<p>Paris-Jakarta-Bangkok, 21 September 2011. The recent spike in violent incidents in Papua in July and August underscore the urgent need for Jakarta to re-assess its military approach to solve the situation of unrest in the region and to place the respect for human rights at the heart of conflict resolution policies and practices, said the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) today.</p>

<p>A second brutal mob attack on Indonesia&rsquo;s Ahmadiyya last week, as well as the harsh sentencing of an Ahmadi victim in a previous attack, are further proof of a troubling downward spiral in religious freedom in Indonesia. Freedom House calls on the Indonesian government to step up its efforts to protect its minority faith communities through effective law enforcement, appropriate and unbiased application of the law, and an active role in promoting religious tolerance at all levels.</p>

<p>(3 August 2011, Bangkok) The lenient sentences of 12 men who were implicated in a brutal mob attack against members of the Ahmadiyah community in Banten, Indonesia will perpetuate impunity of crimes against religious minorities, warned the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), a regional human rights organization and its member, Imparsial.</p>

<p>Policemen attacked four Indonesian journalists while they were covering a peaceful rally staged by the Chinese group Falun Gong in Surabaya City, East Java, on 7 May 2011, media reports said.</p>

<p>A regional human rights organisation today condemned the terrorist attack apparently targeting on a leading liberal Islamic activist, Mr. Ulil Abshar Abdalla.</p>

<p>(9 February 2011, Bangkok) A regional human rights organization condemned the brutal 6 February attack against members of the Ahmadiyah community in Banten, Indoenesia which killed three members of the said community.</p>

<p>Two Indonesian journalists were injured when some 30 members of the Kaili Youth Front attacked the office of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and online media outlet Beritapalu.com in Palu City, Central Sulawesi, on 30 December at 10:30 am local time.</p>

<p>President Barack Obama&rsquo;s trip to Southeast Asia provides a critical opportunity to reaffirm the United States&rsquo; commitment to human rights and democracy in the region.&nbsp; His stop in Jakarta should be used to recognize the potential of Indonesia in particular as a long-term partner of the U.S. in promoting respect for human dignity throughout the region.</p>

<p>The massacre of 31 journalists in Maguindanao, the Philippines, on 23 November 2009, most graphically illustrates the violence and impunity that threaten journalists not only in the Philippines, but throughout the region.</p>