“….But violations will be dealt with”
Bintang Papua, 7 December 2011
Jayapura: Activities that are conducted by people, such as freedom of
assembly and the expression of opinion or aspirations such as pro-independence for West Papua (‘M’) which are being promoted by some
West Papuan people are guaranteed under the law, said the Chief of
Police Police-General Drs Timur Pradopo, speaking after participating
in a dialogue with stakeholders about accelerating development in West Papua at the office of the governor of Papua.
He went on to say that if this freedom of assembly and talking about
independence aspirations are done in ways that violate the law, it is the responsibility of the police to enforce the law. Nevertheless,
before the law is enforced, certain steps need to be taken. If, for
example, the persons who assemble wish to present their views, it is up to the police at the local level (Polsek) or the regional level (Polres), backed by the regional police chief along with the rest of society and religious leaders, to take action for their protection but they should not act in violation of the law.
‘This is what is always done by police officers in Papua (Polda, Polres, Polsek), so as to safeguard the activities of each side.’
He said any violation of the law will be dealt with by the police. And furthermore, action will be taken against police officers who violate the law, such as maltreating people in the community.
He went on to say that if anyone feels that they have been harmed by the presence of the police, this should immediately be reported, along with facts and data, and there will be a response from Polsek, Polres, Polda or even the chief of police (Kapolri) will deal with the matter when the law has been violated.
‘No one is immune, including police officers.’
Asked whether there could be an increase in the number of police, taking into account the current security situation in Papua, the police chief said that there is no plan in the coming days for the number of police to be increased But what is being done is enforcement of the law.
‘It is the task of the police to preserve a situation of security in
Papua and this should be done in a proper way in order to ensure that
the plans for development and activities by the people can proceed smoothly.
[COMMENT: A shift towards greater leniency seems to be in the air]
[Translated by TAPOL]
December 9, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: brutality, civil resistance, Human Rights and Liberties, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Jayapura, Makar, nonviolent action, Papua, Papuan people, Rebellion/Subversion charges, right of free expression, west papua | Leave A Comment »
West Papua Report
This is the 91st in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). Back issues are posted online at http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com. If you wish to receive the report via e-mail, send a note toetan@etan.org.
Summary: A new operation by security forces in West Papua’s central highland region
has targeted civilians with destruction of a church, houses and other buildings. Human rights organizations are calling for an investigation of security force brutality associated with the October 16-19 Papuan Congress. Continued repression in West Papua and the Yudhoyono administration’s defense of the perpetrators of that repression as well as the impunity regularly accorded the perpetrators points to the Jakarta’s ultimate responsibility for the violence. The decade-old Special Autonomy policy in West Papua constitutes a strategy for subjugation of Papuans in their own homeland.
Contents:
Security Forces Again Target Civilians in Papuan Central Highlands
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| POLRI GEGANA anti-terrorism troops attacking peaceful flag raisers, Taokou Village, East Paniai, December 1 (West Papua Media) |
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West Papua Media reports that a major offensive by Indonesian security forces in West Papua’s Central Highlands (Puncak Jaya) was launched on December 1. Special forces of the militarized police (Brimob) attacked the village of Wandenggobak on December 3, burned a church, an unknown number of houses and village guard houses. Initial reports suggest some civilian casualties, but the number of Papuan civilians killed and injured is not known.
According to West Papua Media sources, the assault on the village was in reprisal for the killing of two Brimob personnel in earlier fighting with forces of Goliat Tabuni, a local leader of the Papua independence movement.
The latest “sweeping operation” reportedly coincided with a December 1 peaceful demonstration by a large number of Papuans celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first raising of the Papuan independence flag at the district center of Tingginambut. National police spokesman Maj. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution says hundreds of troops have been deployed in Puncak Jaya.
West Papua Media notes that the Brimob unit involved (the “anti terrorist” Gegana Brimob) has received Australian training and weaponry obtained from Australia.
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| About 110 residents of Berap and Genyem villages, near Lake Sentani in Papua, have been forced to flee to the forest after Indonesian Police terrorized the village. WestPapuaMedia |
New Reports on Security Force Attack on Papuan Congress, Call for Accountability
The November 29 Jakarta Globe reported that the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham) and the Communion of Churches in Papua (PGGP) said that at least 51 people had been tortured by members of the military and police during and after the October 16-19 Papuan Congress (see West Papua Report November 2011).
Congress participants testified that they had been “beaten and kicked repeatedly by security forces both at the congress site and while being transported to police headquarters. Some participants said they were beaten at the police station.”
These accounts echoed victim testimony reported elsewhere. The ELSHAM and PGGP report broke new ground, however, noting that security forces also looted and vandalized a monastery.
The Rev. Wellem Maury of the PGGP said the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) should assume responsibility for the investigation and specifically form a fact-finding team to investigate allegations of human rights abuses, torture and excessive use of force. “Komnas HAM must also report its findings to the Coordinating Ministry for Politics, Legal and Security Affairs so there is an open and fair trial,” he said.
Brutal Repression in West Papua: A Product of Rogue Security Forces or Yudhoyono Administration Policy?
The injustice of the brutal assault on peaceful Papuan civilians at the Papuan Congress on October 19 has been compounded by exceedingly light sentences for the perpetrators of the abuses, including the death of at least three dissenters and the beating/torture of scores of others. A security force-led investigation produced official reprimands for 13 district police officers, four Mobil Brigade (Brimob) officers and one district police chief, while five Jayapura Police officers were given seven-day detentions.
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The silence of the President regarding the October 19 assault, the impunity accorded the perpetrators, and the defense of their actions by senior Yudhoyono administration officials underscore the President’s direct responsibility.
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Any impact of these minimal sanctions has been mitigated by comments by key security leaders. National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo told the House of Representatives that some police officers had taken the wrong approach during the third Papuan People’s Congress. However, he defended the measures taken saying “what we did [at Abepura] was part of law enforcement.” Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto, at the same House hearing echoed Timur’s statement. “I hereby defend my colleague from the police. I think it’s impossible for officers [military and police] to commit violence for no reason – there must be a logical explanation for their anarchist deeds.” The spokesman for President Yudhoyono Julian Aldrin Pasha also has defended the assault, telling the Jakarta Post: “In principle, we have dealt with the Papua issue properly.” He added that the police were justified in forcibly dispersing the Third Papuan People’s Congress in Abepura when it found that it was an act of treason.
Most tellingly, President Yudhoyono himself was dismissive of concerns about human rights violations arising from the October 19 assault, even when those concerns are raised by a foreign Head of State. President Obama, during their November Bali meeting, according to U.S. government sources, raised the October 19 assault. Yudhoyono told mediathat said he responded to the U.S. leader by contending that Indonesian forces were conducting legitimate operations against an ”insurgency” and that Indonesian forces came under attack from separatists. ”If there are members who have violated the laws, gross violations of human rights, then they will go before the law,” he said. ”I told him personally, there is no impunity, no immunity.” Apparently Yudhoyono public silence specifically regarding the October 19 extended to his evasive response to President Obama’s direct question.
WPAT Comment: International reaction to the October 19 assault, mostly from human rights organizations, but also from some international parliamentarians such as U.S. Representative Eni Faleomavaega (see West Papua Report November 2011), condemned the Indonesian security forces as responsible for violence against peaceful dissenters. Such international opprobrium directed at security forces abuses over the years has been strong and often has identified specific units and officers as perpetrators of these rights violations. But such criticism may be misdirected. The silence of the President regarding the October 19 assault, the impunity accorded the perpetrators, and the defense of their actions by senior Yudhoyono administration officials underscore the President’s direct responsibility, not only for the assault, but for the climate of repression that assures such abuses will continue. The Yudhoyono administration itself, and President Yudhoyono himself, should stand in the dock for these crimes.
Where Are Indonesia’s Indigenous Voices in the Climate Change Debate?
A November 30 Jakarta Globe article by Andrew D. Kaspar underscored the importance of annual international climate change conference now meeting in Durban, South Africa. While much of the coverage in the run-up to the conference has focused on the failure of many developed nations, notably the U.S., to live up to commitments made in this area, another key issue is the extent to which perspectives of the indigenous peoples are (and are not) reflected in the deliberations.
Kaspar writes that a key element of any climate change strategy is Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), which is intended to offer payments to encourage forest preservation to prevent the release of carbon dioxide stored in the trees. Kaspar points out that REDD is seen as a particularly potent means of emissions reductions because the vast majority of Indonesia’s emissions are attributed to deforestation.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon speaking in mid-November at the launch Indonesia’s UN Office for REDD Coordination made point that “Making REDD a success …will require the commitment and cooperation of all stakeholders. We must ensure that all have a voice.”
Up to now, Indonesia has accorded indigenous stakeholders little say in the fate of the forests that provide sustenance and shelter for many of them. This is particularly true in West Papua where Papuans’ objections to plans for a vast commercial plantation in the Manukwari area have been ignored. Papuan protest over decades of illegal logging either run by or protected by security forces and destruction of vast swaths of sago and mangrove by the Freeport mining operation also have been ignored.
Special Autonomy: A Strategy for Subjugation
“Special Autonomy,” the Indonesian Government’s strategy for addressing the myriad problems confronting the Papuan people, is now ten years old. Inaugurated by then-President Megawati in 2001, the plan was intended to address decades of failed development and the absence of critical health, education and other services which have impoverished and marginalized the Papuan people since West Papua’s coercive annexation by Indonesia in 1969.
The Papuan people have resoundingly rejected Special Autonomy, most notably in massive, peaceful demonstrations in June of 2010 (see West Papua Report July 2010).
While most independent analyses have consistently described “special autonomy” as a failed approach, criticism of the plan has largely focused on Jakarta’s hapless implementation of the policy. But a closer analysis of Special Autonomy suggests a more sinister reading of the plan’s impact and real intent.
Over the past decade the plight of Papuans has remained bleak. The poverty level, especially in non-urban areas where most Papuan live, is particularly revealing. The percentage of Papuans identified as living in poverty in the two West Papuan provinces in 2010 are among the highest in Southeast Asia.
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Special autonomy funds continue to flow into West Papua in a manner that benefits the transmigrant population. Special Autonomy has disadvantaged Papuans systematically and comprises in effect a strategy for subjugation of Papuans in their own homeland.
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According to the Indonesian statistical office (see BPS Nasional), the poverty level is 36.80% in Papua Province and 34.88% in West Papua Province.
Most Papuans live in rural areas and when poverty levels for non-urban populations are separated out the marginalization and suffering of Papuans emerge as especially acute. In the villages of Papua Province the poverty level is 46.02%, but only 5.55% of those living in towns (home to most non-Papuan migrants), The dichotomy between village dwellers (largely Papuans) and towns (largely migrants) in West Papua Province is similar. In villages, 43.38% live in poverty, while in towns only 5.73%.do so.
One long time observer of developments in West Papua (whose identity is not revealed for reasons of his security) argues that the combination of Special Autonomy and Jakarta’s decentralization policy (dividing up the region into increasing numbers of new administrative entities/districts) has been a “disaster” leading to ever greater marginalization of Papuans. He argues: “New districts have been formed without any real base/guarantee that public services will be improved or at least consolidated,” and that as a result, “new districts are much worse of than before.”
Many of the staff appointed to administer the new districts live outside the new districts, “hardly showing up where they should be working daily,” he told the West Papua Report. Moreover, the Jakarta central government has pressed the newly created districts to seek their own sources of financial income “opening the door wide for all kind of devastating investments without any critical reflection as to the impact on local indigenous communities such as the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate.”
In reality, a large portion of the Special Autonomy funds flowing to West Papua has been devoted to infrastructure development and expansion of services in the towns to meet the needs of government-sponsored migrants (transmigrants) from other parts of Indonesia. The Ministry of Transmigration and Labor announced in late November plans to build three “new transmigration towns” in West Papua: Senggi in Keerom District, Muting and Salor in Merauke District (see p.6 Bintang Papua, November 29).
Special Autonomy funding of projects and services for migrants appear to have aggravated the marginalization of Papuans demographically in their own lands. Papuans constituted only 49.55% of the population of West Papuaaccording to 2010 Indonesian statistics. Population growth rates according to these same statistics for dire for Papuans with at only 1.84% annual growth for Papuans and 10.82 annual growth for non-Papuans.
The reality on the ground in West Papua is grinding poverty for many Papuans and a persistent dearth of critical services in rural areas where most Papuans live. Meanwhile, special autonomy funds continue to flow into West Papua in a manner that benefits the transmigrant population. Special Autonomy has disadvantaged Papuans systematically and comprises in effect a strategy for subjugation of Papuans in their own homeland.
Peaceful Papuans Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Raising of Papuan National Flag
Bintang Papua reported that thousands of Papuans peacefully gathered at the the tomb of Theys Hijo Eluay at Sentani, District of Jayapura, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Papua’s independence on 1 December. Theys Eluay was murdered by Indonesian Special Forces personnel (Kopassus) in 2001.
At the gathering, the co-coordinator of the 50th anniversary committee, Jack Wanggai read out a series of demands which expressed support for international monitored negotiations on the future of West Papua and a referendum of the Papuan people who for decades have been denied the right of self-determination. At the gathering there were also calls for the Indonesian government to immediately withdraw army and police troops from Papua and to release political prisoners in West Papua.
Wanggai also noted the Papuans rejection of the Indonesian government’s latest initiative to evade an internationally facilitated, senior level dialogue i.e., the creation of the special organization known as UP4B – Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (see West Papua Report November 2011 for background on this unit and its leadership).
While the event was under way, troops conducted patrols along the roads, as well as in the vicinity of residential houses and shops. These activities by the security forces failed deter the people who completed their program peacefully.
December 7, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: brutality, civil resistance, ELSHAM, human rights, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian State Violence, Papua, Papuan people, Puncak Jaya, Third Papuan People's Congress, west papua, West Papua Advocacy Team, West Papua Media, WPAT | 4 Comments »
Citizen journalists on the ground have started filing the following reports by SMS (translated from Bahasa Indonesia):
(All times given are local time)
Timika
“December 1st was celebrated in Timika. The flag was raised for approximately minutes. A church service began at 9am. The military then forcibly dispersed everyone. Two people were shot (a man and a woman). The man’s name is Viktus Wamang. He is currently in the hospital in Timika. The woman is yet to be identified. Three people have been detained. The situation is very tense. People are still detained on the field in Timika Indah.” 11:30, Dec. 1.
Sorong
“We marched around the municipality office and are now joining a mass prayer. Around 1,000 to 1,500 people are involved. The police are strictly guarding us. Hope that nothing happens to us.” 10:35, Dec 1.
Manokwari
“The streets of Manokwari are crowded. People are holding a 100m long banner that reads ‘The Federal Republic of West Papua’ and includes a photo of the President [Forkorus Yaboisembut] and the Prime Minister [Edison Waromi] and hundreds of Morning Star Flags.” 11:29, Dec 1.
Puncak Jaya (Nemangkawi in the Amungme language), the highest mountain between the Himalaya and the Andes
A European mountain climber unfurled the Morning Star Flag on the summit of Nemangkawi. The photo and a video has just been released on West Papua Media.
People are now coming out of church services. More flag raisings are expected.
It is expected that tension will increase as people come on the streets across Papua. West Papua Media will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Witness contacts are available from West Papua Media at +61450079106
December 1, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Urgent Action | Tags: brutality, civil resistance, flagraising, Impunity, Indonesian State Violence, TNI, west papua media alerts, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian National Police, Morning Star Flag, December 1 | Leave A Comment »
SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
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Pro-independence protesters march in t-shirts bearing the ‘Morning Star’ flag
© West Papua Media/Survival |
Pro-independence Papuans are planning widespread rallies this Thursday to mark 50 years since they first raised their symbolic ‘Morning Star’ flag. A climate of fear surrounds the anniversary as Indonesia continues to brutally suppress any opposition, and hands derisory sentences to security forces implicated in the violence.
It is now a treasonable offense to carry the flag, which has become an emblem of West Papua’s struggle for independence since it was first flown on 1 December 1961.
As recently as October, West Papuans were left critically aware of the risks still involved in proclaiming independence. Up to ten people were killed when Indonesia’s security forces broke up an independence rally. The main officers involved have reportedly received reprimands.
Thursday’s peaceful protests aim to show there is still a strong appetite to end almost half a century of occupation and flagrant human rights abuses.
Since 1963, an estimated 100,000 civilians have been killed under Indonesian occupation.
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A Korowai girl in West Papua, which has been occupied by Indonesia since 1963
© Survival |
One of the main rallies will be held in the city of Jayapura, by the grave of former Papuan leader, Theys Eluay. He was killed in 2001 by the Indonesian military. The seven men convicted of his murder were only given paltry jail terms.
The disproportionate use of force by Indonesia, and the clear lack of justice, leaves Papuan protesters fearful ahead of Thursday’s anniversary, says Reverend Benny Giay.
Speaking to Survival from West Papua, he said, ‘Most of the businesses will close down so people are stocking up on essentials…(and) in Jakarta lots of students are leaving their hostels to go back to their families, as they fear the military. The situation is very tense.’
Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘Indonesia’s illegal occupation of West Papua is almost unparalleled in its brutality. It’s outrageous that the international community is turning a blind eye on almost half a century of ruthless oppression and unbridled violence against the Papuan people.’
There are growing calls for Australian monitors to enter West Papua ahead of Thursday’s rallies, and for Indonesia to allow foreign journalists back in.
Note to Editor
- West Papuan independence activist Benny Wenda is available for interview in connection with this press release. Please contact here for more.
- Wenda set up Free West Papua after being granted asylum in the UK. The Indonesian government wants him to return and has asked Interpol to arrest him. Wenda says the charges against him are made up and politically motivated.
December 1, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Press Release, Urgent Action | Tags: civil resistance, Indonesian State Violence, right of free expression | Leave A Comment »
30 Nov 2011
By Stefan Armbruster
A West Papuan leader-in-exile fears Indonesian security forces will violently suppress the 50th anniversary celebrations of the independence movement’s flag … the Morning Star.
Thousands of police, military and special forces are reportedly massing in the two provinces just north of Australia, ahead of Papuan rallies planned for Thursday.
On Monday, Indonesian police said no officers would face charges over last month’s crackdown on the Papuan People’s Congress.
The crackdown left three Papuans dead and there are claims dozens were tortured.
Stefan Armbruster spoke with London-based West Papuan leader Benny Wenda, for whose arrest Indonesia this week issued an Interpol Red Notice.
November 30, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: australia, benny wenda, brutality, civil resistance, December 1, human rights, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, London, Makar, Papuan people, POLRI, Third Papuan People's Congress, west papua, West Papuan languages | 1 Comment »
Papuan Leaders take a sit in floor of Papuan Police Prison. From left to right each of them; Edsison Waromi SH (Prime Minister), Forkorus Yaboisembut S.Pd ( President Republic Federal State of West Papua), Dominikus Surabut ( Aktivist)), Gad Wenda (Aktivist ), Agus Senandy Kraar (Aktivist ) and Selpius Bobii (Chair of Orginizing Commettee of Third National Papua Congress). (Photo: West Papua Media)
30 November 2011
Exclusive interview by Alex Rayfield (New Matilda) with West Papua Media
The President of the Federal Republic of West Papua may be behind bars, he may have been savagely beaten by the Indonesian police, but he has not been silenced. From his 5×4 meter cell in the bowels of the Jayapura Police Station – quarters he shares with five other Papuans also charged with rebellion against the Indonesian state – Forkorus Yaboisembut recently issued a rousing call to action smuggled out of prison.
“To all the Papuan people” Yaboisembut writes, “don’t be afraid to celebrate December 1st, whether you do so simply, or as part of large gatherings. Do not be afraid because we, the Papuan people, do not intend to destroy any country; we only wish to defend our political rights.”
Our interview, the first – clandestine – interview with Western media, may be constrained by time and space, but I can picture the tribal elder from previous meetings. He is a quietly spoken man, late in years but strong and alert. He walks tall, sits up straight and dresses neatly in long dark pants; polished slip-on shoes and patterned but subdued crisply ironed business shirts. His short hair and longish grey beard gives him the look of an Old Testament prophet, grandfatherly if you like.
It is painful to think that he when he was arrested on October 19 he was tortured so badly that he could barely sit down – or stand. Dominikus Surabut, from the West Papua Council of Customary Tribal Chiefs, who was detained with the man who is now the President of the Federal Republic of West Papua and who was also badly tortured, tells me that when Mr Yaboisembut was arrested the Police beat him mercilessly with a rifle butt, raining blows down on his head and crashing their weapons into his solar plexus. In a widely published Indonesian language account of the arrest, a religious leader said that an Indonesian soldier was ready to shot him dead but was urged not to by a policeman.
West Papuan’s political rights, Mr Yaboisembut says, are inalienable. “Whether you take the United Nations founding document, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Political Rights or even the Indonesian Constitution as your starting point, Papuans have the right to self-determination.”
Forkorus Yaboisembut S.Pd and , Edison Waromi,SH
“The preamble to the 1945 Indonesian Constitution mentions expressly, that independence is the right of all Nations, and because of this colonialism must be swept away, it is consistent with the principles of justice and humanity. Consequently, the people of Papua cannot be blamed in accordance with any law for wanting to celebrate their national day.”
These ideas, the same ideas that inspired Indonesians to liberate themselves from Dutch rule, are igniting the imagination of entire generation who yearn to be free. What makes Mr Yaboisembut’s ideas even more extraordinary is that he is urging an insurrection that grounded in what he calls “human dignity”.
“December the first 2011, is the fiftieth anniversary of when Papuans first raised the Morning Star flag. It is our golden anniversary, the year of God’s liberation” he says evoking the images of the ancient Jewish custom of Jubilee – of freeing captives and erasing debts. “It must be celebrated in an atmosphere of peace, safety and calm”.
“To Papuans, I therefore say, do not carry out acts of terror, intimidation or commit violence of any kind towards anyone, for whatever reason, whether they are Papuan or migrants.
“Do not be afraid,” Mr Yaboisembut repeats, “God is with us.”
Papuan leaders are standing infront; Forkorus Yaboisembut S.Pd, Edsison Waromi SH .behind Dominikus Surabut, Gad Wenda, Agus Senandy Kraar and Selpius Bobii (Photos: West Papua Media)
“The roots of our oppression is political” says Mr Selphius Bobii, Chair of the Committee of the Third Papuan Congress, who also shares a cell with Mr Yaboisembut and Surabut. “The annexation of our country by Indonesia and the acquiescence of the international community has resulted in state sanctioned human rights violations and creeping genocide.”
Those arrested on October 19 in the wake of the Third Papuan Congress are not backing down from the declaration of independence. “We are committed to using people power, diplomacy and the law to achieve our rights” Bobii tells me.
Dominikus Surabut says that he and the other prisoners are refusing to sign police statements charging them with “rebellion” (makar) under sections 106 and 110 of the Indonesian Criminal Code.
“We have done nothing wrong” Surabut says. “We have a political right to declare independence. We do not seek to destroy Indonesia or any other country. On the contrary, it is the Indonesia state that has attacked us.”
How can it be, they rhetorically ask, that the Indonesian police get written warnings for killing Papuans when Papuan activists nonviolently exercising their rights to freedom of expression are beaten and jailed?
Is this the same country that Obama and Gillard lauded for being a beacon of democracy?
In a widely published letter in support of Papuan political prisoners Human Rights Watch says that the articles under which the six Papuan political prisoners arrested after the Third Papuan Congress have been charged “are a legacy from the Dutch colonial era”. Charging nonviolent activists with rebellion is “in violation of the Indonesian Constitution, Articles 28(e) and 28(f) which respectively afford “the right to the freedom of association and expression of opinion,” and “the right to communicate and obtain information for the development of his/her personal life and his/her social environment, and shall have the right to seek, acquire, possess, keep, process and convey information by using all available channels.”
The charge of rebellion is also inconsistent with Indonesia’s international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which Indonesia ratified in 2006, a point which the jailed Papuan leaders make repeatedly to me. Besides, the Papuan leaders sigh, we have been left with no other option. “Special Autonomy has totally failed and even the MRP, a state institution convened a meeting which came up with eleven recommendations, one of which was to hold the Third Papuan Congress.”
Outside their police cell, in the streets of the cities and towns of West Papua, in the cloud covered mountains and on the coconut palm fringed coasts a new political consensus is emerging. This consensus has been forged not through endless meetings of the Diaspora, nor in stillborn discussions with political elites in Jakarta, nor in the conference halls of NGO deliberations, but in the furnace of political action. It is simply this: that West Papua must be free.
After the Congress three overlapping political groupings have emerged: the Papuan Peace Network who is calling for political dialogue, the West Papua National Committee who demands a referendum, and the Papua Congress leaders (supported by a loose alliance made up of the West Papua National Authority, the Council of Customary Papuan Chiefs, the Presidium Dewan Papua, and the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation).
The killings of nonviolent Papuans by the Indonesian police and military on October 19 have divided ordinary Indonesians, flushing out ultra-nationalists and their racist discourse, and outraging political moderates longing for a different kind of future than the one left to them by former dictator Suharto.
Inside Papua the massacre appears to be having a unifying effect, although Papuan politics remains complex affair. The West Papua National Committee who opposed the Congress later marched in support of the six political prisoners. Father Neles Tebay, respected intellectual and leader of the Papua Peace Network has intensified the demand for political dialogue. It is a call that has been supported by Yaboisembut and others. “All Papuans, wherever they are must respect the dialogue process democratically initiated through the Papuan Peace Conference and the Papuan Peace Network” wrote Mr Yaboisembut in a message smuggled out of prison.
Whether the Indonesian police and military act in a similarly dignified manner, or not, remains to be seen.
As I write this a long-term Papuan human rights activist sends me this message: “there’s an increase of military patrol of soldiers around Jayapura Township.” Some put the numbers as high as forty thousand. Reports are filtering in of troop surges in Sorong, Paniai (where gunshots have been heard), the border region and Jayapura.
“The atmosphere here is quiet but eerie” my friend writes. We are all waiting to see what December 1 will bring.
November 30, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Urgent Action | Tags: brutality, civil resistance, Dominikus Surabut, Edison Waromi, Flag of West Papua, Forkorus Yaboisembut, human rights, Iman Setiawan, indonesia, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Makar, nonviolent action, Papua, Papuan people, Rebellion/Subversion charges, right of free expression, Third Papuan People's Congress, west papua, West Papua National Coalition for Liberation, Yaboisembut | 9 Comments »
As the 1st of December looms, two new short documentaries published by West Papua Media take a look at the recent wave of unprecedented political and industrial action and state repression in the lead up to the 50th anniversary of West Papuan Independence.
The Third Papuan People’s Congress
PLEASE NOTE: FOOTAGE FROM TIMECODE 04:59 – 05:43, OF PAPUAN GUERRILLAS FROM TPN/OPM RAISING THE MORNING STAR FLAG IS INDICATED AS FILE FOOTAGE FROM “FORGOTTEN BIRD OF PARADISE”, AND IS USED PURELY FOR HISTORICALLY ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES. THIS FOOTAGE WAS SHOT IN 2008 IN THE HIGHLANDS OF PAPUA AND DOES NOT INDICATE, IMPLY OR ILLUSTRATE ANY ARMED PRO-INDEPENDENCE PRESENCE AT THE THIRD PAPUAN PEOPLE’S CONGRESS, WHICH IS FACTUALLY CONFIRMED AS BEING A PEACEFUL, NON-VIOLENT ASSEMBLY, WITH NO WEAPONS OF ANY SORT PRESENT BEFORE, DURING, OR AFTER PROCEEDINGS, OTHER THAN WEAPONS USED AND BELONGING TO INDONESIAN SECURITY FORCES.
PUBLIC OR PRIVATE MISREPRESENTATION OF THIS FACT WILL BE CONSIDERED DEFAMATION AND LEGALLY ENFORCED.
Credits
Production: traverser11 and Nick Chesterfield
Music: Airi Ingram and Ak Rockefeller
Script: Nick Chesterfield and Mark Davis
Video Supplied by: West Papua Media, Tapol/Down to Earth, Dominic Brown; ABC Lateline, SBS, TV Papoes, Metro TV Papua
Freeport Miners Strike
Video from the three month long strike at Freeport Mine in West Papua, police repression and actions in solidarity with the miners. Produced by traverser11 with music by Airi Ingram.
Credits
Production: traverser11 and Nick Chesterfield
Music: Airi Ingram and Ak Rockefeller
Video supplied by: SPSI Freeport (miners Unions), West Papua Media, Lococonut, Theagapaipho, WPACTION Network, Yerry Nikholas, Beni Pakage
and public domain content from: Al Jazeera English, Reuters
November 30, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Video | Tags: Airi Ingram, Al Jazeera English, Australian military training, brutality, civil resistance, Detachment 88, Dominic Brown, Freeport-McMoRan, genocide, human rights, Impunity, Indonesian State Violence, Jayapura, Makar, Nick Chesterfield, nonviolent action, POLRI, Rebellion/Subversion charges, Reuters, right of free expression, Special Broadcasting Service, Third Papuan People's Congress, west papua | 4 Comments »
November 28, 2011
URGENT
West Papua Media has received unconfirmed multiple reports from credible sources that 150 Brimob troops and 4 truckloads of Indonesian police from Polda Papua have surrounded the village of Markus Eduda in Paniai district, and are threatening to take action imminently prior to December 1st, the day on which massive civil resistance to Indonesian rule will be seen across Papua.
West Papua Media has not been able to independently confirm the veracity of these reports as local journalists have been barred from the area.
According to sources, Indonesian forces claim Markus Eduda contains persons in the Free Papua Movement whom they regard as secessionist. In accordance with the declaration made by Governor of Lemhanas (the Defence Institute in Jakarta), because West Papuan people are secessionist, Indonesia has an obligation to destroy, annihilate and eradicate them, refusing to honour basic human rights of peaceful free expression.
This is an escalating situation that international journalists should monitor.
November 29, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Urgent Action | Tags: civil resistance, indonesia, Indonesian National Police, Jakarta, Paniai Regency, Papua, Papua Media, violenc, west papua | 9 Comments »
The Australian Government should take a leadership role in promoting and protecting human rights in the troubled Indonesian province of West Papua say two leading human rights organizations in a Joint Letter to the Foreign Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd MP.
Ahead of the 50th anniversary this Friday of the first raising of the West Papuan ‘Morning Star’ flag, the Human Rights Law Centre and Human Rights Watch have called on Minister Rudd to publically and unequivocally condemn the excessive use of force and suppression of peaceful protest and also deploy Australian embassy staff to Papua to monitor and observe anticipated events to mark the anniversary.
“Australia must unequivocally support the human rights of all persons to freedom of expression, association and assembly,” said Tom Clarke from the Human Rights Law Centre. “It is not in Australia’s strategic interest to have a festering human rights problem on our doorstep.”
“The default policy of successive Australian Governments has seemingly been to politely look the other way while human rights abuses occurred on our doorstep. This approach desperately needs rethinking. The problem of violence and repression in West Papua needs to be acknowledged and addressed,” Mr Clarke said.
The ‘Morning Star’ flag was first raised in 1961 when West Papua was moving towards independence with assistance from its colonial Dutch Government and the Australian Government. By this time, Papua already had its own government officials. However, in 1962 a chain of events eventually led to Indonesia taking control of Papua and well documented military violence and human rights abuses have plagued the province since. Today Papuans face imprisonment for simply raising the ‘Morning Star’ flag.
The letter urges Minister Rudd to call for a full and impartial investigation into recent use of force, including fatal force, by Indonesian police and military forces on a peaceful assembly on 19 October. The attacks on the Third Papuan People’s Congress resulted in at least three protesters being killed, at least 90 being injured and approximately 300 arrested.
“The West Papuan people do not enjoy the types of basic rights that we take for granted here in Australia. The right to meet to discuss ideas and express political beliefs are severely curtailed in West Papua. The international media is heavily restricted in travelling to Papua and reporting on events there. We are concerned that without international attention being focused on West Papua, human rights abuses are likely to continue,” Mr Clarke said.
The letter also requests that Minister Rudd urge the Indonesian Government to release all persons detained in Papua for the peaceful expression of their political views, including Filep Karma who the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention advises should be immediately released.
“Minister Rudd should follow US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton’s lead and directly raise concerns with Indonesia about the violence and abuse of human rights in West Papua. If he has a ‘special relationship’ with Indonesia, now is the time to make the most of it and, as a friend, help Indonesia meet the commitments that it’s signed up to under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” Mr Clarke said.
The Human Rights Law Centre will be hosting a public seminar in Melbourne with Human Rights Watch’s Elaine Pearson looking at this and other human rights issues in Asia on Wednesday 7 December. Further details can be found online here.
For further comments from HRLC: contact Tom Clarke on tom.clarke@hrlc.org.au or 0422 545 763
For comments from HRW: contact Phil Robertson on RobertP@hrw.org or +66 85 060 8406
November 28, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Press Release, Urgent Action | Tags: australia, Australian Government, Australian military training, brutality, civil resistance, December 1, Detachment 88, flagraising, human rights, Human RIghts Watch, indonesia, Indonesian State Violence, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Kevin Rudd, Morning Star Flag, Papua, right of free expression, Rudd, Third Papuan People's Congress, west papua | 5 Comments »
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/exodus-in-papua-amid-fears-of-crackdown-20111127-1o10t.html
Karlis Salna, AAP South-East Asia Correspondent
November 27, 2011
AAP
Human rights groups have called for Australian monitors to be allowed into Papua amid reports people are fleeing parts of the Indonesian province due to fears of another violent crackdown on pro-independence rallies planned for next week.
In a joint letter to Foreign Minister
Kevin Rudd, Human Rights Watch and the Melbourne-based Human Rights Law Centre have called for Australian embassy staff to be deployed to the restive Indonesian province to monitor events on December 1.
Large numbers of people are expected to gather in cities and other areas in Papua on Thursday for rallies to mark an unofficial independence day and the 50th anniversary of the first raising of the
Morning Star flag.
The flag has been adopted by the separatist Free Papua Movement(OPM) and is regarded as a symbol of independence in the province which has been racked by a surge in violence over the past six months.
However, the Indonesian government considers the raising of the flag an act of treason.
At least three protesters were killed and another 90 people injured last month when Indonesian police and military stormed a pro-independence rally in Abepura after the raising of the Morning Star flag.
Video of the aftermath of the rally, broadcast on Australian television, also showed police beating unarmed protesters, including children.
As many as 300 people were arrested.
A spokesman for the pro-independence group, the
National Committee for West Papua (KNPB), has told AAP that large numbers of people have begun leaving Jayapura and Manokwari in Papua, fearing a backlash from security forces at rallies planned for Thursday.
As Indonesia remains off limits to foreign journalists, the report could not be confirmed.
In the letter to Mr Rudd, Human Rights Watch and the Human Rights Law Centre raise concerns about the likelihood of a repeat of last month’s violence as well as the use of excessive force by the police and military.
The letter calls on Mr Rudd to urge the Indonesian government to allow full and free access of journalists to Papua and to deploy Australian embassy staff to monitor and observe events on December 1.
The human rights organisations say there should also be a full and impartial investigation into the deaths and injuries, and allegations of excessive use of force by the authorities, arising from the demonstration in Abepura on October 19.
But the letter also criticises the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty who had described the actions of the protesters at the rally as provocative.
“In our view, a clear and firm public statement on Australia’s position on human rights in the area is critical, especially since there is a real risk that Australian Ambassador Greg Moriarty’s recent reference to the actions of Papuan People’s Congress leaders as illegal, provocative and counterproductive may otherwise be interpreted as supporting a government crackdown on the congress,” the letter said.
Mr Moriarty, however, had also pointed to the response by Indonesian security forces as being disproportionate.
The letter to Mr Rudd also questions Australia’s funding and training of Indonesia’s elite anti-terrorism squad
Densus 88, members of which were among the security forces present at the rally on October 19.
“Australia plays a critical leadership role on human rights in Asia and the Pacific and should take a principled and proactive stand on human rights with a key partner like Indonesia,” the two human rights organisations said.
Indonesia has been battling a long-running but low-level insurgency since its takeover of Papua in 1969.
However, the security situation has deteriorated in recent months with the province experiencing its worst violence in years.
Figures from Indonesia’s Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence show at least 40 people have been killed as a result of the violence since the beginning of July.
November 27, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: brutality, civil res, civil resistance, Free Papua Movement, human rights, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian State Violence, Kevin Rudd, National Committee for West Papua, Papua, Papuan people, TNI | 2 Comments »
Exceptionally powerful article appearing the Jakarta Globe: a must read for all Indonesians who are concerned for Papua, either for or against.
Bramantyo Prijosusilo | November 22, 2011
Transparency and accountability are universally accepted as the cornerstones of good governance. With neither present in Papua, we can be sure that the natural riches of the region will never come to benefit local communities, but will rather bring about the so-called “resource curse” in the form of economic, cultural, social and political strife and ecological disaster.
The massive destruction caused by Freeport-McMoRan, the American mining conglomerate, can now be witnessed by anyone with an Internet connection thanks to Google Earth. The continuous stream of stories of torture and murder that leak out of the region is proof that people are unhappy and that the national government is acting less than honorably there.
What the central government claims about goings-on in Papua cannot be trusted because its claims can be disproved immediately. Since the act of free choice in 1969 (called “the act of no choice” by Papuans resisting Indonesia’s “occupation”), the western half of Guinea island has been covered by a “batik curtain.” Foreign independent journalists are banned from working there freely, as are international NGOs.
However, with the advance of information technologies and the fact that more and more Papuans are receiving modern education, the contemptuous treatment of indigenous people at the hands of the nation’s police and military is becoming more and more difficult to conceal. Gleaning information on Papua from the Internet it becomes obvious that there are powerful forces at play in Papua that are bent on reaching the point of no return — where either all Papuans must be exterminated, or a second and more honest “act of free choice” is conducted, for the world to witness the true aspirations of the people of Papua in terms of their relationship with the Indonesian state.
The powerful forces bent on forcing Papuans to separate from Indonesia are none other than the central government, especially its military and police force.
Since the brutal murder of Papuan leader Theys Eluay a little over 10 years ago, the world has seen how Indonesia has yet to reform its approach to the issue of Papuan independence. As we near Dec. 1 — the date that Papuans consider to be their independence day — the world is fearfully expecting to witness more state violence against Papuans peacefully expressing their aspirations. Indeed, in the past few months we have witnessed attacks on journalists and peaceful protestors, including the still unclear circumstances surrounding the latest fatal shooting of eight gold prospecting civilians in the Paniai district.
On the issue of the Freeport workers on strike demanding better pay, the world witnesses how the central government’s actions toward the Freeport strikers differs from the government of Peru’s reaction toward the same sort of strike at a Freeport mine there. While the government of Peru visibly takes the role of a mediator that holds the interests of its own people foremost, Indonesia appears to unashamedly play the role of Freeport’s guard dog, and without hesitating to release live ammunition on its own people.
The recent armed police and military raids of Papuan students’ dormitories in Java and Bali are an indication of what is likely to come on Dec. 1. The recent Papuan voices that have leaked out thanks to the Internet indicate that there are plans for at least a “Morning Star” flag rising in Papua on that date. Although the government has cracked down hard on similar events in the past, it is unthinkable to imagine that the people of Papua have been cowed into submission by these repressions. Just as Indonesian youth defied the Dutch colonialists in the early 20th century and continued to raise the “Red and White,” so will the youths of Papua. After all, most Papuan youth leaders were educated in Indonesia, so they fully understand that perseverance pays and aspirations for independence cannot be stifled by force. Yhe more Indonesia uses force to keep its hold on Papua, the stronger its independence movement will become.
Papuan activists can also see how Islamists in Indonesia can actively work to destroy the country not only with impunity, but also with the tacit support of the state and members of the government. The Islamist party, Hizbut Tahrir, for example, openly agitates for the fall of the republic to build a global Islamic caliphate in its place, but the authorities tend to aid and support it rather than take action to hinder its activities. Islamists in the country openly work for the resurrection of the age of the Islamic caliphs, or at least work toward their version of Shariah being enshrined as state law, but even though these activities are in blatant contempt of our constitution, the government has never done so much as lift a little finger in defense of the republic and its principles in the face of these orchestrated attacks.
Therefore it is natural that activists from Papua feel that they are being continuously discriminated against, for they receive the harshest treatment for the simple activity of raising a flag.
So who is it that is working hardest to compel Papua break away? Are the people of Papua to blame for objecting to having their sacred lands ripped apart by corporations making profits for shareholders far away? Are they to blame if they do not trust Indonesia’s capacity or intent to develop the country along the lines of the constitution?
If Indonesia wants to keep Papua as part of the family, it needs to clean up its act, especially in curbing Islamist treason and protecting minorities. It also needs to open up Papua to the world and come clean and apologize for the wrongs it has inflicted on the people there. As Dec. 1 approaches, we can expect that the national government will try to further alienate Papuans to a point where the only way forward will be through a sea of blood.
Bramantyo Prijosusilo is a writer, artist and broadcast journalist in East Java.
November 22, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Opinion | Tags: civil resistance, December 1 West Papua, East Java, freeport, Freeport-McMoRan, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian State Violence, Papua, Papua Merdeka, Papuan, Papuan people, right of free expression, Theys ELuay | Leave A Comment »
by Lococonut
via our partners at EngageMedia.org
A snippet of footage and chatters around the Freeport strike in West Papua. The Freeport workers’ union says it is a matter of simple “revenue transparency”, the international trade union says the dispute “has nothing to do with” West Papua politics, and a worker recorded in his video testimony that the walk-out was something “important” and worth keeping.
05:36
| video information |
| produced by |
Lococonut |
| produced |
Nov 04, 2011 |
FULL DESCRIPTION
The Geneva-based International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), its Australian affiliated group Australia’s Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and the Freeport Indonesia Workers’ Union, SP KEP SPSI, met in Jakarta from October 30 to November 2, 2011.
In this video, SP KEP SPSI was represented by Airan Koibur, ICEM was represented by Information and Campaign OfficerDick Blin, and Wayne McAndrew spoke for the CFMEU.
November 10, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication, Video | Tags: brutality, civil resistance, Corporate Malfeasance, DPRP, freeport, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian State Violence, Jakarta, new guinea, Timika, west papua, police, united states, australia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Papua, Indonesian National Police, Law, Kontras, Freeport-McMoRan, Papua New Guinea, Papuan people, strike action, Chief of police, worker exploitaition, Tembagapura, World' s largest hole in the ground, Grasberg mine, Rio Tinto Group, Trade union, environmental devastation, worker safety, strike, industrial action, Jayawijaya Mountain, spsi, violence against workers, Laborer, Petrus Ayamiseba, Geneva | 1 Comment »
Press Release from Tapol, Franciscans International, Asian Human Rights Commission and Faith Based Network on West Papua (FBN)
NGOs meet in Geneva to address their concerns on the situation of Human Rights in Papua
Geneva, 3 November 2011
Following last month’s violent dispersal by Indonesian security forces of the Third Papuan Peoples’ Congress in Jayapura, Indonesia has been confronted with the full scale of human rights problems in Papua by the new Report ‘Human Rights in Papua 2010/2011’.[1] This was launched yesterday in Geneva, by the Faith Based Network on West Papua (FBN), Franciscans International (FI), and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).
The Report portrays the bleak reality of the abuse of civil and political rights, as well as economic, social and cultural rights in Papua in 2010 and 2011. The aim of the Report is to raise awareness of the human rights situation in Papua and to create in Papua a ‘land of peace’.
More specifically, the Report draws attention to the hardship faced by national and international civil society as well as by local human rights defenders who are too often victims of intimidation, harassment and arbitrary detention on the charge of makar (treason) while exercising their right to freedom of expression in their struggle for justice and accountability. The Report further denounces the policy of the Government of Indonesia aimed at discrediting, limiting and jeopardizing the work of international human rights organizations working in Papua, including denied access to international media through the manipulation of bureaucracy. As a result, certain international organizations are directly or indirectly forced to withdraw from the country, as was the case of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) and Peace Brigades International (PBI).
With a view to presenting the Report and raising awareness on the recent tragic events, Franciscans International organised a round table discussion. This was attended by representatives of the Faith Based Network on West Papua, Geneva for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, Papua Peace Network (JDP -Jaringan Damai Papua), Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders TAPOL, World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations.
In response to the numerous issues and concerns raised during the discussion, the representative of the Permanent Mission of Indonesia made an official statement asserting that “human rights protection is a national priority”. Despite the appreciation for the participation of the Permanent Mission of Indonesia, this statement was visibly met with strong disagreement by NGOs. They attested that “Political statements are not enough to address human rights violations in Papua, since – the reality is -a climate of fear prevails in Papua”.
The NGOs present concluded by calling upon the Government of Indonesia to: Immediately release all political prisoners; Immediately cease intimidation, harassment and physical violence against human rights defenders, journalists, and religious leaders in Papua; to criminalise torture and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture; ratify the International Convention on Enforced Disappearances; and to Start a genuine dialogue with national and international civil society.
For more information on the report Human Rights in Papua 2010/2011, please contact:
Kristina Neubaeur –Faith Based Network on West Papua, Coordinator
Francesca Restifo – Franciscans International, International Advocacy Director
Paul Barber – TAPOL, Coordinator: +44 7747 301 739; paul.barber@tapol.org
Wong Kai Shing – Asian Human Rights Commission, Executive Director
1] Available at http://tapol.gn.apc.org/press/files/Human-Rights-in-Papua_Report-2010-2011.pdf
November 5, 2011 | Categories: Press Release, Urgent Action | Tags: Asian Human Rights Commission, brutality, civil resistance, Franciscans International, human rights, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian State Violence, Jayapura, Kopassus, Papua, Peace Brigades International, Rejection of Special autonomy, Third Papuan People's Congress, torture, west papua | 4 Comments »
Below is a statement from New Zealand human rights, development and peace organisations about the use excessive use of force and human rights violations perpetrated by Indonesian police and military personnel breaking up the Third Papuan People’s Congress in Jayapura, West Papua, on 19 October 2011.
The statement by Father Dr Neles Tebay, Rector of Fajar Timur School of Philosophy and Theology, and Father Gabriel Ngga OFM, Provincial of the Franciscan Order in Papua (referred to in the NZ NGO statement) which documents the associated violence against Catholic institutions is available at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/wp-cath1011.pdfNGO statement on violence following Third Papuan People’s Congress in October 2011
3 November 2011
We the undersigned New Zealand human rights, development and peace organisations call for the Indonesian government to immediately investigate allegations of excessive force and human rights violations by police and military personnel in breaking up the Third Papuan People’s congress on 19 October 2011 in Jayapura, Papua.
We also deplore the entry by military forces – without permission or prior notice – into the nearby Yerusalem Baru seminary and Fajar Timur School of Philosophy and Theology and associated facilities within the Catholic mission compound in the area.
We call for an immediate dialogue between the Government of Indonesia and Papuan leaders to prevent further instances of unnecessary violence; and to address the issues that underpin conflict in Papua.
***
At least six deaths have been reported and hundreds of people were initially detained when security forces moved in with guns and violence to disperse several thousand unarmed people who had gathered peacefully for the congress on 17-19 October. Video and documented evidence shows that police and military officers used pistols, canes and batons to beat congress participants, and threatened them. Such actions are a violation of rights to freedom of expression, opinion and peaceful assembly guaranteed under both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Indonesian Constitution.
A statement from the Rector of Fajar Timur School of Philosophy and Theology, Father Dr Neles Tebay, and the Provincial of the Franciscan Order in Papua, Father Gabriel Ngga OFM, documents the violence with which security forces entered Catholic mission buildings, and the fear and intimidation imposed on occupants and those who sought refuge there. Bullets shattered windows, items were damaged, teargas was used, and one Franciscan brother was so badly beaten that he was admitted to intensive care at the local hospital after being released from overnight detention.
We endorse the statement and measures called for by Fathers Tebay and Ngga, in particular, we:
- Reject repressive means to deal with issues because such violent acts undermine the human dignity of both victims and perpetrators.
- Affirm the right of religious and other organisations to provide asylum where necessary, based on the universal humanitarian principle that a person exposed to a life-threatening situation is to be given protection and sanctuary. (The protection provided by the religious brothers and staff was given for humanitarian not political reasons, as congress participants sought refuge from persecution and threats.)
- Ask the Indonesian Human Rights Commission (KOMNAS HAM) to investigate the violent incidents post-congress to look at how such serious human rights abuses have occurred.
- Support a peaceful dialogue between the Government of Indonesia and Papuan leaders to stop violence and prevent a recurrence of such acts in Papua. This is in line with the Indonesian government’s own commitment, as expressed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to deal with Papua ‘with heart’.
· Ask for all people of goodwill and justice to support the implementation of such dialogue. ‘Because only through dialogue, issues that underpin conflicts in Papua can be identified and proper solutions can also be found without resorting to violence and bloodshed’ say Fathers Tebay and Ngga.
We are deeply concerned about the situation in Papua and the underlying tensions that impede Papuans’ access to development. We urge all parties to take immediate steps to prevent violence and enter into dialogue to resolve the serious underlying tensions.
JOINT STATEMENT OF:
Michael Smith, Director, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
Maire Leadbeater, Spokesperson for the Indonesia Human Rights Committee
Edwina Hughes, Coordinator, Peace Movement Aotearoa
Pat Jackman, President, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom Aotearoa
Judith Crimmins, President, Pax Christi Aotearoa New Zealand
Peter Hosking, Executive Director, Human Rights Foundation of Aotearoa New Zealand
Pauline McKay, National Director, Christian World Service
Leigh Cookson, Director, Arena (Action, Research and Education Network of Aotearoa). – http://www.facebook.com/notes/peace-movement-aotearoa/nz-ngo-statement-on-the-violence-around-the-third-papuan-peoples-congress-in-wes/256380261076017
November 3, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Press Release | Tags: brutality, civil resistance, human rights, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Jayapura, New Zealand, Papua, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Third Papuan People's Congress, west papua | 5 Comments »
1 Nov 2011
By Alex Rayfield
The tough response of the Indonesia armed forces to the Third Papuan People’s congress has strengthened calls for freedom. NM’s West Papua correspondent Alex Rayfield reviews the fallout
If the Indonesian police and military thought shooting live ammunition into a mass gathering of unarmed Papuans would somehow dampen dissent and endear them to Jakarta’s continued rule, they were mistaken. Indiscriminate repression meted out against those gathered at the Third Papuan People’s congress is showing signs of having the opposite effect: widening the circle of dissent inside West Papua and igniting international support outside.
First the Indonesian military and police denied they shot dead peaceful protesters. But that was too difficult to sustain. New Matilda received text messages as soon as the shooting started which were followed by urgent phone calls. Gunfire could be heard in the background.
When it became clear that covering up the shooting would not wash, the Indonesian Chief of Army in West Papua, Erfi Triassunu, admitted opening fire but claimed his troops only fired warning shots. He insisted no one had been hurt. Some of the international media bought the story. With foreign journalists banned from West Papua, some media outlets went to the police and military for confirmation. This is in spite of the fact that West Papua Media, with their extensive network of citizen journalists and local stringers, broke the story, verified it and began filing reports about what happened within a few hours.
A few hours after the shooting, the Indonesian police in West Papua were telling journalists in Jakarta that an attempted coup d’état had taken place and that police had used force to defend the state. The Jayapura Chief of Police, Imam Setiawan, even went as far as saying that members of the Papuan Liberation Army had attacked the Congress.
Setiawan took this line again on Thursday 20 October. In an interview with Bintang Papua, a local Papuan daily, he outlined how he thought police should respond to a gathering of unarmed Papuans expressing their political opinion: “Whoever supports separatism or subversion activity, I will do the same as yesterday. I’ll finish them.”
The language used by Setiawan echoed hard-line nationalists in Jakarta. It follows a deadly trajectory. Cast the Papuans in the worst possible light. Label them as “separatists” — which in Indonesia is the worst kind of criminal, someone who is treasonous, dangerous and violent. From here it was only a short step to imply that those at the Third People’s Congress were using violence to try and seize control of the state. This narrative makes it sound like the police and military were taking evasive action to stop the Papuans storming the Bastille of Indonesian rule. This is pure fantasy.
Initially it was reported that police and the military raided the stage after Forkorus Yaboisembut and Edison Waromi (appointed as President and Prime Minister of the Federal State of West Papua respectively) declared independence. We now know that the attack did not happen until well after the three-day gathering had finished.
After the Declaration of Independence was read around 2.00pm local time, the Congress concluded. The leadership — Yaboisembut, Waromi, Dominikus Surabut, Helena Matuan and a few others left the field to rest in the nearby Sang Surya Catholic Friary in the grounds of the Fajar Timur Theological College where the Congress was being held. Those remaining on Taboria oval (Zaccheus Field) danced the Yospan, a traditional Papuan group dance.
The festivities continued for around 60-90 minutes. We don’t know exactly what the police, military and Brimob soldiers were doing between the time the Declaration was read out and the time the shooting started. Presumably they were discussing what to do. Most likely they consulted commanding officers locally and in Jakarta.
According to Yan Christian Waranussy, a prominent Papuan human rights lawyer, members of the security forces under the command of Police Chief Imam Setiawan arrested Edison Waromi as he drove out of the Fajar Timur grounds on Yakonde Street. Waranussy reports that the police pulled people out of the vehicle and started beating them before pushing them into a police van. Following the arrest of Waromi, Waranussy says the security forces starting firing their weapons into the crowd.
This occurred at around 3.30pm. One of the first killed was 25-year-old Daniel Kadepa, a student at Umel Mandiri Law School. According to those who knew him, Kapeda did not even attend the Congress. He was passing by when the security forces opened fire. Witnesses said that he died from gunshot wounds to the head and back after soldiers fired on him as he was running away.
Video footage obtained by EngageMedia and published by New Matilda shows people hiding in nearby buildings just after the police and military opened fire. In the background you can hear shooting. This is not automatic gunfire. They are single shots. Then there is a pause, followed by more shots. It is as if the shooter is walking around picking people off. There is very little background noise. No screaming or yelling, just an eerie silence … and gunshots.
According to Catholic clergy who witnessed the event, the police, Indonesian military and the the paramilitary Mobile Police Brigade continued discharging their weapons for approximately 25 minutes.
Eyewitnesses report that when the shooting started, Yaboisembut and Surabut were talking and relaxing in the Sang Surya Friary, a few metres from the oval. Then bullets smashed through the window. According to statements obtained by New Matilda people immediately hit the ground and began crawling to safety as the police indiscriminately fired live ammunition and canisters of tear gas into the buildings surrounding the oval.
According to statements obtained by New Matilda, police, military and Brimob personnel ransacked student dormitories, clergy residences and offices. One witness reported an Indonesian security officer yelling “Where are those idiot priests? Why do priests hide criminals?”
Those present also reported security personal using combat knives or bayonets and beating people with truncheons and rifles. At least 300 people were arrested and taken away in army and police trucks where they were detained overnight in the tennis courts at the police station.
We now know that three people were shot dead that day. They are Daniel Kapeda, Max Asa Yeuw, and Yakobus Samansabra. Two others, Matias Maidepa and Yacop Sabonsaba, were allegedly found dead behind the military headquarters in Abepura. According to the Indonesian military sources quoted in the local Papuan press, the victims had been stabbed. In addition, members of the Organising Committee of the Third Papuan Congress allege four other people died, all from gunshot wounds, two from Sorong and two from Wamena.
Six people are still in detention charged with rebellion. According to family members they have all been badly beaten. According to Human Rights Watch and KONTRAS Indonesia (the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence) those still in detention are:
• Forkorus Yaboisembut, chairman of the Papua Customary Council, probably the most prominent pro-independence leader in Papua. When New Matilda interviewed him in West Papua in 2010 and again in 2011 he was regularly receiving death threats. A few people had even come forward and told the local press that they were offered new motorbikes and other inducements if they would help orchestrate a fatal ”accident”.
• Edison Waromi, president of the West Papua National Authority. Edison Waromi’s daughter, Yane, was kidnapped and assaulted by the security forces in 2008.
• Dominikus Surabut, secretary of the Papuan Customary Council in La Pago region.
• Selpius Bobii, a social media activist, who organised the Papuan Congress. He initially eluded the police crackdown, but surrendered to police on October 20, accompanied by his lawyers and a Papuan journalist.
• August M. Sananay of the West Papua National Authority.
• Gat Wanda, a member of PETAPA (Defenders of the Land of Papua, an unarmed civilian defence group), charged with possessing a sharp weapon.
It will take some time before the immediate effect of the repression is made clear, but early signs suggest the use of extreme and deadly violence against nonviolent activists has enlarged the circle of dissent inside West Papua and ignited international support outside.
Certainly Church leaders — both Catholic and Protestant — have expressed their outrage. Neles Tebay, a key Papuan intellectual, defended the role of clergy who provided humanitarian protection for those seeking safety. Tebay, who also gave permission for the Committee to hold the Congress in the Theological College grounds, was quoted as saying that he “rejects the use of all kinds of repression in dealing with the problems. Using violence undermines the dignity of all concerned, above all the dignity of the victims as well as the perpetrators.”
Tebay has repeated his call “for all people of goodwill to jointly press for dialogue, for the sake of peace in Papua”.
Political representatives of the Papuan Provincial Parliament, a group that until now has sided with the government on matters of national security, expressed their dismay. Bintang Papua reported that Yan Mandenas, chairman of the Pikiran Rakyat Group in the Provincial Parliament said “the actions of the security forces in dispersing the Congress exceeded all bounds and … were in violation of the law”.
Similar views were expressed by Ruben Magay, chairman of Commission A on Politics and Law of the Provincial Parliament who reportedly urged the chief of police to withdraw his men because the Congress was already over. Magay said that what happened was clearly “a violation” and that “no one was fighting back”.
And while a large group of hard-line nationalists in Jakarta applauded or condoned police and military action, Effendy Choirie and Lily Chadidjah Wahid, both members of House of Representatives Commission I on information, defense and foreign affairs in Jakarta, warned the government that the mounting tension could lead to the province’s separation from Indonesia. In a clear rebuke of Papuan Police Chief Imam Setiawan, the two legislators added “that the government should not blame the Free Papua Movement (OPM) for the shooting but rather the security personnel in Papua”.
Internationally, things have gotten much worse for Jakarta.
United States Congressman Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin condemned the actions of the security forces. So too has Senator Richard Di Natale from the Australian Greens who has urged the Australian Government to suspend military ties with Indonesia. MP Catherine Delahunty from New Zealand has also called for the New Zealand Government to withdraw its training support for the Indonesian police. This is more than words. The United States, Australian and New Zealand Government all provide money, training and material aid to the Indonesian police and military. In this sense we are beginning to see the early signs of what could become an international withdrawal of legitimacy for continued Indonesian repression in West Papua.
Papuan calls for UN intervention won’t happen, at least not in the foreseeable future. And the movement internally still faces serious challenges. But the Congress, the Declaration of Independence and the subsequent shooting has realigned the political landscape. There are now three main political groups, the Congress, the Papuan Peace Network led by Neles Tebay who is calling for dialogue, and the West Papua National Committee who want the giant US/Australian Freeport Mine closed and a referendum on West Papua’s political status. At a fundamental level there is not a lot of difference between these positions. They all point to the need for a political solution to the Pacific’s longest running conflict.
The Indonesian political elite and security forces can no longer pretend that the problem in Papua is economic. Papuans want political freedoms. The Congress made that abundantly clear. It opened with raising the banned Morning Star flag and singing the banned West Papuan national anthem, Hai Tanah Ku, and closed with a Declaration of Independence.
And it wasn’t as if the military or police was unaware of this depth of feeling. When an open peace conference organised by the Papua Peace Network was held in Jayapura last July, Erfi Triassunu, the local Army Chief, took the podium. In attendance were 800 respected Papuan civil society leaders. Triassunu tried to get the audience — who were mostly Papuan — to chant “peace!” in response to his “Papua!”. But as soon as he called out “Papua!” the crowd responded as one with “Merdeka!” (freedom).
Now the Papuans’ cry for freedom is echoing around the world. And it is the Indonesian police, military and their nationalist political allies in Jakarta who are helping amplify it.
November 1, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: brutality, civil resistance, Detachment 88, EngageMedia, human rights, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Jakarta, Jayapura, Makar, Newmatilda.com, Papua, Papuan people, Rebellion/Subversion charges, right of free expression, Third Papuan People's Congress, TNI, west papua, west papua media alerts | 9 Comments »
Bintang Papua 26 October 2011Komnas HAM, the National Commission for Human Rights, has urged the police in Papua to respect the rights of the six persons who were arrested following the Third Papuan People’s Congress. The six include Forkorus Yaboisembut, chairman of the Papuan Customary Council and Edison Waromi, a well-known human rights activist. RA Ongge, speaking on behalf of the Commission, said they had also called for the release of all the civilians who were arrested by the security forces and the immediate return of possessions that had been seized at the time of their arrest. The police subsequently returned the possessions that had been seized.
Following the creation of a special team to deal with the arrests, Ongge said that they had visited the homes of Daniel Kadepa, Max Sasay and Yacob Samonsabra who had also been arrested, in order to gather information about the killings and other acts of violence that followed the end of the Papuan Congress..The victims said they had been badly treated for two hours after the end of the Congress.
Forkorus who was able to meet members of Komnas HAM said: ‘As I was being arrested I was beaten and forcibly pushed onto a Baracuda. There was no way I could resist as the police struck me in the back with their weapons,’ he said, while showing marks on his body. Members of Kontras, Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence were also witnesses to what happened to Forkorus.
Haris Azhar of Kontras said that the violence against the men who were arrested was a case of gross human rights violations. These acts of violence by members of the security forces against civilians, acting on behalf of the state and using facilities such a vehicles which were state property could be defined as gross human rights violations.
Members of Komnas HAM also visited other participants at the Congress who had also been taken into custody when many strange things had happened, including the discovery of people who had been killed . These matters have been raised with the chief of police. ‘None of these people offered any resistance when they were arrested,’ said Ridah Saleh of Komnas HAM.
Several sernior officials from Komnas HAM in Jakarta arrived in Jayapura to assist their local team and have met with members of the police force, as an indication of the seriousness with which the events following the Papuan Congress are seen in Jakarta.
Haris Azhar said: ‘We regard this as an example of the appalling treatment of Papuans by the security forces , an example of their discrimination and suppression.’
Selpius Bobii, a member of the organising committee of the Congress, also told journalists said none of those arrested were responsible for anything as it was he himself who as chairman of the Congress committee who accepts responsibility for everything that happened during the congress.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the police told journalists that the police were now in the process of investigating the case and were currently interrogating a number of people as well as some witnesses who were on duty with the security forces at the time.
October 31, 2011 | Categories: News alert | Tags: brutality, civil resistance, Congress, human rights, indonesia, Indonesian State Violence, Jakarta, Jayapura, Komnas Ham, Makar, Papua, Papuan people, Rebellion/Subversion charges, Third Papuan People's Congress | 6 Comments »
Statement by Yan Christian Warinussy, executive-director of LP3BH/Manokwari
The attack by members of the Indonesian Police/Polri and the Indonesian Army against partiipants at the Third Papuan People’s Congress on 19 October was a gross violations of human rights because it was perpetrated against ordinary civilians who were unarmed and were not involved in any acts of resistance.This is abundantly clear from video which I and the LP3BH-Manokwari have in our possession and which have been shown to government officials and members of the European Parliament as well as to members of the German Parliament last week in Berlin.
The videos clearly show that the attacks that were launched by members of Polri and the TNI were acting under the command of the chief of police in Papua and in Jayapura. There were no acts of resistance whatever by members of the public or by any of the participants at the Congress, including members of the special defence group for the Congress, the PETAPA.
The videos also show a number of persons in civilian clothing, wearing short pants and shirts who are clearly intelligence agents of the police and the army, who can be seen holding pistols as well as rifles and who can be seen firing their weapons into the air, and even show some members of the security forces firing in the direction of the large crowd of people who were running away towards the mountains or to places in Abepura, in fear of their lives.
The discovery of six dead bodies following the tragedy of the Third People’s Congress is a clear indication of the use of ammunition being aimed against the mass of people.
As a human rights activist in the Land of Papua, I saw no actions aimed at dispersing the people or attempts to prevent chaos. The Congress was already over and one hour later, members of the security forces who were under the command of Police Commissioner Imam Setyawan SIK can be seen trying to prevent a vehicle which was driving along Jalan Yakonde with the lawyer Edison Waromi on board, which was damaged by the security forces who pulled the people of the vehicle and started beating them and then pushed them into a police van to be driven to police headquarters where they are now being held in custody.
Following the arrest of Waromi, the security forces starting firing their weapons and chasing participants of the Papuan Congress as they were leaving the location of that event.
I herewith, as Executive Director of LP3BH/Manorkwari and a human rights defender in the Land of Papua, urge Komnas HAM, to investigate the matter and to bring formal charges against the Papua chief of police and the police chief in Jayapuara, as well as the commander of the 1702 military command in Jayapura who were in command of the operation to be held fully accountable for the bloody incident that occurred on 19 October 2011
October 31, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: civil resistance, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian Army, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Jayapura, LP3BH, Manokwari, Papua, Third Papuan People's Congress, west papua, Yan Christian Warinussy | 1 Comment »
in partnership with newmatilda.com
STOP PRESS – AT time of publication, confirmed information that another victim, Melkias Kadepa has been found dead in the bushes, in Abepura, according to Matius Murib, the Chairperson of Papuan Human Right Committee in Jayapura.
Troops Open Fire On Papuan Gathering
By Alex Rayfield
Participants in the Third Papuan People’s Congress are arrested by Indonesian security forces.
The Indonesian military and police opened fire late yesterday on a gathering of West Papuan leaders. At least one person is believed to have been killed and hundreds have fled the capital
The Indonesian military and police started shooting at around 2:37pm West Papua time, yesterday 19 October. Information about what exactly transpired are still sketchy but at least one person was shot (believed dead), scores have been arrested, hundreds have fled to the hills and jungle surrounding the capital, and the capital is in a state of lockdown.
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A Papuan priest who was fleeing the shooting contacted New Matilda to report that an army truck passed him carrying Papuan participants who had been present at the Third Papua Congress. According to the witness they were “covered with blood” and had been “beaten and shot”.
The violence erupted at the conclusion of the Third Papuan Congress, a three-day gathering held at the Taboria oval (Zaccheus Field) in Abepura, during which Papuan leaders declared their independence from the Indonesian state.
As many as 20,000 West Papuans met, danced and debated how to achieve their civil and political rights. For three days the atmosphere had been tense. The venue was ringed by Armed Personnel Carriers, military trucks and Barracudas — a type of armed jeep favoured by the paramilitary police. Machine guns were trained on the participants and thousands of soldiers and paramilitary police armed with automatic weapons were present.
Papuan activists feared that the military and police would try to forcibly break up the peaceful gathering. But the Papuans were determined to have the congress.
One activist told New Matilda “maybe we will die but the congress will go on”. Continue it did. The banned “morning star” flag was flown and the banned national anthem was sung. By lunch time on the third day (19 October) Papuan activists, members of the organising committee and well connected church leaders heard that the police and military were going to use force to break up the congress.
By 2pm Jayapura time the Congress was concluding. Forkorus Yaboisembut, the Chair of the influential Customary Papaun Council was elected President and Edison Waromi was elected Prime Minister of the “West Papua Federal State”. The crowd was ecstatic. One senior tribal leader sent New Matilda the following message by SMS: “Kongres has been successful! No reaction from the military. God bless!”
The jubilation was premature.
Immediately after New Matilda received that SMS, Yaboisembut and Waromi read a declaration of independence. The police and military then opened fire and stormed the stage. As Forkorus Yaboisembut was being arrested, his personal bodyguards stepped in to protect him. A witness reports at least one person was then shot. According to an SMSNew Matilda received from Yaboisembut: “hundreds were surrounded, shot, beaten and then arrested”.
Prior to being arrested, Yaboisembut spoke to a journalist from Bintang Papua, a local Jayapura daily. Yaboisembut was reported as saying that the objective of the congress was to discuss the basic rights of the indigenous Papuan people and not to destroy the the republic of Indonesia.
“Although we will be discussing political rights, we respect the Indonesian government because our intention is not to destroy [the republic of Indonesia]. This is a matter of principle,” he said.
“What we are doing is to struggle for the rights of the indigenous Papuan people. This includes our basic right as a nation.”
Yaboisembut knows what he is talking about. He recently wrote a book about international law, self-determination and the right to secession — a right upheld by the international community most recently in South Sudan and before that Kosovo.
Human Rights defenders in West Papua can confirm that in addition to Yaboisembut, Edison Waromi and his wife and child, Selfius Bobi (Chair of the organising committee), Agus Krar, Abraham Kareni, Yudit Kambuaya and Jan Piet Mirino were also arrested.
At the time of writing those arrested were being detained at the local Jayapura police station. Another source reports that Selfius Bobi has not been seen since. Staff fromWest Papua Media Alerts hold grave fears that he is being tortured.
Extreme violence has been used to break up a peaceful gathering.
This was the third time West Papuans have held a congress. The second congress was in 2000. It culminated in the election of the Papuan Presidium Council which collapsed in late 2001 after the Chair, Theys Hiyo Eluay, was assassinated by Kopassus, Indonesia’s Special Forces.
The first Papua Congress was held on 1 December 1961, a day West Papuans commemorate as their national day, and some 18 months before Indonesia occupied West Papua on 1 May, 1963.
Yesterday was the second time the Papuans declared independence from Indonesia. The first was by Seth Rumkorem on July 1 1976 at Markas Viktoria, a guerrilla base on the Papua New Guinea border.
Yaboisembut’s declaration of independence in front of thousands of Papuan people and thousands of heavily armed police is a clear escalation of the struggle for independence. It also illustrates Yaboisembut’s conviction that the struggle needs to be waged through an unarmed popular civilian uprising.
UPDATE 12.35pm:
This information was gathered by West Papua Media Alerts from local contacts. It has not been verified by New Matilda.
Two victims have been named: Martinus Siep was shot dead, and Pilatus Wetipo was shot in the leg and is now in hiding.
Eight truckloads of Congress delegates were taken into police custody. People arrested by the security forces are now missing.
A witness from Wamena has said: “While I was in hiding I saw with my own eyes in front of me nine people who tried to escape up the hill behind the catholic dormitories were shot dead and were taken away by security forces in Panser [armoured vehicle]. Until now I don’t know where they’ve been taken too”.
The security forces have raided Cendrawasi University in pursuit of two delegates from Serui who got shot in the leg and arm. Therefore, all students and delegates in Yawa dormitory have dispersed and are in hiding.
The security forces have also raided dormitories looking for the Congress committee, the Congress leadership and student leaders. Delegates from Biak are reporting that a lot of their representatives are still missing.
Selfius Bobi, who is chair of the Congress organising committee, is missing.
A priest who was hiding in the jungle behind the Congress venue witnessed security forces positioned in the bush shooting down to the venue below, and forces in armoured Panser and police trucks open fire, causing confusion and chaos among participants. He believed security forces had placed themselves behind bushes and were waiting for anyone who escaped up the hill so that they could shoot them and quickly throw them into the vehicles.
UPDATE 1.10PM:
This message was just sent to West Papua Media Alerts by Congress participant Djenggo Nubiri. It has been translated from Indonesian.
“Sister/brother, I’ve just left the police headquarters along with other students who have exams this morning. There are still around 800 detainees in the Jayapura Police Station at the moment. Yeboisembut was injured by the police, he is still being interrogated in a special room. Eduard Pariri, Mrs. Sroer, Kelly Pedai, Abraham Kareni, Nova Sroer, DAUD ABON (Governor of Yapen-Waropen and Mamberamo), Mr. Jacob Sroer and Elieser Awon (ex Free West Papua – OPM - member), Mama Sroer and there are still so many other activists, youths, students, petapa (?), mama-mama (older women), OPMand others. They are still being detained in the Jayapura Police Station’s tennis court since last night. The repressive and violent act by the authority has caused a lot of injuries to the people, some fractured their skulls, broke their legs, while others suffer serious injuries. We had to sign the letter stating we’ve committed criminal acts as they did not allow us to defend ourselves.”
more information as it becomes available.
October 20, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Urgent Action | Tags: brutality, civil resistance, Congress, human rights, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Jayapura, Papua, Papuan people, right of free expression, Theys ELuay, TNI, Universal Right to Self Determination, west papua, west papua media alerts | 17 Comments »
URGENT ACTION – BREAKING NEWS
WESTPAPUAMEDIA.INFO and local sources
October 19, 2011
1400 JAYAPURA : Indonesian troops and police have amassed outside the Third Papuan Peoples‘ Congress in a show of force that credible sources arereporting is to forcibly break up a peaceful gathering of thousands of Papuans in Taboria oval (Zaccheus Field), Abepura, Jayapura, the capital of West Papua.
The Third Papuan People’s Congress is being held for the second time since Indonesia’s invasion in 1963. Papuan delegates openly discussed their rights to self-determination and the pathways to a referendum on the future of West Papua. Forkorus Yaboisembut, the chair of the Papuan Customary Council was quoted in Papuan media sources as saying that the Congress is “part of the struggle of indigenous Papuans to enforce their fundamental rights.” He argued that Papuans are not seeking to undermine or destroy Indonesia. however “we strive to uphold our fundamental rights, including political rights, including the right to independence as a nation…. And whatever be produced, the Government of Indonesia should able to appreciate it.”
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Photos and video sent live from Petapa Community security forces and West Papua Media stringers are showing a massive buildup of military hardware surrounding the conference venue, where up to 20,000 people have been gathering since October 16 to determine their pathway to self-determination. Occupying
Indonesian military forces have made regular public pronouncements in recent days that they will not allow any gathering to threaten the unity of the
Republic of Indonesia, and peaceful discussion is of this is also banned.
The congress is still continuing. According to witnesses the military presence is strong and fully armed with automatic weapons. Army Panser armed personnel carriers and Police Barracudas are present but they appear not to have made moves to physically break-up the gathering. However, the presence of the security forces seems to have deterred some from attending.
Sources at Congress from Church, West Papua National Authority, Dewan Adat Papua and West Papuan National Cmmittee representatives that they are all prepared to stay and continue to meet until finished. Not sure when that will be. They are in the process of discussing a transitional / parallel government structure.
Delegates of the conference have sent out a series of urgent messages to the international community demanding that act immediately to stop a brutal Indonesian military action that is set to forcibly breakup the historic gathering.
Markus Haluk, the leader of a Papuan youth organization, sent a plea via text message, saying that it’s an “emergency situation.” He wrote, ”In some moments possibly we will be massacred and there will be a bloodbath.” Haluk asked international supporters to tell the Kapolda (Head of Police) and the Pangdam (Military Commander for Papua Erfi Triassunu) in Jayapura to retrieve their troops.
Text messages sent to the military commanders from international supporters demand “The world is watching the 3rd Papuan National Congress. Remove troops and police now. Let West Papuans exercise their human right to gather and discuss their future without violence”.
The Australian Greens have also expressed deep concern. “The Congress is a peaceful event, and the Papuan people have a right to assemble and discuss their future,” said Greens West Papua spokesperson, Senator Richard Di Natale, from the Australian Parliament today. “To meet without threat of violence is a fundamental human right that all citizens enjoy.”
Senator Di Natale has also been in contact with the Indonesia Embassy in Canberra today to convey the concern.
“No level of violence is acceptable at a peaceful gathering,” added Senator Di Natale. “The authorities will have to answer to the world for any bloodshed that occurs.”
Papuan activists who declined to be identified have requested that international supporters telephone the chiefs of Police and the Army (Kapolda – +62 811 950376 and Pangdam TNI +62 811136522) to tell them to withdraw their forces immediately
October 19, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Urgent Action, Video | Tags: Australian Greens, brutality, Cenderawasih University, civil resistance, indonesia, Jayapura, Papua, Papuan, Papuan people, Richard Di Natale, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Third Papuan People's Congress, west papua | 18 Comments »
JUBI, 13 October 2011In connection with the shooting dead of Petrus Ayamiseba who worked at the catering department for workers at Freeport, the Dewan Adat Papua has declared that it is essential to withdraw army and police troops from area around the
Freeport mine.
Speaking on behalf of DAP, Dewan Adat Papua, Forkorus Yaboisembut said that the chief of the Indonesian police, the chief of police in Papua and the commnder of the XVII Cenderawasih Command should withdraw all their troopa who are currently deployed in the vicinity of the mine. He said that it was important for the police and the security forces to stop exerting pressure on the company. They should also be ordered to stop exerting pressure on the workers.
‘The security forces should stop interfering in any way with the company,’ he said. ‘The two sides involved in a dispute must find a solution together. If they are subjected to pressure, the dispute will never be solved,’ he said.
He also said that the Indonesian govrnment should urge the company to provide a clarification about its revenues. ‘If the government can convince the company to review the wages that they pay to the workers, the dispute can be speedily resolved,’ he said.
Meanwhile, the lawyer, Yan Christian Warinussy said that the shooting of Petrus Ayamiseba was a gross violation of human rights, and he hoped that the Papua branch of the National Human Rights Commission would speedily hold a meeting with the chief of police in Papua, Police Inspector-General Bigman Lukkaman Tobing to press for this shooting incident to be resolved in the human rights court. He said that if this does not happen, the police will claim that this was nothing more than a criminal act.
He want on to say that the shooting to death was a breach of Law 39/1998 regarding safeguarding actions undertaken by the people.
Warinussy also said that the company should halt all their provocative actions. ‘The company and the workers should sit down together to discuss the rights of the workers.’
Warinussy said that he was currently in Timika and was carrying out his own investigations and he said that he would be having a meeting with the chief of police in Mimika and with the company. The results would be conveyed to the chairman of the Papuan branch of the National Human Rights Commission. Matius Murib.
Petrus Ayamiseba who was 36 years old died when he was struck by a burning rod of tin belonging to the police while he was taking part in a demonstration at the Gorong-Gorong Terminal.
During the incident, another person was also killed, namely Jamil, a member of Brimob.
October 16, 2011 | Categories: News alert | Tags: brutality, civil resistance, Corporate Malfeasance, DPRP, freeport, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian State Violence, Jakarta, new guinea, Timika, west papua, police, united states, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Papua, Indonesian National Police, Law, Kontras, Freeport-McMoRan, Papua New Guinea, Papuan people, strike action, Chief of police, worker exploitaition, Tembagapura, World' s largest hole in the ground, Grasberg mine, Rio Tinto Group, Trade union, environmental devastation, worker safety, strike, industrial action, Jayawijaya Mountain, spsi, violence against workers, Laborer, Petrus Ayamiseba | 4 Comments »
Bintang Papua, 14 October 2011Freeport orders 300 workers to ‘go home’
Timika: Reports that workers at Freeport have intimidated and threatened other workers for refusing to take part in demonstrations and not wanting to go on strike have led to around three hundred Freeport workers being order to go home [dirumahkan'], according to the management of Freeport-Indonesia. Sixty of the three hundred are staff-level employees joined the strike that commenced on 15 September.
The president-director and CEO of Freeport, Armando Mahler in Timika said on Thursday that the decision to order them home was taken because they were involved in intimidating workers who remained at work and did not join the strike. ‘At the time, many of of the workers felt afraid and threatened. They fled from their barracks and went into hiding. The families of some of the workers who continued to work were also warned that their homes would be burnt down,’ said Armando.
He went on to say that after the strike is over and operations at the Freeport return to normal, the management intends to conduct an investigation to determine what mistakes each of the workers who were ordered home had made.
Additionally, the director-executive, vice-president and chief office administrator of the Freeport, Sinta Sirait, said that the decision to order home hundreds of workers meant that the third summons [see below] issued to non-staff employees who had joined the strike was in accordance with the Joint Working Agreement which had been agreed with the workers trade union, the SPSI.
Sinta called on all sides to respect the terms of the agreement that had been reached and not treat it as nothing more than a lip service. ‘We urge the workers not to think that being ordered home and then returning to work is only about establishing good industrial relations with the company.’
Another manager of the company, John Rumainum said that in a spirit of goodwill, the company had called on the workers to return to work. The first summons was issued on 26 September, followed by the second summons issued on 29 September and the third summons issued on 4 October.
He went on to say: ‘Those workers who returned to work before the third summons will be exempt from any sanctions But those who returned to work after the third summons, would be treated in accordance with the regulations…
He then said that all the sanctions issued by the company would be reviewed, once the workers had returned to work.
[Translated and slightly abridged by TAPOL]
[COMMENT: This report reveals the attitude of the company towards hundreds of its employees who were clearly seeking to improve their working conditions during a strike that has been marked by persistent threats from the company that runs one of the foremost and most profitable mines in the world. TAPOL]
October 16, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: brutality, civil resistance, Corporate Malfeasance, DPRP, environmental devastation, freeport, Freeport-McMoRan, Grasberg mine, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian State Violence, industrial action, Jakarta, Jayawijaya Mountain, Kontras, Laborer, Law, new guinea, Papua, Papua New Guinea, police, Rio Tinto Group, spsi, strike, strike action, Tembagapura, Timika, Trade union, united states, violence against workers, west papua, worker exploitaition, worker safety, World' s largest hole in the ground | 1 Comment »
Bintang Papua, 9 October 2011Jayapura: About two thousand people intending to attend the Third Papuan People’s Congress due to open on 16 October have already arrived in Jayapura from other parts of Papua. Some arrived by plane while the majority travelled here by ship. The police have taken measures to guard the roads leading into Jayapura by examining all passengers who arrive aboard the white ships.
All passengers who alight from the ships are subjected to sweepings undertaken by the police. A delegation from Serui was also subject to investigation. Ten people were taken into custody. After being interrogated, eight were released while two were held. The two who were held, Noak Kandipi and Henok Dorri, were found to be in possession of sharp implement in violation of the law.
The chief of police of Papua confirmed these arrests, saying that they were carrying weapons without the necessary permit.
The chairman of the congress organising committee, Selpius Bobii described this as an action of terror against Papuans arriving from outside who were coming to attend the congress.
‘Their aim is to warn delegates from other parts of the country against coming to Jayapura to attend the congress.’ he said.speaking at a press conference held at the office of the Dewan Adat Papua. He called on the army and the police not to arrest people and damage the programme of the congress, saying that this was very dangerous indeed. ‘We call on the police to release the two people immediately,’ he said. He also called on all Papuans not to be provoked by issues that are being launched to damage harmonious relations with the community.
A member of the monitoring and advocacy team express his deep regrets that emergency laws were being used in a part of the country which was not in a state of emergency. ‘Moreover,’ he said, ‘people coming from the kampungs know absolutely nothing about these laws.’ He said that the monitoring team would assist the two and said that they did not know whether the two had been designated as suspects.
October 11, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: arbitrary arrests, Bintang Papua, Cenderawasih University, civil resistance, civil security force, community safety, dialogue, human rights, indonesia, Indonesian State Violence, Jakarta, Jayapura, knpb, Law, Papua, Papuan people, Petapa, right of free expression, Selpius Bobii, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Third Papuan People's Congress, Washington DC, west papua, West Papua National Committee, WPNA | 4 Comments »
Kontras, the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence has condemned the shooting of Freeport workers who were seeking negotiations with the management of the company. Since the commencement of the strike on 15 September there has been no sign that the management is seeking to provide the space for dialogue which could accommodate the interests of the two sides.
During an action on 10 October, the workers protested against the company for recruiting new workers to replace those now on strike. We have received information that some eight thousand workers were involved in this action. They marched from the secretariat of the SBSI, the trade union, to the culverts, a distance of about 500 metres along a road that was six metres wide. A short distance away, hundreds of policemen were standing on guard.
The police tried to disperse the workers action as they were seeking to meet the management of the company.. Having failed to meet the management, the workers burned some vehicles believed to belong to the company. The police then opened fire on the workers: Petrus Ayamiseba who works in catering at the company was shot in the waist and died. Six others were wounded, Leo Wandagau, Alius Komba, Melkius Rumbiak, Yunus Nguliduan, Philiton Kogoya and Ahmad. Some of the policemen were also injured.
We regard the shooting and violence as an act of intervention and intimidation against industrial relations as guaranteed in Law13/2003 on Labour Affairs. The government, in this case the Department of Labour and Transmigration, should be playing a role to guarantee the basic rights of the workers as stipulated in that law, in particular with regard to legal procedures in article 137.
Furthermore, it is clearly stated that no one shall interfere with strike actions undertaken by the workers. (article 143) and workers on strike may not be replaced by other workers in any form whatsoever (article 144).
The presence and acts of violence by hundreds of police have damaged the efforts of the workers to seek negotiations with the namagement. The police have clearly sided with Freeport by undertaking patrols and protection of the company and have been receiving monthly contributions (see letter from head of operations no b/918/IV/2011). The function of the police should be to protect the people,
The shooting and acts of violence have also violated a number of regulations. Internally, the police should implement the regulations of the police Furthermore the police have also violated a number of other laws such as the Human Rights Law of 1999 and Law 12/2005 on Ratification of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Kontras therefore calls on the police:
1. To conduct a thorough investigation into the shooting and acts of violence that occurred on 10 October,
2. To pursue legal procedures that are impartial, credible, accountable and transparent with regard to the shooting and acts of violence.
3. Should take steps to ensure that the police maintain their independence in all industrial relations disputes so as to ensure that they do not trigger acts of violence and other breaches of the law.
Jakarta, 10 October 2011
[Translated by TAPOL]
October 11, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Press Release, syndication | Tags: amnesty international, brutality, civil resistance, Corporate Malfeasance, DPRP, environmental devastation, freeport, Freeport-McMoRan, Grasberg mine, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian State Violence, industrial action, Jakarta, Jayawijaya Mountain, Kontras, Law, new guinea, Papua, Papua New Guinea, police, Rio Tinto Group, spsi, strike, strike action, Tembagapura, Trade union, united states, violence against workers, west papua, worker exploitaition, worker safety, World' s largest hole in the ground | 2 Comments »
from our partners at Pacific Media Centre
http://pacific.scoop.co.nz/2011/10/indonesian-security-forces-open-fire-on-west-papuan-striking-miners-%E2%80%93-kill-one/
October 11, 2011
Indonesian security forces face striking miners at Grasberg copper mine in
West Papua. Photo: AP
Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Karen Abplanalp and PMC news desk
Indonesian security forces have shot and killed at least one protester and wounded eight others when they opened fire on striking workers at Freeport-McMoRan’s gold and copper mine in West Papua, union officials said.
Union leader Manuel Maniambo said thousands of striking workers were trying to prevent replacement workers from heading by bus to the mine.
Blocked by security forces, some protesters began throwing rocks. Three food delivery trucks were burnt, according to an Agence France-Presse reporter at the scene.
The security forces began firing shots and at least one man was killed, one more unconfirmed dead, one man critically injured and at least 8 men wounded.
The dead man has been identified as 30-year-old Petrus Ayemsekaba.
Indonesian security forces said six of their men were also hurt during the demonstration.
Around 9000 workers from the Grasberg mine in West Papua began the strike on September 15, demanding that their current minimum wage of less than NZ$2.50 an hour be raised to globally competitive levels.
Lowest wages
Union representatives say that Freeport’s workers, who are mostly indigenous West Papuans, receive the lowest wages of any Freeport mining facility in the world.
Concerns for the miners safety has been mounting recently as reports of intimidation of union officials were reported.
Union spokesperson Juli Parrongan said: “Our personal safety going on strike is under pressure of the PT Freeport Indonesia management.”
Union officials have been complaining that PTFreeport, (the Indonesian unit of US-owned mining firm Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.) management has been breaking Indonesian laws regarding fair strike actions since the strike began.
The union has said the striking miners have been intimidated into going back to work and to signing contracts.
Workers in Indonesia have been granted the right to strike, and under Indonesian law, they are able to do this free from intimidation.
Reinforcements sent
In preparation for the strike, military and police reinforcements were sent to Timika, the closest town to the mine.
The Papua Police dispatched an extra 114 police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel to Timika with an additional 100 Brimob personnel from Jakarta to join 850 personnel from the Indonesian military (TNI)-police joint task force.
AFP quoted police spokesman Wachyono as saying: “So far, five policemen suffered head injuries and another had his leg injured from being pelted with stones by workers. They have been taken to hospital.”
Police fired warning shots into the air after the striking workers pelted them with stones, Wachyono said, in scenes witnessed by an AFP reporter at the site.
The Indonesian military and the Indonesian police are now under the international spotlight in the hope that its track record of human rights abuses in West Papua are not repeated during the current miners strike.
As chair of ASEAN Indonesia, with its goal to make ASEAN a people-centered community, it has a good incentive to be seen as a democratic country, free of human rights abuses.
Karen Abplanalp is an Auckland photographer and also an AUT University postgraduate student on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course.
October 11, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: Agence France-Presse, amnesty international, brutality, civil resistance, Corporate Malfeasance, DPRP, environmental devastation, freeport, Freeport-McMoRan, Grasberg, Grasberg mine, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian State Violence, industrial action, Jakarta, Jayawijaya Mountain, new guinea, Papua, Papua New Guinea, Rio Tinto Group, spsi, strike, Tembagapura, Trade union, united states, violence against workers, west papua, worker exploitaition, worker safety, World' s largest hole in the ground | 4 Comments »
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