CIVICUS discusses restrictions on civil society activism in Timor-Leste with human rights activist Nelson Roldão.
In Timor-Leste, activists organising solidarity protests for the right to self-determination and against human rights abuses in West Papua – a region under Indonesian rule with a long-running independence movement – are facing increasing hostility. Ahead of Pope Francis’s visit on 9 September, the government has banned all protests related to West Papua, describing them as a threat to national security, apparently under pressure from the Indonesian government. In this context, on 2 September, Nelson was arrested and briefly detained at the national airport and threatened by intelligence officers.
How did you get involved in activism on West Papua?
I have been involved in solidarity actions for West Papua since 2016, after meeting activists from the region. I sympathised with the plight of West Papua, the Republic of South Maluku and the Republic of Aceh because of the history of Indonesian military aggression against civilians and the tragedies in these regions.
The freedom of people in these regions has been restricted by the Indonesian military, which has often intimidated people who have protested against the seizure of their land. The Indonesian military has also continued to terrorise people by forcibly abducting and killing human rights activists. The people of Timor-Leste experienced this when we were occupied by Indonesia, until the military regime of President Suharto fell in 1999.
That’s why I’ve been involved in solidarity actions for those who still live under colonialism. I am part of a coalition of student movements, youth movements, human rights defenders and victims of past abuses who stand firmly in solidarity with the people of West Papua.
How are you working for the West Papuan cause?
We have been lobbying foreign activists to support the West Papuan struggle, writing about events in West Papua, showing films and holding press conferences and seminars. We have also organised protests in front of the Indonesian embassy with other international solidarity activists, and we maintain direct contact with friends from various organisations in West Papua, as well as in other parts of the world, so we coordinate our actions with them.
Why were you arrested?
Ahead of the Pope’s visit to Timor-Leste from 9 to 11 September, restrictions were placed on all protests in solidarity with West Papua. These restrictions are unconstitutional because they contradict articles 10 and 40 of the constitution, on the right to solidarity and the right to freedom of expression. The authorities are failing to fulfil their obligations under the constitution and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which Timor-Leste has ratified. Instead, they appear to be doing the bidding of the Indonesian authorities.
In this context, on 2 September I went to Nicolau Lobato International Airport to accompany a West Papuan friend who was returning to Indonesia. As he passed through immigration, I noticed intelligence officers were watching me. As I was walking back to my motorbike outside the airport, the intelligence officers stopped me because I was carrying a ‘freedom bag’, a sign of solidarity with West Papua. As they began to interrogate me, I realised that they were aware of my frequent solidarity activities for West Papua. Then one of the officers suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. They also kicked me until a border agency commander intervened.
What happened when you were detained?
I was detained at the Border Force office at the airport so that they could check and identify the equipment I was carrying, including the West Papuan independence flag and bag, T-shirts and the banners we had made to protest against home evictions in the capital, Dili, ahead of the Pope’s visit. They accused me of smuggling goods from abroad, of trying to escape and of planning to organise a demonstration as the Pope arrived.
After being detained for two hours at the airport and interrogated by border agents and the intelligence services, I was taken to the office of the Timor-Leste Kaikoli Command, and then to the office of the Criminal Investigation Directorate at the Police Command Centre, where I spent two hours and 15 minutes giving further information to the police investigators before they released me and told me to go home. They confiscated the banners and T-shirts for our West Papua solidarity actions and told me to come and collect them the next day. They also told me not to wear any symbols of solidarity with West Papua or hold protests around the Pope’s visit.
What are your hopes for West Papua?
We hope we’ll be able to continue to call for solidarity with West Papuan activists, students and Indigenous people, and to fight together for the liberation of the West Papuan people from Indonesian militarist aggression. We also hope the United Nations will undertake a visit to West Papua to monitor the situation.
West Papua’s forests, known as the lungs of the world, are being destroyed by the Indonesian military. An area of 29 million hectares has disappeared and Indigenous Papuan people have become refugees in their own land, with 80,000 displaced in conflict zones in West Papua. The international community must guarantee the West Papuan people’s right to self-determination.
Civic space in Timor-Leste is rated ‘narrowed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor.