Indonesia's World Peace Event Contradicted by Arrests of Peaceful Activists

by Daniel J Gerstle · 2009-11-27 10:13:00 UTC
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On Wednesday November 25th, Indonesian President Yudhoyono opened a World Peace Day event in Ambon, But his prized guests Nobel Laureates Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Yunus cancelled their trips. More importantly, my colleague, Nick Chesterfield, a human rights activist who focuses on minority rights in Indonesia and neighboring island nations, reports that twelve Ambonese activists were arrested by Indonesian police before the peace event.

The gong came as a Papuan political prisoner, among many peaceful activists put in jail for advocating greater self-determination for Melanesians in eastern Indonesia, as beaten by four jailed former security men.

If you want to write to authorities about these issues and keep up on Indonesian peace and contradictions, see the latest reports here. If you'd like to subscribe to alerts, write here: west_papua_media_alerts-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

[Photo: Indonesian President Yudhoyono at London Summit, Hugo Philpott]

Daniel J Gerstle is a journalist, human rights researcher, and humanitarian aid consultant. He is Editor and Chief Correspondent for HELO: The Crisis Story Magazine.
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