[ETAN-key] Letter to Sec'y of State Rice on arrest of Iwanggin Sabar Olif

[ETAN]

October 31, 2007

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
Department of State
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Madame Secretary,

We are writing in order to bring to your urgent attention the arrest 
of human rights lawyer Iwanggin Sabar Olif in Jayapura on October 18, 
2007. According to statements by officials at the time of his arrest, 
the arrest was made under a law dating to the Suharto dictatorship 
era which criminalizes "insulting the President." That law was ruled 
unconstitutional by the Indonesian Constitutional Court in December 
2006. Specifically, Olif is accused of forwarding to five close 
associates a text message that alleged that President Yudhoyono was 
involved in a program targeting ordinary Papuans with poisoning, 
kidnapping and other actions, reports of which have recently swept 
West Papua. Olif did not write the message.

This arrest occurred in the context of a broad crackdown on Papuan 
critics of the Yudhoyono government. Papuan human rights advocates 
who met in June with senior UN official Hina Jilani have been 
especially targeted. As you know, Jilani visited West Papua in June 
as representative of the UN Secretary General regarding human rights defenders.

We are especially concerned that witnesses to the arrest of Olif have 
said that a detachment from "Team 88" carried out the arrest. 
Contradicting these eyewitness accounts, the Indonesian government 
has claimed that Team 88 personnel were not involved in the arrest. 
Any involvement by the U.S.-funded Team 88, purportedly an 
anti-terrorism unit, is of particular concern for two reasons. In 
this case, the Indonesian police appear to be confusing dissent with 
terrorism, and Team 88 personnel have been credibly accused of 
torture, kidnapping and other fundamental violations of human rights.

We strongly urge that the United States Embassy in Jakarta closely 
monitor developments related to the arrest of Iwanggin Sabar Olif, 
especially to assure that he is not mistreated in detention and that 
he is not the victim of injustice.

More broadly, the United States Government should probe the ongoing 
crackdown targeting human rights defenders and religious leaders in 
West Papua with a view to pressing the Indonesian Government, and 
more specifically the security units acting in its name, to end the 
intimidation of human rights defenders. Among those targeted are: 
Alberth Rumbekwan, Chief of the Indonesia National Human Rights 
Commission for West Papua, human rights advocate Christian Warinussy 
of Manokwari, and Father John Jongga, a Catholic Priest in the 
Jayapura Diocese. Amnesty International, among other leading 
international human rights organizations have issued reports on this crackdown.

Finally, we remain deeply concerned by reports that the United 
States-supported Team 88 continues to violate fundamental human 
rights. This raises questions about the effectiveness of any human 
rights training which may accompany U.S. assistance to Indonesia's 
security forces. Absent an end to these violations and punishment of 
those who have violated human rights, we urge an end to United States 
support for Team 88.

Sincerely,

Ed McWilliams, West Papua Advocacy Team

John M. Miller, National Coordinator, East Timor and Indonesia Action Network


cc:  Committee and ranking members of key committees in the Senate 
and House of Representatives



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John M. Miller         Internet: fbp at igc.org
National Coordinator
East Timor & Indonesia Action Network (ETAN)
PO Box 21873, Brooklyn, NY 11202-1873 USA
Phone: (718)596-7668      Fax: (718)222-4097
Mobile phone: (917)690-4391  Skype: john.m.miller
Web site: http://www.etan.org

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