Indonesia says to ease Papua reporting curbs, frees prisoners

Yahoo – AFP, May 10, 2015

Indonesian leader grants clemency to Papuan political prisoners

Abepura (Indonesia) (AFP) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Saturday decades-old reporting restrictions for foreign journalists in Papua would be lifted and ordered the release of a group of political prisoners in the insurgency-hit eastern province.

The moves signalled that Widodo, who took office last year, is easing the tight grip that Jakarta has long kept on the mineral-rich province, where poorly armed fighters have for years fought a low-level insurgency against the central government.

Widodo has taken a keen interest in Papua, pledging to improve livelihoods in the heavily-militarised area which lags behind other parts of Indonesia in terms of development.

He revealed in an interview with a group of reporters in Abepura, Papua, that from Sunday foreign journalists would be allowed full access.

"Tomorrow I will declare it," he said. However, implementing the change could prove tough.

Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono predicted there would be resistance from some quarters, including the foreign ministry which currently oversees the visa issuing process.

He said there would also be "a lot of pressure to implement it" in the coming months.

Indonesia has long been deeply sensitive about foreign journalists covering Papua. Applying for permission to go there is complex, and it is rarely granted.

Punishments for foreigners caught illegally reporting can be harsh -- two French journalists were given short jail terms last year for trying to make a documentary on the separatist movement without authorisation.

Presidential clemency

The disclosure came shortly after five political prisoners -- convicted over a 2003 raid on an Indonesian military weapons arsenal -- were granted clemency by Widodo. They will soon walkfree from Abepura prison.

Dozens of Papuan separatists are in jail for committing treason for acts such as raising the pro-independence "Morning Star" flag and taking part in anti-government protests.

Widodo shook hands with the five ethnic Melanesian prisoners at the prison, presenting each with a letter confirming the remainder of their sentences was being waived.

"Today we are releasing these five detainees to stop the stigma of conflict in Papua," he told reporters at the prison.

"We need to create a sense of peace in Papua. This is just the beginning."

The release marks a change in approach from previous governments. During the 10-year rule of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, only one political prisoner in Papua was granted clemency, according to Human Rights Watch.

However Human Rights Watch's Harsono called on Widodo to go further by offering prisoners amnesties. Prisoners have to request clemency and admit guilt before it is granted, but this is not a requirement for an amnesty.

There are still regular flare-ups of violence in Papua, where insurgents are fighting on behalf of the mostly ethnic Melanesian population.

Indonesian troops are regularly accused of abusing Papuan villagers in the name of anti-rebel operations, but Jakarta denies allegations of systematic human rights abuses.

Jakarta took control of Papua, which forms half of the island of New Guinea, in 1963 from former colonial power the Netherlands.