Indonesia’s Human Rights Hypocrisy: A Masterclass in Double Standards

Indonesia loves to parade itself as a champion of human rights on the world stage. 

On June 8 at a D-8 meeting in Istanbul, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi solemnly declared, “D-8 member countries cannot sit back and relax as genocide continues to take place in Gaza.” Stirring words—if only they weren't dripping with irony.

Anti-Colonial Theater

Retno is the poster child for Indonesia’s so-called “free and active” foreign policy—a phrase that rings increasingly hollow. Indonesia never misses a chance to invoke its anti-colonial credentials, especially when Palestine is involved. The 1945 Constitution’s preamble, “freedom is the right of all nations,” is a favorite soundbite among Indonesian politicians. But ask yourself: What exactly does “a nation” mean to them?

Selective Solidarity

Indonesia’s solidarity is conveniently selective. It rushes to embrace Muslim-majority nations like Palestine, Algeria, or Bosnia when they face oppression. But what about non-Muslim nations such as Tibet or Kanaky? Deafening silence. West Papua? Brutal repression. Apparently, in Indonesia’s moral universe, only Muslim-majority nations under non-Muslim oppressors deserve self-determination. Others? Not so lucky.

Cleaning Blood With Blood

Retno passionately insists that we cannot remain idle while genocide unfolds in Gaza. But what about Indonesia’s own house of horrors? The anti-communist purges (1965–67) left up to a million dead—massacred, disappeared, erased. The occupation of East Timor (1975–1999)? A bloodbath of international proportions. And West Papua? A slow-motion genocide that’s been going on since 1963, with no end in sight.

Glass Houses and Stones

Jakarta condemning Israel is the height of hypocrisy. It’s a case of a butcher criticizing another for killing animals. This is not moral leadership—it’s deflection. Indonesia's ruling elite sees the "ant" in Gaza but somehow misses the "elephant" trampling its own people.

If Indonesia truly wants to speak with moral authority, it must first look in the mirror—and acknowledge the blood on its own hands.