KomnasHAM-Papua condemns recent violence and makes recommendations
Bintang Papua. 15 August 2011
Jayapura: Komnas HAM, the National Human Rights Commission has condemned the brutal actions by unidentified people against innocent civilians as well as members of the security forces.that have occurred since June in
the province of Papua.
The chairman of Komnas HAM’s office in Papua, Julles R.A Onggen SH, together with other members of the commission called a press conference to discuss the security situation in Papua. They said that the significant increase in acts of violence was very worrying indeed, particular because of its impact on the need to safeguard peace in Papua.
They made the following points and recommendations:
First, they strongly condemned the many acts of violence perpetrated by unidentified persons towards the civilian population and members of the
armed forces acting in the course of their duties.
Second, they called on the police to take action speedily and objectively in accordance with the laws in force regarding acts of violence, while at the same time not forgetting to use the cultural approach in accordance with the terms of special autonomy to minimise these acts of violence.
Third, the Commission has set up a joint team consisting of the Komnas HAM, the DPRP, the provincial government of Papua, local governments, the churches and NGOs to investigate these acts of violence, each making their own specific contribution.
Fourth, it called upon all sections of the community to remain calm, not to be provoked, to live peacefully together, respecting each other in order to safeguard security.
Fifth, to request the military commander of Kodam XVII to clarify the issue of the KINGMI Church and it will set up a team to investigate the matter.
Sixth, in accordance with the provisions of article 34 of the Constitution, the Commission will seek the commitment of the national government as well as local governments to provide social security for the dispossessed, the poor, the street children and the unemployed people.
Seventh: in connection with the sixth point, to call upon the provincial government to put this into practice in accordance with the special autonomy law.
Other points dealt with the recognition of collective rights, including the need for peace, for development and for a healthy and clean environment. The provincial government should also ensure that civil and political rights are safeguarded, such as the right to compensation for those whose rights have been violated, freedom of thought and freedom of religion.
It also called on the provincial government to safeguard people’s economic, political and social rights, freedom from fear and impoverishment and from racial discrimination, the right to get a job with a decent wage.
Related articles
- Komnas HAM meets army commander to discuss rights violations (westpapuamedia.info)
- Human rights NGOs in Papua may seek international action about violations in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Statement of deep concern by Coalition of Human Rights Defenders in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Global support for human rights and human rights defenders in West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Komnas HAM calls for harshest punishment for killing civilian (westpapuamedia.info)
Comprehensive Report of Human Rights Violations in Papua since 1969
Jayapura: With the help of an NGO in the USA and the European Union, ELSHAM-Papua has drawn up a comprehensive report of cases of human rights violations that have occurred in West Papua during the period since it became part of the Republic of Indonesia.
ELSHAM co-ordinator in Papua, Ferdinand Marisan S.Sos told Bintang Papua that they had already completed their collection of data.
‘We have collected data about human rights violations in Papua from the year 1969 up to 2010,’ he said. He said that they had been doing the work since February this year and had completed it in April.
They are now going through the process of putting all the data together in a book. ‘We plan to produce the data in a book which we hope to publish in October this year.’
He said that the compilation had been done together with the ICTJ, the International Center of Transitional Justice, a body that has the support of the European Union.
brutality, genocide, human rights, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian State Violence, Kopassus, Kostrad, Puncak Jaya, Tingginambut, TNI, torture video, village burnings, Wamena, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Papua, Free Papua Movement, YouTube, farcical trial
Related articles
- WPAT: Letter to Secretary of State Clinton on West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Komnas HAM meets army commander to discuss rights violations (westpapuamedia.info)
- Decisions of Peace Conference still awaiting the OPM, says Tebay (westpapuamedia.info)
- Indonesian Army shoot mother and 3 children in “crossfire” in Kalome, West Papua, as offensive escalates (westpapuamedia.info)
Komnas HAM calls for harshest punishment for killing civilian
This was in connection with the forthcoming trial of the three army officers who had committed acts of violence against two civilians
As has been reported, the trial is now under way before a military tribunal of three officers: First Sergeant Torang Sihombing, NCO Hery Purwanto and NCO Hasirun. The three are charged with using violence and torture according to articles 351 and 103 of the Military Code for causing the death of Ginderman Gire.
The crime againt Ginderman occuurred on 17 March 2010, At the time, First Lieutenant Sudarman as commander of Post Illu Puncak Jaya had ordered the three accused to go on patrol in Pos Illu Post, in the Mulia area in Puncak Jaya. The three men followed a convoy of vehicles which were transporting foodstuffs. After reaching Pintu Angin Alome, one of the drivers of the trucks reported to First Sergeant Saut Torang Sihombing that a local man named Ginderman Gire had asked for fuel. whereupon the sergeant asked why he was asking for fuel, when another man Pitinius Kogoya also asked for fuel. When they said nothing, Sergeant Sihombing became very angry and struck Ginderman in his chest and hit Pitinus in the face.
After being struck, Ginderman said: ‘I’m not afraid of the army and I have friends up in the mountains who are well armed.’
The sergeant then handed the two men over to another soldier, Hery Purwanto for questioning. During the questioning, the two men were beaten. Pitinus was able to escape and jumped into a ravine. One of the soldiers fired shots into the air as a warning while Ginderman tried to grab a weapon from Hery Puwanto. The officer fired his SS3 V-1 hitting him in the chest. The soldiers looked down and realised that the man they had shot was dead.
The soldiers then reported the incident to their superior and were ordered to get rid of the body. The body of Ginderman was then loaded onto a truck and driven away. When they reached the Tingginambut bridge,they threw the body into the river.
Related articles
- JG: Low-Ranking Soldiers Indicted Over Torture, Killing in Papua’s Puncak Jaya (westpapuamedia.info)
- KONTRAS: Torture acts are not taken seriously (westpapuamedia.info)
- AWPA letter to Aust Minister for Foreign Affairs re Puncak Jaya (westpapuamedia.info)
- Komnas HAM meets army commander to discuss rights violations (westpapuamedia.info)
Indonesian Army: Gunmen Kill Indonesia Soldier in Papua
FYI –
MEDIA NOTE: West Papua Media has not received any INDEPENDENT confirmation from either human rights, church or TPN sources of this contact, despite communication. In light of this, and in light of allegations of significant human rights abuses and killings of non-combabtants and civilians during this operation, it is wise to to treat military claims as unverified an not credible, unless they agree to allow independent international monitoring into the combat area.
The Associated Press
July 21, 2011
Army: Gunmen Kill Indonesia Soldier in Papua
An army officer says unidentified gunmen have ambushed Indonesia
soldiers and killed one of them in the easternmost province of Papua.
The chief army officer in Papua says soldiers are still searching for
the gunmen. Maj. Gen. Erfi Triassunu said the ambush Thursday morning
happened outside a village in the hilly district of Puncak Jaya.
Triassunu said the victim was a first private killed by a shot to his
head. No information was available on the other soldiers.
The attack occurred one day after a military tribunal indicted three
low-ranking soldiers for killing a civilian in Puncak Jaya last year.
Papua is a former Dutch colony incorporated into Indonesia in 1969
after a U.N.-sponsored ballot. A small, poorly armed separatist
movement has battled for independence ever since.
Related articles
- Indonesian Army shoot mother and 3 children in “crossfire” in Kalome, West Papua, as offensive escalates (westpapuamedia.info)
- Breaking News: War in Tingginambut, West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- AWPA letter to Aust Minister for Foreign Affairs re Puncak Jaya (westpapuamedia.info)
AWPA letter to Aust Minister for Foreign Affairs re Puncak Jaya
Related articles
- TNI vs OPM – Indonesian Military shooting at civillians (aboriginalpress.blogspot.com)
- KONTRAS: Torture acts are not taken seriously (westpapuamedia.info)
- Plea for help from Puncak Jaya against TNI military operations (westpapuamedia.info)
- Breaking News: War in Tingginambut, West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Indonesian Army shoot mother and 3 children in “crossfire” in Kalome, West Papua, as offensive escalates (westpapuamedia.info)
Komnas HAM meets army commander to discuss rights violations
Bintang Papua, 16 July 2011
Komnas HAM meets military commander to discuss human rights violations
Jayapura: Many human rights violations are now confronting the National
Human Rights Commission – Komnas HAM in Papua. Commission deputy
chairman Nurcholis paid a visit to the command centre of the Cenderawasih Military Command to discuss two important problems.
The first was about the security situation at Freeport. ‘A few weeks ago, we
received complaints from workers at Freeport about the security situation at the company and this is now being discussed with the military commander.’
The security problem began when some Freeport employees made complaints
about the situation and the families of the victims went to Komnas HAM, seeking assurances that legal processes would begin quickly.
The second problem relates to the shooting of members of the TNI in Puncak Jaya. But apart from these casualties, there were four civilian casualties, a woman and three small children. ‘We need to know whether these casualties were wounded or had died,’ he said. Nurcholis stressed the need for caution about information being received, so as to correctly determine what measures need to be taken. ‘We are now gathering more complete information with the help of the human rights commission in Papua, to ensure that speedy action can be taken to solve the issue.’
Meanwhile, there are reports that some villagers have fled their homes because of armed skirmishes between civilian forces and the TNI in Puncak Jaya. He said: ‘If this is indeed happening, we hope to solve the problem so that our activities can focus on restoring security,’ he said.
No access to Puncak Jaya
He said that Komnas HAM is not at present able to gain access to Puncak Jaya and can only establish contact by phone. ‘The core of the problem needs to be dealt with through dialogue while recognising that this will not be easy. The next move will be to consult with the ministry of political and legal affairs, with dialogue being the only choice, and one that is supported by most of those involved so as to ensure that the difficulties can be overcome.’
Komnas HAM is checking whether the victims are civilian or military and whether the victims were wounded or have died. When asked how long this would take, Nurcholis said that he could not say.
‘The best indicator for solving human rights issues is not fixing a time frame but finding the best way to solve the problem ,’ said Nurcholis.
Related articles
- Indonesian Army shoot mother and 3 children in “crossfire” in Kalome, West Papua, as offensive escalates (westpapuamedia.info)
- Breaking News: War in Tingginambut, West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Plea for help from Puncak Jaya against TNI military operations (westpapuamedia.info)
- Human rights NGOs in Papua may seek international action about violations in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Statement of deep concern by Coalition of Human Rights Defenders in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
Indonesian Army shoot mother and 3 children in “crossfire” in Kalome, West Papua, as offensive escalates
Image via Wikipedia
by Nick Chesterfield, with local sources and agencies
WestPapuaMedia.Info – Indonesian Army (TNI) troops have shot 3 young children and a mother in Puncak Jaya, West Papua, in the latest atrocities carried out during a two-week military offensive aimed at ending armed resistance to Indonesian Rule over the occupied colony.
Ny Dekimira, 50, was hit on the right foot, and the three children – Jitoban Wenda 4, and their neighbors Dekimin Wenda, 3, and Dimison Wenda, 8 – all had bullets hit their left legs after Indonesian troops fired indiscriminately into the honai (huts) just before dawn on July 14, according to local witnesses.
Credible reports about the scale of the offensive are beginning to filter through from the remote and inaccessible area about the scale of the offensive The Indonesian government has closed off access to the Tingginambut district to both Indonesian and foreign human rights and media observers, and local activists have had to march for days across rugged terrain to get out verified information. Local human rights observers and Papuan activists have independently reported to West Papua Media that TNI headquarters staff have threatened their safety if they alert journalists to abuses carried out by Indonesian security forces against West Papuan people.
Undeterred, the mass based Papuan activist network West Papua National Committee (KNPB) have accused the Indonesian Military “under the regime of General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyhono”
General SBY - Military approach will not solve Papua's problems
of manipulating the situation in Puncak Jaya to conduct military domination and control of the local population, despite the recent public relations offensive that it was engaged in “bakti” social service campaigns to help the people. According the KNPB, the TNI should not cover up their mistakes and militarism by engaging in social activities – they should cease military activities on civilians altogether.
“Their reasons make no sense, because it’s so funny that the military themselves who set fire to the houses of citizens in almost all settlements, Indonesian military who burned alive the people’s animals, burned residents’ gardens; and now the TNI and Police are trying to justify themselves as heroes by playing a cheap propaganda in the media, ” said a KNPB spokesperson on Saturday.
Activists from the area have provided photographs to West Papua Media
-
- General SBY – Military approach will not solve Papua’s problems
showing the fully armed troops previously working on the Bakti projects suddenly boarding Puma helicopters in transit to the combat zone around Kalome.
TribuneNews.com quoted the TPN Secretary General for the Highlands Area, General Anthony Wenda, saying that villagers reported the shooting in Kalome on July 7 happened before dawn when residents were still asleep. “At that time, we’re on guard night and day in Kalome, and a barrage of bullets from the TNI were directed into a house of children and the elderly,” said Wenda to Tribunnews.com. “We always will be ready to make contact with TNI weapons until we are free, because this is the struggle of our people of West Papua.”
After this shootout, the force reportedly involving over 600 soldiers from the notorious 753 Battalion based in Nabire, have sought to enforce their control over the rugged and remote district. 753 Battlalion’s operations in the Kalome area reached international infamy in 2010 when troops tortured and killed Rev Kindeman Gire, and also with the torture of Tunaliwor Kiwo. Kiwo’s torture, captured on video and uploaded to Youtube, created outrage that shone an international spotlight on the TNI’s behaviour against civilians in Papua. The Indonesian government was later caught red-handed as it switched the defendants in the torture trial widely seen as farcical, and ran a military trial on issues of discipline instead of human rights abuses. Since this time, TPN fighters been permanently around the village for protection. However, the TPN are poorly armed and their hardware is no match for a fully equipped modern military.
The current offensive comes as the Indonesian military is attempting to convince international observers that it is improving its human rights practice. Last week, as troops were engaging both civilians and fighters from the National Liberation Army (TPN-PB), the commander of the TNI in West Papua,
Erfi Triassunu - duplicitous
Major General Erfi Triassunu, was duplicitous in speaking about ending impunity and abuses by its soldiers at the Jakarta-sponsored Papua Peace Network (Jaringan Damai Papua or JDP) conference in Jayapura. Dr Neles Tebay and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), the organisers of the conference, were apparently unaware of the contradiction at this time, a contributing factor in the boycott or skepticism of the Peace Talks by the majority of Papuan representative organisations.
Yet according to the KNPB, one of the several sectors suspicious of the JDP, this peace process is illegitimate. “Do not imagine Peace (will be brought) by the JDP, Indonesian Government through Governor, DPRP, TNI or the police in Papua. Because in reality, Papua is a military zone by their physical and systematic actions done to destroy the Papuans and to control this region for the glory of foreign investors.”
According to Tribunnews.com, Maj-Gen Triassunu conceded that troops may have shot the Kalome villagers. “The possibility exists, but we have not received a report from our post in Puncak Jaya”. Triassunu denied the incident in Kalome was proof that civilians were targeted. ”We just pursued the TPN OPM in mountainous regions, because Papua is part of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia,” he told Tribune News.
However, the Head of Information Department of the Army (Kadispenad) Brigadier General Wiryantoro would not comment on this allegation. “It’s related to operations of TNI forces deployment. When it comes to coaching the Army personnel, or related to the pure strength of the army, I can not answer” (Tribunnews.com)
When contacted by West Papua Media, no spokespeople for either the Indonesian military or Police made themselves available for comment on the allegations of the offensive, nor were replies made to telephone voice and text messages, or emailed questions.
West Papua Media also has made a decision to protect the identity of its sources*, as they have reported significant threats to their safety. Political activists reporting on the events have also come under significant threat. Victor Yeimo from the KNPB reports that when the Press Conference for local and national journalists to report on the Puncak Jaya incidents was called, phone and physical threats were received from persons claiming to be Pangdam (Indonesian Army Regional Commander), and Police. Yeimo reports that these callers forced KNPB to cancel the press conference about the case in Puncak Jaya. “Many journalists did not come after they terrorized by the Indonesian Military,” said Yeimo.
Siege Conditions may create humanitarian crisis
Credible local clandestine activists have relayed reports to West Papua Media of the TNI laying siege to several villages in the immediate area of Kalome, but they cannot get close enough to verify any casualties, displacement or destruction. With village sieges and actions on other villages in the past having caused significant displacement, local human rights observers fully expect the civilian death toll to rise significantly.
Hundreds of people have reportedly fled to neighbouring villages or to the hills, and observers have expressed concern that in the depths of winter, with their food crops destroyed, locally people internally displaced who may have no alternative to seek refuge in higher ground, may succumb to starvation or exposure. The areas high in the cloud forests and above the treeline are not suitable for sheltering large numbers of people, as they have been denuded by countless thousands of internally displaced refugees from previous military offensives.
Since the first aerial bombing campaigns by the Indonesian Air Force in 1978 in Puncak Jaya, almost every year from July to August, the TNI has launched offensives against civilians across the highlands. An identical offensive in 2003 was investigated by Komnas HAM (Indonesian National Human Rights Commission), which found that the Australian-trained Kopassus special forces committed gross human rights abuses and crimes against humanity. Similar offensives occurred in 2005, 2006, and 2007, which forced several thousand people into famine conditions high in the mountains, above the treeline. Last year also marked a particularly brutal operation, only noted by foreign media due to the inescapable viral distribution of the torture videos.
In light of the allegations of brutality by the TNI in Kalome, independence activists are also challenging the notion that the armed resistance practiced by Tabuni’s forces is terrorism. According to a KNPB spokesman, “The TPN under the Goliat Tabuni continues to struggle, not for a personal profit nor to legitimise the habit of TNI and POLRI to obtain security protection payments. The struggle is resistance to colonial occupation by Indonesia of West Papua, especially in Puncak Jaya … the reason the TPN was formed”
The recent deaths of TNI and Police.in Puncak Jaya is the fault of the generals in the view of the KNPB, who say that their policies and command structure sacrifice the members of it security apparatus. “Victims will continue to fall if SBY and (TNI Command) prioritize militaristic ways to solve West Papua’s problems, by dropping hundreds of soldiers everyday to Puncak Jaya”.
“If SBY does not take political will to solve the problem of West Papua immediately (by allowing an) act of self determination via a referendum then human rights violations will continue to occur,” stated the KNPB spokesman.
West Papua Media was this week contacted by a retired European missionary who had formerly served in Puncak Jaya regency who was concerned about the current situation. He offered the following comments on condition of anonymity, as he is concerned for reprisals for his former colleagues:
“Burning villages, causing people to flee with nothing but the clothes they wear, creating absolute terror amongst ordinary people, condemning babies to die starving and frozen hiding from the soldiers high in the mountains, killing and torturing priests and laymen alike… who are the real terrorists? This is not new, this slaughter happens every year since Indonesia first came – they are not hunting guerrillas, they are hunting Papuans until they are dead. Whilst we might not always agree with the strategies employed by TPN, and that we pray for a peaceful solution, they are a legitimate army of national liberation there to protect their people in the absence of any international concern.”
West Papua Media will continue to provide monitoring and coverage of this evolving situation. Please send any tips or corrections to editor<at>westpapuamedia.info
*Please note: bona fide journalists can be provided with sources if they are doing a story on this issue, but for their safety, their identities are strictly not for publication.
Related articles
- TNI vs OPM – Indonesian Military shooting at civillians (aboriginalpress.blogspot.com)
- Plea for help from Puncak Jaya against TNI military operations (westpapuamedia.info)
- Breaking News: War in Tingginambut, West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
Plea for help from Puncak Jaya against TNI military operations
The doubts of people living in the central highlands about a socialising programme launched by the commander of Cenderawasih Military Command/XVII to create harmony which has been under way since 2 May 2011 have been confirmed. The programme is nothing more than a shield which became clear when troops involved in the socialising programme suddenly halted these activities and started to conduct sweepings as part of a military operation.
Since 6 – 8 July, fully armed troops have surrounded the headquarters of the TPN/OPM under the command of General Goliat Tabuni in Tingginambut and a battle has been raging since 5 July during which three TNI soldiers were shot in Kalome, district of Tingginambut, and were flown by helicopter to Jayapura.
The TNI’s programme to build houses for the local people and to give sermons at prayer meetings on Sundays as well as to carry out mass medical treatment for local communities has failed to win the support of the local communities. They have rejected TNI sermons in the churches, while the offer of medical treatment has failed to persuade the local people to get medical treatment free of charge . On the contrary, the local people have chosen to remain silent and have fled from locations where mass medical treatment is on offer. This is because the Papuan people living in Puncak Jaya regard the military as murderers of the Papuan people and have refused to accept these military programmes.
The army’s socialising programme in Puncak Jaya is nothing but a shield and a cover-up of the violation of human rights at a time when human rights are of paramount importance throughout the world.
The TNI is concealing its plan to crush General Goliat Tabuni by means of military operations so as to enable them to counter our doubts about these socialising activities because we have been disrupted and have taken measures to protect ourselves.
It is an irony that we Papuan people do not possess the means to resist the TNI which has all the necessary equipment whereas Goliat Tabuni has nothing more than a few of weapons, making it very difficult for him to mount a proportionate response . Is there a country anywhere in the world that is willing to supply military weapons to Goliath Tabuni to make it possible for him to make a proportionate response? … if General Goliat is forced to end his struggle … at the hands of the TNI? [/Several gaps in this sentence make it difficult to decipher the precise meaning. TAPOL/]
We pray that there is nowhere in the world for their protection and that Almighty God will protect us.
This is our response to the call by the chief of police in Puncak Jaya via the intermediary of the head of the district of Mulia for the local people to halt all their activities from 8 July and to remain in their homes from 6pm every evening.
NOTE: General Goliat Tabuni is now seriously cornered because of his lack of weapons and we call for the prayers of the Papuan people everywhere in the fight against the NKRI military and for strength from the Almighty God.
[Translated by TAPOL]
Related articles
- Breaking News: War in Tingginambut, West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Statement of deep concern by Coalition of Human Rights Defenders in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Breaking News: Troops seeking arrest of Bpk Terrianus Israel Yoku, WPNA (westpapuamedia.info)
KONTRAS: Torture acts are not taken seriously
(WEST PAPUA MEDIA has edited this article for linguistic clarity)
Summary for International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
To commemorate International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (26 June), the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) published an annual report titled, “Torture: Cruel Acts That Are Not Taken Seriously”. This report is a summary of several torture incidents that received broad public attention (both nationally or internationally) throughout July 2010 – June 2011, especially elaboration of various complaints on torture cases, which were handled directly by KontraS.
The report checks how far the state has implemented human rights standards in their policies and national regulations produced.
KontraS’ advocacy work regarding torture cases are still to become part of the main agenda and needs to be mainstreamed to the public. This agenda, besides pressuring the state to proactively deliver positive outcomes in human rights protection through policies and regulation reform, also will provide public education to keep pushing for maximum protections on non-derogable (inalienable) rights, in all spheres of life.
State “stuttering” in responding to torture incidents can be seen from the cancellation of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s visit to The Netherlands at the end of last year. The cancellation was in response to a legal suit submission to a Netherlands court by activists of South Maluku Republic (RMS) residing in the Netherlands. The Lawsuit was a legal-political action against Indonesian National Police officers who tortured alleged RMS activists after a Cakalele dance performed in front of SBY, present with many foreign diplomats and guests during their visit to Maluku in 2007.
The next failure continues at the end of 2010. Two torture videos circulated freely and widely on Youtube website. In the short video shown several people in military uniform are committing brutal and inhuman treatment followed by intimidating interrogation questions. The SBY regime responded swiftly, confirming torture practice (did occur) in Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya District, Papua Province. Although in the end, the Military tribunal III-9 (of Military Command District Cenderawasih, Jayapura, Papua) fall short by giving only light sentences to the 7 defendants which were all military personnel.
Beside two case exposed above, KontraS documented at least 28 cases of torture done by Indonesian military and police. Quantitatively, we believe torture practices have happened even more. Difficulties occur in monitoring torture acts because often it occurs inside the military and police compound – and due to lack of victim’s courage to report any torture case because the perpetrators are the law enforcer itself. Cases directly handled by KontraS, among others are:
(1) Torture case of RMS activists in Ambon,
(2) Torture of Hermanus in Maluku,
(3) Torture lead to fatal casualties of Charles Mali in NTT,
(4) Engineered case of Aan Susandhi in Artha Graha.
KontraS also highlighted other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment including caning punishment in Aceh.
In particular, KontraS highlight Komnas HAM capabilities to investigate and uncover the patterns and causal roots of torture, especially of torture cases in conflict area such as Papua. The degree of seriousness in torture cases often fit the requirement of a pattern that is widespread and systematic, but in several case (such as on the torture video and violence upon Reverand Kinderman Gire cases), torture is framed as an (isolated or) individual case , but is still a serious violation of human rights subject to the international law norm ‘Jus Cogens’.
Komnas HAM neglectfulness in resolving torture cases paves the way for further impunity and lack of respect of victims’ rights. From various complaint reports sent by KontraS together with victims’ family, not a single case has ended up with justice where the perpetrators are given a fair punishment. These made worse by the absence of reparations toward victims of torture and their families. Those conditions are in line with the small numbers of torture cases resolved fully in trial. Torture in Indonesia is a typically a crime practiced with impunity.
Criminalization of perpetrators of torture must be done under a legal framework, with respect of human rights, and by ensuring preventions so that similar cases will not repeat in the future. Therefore, KontraS urge the state to highlight recommendations below:
1. Hasten criminalization of acts of torture – The Indonesian government, especially the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, must draft a special legislation on efforts in preventing and punishing acts of torture. Criminalization of torture will be an important benchmark for Indonesia in fighting future torture practice. This effort will become an alternative step while efforts to enact a new Criminal Code procedure is yet to be fulfilled;
2. Indonesian Police and Military must have a vetting mechanism in their rank and file (promotions) process, that considers their officers track record as to who has committed torture, in order to further their members professionalism.
3. Police must increase their personnel capacity in conducting investigations and probes, whilst also maximizing effective and deterrent punishment for torture perpetrators. Torture cases continue to occur due to a lack of capacity for adequate investigation technique, thus Police resort to shortcuts in gathering evidence and gain confessions through torture;
4. Indonesian military must improve their internal accountability mechanisms by revising Military Tribunal Bill to ensure acts of torture are classified as criminal acts and receive maximum punishment.
5. National Commission of Human Rights must be able to resolve patterns and causal roots of torture practices, especially those committed by security forces, so they can provide adequate recommendations for relevant state institutions to make strategic policies to combat torture practices;
6. The government must implement recommendations from the UN Committee Against Torture; Follow up results from the country visits of the Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak in 2007; and the Universal Periodical Review (UPR) of 2008.
With the election of Indonesia to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the second time, the implementation of those recommendations is an indicator of Indonesia’s seriousness on human rights enforcement.
Jakarta, 26 June 2011
Executive Board
Haris Azhar
Coordinator
- Breaking News: War in Tingginambut, West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Statement of deep concern by Coalition of Human Rights Defenders in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Indonesia’s human rights violations deeply entrenched (telegraph.co.uk)
- Human rights NGOs in Papua may seek international action about violations in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
BREAKING NEWS: WAR IN TINGGINAMBUT, WEST PAPUA
REPORTS OF 600 TNI SURROUNDING VILLAGES IN TINGGINAMBUT
by Nick Chesterfield @ Westpapuamedia.info
Monday July 10, 2011
Confirmed reports emerged on Sunday from Puncak Jaya, West Papua, that over 600 Indonesian Army (TNI) troops have been conducting daily full combat operations since July 4 in and around villages in the Tingginambut area. Troops have reportedly attacked a series of villages said to be the refuge of the West Papuan Guerrilla leader Goliat Tabuni.
Troops from the notorious 753 Nabire battalion have reportedly surrounded the General Headquarters area of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-PB) faction led by Tabuni, and have occupied several villages including Kalome, where three soldiers were shot by unknown assailants last Tuesday. The Indonesian government news agency Antara reported that armed men stopped TNI soldiers from carrying out what it described as a “routine patrol” in Kalome village. An exchange of fire occured – it is unclear who shot first – and three TNI were all struck by bullets to their arms sustaining non-life-threatening gunshot injuries.
According to reliable human rights activists in the immediate area, villagers in Kalome were rounded up and subject to harsh treatment by returning soldiers from 753Btn, and reportedly forced to watch as several houses were torched. West Papua Media has been unable to verify these reports, but 753Btn has a well documented history of burning villages suspected of sympathies or harbouring TPN-PB. (Extensive video footage of previous village burnings is available to any interested party).
Firefights have been occurring daily between TPN and TNI forces, with local sources describing it as “a 7-day shootout”. “The current death toll, according to our intelligence data, is that Indonesia have killed 20 TPN fatalities, and according to reports from the field in Puncak Jaya, TPN have claimed five Indonesian military casualties”, said the source upon condition of anonymity. Several civilian casualties have been reported, though exact figures are unconfirmed. West Papua Media cannot at this stage confirm exact numbers.
Battalion 753, the battalion responsible for the well documented torture of West Papuan civilians and village burnings across Puncak Jaya in 2010 (including the infamous Tunaliwor Kiwo torture video), has been recently engaged in a much publicised heart-and-minds Bakti (Service) campaign, gardening and house-building cynically named “Love and Peace are Beautiful”, to mend the bridges damaged by the Army’s human rights abuses, torture and village burnings. It was unclear whether this campaign was mending the houses that 753 had previously burnt down.
Puncak Jaya has been the scene of regular human rights abuses on civilians, with major combat operations ongoing since 2009. TNI and BRIMOB paramilitary Police, as well as the Australian trained Detachment 88 counter-terrorist unit, have regularly targeted civilians whom they accuse of supporting the guerrilla TPN-PB of Tabuni.
Local sources have expressed fear to West Papua Media that their villages are being targeted for pacification and punitive operations after the failure of a much touted Social service campaign to heal the image of brutality that surrounds the 753 battalion. It is feared by local activists that civilians are especially at risk as collective punishment for the potential escape of Tabuni’s forces, in a strategy by the TNI designed to flush out the TPN.
According to the adjutant of General Tabuni in a statement sent to West Papua Media, the purpose of the social activities by the TNI was to create a trojan horse for the eradication of armed resistance from Tabuni and his men. “TNI’s Bakti social mission in Puncak Jaya is really a guise to avoid gross violations of human rights because the TNI Papua Commander was in the area and needed good press”. According to the Jakarta Globe, the head of the Cenderawasih Military Command, Maj. Gen. Erfi Triassunu, said the TNI would provide psychiatrists to help residents traumatized by the widespread violence in the area. The campaign was due to run from 2 May to 28 August, but almost all the troops who were building houses are now burning them down again, according to local sources.
Local human rights activists described the failure of this program being caused by the simple issue of trust. “All their talk of caring for our human rights and welfare is shown to be a lie by this latest operation. We have never trusted them, but now we trust them even less,” said the human rights worker, who cannot be named for his safety.
The TPN spokesperson was more blunt. “People doubted the presence of top military who were proclaiming their victory in Puncak Jaya. The TNI social service campaign is merely a shield. It was evident from July 6, that (these) military forces ….suddenly stopped and all directed to Tingginambut to conduct military sweeps. All TNI Bakti activities stopped completely. Since July 6 to the 8th all military forces here, with full combat equipment, have surrounded the headquarters of TPN / OPM…. Tabuni is currently under siege”.
Reports of major abuse by Indonesian security forces in the West Papuan highlands are notoriously difficult to verify, as international human rights monitors and journalists are banned by the Indonesian government from travel to West Papua.
Please stay tuned to West Papua Media for more updates.
westpapuamedia.info
for media enquiries, please call +61450079
Related articles
- Statement of deep concern by Coalition of Human Rights Defenders in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Leaked Letter Reveals Indon Army Scare Tactics (westpapuamedia.info)
AHRC (INDONESIA): Delayed Criminal Code reform prolongs institutional use of torture
FROM ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-083-2011
June 24, 2011
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, June 26, 2011
INDONESIA: Delayed Criminal Code reform prolongs institutional use of torture
Has the video showing military torture in Indonesia in October last year created any serious concern for torture in that country? In the video, members of the Indonesian military tortured two indigenous Papuans to obtain information about alleged separatist activities. While some of the perpetrators got a few months of imprisonment for disobeying the orders of their superior, nobody was punished for the torture committed, nor did the victims receive any compensation or medical treatment. The extreme practices shown in the video shocked the public even though numerous cases of torture had been documented by NGOs and the National Human Rights Commission for years.
Torture is frequently used by the Police and the Military to force confessions, intimidate or to obtain information. The infliction of severe pain by public officials for the above and certain other purposes is prohibited in the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (full text in English, Bahasa Indonesia). This definition of torture and its prohibition also applies to Indonesia. Experts in and outside the country have repeatedly pointed out the neglect for institutional reform that the government has shown so far to effectively end this medieval practice.
Indonesia decided to ratify the Convention in 1998 and make it thus fully applicable into its legal and institutional system. While this may have appeared as a dedicated choice towards human rights, this promise from 1998 has never been kept. After 13 years, the government and parliament have failed to take even the basic key steps to end torture. As a result, torture continues to be applied.
What are the next steps to end torture? To make torture a crime! Amending the Criminal Code to make an act as defined in the international Convention punishable by law is a minimum requirement. Instead of fulfilling this requirement the government makes reference to maltreatment articles that actually only cover some parts of the problem as well as conduct guidelines for the police, which are neither promoted nor effectively enforced within the service.
Torture can be a convenient methodology for unprofessional members of the police force or the national military to “get things done”. Obtaining confessions, intimidating protesters, threatening minorities, producing quick case reports or to increase the income through bribes. Many dedicated staff in the national police, the national police commission and other related bodies have made considerable efforts to end this practice in their institutions but to support their efforts, more needs to be done.
Moreover, many see the use of torture as a legitimate and necessary mean to deal effectively with any wrongs ranging from petty crimes like theft up to organised terrorism. “Tough crimes need tough responses”, some may respond while forgetting that punishment is not part of the role of the police and military. Punishment for crimes is to be applied after a judicial process has established the guilt of the perpetrator and may then include imprisonment or other forms of non-violent punishments. But leaving an entire justice process in the hands of a police officer cannot be further away from fair trial and a just society.
Sunday June 26, 2011 is the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Indonesia has thousands of victims, probably more. Many of them have not committed any crime and the majority of them is poor or from marginalised groups. Persons undergoing serious torture often suffer from the post traumatic stress disorder syndrome, cannot sleep well, relate personally to society and are violated and broken in their heart and soul. Decades of medical research have shown how tremendous and long lasting the impact of torture for the body and mind are for the victims and often also for the perpetrator.
Justice does not need torture as the eradication of the practice proofs in other countries. In fact as long as torture continues in a society, violence prevails. This practice can end if the use of torture is effectively punished and fully prohibited. To fulfil the promise Indonesia made in 1998 to the Indonesian people the Criminal Code needs to be reformed immediately. The victims of torture need our support.
# # #
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
Related articles
- West Papua – Violence against indigenous women (westpapuamedia.info)
NGOs Say US Got it Wrong on Indonesian Human Rights
Dessy Sagita | April 11, 2011
Indonesian activists on Sunday criticized the US government for praising Indonesia’s progress on human rights, saying that the barometer used for the report could be misleading.
“I’m a bit concerned with the diplomatic statements made by some countries regarding Indonesia’s progress on human rights, because it could give people the wrong perception about what’s really happening,” Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), told the Jakarta Globe.
As in previous editions, the US State Department’s annual survey on human rights pointed to concerns in Indonesia, this year including accounts of unlawful killings in violence-torn Papua along with violations of freedom of religion.
But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while presenting on Friday the mammoth, 7,000-page global report, pointed to Indonesia as a success story.
“Indonesia boasts a vibrant free media and a flourishing civil society at the same time as it faces up to challenges in preventing abuses by its security forces and acting against religious intolerance,” she was quoted by foreign wire agencies as saying.
The survey covers the period before Islamic fanatics brutally killed three members of the Ahmadiyah sect in early February, raising questions over Indonesia’s commitment to safeguard minority rights.
The concern over Papua is primarily a reference to the torture of two civilians there last year by soldiers. They were subsequently court-martialed in January but given sentences of less than a year, a punishment slammed by the influential group Human Rights Watch as far too lenient to send a message that abuse was unacceptable.
Kontras’s Haris said both indicators presented by the US government — that Indonesia has been progressing in terms of media independence and better access for civil societies to voice their concern — were also incorrect.
“Freedom of journalism? I don’t think so. It’s still fresh in our minds that several journalists have been brutally attacked because of their reporting, some were even murdered,” he said.
“And in terms of flourishing civil societies, it’s true, non-government organizations are mushrooming, but what’s the point if human rights defenders and anticorruption activists are assaulted?” he added.
According to Kontras, in 2010 alone more than 100 human rights activists here were victimized and many of the perpetrators remain free.
And according to Reporters Without Borders, when it comes to press freedom, Indonesia ranks very low, much worse than it did several years ago when Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid was the president.
The US report in some ways echoes progress noted by New York-based Human Rights Watch in its own annual review of human rights practices around the globe, released in January. Then it noted that while serious human rights concerns remained, Indonesia had over the past 12 years made great strides in becoming a stable, democratic country with a strong civil society and independent media.
But Andreas Harsono, from Human Rights Watch, said it was perplexing that the US government would compliment Indonesia’s progress on rights.
“It’s a big joke,” he said. “Attacks against Ahmadiyah have been happening since 2008, after the joint ministerial decree was issued, and attacks against churches during SBY’s six-year tenure are even more prevalent than during the five decades in which Sukarno and Suharto ruled,” he said.
Additional reporting by AP, AFP
Related Articles
- West Papua Report April 2011: VP rejects dialogue, MSG, more (westpapuamedia.info)
- The Indonesian Government: closing window for peace in West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- USGOV: 2010 Human Rights Report: Indonesia (westpapuamedia.info)
USGOV: 2010 Human Rights Report: Indonesia
BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR
2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
April 8, 2011
Indonesia is a multiparty democracy with a population of approximately 237 million. In July 2009 Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was reelected president in free and fair elections. Domestic and international observers judged the April 2009 legislative elections generally free and fair as well. Security forces reported to civilian authorities, although the fact the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) continued to be partly self-financed had the potential to weaken this control.
Human rights problems during the year included: occasional incidents, primarily in Papua and West Papua Provinces, of arbitrary and unlawful killings by security forces; vigilantism; sometimes harsh prison conditions; impunity for some officials; official corruption, including in the judicial system; some narrow and specific limitations on freedom of expression; societal abuse against religious groups and interference with freedom of religion sometimes with the complicity of local officials; trafficking in persons; child labor; and failure to enforce labor standards and worker rights.
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT HERE:
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/eap/154385.htm
Related Articles
- West Papua Report April 2011: VP rejects dialogue, MSG, more (westpapuamedia.info)
- Unions call on Indonesia to release arrested nurses (westpapuamedia.info)
Komnas HAM on Lack of commitment to solve human rights issues in Papua
The deputy chairman of the Papuan branch of Komnas HAM, the National Human Rights Commission, Mathius Murib, has accused the regional authorities of lack of commitment to solve human rights violations in West Papua.
He said that the local government had failed to enact a regional regulation known as Perda regarding human rights .
Komnas HAM has already prepared the draft of a Perda but the provincial governor and the provincial legislative assembly have as yet failed to enact it as a regulation.
He cited as examples of the government’s lack of commitment the fact that the Wasior case in 2001 and the Wamena case in 2003 were still unresolved although Komnas HAM had carried out pro justicia investigations of these cases and had reached the conclusion that both were cases of gross human rights violations. However, the attorney-general’s office had a different opinion about the cases.
Murib made three recommendations that the victims might consider in order to bring such cases to a resolution. They could find ways to use legal mechanisms within the Indonesian judiciary, adding that it might be possible to bring these cases before an international mechanism.
A second possibility was for the provincial government to enact the Perda regulation as drafted by Komnas HAM.
The third possibility was for Komnas HAM to become a regional human rights commission under the framework of the special autonomy law within the powers of authority of the governor of the province of Papua.
Related Articles
- Manipulation: Komnas HAM report on 2003 arms dump assault (westpapuamedia.info)
- Verdict on violence in Papua unjust, says Kontras (westpapuamedia.info)
- JUBI on deplorable human rights situation in West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Students want firmer action by Komnas HAM in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
Broadcasting Papua’s Songs of Freedom: Why the international community must support West Papua’s citizen media development
FREE THE PEOPLE? FREE THE MEDIA!
by Nick Chesterfield
A Paper presented at the University of Sydney Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies “Comprehending Papua Conference”, February 22-23, 2011. This paper will form a chapter of the forthcoming book “Comprehending Papua”, to be published in early 2011 by the University of Sydney Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.
———
It is almost a cliché today that peoples wishing to free themselves from tyranny are turning in huge numbers to citizen journalism both to tell their stories to the outside world, and to put a formidable brake on the out of sight, out of mind mentality that allows state organs to conduct constant abuse with impunity. The rise of citizen media is giving mainstream journalism the kick it needs to remember its core business of giving voice to the voiceless. In West Papua, the Voiceless are slowly discovering they can roar.
Just a few weeks ago an event occurred in Tunisia that was to be the spark for the pan-Arab awakening which has just seen yet another dictator ousted, now in Egypt. After a local trader immolated himself in protest against the Tunisian regime, citizen media succeeded in viralizing the news of this event. “We could protest for two years here, but without videos no one would take any notice of us,” said a relative of the martyred 25-year-old.
For media activists and journalists reporting Papua, this truth is self-evident, and its acceptance hopefully could ignite the spark of uprising in Papua. The opportunities presented by the Pan-Arab (and other) awakenings are not being lost on the young generation in Papua. Social media in Papua is buzzing, unafraid, with vibrant discussions of implications for Papua of the pan-Arabic revolutionary success. The reality is that a spontaneous awakening and mass politicisation of ordinary Papuans is completely inevitable, and it is being ably assisted by switched-on local people developing their capacity to tell the story to the world.
In researching for several stories over the last few months, my sources have told me in no uncertain terms that they are all ready for a trigger to explode the situation. The only thing holding back sustained mass action – revolution even – across occupied Papua is the constant bickering between exile groups, the actions of the collaborator elites, desperate to cling to the illusion that Jakarta is not there just to steal their land and send them to the moon, and for those who will put their own interests ahead of those surviving under occupation.
What is a mystery is how this mass consciousness will survive the elite and exile power games that are evident in most transitional polities throughout recent history (and is certainly present in West Papua today); whether those exiles will hijack the efforts of the young generation or listen to the actual wishes of their people; and if Jakarta can be trusted not to unleash the truly evil and deeply entrenched habitual brutality that is its only constant in becoming the new colonialists; or that they will claim their place amongst the civilised by not slaughtering those who want peace. History is a wise teacher, and its lesson is never trust the evil or greedy to reform of its own accord.
To keep these ugly realities in check, West Papua (and the international community) needs a determined, effective, vibrant and fearless citizen and professional media to deliver real-time accountability both internally and internationally.
Real time advocacy is vital for the international community to act to end Papua’s suffering. Human Rights advocates conduct scientific research into abuses, but because this information does not get out easily, the problems in Papua are only now getting known to the world.
I need to ask you all today an honest question: without the hard work of journalists in Papua and those outside assisting them to get their voice to international media, would Papua even be in people’s consciousness today? So why is the international arena concerned with West Papua falling prey to the disease of factionalism and Big Man syndrome, and not in assisting WestPapuan people to get their stories into the living rooms of the world?
Many loud mouthed exiles claim significant legitimacy, but baulk and splutter when asked to prove it. This has developed a culture of opacity across the exile movement. A strong and diverse citizen based media across Papua can easily counter exile’s game playing and false claims by ensuring credibility and honesty in social movements. It benefits and strengthens social movements too by giving the skills and practice for sharpening their message, and creating a powerful argument for international support for their aims. Strong domestic media also removes international government’s excuses for inaction, by seriously raising the credibility and verification bar.
If the international community is serious about improving the lives of Papuan people, it will help develop the capacity of the West Papuan media to tell the story of what is going on, and press Jakarta hard to allow immediate international media access. After all, with full accountability, what is there to be afraid of?
Largely in response to years of wilful ignorance and self-censorship of the Indonesian created horrors in West Papua by international media, many sectors of Papuan society spontaneously and independently began a dramatic take-up of social media technology, exponentially increasing since 2008. Blogs, social networking and online media outlets are being utilized all over the country, by a young generation of Papuans impatient for real change. Today’s mass Papuan movement is mainly urban, educated, innovative, nonviolence based, and embracing significantly the power of citizen and social media as a key plank of civil resistance strategy.
Very occasionally West Papua does get in the news, but only through the co-ordination between committed journalists and human rights workers working together and ear-bashing news editors.
Due to the ongoing ban by Indonesia on international media and humanitarian organisations having access to Papua, allegations of abuse are notoriously difficult to verify. While this ban remains in place, only the most dedicated journalists make the effort to go in undercover. West Papua Media has been proud to facilitate undercover trips into occupied territory to meet with many West Papuan people prepare to tell their own story. This is getting more difficult by the day so local people are working for a solution.
Live images, videos and online activism by Papuan people have already created tremendous momentum in action and awareness of Papua. By creating their own media, and their own narrative, Papuan people are reclaiming self-determination denied for so long.
Reporting in West Papua is a highly risky business. Journalists, Papuan and outsiders alike, are under constant threats for reporting West Papua, with four journalists dying in suspicious circumstance in 2010 alone. Anywhere journalists report fearlessly they are targets, but most journalists in West Papua simply put up with it, they have no other option. What can we do to lessen their risk?
Partly in response to this danger and partly to give local journalists a voice globally, West Papua Media (WPMA) (WestPapuaMedia.Info) was started. It aims to provide a professional service to international media covering West Papua, ensuring high quality, verifiable reporting gets into the international media, directly from the ground, and not from those who seek to distort the truth of daily experience in Papua. By reporting Papuan campaigns to end human rights abuses and bringing these unreported Papuan issues to the front page, we hope to hold the abusers to account. With an ever growing stable of committed and disparate voices from citizen media to professional journalists, West Papua Media is proud and excited to be part of this movement.
Some of our real time work has assisted directly in the prevention of mass acts of violence by the Indonesian security forces, such as our coverage and media advocacy fixing of the July 8-9 Otsus Gagal demos and occupation of the Jayapura DPRP.
Less than ten minutes before the deadline for dispersal of the 2 day rally of over 45,000 people, Indonesian security forces were forced to back down after a BBC report aired, organised by WPMA, which brought international attention the explosively dangerous situation. Extensive international diplomacy occurred in that 15 minutes and, together with the extreme discipline of the mass protest, enabled the protestors to peaceably leave the scene of the protest without violence.
WPMA has worked very hard raising the media profile of West Papua, with significant joint investigations with major media outlets breaking several key stories in 2010. None of this would be possible without deep trust from the people of Papua in reporting their stories. West Papuan citizen media, in conjunction with several colleagues here today, played a key role in alerting the world to deeply heinous cases of abuse.
One was the sourcing, verification and release of the deeply shocking leaked Kostrad torture videos of civilians in Puncak Jaya. The Kiwo incident neatly captures why the Indonesian military cannot be trusted to reform themselves from the inside, and why the role of a robust media is so critical in Papua.
The other was footage of Indonesian BRIMOB police taunting a former political prisoner Yawan Wayeni, having disembowelled him moments before for arguing with them. Both these videos showed the power of citizen media in activating international human rights networks to effectively raise the issue of Papua. Of course, there are many more videos in preparation for release.
A swarm movement cannot have a single media strategy, but media need to understand that it will get media out in its own way too. The media that had wilfully ignored West Papua’s voice for so long really has no right to dictate how information disseminates, and if it wants to get the stories before others, then it just has to move faster. Because it is new media techniques that have already, and will propel Papua onto the front page, to make people choke on their cornflakes.
Likewise, evidence dissemination also needs multiple, failsafe distribution routes: Single dissemination routes can easily be shut down or silenced. West Papuans have tailored their mechanisms to this very effectively; yet this is significantly frustrating outside journalists. According to many in mainstream media, West Papuans can be their own worst enemy when it comes to disseminating information. People on the ground do need to get smarter about media distribution strategies, but the media also must adapt to a social and cultural reality. West Papuan human rights and citizen media are not chaotic: they are maximising the potential audience for their information.
It is important to understand that no one faction or sector in West Papua can claim dominance or leadership of this mass movement. This is not Congress in India and there is no single Gandhi figure. Rather, this is a movement with thousands of Gandhis. The civil movement refuses to be based around a single leadership group, and instead features multitudes of groups and tribes all acting autonomously and independently (where everyone knows their role and works their hardest) but which is nevertheless unified under its collective goals.
Such a swarm structure can occasionally present difficulties for those who cannot think outside traditional top-down strategies for national change, which includes traditional media. Rather than being shut out of dialogue by the game playing of unaccountable elites, this type of structure encourages a longer lasting peace by enabling all actors to have their voices heard. It is also a natural strategy to employ in a nation where it is, for the most part, illegal to congregate in groups.
Other barriers for West Papuan media are much more easily solved with a bit of training, and understanding the enemy (this time the enemy being the unreasonable expectations of media executives far removed from reality).
One issue is the lack of speed with which many West Papuan media activists work, and whilst improving, an event on a day has to be filmed, edited, packaged and disseminated as fast as possible. There are issues of journalistic discipline and professional journalistic practice in new media; safe information gathering, abuse documentation and investigative journalism methodology; information quality assurance; protection of sources, and more.
Effective citizen and professional media training is required to develop awareness of major current and future challenges to safe information dissemination – these are all programs that the West Papua Media network is currently engaged in and it needs help to increase its capacity.
All of this costs money, and requires the international community to understand that the development of indigenous journalism in West Papua is crucial to the protection of human security and peace across the entire Asia-Pacific region. It requires international institutions in media and academia to get out of their cloisters and get muddy, to actually pool resources and help identify new sources of sustainable funding to start training journalists in innovative new media reportage techniques, and to support their work for the global human interest. As I said before, West Papua Media already has training programs ready to go, we just need the funds to make them happen.
In West Papua, as across the world, accountability is always the simplest solution to combatting impunity. An aggressive culture of investigative journalism must be encouraged, and the skills to enable it must be developed, to deliver that accountability, be it in human rights, against military business mafias and corruption, human security, environmental protections, etcetera, and to cover (and protect) the desires of a population to determine their own future, in both the current occupation and in any situation for the future. Both academia and international media must take a strong role in its development, to embed international protections to enable West Papua’s journalists and citizen media to report without fear, hindrance or threat, the stories that are important to West Papuan people and their freedom.
Our hope is that we have a really robust citizen media that can deliver accountability. We want to stop people from being afraid of speaking out, and we want West Papua’s voice to be its weapon, to broadcast its songs for Freedom.
Nick Chesterfield, editor at westpapuamedia.info, is a human security journalist and activist with extensive experience of the Papua issue through refugee protection, human rights, environmental protection, and citizen media work and safety training. He has conducted many field investigations in the West Papuan region since 1999. Together with citizen media and human rights workers from inside Papua, Chesterfield helped set up West Papua Media in 2008, to counter the wilful lack of coverage of West Papua by the international press.
FYI Open letter to Vice -President Boediono ( who is visiting Australia) concerning human rights and political prisoners in West Papua
Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
PO Box 28, Spit Junction, Sydney, Australia 2088
Ph/fax 61.2.99601698 email: bunyip@bigpond.net.au
Open letter to Vice -President Boediono
Vice -President Boediono,
C/- Indonesian Consulate
Perth , Western Australia
9 March 2011
Dear Vice -President Boediono,
On behalf of the Australia West Papua Association (Sydney), I am writing to you concerning the human rights situation in West Papua[1].
We are concerned that the human rights situation in West Papua has continued to deteriorate in the past year. One incident in particular highlighted the worsening human rights situation and that was the shocking video footage of West Papuans being tortured by Indonesian soldiers. The video showed several men in military fatigues torturing two Papuans. The soldiers in the video threaten the two men with sharp weapons and pressed a burning bamboo stick against one of the men’s genitals. The torture of the men prompted a wave of international criticism with human rights organisations around the world condemning the actions of the Indonesian military. This incident was not an isolated incident.
A number of military operation also took place in the Puncak Jaya region in the past year and these operations leave the local people traumatised and in fear for their lives. Security forces conduct regular sweeps in the area to pursue members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and many reports have pointed out that the security forces have great difficulty distinguishing between what they term separatists and the general public. In further evidence of human rights abuses another report accused the police of burning down the village of Bigiragi in the Puncak Jaya district. The report said that 16 Mobile Brigade officers had burned the village to the ground on October 11. The report said that at least 29 homes were destroyed in the incident leaving at least 150 people homeless. In September 2010 the House of Representatives (DPR) Law Commission deputy chairman, Tjatur Sapto Edy lamented the military operations in the Puncak Jaya Regency following a report by the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM). Tjatur said there should be no more military operations and such approaches are no longer suitable in a democracy. A report by Komnas HAM’s Papua chapter revealed 29 cases of rights abuses occurred in Puncak Jaya regency from 2004-2010, including the torture and rape of villagers in March 2010 by law enforcers.
AWPA is also concerned about the large number of political prisoners in West Papua, the majority jailed merely because the were involved in peaceful demonstrations where their national flag, the Morning Star was raised.
In July 2007, Indonesia’s Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional articles 154 and 155 of Indonesia’s Criminal Code, commonly known as the “hate sowing” (Haatzai Artikelen) offenses. Articles 154 and 155 criminalized “public expression of feelings of hostility, hatred or contempt toward the government” and prohibited “the expression of such feelings or views through the public media.” These articles have been used to target activists, students, and human rights defenders to try and silence political discussion and limit free expression in Indonesia.
A series of articles from 1999 to 2002 refer to the Human Rights Bill of 1999 . The law concerning protection of human rights of political prisoners is referred to in Article 4 of Law 39 in the Indonesian Constitution in 1999. In that same Law 39 in Article 6 , paras 1 and 2 particular mention is made of protection of rights of Indigenous people, including land rights.
Republic of Indonesia legislation number 39 of 1999 concerning human rights
Article 4
The right to life, the right to not to be tortured, the right to freedom of the individual, to freedom of thought and conscience, the right not to be enslaved, the right to be acknowledged as an individual before the law, and the right not to be prosecuted retroactively under the law are human rights that cannot be diminished under any circumstances whatsoever.
Article 6
(1) In the interests of upholding human rights, the differences and needs of indigenous peoples must be taken into consideration and protected by the law, the public and the Government.
(2) The cultural identity of indigenous peoples, including indigenous land rights, must be upheld, in accordance with the development of the times.
AWPA urges the Indonesian Government to release all West Papuan political prisoners imprisoned under these laws (contrary to Indonesia’s constitution) as a sign of good faith to the West Papuan people.
Yours sincerely
Joe Collins
Secretary
AWPA (Sydney)
[1] AWPA (Sydney) uses the name “West Papua” to refer to the whole of the western half of the Island of New Guinea
West Papua Report March 2011
http://www.etan.org/issues/wpapua/2011/1103wpap.htm
West Papua Report
March 2011
This is the 83rd in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). Back issues are posted online at http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com. If you wish to receive the report via e-mail, send a note to etan@etan.org.
Summary:
Newly obtained video footage reveals Indonesian security forces, including U.S. and Australian-backed Detachment 88 personnel, brutality in operations in West Papua’s Central Highlands. Indonesian NGOs and prominent Papuans have faulted President Yudhoyono’s newly announced approach to dialogue with Papuans with criticism of Jakarta’s failure to end human rights violations and impunity by security forces as a basis for dialogue. Papuans criticized Jakarta’s selection of a limited range of Papuans as dialogue partners and have urged a role for international mediators. A prominent West African leader has announced support for West Papua’s self-determination. The chair of the Papuan Peoples Council (DAP) denounced the Indonesian government’s policy of transmigration. The Asian Legal Resource Center has appealed to the UN Human Rights Council to address continued security force abuse of human rights in West Papua. A Papuan political prisoner who is gong blind as a result of an attack by a prison warder needs urgent care. A report from within West Papua details land grabs by the Indonesian military and “developers” which have targeted Papuans in the Sorong area. Hamish McDonald considers Papuans’ struggle for self-determination in the light of recent similar successful examples within the international community.
Contents:
- New Video Footage Reveals Indonesian Military Brutality
- Government’s “Dialogue” Approach with Papuans Faulted
- West African Leader Supports Papuan Self Determination
- Chair of the Papuan People’s Council Condemns Transmigration As Harmful To Local People
- Human Rights Council Hears Urgent Appeal Regarding Human Rights Abuse in West Papua
- Journalist Organization Chief Calls for Reporting on Human Rights in West Papua
- Another Papuan Political Prisoner Denied Adequate Medical Treatment
- Military and Military-Backed “Developers” Seize Papuan Lands
- Analysis Considers Papuan Self-Determination Struggle in Context of Similar Recent Successful Efforts
New Video Footage Reveals Indonesian Military Brutality
Video footage released in early February reveals previously unseen Indonesian military brutality against Papuan civilians in Kapeso in 2009. The footage was released by West Papua Media and can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD0eFA4scTo
The video shows the late May 2009 raid on the Kapeso airstrip in the village of Kampung Bagusa in Mamberamo regency by troops from Indonesia’s elite police counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88 as well as other security personnel from BRIMOB and other units. Detachment 88 was created at behest of the U.S. government and receives significant U.S. and Australian Government funding and training assistance.
The footage, filmed by a Detachment 88 officer on his mobile phone, shows the immediate aftermath of a raid to retake the airfield which had been occupied for several weeks by a small armed group and a large number of villagers. The bodies of at least five dead are visible on the ground and sporadic gunfire is clearly heard. It appears that the footage was taken well after the killing took place. Footage depicting security personnel taking cover behind desks appears to have been staged to suggest the conflict was continuing.
Disturbing scenes at the end of the footage appear to show two Papuan children tied up and being forced at gunpoint to crawl along the floor by the Indonesian military. The footage continues to show them in apparent pain while the soldiers taunt them. In another scene troops are shown firing at civilians cowering in adjacent brush.
Indonesian authorities have not investigated events surrounding the Kapeso occupation and shooting of civilians by security forces.
West Papua media commented that such footage of brutal Indonesian security force actions, amounting to ‘trophy footage,’ is rampant among troops operating in the region.
For all media enquiries please contact Nick Chesterfield at West Papua Media on wpmedia_admin@riseup.net or +61409268978
In September 2010, East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) and West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) called for suspension of U.S. aid to Detachment 88 “pending review of charges leveled against the unit for systemic human rights violations, including use of torture.”
Government’s “Dialogue” Approach with Papuans Faulted
The “Alliance for Papua” on February 25 issued a press statement that critiqued a government plan for dialogue with Papuans. The statement called on the government to better synchronize its plans for the dialogue with the reality of politics in Papua. (See below for composition of this NGO alliance.)
The initial government approach calls for two presidential assistants to engage in dialogue with Papuans who would be represented by the Papuan branch of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), the Papuan People’s Council (MRP), and the churches. The two presidential assistants are Bambang Darmono and Farid Husein.
The Alliance for Papua urged that the government to create appropriate conditions for dialogue by undertaking to “consistently protect and comply with the basic rights of the Papua people by ensuring that there is no repetition of violations of Papuan human rights.” The alliance also urged that the government review the presence of the TNI security forces and the undercover security operations “that continue to occur.”
According to the alliance, the government also should not proceed with the election of members of the MRP (Majelis Rakyat Papua, Papuan People’s Council). The MRP is an institution that was mandated by Papua’s special autonomy law (OTSUS). The vast majority of the Papuan people have declared that OTSUS has failed “because it has not taken sides with, given protection to, empowered and fulfilled the basic rights of the indigenous Papuan people.”
The alliance points out that the government has nevertheless pressed ahead with the election of a second-term MRP in 15 districts of Papua. The second-term MRP is due to be sworn into office soon. The alliance objects to proceeding with the seating of the MRP because the election of MRP members “has not been transparent and has failed to comply with the [mandated] electoral stages.” The alliance also contends that the counting of the votes has been deeply fraudulent.
The alliance argues that seating the fraudulently elected MRP members “will only reinforce the Papuan people’s sense of disappointment towards a government that lacks any understanding and has shown no respect for local Papuan feelings.”
For his part, the outgoing chairperson of the MRP, Forkorus Yoboisembut criticized the government approach to dialogue by arguing that those Papuan groups that the government has announced as dialogue partners are not representative of the people because they don’t fully understand the Papuan problem. He contended that the government approach to dialogue would amount to the government talking to itself ” because they are all within the same system, and this would solve nothing.” He urged instead that the dialogue be with DAP (Dewan Adat Papua, Papuan Traditional Council) , the Papuan resistance (OPM), the Papuan parliament, and other Papuan groups.
Separately, the executive director of LP3BH,Yan Christian Warinussy said a neutral party should mediate the Jakarta-Papua talks, He suggested an international group such as the Henri Dunant Centre or a foreign country with experience in handling conflict resolution, including Aceh.
WPAT Note: The Alliance for Papua in Jakarta was set up as an expression of solidarity with humanitarianism, in support of fellow human beings in their struggle for justice and truth. The Alliance includes KontraS, ANBTI, IKOHI, Imparsial, Foker LSM Papua, Setara Institute, HRWG, Komnas Perempuan, FNMPP, IPPMAUS, Forum Papua Kalimantan, PGI, Walhi, JIRA, LBH Pers.
West African Leader Supports Papuan Self Determination
WestPan, Canada’s West Papua Action Network, reports that the President of Senegal Abdoulaye Wade has become the first African leader to publicly back West Papua’s bid for self determination, stating that “West Papua is now an issue for all black Africans.”
His comments came in late January during a conference in Senegal’s capital Dakar, attended by Benny Wenda, a West Papuan activist who was granted political asylum by the British Government in 2003. Benny Wenda addressed the audience, telling them about the situation in his homeland. Following his address Wenda presented the President with a Papuan headdress, and was warmly embraced by him. The President then addressed the audience, urging all African nations to take attention to the West Papua issue and do whatever they can to help.
In 1969, when Indonesia, with the backing of the United States, sought UN approval for its annexation of West Papua through the fraudulent “Act of Free Choice,” it encountered significant resistance in West Africa where the memories of colonialism were still strong.
Papuan People’s Council Condemns Transmigration as Harmful to Local People
Responding to a report that the government plans to send more transmigrants to Papua, the chair of Dewan Adat Papua (Papuan People’s Council) Forkorus Yoboisembut https://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/reg.westpapua/2011-02/msg00051.html asserted that continuation of transmigration would transform the Papuan people into a minority in their own lands and trigger conflicts. “‘As the representative of the adat (traditional) people in Papua, I reject the transmigration program which fails to safeguard the position of the local people,” he said.
Forkorus’s statement came after media reports that the central government has allocated Rp 600 billion to pay for the transmigration of people from Indonesia to a number of so-called “under-populated” places in the Indonesian archipelago, including Papua. https://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/reg.westpapua/2011-02/msg00068.html
“I hope the central government will consider this matter carefully because the transmigration program to Papua has already resulted in the marginalization of the indigenous people in the context of (so-called) development work,” Forkorus stated.
Forkorus said that the location of transmigrants in many places in Papua has made it difficult for the local communities to preserve their own culture and lifestyles. Development of more luxurious migrant lifestyles, he explained, intensifies the marginalization of the local people.
In addition, because the government has lavished attention on the transmigrants, feelings of envy emerge.
Forkorus also noted that Papuans’ marginalization in their own homeland is evidenced by the cat that vast majority of those now running the economy are non-Papuans. Forkorus added that Papuans are not yet able to compete with the newcomers in economic affairs.
(WPAT Comment: Papuans rank at the bottom in Indonesia in terms of central government provision of health care, education services and employment creation. In the province of West Kalimantan, decades of central government driven “transmigration” has transformed the indigenous Dayak into a minority in their homeland and led to conflicts, particularly with Madurese transmigrants, along the lines of Forkorus’s concerns. The policy, abandoned during the Suharto dictatorship due to international condemnation, has been resumed under the Yudhoyono administration despite criticism that it is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.)
Human Rights Council Hears Urgent Appeal Regarding Human Rights Abuse in West Papua
On February 22, the Human Rights Council heard an urgent plea from the Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) regarding worsening human rights abuse in West Papua and the impunity accorded perpetrators of that abuse. The statement said in part:
- The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) is seriously concerned by ongoing, widespread human rights violations and violent acts being committed by the Indonesian security forces in the Papuan highlands in Indonesia. Impunity typically accompanies even the most serious abuses, as shown by the lack of effective remedies in a case of severe torture that the ALRC has documented recently. Despite institutional reforms in Indonesia, effective accountability for human rights violations in Papua is lacking, resulting in impunity that then engenders further atrocities.
- Impunity and the sense of injustice that it engenders in society are having a strong impact on social stability and cohesion in Papua. Repression, discrimination and human rights violations by the Indonesian security forces are adding to tensions. Papuans reportedly feel like second-class citizens in Indonesia, even within Papua itself, and face discrimination, poverty and injustice as a result. The military arbitrarily suspect Papuans of being linked with rebel groups and stigmatize them, subjecting them to abuse.
The ALRC statement recounts two of the more flagrant examples of abuse and impunity where military personnel were videoed beating and torturing Papuan civilians (see West Papua Report December 2010). Those prosecuted for this received minimal sentences. The ALRC statement comments:
- The government of Indonesia continues to deny the widespread use of violence by the Indonesian military in Papua, and alleges that these violations are rare and isolated, individual cases. However, the ALRC continues to receive further cases of violence against indigenous Papuans, including killings by the police and military, arbitrary arrests, the burning of houses and killing of livestock, which point to a widespread pattern of the use of violence, as well as a policy of intimidation by the Indonesian military.
The statement underscores the inadequacy of the Indonesian military and civilian court systems for addressing the continuing abuses:
- Human rights violations and other crimes committed against civilians by members of the military are still only tried by military courts, which lack independence, transparency, a comprehensive penal code incorporating human rights norms, and a system of punishments that are proportional to the severity of the crimes committed. A military tribunal is not able to hold perpetrators of torture accountable in line with international law standards. Such tribunals cannot invoke any military regulations that prohibit the use of torture. Therefore, perpetrators cannot be tried for committing torture and no remedies can therefore be provided to victims.
- Furthermore, the country’s penal code does not include torture as a crime. This means that members of the police that commit torture remain immune from criminal prosecution. Indonesia is therefore failing to comply with its obligations under the Convention Against Torture. Indonesia ratified the Convention against Torture in 1998, but the use of torture is still widespread and systematic…
The ALRC urgently calls for remedial action by the Indonesian government:
- Jakarta must ensure that the security forces halt the use of excessive force and violence-based strategies in dealing with security-related issues in Papua. Allegations of human rights violations must be investigated and any lacuna in legislation and due process must be addressed. For example, torture must be criminalized in line with Indonesia’s international obligations under the Convention Against Torture. Military personnel who are alleged to be responsible for human rights violations against civilians must be tried in civilian courts.
The ALRC also recommended that the Indonesian government undertake steps to reduce tensions and address outstanding injustice:
- …the ALRC urges the Indonesian government to heed the call for dialogue made by the Papuan indigenous community and avoid a
- further deterioration of the conflict in Papua. Finally, the ALRC calls on the Indonesian government to release all Papuan political prisoners,
- in order to show its commitment to a new path towards peace, security and human rights in Papua.
The ALRC underscored the role and responsibility of the international community in addressing the ongoing abuses and impunity:
- The ALRC invites the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers to recommend institutional reforms to the government of Indonesia to ensure that members of the military are held accountable by independent courts that uphold human rights and constitutional values and ensure that these are made available to legislators in Indonesia.
- The ALRC also requests that the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment follow up with the Indonesian government to ensure the full implementation of the recommendations made to Indonesia during the UPR review regarding the review of the penal code and the full criminalisation of torture.
Note: The Asian Legal Resource Centre is an independent regional non-governmental organization holding general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. It is the sister organization of the Asian Human Rights Commission. The Hong Kong-based group seeks to strengthen and encourage positive action on legal and human rights issues at the local and national levels throughout Asia.
Journalist Organization Chief Calls for Reporting on Human Rights in West Papua
The chair of the the Papua chapter Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) speaking in Jayapura, urged the press in Papua to regularly monitor cases of human rights violations in Papua, according to a report published in February 11 JUBI and translated by TAPOL.
AJI’s Victor Mambor emphasized the importance of the media reporting the human rights situation in Papua saying this can help reduce acts of repression against the civilian population.
He added that many reports about human rights in Papua were only available from NGOs active in the field, and these were frequently quoted in reports that appear in the media. He stressed the importance in ensuring that these reports are accurate and credible. Journalists should provide the appropriate references to make it easier for others to investigate the violations that occur.
WPAT Comment: Reporting on human rights violations in West Papua, particularly in instances where the TNI or police were involved, pose risks for journalists. Manokwari area reporter Ardiansyah Matra was murdered in July 2010 following his investigative reporting regarding police and military coercion targeting civilians in the development of the MIFEE plantation project in Manokwari. AJI has been active in following up on this case. Government restrictions placed on foreign journalists and NGO personnel impede their access to West Papua and reporting on human rights in the region.
Papuan Political Prisoner Denied Adequate Medical Treatment
New concerns have been raised about the inadequate medical treatment afforded Papuan prisoners of conscience Ferdinand Pakage. He is going blind following a beating by prison authorities in 2010.
Peneas Lokbere, chair of SKPHP HAM Papua (Solidarity for the Victims of Human Rights Violations in Papua), told JUBI that his organization is continuing to press for medical treatment for Ferdinand Pakage. “We will continue to fight for treatment after he was struck in the eye by an official of the Abepura Prison. This caused his eye to bleed and he is now not able to see any more with this eye” said Lokbere.
SKPHP is working with Pakage’s family to press the prison authorities to speed up medical attention to his condition. Lokbere explained that his organization has been demanding treatment for Pakage since last year, when they sought permission for him to go to Jakarta where treatment is available. However, according to Lokbere, Prison Director Liberti Sitinjak refused permission for any transfer of Pakage out of West Papua. Lokbere noted that in 2010, Pakage was told by a doctor at the West Papua General Hospital in Dok II say that he needed to have an operation in Jakarta. The doctor said that his eye was badly damaged and that even if he does get medication in Jakarta, he will continue to be blind.
Pakage was assaulted by prison warders Alberth Toam, Victor Apono and Gustaf Rumaikewi while in detention in Abepura. Toam struck the blow that injured Pakage’s eye. None of the warders has been held responsible for this assault. Pakage is now held in custody with common criminals, including those convicted of violent crimes.
Military and Military-Backed “Developers” Seize Papuan Lands
A Sorong-area leader has illegally transferred Papuan tribal lands to the Indonesian military (TNI) and to non-Papuans. The transferred land is vitally important, affording resources that are key to Papuan survival. Victims include Papuans belonging to various clans and tribes including the Osok, Mambringofok Idik and Fadan peoples in Klamono and Semugu and Kalaibin among others. The TNI has employed terror and intimidation targeting local Papuans to enforce the land transfers. The land sites are located along the Sorong to Klamono road at kilometer markers 16, 38 and 49 in the western end of the territory.
The military and non-Papuan developers will exploit the land for military base construction and oil palm plantation development. Specifically, local District Chief (Regent) Stefanus Malak provided land to the navy at km 16 and to the army at Km 38 to build a bases (the latter land belongs to the Semugu clan). Land was also transferred to the TNI, without tribal consent, at Km 49. This site will be used by the TNI to develop a palm oil plantation.
Seizure of land by the TNI, especially through use of force, violates various international obligations undertaken by Indonesia including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People Article 30:
- “1. Military activities shall not take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples, unless justified by a relevant public interest or otherwise freely agreed to or requested by the indigenous peoples concerned.
- “2. States shall undertake effective consultations with the indigenous peoples concerned, through appropriate procedures and in particular through their representative institutions, prior to using their lands or territories for military activities.”
Analysis Considers Papuan Self-Determination Struggle in Context of Similar Recent Successful Efforts
The Sydney Morning Herald on February 26 published an analysis comparing Papua’s struggle for self-determination with some recent anti-colonial struggles. “A Worm Inside the New Indonesia” by veteran journalist Hamish McDonald draws on the experiences of south Sudan and Kosovo, two emerging nation states as potential models for West Papua. McDonald, former Foreign Editor of the Herald with extensive experience in Indonesia, concludes that these developments have had the effect of rendering “respect for the territorial integrity of states and post-colonial boundaries somewhat tattered.”
Indonesia has long insisted that the international community affirmatively express public recognition of its “territorial integrity” in the context of West Papua. Similarly, Indonesia once demanded international recognition of its territorial integrity to include its annexation of East Timor, though with less success.
McDonald cites Akihisa Matsuno of Osaka University as suggesting that between Kosovo and southern Sudan, the later would appear to offer a more applicable precedent for West Papua. Sudan became independent in 1956 from British rule, but has been in civil war most of the time since. A 2005 peace agreement finally conceded a referendum on independence by the south. This suggests to Matsuno that a lack of integration between territories ruled by the same colonial power can justify a separate state. McDonald writes that ”this means that colonial boundaries are not as absolute as usually assumed.”
There is a broad international consensus that the 1969 Indonesian annexation of West Papua was in violation of its UN mandate to administer the territory and entailed a transparently fraudulent referendum, the “Act of Free Choice.” McDonald writes that Richard Chauvel, an Indonesia scholar at Melbourne’s Victoria University, described West Papua as Indonesia’s ”Achilles’ heel” and the conference. Chauvel argued that, notwithstanding Indonesia’s democratic progress since the fall of the Suharto dictatorship, West Papua remains “Indonesia’s last and most intractable regional conflict.” As such, Chauvel contends, ”Papua has become a battleground between a ‘new’ and an ‘old’ Indonesia. The ‘old’ Indonesia considers that its soldiers torturing fellow Indonesians in a most barbaric manner is an ‘incident’. The ‘new’ Indonesia aspires to the ideals of its founders in working towards becoming a progressive, outward-looking, cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic and multi-faith society.”
McDonald concludes that, as demonstrated by the ongoing developments in the Middle East, “the new media make it harder and harder to draw a veil over suppression. In the Indonesia that is opening up, the exception of West Papua will become more glaring.”
INDONESIA: Widespread impunity in Papua aggravating tensions
Date: 22 February 2011 03:15:24 CETFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22, 2011
ALRC-CWS-16-06-2011Language(s): English only
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Sixteenth session, Agenda Item 4, General DebateA written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status
INDONESIA: Widespread impunity in Papua aggravating tensions
The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) is seriously concerned by ongoing, widespread human rights violations and violent acts being committed by the Indonesian security forces in the Papuan highlands in Indonesia. Impunity typically accompanies even the most serious abuses, as shown by the lack of effective remedies in a case of severe torture that the ALRC has documented recently. Despite institutional reforms in Indonesia, effective accountability for human rights violations in Papua is lacking, resulting in impunity that then engenders further atrocities.
Impunity and the sense of injustice that it engenders in society are having a strong impact on social stability and cohesion in Papua. Repression, discrimination and human rights violations by the Indonesian security forces are adding to tensions. Papuans reportedly feel like second-class citizens in Indonesia, even within Papua itself, and face discrimination, poverty and injustice as a result. The military arbitrarily suspect Papuans of being linked with rebel groups and stigmatise them, subjecting them to abuse.
Autonomy law rejected
The State has failed to provide justice and remedies and to bring prosperity and equality to Papua through the Special Autonomy Law, despite it being Indonesia’s most resource-rich region. Demonstrations in Jayapura, the capital of the Papuan province, have repeatedly rejected the Special Autonomy Law of 2001, with many civil society speakers having labelled it as being a failure. The autonomy parliament in July 2010 issued a decree formally rejecting the law and demanding a referendum on the political status of the autonomy region. The law was rejected mainly due to it having failed to deliver on any of the key demands of indigenous Papuans since its enactment. These include economic aspects but security and the need for protection against discrimination and human rights violations also figure highly.The repeated calls by Papuan politicians, church and other civil society leaders for a dialogue between Papua and Jakarta have not been responded to by the government. Given the ongoing grave human rights violations by Indonesian security forces and the deteriorating relations between Papua and Jakarta, the ALRC is concerned that the situation of human rights risks declining seriously in the coming period, unless Indonesia takes meaningful action to address its role in the worsening situation. To be credible in doing this, the Indonesian government and military must ensure that human rights violations are halted and impunity is shown to be being dismantled, with justice being served and reparation being provided to victims.
Torture and impunity – a symbol of abuse and injustice
In the high-profile torture case mentioned above, which remains emblematic of the situation of human rights in Papua at present, Mr. Tuanliwor Kiwo, an indigenous Papuan man, was arbitrarily detained and tortured in May/June2010 by the Indonesian military. Mr. Kiwo was arrested at the Kwanggok Nalime TNI post near Yogorini village on his way from Tingginambut towards Mulia, Papua, Indonesia. During two days of detention, Mr. Kiwo was subjected to several serious forms of torture including burning, beatings and other forms of violence, resulting in serious injuries and Mr. Kiwo falling unconscious. He was able to escape in the morning of the third day. Mr. Kiwo is currently in hiding for security reasons but has given a detailed testimony of his torture in a video recording.1
While cases of torture are often reported from Papua, this case received significant international attention after video footage of the torture2 was published by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in October 2010. As a result of the significant public pressure concerning this case, three members of the military were tried in a military tribunal for disobeying their superior’s order to release the victim and were sentenced to between nine and twelve months imprisonment. The ALRC is concerned that the charge and punishment in this case are not commensurate with the gravity of the violation that severe torture represents. Furthermore, the victim has not been provided with any form of remedy. Despite its high profile nature, this case speaks to the Indonesian system’s inability to address torture as a serious crime and human rights violation, and its failure to provide adequate reparation to victims. In less visible cases, even less can be expected, and impunity typically prevails.
In another case of violence by members of the military in the March 2010, that was also published in October 2010, the perpetrators have received sentences of an equally disproportionately low nature. Three solders from the Indonesian military’s Pam Rahwan Yonif 753/Arga Vira Tama squad, based in Nabire, Papua, were given a five-month imprisonment sentence by the military court III/19, Cenderawasih military command in Jayapura in November 2010, for having kicked and beaten arrested indigenous Papuans whom they suspected of involvement in separatist activities. The names of the convicted officers are Chief Pvt Sahminan Husain Lubis, Second Pvt Joko Sulistiono and Second Pvt Dwi Purwanto. Military judge Lt. Col. Adil Karokaro explained in the verdict that the defendants had breached the Indonesian military’s code of conduct by torturing the residents.
The government of Indonesia continues to deny the widespread use of violence by the Indonesian military in Papua, and alleges that these violations are rare and isolated, individual cases. However, the ALRC continues to receive further cases of violence against indigenous Papuans, including killings by the police and military, arbitrary arrests, the burning of houses and killing of livestock, which point to a widespread pattern of the use of violence, as well as a policy of intimidation by the Indonesian military.
Human rights violations and other crimes committed against civilians by members of the military are still only tried by military courts, which lack independence, transparency, a comprehensive penal code incorporating human rights norms, and a system of punishments that are proportional to the severity of the crimes committed. A military tribunal is not able to hold perpetrators of torture accountable in line with international law standards. Such tribunals cannot invoke any military regulations that prohibit the use of torture. Therefore, perpetrators cannot be tried for committing torture and no remedies can therefore be provided to victims.
Furthermore, the country’s penal code does not include torture as a crime. This means that members of the police that commit torture remain immune from criminal prosecution. Indonesia is therefore failing to comply with its obligations under the Convention Against Torture. Indonesia ratified the Convention against Torture in 1998, but the use of torture is still widespread and systematic, as cases received and documented by the ALRC attest. The promised review of the penal code has been delayed for years despite recommendations made to the government of Indonesia, which it accepted, during the Universal Periodic Review in this regard.
From a human rights perspective, it is vital for Indonesia to immediately begin to take credible action to tackle impunity and be seen to be tackling it in an effective way. Jakarta must ensure that the security forces halt the use of excessive force and violence-based strategies in dealing with security-related issues in Papua. Allegations of human rights violations must be investigated and any lacuna in legislation and due process must be addressed. For example, torture must be criminalized in line with Indonesia’s international obligations under the Convention Against Torture. Military personnel who are alleged to be responsible for human rights violations against civilians must be tried in civilian courts.
The ALRC invites the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers to recommend institutional reforms to the government of Indonesia to ensure that members of the military are held accountable by independent courts that uphold human rights and constitutional values and ensure that these are made available to legislators in Indonesia.
The ALRC also requests that the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment follow up with the Indonesian government to ensure the full implementation of the recommendations made to Indonesia during the UPR review regarding the review of the penal code and the full criminalisation of torture.
Furthermore, the ALRC urges the Indonesian government to heed the call for dialogue made by the Papuan indigenous community and avoid a further deterioration of the conflict in Papua. Finally, the ALRC calls on the Indonesian government to release all Papuan political prisoners, in order to show its commitment to a new path towards peace, security and human rights in Papua.
——–
Footnotes:
1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX5CuZhFFCI
2 http://humanrightsasia.blip.tv/file/4446942/# # #
About the ALRC: The Asian Legal Resource Centre is an independent regional non-governmental organisation holding general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. It is the sister organisation of the Asian Human Rights Commission. The Hong Kong-based group seeks to strengthen and encourage positive action on legal and human rights issues at the local and national levels throughout Asia.
International Human Rights Day 2010 – Download our pre-print PDF version of the annual reports here.
—————————–
Asian Human Rights Commission
#701A Westley Square,
48 Hoi Yuen Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon,
Hongkong S.A.R.
Tel: +(852) – 2698-6339
Fax: +(852) – 2698-6367URL: humanrights.asia
twitter/youtube/facebook: humanrightsasia
Related Articles
- WPAT/ETAN: Light Sentences for Rights Violators Spark Calls for Suspension of Aid to Abusive and Unaccountable Indonesian Military (westpapuamedia.info)
- HRW: Indonesia: Hold Abusers From Military Accountable (westpapuamedia.info)
- A Veil of Silence is Killing Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- AFP: Papuans Rally for Independence from Indonesia (westpapuamedia.info)
VIDEO: More Indonesian brutality against Civilians in Kapeso, 2009
WARNING: This video contains disturbing images of extreme brutality and will be disturbing to most viewers. Please complain to the Indonesian security forces if you do not wish to see this.
Indonesian military brutality and torture of West Papuan civilians is revealed in a video released today exclusively by West Papua Media.
The footage shows troops from Indonesia’s elite counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88, who receive Australian and US military training, engaged in a raid in late May 2009 on the Papuan village of Kampung Bagusa, at Kapeso airstrip in Mamberamo regency.
The footage, filmed by a Detachment 88 officer on his mobile phone, shows the immediate aftermath of the raid. The bodies of at least five dead villagers are visible on the ground and there is sporadic gunfire clearly heard.
The incident occurred at the end of a month long occupation of the remote airstrip by an local religious group, and was transformed into a demonstration of widespread pro-independence sentiment by an off-shoot of the TPN or National Liberation Army. Local military and police commanders sent troops to clear the airstrip, including the elite Detachment 88 force. Negotiations between local people and security forces broke down in confused circumstances, and security forces attacked all present. The aftermath of this operation is depicted in the video.
The footage shows Detachment 88 troops urgently taking cover behind desks in a pendopo (traditional ceremonial shelter) whilst under alleged attack. Curiously, whilst troops are allegedly being shot at by unknown shooters off camera, the solider continues to narrate calmly and film proceedings whilst he is standing up, exposed to alleged fire. This does raise the possibility that the entire proceedings are staged for the benefit of the camera.
Disturbing scenes at the end of the footage appear to show two Papuan children tied up and being forced at gunpoint to crawl along the floor by the Indonesian military. The footage continues to show them in apparent pain while the soldiers taunt them.
To date, no satisfactory transparent investigation has occurred of the events surrounding the Kapeso occupation and subsequent shooting of civilians by security forces. West Papua is routinely closed by the Indonesian government to International Media and Human Rights Observers.
Regardless of the circumstances of alleged armed provocations, Indonesian security forces are again displaying excessive force to civilians and non-combatants and in particular to children. Indonesia has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but has so far refused to ratify the Convention’s Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
The footage is sure to raise further questions about the activities of the Indonesian military in West Papua, as well the involvement of the Australian military in training and arming those seen in this footage. The video was passed to West Papua Media via a member of the Indonesian security forces who stated that the circulation of this form of ‘trophy footage’ is rampant amongst troops operating in the region.
PLEASE NOTE: There is a translation error in the subtitles in this footage which is quite critical. At approximately 00:54 (seconds), where soldiers are pursuing West Papuan people, the dialogue is incorrect.
From a correspondent:
“”jangan dibunuh” is translated as “don’t get killed” but should be “don’t kill them”. It’s common to issue orders in passive register like that. It is followed by “diborgol” ie “handcuff them”. It’s a big difference, since it is suggestive of how often extra-judicial killings do take place – the soldiers on scene have to be reminded to NOT kill the prisoners. “
The video can be viewed at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD0eFA4scTo
or watching below:
For all media enquiries please contact Nick Chesterfield at West Papua Media on wpmedia_admin@riseup.net or +61409268978
An Indonesian BRIMOB source today (Feb 9) sent West Papua Media these images of personnel from the Pelopor taskforce depicted in the footage above on their way via speedboat to conduct the operation to retake the airfield. The individual officer in the foreground of the upper image has been identified as the cameraman and narrator of the footage.
West Papua Media apologises for the low-quality of the footage due to it being filmed on mobile phone in low resolution
A higher quality version of the footage is available to media upon application under strict conditions; unfortunately YouTube automatically loses quality during upload. Please contact West Papua Media for arrangements
Related Articles
Verdict on violence in Papua unjust, says Kontras
Related Articles
- Indonesian Civil Society: Open letter to SBY Raising Concern and Offering Solution:: One-Year Human Rights Promotion in Papua 2010 (westpapuamedia.info)
- KontraS Papua: Press release on Recent Problems in Abepura Prison (westpapuamedia.info)
- SMH: Soldiers Stand Trial Over Papua Abuse (westpapuamedia.info)
- Indonesia: NGOs allege government impunity in Papua (yubanet.com)
West Papua Report February 2011
West Papua Report
February 2011
This is the 82nd in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). Back issues are posted online at http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com. If you wish to receive the report via e-mail, send a note to etan@etan.org.
Summary:
An Indonesian military tribunal failed to properly prosecute military personnel for the torture of two Papuans whose agony was viewed around the world online in October 2010. Instead, the tribunal convicted three soldiers for the minor offense of “disobeying orders,” sentencing them to between eight and ten months imprisonment. This failure to prosecute the soldiers to the full extent of the law and to try them in a civilian court was broadly criticized by Indonesian and international observers, including the U.S. State Department. U.S., UK and Australian organizations called for suspension of foreign assistance to the Indonesian military which continues to violate human rights with impunity, particularly in West Papua. President Yudhoyono’s pre-sentencing description of the torture as a “minor incident” was prejudicial and contributed to an atmosphere of impunity. Papuans, organized by leading Papuan churches and other organizations demonstrated in large numbers calling for abolition of the Peoples Consultative Council (MRP). The body was created by the widely-rejected 2001 “Special Autonomy” law. Prisoners of Conscience Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni continue to languish in police custody following a December 3 prison riot. They suffer from health-threatening conditions and do not have regular access to their families or to legal counsel. Papua New Guinea security personnel attacked villages and encampments of West Papuan civilians living in PNG territory near the border with Indonesia. PNG authorities have detained nine of the scores of people displaced, who were moved into camps or have fled into the forests. Their plight, particularly those who were chased into forests, is uncertain.West Papuan students continue to call for dialogue in the wake of the failure of “special autonomy.” They note that the central government has failed to issue implementing regulations required to give the decade-old law life.
Contents:
-
No Justice for Papuan Victims of Torture
-
Churches Lead Papuans in Renewed Rejection of Special Autonomy; Demand Dissolution of Powerless "Papuan Peoples Assembly" (MRP) -
Two Political Prisoners Face Health Threatening Conditions in Legally Unjustified Police Detention -
Papua New Guinea Military and Police Attack Villages and Encampments of Papuan Civilians in PNG -
Papuan Students Say Special Autonomy Has Failed, Mediated Dialogue Is Essential
No Justice for Papuan Victims of Torture
A military court in Jayapura on January 24 sentenced three military personnel to eight to ten, months imprisonment for the torture of two Papuans in May 2010. The torture, video of which was posted online in October 2010, had become emblematic of the Indonesian military’s decades of abuse targeting Papuans. The Indonesian government’s failure to prosecute the perpetrators in a civilian court, and its acquiescence to military insistence that the three only be prosecuted for the minor offense of “disobeying orders” showed the persistence of military impunity for crimes against humanity in West Papua. President Yudhoyono reinforced this sense of impunity for military perpetrators by dismissing the torture as a “minor incident” in prejudicial pre-sentencing comments to military leaders.
International condemnation of this miscarriage of justice was swift and universal.
In addition to condemnation from human rights organizations, the verdict prompted unusually blunt criticism from the U.S. Government. U.S. State Department spokesperson P.J. Crowley said the sentences “do not reflect the seriousness of the abuses of two Papuan men depicted in 2010 video.” He added that “Indonesia must hold its armed forces accountable for violations of human rights. We are concerned and will continue to follow this case.”
On January 25, Australian Greens legal affairs spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam demanded that the Government cut all military ties with Indonesia. He said the conduct of the Indonesian government showed a “total lack of respect for human rights…. What we have here is an open and shut case of severe torture, with video evidence, and the soldiers responsible will spend, at most, 10 months in prison and then continue their careers in the Indonesian army – they won’t even be discharged. It is a disgrace – an absolute disgrace,”
Video of the torture shows the soldiers burn one man’s genitals, suffocate him with a plastic bag, and hold a knife to his throat. One victim said he was beaten for two days, held over a fire and had chillies rubbed into his wounds. “First the Indonesian authorities claimed their soldiers were not responsible, and then charged them with ‘disobeying orders’. It was a pathetic response from a government that couldn’t care less about the human rights of the Papuan people,” said Senator Ludlam.
He called on the Australian Government must cut military and paramilitary ties with Indonesia: “Why are we helping to train and arm these soldiers? Why do we fund the Indonesian National Police when its Detachment 88, a so-called counter-terrorism unit, has been linked to a series of human rights abuses? While human rights abuses, while torture continues in Papua and Maluku, we can not fund and train the people responsible.”
The Australian Greens call for a substantive response by the Australian government was echoed in a joint statement by the U.S. based West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT), the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) and the UK-based TAPOL. They urged the U.S. Government to suspend military assistance to the Indonesian military and called on the U.S., Britain. and the European Union to “promptly and publicly register with the Indonesian government their deep concern over what is only this latest example of decades of failed justice in West Papua.”
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also criticized the judicial travesty in Jayapura. Amnesty International’s Laura Haigh said “The fact that the victims were too frightened to testify due to the lack of adequate safety guarantees raises serious questions about the trial process.”
Amnesty added that “as a state party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Indonesia is legally bound to prohibit torture and other ill-treatment in all circumstances.”
Elaine Pearson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division, called the outcome “disappointing” and highlighted irregularities in the court-martial. “There were six men depicted in the video but only three were brought to trial…. The military dragged their feet in this investigation and showed minimum effort, and it shows that they were just trying to get the international pressure off their back.”
The reaction in Indonesia was also damning. Poengky Indarti, executive director of the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial), urged that the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) take over the investigation. “Although this court-martial has concluded, there is still the torture charge and the need to try these soldiers at an independent human rights tribunal,” Poengky told the Jakarta Globe. She also called for systemic reform: “The government and the House of Representatives must amend the law on military tribunals, which has been a major obstacle in prosecuting military officials under civilian law.”
She added that while the Indonesian government had ratified the UN Convention Against Torture more than a decade ago, the Military Criminal Code and its Code of Conduct still failed to define torture as a punishable offense.
The Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) revealed that the Indonesian military did not use all the evidence available. Komnas Ham commissioner Ridha Saleh told the Jakarta Globe that the government agency had offered its own findings to the military “but to no avail.” He added that Komnas Ham was conducting its own investigations, but “whether those investigations will lead to re-prosecution, a recommendation or the formation of a fact-finding team, we don’t know yet.”
Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said that “lenient sentences were proof that the TNI was reluctant to reform.” Kontras member Syamsul Alam Rizal said that the lenient sentencing would “solidify military impunity.” He warned further that “the lenient verdict would “justify torture as a tool in extracting testimonies from civilians.”
Sergeant Irwan Riskianto, deputy commander of Gurage Military Post, was accused of ordering the torture received 10 months in jail. Privates Yakson Agu and Private Thamrin Makangiri – were sentenced to nine and eight months respectively. The charge has a maximum sentence of 30 months.
WPAT Comment: The TNI response to the tsunami of domestic and international criticism – a pledge to ramp up human rights training for its personnel -has been employed before, notably in the late 1990′s when it even engaged the International Committee of the Red Cross to conduct rights training. Such window dressing fails to address the central issue: TNI personnel (and their commanders) know that violating the human rights of civilians, especially Papuans, will merit only a slap on the wrist. President Yudhoyono’s calling the torture sessions, one of which extended over a two day period, a “minor incident” only reinforces the impression among TNI personnel that a uniform provides a license to torture.The resort to a military tribunal to try military personnel for crimes against civilians is a consequence of the 1997 Military Court Law which gives jurisdiction in such cases to the military courts. There is no discernable efforts either within the government or the parliament to reform this Suharto-era law.
Churches Lead Papuans in Renewed Rejection of Special Autonomy Demand Dissolution of Powerless “Papuan Peoples Assembly”
Papuans in late January demonstrated peacefully and in large numbers called for the dissolution of Papuan Peoples Assembly (MRP) created by the 2001 Special Autonomy Law, but widely viewed as a powerless institution.
Demonstrations were staged in Sorong, Manokwari, Jayapura, Serui, Biak, Nabire, Merauke, Mimika and Wamena. In Jayapura, demonstrators peacefully occupied the MRP itself. For the first time since Indonesia’s annexation of West Papua, a broad array of Papuan church leaders took the lead in organizing the demonstrations. Among those playing a key organizing role were chairs of various synods including: Rev. Dr. Benny Giay, Chairman of Christian Tabernacle Church (KINGMI), Rev. Yemima Krey, Chairman of GKI Synod, Rev. Socrates Yoman, Chairman of Baptist Church and Rev. Tommy Isfandy, Chairman of Synod Bethel Pentecostal Church.
The MRP, was established in 2005 as a cultural representative institution of indigenous Papuans purportedly to address accusations that the interests of the province’s native population were being sidelined in favor of Java-centric government policies. It has been routinely ignored by the central government. For example, Jakarta refused to consult it regarding the division of West Papua into multiple provinces.
The demonstrators called for cancellation of plans to select new members for the MRP. (The new members of the assembly are being chosen by special committees set up in each district and city. The terms of the current MRP members officially ended last October, but because of delays starting the selection process, they were extended until the end of January.) “We reject the special autonomy for Papua. Consequently, the council, which was established following the granting of special autonomy, should be disbanded,” Reverend Giay told the media. “Special autonomy” had failed to improve the welfare of Papuans and only brought advantages to newcomers from other islands, he added.
The Papuan people, through a council plenary session on June 9-10, 2010, had called upon the provincial parliaments to return the special autonomy mandate to the central government (See West Papua Report July 2010).
In Mimika on January 25, hundreds of Papuans rallied outside the district legislature to protest over the selection of MRP members. Protesters, calling themselves the Papua Solidarity Society, carried banners that read “Disband the MRP;” “All Papuans Declare the MRP a Failure;” and “Send the MRP Back to Jakarta.” Vincent Onijoma, the protest coordinator, said both autonomy and the formation of the MRP had failed to bring to an end to violations of human rights by the security forces. Those taking part in the protest included representatives of churches, student groups, tribal associations, and women’s groups.
Earlier in January,organizers of the demonstrations distributed guidelines setting out their key objectives, also laid out in a January 10 letter to Indonesian President Yudhoyono. The religious leaders called on the central government to respect the decision of the Papuan people to reject “Special Autonomy” as expressed in mass popular demonstrations in June (the “Musyawarah Besar”) and the 11 resolutions which emerged from the mass gatherings (see West Papua Report July 2010). In their letter, the religious leaders called on the governors of Papua and West Papua to forego the selection of new members for the MRP and to sit jointly with the two Papuan parliaments to formally reject “Special Autonomy.” The religious leaders also renewed calls for a central government dialogue with Papuans to address the legal and political status of the region. Finally, the January 10 letter called on President Yudhoyono to order an end to intimidation, terror, and repression of Papuan people.
Two Political Prisoners Face Health Threatening Conditions in Legally Unjustified Police Detention
Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni, internationally recognized political prisoners, have faced isolation, inadequate access to food and water, and restricted contact with their families and legal counsel for nearly two months. Police removed the pair from Abepura prison to detention at Abepura police headquarters following a December 3, 2010 riot at the prison (See WPAT/ETAN: Indonesia Respect Rights of Papuan Prisoners Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni). Neither has been formally charged in the riot and both contend that they had attempted to mediate between prison authorities and inmates before the riot erupted.
In a January 18 letter to the Chief of Police in West Papua, Tabuni requested that the police explain his legal status, and specifically whether he is a detainee (tapol) or a convicted political prisoner (narapidana). He also asked that if he is being held in police custody for a role in the December 3 riot that he be presented with an arrest warrant. Tabuni also detailed his deteriorating health due to inadequate food, water and access to fresh air and sunlight. He said that during his detention, his father, under pressure of the plight of his son, had “suffered a stroke, fainted and died.” In late January the police sought to declare Buchtar Tabuni a “suspect” in the December 3 riot. Tabuni, who was not accompanied by a lawyer when he was questioned. refused to sign the police document.
The family of Filep Karma has also expressed public concern over the state of his health, also noting the inadequate of food and water.
Under Indonesian law the police may hold a suspect for 60 days without charges. That 60 day limit expires on February 3.
Papua New Guinea Military and Police Attack Villages and Encampments of Papuan Civilians in PNG
Papua New Guinea security forces have launched an operation targeting purportedly West Papuans living illegally in the PNG town of Vanimo and its environs near the northeast border with West Papua. The operation, named “Sunset Merona,” was originally justified as a law enforcement exercise to counter the illegal flow of goods across the border from Indonesian military (TNI) sources that were hurting indigenous PNG businesses. The operation was also to ensure there were no illegal workers within the logging companies from Malaysia and Indonesia operating in the border region. The operation initially focused on remote border camps and villages and made arrests of logging workers and Indonesian military personnel. Tt is believed these initial arrestees were released to make way for refugee arrests after protest from Indonesian diplomatic representatives in Vanimo.
Various sources located in Papua as well as Australia (notably West Papua Media Alerts edited by Nick Chesterfield) have reported on the ongoing operation by a special “joint military and police taskforce” which has displaced approximately 80 men, women and children, so far. More than 30 homes have been destroyed. PNG authorities have placed many of the displaced in a temporary camp while an unknown number of others have fled to the forest. (See http://westpapuamedia.info/2011/01/28/png-troops-burn-down-border-west-papua-refugee-camps-as-refugees-flee-to-the-jungle/ )
The large number of children among those displaced, reportedly more than a third, has prompted expressions of concern by human rights organizations and observers. The special taskforce police in charge of the camps have reportedly refused to provide food for the displaced, but are permitting the local Vanimo Roman Catholic Diocese to provide meals.
According to West Papua Media Alerts, PNG authorities have charged nine men among those picked up with unspecified charges relating to armed activities. Refugee advocates have denied, however, that these people are resident of the camps raided. West Papua. As of late January none of the nine have yet had access to legal representation.
On January 23, police and soldiers from Port Moresby torched 19 houses at Blakwara refugee camp outside Vanimo and trucked the residents to the Vanimo Police Station. According to Barias Jikwa, coordinator of West Papuan refugees living in Vanimo, security personnel also destroyed food and crops at the camp. In Yako, security forces burned 18 houses and destroyed residents’ possessions and food gardens. Yako camp housed over 50 families forced out of Blakwara camp by threats from local landowners allegedly in league with Indonesian military-linked logging interests.
The task force also attacked the villages of Dawi, Wara Duanda, Musu, Dasi, Warakarap, Ambas, Bebfsi and Skotchiou. Security forces razed houses at Dawi (4 houses), Bebfsi (3) and Musu (at least 4). Local human rights monitors are still attempting to confirm the situation in other villages. According to West Papua Media Alerts, there have been no confirmed reports to date that any person has been shot or any weapons discharged in these operations. There have been allegations of severe mistreatment (beatings) in Blakwara and Yako, with at least ten people still in the Vanimo Hospital being treated for their injuries.
Local sources also report that villagers and refugees fled to the surrounding jungle prior to the raids. Among those fleeing reportedly were large numbers of guerrillas who have been asked by PNG Defense Force to surrender.
Jerry Frank, the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) commander of the joint forces for Operation Sunset Merona, told media that all the arrested people are separatists despite clear information that almost all refugees at the attacked camps had been registered as refugees and/or “permissive residents” for many years, and many were non-political. Radio New Zealand International reported that PNG authorities have arbitrarily decided that anyone found not be a citizen of PNG will be considered an OPM activist and sent to the overflowing East Awin refugee camp which is under the control of the UNHCR and attended closely by Catholic relief agencies. However, PNG’s acting deputy police commissioner Fred Yakasa acknowledged that they cannot return refugees to Indonesia to face possible arrest or execution. “It would be wrong to send those people back to Papua to an unknown fate,” Yakasa stated.
PNG is home to around 12,000 West Papuan refugees who fled Indonesian state violence in several major waves since Indonesian annexed West Papua in 1962. Several hundred refugees accepted facilitated repatriation last year with guarantees of land. In PNG, “permissive non-citizens” are allowed to work but not to gain any legal certainty in housing, education or citizenship.
The refugee relief NGO WPRRA called for the PNG government to be held accountable for its “inhuman operations against refugees who took refuge in PNG due to Indonesian brutality,” and that the governments of Vanuatu, New Zealand and others assist these displaced West Papuan refugees in seeking asylum in a third country. WPRRA has also called on the international community to assist in “ensuring the fundamental rights of West Papuans in PNG are respected and protected according to the international law on refugees and human rights.”
West Papua Media Alerts reports that the UNHCR is concerned about the attacks on refugees and the potential for inappropriate actions to escalate. “Our PNG Representative is closely monitoring the situation and in contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the principle of non-refoulement is being respected as the situation becomes clearer,” said Richard Towle, Australia/ PNG Regional Representative for UNHCR.
Papuan Students Say Special Autonomy Has Failed and Mediated Dialogue Is Essential
A Jakarta Post report highlights efforts by Papuan students in Jakarta to persuade the Indonesian government to cancel the 2001 “Special Autonomy” law for West Papua. The students accused the central government of failing to properly implement special autonomy and called for dialogue mediated by a third party to find a solution to the many problems plaguing the region.
Marten Goo from the National Forum for Papuan Students demanded a government review of the 2001 law, arguing that Article 78 of the law requires that the implementation of the law be evaluated every year, with the first evaluation conducted three years after the inception of the law. Marten contended that the government was responsible for existing conflicts in West Papua and even created new conflicts to retain control over Papua’s natural resources.
“With so many problems, including poverty, human rights violations and corruption,” he said, “the central government is halfhearted in implementing special autonomy.” Marten added that the government had deliberately not issued regulations to implement the law in order to keep Papua on a leash. “There is no implementing regulation to support the 2001 law. Therefore everything must be consulted with the central government, which has the power to intervene,” he said. Marten also called for the Papua People’s Council (MRP) to be disbanded and to call off its plans to elect members for the 2011 tenure. (See above for details protests across West Papua calling for the abolition of the MRP.)
“The central government never listens to the Council, which represents Papuans. The government also tried to infiltrate the Council through a Home Ministry decree on Jan. 13, which violates the autonomy law,” he said. That ministerial decree defines Papuans as Melanesians from Papuan indigenous tribes and/or those who are accepted and recognized as indigenous Papuans. (WPAT Comment: There have been allegations that the central government sought to infiltrate non-Papuans into the MRP through this decree.)
Agus Kosay from the Central Mountain Papua Indonesia Students Association (AMPTPI) also speaking in Jakarta on January 27, called special autonomy was “a new form of colonialism.” “Special autonomy was touted as a win-win solution to protect Papuans in terms of empowerment and welfare. But what has happened is that we barely feel safe now,” he said. Agus highlighted the fact that many Papuans still faced discrimination. “There are also numerous cases of human rights violations by security forces, including torture and shooting.”
He said Papuan students and activists faced threats for expressing their opinions. Marten agreed, saying that the central government was in violation of its own law. “Articles 43 to 45 of the autonomy law refer to the protection of indigenous Papuans and their rights. But the military keeps torturing and intimidating Papuans,” he said.
Back issues of West Papua Report
posted at http://www.etan.org/issues/wpapua/2011/1102wpap.htm
Related Articles
- PNG troops burn down border West Papua refugee camps as refugees flee to the jungle (westpapuamedia.info)
- AFP: Papuans Rally for Independence from Indonesia (westpapuamedia.info)
- Parkop Letter to Png Pm Somare: Halt to Police Operation in Sandaun Provinvce. (westpapuamedia.info)
- WPAT/ETAN: Light Sentences for Rights Violators Spark Calls for Suspension of Aid to Abusive and Unaccountable Indonesian Military (westpapuamedia.info)
- AWPA: West Papua 2010 Chronology of events (westpapuamedia.info)
