Presidential pardon for 44,000 detainees, including Papua activists

The ministers who announced the coming amnesty cited prison overcrowding, due mainly to strict drug trafficking laws. Potential beneficiaries include political prisoners who criticised the Indonesian government's actions in Papua, a region that has aspired to independence for a long time. The local population remains sceptical of President Prabowo Subianto.

Jakarta (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto plans to pardon tens of thousands of detainees, including some activists in Papua, Indonesia's easternmost region (home to active independence movements), jailed for criticising the Indonesian government, Justice Minister Supratman Andi Agtas announced last week.

Up to 44,000 prisoners (about 30 per cent of the total prison population, according to the minister) could obtain presidential pardons.

"The main considerations for the pardons are compassion and commitment to reconciliation, of which are key priorities for the president,” said today Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai, who explained that the prisoner release programme will alleviate overcrowding in Indonesian prisons, caused by tough drug trafficking legislation.

After almost 20 years in prison, five people who tried to smuggle 8.3 kg of heroin from Bali in 2005 returned to Australia yesterday. When Indonesia executed by firing squad two members of the group in 2015, Australia began lobbying for the release of the others.

According to a 2020 Human Rights Watch report, Indonesia's 464 prisons house 270,000 inmates, despite a capacity of just over 130,000. More than half of the prison population is being held for drug-related offences.

Prisoners with mental disorders or chronic diseases such as HIV, those suffering from drug addiction, minors, senior citizens and even political prisoners convicted under the controversial Electronic Information and Transactions Law will be considered for a presidential pardon, Minister Natalius Pigai explained.

Among those who could be pardoned, 18 are in jail for criticising the authorities or organising protests against the government.

“This is part of the effort to reconcile with our friends in Papua. The government has the good intention to make Papua more peaceful,” said recently Justice Minister Supratman Andi Agtas commented.

The province of Papua (which borders Papua New Guinea) was annexed by Indonesia in 1969 following a referendum strongly contested by the local population.

Prabowo Subianto, who served in Kopassus (Komando Pasukan Khusus), Indonesia’s Special Forces Command, led military operations and reprisals in Papua (and Timor Leste) to crush local independence movements, engaging in human rights violations according to critics.

Even today, while Indonesia has denied access to the province to UN officials, human rights activists estimate that some 79,000 Papuans are still displaced by decades of conflict.

Despite the possibility of a pardon for Papuan activists, the indigenous population has long been sceptical and concerned about the new government's policies towards the region.

After Prabowo’s inauguration in October (succeeding Joko Widodo), the government announced the resumption of the transmigration programme. The policy began in the 1960s by then President Suharto, to encourage the movement of people from densely populated regions to underdeveloped areas, like Papua, which, according to the local population, has increased inequalities between natives and settlers.

The programme was suspended in 2001 when the region was granted a degree of autonomy, but official data indicate that at least 78,000 Indonesian families moved to Papua between 1964 and 1999, over 300,000 people, against an indigenous population of 6.25 million.

• indonesia
• papua
• prabowo
• amnesty
• independence movement
• indigenous
• settlers