Indonesia’s Jokowi must apologise for Papua internet throttling amid last year’s unrest, court rules
- As unrest flared across the provinces of Papua and West Papua, the government said it slowed internet access to ‘prevent hoaxes from spreading’
- In Wednesday’s ruling a Jakarta court ordered the central government, including the president, to apologise for its actions
Explained: what led to the violent riots in Indonesia’s Papua?
As unrest flared across the provinces of Papua and West Papua, the government said it throttled internet access to “prevent hoaxes from spreading” because this could trigger more violence.
In Wednesday’s ruling, the Jakarta administrative court ordered the central government, including Widodo, to make an official apology for “slowing and/or cutting internet access” to the Indonesian people and media organisations.
The court ordered the government to publish the apology in three national newspapers and broadcast it on six television stations within one month of the ruling.
“There is no guarantee the government won’t do this again, but morally it’s been proven that what they did was not right,” said Ade Wahyudin, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, noting the government had 14 days to decide whether to appeal.
A presidential spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
In an interview with Reuters last year, Communications Minister Johnny G. Plate defended the move.
“When there’s civil disobedience, that is not repressive,” he said. “That is restoring the situation back to normal.”
Reporting in Papua, where some have long advocated for independence from Indonesia, has been frequently restricted for the foreign media.