In the twelve years since the fall of President Suharto, some progress has been made in the direction of democracy. However, Indonesians still face many challenges, such as continuing military impunity and unresolved social injustice in the West Papua province.

The Indonesian Solidarity Forum has invited two leading human rights lawyers from Jakarta and West Papua to explore the profile of Indonesian democracy, human rights and peace resolution in the past, present and future.

Speaker Profiles:

• Usman Hamid is the Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) in Jakarta. He has been sued for criminal defamation by the retired State Intelligence Agency head, General Muchdi Purwopranjono, who is alleged to have orchestrated the murder of a leading human rights lawyer, Munir Said Thalib. Mr Hamid will speak on the issue of legal impunity and democratic consolidation in Indonesia.

• Yan Christian Warinussy is a human rights lawyer and the Director of the Institute for Research, Analysis and Development of Legal Aid in West Papua. He was the winner of the 2004 John Humphrey Freedom Award, for his ongoing efforts to expose human rights violations in West Papua. Mr Warinussy will discuss the prospect of political dialogue between Jakarta and West Papua in order to address the social injustice in the province.

• David O’Shea is a journalist from Dateline, SBS TV. He has reported on Indonesia for many years and will act as chairman for this forum.

Should you require further information about this forum, please contact Dr John Rawson:

Email: indonesian_solidarity@yahoo.com.au

Phone: 02 92173874

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