A Note on Secure Campaigning

West Papua’s self-determination is a very sensitive discourse within Indonesia. West Papuans and Indonesians have been arrested and persecuted for advocating basic human rights in West Papua, as seen in the cases of political prisoners, and rights defenders now living in exile.

 

State-sponsored trolls and bots are operating in various online spaces to harass and monitor West Papuans and advocates alike. Our social media inboxes and comment areas are spammed with hate messages and fake news aiming to vilify the struggle for self-determination.

 

Recognizing that even human rights lawyers and paralegal workers are under attack and work under limited capacity, let us do our best to minimize the risks so that we may be more effective in meeting the goals of our campaigns.

 

Many of our international solidarity campaigns are conducted online and so we are issuing this note to remind everyone to observe secure online campaigning, for our personal and organizational safety, as well as for the safety of the people we are standing in solidarity with.