Makar accused reject charges, and Indonesian jurisdiction over Papua in adjourned trial (Photo Report)
January 31, 2012
By Nick Chesterfield from West Papua Media with local sources
(Jayapura) The treason trial against the leaders of the Third Papuan People’s Congress in Jayapura was adjourned on Monday until February 8, after a short hearing that Indonesian authorities moved at the last moment preventing many supporters from attending.
The five defendants, President of the Federated Republic of West Papua (FRWP) Forkorus Yaboisembut, Prime Minister Edison Waromi, together with Congress organisers Selpius Bobii, Dominikus Sorabut and Agus Sananay were charged with makar or treason under Article 106 of KUHP (the Indonesian Criminal Code) for their declaration of an independent West Papua at the close of the Third Papuan People’s Congress on October 19 last year.
Papuan leaders accused of treason on trial in Jayapura, January 30, 2012
The historic Congress was violently broken up by Indonesian security forces using live fire and excessive violence, with at least seven people killed, hundreds beaten and tortured, despite official permission for the event to be held. Indonesian security officers involved were given minor disciplinary sanction, with most perpetrators of violence enjoying complete impunity despite footage of the Indonesian security force violence being broadcast internationally.
Initial reports from witnesses inside the trial early in the day claimed that the team of judges argued with the defence legal team about the need to know the political position of the defendant’s, despite the fact that in a treason trial this would be self-evident. Yaboisembut and Waromi then fundamentally rejected the charges against them, arguing that their actions were not treason“.
Forkorus Yobeisembut (Jakarta Globe)
According to Forkorus as reported by the Jakarta Post, “What we have been doing is seeking our own independence. Thus, we have cheated no one,”. Forkorus argued that Indonesian occupation of his homeland was the real issue, and that ”this problem is not the problem of separatism and rebellion or treason”. Both Forkorus and Waromi said that the issue of Papua should be tried in international courts as the Indonesian state did not have jurisdiction over Papua.
Forkorus Yaboisembut (Jakarta Globe)
in a short statement sent to West Papua Media, the defendant’s legal team said that the judge asked Forkorus and the accused understood the indictment. “He answered that, yes, he understood what the prosecutors read but did not understand the charges of treason against them.”
“Forkorus then asked for time to read a statement to the assembly to process the rejection of the law, (the request of) which was then approved by a judge. Our attorneys will do the rebuttal (exception) to the indictment dated 8th February 2012,” according to the legal team led by Hamadi.
(Photo: Efraim Joteni)
Bintang Papua reported that another one of the lawyers for the accused, Gustaf Kawer,said that up to 32 lawyers from across Papua and Indonesia had offered pro-bono defence of the treason accused. He said: ‘I am convinced that the large number of lawyers who are attracted by the case is a good sign of interest in the need to find a solution to the problem of Papua.’
Forkorus Yaboisembut and Edison Waromi media interview after trial.(Photo: Efraim Joteni)
The Panel of Judges hearing the trial are Chairman of the Jayapura District Court of Class IA, Jayapura, Papua, Jack John Octovianus, SH. MH,; assisted by I Ketut Nyoman S, SH. MH. Syor Mambrasar, SH. MH. Orpah Marthina, SH. and Willem Marco Erari, SH.
Outside the court hearing, almost 400 hundred heavily armed riot police and a similar number of Army and Kopassus personnel were guarding the courthouse venue from dawn (0600) with close to a dozen armoured assault vehicles, mounted with heavy machine guns, according to participants.
Protest in support of West Papuan leaders in trial for treason (Photo: Efraim Joteni)
Protest in support of West Papuan leaders in trial for treason (Photo: Efraim Joteni)
Participants in the protest claimed to West Papua Media via SMS that security forces were acting in a heavy-handed manner, describing their actions as “wild and aggressive”. “This display of armour makes thousands of ordinary people in Jayapura traumatized and afraid to come to action,” said Jack Wainggai, the spokesman for the Prime Minister of the FRWP, Edison Waromi, on trial for treason today. Organisers had aimed for several thousand people to attend, but amid heavy Indonesian security that discouraged solidarity protests by West Papuan supporters of the defendants, only 500-600 braved the heavy armour and “state intimidation” outside the court.
Protest in support of West Papuan leaders in trial for treason (Photo: Efraim Joteni)
Brimob outside makar trial (Photo: West Papua Media)
Brimob outside makar trial (Photo: West Papua Media)
one of almost a dozen armoured vehicles securing outside court venue Jan 30 2012 Jayapura (Photo: West Papua Media)
Despite promises by Indonesian authorities that the trials would be open, the presiding judges secretly started proceedings at 8.30 am before supporter could arrive. In a press statement before the trial, Bintang Papua reported that Olga Hamadi of Kontras Papua said, “The five men will face charges under Article 106 of the Criminal Code for subversion. Based on past experience, there are concerns regarding security during the trial which will be open to the public, meaning that anyone wishing to attend the trial will be able to do so.” Hamadi urged all present to restrain themselves and ensure that conditions surrounding the trial are conducive.
Speculation has mounted amongst local observers that the trial may be moved from Jayapura to metropolitan Indonesia to reduce any potential political flashpoint it will cause amongst pro-independence forces in Papua, with the prosecutor’s office formally warning of such a move should unrest occur. Conversely though, any shift would create more opportunities for international observers to be present at the trial, a basic condition called for by the defence and international human rights monitors.
After the adjournment, the few hundred that did attend were able to disperse peacefully without an Indonesian security force crackdown, but tension still remains high in Jayapura as armed troops are still deployed on the streets the following day.
Elsewhere in Papua, solidarity actions were held with the treason trials against the Congress leaders. In Manokwari, orations were held calling for international peacekeepers to be deployed to protect West Papuan people from Indonesian state violence. Calls were also made in Manokwari for neutral international mediators for dialogue between Jakarta and the Federated Republic of West Papua.
Westpapuamedia.info
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Identity Politics in Papua
Image via Wikipedia
JUBI, 27 January 2012
In the days before the special autonomy law for Papua (OTSUS), identity politics in Papua was focussed primarily on culture. It was his awareness of the richness of Papuan culture that encouraged Arnold Ap to set up his Mambesak group in the 1970s. [Not to mention the fact that he paid with his life for his activities.]
Brother Budi Hernawan, a human rights activist, said that the identity politics movement had made some progress and was in the process of further development. ‘In fact,’ he said, ‘there are certain impacts of the inconsistency of the central government’s attitude towards the identity politics movement among the Papuans.’
He said that Papuan identity politics emerged alongside the Indonesian identity politics movement in the 1940s. But the way of defining Papuans referred to their tendency to being slender in build, dark skinned and with fuzzy curly hair as part of the Melanesian race; this led to the stagnation of this process. At the core of the issue is the interaction between cultural and social issues, according to Brother Budi.
Cressida Hayes writes, in the 2007 Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, that identity politics has a far broader definition and the theory has a far broader definition with regard to injustices that are encountered by people in certain social groups.
Rather than their being organised on the basis of ideology or party affiliation, identity politics is related to the group’s identity and of its not being marginalised as a group as well as the question of belonging to the group in a much broader sense.
Demographically speaking, Papuans are no longer dominant in the land of Papua. This has been reinforced by the role of capital and limitations within the political sphere. While procedures are set in place to ensure that the head of region is an indigenous Papuan, no affirmative action has been taken by any legislative body to protect the interests of the indigenous Papuan people.
Apart from this, he said, Jakarta always bases its policies on economics and politics.The result is that there has been no comprehensive or ‘calm’ definition. ‘The word “calm” is used here in the sense that the Dewan Adat Papua should be able to draft a definition of Papua-ness without being accused of being separatist or accused of subversion.’
Back in the days of President Abdurrachman Wahid, the space being given to identity politics was broadening. Gus Dur, as he was affectionately known, granted permission for the Morning Star flag to be flown, which is regarded by Papuans as a cultural symbol, while at the same time stipulating that it should be held ten centimetres lower that the Red-and-White flag. But this has never been backed up by any government regulation.
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SBS Radio: West Papuans fear flag day crackdown
30 Nov 2011
By Stefan Armbruster
00:03:54 
2MBA 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.
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West Papuan leader urges peaceful defiance in the lead-up to December 1st
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.
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- AWPA calls on Rudd to monitor Increasing tension in West Papua, focused on 1st December (westpapuamedia.info)
- Indon Army preparing to attack OPM in Paniai. (westpapuamedia.info)
- Why Now? A West Papua Backgrounder (westpapuamedia.info)
- Australia must act to protect human rights in Papua: Joint letter from HRLC and Human Rights Watch (28 Nov 2011) (westpapuamedia.info)
New Docos examine upheaval in West Papua
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
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Amnesty: ‘Slap on the wrist’ for police violence in Papua is accountability failure
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.
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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Violent Tactics Backfire In Papua
1 Nov 2011
By Alex Rayfield
The tough response of the Indonesia armed forces to the Third Papuan People’s congress has strengthened calls for freedom. NM’s West Papua correspondent Alex Rayfield reviews the fallout
If the Indonesian police and military thought shooting live ammunition into a mass gathering of unarmed Papuans would somehow dampen dissent and endear them to Jakarta’s continued rule, they were mistaken. Indiscriminate repression meted out against those gathered at the Third Papuan People’s congress is showing signs of having the opposite effect: widening the circle of dissent inside West Papua and igniting international support outside.
First the Indonesian military and police denied they shot dead peaceful protesters. But that was too difficult to sustain. New Matilda received text messages as soon as the shooting started which were followed by urgent phone calls. Gunfire could be heard in the background.
When it became clear that covering up the shooting would not wash, the Indonesian Chief of Army in West Papua, Erfi Triassunu, admitted opening fire but claimed his troops only fired warning shots. He insisted no one had been hurt. Some of the international media bought the story. With foreign journalists banned from West Papua, some media outlets went to the police and military for confirmation. This is in spite of the fact that West Papua Media, with their extensive network of citizen journalists and local stringers, broke the story, verified it and began filing reports about what happened within a few hours.
A few hours after the shooting, the Indonesian police in West Papua were telling journalists in Jakarta that an attempted coup d’état had taken place and that police had used force to defend the state. The Jayapura Chief of Police, Imam Setiawan, even went as far as saying that members of the Papuan Liberation Army had attacked the Congress.
Setiawan took this line again on Thursday 20 October. In an interview with Bintang Papua, a local Papuan daily, he outlined how he thought police should respond to a gathering of unarmed Papuans expressing their political opinion: “Whoever supports separatism or subversion activity, I will do the same as yesterday. I’ll finish them.”
The language used by Setiawan echoed hard-line nationalists in Jakarta. It follows a deadly trajectory. Cast the Papuans in the worst possible light. Label them as “separatists” — which in Indonesia is the worst kind of criminal, someone who is treasonous, dangerous and violent. From here it was only a short step to imply that those at the Third People’s Congress were using violence to try and seize control of the state. This narrative makes it sound like the police and military were taking evasive action to stop the Papuans storming the Bastille of Indonesian rule. This is pure fantasy.
Initially it was reported that police and the military raided the stage after Forkorus Yaboisembut and Edison Waromi (appointed as President and Prime Minister of the Federal State of West Papua respectively) declared independence. We now know that the attack did not happen until well after the three-day gathering had finished.
After the Declaration of Independence was read around 2.00pm local time, the Congress concluded. The leadership — Yaboisembut, Waromi, Dominikus Surabut, Helena Matuan and a few others left the field to rest in the nearby Sang Surya Catholic Friary in the grounds of the Fajar Timur Theological College where the Congress was being held. Those remaining on Taboria oval (Zaccheus Field) danced the Yospan, a traditional Papuan group dance.
The festivities continued for around 60-90 minutes. We don’t know exactly what the police, military and Brimob soldiers were doing between the time the Declaration was read out and the time the shooting started. Presumably they were discussing what to do. Most likely they consulted commanding officers locally and in Jakarta.
According to Yan Christian Waranussy, a prominent Papuan human rights lawyer, members of the security forces under the command of Police Chief Imam Setiawan arrested Edison Waromi as he drove out of the Fajar Timur grounds on Yakonde Street. Waranussy reports that the police pulled people out of the vehicle and started beating them before pushing them into a police van. Following the arrest of Waromi, Waranussy says the security forces starting firing their weapons into the crowd.
This occurred at around 3.30pm. One of the first killed was 25-year-old Daniel Kadepa, a student at Umel Mandiri Law School. According to those who knew him, Kapeda did not even attend the Congress. He was passing by when the security forces opened fire. Witnesses said that he died from gunshot wounds to the head and back after soldiers fired on him as he was running away.
Video footage obtained by EngageMedia and published by New Matilda shows people hiding in nearby buildings just after the police and military opened fire. In the background you can hear shooting. This is not automatic gunfire. They are single shots. Then there is a pause, followed by more shots. It is as if the shooter is walking around picking people off. There is very little background noise. No screaming or yelling, just an eerie silence … and gunshots.
According to Catholic clergy who witnessed the event, the police, Indonesian military and the the paramilitary Mobile Police Brigade continued discharging their weapons for approximately 25 minutes.
Eyewitnesses report that when the shooting started, Yaboisembut and Surabut were talking and relaxing in the Sang Surya Friary, a few metres from the oval. Then bullets smashed through the window. According to statements obtained by New Matilda people immediately hit the ground and began crawling to safety as the police indiscriminately fired live ammunition and canisters of tear gas into the buildings surrounding the oval.
According to statements obtained by New Matilda, police, military and Brimob personnel ransacked student dormitories, clergy residences and offices. One witness reported an Indonesian security officer yelling “Where are those idiot priests? Why do priests hide criminals?”
Those present also reported security personal using combat knives or bayonets and beating people with truncheons and rifles. At least 300 people were arrested and taken away in army and police trucks where they were detained overnight in the tennis courts at the police station.
We now know that three people were shot dead that day. They are Daniel Kapeda, Max Asa Yeuw, and Yakobus Samansabra. Two others, Matias Maidepa and Yacop Sabonsaba, were allegedly found dead behind the military headquarters in Abepura. According to the Indonesian military sources quoted in the local Papuan press, the victims had been stabbed. In addition, members of the Organising Committee of the Third Papuan Congress allege four other people died, all from gunshot wounds, two from Sorong and two from Wamena.
Six people are still in detention charged with rebellion. According to family members they have all been badly beaten. According to Human Rights Watch and KONTRAS Indonesia (the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence) those still in detention are:
• Forkorus Yaboisembut, chairman of the Papua Customary Council, probably the most prominent pro-independence leader in Papua. When New Matilda interviewed him in West Papua in 2010 and again in 2011 he was regularly receiving death threats. A few people had even come forward and told the local press that they were offered new motorbikes and other inducements if they would help orchestrate a fatal ”accident”.
• Edison Waromi, president of the West Papua National Authority. Edison Waromi’s daughter, Yane, was kidnapped and assaulted by the security forces in 2008.
• Dominikus Surabut, secretary of the Papuan Customary Council in La Pago region.
• Selpius Bobii, a social media activist, who organised the Papuan Congress. He initially eluded the police crackdown, but surrendered to police on October 20, accompanied by his lawyers and a Papuan journalist.
• August M. Sananay of the West Papua National Authority.
• Gat Wanda, a member of PETAPA (Defenders of the Land of Papua, an unarmed civilian defence group), charged with possessing a sharp weapon.
It will take some time before the immediate effect of the repression is made clear, but early signs suggest the use of extreme and deadly violence against nonviolent activists has enlarged the circle of dissent inside West Papua and ignited international support outside.
Certainly Church leaders — both Catholic and Protestant — have expressed their outrage. Neles Tebay, a key Papuan intellectual, defended the role of clergy who provided humanitarian protection for those seeking safety. Tebay, who also gave permission for the Committee to hold the Congress in the Theological College grounds, was quoted as saying that he “rejects the use of all kinds of repression in dealing with the problems. Using violence undermines the dignity of all concerned, above all the dignity of the victims as well as the perpetrators.”
Tebay has repeated his call “for all people of goodwill to jointly press for dialogue, for the sake of peace in Papua”.
Political representatives of the Papuan Provincial Parliament, a group that until now has sided with the government on matters of national security, expressed their dismay. Bintang Papua reported that Yan Mandenas, chairman of the Pikiran Rakyat Group in the Provincial Parliament said “the actions of the security forces in dispersing the Congress exceeded all bounds and … were in violation of the law”.
Similar views were expressed by Ruben Magay, chairman of Commission A on Politics and Law of the Provincial Parliament who reportedly urged the chief of police to withdraw his men because the Congress was already over. Magay said that what happened was clearly “a violation” and that “no one was fighting back”.
And while a large group of hard-line nationalists in Jakarta applauded or condoned police and military action, Effendy Choirie and Lily Chadidjah Wahid, both members of House of Representatives Commission I on information, defense and foreign affairs in Jakarta, warned the government that the mounting tension could lead to the province’s separation from Indonesia. In a clear rebuke of Papuan Police Chief Imam Setiawan, the two legislators added “that the government should not blame the Free Papua Movement (OPM) for the shooting but rather the security personnel in Papua”.
Internationally, things have gotten much worse for Jakarta.
United States Congressman Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin condemned the actions of the security forces. So too has Senator Richard Di Natale from the Australian Greens who has urged the Australian Government to suspend military ties with Indonesia. MP Catherine Delahunty from New Zealand has also called for the New Zealand Government to withdraw its training support for the Indonesian police. This is more than words. The United States, Australian and New Zealand Government all provide money, training and material aid to the Indonesian police and military. In this sense we are beginning to see the early signs of what could become an international withdrawal of legitimacy for continued Indonesian repression in West Papua.
Papuan calls for UN intervention won’t happen, at least not in the foreseeable future. And the movement internally still faces serious challenges. But the Congress, the Declaration of Independence and the subsequent shooting has realigned the political landscape. There are now three main political groups, the Congress, the Papuan Peace Network led by Neles Tebay who is calling for dialogue, and the West Papua National Committee who want the giant US/Australian Freeport Mine closed and a referendum on West Papua’s political status. At a fundamental level there is not a lot of difference between these positions. They all point to the need for a political solution to the Pacific’s longest running conflict.
The Indonesian political elite and security forces can no longer pretend that the problem in Papua is economic. Papuans want political freedoms. The Congress made that abundantly clear. It opened with raising the banned Morning Star flag and singing the banned West Papuan national anthem, Hai Tanah Ku, and closed with a Declaration of Independence.
And it wasn’t as if the military or police was unaware of this depth of feeling. When an open peace conference organised by the Papua Peace Network was held in Jayapura last July, Erfi Triassunu, the local Army Chief, took the podium. In attendance were 800 respected Papuan civil society leaders. Triassunu tried to get the audience — who were mostly Papuan — to chant “peace!” in response to his “Papua!”. But as soon as he called out “Papua!” the crowd responded as one with “Merdeka!” (freedom).
Now the Papuans’ cry for freedom is echoing around the world. And it is the Indonesian police, military and their nationalist political allies in Jakarta who are helping amplify it.
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- Report by GKI on Third Papuan Congress and Declaration of Independence (westpapuamedia.info)
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Forkorus and colleagues must be treated fairly, says Komnas HAM
Following the creation of a special team to deal with the arrests, Ongge said that they had visited the homes of Daniel Kadepa, Max Sasay and Yacob Samonsabra who had also been arrested, in order to gather information about the killings and other acts of violence that followed the end of the Papuan Congress..The victims said they had been badly treated for two hours after the end of the Congress.
Forkorus who was able to meet members of Komnas HAM said: ‘As I was being arrested I was beaten and forcibly pushed onto a Baracuda. There was no way I could resist as the police struck me in the back with their weapons,’ he said, while showing marks on his body. Members of Kontras, Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence were also witnesses to what happened to Forkorus.
Haris Azhar of Kontras said that the violence against the men who were arrested was a case of gross human rights violations. These acts of violence by members of the security forces against civilians, acting on behalf of the state and using facilities such a vehicles which were state property could be defined as gross human rights violations.
Members of Komnas HAM also visited other participants at the Congress who had also been taken into custody when many strange things had happened, including the discovery of people who had been killed . These matters have been raised with the chief of police. ‘None of these people offered any resistance when they were arrested,’ said Ridah Saleh of Komnas HAM.
Several sernior officials from Komnas HAM in Jakarta arrived in Jayapura to assist their local team and have met with members of the police force, as an indication of the seriousness with which the events following the Papuan Congress are seen in Jakarta.
Haris Azhar said: ‘We regard this as an example of the appalling treatment of Papuans by the security forces , an example of their discrimination and suppression.’
Selpius Bobii, a member of the organising committee of the Congress, also told journalists said none of those arrested were responsible for anything as it was he himself who as chairman of the Congress committee who accepts responsibility for everything that happened during the congress.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the police told journalists that the police were now in the process of investigating the case and were currently interrogating a number of people as well as some witnesses who were on duty with the security forces at the time.
Related articles
- At Papuan Congress, a Brutal Show of Force (westpapuamedia.info)
- DPRP members say police and army chiefs should be held responsible for casualties (westpapuamedia.info)
- Responsibility to Protect: Statement regarding the shooting of civilians in Abepura on 19 Oct 2011. (westpapuamedia.info)
- Imparsial: Urges SBY to speedily resolve the Papua Problem (westpapuamedia.info)
- Neles Tebay calls for an end to repression and suppo (westpapuamedia.info)
Neles Tebay calls for an end to repression and suppo
Speaking at a press conference after the event, he said that they were not concerned about the material damage which had been done but were concerned about the use of physical violence against people who had attended the Congress, which had also impacted on the broader community. He said that every effort should be made to ensure that such acts of violence do not occur again any time in the future. He stressed that the entire faculty of the STFT rejects the use of all kinds of repression in dealing with the problems. Using violence undermines the dignity of all concerned, above all the dignity of the victims as well as the perpetrators.
He said that it was very regrettable that the security forces appear to believe that they have the monopoly of the truth about what happened and believe that the brothers and fathers residing on the STFT complex had acted wrongfully simply because they provided protection to people who were fleeing and who were in need of protection, in accordance with universal principles in a situation where people’s personal safety was under threat. ‘It is the duty of the brothers and fathers to provide protection to people who are being chased and under threat from the security forces, in accordance with the principle of humanitarianism, and is not in any way connected with political issues.’
Pastor Neles called on Komnas HAM, the National Human Rights Commission, to investigate the acts of violence that occurred at the end of the Third Papuan People’s Congress in order to determine the extent to which basic human rights had been violated.
Recalling the commitment of the SBY government expressed on 16 August 2011 when the President said that Papua should be handled with the heart, he fully supported the call for dialogue between Jakarta and Papua. He said that dialogue would be of tremendous importance not only as a way of ending the violence but so as to ensure that there would be no further repetition of violence in the Land of Papua.
He called on all people of goodwill to jointly press for dialogue, for the sake of peace in Papua. Dialogue would make it possible to identify the problems and reach an agreement on the way to solve the problems in Papua in a way that is free of violence and bloodshed.
He also admitted that he was the one who had given the Congress permission to use the Zakheus Soccer Pitch as the venue of the Congress. He had done so because the Congress had been refused permission to hold the event either in the UNCEN Auditorium or in the Sports Stadium, GOR.
[Translated by TAPOL]
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- Radio Australia: Footage of violent Papuan crackdown emerges (westpapuamedia.info)
Theologians & Franciscan Friars about recent post-Congress Indonesian violence affecting their communities
“WHAT THE CIVITAS ACADEMICA OF ‘FAJAR TIMUR’ SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPY AND THEOLOGY HAVE EXPERIENCED AND SEEN POST THE THIRD PAPUAN CONGRESS”
1. Wednesday, 19 October 2011, around 9 am, the police, Brimob and the Indonesian army were on guard equipped with armoured vehicle, trucks, along Sosiri Street, Yakonde Street even at the back of “Fajar Timur” School of Philosophy and Theology (STFT). Within those streets the Catholic mission compound is located, including St Paul’s Secondary School and its teachers’ residence, “Nur Jaya” girls’ dormitory, JMJ nuns’ house, staff residence, “Sang Surya” Franciscan friary, “Tunas Harapan” Catholic dormitory, Zakheus football field (where the gathering spot of the congress), Seminary of John Vianney, “Tauboria” dormitory, Inter-diocesan seminary, the campus of Fajar Timur School of Philosophy and Theology, residence of priest staff, a chapel, a dinning hall and other facilities. The deployment of troops without any prior notice to the school made us worried and suspected that the situation would have turned into chaos and we would have been trapped in such circumstances. Therefore, around 10 am, we asked our staff to go home.
2. Around 11 am, a unit of Indonesian army with heavy guns entered the campus and dormitories (the inter-diocesan seminary) from the hill at the back of the campus. The troops entered our property without asking any permission. They took rest in a multi-purposed hut. Some students gave reactions to them and asked them not to enter the seminary and campus area. So they then left and went back to the hill.
3. Around 3.30 pm some members of the security services entered the dormitories searching for the participants of the Papuan congress who were running for safety. The security services entered the dormitories of the brothers from the Diocese of Agats. They broke the doors of the study room and bed rooms at the front side, entered and ransacked the computer room while saying, “Take that computer for evidence.” While window glasses were destroyed, another voice said, “Don’t do it. This is the mission complex.” The brothers from the Diocese of Agats were terrified and lying face down hiding at the front room. A few congress participants who took refuge in the bathrooms were arrested. A harsh voice said, “Run?…get shot!” When the security services wanted to ransack the room at the back where students were hiding, an instruction came out saying, “Enough! Enough! Stop! Back off!” then silence. After waiting for a while, those who were hiding, got out and ran away to the residence of priest staff. When they got there, they realised that one of them was shocked and could not move from his hiding place.
4. Meanwhile, inside the staff’s study room, Father John Jehuru OSA, Associate Dean and the Rector of Interdiocesan Seminary was stunned when a bullet penetrated his window. He was monitoring the chaos happening in Zakheus football field around 3.30 pm. The bullet razed his glass louvers and curtain, hit the wall, before dropped into a study desk. The bullet and Father John were only separated for about 50-75 cms. The crumbs of the bullet were found.
5. The security services also entered other dormitories. In the dormitories of the brothers of the Diocese of Manokwari-Sorong, while searching for participants of the congress, they said, “Is it a mission house? Where are those idiot priests? Why priests hide criminals?”
In the dormitory of the brothers of the Archdiocese of Merauke, the security services arrested Agus Alua, a student, who was standing outside when the security services came in. We found a bullet pierced a window but we do not know from which direction the bullet came from. The security services came from the back of the campus with shooting. However, we do not know whether they were the same troops that came ealier at 11 am or not.
6. Meanwhile in the staff residence, the troops were chasing the participants and threw tear gas. One of the troops entered and found the resident, a woman, lying face down and hiding under the bed. He asked, “Who are you?” and the woman answered, “I’m the resident here!”. “Get out, don’t be afraid” said the security. She came out and wiped her soured eyes saying, “I’m not afraid of you but of your bullets and tear gas”. Then he walked away.
7. In “Sang Surya” Franciscan friary, many participants took refuge. Mr Forkorus Yaboisembut (the Chair of the Papuan Customary Council) and Dominikus Sorabut, now suspects detained in the police custody, were taking rest after the congress was closed. Father Gonsa Saur OFM, the head of the friary, was taken by surprised when he heard a shooting. He put his Franciscan habit on and came out standing at the stairs that connect the first and the second floor of the friary. Three members of the security forces and some others with plain clothes forced to enter the second level of the house but Father Gonsa denied them. He saw the security services with plain clothes sneaked into the dining room and the front room. They were carrying big guns and pistols. Due to the heavy pressure from the security forces, finally Father Gonsa had to ask those who were hiding to come out. While some of them came out, some others stayed hidding for safety. Father Gonsa asked the security, “You can take them, but don’t beat them.” In front of him, they were not beaten up but once they were out at the road, some of the security services beat them.
Six members of the security forces in plain clothes dragged Mr Yaboisembut and yelled at him. A woman was dragged too out of the friary. One of the security forces tried to penetrate the second level but Father Gonsa asked him to come down. About ten people surrendered but we do not know their identities. They were told to walk by squatting. There were three women among them. Outside the building, many security forces with or without uniform were hanging around with heavy weapons.
8. In John Maria Vianey’s Seminary of the Diocese of Jayapura, many participants were hiding for safety. The security services searched for the participants and found Father Yan You, the head of the seminary. Three members of the security forces pointed his gun at Father Yan’s head one by one. They said, “You hide them.” He answered, “Kill me, shot me, come on.” Then they smashed the door, entered the room and took those who were hiding. Meanwhile, the brothers convened the participants at the hall. The brothers gave up their bedrooms for the participants for hiding. The brothers put their priest uniform on and protect the participants of the congress but when the security forces entered, some of the participants surrendered and they were taken away. The brothers told the security not to be cruel with the participants. One of the brothers, who tried to help those who were shot, got beaten with a rifle butt on his hand until it was fractured and with a rubbler baton on his nose until it was bleeding. He had been arrested and detained at the Papua police custody overnight before released on the following day. He is being treated at the intensive care unit at the local hospital.
9. When the security forces persecuted the crowd and members of the security guards of the Papuan Customary Council (Penjaga Tanah Papua), these people ran through the back of the library and tried to enter the staff room. But they could not make it because it was locked. So they broke two pieces of glass louvers. They ran to the hill but then were stopped with shootings coming from the top of the hill. So they went back to the bushes where they had come from.
Because of this incidence, the “Yerusalem Baru” inter-diocesan seminary and “Fajar Timur” School of Philosophy and Theology were physically and non-physically damaged:
1. 7 doors were ruined, 2 computer units missing, 2 trophies crushed, 2 chairs were broken, 2 sickles and 1 knife were missing, pots of flowers scattered. Window glasses of the dormitory of the Diocese of Merauke was razed with bullet, 2 pieces of glasses louvers of the staff room were smashed, 1 window glass of the staff room was pierced by bullet, window glasses of the seminary office demolished.
2. One student is being treated in hospital because his face was swollen so there was no difference between his nose and his cheeks.
3. The brothers remain terrified and worried. They are traumatized because the security services have acted inhumanely.
In regards to this incidence:
1. We do not ask for compensation for the damaged or missing facilities. The violent acts of the security forces have destroyed the facilities and also infused fear and anxiety among the civitas academica of “Fajar Timur” School of Philosophy and Theology. The building and window glasses can be replaced but it takes a long time to heal fear and anxiety.
2. We do not ask for compensation for the medical treatment for the brother who is in hospital.
3. We firmly reject any repressive means to deal with issues because such violent act only undermines the human dignity of victims and perpetrators.
4. We are deeply concerned that our campus, which is entitled to academic freedom, was penetrated by heavily armed security forces without any permission or prior notice.
5. We regret that the monopoly of truth by the security forces who assumed the brothers had done something wrong by providing assylums for those who were persecuted by the security forces. We affirm that such an assylum was provided on the basis of the universal humanitarian principle, namely when a person is exposed to a life-threatening situation, s/he has to be given protection and defence. Therefore, the protection provided for the participants of the congress who tried to take refuge from the persecution and threats from the security forces was solely based on the humanitarian principle rather than any political interests.
6. We appeal to the Indonesian Human Rights Commission (KOMNAS HAM) to investigate the violent incidence post congress to look at how serious human rights abuses have occurred.
7. Based on the government’s commitment, as expressed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during his address to the nation on 16 August 2011, namely “dealing Papua with heart,” we support a dialogue to be done between Jakarta and Papua. This dialogue is highly important not only to stop violence but also to prevent any recurrence of violent acts in Papua. We ask all parties of good will to push the idea of dialogue between Jakarta and Papua.
8. We ask for supports and solidarity from the members of the Catholic Church around the world to pray and support the implementation of dialogue between Jakarta and Papua for peace of Papua. Because only through dialogue, issues that underpin conflicts in Papua can be identified and proper solutions can also be found without resorting to violence and bloodshed.
Jayapura, 26 October 2011
Rector of “Fajar Timur” STFT The Provincial of the Franciscans Order in Papua
Father Dr. Neles Tebay, Pr Father Gabriel Ngga OFM, Lic Theol.
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AWPA: CHOGM leaders should condemn the brutal crackdown on the West Papuan people
Press Release
The Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
24 October 2011
AWPA is calling on the CHOGM leaders (who will meet in Perth) to condemn the brutal crackdown on the West Papuan people .
In a bid to make CHOGM relevant the Commonwealth leaders will discuss a special eminent persons’ report on renewing the organisation. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said talks will focus on “the role of the Commonwealth in the age in which we live and how we can strengthen it for the future”
The report warns the Commonwealth must “focus fresh attention on violations of human, political and civil rights if it is to continue to command attention on behalf of its member states and retain the respect of its own people”.
Joe Collins of AWPA said “obviously CHOGM will focus on its own member states however, many of the CHOGM countries are regional neighbours of Indonesia and some like Australia and New Zealand help train and aid the Indonesian security forces. Human rights should be universal and organisations such as CHOGM should make a statement of concern about the human rights situation in West Papua. If enough pressure is put on Indonesian it may hold its military to account for human rights abuses.
Background
At the end of the 3rd Papua People`s Congress the delegates raised the West Papuan national flag, the Morning Star flag. The security forces immediately began fireing live rounds to disperse the assembly. Six people were killed.
up to 300 hundred were arrested and many were beaten by the security forces with batons, bamboo poles and the butts of their rifles
Six delegates have been charged with treason.
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- AWPA letter to Foreign Minister re crackdown by security forces in West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
RAW FOOTAGE OF THE ATTACK ON THE PAPUAN PEOPLE’S CONGRESS
by Numbay Media — via our partners EngageMedia.org
This is raw footage of Wednesday’s attack by the Indonesian military and police on the Third Papuan People’s Congress in Jayapura. The footage shows people dancing, soldiers closing in, and gun shots. The video was shot by several observers. The last sequence was shot while the camera person was hiding from gunfire. Police have now confirmed that five people were killed in the attack – human rights groups say it was more.
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1530 21/10/2011 Updates From West Papua
By Newmatilda.com and westpapuamedia.info
CURRENT:
Arrests
Anywhere between 300 and 800 activists arrested, most released
Core group of 5 in custody at least but could be more, all feared tortured:
- Forkorus Yaboisembut – elected as leader of the broad based movement for peace and justice – possibly paralysed witnessed by another detainee
- Edison Waromi – deputy leader
- Argus Krar
- Selfius Bobii
- Dominikus Sorabut
Released
- Abraham Kareni (who’s son lives in Melbourne) with fractured skull
Charges include treason, rebellion, crimes of hatred against the state. These are colonial laws left over from the Dutch era and they carry long sentences — in some cases up to 20 years.
Police violence, dead and wounded
DFAT have confirmed four people are confirmed dead, activists claim six
People identified (all from Petapa or family of:
- Dani Kabepa
- Yakovus Sabonsaba
- Mathias Maidepa
- Martinus Siep
- Tanepi Kobeta
- One additional unidentified member of Petapa, the West Papuan paramilitary guard formed to protect Forkorus Yaboisembut, the man delegates elected as their leader.
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- Members of the community security force (Petapa) are arrested. Photo: West Papua Media Alerts
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Claims:
- Numerous people have been savagely beaten, many are in hiding for fear of arrest or worse
- Unverified claims people were shot at point-blank range and bundled into armoured personnel carriers and other vehicles.
- Five people at the Dian Harapan Hospital suffering several wounds: ”One is a woman, Ana Ana Adi, 41. She has got wounds at her right thigh. Pilatus Wetipo, 40, was shot in the right leg. Wiler Hobi (22) has some wounds in his head because of being beaten by the weapon, the other two have blistered wounds
- four people in Sabron Yaru wounded
-
Members of the community security force (Petapa) are arrested. Photo: West Papua Media Alerts
Reports of violence by Indonesian troops continue to emerge from West Papua. New Matilda is in contact with local sources. We’re publishing regular updates on the situation here. (Warning: graphic content)
On Thursday, New Matilda published a report on the violence at the Third People’s Congress in West Papua. Indonesia military and police opened fire on participants and took activists and leaders into custody. Reports of fatalities and injuries continue to emerge from Jayapura.
Read Alex Rayfield’s initial report here.
New Matilda is in contact with local sources and will continue to update this page as new information emerges.
UPDATE, Friday 21 October, 10am:
This is a phone interview with journalist Alex Rayfield.
“Ferry Marisan, the director of Elsham — a leading human rights organisation based in the capital, Jayapura — has said that six people are confirmed dead.
“We think that a couple of people were shot as the security forces raided the stage, and some later. There are also lots of people with gunshot wounds, some of whom are in hiding and too scared to get medical assistance.
“We’ve had multiple reports that there were 800 people in jail. Many of those have been released, but a core group is still detained, charged with a range of offences including treason, rebellion, crimes of hatred against the state. These are colonial laws left over from the Dutch era and they carry long sentences — in some cases up to 20 years.
“It’s important for people to know that [Congress] is not a radical fringe movement. It’s made up of mainstream Papuan society: academics, church leaders and senior tribal leaders. In fact the radical fringe stayed away from this event because they think it’s not radical enough. So if the Indonesian government thinks this is a minority view, they are sadly mistaken. It is a mainstream view.
“Meanwhile, we should add for Australian audiences, that the strike continues at the Freeport mine [which is part owned by Anglo-Australian company Rio Tinto]. The two events are intimately connected.”
For more information on the Freeport strikes read New Matilda’s coverage here andhere.
UPDATE Friday 21 October, 4.30PM
These photos were sent by a credible source to West Papua Media Alerts and allegedly show injuries suffered in police custody. They have not been verified by New Matilda.
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Photo: West Papua Media Alerts|
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Photo: West Papua Media Alerts|
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Photo: West Papua Media AlertsMORE INFORMATION
Listen to an interview with Elsham’s Ferry Marisan here.
Read Amesty International’s statement on the incident here.
Read an article on Australia’s foreign policy response by Greens spokesperson on West Papua, Richard di Natale, here.
Related articles
- Police and Army Open Fire on Papuan Congress (westpapuamedia.info)
- Photo/video report: Heavy handed intimidation fails to dampen Papuan Congress spirit; police threaten forced dispersal (westpapuamedia.info)
- Third National Papua Congress Declaration (westpapuamedia.info)
- Indonesian crackdown on Papuan Congress sparks outrage (westpapuamedia.info)
- 800 arrested, many tortured after troops open fire on Papuan Congress (westpapuamedia.info)
Third National Papua Congress Declaration
FORMING FEDERAL STATE OF WEST PAPUA
On this day Wednesday ,19 October 2011 at the Third National Papua Congress, the people of Papua in Country of West Papua declare:
I.
Proclamation recover and Restore the independence and sovereign of West Papua which was lost to Indonesia annexation on December 1, 1961.
II.
Going into effect Constitution of Federal of West Papua by forming Governance of Federal State of West papua in the form of lifting President and elect Leader of Governance-The Prime Minister.
III.
Government of Federal State of West Papua guarantees the rights of live and rights of endeavor of everyone in the Country of West Papua.
IV.
Indonesia immediately terminates its occupation of West Papua pacifically and prestigious as civilized nation and member of the United Nations.
V.
The Nation Members of the United Nations to confess the Independence of the nation of Papua parallel with the other independences in the globe.
VI.
United Nations Security Council immediately register the Federal State of West Papua becomes the permanent or regular member state of the United Nations
VII.
Authorized the mandate to Papua National Leadership for run of the power of governance, Legislative, Judicative and Commander in Chief of Defense and also as soon as during one year carry out the general Election to chosen the Prime Minister of definitive Governance.
The People of West Papua greatly appreciate on your understanding of the historic injustice that we have suffered and are most grateful for your goverment’s support and recognize for restoration of our sovereign righs.
God Bless us all Sincerely
Forkorus Yaboisembut, SPd.
Head of Papua Customary Law Council Executor of Presidency of West Papua
CC:
1.Secertary General of United Nations
2. The President of United States
3. President of Indonesia
4. Netherland Kingdom
5. Pope in Vatican- Rome
6 .US Members of Congress and Senate
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Amnesty: RELEASE PARTICIPANTS OF PEACEFUL GATHERING IN PAPUA
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PUBLIC STATEMENT
Index: ASA 21/033/2011
20 October 2011
Indonesia: R elease participants of peaceful gathering in Papua
Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of at least fourteen people who are currently being detained and interrogated by the police in Papua. They were arrested yesterday for participating in the Third Papuan People’s congress, a peaceful gathering held in Abepura, Papua province. Five of them, including Forkorus Yaboisembut, Edison Waromi, August Makbrawen Sananay Kraar, Dominikus Sorabut, and Gat Wenda have been charged for ‘rebellion’ and ‘incitement’ under Articles 106, 110 and 160 of the Criminal Code, which carry up to life imprisonment.
On the afternoon of 19 October 2011, the final day of the congress, military and police units approached the venue and started firing shots into the air to break up the peaceful gathering. This caused widespread panic among the participants who began to flee. As they fled, police units from the Jayapura City police station and the regional police headquarters fired tear gas and then arbitrarily arrested an estimated 300 hundred participants. The participants were held overnight at the regional police headquarters but most have now been released without charge.
Police and military officers allegedly beat participants with their pistols, rattan canes and batons during the arrest. The bodies of two participants, Melkias Kadepa, a student, and Yakobus Samonsabra, were found near the area of the congress with bullet wounds. Later that evening, security forces raided the Sang Surya seminary in Abepura arresting one person and allegedly firing bullets in one of the rooms.
The Indonesian government must immediately investigate allegations of excessive use of force to forcibly disperse the participants and investigate allegations of ill-treatment against some of them. There should also be an independent, impartial and prompt investigation into the deaths of Melkias Kadepa and Yakobus Samonsabra. If the investigations find that there were human rights violations involving the security forces, then those responsible, including persons with command responsibility, should be prosecuted in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness, and victims provided with reparations.
The reported heavy handed actions of the Indonesian security forces to disperse the peaceful gathering is a clear violation of the rights to freedom of expression, opinion and peaceful assembly which are guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a state party, as well as the Indonesian Constitution. While the Indonesian government has the duty and the right to maintain public order, it must ensure that any restrictions to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are no more than is permitted under international human rights law.
Further, the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms state that law enforcement officials must apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms. The 2009 Indonesian Police Regulation on the Use of Force also highlights the need to respect the principles of legality, necessity and proportionality when using force.
Several thousand people representing various tribes from all over Papua attended the Third Papuan People’s congress from 17- 19 October 2011. Organisers had informed the Jayapura police of the gathering as required by law. At the peaceful gathering, participants reportedly raised the prohibited Morning Star flag, a symbol of Papuan independence, and made declarations of independence. During the period of the congress there was a build up of an estimated 500 military and police personnel surrounding the venue. In recent years, over a hundred people have been arrested, charged or detained for peacefully raising the Morning Star flag in Papua.
Amnesty International takes no position whatsoever on the political status of any province of Indonesia, including calls for independence. However the organization believes that the right to freedom of expression includes the right to peacefully advocate referendums, independence or any other political solutions that do not involve incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.
Related articles
- 800 arrested, many tortured after troops open fire on Papuan Congress (westpapuamedia.info)
- AHRC: One person killed, hundreds arrested and five persons charged with rebellion at Third Papuan People’s Congress (westpapuamedia.info)
- Updates: More Stories Unravelled As Indonesian Police and Military Attacked the Third Papuan People’s Congress (westpapuamedia.info)
- Photo/video report: Heavy handed intimidation fails to dampen Papuan Congress spirit; police threaten forced dispersal (westpapuamedia.info)
- URGENT – AHRC: Authoritarian style show of force at Third Papuan People’s (westpapuamedia.info)
Indonesian crackdown on Papuan Congress sparks outrage
Indonesian crackdown on Papuan Congress sparks outrage
A joint statement by TAPOL (UK), the West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT,
US) and East Timor Action Network (ETAN, US)
On Wednesday, a meeting of thousands of indigenous Papuans in
Jayapura, West Papua, became the scene of a brutal crackdown by
Indonesian security forces. Indonesian troops and police Mobile
Brigades reportedly fired hundreds of shots to disperse the crowd,
pistol-whipped participants and beat them with batons and rattan
canes. They arrested around 300 participants. According to the
Indonesian press, security forces turned violent when Papuan
indigenous leaders, who had gathered to discuss their basic rights,
issued a declaration of independence.
“This appalling display of excessive force has no place in a modern
democracy,” said Lord Avebury, Vice Chair of the UK Parliamentary
Human Rights Group. Avebury called on the Indonesian government to
immediately release detainees and conduct and publish a full
investigation into the incident.
Two people are confirmed dead, with many more injured and five charged
with treason. Among those arrested were Congress organiser Mr Selphius
Bobii, and prominent indigenous leader Mr Forkorus Yaboisembut, head
of the Papuan Customary Council (Dewan Adat Papua). The arrests are a
provocative response to a peaceful gathering, targeting one of West
Papua’s most respected tribal leaders, said the US-based West Papua
Advocacy Team.
The meeting is the third of its kind to take place in West Papuan
history, and was reportedly attended by around 4,000–5,000 people.
While the Congress attracted thousands more to the surrounding area,
many were prevented from gaining entry to the event by security
forces, or were too afraid to enter.
“It is bitterly ironic that when Papuans meet to discuss their basic
rights, Indonesia responds by violating those rights,” said Carmel
Budiardjo, senior campaigner for the UK-based NGO TAPOL. “The daily
discrimination and violations experienced by Papuans are bad enough,
but an attack of this nature on a democratic congress is an absolute
outrage,” she continued.
The use of the infamous ‘makar’ or treason laws to deny the right to
freedom of expression and assembly is an increasing problem in Papua,
suppressing activists and fuelling simmering resentments among the
indigenous population. On Wednesday, US Congressman Mr Eni
Faleomavaega expressed concerns about the arrests, calling for the
immediate release of Mr Forkorus Yaboisembut. The US-based East Timor
Action Network has also condemned the arrests. “The right to gather
and speak out is a fundamental freedom, it doesn’t just disappear
because the government doesn’t like what is being said,” said John M.
Miller, the network’s National Coordinator.
The situation in Jayapura last night was tense amidst fears of
reprisals and further actions by security forces against local
residents and those involved in the Congress. TAPOL, WPAT and ETAN
call on the international community to urge Indonesia to show
restraint, release the detainees, and commit to a peaceful resolution
of the West Papua conflict.
/ Ends
Contacts
UK: Paul Barber, Coordinator, TAPOL, +44-20-8771-2904
paul.barber@tapol.org
US: Ed McWilliams, West Papua Advocacy Team, +1-575-648-2078
edmcw@msn.com
John M. Miller, East Timor Action Network,
+1-917-690-4391 john@etan.org
Photos and video clips
Photos of victims available from TAPOL on request, including victims
suffering gunshot wounds and beatings.
Check West Papua Media Info for breaking news and video clips direct
from West Papua.
Background notes for editors
The Third Papuan People’s Congress
The Congress, themed ‘Affirming the basic rights of the indigenous
Papuan people for the present and the future’ was planned to last for
three days. It opened in Abepura, Jayapura, on 16 October 2011 with
between 4,000 and 5,000 delegates in attendance representing more than
200 tribal groups from across the territory. Over 20,000 more
gathered in the vicinity of the Congress. The organisers were forced
to hold the event in an open field as requests to hold it at a more
suitable venue were rejected.
For the first two days the Congress proceeded peacefully, but the
atmosphere was increasingly tense due to the build-up of over 2,000
members of the security forces in Jayapura. According to local sources
reported by West Papua Media Info, troops encircled the conference
with around 70 vehicles including Army Pansers, a water cannon,
Armoured Personnel Carriers and Barracuda armoured jeeps. On the third
day at the close of the conference, Indonesian troops armed with
automatic weapons, along with units of Brimob, the notorious mobile
brigade of the Indonesian police, reportedly opened fire in an attempt
to disperse the Congress.
History of the Papuan People’s Congress
The First Papuan People’s Congress was held on October 16–19 in 1961,
and issued a manifesto declaring their independence. The Second
Congress held in May–June 2000 issued a resolution which affirmed
their sovereignty as a people and led to the establishment of the
representative body, the Papuan Presidium Council (PDP). Just over a
year later, in November 2001, the PDP chairman, Theys Eluay was
kidnapped by a unit of Indonesia’s Kopassus Special Forces and
assassinated. In a travesty of justice which characterises the problem
of impunity for security forces in Indonesia, the perpetrators were
sentenced to between two and three and a half years.
Elsewhere in Papua: strikes at Freeport
At the same time as the Congress was underway, thousands of Papuan
workers employed by the massive Freeport copper-and-gold mine in West
Papua continued their strike to demand a substantial rise in wages.
The strike, which has hit production at the multibillion dollar
company, which is losing millions, has been met by security force
violence. Since the late 1970s Freeport has been the largest taxpayer
to the Indonesian state, while the majority of Papuans continue to
live in dire poverty: the Papuan provinces remain the poorest in
Indonesia.
One of the world’s longest-running conflicts, the independence
struggle between the Free West Papua Organisation (Organisasi Papua
Merdeka, OPM) and the Indonesian state has been raging for 48 years,
since Indonesia took control of West Papua on 1 May 1963. The conflict
escalated when West Papua was formally incorporated into Indonesia
following the controversial Act of Free Choice in 1969.
Recent context
A period of heightened political activity in the middle of 2011,
including the holding of a Papua Peace Conference in Abepura from 5-7
July and calls for dialogue with the central government, generated
positive signs that tentative progress is being made towards resolving
the Papuan problem, but was followed by a series a violent incidents
and human rights violations. The outcomes of the Peace Conference,
organised by the Jaringan Damai Papua (Papua Peace Network) led by
Father Neles Tebay, provided an aspirational agenda for a peaceful
Papua with a series of ‘Indicators of Papua, Land of Peace.’
Note: The term West Papua covers the whole territory of West Papua,
which in 2003 was divided into two provinces: Papua and West Papua.
Related articles
- Updates: More Stories Unravelled As Indonesian Police and Military Attacked the Third Papuan People’s Congress (westpapuamedia.info)
- 800 arrested, many tortured after troops open fire on Papuan Congress (westpapuamedia.info)
- Urgent: Police and Military Prepare to Storm Papuan Congress (westpapuamedia.info)
- Police and Army Open Fire on Papuan Congress (westpapuamedia.info)
- Indon Police Hunt Papuan Congress leaders (westpapuamedia.info)
AHRC: One person killed, hundreds arrested and five persons charged with rebellion at Third Papuan People’s Congress
[West Papua Media Note: at time of writing two people have been confirmed dead: Martinus Siep (Petapa security guard) ; and Melkias Kadepa. A full list of the dead injured and arrested is being compiled and casualties are expected to rise significantly]
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-213-2011
20 October 2011
———————————————————————
INDONESIA: One person killed, hundreds arrested and five persons charged with rebellion at Third Papuan People’s Congress
ISSUES: extra-judicial killing, freedom of expression, Military, ; Police Violence, Indigenous people, Torture, Ill-treatment
———————————————————————
CAMPAIGN: End Violence in West Papua
Dear friends,
The AHRC has received information regarding the killing of at least one person and the arrest of hundreds of participants at the Third Papuan People’s Congress including Forkorus Yaboisembut and Edison Waromi on 19 October 2011 in Abepura, Papua. Concerns about the safety of the arrested persons and the need for an investigation into the killing need your urgent intervention. (photo: security forces in Papua surround the Third Papuan People’s Congress)
CASE NARRATIVE:
According to reports received by the AHRC, around 2200 members of the Indonesian army (TNI) and the mobile brigades (BRIMOB) were mobilized on the occasion of the Third Papuan People’s Congress that began on 17 October 2011, and was attended by more than 4000 indigenous Papuan participants, at the Taboria oval (Zaccheus Field) in Abepura, Papua. At least 100 members of the security forces had surrounded the area andfour police cars, two armoured vehicles from the police and a further two armoured vehicles from the mobile brigades of the police (BRIMOB) had approached close to the area. This show of force with heavy firearms was seen as a form of intimidation to the unarmed participants. Several persons were reported to have refrained from participating at the event due to this.
The event concluded at around 2pm on October 19, and a political declaration regarding the self-determination of the indigenous Papuan population was read out. Following this declaration the security forces opened fire, allegedly as warning shots only. Tear gas was used and security personnel from the army and police started dispersing the crowd and beating up numerous participants. About 300 persons were arrested and taken into custody in trucks. Around 200 of them were later released, while 100 remain detained at the Regional police headquarters (POLDA Papua). Video material is available from MetroTV.
Forkorus Yaboisembut and Edison Waromi, elected at the event as indigenous political leaders, were also arrested. Selfius Bobi (Chair of the organising committee of the congress) is currently being investigated by the police as well. According to the law, the police are required to release detained persons within 24 hours or lay charges against them. The police has so far charged 5 persons with with article 110 p.(1), 106 and 160 of the Indonesian Criminal code, rebellion/secession (maker): Forkorus Yaboisembut, Edison Gladius Waromi, August Makbrawen Sananay Kraar, Dominikus Sorabut, and Gat Wenda. Numerous Papuan political prisoners have been sentenced for up to 20 years based on this charge in the past.
At around 4pm on October 19, Mr. Kadepa, one of the Congress participants, was found dead behind the office of the military resort command (KOREM) in Abepura. Mr. Kadepa’s corpse was then taken for an autopsy to a local hospital. (photo: police troup truck at the incident location)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Soon after the Second Papuan People’s Congress in 2000, the elected political representative of the indigenous Papuan community, Theys Hiyo Eluay was abducted and killed by the Indonesian military. All perpetrators of the case were later aquitted. During the Third Papuan People’s Congress the participants again questioned the legality through which Indonesia claimed sovereignty over the then decolonized former Dutch Western New Guinea in a UN administered process that was later shown to have been flawed. At the event Yaboisembut, head of the Papuan Customary Council was elected as the President and Waromi as the Prime Minister of the West Papuan Federal State. The Papuan flag was also displayed at the event. These acts were seen as secessionist activities (Indonesian: MAKAR).
In other flag raising events or gatherings where political opinion were expressed in the past many persons had been arrested and subjected to torture and ill-treatment. Foreign journalists are not given access to the Papuan provinces by Indonesia and several international groups including the Red Cross have been banned from operating in Papua.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities listed below asking them to intervene in the case immediately to ensure the safety of all arrested persons, an investigation into the killing and that all perpetrators are brought to justice in accordance with international human rights norms.
Please be informed that the AHRC is also sending letters to the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous people, the working group on arbitrary detention, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, calling for their intervention into this matter.
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear ___________,
INDONESIA: Security forces kill at least one person and arrest hundreds at Third Papuan People’s Congress
Name of victims: Forkorus Yaboisembut, Edison Gladius Waromi, August Makbrawen Sananay Kraar, Dominikus Sorabut, Gat Wenda, Selfius Bobi, Mr. Kadepa and hundreds participants of congress
Name of alleged perpetrators: members of the Indonesian army (TNI), members of the mobile brigades (BRIMOB) of Regional Police of Papua province
Date of incident: 19 October 2011
Place of incident: the Taboria oval (Zaccheus Field) in Abepura, Papua
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the killing of at least one person and the arrest of hundreds of participants at the Third Papuan People’s Congress including Forkorus Yaboisembut and Edison Waromi on 19 October 2011 by members of the Indonesian army (TNI) and members of the mobile brigades of the police (BRIMOB).
According to the information I have received from the AHRC, around 2200 members of the Indonesian army (TNI) and the mobile brigades (BRIMOB) were mobilized on the occasion of the Third Papuan People’s Congress that began on 17 October 2011, and was attended by more than 4000 indigenous Papuan participants, at the Taboria oval (Zaccheus Field) in Abepura, Papua. At least 100 members of the security forces had surrounded the area andfour police cars, two armoured vehicles from the police and a further two armoured vehicles from the mobile brigades of the police (BRIMOB) had approached close to the area. This show of force with heavy firearms was seen as a form of intimidation to the unarmed participants. Several persons were reported to have refrained from participating at the event due to this.
I am informed that the event concluded at around 2pm on October 19, and a political declaration regarding the self-determination of the indigenous Papuan population was read out. Following this declaration the security forces opened fire, allegedly as warning shots only. Tear gas was used and security personnel from the army and police started dispersing the crowd and beating up numerous participants. About 300 persons were arrested and taken into custody in trucks. Around 200 of them were later released, while 100 remain detained at the Regional police headquarters (POLDA Papua).
Forkorus Yaboisembut and Edison Waromi, elected at the event as indigenous political leaders, were also arrested. Selfius Bobi (Chair of the organising committee of the congress) is currently being investigated by the police as well. According to the law, the police are required to release detained persons within 24 hours or lay charges against them.
I am disturbed to learn that around 4pm on October 19, Mr. Kadepa, one of the Congress participants, was found dead behind the office of the military resort command (KOREM) in Abepura.
In light of the above information I am of the opinion that the killing of one person and the arrest of hundreds of participants at the Third Papuan People’s Congress by members of the Indonesian army (TNI) and members of the mobile brigades (BRIMOB) are a violation of the right to life and a violation of the right to freedom of expression and require and independent investigation.
I am therefore urging you to ensure that all human rights violations are investigated and that no persons remains detained or chareged solely for the peaceful expression of their political opinions. The Regional Police of Papua (POLDA Papua) must ensure a fair treatment of all arrested persons according to international norms and that no person is subjected to torture or ill-treatment.
I also urge you to ensure that an impartial and professional investigation into the death of Mr. Kadepa is conducted and all those found guilty are prosecuted according to the law.
I am looking forward to your intervention in this case.
Yours sincerely,
—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
The President of Indonesia
Jl. Veteran No. 16
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 3863777 / 3503088.
Fax: +62 21 3442223
2. Mr. Kemal Azis Stamboel
The Chairman of the First Commission of House of Representative of Indonesia
Gedung DPR RI Nusantara II, Lantai 1
Jl. Jenderal Gatot Subroto
Jakarta 10270
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 5715518
Fax: +62 21 5715523
3. Chairman of Third Commission of The House of Representative of Indonesia
Jl. Gatot Subroto No. 6 Jakarta
INDONESIA
Tel:+62 21 5715569
Fax: +62 21 5715566
4. Military Commander in Chief
Mabes TNI, Cilangkap,
Jakarta 13870
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 8459-1244 / 8459-1243
Fax: +62 21 845-6805
5. Mr. Pramono Edhie Wibowo
Army Chief of Staff
Jl. Veteran No. 5 Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
Tlp: +62 21 3846002 / 3456838
Fax: +62 21 3848300
6. Mr. Erfi Triassunu
Commander of Regional Military Command XVII Cendrawasih
(Kemiliteran Daerah Papua / Kodam Papua)
Jl. Polimak atas Jayapura Provinsi Papua
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 967 533763
7. General of Police Timur Pradopo
Chief of Indonesian National Police
Markas Besar Kepolisian Indonesia
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Kebayoran Baru
South Jakarta 12110
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 3848537 / 7260306 / 7218010
Fax: +62 21 7220669
Email: info@polri.go.id
8. Head of Division of Profession and Security of Indonesian Police
Markas Besar Kepolisian Indonesia
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Kebayoran Baru
South Jakarta 12110
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 3848537 / 7260306 / 7218010
Fax: +62 21 7220669
Email: info@polri.go.id
9. Chairman of the National Police Commission (Kompolnas)
Jl. Tirtayasa VII No. 20 Komplek PTIK Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 739 2352
Fax: +62 21 739 2317
10. Head of National Commission on Human Rights of Indonesia
Jalan Latuharhary No.4-B,
Jakarta 10310
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 392 5227-30
Fax: +62 21 392 5227
Email: info@komnas.go.id
11. Ms. Harkristuti Harkrisnowo
General Director of Human Rights
Department of Law and Human Rights Republic of Indonesia
Jl. HR Rasuna Said Kav.6-7 Kuningan, Jakarta 12940
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 525 3006 / 525 3889 / 526 4280
Fax: +62 21 525 3095
12. Chief of Regional Police of Papua province
Jl. Samratulangi No. 8 Jayapura
INDONESIA
Tel: + 62 0967 531014
Fax: +62 0967 533763
13. Chief of Jayapura city district police (Polresta Jayapura)
Jl. A. Yani No.11
Jayapura
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 967 531027
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
AHRC: Manokwari Court acquits four Papuan students but sentences one more student with rebellion
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-046-2011
4 October 2011
[RE: AHRC-UAU-041-2011: INDONESIA: Manokwari court sentences two Papuan activists in flawed trial]
———————————————————————
INDONESIA: Manokwari Court acquits four Papuan students but sentences one more student with rebellion
ISSUES: Freedom of expression, Indigenous Peoples, Independence of Judges and Lawyers
———————————————————————
Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from the Institute for Research, Recognition and Development of Legal Aid (LP3BH) in West Papua regarding the sentencing of another Papuan student and the acquittal of four others in relation to their involvement in a peaceful protest on 14 December 2010. While the AHRC welcomes the acquittal of four of the seven victims brought before court the sentencing of the other three presents a violation of their right to freedom of expression. Concerns over the imprisonment of Mr. Bleskadit and the application of the rebellion charge against peaceful protesters in other cases in West Papua remain.
UPDATED INFORMATION:
In the urgent appeal on 23 June 2011 (AHRC-UAC-117-2011), the AHRC raised concerns about the rebellion charges against seven people, for organizing and participating in a peaceful protest and the raising of a West Papuan flag that symbolizes self determination. At the correctional facility, they were ill-treated and denied medical care for weeks resulting in serious health conditions. (photo: Melki Bleskadit in court, source:LP3BH)
On 18 August 2011, the Manokwari district court sentenced Melki Bleskadit (also known as Melkianus Bleskadit) to two years imprisonment. On 23 August 2011, Mr. Yenu was sentenced to seven months and 16 days imprisonment. The AHRC learned that the verdicts were declared based on a flawed process and issued an update AHRC-UAU-041-2011.
On 27 September 2011, the judges panel acquitted four of the five other Papuan students. According to the Manokwari court’s decision No: 84/Pid.B/2011/PN.Mkw, Mr Alex Duwiri and Mr John Wilson Wader were not guilty of acts of rebellion under article 106 jo, (in conjunction with) Article 55 and 56 of the criminal code. The Courts decision No. : 85/Pid.B/2011/PN.Mkw under the same charges declared Mr Panehas Serongon alias Panehas Sarongon and Mr Yance Sekenyap as not guilty. However, according to the latter decision, Mr Jhon Raweyai alias Joni was proven guilty for participating in the rebellion crime, and was sentenced to 9 (nine) months and 17 (seventeen) days imprisonment, most of which has by now already been served during pretrial detention.
The AHRC is of the opinion that the conduct of any peaceful protest is protected by the Indonesian Constitution and international human rights law applicable to Indonesia. Laying criminal charges against the protesters based on the content of the opinion shared violates the victim’s right to freedom of expression in this case. The relevant articles in the Indonesian Criminal Code that originates from the Dutch colonial period have to be reviewed and their further application halted. The AHRC has noted that several steps taken by the authorities have in the recent past aggravated tensions including the stigmatization many indigenous Papuans including activists as rebels. Many are charged and sentenced in flawed processes that lack impartiality and professional standards of judicial conduct, such as in the case of Mr. Bleskadit and Mr. Yenu. The perpetrators of such rights violations are rarely held accountable, which prolongs the use of the courts for political interests. In the cases of Mr Bleskadit and Mr. Yenu, no information regarding accountability actions against the perpetrators are known.
The court held four of the victims not guilty after they had spent approximately nine months in prison without proper access to medical care. Indonesian law entitles the victims to compensation for the deprivation of their liberty during detention and the health conditions they had to endure.
The AHRC has received reports from further sources that the security institutions in Manokwari and West Papua had earlier planned to undertake systematic efforts during 1-14 December 2011 to intentionally create a situation that would allow for the arrest of and criminal charges against protesters. According to the reports received this operation was planned to justify the ongoing stigmatization of indigenous Papuans with the view to scale up security operations. The AHRC urges an immediate investigation into these serious allegations to avoid repetition.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities listed below asking them to intervene in the case immediately to ensure that all allegations of institutional misconduct leading to wrongful deprivation of the victims liberty is investigated, that the victims are compensated and Mr. Bleskadit is released from his political imprisonment. All legal process must to be conducted in accordance with international norms.
Please be informed that the AHRC is sending letters on this case to to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous people, and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.
To support this appeal, please click here: 
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear ___________,
INDONESIA: Manokwari Court acquits four Papuan students but sentences one more student with rebellion
Name of victim: Jhon Raweyai, Penehas Serongan, Yance Sekeyab, Alex Duwiri, John Wilson Wader, Melki Bleskadit and Daniel Yenu
Names of alleged perpetrators: Police members, including guards of detention cell of Manokwari district police who arrested, detained and examined the victims, the prosecutor who examined this case
Date of incident: December 2010-September 2011
Place of incident: Manokwari, West Papua, Indonesia
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the conviction and sentencing of Jhon Raweyai at the Manokwari district court on 27 September 2011 and the ongoing imprisonment of Mr. Bleskadit for their involvement in a peaceful protest on 14 December 2010.
I know that on 14 December 2010, seven people were charged with rebellion after they had conducted a peaceful protest following a flag raising event. At the correctional facility, they were ill-treated and denied medical care for weeks resulting in serious health conditions.
Furthermore, I know that the Manokwari district court issued the verdict that two of the victims, Melki Bleskadit (also known as Melkianus Bleskadit) and Daniel Yenu, were guilty of acts of rebellion. On 18 August 2011, the verdict against Mr. Bleskadit was declared and he was sentenced to two years imprisonment. On 23 August 2011, Mr. Yenu was convicted to seven months and 16 days imprisonment. I am also aware that the verdicts were declared based on flawed process. Meanwhile, the other accused are still undergoing the trial process.
I was informed that on 27 September 2011, the judges panel acquitted four of the five other Papuan students. According to the Manokwari court’s decision No: 84/Pid.B/2011/PN.Mkw, Mr Alex Duwiri and Mr John Wilson Wader were not guilty of acts of rebellion under article 106 jo, (in conjunction with) Article 55 and 56 of the criminal code. The Courts decision No. : 85/Pid.B/2011/PN.Mkw under the same charges declared Mr Panehas Serongon als. Panehas Sarongon and Mr Yance Sekenyap as not guilty. However, according to the latter decision, Mr Jhon Raweyai als. Joni was proven guilty for participating in the rebellion crime, and was sentenced to 9 (nine) months and 17 (seventeen) days imprisonment, most of which has by now already been served during detention.
I am aware that the conduct of any peaceful protest is protected by the Indonesian Constitution and international human rights law applicable to Indonesia. Laying criminal charges against the protesters based on the content of the opinion shared by them violates the victim’s right to freedom of expression in this case. The relevant articles in the Indonesian Criminal Code that originated from the Dutch colonial period have to be reviewed and their further application halted. I am also aware that several steps taken by the authorities have in the recent past aggravated tensions including the stigmatization many indigenous Papuans including activists as rebels. Many are charged and sentenced in flawed processes that lack impartiality and professional standards of judicial conduct, such as in the case of Mr. Bleskadit and Mr. Yenu. The perpetrators of such rights violations are hardly held accountable, which prolongs the instrumentalisation of courts for political interests. In the cases of Mr Bleskadit and Mr. Yenu, no information regarding accountability processes against the perpetrators are known.
I am also concerned that the court held four of the victims as not guilty after they had spent approximately nine months in prison without proper access to medical care. Indonesian law entitles the victims to a compensation for the deprivation of their liberty during detention and the health conditions they had to endure.
I was shocked to hear about further reports that alleged that security operation were planned by some authorities in order to artificially create conditions that would allow the police to charge activists in various places of West Papua as rebels in order to maintain stigmatization and with the view to scale up security operations. Since many of the steps taken by authorities in recent years seem to aggravate the conflict in West Papua, I am very concerned about the approach of Indonesian institutions in West Papua.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
The President of Indonesia
Jl. Veteran No. 16
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 3863777 / 3503088
Fax: +62 21 3442223
2. Head of Indonesian Police
Markas Besar Kepolisian Indonesia
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Kebayoran Baru
South Jakarta 12110
INDONESIA
Tel.: +62 21 3848537 / 7260306 / 7218010
Fax: +62 21 7220669
Email: info@polri.go.id
3. The Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia
Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said Kav. 6-7
Kuningan, Jakarta 12940
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 5253006, 5253889, 5264280
Fax: +62 21 5253095
4. Mr. Basrief Arief
The Attorney General of Indonesia
Jl. Sultan Hasanudin No. 1
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta 12160
INDONESIA
Tel.: +62 21 7221337, 7397602.
Fax: + 62 21 7250213
5. Head of Papua Regional Police
Jl. Dr. Sam Ratulangi No. 8
Jayapura
INDONESIA
Tel.: + 62 967 531834
6. Head of Division of Profession and Security of Papua Regional Police
Jl. Dr. Sam Ratulangi No. 8
Jayapura
INDONESIA
Tel.: + 62 967 531834
7. Head of National Commission on Human Rights of Indonesia
Jalan Latuharhary No.4-B,
Jakarta 10310
INDONESIA
Tel.: +62 21 392 5227-30
Fax: +62 21 392 5227
E-mail: info@komnas.go.id
8. Chairman of the National Police Commission (Kompolnas)
Jl. Tirtayasa VII No. 20 Komplek PTIK Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 739 2352
Fax: +62 21 739 2317
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
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