New Report Timed for Release with Indonesian President’s Meeting with President Bush on Wednesday, May 25 in Washington, DC

NEW YORK – A new in-depth report from Human Rights First documents increasing attacks on human rights defenders in Indonesia due to a focus on terrorism that undermines efforts to reform the military. Talks between Presidents Bush and Yudhoyono are likely to include strengthening military ties to address global terrorism, in the aftermath of major terrorist attacks in both countries.

“The first priority should be on the reform of a violent, unaccountable military in Indonesia,” said Matt Easton, Senior Associate in the Human Rights Defenders Program at Human Rights First. “You cannot fight terrorism effectively without standing up for justice.”

The report, called Reformasi and Resistance: Human Rights Defenders and Counterterrorism in Indonesia includes several key findings:

• Attacks on human rights defenders continue -- with at least 15 killed since 2000. The poisoning death of Munir, a leading activist, in September 2004 is the most prominent example.
  
• Counterterrorism laws are threatening to reverse hard won military and human rights reforms in Indonesia put in place after Suharto’s fall.
  
• Restrictions on military ties with Indonesia, put in place by Congress based on past human rights abuses, are now being weakened by the Bush administration in the post-September 11 environment. This trend is removing a crucial incentive for military reform in Indonesia.
  
• Indonesian officials are pointing to U.S. strategies in Iraq as a rationale for their own domestic military operations. Indonesian officials also cite American abuses, such as those at Abu Ghraib, as evidence that the U.S. has no credibility on human rights.

Human Rights First has sent a letter to President Bush as well as a separate letter to Congressional leaders outlining the organization’s concerns and recommendations about human rights abuses in Indonesia.

“President Bush has spoken of the need to support those working for democracy and human rights around the world,” emphasized Easton. “When human rights activists make the ultimate sacrifice will President Bush remember to speak up for them?”

Here is a link to the full report, which includes detailed recommendations: Reformasi and Resistance: Human Rights Defenders and Counterterrorism in Indonesia May 2005.

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/defenders/
hrd_indonesia/reports/reformasi-resist-indonesia-may05.pdf

Link to the fact sheet

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/defenders/hrd_indonesia/
factsheet/indonesia_report_may05.htm

Link to the letter to President Bush

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/defenders/hrd_indonesia/letters/
white-house-let-indonesia-052305.pdf

Link to the letter to Congressional leaders

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/defenders/hrd_indonesia/letters/
congress-let-indonesia-052405.pdf

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