Laurie Ferguson (Reid, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I commend the motion and very briefly note the horrific murders that have been specified. However, I will use this debate for a broader comment on Indonesian human rights. No doubt there have been a number of advances in recent years as Indonesia moves towards a more democratic regime. Indonesia’s constitutional court has shown its independence, and Indonesia has become the first Asian country to endorse all eight ILO conventions. There are no restrictions on women’s political activities in the nation. There have been direct elections at provincial levels, at county levels and at city levels, and, of course, in the last few years there has been a more open media.

That is not to detract from the significant challenges and the real human rights issues that the government faces. I commend the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs for the swift decision in recent weeks on the 43 refugee claimants from Papua. It contrasts with the deliberate delaying of decisions in respect of large numbers of Timorese, whose claims were of varying credibility but were all given credibility by the department’s failure over many years to face up to its responsibility to say something about the occupation of Timor for fear it might have posed difficulties for our relationship with Indonesia. Indonesia has made marked advances, and we should recognise them. We should recognise the current government’s strivings to improve.

It is interesting to note that, whilst we are mainly concerned with Islamic fundamentalism, the US State Department, as a fairly credible source, cite problems such as Hindu restrictions on the practice of Friday prayers by Muslims in Bali. So it is sometimes a very complex, localised situation. However, a US State Department’s document on Indonesia has put the country in some perspective. They noted a more noticeable trend over the past few years towards using broadly worded criminal laws that limit the freedom of expression. They also noted that journalists ‘face violence and intimidation from police, soldiers, government officials and rebels’. There are instances such as the persecution of the Ahmadi sect of Islam on 15 July and, in September, attacks on their religious institutions in West Java. There have been dozens of disappearances, and there has been the use of torture. The US State Department has said that torture has sometimes been used to obtain confessions, to punish suspects and to seek information that intimidates others.

I talked briefly about Indonesia becoming the first country in Asia to endorse all eight ILO conventions. On a positive front, the Indonesian police force has worked with the ILO to change practices in regard to demonstrations and industrial action. However, on the other front, the imposition of export processing zones has meant that there are exceptions to Indonesian laws in labour matters, which mean that there are still difficulties for union organisation in the country.

On ethnic matters, in 2004 the Attorney-General found that 60 articles of law discriminated against the Chinese minority. Whilst noting that, and having concerns about that, we should not shy away from the fact that the Indonesian regime is actually doing something about it and is tackling it. In May 2004 Sidney Jones, a renowned human rights activist whom I had the pleasure to meet in New York a decade or so ago over Timor, was refused a work visa and stay rights in Indonesia because of her criticism of the regime. We see a continued colonial presence in Papua based upon rather dubious legal foundations of a so-called ‘vote of free choice’. Indonesia is determined to hold onto that because of the vital mining deposits in the country, as is most clearly shown in Freeport.

In conclusion, I commend the member for Wakefield for bringing forward this motion. It does cite a very graphic, horrible instance, and we would hope that the Indonesian authorities press home investigations and reprimand the culprits. We should recognise the very real advances in Indonesia in the last few years but at the same time the complexity of the situation and sometimes reversions.

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