Amnesty International is sending a message of support to all those gathering as part of the Voice from the East – VOTE – campaign in Indonesia.
A video message from Amnesty International’s Secretary General Salil Shetty will be shown at the VOTE cultural and humanitarian concert in Yogyakarta, Java, on Saturday 14 April.
In the video message, Amnesty International’s Salil Shetty says:
“We at Amnesty International think that it’s great that so many of you are lending your voice to restore human dignity to Eastern Indonesia as part of the ‘Voice from the East’ campaign.
“We stand with all those involved with the ‘Voice from the East’ campaign to make sure that each and every person in Eastern Indonesia can express themselves freely and without fear.
“Ordinary people in Eastern Indonesia continue to have their rights violated. Political activists in Papua and Maluku are often arrested and imprisoned for peacefully expressing themselves. Human rights defenders are intimidated and attacked because of the important work that they do.
“We call on the Indonesian government to respect freedom of expression and ensure that security forces protect the human rights of all people in Indonesia.
“We also offer our solidarity to everyone working to defend human rights across Eastern Indonesia. You are the voice.”
To watch Amnesty International’s video message to the VOTE campaign please click:https://bit.ly/IgSsMC
Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries. Amnesty International has been working for 50 years to stop human rights abuses around the world. www.amnesty.org
For more information on VOTE please contact in Indonesia: Haris Azhar, National Executive Coordinator, KontraS (The Commission for the Disappeared and victims of violence) at +62 815 1330 2342
For Amnesty International please contact in London: Katya Nasim, Asia-Pacific press officer at +44 7904 389 103 / [email protected]