Calls for censure of Indonesia’s human rights record at APEC
Businessman and human rights activist Ian Melrose has thrown half a million dollars of his own funds behind an ad campaign aiming to highlight inherent contradictions in the War on Terror. The ads point out that while fighting terror in the Middle East, the USA and Australia have continued to supply weapons to the Indonesian military, which the ads suggest has itself acted like a terrorist organisation. While President Indonesian Susilo Bambang maintains his government is serious about reforming the military, critics say the small number of people prosecuted for war crimes proves this isn’t the case. Ian Melrose wants to throw a spotlight on the deaths of one hundred and eighty three thousand East Timorese people under the Indonesian occupation and the an estimated one hundred thousand deaths in West Papua. He’s speaking here about his hopes for the campaign.