Jakarta/Brussels, 2 June 2004: ICG's Southeast Asia Director Sidney Jones and Analyst Francesca Lawe-Davies were yesterday ordered to leave Indonesia "immediately". Immigration department officials of the Jakarta provincial government delivered the order to ICG's office at 6 pm on 1 June (11:00 GMT). The letter made no specific charges against Jones and Lawe-Davies but stated that they were in violation of immigration laws.
The order follows public statements by National Intelligence Agency head, General Hendropriyono, that ICG's reports were "not all true" and "damage the country's image".
ICG's President, former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, said "the expulsion order is outrageous and indefensible, utterly at odds with Indonesia's claim to be an open and democratic society, and is bound to damage Indonesia's reputation far more than ICG's".
Since establishing its Jakarta office in 2000, ICG has published 37 reports and briefing papers on conflict related issues, including Aceh, Papua, the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist movement, communal violence and the transition from military to civilian rule. The reports and analyses, all publicly available in both English and Bahasa Indonesia on ICG's website www.icg.org , have been widely praised inside and outside Indonesia.
No member of the government will take responsibility for initiating moves to expel Jones and her assistant but moves against ICG began early this year, when a letter from the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) to the Ministry of Labour resulted in a freeze on work permits for ICG staff. No one from ICG ever saw that letter, but it is understood it stated BIN was unhappy with ICG reports on Aceh and Papua.
But to date, not a single Indonesian government department or official has made any complaints directly to ICG. Sidney Jones said, "We haven't even been told directly what we've done wrong - the officials concerned won't meet with us. We have not been able to respond to any charges, and there is no legal mechanism to challenge the expulsion."
"ICG has been working with Indonesians to try and understand the sources of conflict in this country for the last four years" said Evans, "and we urge the government to allow us to resume our activity. To shoot the messenger doesn't say much for the state of political liberty in Indonesia under the Megawati government."
"I deeply regret the expulsion of ICG staff from Indonesia, particularly in these bizarre circumstances", says Chairman of ICG's board in Indonesia, Mulya Todung Lubis. He noted that ICG was among twenty NGOs named as potential security risks for the upcoming presidential elections.
THE INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP
http://www.icg.org and http://www.crisisweb.org
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public Statement
3 June 2004
Indonesia: ICG expulsion, the latest effort to restrict freedom of expression
"The decision to expel two international staff members of the International Crisis Group (ICG) this week is the latest in a growing number of acts by the Indonesian government that are restricting the possibility of reporting on the political, security and human rights situation in the country," said Amnesty International.
The two ICG staff members were ordered on Monday to leave Indonesia, allegedly because they have violated the terms of their work permits. However, their forced removal appears to have resulted from complaints by the Head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and the Foreign Minister that ICG reports are biased and threaten national security.
Amnesty International regards the decision as a serious blow to freedom of expression in Indonesia and the right of the public to access information.
The Head of BIN, General Hendropriyono, has said that another 19 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who it is claimed are also a threat to national security, are being monitored. The Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) is the only one that has so far been named.
"This heavy-handed approach combined with the total lack of transparency appears calculated to create fear within the domestic and international NGO community" said Amnesty International. "Such tactics were the hall-mark of the authoritarian former President Suharto. It is shocking to see them being employed at a moment when Indonesia claims to be on a path of democratic reform."
These latest developments highlight a disturbing trend in Indonesia in which a growing number of NGOs, political activists and journalists have been subjected to various forms of harassment and intimidation.
During 2003, at least 30 prisoners of conscience were sentenced to terms of imprisonment. Among them were newspaper editors who published material deemed to be insulting to political leaders and activists who participated in peaceful protests against government policies.
Publishing information on human rights violations appears to be particularly sensitive, nowhere less so than in Papua and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) where the government is engaged in counter-insurgency operations against armed opposition groups.
In NAD there has been a virtual ban on all independent reporting and human rights monitoring since the imposition of a military emergency in May 2003. Organizations that have been critical of the military operations or published details about the grave human rights situation in the province have been accused of bias. Elsewhere, defamation suits have been brought against NGO activists who have accused the police or military of committing human rights violations.
"If permitted to continue, this steady erosion of the hard won gains of the post-Suharto era, including greater freedom of expression, will inhibit the right of the Indonesian people to be informed about and participate fully in the development of their country" said Amnesty International.
Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org
The order follows public statements by National Intelligence Agency head, General Hendropriyono, that ICG's reports were "not all true" and "damage the country's image".
ICG's President, former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, said "the expulsion order is outrageous and indefensible, utterly at odds with Indonesia's claim to be an open and democratic society, and is bound to damage Indonesia's reputation far more than ICG's".
Since establishing its Jakarta office in 2000, ICG has published 37 reports and briefing papers on conflict related issues, including Aceh, Papua, the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist movement, communal violence and the transition from military to civilian rule. The reports and analyses, all publicly available in both English and Bahasa Indonesia on ICG's website www.icg.org , have been widely praised inside and outside Indonesia.
No member of the government will take responsibility for initiating moves to expel Jones and her assistant but moves against ICG began early this year, when a letter from the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) to the Ministry of Labour resulted in a freeze on work permits for ICG staff. No one from ICG ever saw that letter, but it is understood it stated BIN was unhappy with ICG reports on Aceh and Papua.
But to date, not a single Indonesian government department or official has made any complaints directly to ICG. Sidney Jones said, "We haven't even been told directly what we've done wrong - the officials concerned won't meet with us. We have not been able to respond to any charges, and there is no legal mechanism to challenge the expulsion."
"ICG has been working with Indonesians to try and understand the sources of conflict in this country for the last four years" said Evans, "and we urge the government to allow us to resume our activity. To shoot the messenger doesn't say much for the state of political liberty in Indonesia under the Megawati government."
"I deeply regret the expulsion of ICG staff from Indonesia, particularly in these bizarre circumstances", says Chairman of ICG's board in Indonesia, Mulya Todung Lubis. He noted that ICG was among twenty NGOs named as potential security risks for the upcoming presidential elections.
THE INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP
http://www.icg.org and http://www.crisisweb.org
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public Statement
3 June 2004
Indonesia: ICG expulsion, the latest effort to restrict freedom of expression
"The decision to expel two international staff members of the International Crisis Group (ICG) this week is the latest in a growing number of acts by the Indonesian government that are restricting the possibility of reporting on the political, security and human rights situation in the country," said Amnesty International.
The two ICG staff members were ordered on Monday to leave Indonesia, allegedly because they have violated the terms of their work permits. However, their forced removal appears to have resulted from complaints by the Head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and the Foreign Minister that ICG reports are biased and threaten national security.
Amnesty International regards the decision as a serious blow to freedom of expression in Indonesia and the right of the public to access information.
The Head of BIN, General Hendropriyono, has said that another 19 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who it is claimed are also a threat to national security, are being monitored. The Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) is the only one that has so far been named.
"This heavy-handed approach combined with the total lack of transparency appears calculated to create fear within the domestic and international NGO community" said Amnesty International. "Such tactics were the hall-mark of the authoritarian former President Suharto. It is shocking to see them being employed at a moment when Indonesia claims to be on a path of democratic reform."
These latest developments highlight a disturbing trend in Indonesia in which a growing number of NGOs, political activists and journalists have been subjected to various forms of harassment and intimidation.
During 2003, at least 30 prisoners of conscience were sentenced to terms of imprisonment. Among them were newspaper editors who published material deemed to be insulting to political leaders and activists who participated in peaceful protests against government policies.
Publishing information on human rights violations appears to be particularly sensitive, nowhere less so than in Papua and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) where the government is engaged in counter-insurgency operations against armed opposition groups.
In NAD there has been a virtual ban on all independent reporting and human rights monitoring since the imposition of a military emergency in May 2003. Organizations that have been critical of the military operations or published details about the grave human rights situation in the province have been accused of bias. Elsewhere, defamation suits have been brought against NGO activists who have accused the police or military of committing human rights violations.
"If permitted to continue, this steady erosion of the hard won gains of the post-Suharto era, including greater freedom of expression, will inhibit the right of the Indonesian people to be informed about and participate fully in the development of their country" said Amnesty International.
Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org