ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-005-2012
26 January 2012
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INDONESIA: Military officers arbitrarily arrest and torture civilians based on false claims of rebel activity
ISSUES: Freedom of assembly; indigenous people; torture; military violence; police negligence
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Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learnt that on 2 November 2011, seven commanding officers of the Kurulu military sub-district command (danramil Kurulu), arrested and ill-treated three local activists and nine Umpagalo villagers in Kurulu, Papua. This incident occurred without any command letter of authorization, following allegations of rebel activities. The AHRC noted that in Papua, people are frequently victimised based on arbitrary allegations of rebellion, and subsequently tortured. (photo: Kurulu victim)
CASE NARRATIVE:
A Kurulu villager named Alex, who reportedly drank and gambled with members of the pro-Jakarta militia
Barisan Merah Putih, provoked
Indonesian national military (TNI) officers by claiming there was a meeting between the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and the villagers at Umpagalo on the night of 2 November 2011, at Umpagalo village, Kurulu sub-district, Jayawijaya, Papua without specific evidence. Responding to this vague information, seven armed officers of the Kurulu military sub-district command (
danramil Kurulu) prepared to handle the situation without any command letter of authorization (
surat izin komando).
After the armed officers came to Umpagalo at around 11pm, they beat three local activists, Melianus Wantik, Edo Doga and Markus Walilo, as well as nine villagers, Pilipus Wantik, Wilem Kosy, Elius Dabi, Lamber Dabi, Othi Logo, Nilik Hiluka, Hukum Logo, Martinus Mabel and Saulus Logo, then stabbed them with bayonets for two hours, forced them to crawl and doused them with water for one hour. The officers also humiliated, beat with big wood sticks, kicked and stepped on them with their boots, pointed their guns and threatened that they would cut their heads, and shot at them four times. After that, the officers
brought all the victims to the 176/ Kurulu military headquarters of Wim Anesili Wamena battalion branch (
Pos TNI Batalyon 756 kurulu cabang Batalion Wim Anesili Wamena) and allegedly examined them for two hours. The victims were then released without clear reason. Too scared to go to the hospital located around 50 meters from the military post for medical treatment, they made do with traditional remedies. (photo: wounds of beatings and stabbing)
The victims’ colleagues complained to the Kurulu sector police following the incident, but the police refused to process the complaint since there is no substantial evidence to prove the allegations and the military officers are beyond their jurisdiction based on law no. 31 of 1997 regarding military court.
Meanwhile, the head of the military district command (
Korem) 172/PWY Ibnu Tri Widodo acknowledged the violence. He stated that the seven soldiers who mistreated the civilians were now held in custody of the Wamena Military Police. They would be brought to the military court. Following the mistreatment, all soldiers on duty in the Kurulu sub-district had been transferred. He further promised that the military would no longer act “arrogantly” towards civilians. However, in many cases of military trials, which are not open to the public, the sentences are merely a light punishment, such as a transfer, which is inadequate given the seriousness of the human rights violations committed. Therefore, the TNI
jointly with the National Human Rights Commission (
Komnas HAM) should send an independent investigation team to transparently resolve this case, as well as ensuring the adequate punishment of those responsible. The military court law should be reviewed to ensure that members of the military are brought exclusively before a competent, objective and impartial civilian court that is compliant with the internationally-accepted standards of fair trial, including public access to the process, in cases of human rights abuses by members of the military against civilians. (photo: Kurulu victim)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:Torture is used in a widespread way by the police and military against indigenous Papuans, notably on persons suspected of supporting independence movements. Such suspicions are often leveled arbitrarily against members of the indigenous community and result in stigmatisation. This case is a clear example of this pattern.
Furthermore, according to the law on military courts, members of the military that commit crimes against civilians, such as extrajudicial killings or torture, can only be held accountable by military justice systems. Military courts are not open to the public, are notorious for only giving lenient punishments, and show a clear lack of impartiality.
for details of Appeals and to take action, please visit
January 26, 2012 | Categories: News alert, Urgent Action | Tags: AHRC, arbitrary arrests, Asian Human Rights Commission, Free Papua Movement, human rights, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian State Violence, Papua, TNI, Wamena | Leave A Comment »
Bintang Papua, 20 January 2012Human rights violations are occurring in PuncakThe Papua branch of Komnas HAM, the Indonesian Commission for Human Rights, has confirmed that human rights violations have been occurring in Puncak. These include a number of deaths that have occurred during this prolonged conflict.
‘While not yet knowing the motive or who was responsible, the killings were clearly human rights violations. Lives were lost which is an indication that the right to life has been ignored.,’ said Matius Murib, deputy chairman of the Komnas HAM Papua branch. He made the statement after attending a Forces Group Discussion on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ECOSOC) held by the Papuan branch of Komnas HAM.
When lives are lost, human rights are certainly violated. No need to ask about the motive as this goes beyond the power of the Almighty. The state or government have no right to destroy life, which is totally without justification .’ The right to life comes only from God and no one has the right to kill people,’ he said.
In this Puncak case, those involved were planning to conduct investigations in February and were planning to visit the site of the killings, in order to make recommendations to the authorities. Murib said that he could not make any comments until they had visited the site
Responding to a question about whether the government had been responsible fir triggering the conflict, he said that such a charge would need to be investigated. If this turns out to the true, then some individual or institution that had been granted powers by the state had failed o take action quickly enough to prevent the incident from occurring, and this is matter for KomnasHAM to issue a charge.
He recognised that according to investigations reported in the media, there were indeed actions by the government and related persons, and the question was, why had the conflict occurred and why were casualties still occurring. ‘It is our task to investigate whether actions were taken by the state and whether they were justified.’
As has previously been reported, the conflict that relates to the election of the head of the district of Puncak and has resulted in 49 casualties among the local community since 30 July 2011. This conflict was still on-going up until 14 January 2012 in the district and the government has not made any efforts to resolve it, nor have the police done anything to resolve the conflict, which is being described as a tribal war between people living in the Central Highlands. It relates to an internal dispute within the political party called Gerindra, between a number of candidates. Gerindra has turned this internal conflict into a conflict between the commnity in general which has paralysed all development activities there.
January 24, 2012 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: Bintang Papua, Civil and political rights, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Indonesian State Violence, Jayapura, military offensive, Papua, Papuan people, Puncak Jaya | Leave A Comment »
By Nick Chesterfield and local sources at Westpapuamedia.info
Special report and update
January 14 2012
Local human rights monitors report from the remote Paniai district of West Papua that Indonesian security forces continue to maintain a “disproportionate” military offensive since early January, intensifying the displacement of tens of thousands of villagers who fled from several weeks of village burnings in December.
Indonesia’s Australian trained Detachment 88 counterterrorism troops and Brimob paramilitary police together with Indonesian army battalions, are continuing to conduct search, capture and cordon missions on the villages in the hunt for the forces of a National Liberation Army (Tentara Pembebsan Nasional or TPN) commander Jhon Yogi.
This is despite Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyhono ordering the immediate suspension of the offensive and withdrawal of all non-organic security forces from Paniai, when meeting with West Papuan church leaders on December 12 at his residence in Bogor, West Java. No firm date for withdrawal was given.
Papua Police spokesman Wachyono, told the Jakarta Globe that 481 Brimob and Densus 88 members deployed in Papua from Jakarta, East Kalimantan and North Sulawesi would leave Papua by January 23. However West Papua Media understands from sources on the ground that these troops will significantly escalate the pace of attacks on civilians in the lead up to the departure. Local human rights sources have further questioned the ability of independent monitoring of this withdrawal when the Indonesian government is continuing to enforce an access ban on media to the area.
Yogi’s forces have consistently avoided capture since the offensive began, despite sustaining significant casualties. This continued escape and evasion has raised pertinent questions from observers on the real aims of the Indonesian security force offensive, in an area that has extensive gold deposits and a brutal history of land use conflict triggered by a lucrative “legal” and illegal gold trade. Several foreign gold mining companies continue to operate in the area during the offensive, and Brimob police and assets, that have been contracted to provide mine security to these companies, are continuing to be utilised in the ongoing offensive.
The systemic excessive force by Brimob and Indonesian security forces working for foreign mining interests are again under the spotlight across Indonesia after Brimob troops were recently caught on video uploaded to Youtube opening fire on a protest on behalf of another Australian gold mining company Arc Exploration in Bima, Sumbawa. At least 3 protestors were killed and 11 seriously wounded as local residents held a non-violent protest against the destruction of their village lands by the gold mine.
Credible information during the Paniai offensive has been incredibly difficult to verify due to the continuing Indonesian government ban on all journalists and foreign observers from coming to the area. Indonesian journalists covering have not been able to access the district either, despite article claiming that they have been present. However, stringers for West Papua Media, human rights monitors from Elsham, church officials, and witnesses have been able to get close to the area to report on the situation, which by all accounts in worsening for civilians. Indonesian security forces however are continuing to block any independent access to the immediate conflict area around the former TPN headquarters of Markas Eduda to verify or rule out human rights abuses, and most reports are still coming from interviews with refugees who have fled from the fighting.
West Papua Media has repeatedly attempted to contact spokespeople for the Indonesian police operating in Paniai, however no replies have been forthcoming.
Church* and Human rights sources have claimed that security forces are continuing to indiscriminately target civilians in the campaign, and have embarked on a policy of village and church burnings. According to detailed reports provided to West Papua Media by investigators, Brimob and D88 troops have burnt down 29 churches, 13 primary schools and 2 junior schools, and 13 villages have been destroyed over the New Year period. The razed villages are spread out across the south and west of Wegamo, and in Ekadide areas.
Local witnesses interviewed by human rights observers have reported that civilian helicopters have again been used in the intensified security offensive, with allegations that two helicopters belonging to mining companies operating in the area have been again used by troops to continue to strafe villages, drop live and gas grenades and ferry troops into the fighting areas. Multiple witnesses confirmed that one of the helicopters was a civilian Squirrel AS355 previously implicated in attacks, and identified formally with a helicopter identification sheet provided to West Papua Media stringers and human rights workers.
On December 21, West Papua Media published allegations that an Australian mining Company was supplying helicopter support to the security operations, having contracted Brimob paramilitary police to be used as mine security. Incredibly, the management of West Wits Mining and Paniai Gold continue to refuse to make comment or denials on the explosive allegations.
According to the report received, around dawn (0600) on the morning of January 1, 2012, A civilian Squirrel (pictured)
The AS355 Squirrel helicopter used by Brimob on December 13, and allegedly used over the New Year Paniai offensive (File: West Papua Media)
helicopter conducted what the report describes as “surgery” (surgical military strikes) on Wege mountain, and was used to ferry troops between White Sands and the now-occupied former TPN headquarters of Markas Eduda. Villagers in the White Sands area have been forcibly evacuated by Brimob troops and are still unable to return.
Hana Degei (37), Jemi Gobai (26), Oktolince Degei (20), Menase Kayame (41), Mabipai Gobai (18), Silpa Kayame (32) all from Dagouto, and Peter Kudiai, a 14 year old school student from Badauwo were all confirmed killed by Brimob and D88 troops in the New Year offensive, adding to the toll of those killed during December’s operations.
In the report, church sources stress that full extent of deaths from the Paniai offensive is still being shrouded by deliberate obfuscation and cover-up from Indonesian security forces. “The full death toll from the armed clashes between Brimob and the TPN we do not know, because our religious and community leaders have been refused access to the Eduda conflict area,” the report states. “Thus, we also have not been able to collect (exhaustive casualty) data which is accompanied by clear facts. Perhaps Brimob forces and TPN knows how many are wounded and dead due to gunshot wounds, (but) all the information is still closed to the public,” the report claimed.
Local sources have also expressed concern for the longer term humanitarian situation across Paniai when and if the offensive finishes, due to the deliberate village burnings. According to both church sources, Brimob and D88 deliberately destroyed and burnt food gardens across the offensive area, and burned down fences designed to keep livestock out. Surviving cattle have been moving freely and have eaten whatever food plants have survived the destruction, stoking fears of starvation for already stressed and displaced local villagers
Together with villages forcibly evacuated as reported in December, over 150 villages are now vacant, displacing at least 9000 civilians.
Indonesian officials have blatantly misrepresented the scale of displacement, claiming that only 1715 were displaced and all those “temporarily evacuated” were being supported at a military controlled “care centre”. This number is failing to take into account those who are in grave fear of the security forces running the “care centre”, and those who are staying with extended families and/or tribal networks. So far the 1715 have not been able to return to their villages, and their conditions at the “care centres” are deteriorating from already grave conditions, according to local observers.
An Indonesian health worker who has been in Enaratoli during the offensive, and who declined to be identified publicly after contacting West Papua Media privately via SMS, described the situation as extremely tense and a human disaster. He also expressed concern, from his observations and conversations with displaced locals, that there seems to be a wider plan from Indonesian security forces for the long-term.
“Everyone here knows that Brimob are in the gold trade across Paniai, doing business for and with both orang bule {white man} and Javanese, and now they are clearing people whose villages are on top of the gold diggings” the health worker told West Papua Media – in English – in an SMS exchange. “This human disaster is happening, and we are part of it, but who has ordered it? Is it just the police looking for golden scrapings, or is someone richer telling them to do it?”
West Papua Media has not been able to fully verify the authenticity of this source’s claimed identity, given the security risks of identifying them publicly speaking out.
The Paniai region has had a long and brutal history of land use conflicts between the Indonesian colonists and local people, mainly stemming from the illegal gold trade.
The church human rights investigations have also reported that all normal community activities in the conflict are have ceased, with those churches and schools not yet burnt by Indonesian security forces closed indefinitely, and local employment has also ceased – further exacerbating the humanitarian disaster in Paniai.
*Due to the danger faced by local church officials from Indonesian security forces in reporting these facts, West Papua Media has made a difficult decision to not identify either the church sources, nor their denomination.
West Papua Media
January 14, 2012 | Categories: Investigative Journalism, News alert, Urgent Action | Tags: Brigade Mobil (Indonesia), brimob, Detachment 88, indonesia, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Paniai, tpn, west papua | 1 Comment »
50 years ago on the 1st of December 1961, West Papuan
s flew their flag for the first time in preparation for their independence from the Dutch.
In 2011, despite ongoing repression, the Morning Star flag was once again flown across the country. The non-violent demonstrations and gatherings, as well as the military crackdown against them, were reported to the world via a network of citizen media journalists, breaking through the media blackout of West Papua.
This short wrap-up shows how the West Papuan people would not let outrageous threats of Indonesian state violence suppress their desire to declare their independence.
December 27, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Story fixed by West Papua Media, Video | Tags: australia, December 1 West Papua, Dutch East Indies, Flag of West Papua, indonesia, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Morning Star Flag, Papuan people, west papua | 1 Comment »
EXCLUSIVE REPORT FROM WEST PAPUA MEDIA
21 December 2011
Alex Rayfield
Human Rights Defenders in West Papua accuse the Australian Government and an Australian-owned mining company, Paniai Gold, of being involved in ongoing military operations in Paniai, West Papua.
Mr Ferry Marisan alleges that the Australian-trained Indonesian counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88 (also known as Densus 88 or D88), is involved in ongoing military operations in Paniai. According to Marisan, the Director of Elsham Papua, the Institute for the Study and Advocacy of Human Rights in West Papua, the joint police and military D88 have been embedded in the Second “Coconut” (Kelapa Dua) paramilitary Police Force (Brimob) sent from West Java for military operations against suspected members of the West Papua Liberation Army (or TPN), based at Eduda, Paniai.
According to Mr Yones Douw, a human rights defender based in Paniai, D88 are currently being deployed against members of the TPN in a jungle warfare operation. John Yogi – the Paniai based commander of the TPN – and his men, believed to number a few dozen, fled into the jungle following an attack on his base in Eduda by the Indonesian military and police between the 12-15 December.
Marisan says that in total 30 people have died during the latest round of violence in Paniai Seventeen people were shot dead during the military operations in Eduda. Only ten of these victims were members of the TPN, according to Marisan. Between the 9th and 14th of December a further three people died, all from exposure related sickness. Amongst the dead were two children aged two and four. Prior to the military operations Brimob also shot dead eight Papuans. Yogi’s men responded by killing two Brimob soldiers, an event that triggered the recent military operations.
In addition Elsham Papua reports that the following six villages were burnt to the ground: Toko, Badawo, Dogouto, Obayoweta, Dey, and Wamanik. As a result of the violence Marisan says that up to 20,000 people have fled their homes. ”They are living in government care centres, or staying with family and friends. Many have also fled to the forest” says Marisan.
SBS Radio reported that a spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says that the “Australian Government does not train or fund Indonesia’s security forces to counter separatism.”
Irrespective of the training that both the Australian and U.S government’s say they provide to D88 , both Douw and Marisan claim that group is being used in military operations against so-called separatists. “Many of the victims in these operations” says Marisan, “are not members of the TPN, they are ordinary Papuan villagers who are supposed to be protected by the state”. D88 was also allegedly involved in the killing of six Papuans at the conclusion of the Third Papuan Congress on October 19.
D88 is not the only link between Australia and the recent wave of violence.
According to both Douw and Marisan, helicopters used at the Derewo River Gold (DRG) project were utilised by the Military and Police in these latest military operations. DRG is operated by Paniai Gold, a fully owned subsidiary of Melbourne based gold mining company West Wits Mining. A local source, requesting anonymity, told West Papua Media that the helicopters are those used by the mining company. “They are white with blue and red markings” the sources said. “They are defiantly mining company helicopters.”
The person responsible for Paniai Gold’s operations is Mr Vincent Savage, a Non-Executive Director of West Wits. According to publicly available company documents “Mr Savage has been intimately involved in all governmental and regulatory issues involving the Derewo River Gold Project as well as working closely with the Company’s local Indonesian partners.”
These same documents state that “security [for the DRG Project] will be provided by the local Paniai police and Brimob (Indonesian paramilitary police) under the supervision of a Company Security Officer”.
West Papua Media attempted to contact Mr Savage for comment, but he was not available.
The 2011 November-December military operations are not the first military operations in the area. Paniai was the scene of widespread military operations between 1963-1969, 1977-1978, and again in 1981-1982. During this period U.S. supplied Bronco aircraft were used to bomb villages while helicopters strafed Papuans with machine gun fire.
“People don’t forget these things easily” says Douw.
December 21, 2011 | Categories: Investigative Journalism, News alert, Story fixed by West Papua Media, Urgent Action | Tags: Australian military training, Brigade Mobil (Indonesia), brutality, Derewo River Gold, Detachment 88, Eduda, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Paniai, Paniai Gold, TNI, tpn, village burnings, west papua, west papua media alerts, West Wits Mining | Leave A Comment »
19 Dec 2011
By Stefan Armbruster
POLRI GEGANA anti-terrorism troops attacking peaceful flagraisers, Taokou Village, East Paniai , December 1 (West Papua Media)
A Papuan human rights group says Indonesian helicopters have been strafing villages, killing more than a dozen people and displacing up to 25,000 others, in their latest operation against the Free Papua Movement, or OPM.
Indonesian media has reported clashed between OPM fighters and the police and military – known as TNI – in the past week in the troubled province.
West Papuans have been seeking independence since Indonesia invaded in 1962, at the end of 130 years of Dutch colonial rule.
Stefan Armbruster spoke with the director of the Institute of Human Rights Study and Advocacy in the Papuan city of Jayapura, Ferry Marisan.
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December 19, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Story fixed by West Papua Media, syndication | Tags: Free Papua Movement, human rights, indonesia, Indonesian language, Indonesian State Violence, Jayapura, Paniai Regency, Papuan people, State Terrorism, village burnings, west papua | 1 Comment »
Albert Insaf Tarigan – Okezone
Saturday, December 17, 2011
The atmosphere in the Library Meeting SBY in Cikeas. (Frederika Korain / PGI)
JAKARTA - The Indonesian government has promised to withdraw non-organic troops from non-organic provinces of Papua and West Papua.
The promise was delivered directly by the President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during a meeting with Papuan church leaders at his residence, Puri Cikeas, Bogor, West Java, on Friday (12/16/2011) night.
The religious leaders present were:
- Chairman of the Papua GKI Synod, Yemima Kret
- Chairman of the Baptist Church of Papua, Socrates Sofyan Yoman
- Chairman of the Kingmi Synod, Benny Giay
- Martin Luther Wanma
- Rika Korain
President Yudhoyono was accompanied by Vice President Boediono and several ministers, including Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Agung Laksono, Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto, National Police Chief Pol Gen Pradopo East, Armed Forces Commander Admiral Agus Suhartono, and Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Djoko Suyanto.
In a press conference at the office of the Guild of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), Jakarta, this afternoon, the religious leaders expressed appreciation for the government’s intentions. Moreover, in December, most of the people of Papua will celebrate the feast of Christmas.
“I convey to the President, this month the month of peace, in love, people should be calm. I asked for the violence to stop, it’s time we embraced each other, ” said Chairman of the Synod to Legal Kingmi Benny Giay, on Saturday (17/12/2011).
Hearing the request, said Benny, the President immediately asked the Police Chief and Commander of the TNI in order to stop the violence, ”President command to the Chief of Police and the Armed Forces (TNI) to stop the violence in Paniai, at least during the month of Christmas, “he added.
Pastor Gomar Gultom, also present at the meeting, explained that the President did not mention a specific deadline for withdrawal of non-organic troops. However, it is still regarded as an important step to begin the process of dialogue between Jakarta and Papua.
“The President ordered all non-organic troops to be withdrawn and stop the security approach as preparation for dialogue, (which) is not possible if there is a security approach,” he said.
Gultom referred to the (military) assault by Army and Police in Paniai from 12 to 15 December 2011 that has killed (at least) 15 people. The official explanation by police is that they seized and occupied the headquarters of the TPN/OPM (National Liberation Army of West Papua). {West Papua Media note: independent human rights activists and church officials have accused TNI and Police of village burnings, helicopter attacks and massive displacement of 20,000 civilians in the campaign – which is still ongoing}.
According to Gultom, dialogue can not happen if at the same time there are security operations in the territory of Papua. Until now, it is unknown the exact number of non-organic troops stationed in Papua. Imparsial, a human rights organisation last August claimed there are approximately 30 thousand troops in Papua. Of these, 14,000 are organic forces under the control of the Cenderawasih region military command.
Gultom said the two sides have not yet determined the dialogue format, nor points to be discussed, as a new opening meeting last night heard similar views. Furthermore, religious leaders are scheduled to meet again in mid-January 2012 in order to formulate the program in more detail.
However, in general, the President outlined the government’s position in the dialogue within a five point framework, namely the integrity of Indonesian territory and sovereignty integrity and sovereignty of Indonesia, Special Autonomy, Acceleration and expansion of development, with special act for affirmative action, and upholding the rule of law against all who violate the law.
“Affirmative action was meant as long as there is injustice against the people of Papua. So later given the opportunity to them, for example, sitting in the government and so forth, ” he said.
Gultom added, President SBY also expressed in the meeting his views about the role of the Unit to Accelerate Development of Papua and West Papua (UP4B) led by Lt. Gen. ( ret) Bambang Darmono. The Religious leaders view was that UP4B was formed unilaterally, and without hearing the aspirations of the Papuan people.
“There is a meeting point agreed upon last night. All points will be evaluated together, and UP4B will be stopped until results of the joint evaluation are available,” he said.
The religious leaders (repeated their) call for international third-party facilitated dialogue. In addition, they asked the government to release all political prisoners, and to repeal Government Regulation Number 77/2007 that regarding the prohibition of the use of “separatist” symbols in Aceh, Maluku and Papua. This regulation is the government’s basis to prohibit raising the banned Morning Star flag, despite Papuan people being legally allowed to fly the flag by the government of former President Abdurrahman Wahid. (ugo/edited by WestPapuaMedia)
http://news.okezone.com/read/2011/12/17/337/543723/pasukan-non-organik-ditarik-dari-papua-up4b-dibekukan
West Papua Media Note: this significant news was confirmed on December 18 during telephone conversations with participants and observers at the meeting and this article is was written at the request of observers, however comment has been sought from other parties.
West Papua Media Editorial comment: At the face of it, this appears to be a hughely positive step and announcement. However, by refusing to set specific deadline, or measurable and achievable guarantees, it remains to be seen whether this is yet more window dressing whilst still refusing to address the root causes of violence in Papua today: which is the behaviour of Indonesian security forces, and suppression of West Papuan peoples basic human rights to self-determination and freedom from persecution, and their desires for West Papuan independence.
Please contact West Papua Media for contact details for meeting participants.
December 18, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication, Urgent Action | Tags: Bambang Darmono, Bogor, Djoko Suyanto, failure of Special Autonomy, indonesia, Indonesian State Violence, military withdrawl, Papua, Papuan people, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, UP4B, west papua | 8 Comments »
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2011
by Andreas Harsono
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono met four Papuan church leaders in Yudhoyono's private library on Dec. 16, 2011. The Papuan priests presented a letter with several recommendations to Yudhoyono. ©Frederika Korain
FOUR PAPUAN church leaders met Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice President Boediono and several cabinet members as well as Indonesia’s military commander and its police chief in President Yudhoyono’s private residence in Cikeas, outside Jakarta, on Friday Dec. 16.
They included Rev. Jemima M. Krey (chairwoman of the Evangelical Christian Church in Papua or Gereja Kristen Injili di Tanah Papua), Rev. Benny Giay (chairman of the Kingmi Gospel Tabernacle Church or Gereja Kingmi di Tanah Papua), Rev. Socratez Sofyan Yoman (chairman of the Alliance of Baptist Churches in Papua or Persekutuan Gereja-Gereja Baptis Papua) and Rev. Martin Luther Wanma (chairman of the Indonesian Christian Bible Church or Gereja Kristen Alkitab Indonesia). Frederika Korain, a Papuan human rights activist and an Australian National University student, also joined the delegate.
The meeting was initiated by the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (Persekutuan Gereja-gereja di Indonesia) whose board members also took part in the meeting: Rev. Andreas Yewangoe (chairman), Rev. Gomar Gultom (secretary general) and Rev. Phil Erari (deputy chairman).
The church leaders handed over a seven-page letter to President Yudhoyono, asking the Indonesian government to have a dialogue with the people of Papua. They also asked Yudhoyono stopping the Matoa Operation in Paniai, Papua, which had caused 14 dead and some burned villages on Dec. 12.
Other recommendations included retrieving non-organic troops from Papua, releasing Papuan political prisoners and annulling the Government Regulation No. 77/2007 which bans the Morning Star flag.
They also declared that the 2001 Special Autonomy in Papua had failed. They questioned the establishment of the Unit to Accelerate the Development of Papua and West Papua provinces (UP4B) without the participation of the Papuans, calling such a move “non democratic.”
Benny Giay told me Saturday that the meeting was taking place for more than two hours. “It really hurt me when knowing our church members were attacked, their villages being burned, while we’re here in Jakarta.”
Giay came from the village Onago on Lake Tigi in Paniai, near Edadu, where the Indonesian military and police have been organizing a joint military operation since Dec. 13.
They also told President Yudhoyono that most native Papuans have suffered from Indonesian rule since Indonesia took over New Guinea in 1962. Violence created much suffering on the people. They said most Papuans aspired to be separated from Indonesia.
In front of his guests, Yudhoyono immediately asked Indonesian police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo to stop the Matoa Operation. He also mentioned that U.S. President Barack Obama and State Secretary Hillary Clinton had raised the issues of human rights violations in Papua.
Yudhoyono welcomed such a dialogue but he reminded his guests that as president he has to keep the territorial integrity of Indonesia. He promised to enforce the law in Papua and to stop human rights abuses. Yudhoyono promised to have another dialogue with the four reverends in the third week of January.
Rev. Martin Luther Wanma, chairman of the Indonesian Christian Bible Church or Gereja Kristen Alkitab Indonesia (blue batik), Rev. Benny Giay, chairman of the Kingmi Gospel Tabernacle Church or Gereja Kingmi di Tanah Papua (black jacket), Rev. Socratez Sofyan Yoman, chairman of the Alliance of Baptist Churches in Papua or Persekutuan Gereja-Gereja Baptis Papua (light grey jacket) and Rev. Jemima M. Krey, chairwoman of the Evangelical Christian Church in Papua or Gereja Kristen Injili di Tanah Papua (black blazer) and Rev. Gomar Gultom of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (brown batik) talked straight to Indonesian leaders. ©Frederika Korain
The meeting began at 9pm and ended at 11.30pm at Yudhoyono’s private library. Gomar Gultom organized a press conference at the office of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia Saturday morning.
Both Yoman and Giay are under the Indonesian military watch list. An Indonesian military document leaked in August 2011 revealed that Kopassus agents were closely monitoring Giay and Yoman.
Another leaked letter dated April 30, 2011, from the Indonesian military commander in Papua, Maj. Gen. Erfi Triassunu, to the provincial governor, Barnabas Suebu, also shows a military interference in civil society in Papua.
The letter accuses Rev. Benny Giay’s Kingmi Gospel Tabernacle Church of trying to build an exclusive organization based on Papuan ethnicity, which Major General Triassunu viewed as a potential separatist movement, and suggests having the military mediate a conflict between the Kingmi Church (Gereja Kemah Injil or Kingmi Church) and the Indonesian Gospel Tabernacle Church (Gereja Kemah Injil Indonesia or GKII). The letter also urges that if deliberations cannot resolve the conflict, “immediate action” should be taken. Since the letter came to light, Major General Triassunu has publicly apologized for accusing the church of being a separatist organization, claiming a faction of the church had asked for assistance from the military.
Yawan Wayeni
Giay told me that Yudhoyono was surprised when seeing the photo of a dying Papuan activist Wayan Wayeni on the letter. They told him that Imam Setiawan, the Indonesian police officer who led the attack against Yawan Wayeni on Serui Island, in August 2009, was later promoted to be the police chief of Jayapura. In his new position, Setiawan used excessive forces when cracking down the Papuan Congress in October 2011 and arrested around 300 Papuans. But Setiawan got another promotion despite a written warning for his abusive behavior. He’s now the deputy director of traffic in Papua.
Original Letter from West Papuan church leaders on presented at President Yudhoyono’s private residence in Cikeas, outside Jakarta, on Friday Dec. 16, asking the Indonesian government to have a dialogue with the people of Papua. (Bahasa Indonesia: English translation currently unavailable) :
December 18, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication, Urgent Action | Tags: barack obama, Benny Giay, indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian State Violence, Papua, Papuan people, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Timur Pradopo, west papua | 8 Comments »
SPECIAL REPORT AND UPDATE
by Nick Chesterfield at westpapuamedia.info
December 16, 2011
Harrowing accounts of terror and intimidation are emerging from villagers and human rights workers in the remote Paniai district in West Papua overnight, as a massive Indonesian military assault against National Liberation Army guerrillas continues.
Local human rights and church sources are reporting that ordinary villagers are being subjected to significant human rights abuses by a combined Indonesian police and military force, and have called for immediate international intervention in West Papua to stop the violence.
Over four full strength combat battalions of Indonesian army (TNI) Kostrad commandos from Battalion 753, Brimob paramilitary police, and elite counter-terrorism troops from Detachment 88 – all units armed, trained, and supplied by the Australian Government – were deployed in an offensive to surround the headquarters of the Paniai Free Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM), under the command of General Jhon Yogi.
TPN/OPM headquarters Markas Eduda burning after TNI attack, 13/12/2011, Paniai, Papua
Paniai villages burning after TNI attack, 13/12/2011, Paniai, Papua
TPN/OPM headquarters Markas Eduda burning after TNI attack, 13/12/2011, Paniai, Papua
Punitive village burnings and raids are continuing in remote villages around the TPN/OPM headquarters of Markas Eduda. At the time of writing, seventy-five houses, six schools, and about 25 other buildings have been recorded as burnt down in a total of 27 villages by Indonesian security forces.
Eighteen people are now confirmed dead – fifteen from gunshot wounds, and three refugees who allegedly succumbed to starvation in the so-called care centres under the control of security forces. The victims’ names from the attack in Eduda are:
Dead:
- Tapupai Gobay (30) was shot in the chest.
- Tawe Bunai Awe (30) head crushed*.
- Uwi Gobay (35) was shot in the abdomen.
- Wate Nawipa (25) was shot in the back.
- Martinus Gobay (29) head crushed*.
- Owdei Yeimo (35) was shot in the back.
- Ruben Gobay (25) was shot in the abdomen.
- Paul Gobay (42) was shot in the abdomen.
- Bernadus Yogi (23) was shot in the chest.
- Demianus Yogi (15) was shot in the back.
- Simon Kogoya (40) was shot in the abdomen.
- Simon Yogi (30) was shot in the head.
- Luke Kudiai (25) was shot in the chest.
- Alfius Magai (20) head crushed*
Note: those with “head crushed” allegedly sustained these fatal injuries through severe beatings with rifle butts and “boot stamping”, according to sources
Wounded:
- Paschal Kudiai (15) hit by a bullet in the head.
- Martinus Kudiai (30) was shot in the hand.
- David Mote (40) was shot in the thigh.
- Amandus Kudiai (43) was shot in the arm.
- Yohan Yogi (21) was shot in the leg.
- Mon Yogi (20) was shot in the back.
Credible reports have also confirmed that two civilian “company” helicopters were provided to Security forces, and were allegedly used to drop live grenades and chemical dispersal weapons onto villages surrounding Eduda, and strafe villages with sniper and machine-gun fire on December 13, 14, and 15. Several independent witnesses have claimed to West Papua Media, and reported elsewhere across social media, that the helicopters are well known in the area for local non-military operations.
"Company" Helicopter alleged by local sources to be used in Indonesia security force offensive in Paniai. Source claims photo taken on Dec 13 aas helicopter was circling group. This photo is not independently verified, however analysis shows the image is consistent with independent witness descriptions, and the terrain and weather conditions are consistent with other photos supplied. (West Papua Media source)
Witnesses interviewed by local human rights workers have claimed that at 0800 local time on December 13, the Company helicopter launched CS gas salvos into the village of Markas Eduda, the TPN headquarters, to flush out villagers and guerrillas. According to a separate account sent to West Papua Media by TPN/OPM sources, the helicopters landed troops and occupied Eduda for most of the day, with guerrillas taking to forests in retreat. In retaliation, TPN/OPM fighters shot at the helicopters, unsuccessfully, and several hours of intense fighting ensued which was suspended when Free Papua fighters witnessed many village houses and schools being simultaneously burnt in the surrounding area. According to the TPN/OPM source, villages were set on fire around Eduda and gunshots were heard for the rest of the day and through the night. Free Papua fighters have retreated to the forest and are awaiting orders for their next moves, according to the source.
Villagers from across Paniai are continuing to be displaced by the operations, forced to flee en masse into areas around Enaratoli, on the opposite side of Lake Paniai. As reported on December 14 by West Papua Media, over 131 villages have been abandoned causing at least 10800 Paniai villagers to flee the military operations.
Church sources have further reported that refugees seeking shelter in the Enaratoli area are enduring worsening conditions without any relief. Armed Indonesian security forces have established a police supervised secure “Care Centre” at Uwatawogi Hall in Enaratoli, and have crammed into it 1715 people from Kopabutu and Dagouto villages. According to local activists in reports to West Papua Media, local residents are being threatened with arrest and beatings if they try to provide detainees with adequate humanitarian relief. Police are also preventing people held at the hall from leaving for food or sanitation needs, according to sources. At the time of writing, three people have died at the “care Centre” since December 9 from Diarrhoea. They are :
- OTOLINCEA DEGEI age 2 years , died 8:20pm, 9/12/11;
- YULIMINA GOBAI Age 4, died 3pm, 14/12/2011;
- ANNA DEGEI Age 47, died 1030pm, 14/12/2011.
No food, sanitation or medical aid has been made available by any government agency to give relief to this large number of internally displaced people.
Over 9000 refugees are either hiding in the forest or seeking shelter with their own extended families in the region area. Those with their families are considered safe, however their needs and conditions are difficult to monitor and assess given their isolation
Local teachers have also been in contact with West Papua Media’s stringers. Since 27 November 2011, teaching and learning activities have been suspended indefinitely in all village schools surrounding Markas Eduda. Schools such as SD YPPK in Badao Dei, Yimouto, and Obayauweta villages have been suspended, as has Primary, Junior High, “shop” (trade school) and Elementary Instruction in the towns of Dagouto, and Uwani. The students of these schools have been evacuated with their parents.
A teacher in junior YPPGI Uwani said while repression was occurring in the villages that: “For while we have closed the schools, because school children are frightened and fled with their parents. In addition, we as teachers do not feel safe to make teaching and learning activities. All the teachers have fled Paniai district, and to Nabire. “
On December 15, the army / police battalions have returned to the villages of Uwamani, Dei and Obaipugaida to prepare a major attack for a new phase of the campaign. It is believed strongly by local activists that the “company” helicopter will still be used in addition to Unconfirmed reports have been received by West Papua Mediathat the Indonesian arsenal against civilians in Paniai includes one Mil Mi-24 SuperHind gunship, one of two usually stationed near Jayapura.
650 Kostrad troops from Battalion 142 being deployed from Palembang to Paniai in Papua, boarding their troop ship on December 9, 2011
West Papua National Committee (KNPB) activists in Paniai reported on December 15 that after the assaults on villages, the Indonesian military forces are now arresting, intimidating and carrying out interrogation on all residents across the districts of Toko, Kopabaida and Uwamani. According the KNPB, Indonesian police have arrested scores of children and adults, and are conducting brutal and physical interrogations and questioning from 11.00 am until the end of the day
The offensive was ongoing throughout December 15, with Indonesian security forces opening fire in many locations around Eduda. Overnight, from 0200 to 0600, heavy gunfire erupted across the Degeuwo River valley. Human rights sources in villages and also with refugees conveyed reports that people were being shot at by snipers if they were moving anywhere after dark, even to collect, food, water, or to secure pigs. It is not known how many people were killed during the night, but local source are expecting the toll to rise.
According to a report provided tonight by a local pilot, Indonesian security forces shot eleven times into houses in the village of Gekoo, where mourners were gathering for a the funeral of a local man who died from illness. Villagers alleged that some bullets even landed in their cooking fires, exploding their food pots.
Witnesses reported a series of helicopter raids from 11am on December 15, with helicopters being used to machine-gun the villages of Obaiyepa and Uwaman. Human rights workers have been unable to access these areas to see if any casualties were sustained.
Unidentified village burnt down 13, dec 2011, near Eduda, Paniai
Helicopters landed at Eduda ceremony ground 11 times from 11:00 to 13:00 hours, and residents suspect logistics, ammunition and additional forces were being deployed.
The area around Paniai has been long subject to conflict and heavy Indonesian military offensives against civilians, however in recent months the Indonesian police have taken charge of punitive operations against West Papuans harbouring pro-independence sympathies. The conflict has recently escalated over land rights and the control of local gold mining operations, with Brimob deeply involved in both joint venture security, and direct involvement in gold businesses and associated activities. The Australian gold mining company Paniai Gold is also operating in the Degeuwo River region.
Indonesian soldiers in Paniai, December 2011
Civilians in the foothills are in panic and reliving the trauma of past operations, according to the report from a local pilot. “They are concerned emotions again will open in Wegeuto of the 1982 war Memoria Passionis (memory of suffering) and again when the Army conducted ongoing military operations (DOM – Daerah Operasi Militer) from 1989-1993 across the Badauwo area, near Eduda, ” the source said via email. He explained that during the last DOM period the army accused and stigmatised civilians as being members of the TPN-OPM, and subsequently tortured thousands of villagers. Human rights sources at the time documented villagers being waterboarded / tortured for 24 hours; residents’ houses burned, raped girls and married women, extrajudicial killings, burning off fingers, moustaches and beards, pulling fingernails and quartering villagers with armoured vehicles. Troops also conducted burning and destroying food gardens, killing livestock and pets, and fouling water supplies.
Residents are concerned that the current angry and emotional behaviour by the TNI-police toward TPN / OPM will be vented on civilians living on the slope of the hamlet Wegeuto especially, directly adjacent to Markas Eduda. In a message delivered to West Papua Media local villagers have pleaded for International Advocacy to get Military and Police immediately withdrawn from Eduda and Paniai in general.
Much trauma is being felt by civilians across Paniai as a result of the offensive. Independent journalist Sonny Dogopia, from Papuan Voices , interviewed local villagers by telephone on December 14. Magda Tekege, a housewife from Deiyai District, said civil society is very scared and depressed. ” Here also TNI / Police beat us and put us under surveillance, and are one full alert status, ” she explained. Deiyai Magda called the situation unusual , “this is probably due to invasion by TNI / police in Paniai, therefore Deiyai also suffer the effects.”
Reports from Tuesday described the exercises that the Australian trained, funded and armed Brimob Gegana unit, upon arriving in Enaratoli proceeded to take over the streets immediately, causing normal town life to be immediately disrupted as local people emptied the streets to hide.
On December 6, Human rights, church sources and local activists had independently claimed that 542 people have been forcibly evacuated by troops from the Special Gegana Brimob “Counter” terrorist police unit. The villages of Dagouto and Kopabatu and surrounding hamlets in the Dagoutu Paniai district were evicted after the Gegana unit decided it wanted to expand a new headquarters facility to deploy in the offensive against Jhon Yogi, the local leader of the armed guerrilla unit of the National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM).
The Gegana unit, a specialised elite anti-terrorist unit of the Indonesian police has been deployed heavily across Papua to crackdown on pro-independence activists engaged in non-violent resistance, as well as to eliminate the armed struggle groups. Gegana is one of several elite Indonesian police units that receives arms, funding, and training from the Australian Government, and was blamed on December 3 for burning down a church and school in Wandenggobak, in the highland regency of Puncak Jaya.
As this article was going to press, an update was received from a trusted human rights worker in Paniai. “At 2300 in the evening, Brimob Coconut Battalion 2 burned down buildings of Paniai Districts’ tourism assets, located in Bukit Dupia, in the same location as the Regent’s residence. This evening in Paniai the situation is very tense”. TPN fighters reportedly have returned fire on the attack and heavy fighting is still occurring,
The situation is ongoing and developing and West Papua Media will continue to closely monitor events.
Please urgently help us continue this work. @westpapuamedia ia working tirelessly to end impunity in Papua with effective journalism. But we need your help – PLEASE DONATE NOW wp.me/P1aPlR-116
December 16, 2011 | Categories: Investigative Journalism, News alert, Story fixed by West Papua Media, Urgent Action | Tags: Australian military training, Brigade Mobil (Indonesia), brutality, colonialism, Detachment 88, Gegana, genocide, Government of Australia, human rights, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Kopassus, Kostrad, Paniai, Papua, POLRI, TNI, village burnings, west papua, West Papua Media, west papua media alerts | 19 Comments »
“….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 »
JUBI, 7 December 2011
According to the police in Timika, the people involved in the shootings that have occurred during the past month or so in the vicinity of Freeport are certainly well-trained.
‘Our investigations in the places where these shootings have occurred reveal that they have been using firearms. The result of the shootings aimed at vehicles in which the victims were driving suggests that they are well trained in the use of firearms,’ said the head of the Criminal Research Unit, AKP Toni Sarjaka, speaking to journalists in Timika.
Pressed to explain whether these people were well trained, he said: ’Well yes, indeed. In some cases a single shot hit the driver of the car, and killed him instantly.’
During the month of October, there have been four victims of shooting in the Freeport area and in some cases, the victim was killed by a single shot.’
He went on to say that the police were still investigating the killings and were currently speaking to witnesses.
In addition to those who have been killed, a number of people have been injured. But as yet, the police have not been able to identify the persons who carried out the shootings.
December 9, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: "unknown persons", freeport, Freeport-McMoRan, Indonesian State Violence, Kopassus, Papua, police, Shooting, Timika, `mysterious' killings | Leave A Comment »
Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011
On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 the AHRC publishes its annual report on the State of Human Rights in Indonesia in 2011.
The full report will be made available for download at http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2011/AHRC-SPR-006-2011/view.
In 2011, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has witnessed a deterioration of the human rights situation in Indonesia in terms of religious freedom, the role of the judiciary and accountability for violence by security forces. This report, which is based on the organisation’s documentation and monitoring work, shows that Indonesia remains heavily affected by serious human rights violations and shortcomings in the rule of law. The lack of effective prevention and legal measures taken by the legal apparatus against fundamentalist groups, shows the inability of the State to ensure fundamental rights, such as the right to life and the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
Constitutional foundations such as “unity in diversity” (Pancasila) and fundamental rights are being undermined, as is being seen in the lack of appropriate responses by the State to the decay of religious pluralism and diversity. Constitutional fundamental rights are not being enforced for Aceh’s citizens, who live under discriminating Sharia laws, or for religious minorities in Java and elsewhere in the country, who face persecution, or for indigenous Papuans who lack equal access to justice, protection and social welfare and as a result increasingly reject Indonesian citizenship. Indonesia’s international recognition as a role-model for secular democracy in the region, and as the country with the world’s largest Muslim population, is losing credibility.
Numerous cases of violations of the freedom of religion were reported in 2011. This situation cannot be separated from Indonesia’s recent history. The relationship between State and religion in Indonesia is swinging from one extreme to the other. Under the authoritarian Suharto regime, which was in power until 1998, religious movements were violently suppressed, as shown in the Tanjung Priok (1984) and Talangsari (1989) incidents, during which hundreds of Muslims were killed. Alleged perpetrators in that case remain unpunished. The use of violence against religious groups was a strategy at that time to prevent Islamists from gaining political power. Conversely, the trend that has developed in recent years shows that religious organisations are now undermining State institutions and justice processes. The increased religious violence is exemplified by the killing of three Ahmadiyah followers in February 2011. The perpetrators in the case have received no or only lenient punishments, while victims among religious minorities suffer persecution.
Violence by security forces, including the police and military, remains the other major concern in Indonesia in 2011. The AHRC continued to receive numerous cases of torture by the police, and, from crises regions under heavy military control like Papua, (1) it received cases of torture by the military. The AHRC is deeply concerned by the violent dispersal and killings during the Third Papuan Congress in October 2011.
The prevailing climate of impunity permits such violence to go unchecked. It is caused by the lack of effective reforms to provide impartial and professional accountability mechanisms, including for human rights violations. Efforts to develop and reform the bodies mandated to oversee the police, prosecution and judiciary, such as the extension of the mandate of the National Police Commission (KOMPOLNAS) and the mandate of the Prosecutorial Commission, are important steps taken by the GoI. However, in practice, police officers cannot be criminally prosecuted for the widespread use of torture to obtain information or punish detainees, and members of the military cannot be held accountable by independent investigations and civilian courts. They continue to be tried exclusively by the Indonesian National Army’s (TNI) legal system, which has serious flaws and typically perpetuates impunity. While Indonesia had announced the inclusion of the crime of torture in its new draft criminal code, this draft has been pending for adoption for many years. Sharia law in Aceh institutionalises corporal punishment and therefore inhuman and degrading treatment, and violates rights concerning fair trials.
The freedom of expression of activists in Papua is frequently violated through arrests of protesters and imprisonment for the peaceful expression of political opinions. More than 60 cases of violence against journalists in 2011 and several defamation law suits were reported. A new law concerning the State’s intelligence system passed in 2011, and allows for arbitrary measures that violate human rights and can be used to silence activists. Civil society faces many serious challenges to their ability to perform work in favour of human rights and reforms.
As a survey by the Kompas newspaper in 12 major Indonesian cities in October revealed, 83\% of the respondents are dissatisfied with the work of the police, judiciary and the attorney general’s office in upholding the law. Almost 100\% of the respondents felt that political conflicts within the police and corruption within State institutions is, in general, in a serious condition. (2)
Politicisation of criminal justice institutions such as the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), corruption in the judiciary and the immunity of military commanders present an ongoing problem. The lack of accountability for gross violations of human rights and ongoing impunity for the instigators of the 2004 assassination of Indonesia’s leading human rights defender, Munir Said Thalib, due to the refusal of the Attorney General to conduct new investigations, are key indicators concerning the inability of State institutions to address human rights violations effectively, and thus to fulfil their mandate to ensure a just and fair society. As a result, religious extremism grows and violations by security forces continue.
The full report will be made available for download at http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2011/AHRC-SPR-006-2011/view.
——-
December 8, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Press Release, Urgent Action | Tags: AHRC, Asian Human Rights Commission, human rights, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian State Violence, Munir Said Thalib, Papua, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Third Papuan People's Congress, TNI | 3 Comments »
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 »
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/51-tortured-by-indonesian-security-forces-in-papua-violence-elsham/481479
51 Tortured by Indonesian Security Forces in Papua Violence: Elsham
Farouk Arnaz & Ronna Nirmala | November 29, 2011
The National Police said on Monday that it handed out punishments to a total of 17 officers for last month’s deadly crackdown on the Third Papuan People’s Congress but refrained from firing or demoting any of their own.
Ethics tribunals were held for members of the Mobile Police (Brimob) and the Jayapura Police believed to have been responsible for the incident, according to a National Police spokesman, Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution.
Two Brimob officers were reprimanded, while two low-ranking enlisted officers were sentenced to 14 days detainment in a special cell.
In Jayapura, the capital of Papua, the chief of police at the time of the violence, Adj. Sr. Comr. Imam Setiawan, and seven of his subordinates received reprimands, while five enlisted officers were sentenced to seven days of detainment.
“They failed to follow proper police procedures in carrying out their security duties,” Saud said of those punished. “[Their actions were] excessive.”
No officer, however, was dismissed from the force or demoted for a violent incident that left at least three congress participants dead.
Sau d said the none of the officers would be charged with murder or face any other criminal charges. Police investigators, he said, put the victims’ times of death after the officers had left the scene.
He said one of the congress participants, Daniel Kadepa, had died from a stab wound, while the other two victims, Max Saseyo and Jacob Samansabra, could not be autopsied because they had already been buried by their families.
Separately on Monday, the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham) and the Communion of Churches in Papua (PGGP) said at least 51 people had been tortured by members of the military and police during and after the congress.
Congress participants told the groups 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.
There were also reports of verbal abuse, the groups said.
One person said a policeman hit him in the head with the butt of an assault rifle. Another said he was shot in the buttock and thigh.
Also, a nearby monastery was looted and vandalized by security forces, the groups said.
The Rev. Wellem Maury of the PGGP said the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) needed to take over the case and form a fact-finding team to investigate allegations of human rights abuses, torture and excessive use of force.
“Komnas HAM must also announce its findings to the Coordinating Ministry for Politics, Legal and Security Affairs so there is an open and fair trial,” he said.
International human rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, he added, must also be given access to those still being detained for treason, particularly Forkorus Yaboisembut, who was named president of an independent Papuan republic at the congress.
In a report released on Nov. 4, Komnas HAM alleged that the crackdown violated a raft of basic human rights and called on police to conduct a thorough investigation. It also said the central government should accelerate a dialogue with the Papuan people and do more for development in the province
November 29, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: amnesty international, Brigade Mobil (Indonesia), brutality, human rights, Impunity, Indonesian State Violence, Jayapura, Komnas Ham, National Police, Papua, police, Third Papuan People's Congress, torture | 1 Comment »
ABC Triple J Hack – Sophie McNeill reports that footage has surfaced of the violent Indonesian military crackdown on the Third Papuan People’s Congress in West Papua on October 19, and speaks to West Papuan student’s about their friends’ experiences and concerns for Papua.
Aired on Hack: Wednesday 23 November
Listen/Download here: WEST PAPUA 4-33
November 28, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: brutality, human rights, Human Rights and Liberties, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian State Violence, Papua, Papuan people, Third Papuan People's Congress, west papua | 3 Comments »
November 28, 2011
(ENAROTALI, Paniai, West Papua) In another display of arbitrary brutality against civilians, members from the increasingly notorious Indonesian paramilitary police unit Brimob last Thursday severely beat a local teacher without cause.
Yulianus Yeimo, 46, a teacher from Paniai was beaten at 15:00 local time on 24 November by Brimob officers at Kogekotu / awabutu field in Enarotali, Paniai, Papua. Police Officers fractured Yeimo’s nose and jaw from repeated blows with rifle butts. The injuries caused by the Mobile Brigade officers caused severe bleeding, with his tongue almost severed by blows from the rifle butts.
West Papua Media has verified the photograph as genuine, and consistent with injuries reported. Local sources have reported that Brimob and military officers are constantly raiding houses, taking away traditional hunting wepons and gardening tools such as axes, machetes and knives. According to the same sources, this has made work and finding firewood for cooking impossible. Many people have fled into the surrounding hills for shelter, fearful of continued arbtitrary violence from Indonesian security forces.
Combined operations throughout the Paniai district by Indonesian police and army since July have displaced several thousand local people, with many unable to find food or effective shelter in the mountains.
The district is subject to increasing tension, so please stay tuned to westpapuamedia.info for further updates.
November 28, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Urgent Action | Tags: Brigade Mobil (Indonesia), brimob, brutality, Human Rights and Liberties, Impunity, Indonesian Army, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Paniai, Paniai Regency, Papuan people, police, west papua, west papua media alerts | 3 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 »
Amnesty International
23 November 2011
“
These written warnings are a slap on the wrist. They do not provide accountability for the deaths of three people, or for the use of excessive and unnecessary force against a peaceful gathering.
”
Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Director for the Asia-Pacific
The fact that eight Indonesian police officers involved in a violent crackdown on a peaceful gathering that left three dead have only been given written warnings, is a failure of human rights accountability, Amnesty International said today.The warnings were given after an internal disciplinary hearing on 22 November found that the officers violated the police Disciplinary Code.On the afternoon of 19 October 2011, police and military units violently dispersed peaceful participants of the Third Papuan People’s Congress, a nationalist gathering being held in Abepura, Papua province.
The bodies of Demianus Daniel, Yakobus Samonsabara, and Max Asa Yeuw were later found near the Congress area.
“These written warnings are a slap on the wrist. They do not provide accountability for the deaths of three people, nor for the use of excessive and unnecessary force against a peaceful gathering,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director.
Some 300 participants were arbitrarily arrested and ill-treated at the end of the Congress. Most were released the following day but six have been charged and are currently awaiting trial.
Amnesty International has called on the authorities to act on the findings of the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) that rights violations were committed by security forces, and to prosecute those responsible.
“Even though the Indonesian authorities have a responsibility to prosecute human rights violators, this is yet another example of how in Indonesia, human rights crimes committed by police officers never reach civilian courts, but are dealt with through inhouse disciplinary hearings,” said Sam Zarifi.
“Internal disciplinary procedures are for dealing with minor offences, not serious human rights violations.”
Amnesty International also urges the Indonesian authorities to set up an independent police complaints mechanism to deal with human rights violations by police officers.
Current bodies such as the National Police Commission or the National Human Rights Commission do not have the powers to deal effectively with complaints about police abuses, nor to provide reparations to victims.
A Komnas HAM investigation team found a range of human rights violations were allegedly committed by the Indonesian security forces on 19 October, including opening fire on the peaceful Papuan gathering and beating and kicking participants.
It was reported on 7 November that the President’s office had rejected the Komnas HAM findings, stating that the police were still handling the case.
On 22 November, an internal police disciplinary hearing in Jayapura, Papua found the former Jayapura Police Chief Iman Setiawan guilty of violating the Disciplinary Code for “his inability to co-ordinate police officers under his command”.
Seven police officers from Jayapura City were also found guilty of violating the code for not “protecting and servicing the community with the best of their ability” and “degrading the honour and dignity of the state and the police”. They were all each given a written warning.
The disciplinary hearings for the seven police officers were reportedly held behind closed doors.
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November 24, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Press Release, Urgent Action | Tags: amnesty international, brutality, human rights, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Jayapura, Kopassus, Kostrad, Makar, Papua, Rebellion/Subversion charges, right of free expression, Third Papuan People's Congress, west papua media alerts | 2 Comments »
