any of
the following 13 kinds of labor: prostitution or other commercial sexual exploitation,
mining, pearl diving, construction, offshore fishing, scavenging, production of
explosives, working on the street, domestic service, cottage industry,
plantations, forestry, and industries that use hazardous chemicals. Child labor
was most prevalent in the agricultural, service, sales, and manufacturing
sectors.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of
Work
Labor regulations, including minimum wage
regulations, only applied to the estimated 30 percent of workers in the
"formal sector." Workers in the "informal sector" were not
afforded the same protections or benefits. Moreover, government regulations
allow employers in certain sectors, including small and medium enterprises and
labor-intensive industries like textiles, an exemption from minimum wage
requirements.
Minimum wages vary throughout the country as
provincial governors set an annual minimum wage floor and district heads have
the authority to set a higher rate. During the year the lowest minimum wage was
in the province of Central Java at rupiah 686,925 ($71) per month and the
highest was in Jakarta at rupiah 1,557,675 ($161) per month. The governor of
Jakarta has agreed to a 2013 minimum wage of rupiah 2,244,600 ($232), a 44
percent increase over 2012 and an increase of 97 percent since 2010. The
government calculates annually the minimum subsistence requirement by province.
In 2013 it will be rupiah 2,012,400 ($208) per month in Jakarta.
The law establishes a 40-hour workweek, with one
30-minute rest period for every four hours of work. Companies often required a
five-and-a-half- or six-day workweek. The law also requires at least one day of
rest weekly. The daily overtime rate was 1.5 times the normal hourly rate for
the first hour and twice the hourly rate for additional overtime, with a
maximum of three hours of overtime per day and no more than 14 hours per week.
The law also requires employers to register workers with and pay contributions
to the state-owned insurance agency.
Local officials from the Manpower Ministry are
responsible for enforcing regulations on minimum wage and hours of work, as
well as health and safety standards. The Manpower Ministry continued to urge
employers to comply with the law; however, government enforcement remained
inadequate, particularly at smaller companies, and supervision of labor
standards continued to be weak. There are approximately 2,400 inspectors. There
is no enforcement of the minimum wage in the informal sector.
Although labor law and ministerial regulations
provide workers with a variety of benefits, aside from government officials,
only an estimated 10 percent of workers received social security benefits.
Persons who worked at formal sector companies often received health benefits,
meal privileges, and transportation, which were rarely provided for workers in
the informal sector. The Manpower Act also requires employers to provide a safe
and healthy workplace and to treat workers with dignity. Enforcement of health
and safety standards in smaller companies and in the informal sector tended to
be weak or nonexistent.
The country's worker safety record was poor. The
state-owned insurance agency reported approximately 77,000 workplace accidents
during the year and a total of 1,749 workplace deaths from January-September
2012.
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