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The steady decline of Indonesian democracy

Human rights activists, lawmakers, and the church have lamented the decline of democracy in Indonesia as the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of military dictator Suharto and the return to democracy

Published: June 02, 2023 10:58 AM GMT

Updated: June 02, 2023 11:03 AM GMT

Human rights groups, lawmakers, and the church have lamented the gradual decline in freedoms and civil liberties in Indonesia as the Southeast Asian nation gears up to mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of military dictator Suharto and the return to democracy.

In a statement on Tuesday, members of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights or APHR expressed concerns, especially with the increased monitoring of social media content, as well as digital attacks against human rights defenders and media organizations.

The statement comes as APHR concluded a fact-finding mission on internet freedom in Jakarta where its members met with civil society organizations, journalists, technology companies, government, and Indonesian lawmakers.

In a recent report, Amnesty International also raised the same concerns, saying that Indonesia’s state of democracy is contrary to the ideals of the reform era. It noted that this year 127 journalists, students, indigenous peoples, rights activists, and critical activists experienced attacks, ranging from criminalization by the police, and arrests to attempted murder, intimidation, and physical attacks.

Rubbles are seen after the houses were set on fire and vandalized by mobs in Khumujamba village, on the outskirts of Churachandpur in the violence-hit northeastern Indian state of Manipur, on May 9

Doni Parera, a Catholic activist in Flores Island, is being picked up after he refused to cancel a rally during the ASEAN Summit on May 9-11. He faced a charge for sedition. (Photo supplied)

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Divisive ideologies and hidden agendas are the root cause of an ethnic conflict that left more than 70 people killed and thousands displaced in Manipur state in northeastern India, said Archbishop Dominic Lumon of Imphal based in the state’s capital.

The violence that started in early May targeted predominantly tribal Christians and left churches damaged. Archbishop Lumon pointed to the perpetrators of the violence that undermined India’s constitution and democratic values jeopardizing the peaceful coexistence and religious harmony of the state and the region.

Rubbles are seen after the houses were set on fire and vandalized by mobs in Khumujamba village, on the outskirts of Churachandpur in the violence-hit northeastern Indian state of Manipur, on May 9. (Photo: AFP)

The violence started after ethnic tribal groups protested against a High Court decision granting "Scheduled Tribe" status to the majority Meithei Hindu community.

Scheduled Tribes are disadvantaged indigenous tribal groups who enjoy reservation status for political representation, education, and employment under India's constitution. Tribal groups in Manipur protested the status for the Meitei people who are politically and socially advanced.


The Philippine Catholic bishops’ conference president Bishop Pablo David has admitted their failure to address contradictory views about an alleged Marian apparition, which recently led to the arrest of a priest.

Bishop David said they seek forgiveness from people for their shortcomings in facilitating dialogue to clarify the confusion. A former Carmelite postulant, Teresita Castillo, claimed the Virgin Mary appeared to her inside her convent room in Lipa in 1948. People began to venerate Our Lady of Mediatrix of All Graces in Lipa, but after an initial investigation, in 1951 the Vatican officially declared it “non-supernatural.”

Catholic Bishop of Kalookan Pablo Virgilio David answers questions during a press conference at the Commission of Human Rights headquarters in Manila on September 14, 2017. (Photo: AFP)

Philippine Catholics continue to be divided on the apparition, with thousands venerating Our Lady of Mediatrix of All Graces in Lipa. On May 13, Father Winston Cabading from Manila Archdiocese was arrested for allegedly “offending religious feelings” by calling the apparition in Batangas “demonic.”

The 57-year-old Dominican exorcist priest remained in custody up to May 21 following his arrest after a Catholic who venerated Our Lady of Mediatrix accused him of hurting religious sentiments.

Cambodia’s exiled opposition leader, Sam Rainsy, and his entourage were expelled from Malaysia on Wednesday for allegedly plotting “social chaos” ahead of a general election in his native country in July.

Pro-government newspaper Fresh News reported that the leader of the banned CNRP or Cambodia National Rescue Party was intending to hold a series of political meetings in Malaysia.

Cambodia's exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy, arrives at court as the accused in a defamation lawsuit filed by Cambodia's prime minister, in Paris on Sept 1, 2022. (Photo: AFP)

The CNRP was outlawed by the courts in 2017, enabling Prime Minister Hun Sen’s long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party to win all 125 seats in the National Assembly during an election the following year.

Sam Rainsy fled abroad amid a crackdown on his supporters at home. The ruling party is widely expected to sweep the July election as the National Election Commission disqualified the main opposition, the Candlelight Party, from contesting the poll.


Families of victims and rights activists have demanded an impartial probe to ensure justice and punishment for perpetrators of hundreds of alleged enforced disappearances in Bangladesh. They made the call while forming a human chain in front of the National Press Club in the capital Dhaka last Saturday.

The event marked the International Week of the Disappeared, observed in the last week of May. Dhaka-based rights group Ain-O-Salish Kendra recorded 500 cases of enforced disappearances since 2013.

Family members of the victims of enforced disappearances demand justice during a rally in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka in 2021. (Photo: Asian Forum Against Involuntary Disappearances)

Some 300 have been found and the whereabouts of the rest are still unknown. In addition, about 100 bodies of persons allegedly killed in extrajudicial shootings have been found since then. The alleged extrajudicial killings triggered a heavy international backlash.

In December 2021, the US government imposed sanctions on the anti-terror force, Rapid Action Battalion, and its former and current top commanders for their involvement in extrajudicial killings.


Sri Lankan Buddhist monks have rejected government funds for a major annual festival, Poson Poya, celebrating the arrival of Buddhism centuries ago in the island nation, to be held this year in early June.

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Dhammarathana Thera, the chief monk of the historic Buddhist temple, Mihintale Rajamaha Viharaya, said the government allocation of 3.1 million Sri Lankan rupees which is around 10,000 US dollars is not enough for the festival. Instead, the monks have already received more than 5 million rupees as donations from people.

A display featuring a seated Buddha during the Poson Poya festival in Colombo on June 7, 2020. Poson Poya is an annual Buddhist festival marking the introduction of the religion to Sri Lanka. (Photo: AFP)

The chief monk said a deficit of 17.5 million rupees needed for the festival will be managed by various means.

Meanwhile, the monks continue to walk through the streets collecting the required funds, which would be spent on making available basic facilities like drinking water, food stalls, mobile toilets, car parks, etc., for the two million people expected at Mihintale in Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of the Buddhist-majority nation.


Catholics in Pakistan have mourned an American bishop who made remarkable contributions to local communities with pastoral service and education for poor rural children. The 97-year-old Dominican prelate passed away in Providence, Rhode Island in the US, on Monday.

Boland attended Providence College and joined the Dominican order in 1949. Following his priestly ordination in 1955, he first went to Pakistan in 1957. He became the third bishop of Multan in Punjab province in 1966.

Father James Channan (left), director of the Dominican Peace Center, presents gifts to Bishop Ernest Bertrand Boland of Multan on his 97th birthday in the US (Photo: Father James Channan)

He resigned in 1984 and moved to St. Dominic’s monastery in Bahawalpur in Punjab province and from there back to the US. Boland was instrumental in starting seven churches, 10 hostels as well as more than 20 schools in rural areas of southern Punjab, where he also set up many welfare commissions.

Local church leaders hailed Bishop Boland for his exemplary leadership despite many challenges and his love for local people. 


Hong Kong’s major pro-democracy party, the Civic Party, has announced its dissolution after members refrained from taking leadership roles due to fear of retaliation from the pro-Beijing administration. The Civic Party informed its decision through a press statement after its members held an extraordinary general meeting last Saturday.

Civic Party Chairperson Alan Leong thanked “all liked-minded people” and said that the dissolution of the political party was a voluntary decision. The decision was taken by a panel of 31 members among whom 30 voted in favor of the dissolution process and one abstained from voting.

Civic Party lawmaker Alan Leong attending a press conference in this file image. (Photo: Samantha Sin/AFP)

The party was established in 2006 and grew to become Hong Kong’s second-largest pro-democracy party after the Democratic Party. Since 2008, the party has had its representatives in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council.

However, things changed after Beijing bypassed Hong Kong’s legislature and imposed the National Security Law in 2020 that triggered a massive crackdown on pro-democracy politicians and activists.


Thousands of Muslims from the ethnic Hui community in southwest China clashed with police and surrounded a mosque to stop the authorities from removing its dome and four minarets as part of a state campaign known as ‘sinicization of religion’ in the communist country.

An altercation over the partial demolition of the mosque between Muslim residents and police in Najiaying village, Yunnan province led to clashes last weekend, prompting the authorities to deploy hundreds of police and make arrests. The Najiaying mosque was reportedly constructed in the 13th century and is among the last two government-approved Arabic-style mosques in the country.

The Najiaying mosque in Yunnan province of China. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Videos on social media showed police in riot gear wielding batons as they blocked the entrance of the mosque and the protesters pelted them with bricks and water bottles to break up the police cordon, last Saturday. Najiaying lies within Nagu township, known as the historic home of predominantly Muslim Hui people.

The crackdown came as the authorities continue a sweeping campaign unleashed by President Xi Jinping to purge religious faiths from foreign influence and align them more closely with traditional Chinese culture — and the authoritarian rule of the officially atheist Chinese Communist Party.


Five Christians remain in police detention following their arrest in communist North Korea for allegedly conducting an ‘illegal’ underground prayer gathering at the end of April. Those arrested are members of the same family whose prayer meeting at their home was raided following a tipoff from an unknown informant.

The weekly prayer at the family’s farmhouse in Tongam, a village near the city of Sunchon in South Pyongan province, was stopped by police who took them away. An resident said those arrested did not violate any law as they were not engaged in any public display or propagation of their faith during the gathering.

A child stands before a propaganda mosaic in Pyongyang on Dec 1, 2016. (Photo: Jones/AFP/Getty Images)

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom ranks North Korea as one of the worst violators of religious freedom or belief in the world. The commission said the ultra-communist government “reportedly continues to execute, torture, arrest, and physically abuse individuals for their religious activities.”

US-based Christian rights group Open Doors claimed in a report that 50,000-70,000 Christians are imprisoned in North Korea.

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