Human Rights and Democracy in Indonesia

Join for an in-conversation with Human Rights Watch’s Indonesia Researcher Andreas Harsono, and the University of Sydney’s Sydney Peace Foundation’s, Melanie Morrison, as they discuss the state of human rights in Indonesia under the new president-elect Prabowo Subianto. Presidential elections on February 14, 2024 were won by Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo, a retired general implicated in a 1983 massacre in East Timor and other grave abuses over many years. Prabowo takes office on 20 October 2024. In this discussion, Andreas will delve into the state of human rights in Indonesia now and share his concerns for the future. His address will be followed by an extended Q&A session.

Associate Professor Jake Lynch from the School of Social and Political Sciences will deliver the introductory remarks. 

This event is hosted by the University of Sydney's Master of Social Justice program and the Sydney Peace Foundation in partnership with Human Rights Watch. 

Andreas Harsono has covered Indonesia for Human Rights Watch since 2008. Before joining Human Rights Watch, he helped found the Jakarta-based Institute for the Studies on Free Flow of Information in 1995, and in 2003 he helped create the Pantau Foundation, a journalist training organization also based in Jakarta. A staunch backer of the free press, Harsono also helped establish Jakarta’s Alliance of Independent Journalists in 1994 and Bangkok’s South East Asia Press Alliance in 1998. Harsono began his career as a reporter for the Bangkok-based Nation and the Kuala Lumpur-based Star newspapers, and he edited Pantau, a monthly magazine on media and journalism in Jakarta. In Indonesian Malay, his published books include Jurnalisme Sastrawi: Antologi Liputan Mendalam dan Memikat (with Budi Setiyono) and “Agama” Saya Adalah Jurnalisme as well as in English Race, Islam and Power: Ethnic and Religious Violence in Post-Suharto Indonesia.