A rights group is calling on Indonesia's military to end an illegal surveillance program against ordinary citizens in the restive region of Papua.

Human Rights Watch said Sunday that recently leaked documents, some of them written by Indonesia's notorious Kopassus special forces unit and dating back as far as 2006, reveal a “deep military paranoia” toward free political expression by Papua's indigenous Melanesian majority.

HRW deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson said that by treating news conferences, demonstrations and meetings as clandestine criminal activities, the Indonesian military shows its disregard for fundamental rights in Papua.

Pearson called on the military to immediately end its harassment and surveillance of civil society.