Whoever Wins Indonesia’s Presidential Election, Indigenous People Will Lose

On Wednesday, Indonesians go to the polls to determine their next president. For one demographic, the stakes of the vote, regardless of the results, remain uncertain: the country’s indigenous peoples. Indigenous rights groups that represent some 17 million people and that could be a decisive force in the elections have been reluctant to endorse either candidate—for good reason. Major questions about the future of land rights policy remain unanswered by both of them. Last September, I stood on the hills of Semunying, in West Kalimantan, on the Indonesian half of the island of Borneo. What was once…

© Human Rights Watch - mercredi 17 avril 2019