Dozens of British protesters condemned alleged torture in Indonesia as the Indonesian President, Susilo Banbang Youdhoyono, received a royal welcome upon his first visit to Britain in over 30 years. The president will address parliament and open a new ‘Indonesia-UK Business forum’ during his 3 day visit.
Activists accused Britain of prioritising their commercial interests ahead of human rights issues that were affecting the Indonesian minorities. The protests were staged by several activists from Amnesty International and other non-governmental Indonesian organisations.
Speaking to Reuters, one protester said,
“The West Papuans are being held, tortured and killed and all England and the whole European Union do is back him (yudhoyono) up – they are only in it for the money,”
Indonesia’s government and military have been criticised for human rights abuses since they took power in 1969 amidst a controversial voting process.
Though Indonesia has one of the world’s fastest growing economies and is perceived as a democratic country, observers have noted that a tight military reign is held on the area of Papua, which incidentally exhibits one of the largest gold reserves.
