State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2016 - Indonesia

Events of 2015

Following his election in October 2014, the year 2015 was a crucial test of President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's commitment to democratic reform and minority rights. Unlike his predecessor, Jokowi has publicly acknowledged the need for Indonesia to curb extremism and his government proposed a new law to protect religious minorities shortly after assuming power. At present, Indonesian law only recognizes six major faiths, while practitioners of smaller Islamic sects, such as Ahmadis and Shi'a, endure regular threats and intimidation. The Ahmadiyya sect was formally branded heretical by the Indonesian Ulema Council, the country's top Islamic body, in 2005, and is prevented from proselytizing and constructing new houses of worship. However, activists have argued that the proposed new law does not go far enough and includes vague provisions that allow the government to discriminate against minorities in the name of 'national security'.

Indeed, the year saw an escalation in attacks and restrictions placed on some minority faiths. Indonesia's Christian community, which constitutes some 10 per cent of the population, came under attack on several occasions in 2015. In October, thousands of Christians were displaced in the province of Aceh when violence broke out following the torching of a local church. The following week, authorities in the conservative province bowed to pressure from hard-liners calling for the destruction of several other churches that allegedly lacked the necessary building permits. Similar arson attacks were recorded throughout the year in Papua and Central Java. Other minorities also saw their religious freedoms threatened during the year, including Shi'a Muslims, who make up less than 1 per cent of Indonesia's population. For example, in November the Mayor of Bogor City banned the city's Shi'a from celebrating the annual festival of Ashura.

In Indonesia's current climate of intolerance, the space for religious and ethnic minorities to practise their culture and faith openly is narrowing. In some parts of the country, minority women are obliged to don Islamic dress, including headscarves and modest clothing, irrespective of their faith. Since 2014, the autonomous region of Aceh has enforced Sharia law for all its residents, periodically detaining non-Muslims for wearing 'improper attire'. Similar requirements already exist in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, where female students risk fines or suspension if they do not wear the hijab. This can have a serious impact on minority women's right to education and cultural freedoms.

Religious intolerance has often served to compound existing ethnic tensions in Indonesia's diverse provinces, such as Christian-majority West Papua. A low-intensity conflict and social movement calling for greater autonomy has simmered for decades, fuelled by anger over state-backed discrimination and violence towards the indigenous population. The year 2015 brought little respite to the conflict-torn region, where dozens of civilians – mostly young Papuan men – were killed by security forces under dubious circumstances. In September, two high school children whose parents allegedly had ties to the West Papuan independence movement – claims the parents of the victims denied – were shot and one killed by police in Timika. Extra-judicial killings and harassment of peaceful human rights activists have continued, despite Jokowi's public commitment to improving the lives of indigenous Papuans.

In May, the government formally lifted a ban on foreign reporters travelling to the region, although the visa process remains lengthy and complex. This was followed by the release of some political prisoners, including the prominent West Papuan activist Filep Karma, who spent more than 10 years in prison for raising a flag in a 2004 protest against the Indonesian occupation. Karma was only freed on 'good behaviour' and his original sentence still stands. According to Papuans Behind Bars, at least 38 political prisoners remained incarcerated in West Papua as of early 2016. The repression of free speech and freedom of assembly in West Papua has become synonymous with denying the indigenous population a right to express their ethnic and cultural identity. Activists can be charged with treason for staging peaceful prayer meetings and the use of the West Papuan flag is strictly prohibited.

The Indonesian government has been accused of strategically diluting West Papuan culture and religion in order to weaken local resistance to its rule. In 2013, an Australian investigation revealed that hundreds of Papuan children were being forcibly converted to Islam by a religious outfit posing as a 'free education' initiative for the impoverished region – a practice reportedly carried out with the tacit acceptance of local authorities. Indonesia has already drawn criticism for a decades-long transmigration policy that has seen millions of ethnic Javanese and Sumatran Muslims shipped off to less populous parts of the country, such as West Papua, where the indigenous Melanese population has now been reduced to a minority. In June, Jokowi finally pledged to end the controversial practice, although his words have been greeted with scepticism among some local campaigners.

Indigenous land rights lie at the heart of the unrest in West Papua, a resource-rich region full of timber, minerals and oil. In 2015, Indonesia continued to expand industrial activities, including smelter operations and large-scale palm oil plantations, into territory considered ancestral by the indigenous population. Corruption in Papua's natural resource sector was thrown into the spotlight this year when it emerged that a senior parliamentarian had demanded a US$4 billion dollar stake in the US mining giant Freeport McMoRan open-air copper and gold mine in Timika in exchange for extending its licence to operate beyond 2021.

Natural resources are fundamental to the cultural heritage of Indonesia's many indigenous peoples. But since indigenous communities often pass on their knowledge verbally and may not possess written evidence of their land ownership, they frequently come into conflict with the central government, fuelling violence and paving the way for further deforestation. The forced evictions of indigenous communities from their customary lands across Indonesia have served to impinge on their cultural as well as territorial rights. This has caused serious problems for indigenous Dayak communities in Kalimantan, where activists blame top-down development for the destruction of traditional rice-based farming practices.

Many communities have developed customary land use practices that encourage ecological sustainability and diversity. This is often rooted in a spiritual affinity to the land and a cultural understanding of its importance to their own survival. For example, the Panglima Laot in Aceh – a traditional fishery management system – is still used today and communities are now working with authorities to help combat illegal fishing. Jokowi drew praise for highlighting the role of indigenous peoples in the fight against climate change during his speech at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference in December.

Jokowi has publicly pledged to honour the rights of Indonesia's indigenous populations, who won a significant victory in 2013 when the Constitutional Court ruled that the state must return millions of acres of land to their customary owners. Speaking after a meeting with the Indigenous Peoples' Alliance of the Archipelago in June, the president promised to fast-track a long-delayed law on the rights of indigenous peoples and to create a task force dedicated to resolving indigenous disputes. It follows a probe by Indonesia's human rights commission (Komnas HAM) investigating abuses of indigenous peoples' customary land rights across the country. However, the task force on indigenous peoples' rights has since been delayed.