This is the 94th 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://www.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: The trial of five Papuans who led a peaceful demonstration in October 2011 demanding Papuans’ right to self determination has begun. There has been no prosecution of security forces who brutally attacked that demonstration, killing at least three peaceful demonstrators and beating scores more. The U.S. State Department called on the Indonesian authorities to ensure due process for those indicted and urged that Indonesia respect its international legal obligations related to the trial. Human Rights Watch, for its part, called for the release of the five Papuans who are being tried under an archaic “subversion” provision of the criminal code. WPAT presents an exclusive report on efforts by the Indonesian special forces, Kopassus, to organize a propaganda campaign on West Papua. The campaign targets the U.S. and other governments for purportedly seeking to exert influence there. In its annual report, Human Rights Watch describes a worsening environment for
human rights in West Papua. Reporters without Borders, in another global review, notes the growing threat to journalists in West Papua. The Asian Human Rights Commission reports on new Indonesian security force torture of Papuan civilians. The Indonesian government is colluding with Interpol in an effort to arrest prominent Papuan dissident Benny Wenda. Indonesian joins a number of repressive regimes attempting to use Interpol to silence critics. Jakarta has announced plans for a massive road building scheme in West Papua which will facilitate developers access to virgin forest areas. A revealing report by the Jakarta Globe explores the prevalence of illiteracy among Papuan children, even in urban areas, and notes the central government’s persistent failure to provide educational services to Papuans. The Government has again announced plans to create a new Papuan province, a step which will further divert funds from essential services for Papuans.
Contents
Prosecution of Peaceful Dissent Again Targets Papuans
The trial of six West Papuan leaders who played the leading roles in the October 16-19, 2011 convening of the Third Papuan National Congress (see November 2011 West Papua Report ) began January 30 in Jayapura. The trial was adjourned shortly after it began and will resume on February 8. Over 300 people were initially detained as the Papuan Congress concluded 19 October 2011. An assault on the entirely peaceful gathering by Indonesian security forces led to the death of at least three participants and the beating of many more. No security forces have been prosecuted for that assault.
Six people have been detained since October 19, 2011; five of the six face charges of subversion under Section 106 paragraph 53 and 55 of the Indonesian Criminal Code. The use of these charges to suppress peaceful dissent date back to the Dutch colonial times and have frequently been employed by the Dutch, the Suharto dictatorship and even successive democratic regimes. The provisions violate Indonesia’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The six detainees are: Forkorus Yaboisembut, Dominikus Surabut, Edison Waromi, Selphius Bobii, Agus Sananay, and Gat Wenda. Five of the six are charged with subversion: Wenda is only charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
The United States State Department publicly called on Indonesia to “ensure due process” and to observe its “international legal obligations for those indicted.” The U.S. also urged Indonesia to “work with the indigenous Papuan population to address their grievances, resolve conflicts peacefully and support development in the Papuan provinces.”
The United States “recognizes and respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia within its current borders, which include the provinces of Papua and West Papua,” the spokesperson added.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has demanded that Indonesia drop the charges against the five Papuans. The New York-based rights group said Indonesian security forces had used “excessive force” including batons and firearms to break up a pro-independence assembly in the provincial capital Jayapura last October, killing at least three people and injuring more than 90. HRW noted the injustice that while eight police officers were let off with written warnings for disciplinary infractions, the five Papuan leaders are charged with treason. “The Indonesian government should show its commitment to peaceful expression by dropping the charges against these five Papuan activists,” the group’s Asia deputy director Elaine Pearson said in a statement. “It’s appalling that a modern democratic nation like Indonesia continues to lock up people for organizing a demonstration and expressing controversial views,” she added. Pursuing the trial would “only deepen the resentment that many Papuans feel against the government”, Pearson said.
HRW also urged Indonesia to release at least 15 other Papuans, including independence leader Filep Karma, and about 60 others mostly Maluku activists, over “peaceful acts of free expression.” Rights groups accuse Indonesia of gross human rights abuses in Papua, a Melanesian-majority region rich in natural resources where poorly armed rebels have been fighting for independence for decades. Jakarta denies the allegations but severely limits access by foreign media or aid workers into the remote eastern province to conduct independent inquiries.
More than 100 people are currently imprisoned in Indonesia for peacefully promoting separatism in Indonesia, most of them from Papua or the eastern Maluku islands, according to Human Rights Watch.
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WPAT EXCLUSIVE: Kopassus Organizes Propaganda Offensive Targeting U.S. and Other International Interests Regarding West Papua
Indonesia’s Special Forces (Kopassus) organized a week-long training program for two dozen bloggers and journalists at their headquarters in Jakarta late November, 2011. Trainees were warned about alleged foreign interference in West Papua, including by the U.S. and other governments. According to its website, the Indonesian Association of Citizen Reporters (Persatuan Pewarta Warga Indonesia, PPWI ), jointly organized the training with Kopassus Group III/Sandhi Yudha or the ‘Secret War’ group. The group has a section called the ‘Papua Desk.’
The PPWI website shows Kopassus group commander Col. Izak Pangemanan shaking hands with Wilson Lalengke, PPWI chairman. According to some trainees’ Facebook accounts and the syllabus, the training included several components including one about separatism in West Papua. A trainee Facebook account showed Kopassus had also recently sent around 250 officers to Papua.
Mahar Prastowo, a PPWI deputy chairman, played a central role by liaising with Kopassus for the program, where he gave a talk about Papua, saying that he had approached Forkorus Yaboisembut, the chairman of the Papua Customary Council, and Buchtar Tabuni, the chairman of the West Papua National Committee.
Trainees came from Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, but included no Papuans. The training program was intended to counter international news reporting about West Papua which is seen as critical of Jakarta policy and Indonesian military conduct in West Papua.
At the training, Mahar Prastowo contended that the United States is stirring unrest in West Papua. He cited President Barack Obama’s decision to deploy 2500 marines to Darwin, Australia. Prastowo also said there is a “paradigm shift” in suppressing independence movement in Papua. He encouraged the PPWI trainees to get involved in the information war. On his Twitter feed (@maharprastowo), he criticized mining giant Freeport McMoRan which he said had taken out most of the gold and copper from Papua’s Grasberg mine, while only giving Indonesia only one percent of the income.
Prastowo told the trainees to help create “a common enemy” of the Papuans and the Indonesians. Prastowo described this common enemy as “ABDA,” representing American, British, Dutch and Australian interests. Trainees were encouraged to use their Twitter, Facebook and blogs to fight “foreign agents in Papua. On his Facebook account “Mahar Writerpreneur,” he uploaded a cartoon of four Caucasian men, supposedly to represent ABDA, eating resources from the Grasberg mine.
PPWI chairman Wilson Lalengke has issued 100 PPWI press cards for Kopassus officers. The training program was mainly financed by the Ministry of Defense. In addition to the training assistance, Kopassus will help bloggers and journalists cover Papua by providing logistical support to include transportation.
Prastowo’s blog indicates that he has some sort of an association to the Jakarta-based Islam Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI). He posted some FPI announcements. The hardline FPI for years has engaged in thuggish attacks on businesses and others it does not approve of. The FPI is believed to have official backing.
In late December, FPI chairman Habib Rizieq Shihab and Islamist politician Muhammad al-Khaththath visited the Ministry of Defense, demanding the ministry to take stern actions against “Papuan separatist.” They also threatened to wage jihad in Papua.
Another Facebook account says that PPWI is also planning to publish a tabloid in West Papua.
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Human Right Watch Annual Report Describes Worsening Rights Environment in West Papua
In its annual review of human rights observance and violation around the world, Human Rights Watch focused significantly on developments in West Papua. West Papua related excerpts follow:
- In August internal military documents – mainly from Kopassus, Indonesia’s special forces -were made public, exposing how the Indonesian military monitors peaceful activists, politicians, and religious clergy in Papua. The documents show the deep military paranoia in Papua that conflates peaceful political expression with criminal activity. Several of those named in the documents as targets have faced arrest, imprisonment, harassment, or other forms of violence.
- Access to Papua in 2011 remained tightly controlled. Few foreign journalists and human rights researchers can visit independently without close monitoring of their activities. Since October the vice president’s office has set up the Unit to Accelerate Development in Papua and West Papua, which is focused on economic development. Its board members include some veterans of peace talk over Aceh.
- In July over 500 representatives of Papuan civil society met at a peace conference in Jayapura, organized by a government-funded peace-initiative network.
- Violence in Papua worsened in July and August with several unrelated attacks in which more than two dozen people were killed or seriously injured. Seventeen people were killed in Puncak Jaya in July when two rival political camps clashed in an election dispute.
- In Puncak Jaya there has been a long insurgency between the Free Papua Organization (OPM) and the Indonesian military. The OPM commander in Puncak Jaya claimed responsibility for several attacks against the Indonesian military in July, including one in which an Indonesian military chopper was shot down, injuring seven soldiers and killing one.
- In October security forces used excessive violence when arresting more than 300 Papuans involved in a three-day Papuan Congress. At least three men were killed and more than 90 were injured. Six Papuan leaders were charged with treason.
International Journalists Underscore Security Targeting of Journalists in West Papua
Reporters Without Borders released its Press Freedom Index 2011-2012 on near the end of January, in which Indonesia dropped 29 places from a year earlier to 146th. The reason for Indonesia’s slip in the ranks, according to the organization, was largely due to cases of journalists in West Papua being killed, kidnapped and assaulted.
Bambang Eka Cahya Widodo, chairman of Indonesia’s Elections Supervisory Board (Bawaslu), told media that journalists were sometimes targeted because of their election coverage. He cited the case of a journalist in Merauke, Papua, who was stabbed while reporting on an electoral dispute there last year.
WPAT Comment: The United Nations, foreign officials and human rights organizations have long been critical of Indonesia’s ongoing efforts to prevent international monitoring of human rights violations in West Papua. The measures employed by Jakarta include restrictions on travel to and within West Papua by international journalists, human rights monitors and humanitarian agencies. The International Committee of the Red Cross remain banned from re-opening its offices in West Papua. But perhaps the most insidious tactic employed by Jakarta is the targeting of Indonesian journalists and human rights workers by Indonesian security forces. Reporters Without Borders has performed an important service in drawing attention to security force intimidation, brutalization and murder of Indonesian journalists.
Military Officers Arbitrarily Arrest and Torture Civilians Based on False Claims of Rebel Activity
The Asian Human Rights Commission, January 26, issued an urgent appeal ( Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-005-2012) regarding the Indonesian military’s brutalization of a dozen Papuans, including three local activists, in Kurulu, West Papua, in early November 2011. The assault on these civilians was related to unsubstantiated claims of rebel activity in the area. In an appeal to the international community, the AHRC noted that civilians are “frequently victimized based on arbitrary allegations of rebellion, and subsequently tortured.”
The incident followed a false allegation initially passed to a pro-Jakarta militia of a meeting between the Papuan armed resistance OPM and villagers from Umpagalo village in Kurulu district. Local military personnel of the 176/ Kurulu military headquarters reacted to the unsubstantiated report by going to Umpagalo at around 11pm. “They beat three local activists, Melianus Wantik, Edo Doga and Markus Walilo, as well as nine villagers, Pilipus Wantik, Wilem Kosy, Elius Dabi, Lamber Dabi, Othi Logo, Nilik Hiluka, Hukum Logo, Martinus Mabel and Saulus Logo, then stabbed them with bayonets for two hours, forced them to crawl and doused them with water for one hour. The officers also humiliated, beat with wood sticks, kicked and stepped on them with their boots, pointed their guns and threatened that they would cut their heads, and shot at them four times.”
The troops then transported the victims to the 176 military headquarters and after several hours delay, they were released without charges. The victims? colleagues complained to the Kurulu sector police following the incident, but the police refused to process the complaint claiming there was no substantial evidence to prove the allegations. More importantly, the police have no capacity to investigate or prosecute military personnel under terms of the law on military courts (Law No. 31 of 1997).
The AHRC observed that security force use of torture against indigenous Papuans is widespread, often targeting persons suspected of supporting independence movements. “Such suspicions are often leveled arbitrarily against members of the indigenous community and result in stigmatisation.” AHRC added: “according to the law on military courts, members of the military that commit crimes against civilians, such as extrajudicial killings or torture, can only be held accountable by military justice systems. Military courts are not open to the public, are notorious for only giving lenient punishments, and show a clear lack of impartiality.” AHRC called for a joint investigation of the incident by the Indonesian military (TNI) and the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM).
Interpol Lends Its Resources to Indonesian Efforts to Silence Dissident
Interpol has issued a “red notice” for Benny Wenda, a prominent Papuan dissident who has been granted asylum in the U.K. on political grounds.
The Interpol action against Wenda is similar to other actions targeting prominent dissidents legally living outside their home countries. The Interpol alert system is increasingly being employed to serve the interests of often repressive regimes seeking to silence their critics.
A lawsuit alleging that some oppressive regimes are using Interpol’s alert system to harass or detain opponents is being planned by rights activists and lawyers in the United Kingdom. Campaigners say that some government fabricate criminal charges against those who have taken refuge in other countries and then seek their arrest through Interpol “red notices.”
The notices are meant to alert member police forces that an Interpol member state has issued an arrest warrant, but some countries will take seize suspects based on the “red notice” alone. There are about 26,000 outstanding.
Trans-Papua Road Planned
According to the Jakarta Post, Indonesia’s Public Works Ministry is allocating Rp 3.6 trillion (US$399 million) to build a “Trans-Papua Highway.” Planned road construction would be among the largest undertaken in Indonesia. he aim of the Trans-Papua Highway is purportedly to connect isolated areas in Papua’s central highlands to Wamena, Habema, Kenyam, and Batas Batu, as well as the Asmat regency on the south coast. The plan would also include two other road projects within the “Master Plan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Development” (MP3EI), involving roads linking Timika in the Mimika regency and Enarotali in the Paniai regency, and those linking Merauke with Tanah Merah in the Bouven Digoel regency. Government spokespersons claim that the government aims to build 70 percent of a total of 3,100 kilometers of national road in Papua and West Papua by 2014.
WPAT COMMENT: Such massive road development poses both positive and negative consequences. Improved access to markets for local farmers and industries could be a boon to isolated Papuan villages and towns. Papuans generally will also benefit from improved access to essential services and employment opportunities often lacking in rural areas of West Papua. On the other hand, such road development also expands the opportunity for illegal enterprises, particularly illegal logging operations, to exploit Papuan natural resources. The Suharto dictatorship often boasted of “road development” in occupied East Timor. In fact, road network expansion was largely aimed at facilitating military access to exploitable resources and expanding military operations into the hinterlands.
Jakarta Abuses Papuans Through Denial of Essential Services
The failure of the Indonesian government to provide essential health services to the Papuan population of West Papua has been repeatedly documented and, arguably, leaves the Jakarta government open to charges of ethnic genocide. This calculated, malign neglect in the area of basic health services extends to provision for education. A revealing January 31 Jakarta Globe report notes that Papua’s illiteracy rate among those aged 15 years and under was 32 percent, the highest in the nation, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2010. That figure has increased steadily since 2007, when it was 25 percent, going up to 28 percent in 2008 and 30 in 2009.
The Globe report, by Banjir Ambarita and Mary Anugrah Rasita, underscores that the Jakarta government’s failure to educate young Papuans is not only a problem in remote rural areas. The reporters visited a state elementary school in Jayapura (Port Numbay) and found extensive illiteracy. Nella Manaku, headmaster of Holtekamp Elementary School acknowledged that 50 percent of the students there could neither read nor write. The reporters observed that many fifth- and sixth-grade students were just at able to be taught how to write.
The headmaster blamed the high illiteracy rate on a lack of teachers at saying that were just five instructors for the more than 100 students. Moreover, “Three of them are permanent and the others are contract teachers, but they rarely show up for work,” he said. He explained that he had repeatedly applied to the Jayapura Education Agency for more teachers, but to no avail. “For several years now we’ve been asking for help, but there’s never been a response from the authorities,” he said. Kayus Bahabol, a provincial legislator, told the Globe that the high illiteracy rate was not the only issue the school was dealing with. “Educational facilities here are badly lacking…. Livestock wander all over the place and leaving their droppings everywhere,” he said.
Kenius Kogoya, another provincial legislator, said the Holtekamp case was just the tip of the iceberg. “If things can get this bad at a school in Jayapura, a major city, imagine what it’s like at schools in rural areas,” he said. “The government always likes to claim that regional autonomy has been a blessing for development in Papua, but this is highly questionable.”
Arief Rachman, an education expert who chairs the National Commission for UNESCO, agreed that the low level of development in the province was the main culprit for the high illiteracy rate. Darmaningtyas, an education expert from the Taman Siswa school network, told the Globe that the problem of teacher shortages was a long-standing one in Papua. He urged the government to give priority to infrastructure development to improve the distribution of books and other school supplies across Papua, “because right now we lack the channels to get the appropriate reading materials to the students there.”
Plans Advance to Create Central Papua Province
Media reports reveal that the Indonesian government is moving forward with plans to create a new province in the western portion of the island of New Guinea controlled by Indonesia. According to a January 20 report in the Cenderawasih Pos Jakarta the central government is moving forward with the creation of “Central Papua” sometime in 2012. The province will have 10 districts: Supiori, Biak Numfor, Yapen Islands, Waropen, Nabire, Dogiyai, Deiyai, Intan Jaya, Paniai and Mimika.
The formation of a new province re-opens a contentious legal and political debate over the division of the land Papuans consider “West Papua” into two entities, Papua and West Papua a decade ago. That division was described as illegal by the Indonesian courts but inexplicably was allowed to stand as a fait accompli. Many Papuans have resisted the division of Papuan territory, arguing that the action fails to take into account their political aspirations, in particular, their pursuit of self determination. Moreover, Papuans and many observers have argued that the creation of new administrative subdivisions absorb funds that are critically needed to provide essential services in the areas of medical care, education and social/cultural development. Rather, they argue, creation of new administrative entities amounts to top-down development which favors creation of massive new “development” undertakings which advantage corporate interests, usually to the grave disadvantage of local development.
Creation of such new administrative entities also creates “perches” for the expansion of the security force establishment, further diverting funds and broadening and deepening the militarization of Papuan lands.
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February 5, 2012 | Categories: News alert | Tags: Kopassus, west papua | Leave A Comment »
STATEMENT BY FIVE PAPUANS WHO WENT ON TRIAL IN JAYAPURA ON 30 JANUARY 2011[This hand-written statement is signed by the five Papuans who went on trial in Jayapura on 30 January 2012, and is translated in full by
Carmel Budiardjo, TAPOL]
Fully understanding and conscious of our basic human rights as Papuans of the negroid race, part of the Melanesian race who live in the land of the country of West Papua, inheritors from our ancestors, we herewith firmly declare that WE FIRMLY REJECT THE TREASON TRIAL AND OTHER SUCH TRIALS that has been mounted against the five of us, and we speak on behalf our colleagues and the entire nation of the Papuan people of the Nation of West Papua.
We call for an understanding of this declaration, a declaration of independence, in accordance with the principles of PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW, a law which should be lawfully accepted. And in this case, this declaration will bring us substantial happiness if it gains the recognition of the international community.
In order to gain substantial and dignified recognition from the international community, we have requested our international team of lawyers to notify and register our legal status along with the question of the annexation of the TERRITORY OF THE STATE OF WEST PAPUA at the International Court, with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amnesty International and all member states of the United Nations, as well as other competent authorities.
We herewith categorically state that we are not prepared to make any statements or answer any questions that are based on the laws and accusations of treason by the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, during the current trial for treason. It is very clear indeed that this is a matter between two nations and two states, that is to say, between the Papuan nation and the Indonesian nation, between the Federal State of West Papua and the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
The following are the reasons for our rejection of the trial for treason or any such trial:
[NB: The copy of the statement which we have received jumps at this point from page 2 to page 4 which suggests that the copy we have is incomplete.]
1. Our struggle and the struggle of those who have gone before us and the nation of West Papua and all members of the Papuan people up to the present day is a struggle for the restoration of independence and sovereignty of the Papuan Nation as one of our most basic political rights.
2. Bearing in mind that the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia annexed and continues to annex, the people and nation of the Papuan people since the TRIKORA command which was proclaimed by the former president of Indonesia, President Sukarno on 19 December 1961 in the city of Jogyakarta and which was followed up by the Indonesian military, from 1962 to the present day, by a variety of measures aimed at preserving the annexation.
3. Our struggle is not aimed as damaging or destroying any country in the world.
4. We do not intend to damage or destroy the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
5. We feel that our dignity has been defiled, that our basic political rights have been violated in our country, West Papua, which we inherited from our ancestors.
6. No one, for whatever reason, has the right to make accusations against us or to convict us in a treason trial or any such trial. This is because we have become the subjects of our own laws as citizens of the nation and state of the Federal Republic of West Papua.
7. Based on the values of basic human rights, of democracy and the following universal laws:
a. The first article in the Preamble to the1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.
b. Article15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations adopted on 10 December, 1948.
c. Article 1, para 1 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted as UN Resolution 2200 (xxi) which has been in force since 23 March 1976,.
d. The Declaration on Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in UN Resolution 1514 (xv) on 14 December 1960.
e. The basic principles of decolonisation , namely possidetis juris and the legal succession of the state to the colonial territories of the Dutch East Indies (Dutch Papua) since 19 October 1961.
f. ILO Convention No. 169, 1989 on the Rights of Indigenous and Tribal People.
g. The UN Declaration on the basic rights of indigenous peoples of 13 September 2007.
h. The Papuan Independence Manifesto of 19 October 1961 adopted by the Papuan National Committee.
i. Stipulations adopted by the Grand Congress (MUBES) of the Papuan people in 2000.
j. The Eleven Recommendations of the Second Papuan Peoples’ Congress and Indigenous Papuan People in 2010.
k. The decisions of the Second Papuan Peoples Congress in 2000.
l. The decisions of the Third Papuan Peoples Congress of 2011.
8. The Statement by the Indigenous Papuan People and the Papuan people is a truth based on analytical and practical categories. The analytical category means that the indigenous P apuan people are the Papuan nation, a negroid race of the Melanesian race, located in the South Pacific. Whereas the practical category is a political statement which was enunciated in the Manifesto of Papuan Independence of the Papuan National Committee on 19 October 1961 in Hollandia, the State of West Papua.
9. We democratically restored the independence and sovereignty of the Papuan people on 19 October 2011, at the Third Papuan Peoples Congress with the establishment of the Federal Republic of West Papua which was announced by the DECLARATION OF THE PAPUAN NATION IN THE STATE OF WEST PAPUA.
10. The government of the Republic of Indonesia and the governments of all other members of the United Nations, should without discrimination recognise and respect the democratic processes of the Papuan people at the Third Papuan Peoples Congress on 19 October 2011 in the form of the Declaration of the West Papuan Nation and State.
11. The application of the treason law against the Papuan people must be categorised as a violation of the basic and legal political rights of the Papuan nation.
We hereby call on to the Honourable Judges in this forum to annul the trial held in order to accuse us of TREASON and make similar charges against us. The solution to the independence of the Papuan nation which is our most basic political right must be sought by means of international mechanisms between the Federal Republic of West Papua and the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, mediated by the United Nations.
In order to regulate the transfer of sovereign powers from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia to the Federal Republic of West Papua, we intend to initiate a new phase of cooperation based on the principles of democracy, justice, peace, mutual respect and dignity. As is customary between independent and sovereign nations and states on Planet Earth.
Herewith our statement of REJECTION OF THE TRIAL BEING HELD TO ACCUSE US OF TREASON AND SIMILAR CHARGES.
Jayapura, 30 January 2012
Signed:
1. Forkorus Yaboisembut, President of the Federal State of West Papua.
2. Edison G. Waromi, SH, Prime Minister of the Federal State of West Papua.
3. Agust M. Sananai Kraar, SIP,human rights activist/staff
4. Selpius Bobii, activist/staff
5. Dominikus Subarat, activist/staff
February 2, 2012 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: Congress, Edison Waromi, Forkorus Yaboisembut, freedom of expression, human rights, indonesia, Jayapura, Kopassus, Makar, Manokwari, Papua, Papuan, Papuan people, Rebellion/Subversion charges, Third Papuan People's Congress, treason, united nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, west papua, West Papuan languages | 1 Comment »
Media Release
Human Rights Law Centre and
International Lawyers for West Papua
1 February 2012
The Australian Government’s silence on human rights abuses in the region has once again been put in the spotlight, with the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) and International Lawyers for West Papua (ILWP) urging the Foreign Minister to speak up in defence of basic rights such as freedom of expression and assembly.
Criminal trials have commenced this week in Jayapura, against five Papuan political activists charged with criminal offenses following their involvement in last year’s peaceful assembly at the Third Papuan People’s Congress. The activists were among the hundreds of people arrested after Indonesian police and military forcibly shut down the gathering, killing at least three people and injuring approximately 90 others.
HRLC spokesperson, Tom Clarke, said the fundamental rights of all persons to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association are protected by International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – which Indonesia ratified in 2006.
“These fundamental human rights must be recognised and respected by Indonesia. The exercise of such democratic rights and freedoms must be protected by law, not criminalised.
“Australia’s UN Security Council bid pitches us as a ‘principled advocate of human rights for all’. This is a prime opportunity for the Foreign Minister to take a principled stand against human rights abuses on our doorstep,” Mr Clarke said.
The Papuan activists, Forkorus Yaboisembut, Edison Waromi, August Makbrowen Senay, Dominikus Sorabut and Selpius Bobii, are facing charges of treason in a region where people may be imprisoned for simply raising the West Papuan ‘Morning Star’ flag.
ILWP’s Jennifer Robinson called on the Australian Government to use its unique relationship with Indonesia to encourage the authorities to demonstrate their respect for human rights by dropping charges against the five activists.
“These trials should stop immediately, and Australia should do everything it can to help that happen. The prosecution of activists for peacefully expressing their political views has no place in a modern democracy. The Australian Foreign Minister, his department and embassy staff in Indonesia should make it very clear that the Australian Government firmly supports human rights and freedom of expression in the region,” Ms Robinson said.
Ms Robinson also called on the Australian Government to deploy embassy staff to observe the legal proceedings for the purpose of ensuring that the protesters receive a fair trial.
The trial is scheduled to resume on Wednesday 8 February.
For further comments:
please contact West Papua Media +61450079106 for contacts
February 1, 2012 | Categories: News alert, Press Release | Tags: australia, Australian Government, human rights, indonesia, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Jayapura, west papua | Leave A Comment »
January 31, 2012
By Nick Chesterfield from West Papua Media with local sources
(Jayapura) The treason trial against the leaders of the Third Papuan People’s Congress in Jayapura was adjourned on Monday until February 8, after a short hearing that Indonesian authorities moved at the last moment preventing many supporters from attending.
The five defendants, President of the Federated Republic of West Papua (FRWP) Forkorus Yaboisembut, Prime Minister Edison Waromi, together with Congress organisers Selpius Bobii, Dominikus Sorabut and Agus Sananay were charged with makar or treason under Article 106 of KUHP (the Indonesian Criminal Code) for their declaration of an independent West Papua at the close of the Third Papuan People’s Congress on October 19 last year.
Papuan leaders accused of treason on trial in Jayapura, January 30, 2012
The historic Congress was violently broken up by Indonesian security forces using live fire and excessive violence, with at least seven people killed, hundreds beaten and tortured, despite official permission for the event to be held. Indonesian security officers involved were given minor disciplinary sanction, with most perpetrators of violence enjoying complete impunity despite footage of the Indonesian security force violence being broadcast internationally.
Initial reports from witnesses inside the trial early in the day claimed that the team of judges argued with the defence legal team about the need to know the political position of the defendant’s, despite the fact that in a treason trial this would be self-evident. Yaboisembut and Waromi then fundamentally rejected the charges against them, arguing that their actions were not treason“.
Forkorus Yobeisembut (Jakarta Globe)
According to Forkorus as reported by the Jakarta Post, “What we have been doing is seeking our own independence. Thus, we have cheated no one,”. Forkorus argued that Indonesian occupation of his homeland was the real issue, and that ”this problem is not the problem of separatism and rebellion or treason”. Both Forkorus and Waromi said that the issue of Papua should be tried in international courts as the Indonesian state did not have jurisdiction over Papua.
Forkorus Yaboisembut (Jakarta Globe)
in a short statement sent to West Papua Media, the defendant’s legal team said that the judge asked Forkorus and the accused understood the indictment. “He answered that, yes, he understood what the prosecutors read but did not understand the charges of treason against them.”
“Forkorus then asked for time to read a statement to the assembly to process the rejection of the law, (the request of) which was then approved by a judge. Our attorneys will do the rebuttal (exception) to the indictment dated 8th February 2012,” according to the legal team led by Hamadi.
(Photo: Efraim Joteni)
Bintang Papua reported that another one of the lawyers for the accused, Gustaf Kawer,said that up to 32 lawyers from across Papua and Indonesia had offered pro-bono defence of the treason accused. He said: ‘I am convinced that the large number of lawyers who are attracted by the case is a good sign of interest in the need to find a solution to the problem of Papua.’
Forkorus Yaboisembut and Edison Waromi media interview after trial.(Photo: Efraim Joteni)
The Panel of Judges hearing the trial are Chairman of the Jayapura District Court of Class IA, Jayapura, Papua, Jack John Octovianus, SH. MH,; assisted by I Ketut Nyoman S, SH. MH. Syor Mambrasar, SH. MH. Orpah Marthina, SH. and Willem Marco Erari, SH.
Outside the court hearing, almost 400 hundred heavily armed riot police and a similar number of Army and Kopassus personnel were guarding the courthouse venue from dawn (0600) with close to a dozen armoured assault vehicles, mounted with heavy machine guns, according to participants.
Protest in support of West Papuan leaders in trial for treason (Photo: Efraim Joteni)
Protest in support of West Papuan leaders in trial for treason (Photo: Efraim Joteni)
Participants in the protest claimed to West Papua Media via SMS that security forces were acting in a heavy-handed manner, describing their actions as “wild and aggressive”. “This display of armour makes thousands of ordinary people in Jayapura traumatized and afraid to come to action,” said Jack Wainggai, the spokesman for the Prime Minister of the FRWP, Edison Waromi, on trial for treason today. Organisers had aimed for several thousand people to attend, but amid heavy Indonesian security that discouraged solidarity protests by West Papuan supporters of the defendants, only 500-600 braved the heavy armour and “state intimidation” outside the court.
Protest in support of West Papuan leaders in trial for treason (Photo: Efraim Joteni)
Brimob outside makar trial (Photo: West Papua Media)
Brimob outside makar trial (Photo: West Papua Media)
one of almost a dozen armoured vehicles securing outside court venue Jan 30 2012 Jayapura (Photo: West Papua Media)
Despite promises by Indonesian authorities that the trials would be open, the presiding judges secretly started proceedings at 8.30 am before supporter could arrive. In a press statement before the trial, Bintang Papua reported that Olga Hamadi of Kontras Papua said, “The five men will face charges under Article 106 of the Criminal Code for subversion. Based on past experience, there are concerns regarding security during the trial which will be open to the public, meaning that anyone wishing to attend the trial will be able to do so.” Hamadi urged all present to restrain themselves and ensure that conditions surrounding the trial are conducive.
Speculation has mounted amongst local observers that the trial may be moved from Jayapura to metropolitan Indonesia to reduce any potential political flashpoint it will cause amongst pro-independence forces in Papua, with the prosecutor’s office formally warning of such a move should unrest occur. Conversely though, any shift would create more opportunities for international observers to be present at the trial, a basic condition called for by the defence and international human rights monitors.
After the adjournment, the few hundred that did attend were able to disperse peacefully without an Indonesian security force crackdown, but tension still remains high in Jayapura as armed troops are still deployed on the streets the following day.
Elsewhere in Papua, solidarity actions were held with the treason trials against the Congress leaders. In Manokwari, orations were held calling for international peacekeepers to be deployed to protect West Papuan people from Indonesian state violence. Calls were also made in Manokwari for neutral international mediators for dialogue between Jakarta and the Federated Republic of West Papua.
Westpapuamedia.info
January 31, 2012 | Categories: News alert, Urgent Action | Tags: Congress, Edison Waromi, Forkorus Yaboisembut, freedom of expression, human rights, indonesia, Jakarta Globe, Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Kopassus, Makar, Manokwari, Papua, Rebellion/Subversion charges, Third Papuan People's Congress, treason, west papua | 1 Comment »
http://hermanwainggai.blogspot.com/2012/01/west-papua-where-is-our-freedom-and.html
Opinion
by Herman Wainggai
On October 16-19, the Third Papuan Congress held historic meetings in Abepura, Jayapura in which the largest representative majority ever of West Papuans voluntarily united and participated as members of the nascent Federated Republic of West Papua within our civil society. However, on October 19th, while nearing the completion of the public declaration of our independence, the Indonesian military became violent and arrested hundreds of nonviolent West Papuans, including President Forkorus Yaboisembut and Prime Minister Edison Waromi of the Federated Republic of West Papua.
Congressional Hearings on West Papua, September 22, 2010 From left : Salmon Yumame, Forkorus Yaboisembut, Eni Faleomavaega, Edison Waromi and Herman Wainggai
Over the years I have worked alongside many activists and political leaders including Filep Karma, Forkorus Yaboisembut, Jacob Rumbiak and others. For instance, Edison Waromi is a colleague of mine who has spent his life as a nonviolent political activist working for West Papua’s freedom. He has made tremendous sacrifices in his personal life including numerous incarcerations within the substandard conditions of Indonesian prisons in Papua.
Edison’s prison history began in 1989 when he was imprisoned for twelve years; In 2001 he was jailed for six months; and in 2002 we were incarcerated together for two years. For Edison this amounts to 14 1/2 years in the past 23 years of his life. Now he is currently serving another 15 year prison sentence resulting from his arrest in October. The convictions for these political incarcerations are typical iterations of subversion; In the meantime he will continue to serve his 15 year sentence with nary a complaint, even with the awareness that his due process will likely be denied.
My hope is that I will see the day when West Papuans are no longer defined by their repression and victimization, but rather by their strength, courage, and tenacity to fight for justice.
January 29, 2012 | Categories: News alert | Tags: filep karma, Forkorus Yaboisembut, indonesia, Jacob Rumbiak, Jayapura, Papua, Papuan people, west papua | 1 Comment »
January 28, 2012
by Nick Chesterfield at Westpapuamedia.info with sources
West Papua’s civil resistance movement is believed to be organising major demonstrations to support West Papuan leaders facing treason charges in Indonesia’s courts on Monday, January 30.
Indonesian prosecutors will begin proceedings in Jayapura in the treason trials for the leaders of the Third Papuan People’s Congress (KP3), which decalred independence from Jakarta on October 19 last year, after which Indonessian security forces stormed the venue. The President of the Federated Republic of West Papua Forkorus Yaboisembut, Prime Minister Edison Waromi, together with Congress organisers Selpius Bobii, Dominikus Sorabut, Agus Sananay and Gat Wenda all face a battery of charges stemming from their involvement in the Third Papuan Peoples Congress, held for only the third time since 1961.
Papuan leaders are standing infront; Forkorus Yaboisembut S.Pd, Edsison Waromi SH .behind Dominikus Surabut, Gad Wenda, Agus Senandy Kraar and Selpius Bobii (Photos: West Papua Media)
Five of the six are charged with treason under Article 106 of KUHP (the Indonesian Criminal Code), and have also been charged under Article 53 for incitement to acts of treason, and Article 55 which states that even attempting to committ an act (in this case treason), even if unproven is the same as committing the act. Gat Wenda is charged with carrying a concealed weapon. The use of these charges date back to the Dutch colonial times and were used extensively by the Suharto New Order regime to suppress nonviolent dissent.
Their trial will take place at Pengadilan Negeri Klas 1A (State Court 1A), according to a letter dated 17 January (reference 17/PEN.PID/2012/PN). The trial is due to start at 10:00am. The Hon. Jack Johanes Octovianus SH. MH. will be the presiding judge.
Indonesian police and soldiers stormed the Congress venue on October 19 after the independence declaration at the close of the Congress, killing at least 7 people, injuring hundreds and arresting as many as 800 participants. All but the six current detainees were eventually released, but ongoing crackdowns against Papuan nonviolent activists by security forces across Papua intensified in the weeks after the Congress, with several cases of arbitrary arrest and killings.
Papuan human rights activists have alleged, as Video footage of the attack clearly shows, Australian trained Detachment 88 anti-terror troops involved in the attack on unarmed congress participants. Six people were killed and over 300 were arrested.
All detainees were severely beaten by Indonesian police extensively in the weeks following the crackdown, with Yaboisembut sustaining multiple fractures including broken ribs and sternum, and was so badly tortured that he could not stand.
The Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham) together with the Communion of Churches in Papua (PGGP) reported in said that at least 51 people had been tortured by members of the military and police during and after the Congress. Congress participants testified that they had been “beaten and kicked repeatedly by security forces both at the congress site and while being transported to police headquarters. Some participants said they were beaten at the police station.”
In mid December, when the Indonesian police finally charged the detainees with treason, their legal team rejected this unequivocally. As reported by Bintang Papua, well prior to the Congress the committee sent a letter of notification to the police requesting permission for the congress to be held, and had also sent a letter to the Minister for Legal, Political and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto, requesting him to be the keynote speaker at the congress. Suyanto agreed and instructed the director-general of the ministry to open the congress, though he never attended.
‘How can this be said to be treason when there have been letters received from the police and the minister?,’ said the lawyers who stressed that all their clients had done was to express their opinions, rights guaranteed under Indonesian Law the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
An SMS sent to West Papua Media from the KP3 committee has called for the people of Papua to guard the results of the Third Papuan Congress and to hold the Indonesian state to upholding the due process of law.
There is a high likelihood that the six will not receive a fair trial, according to human rights monitors and the lawyers for the six.
The Papuan detainees have requested international observers, including an Australian Government representative be present at the trial and their lawyers have advised that it is possible. The six are all peaceful protesters who were exercising their right to free speech, according to legal observers.
Demonstrations of prayers, live music and vigils are planned to be held outside the courthouse during the trials, according to West Papua Media stringers on the ground in Jayapura. The KP3 COmmittee have called for people to “maintain an escort for the trial that is peaceful and dignified” and to remain united in the face of security force provocations.
West Papua Media stringers also report that Indonesian security forces have mobilised sigificantly to prevent any “disruption” of the treason trials, expected to be a flashpoint for further crackdown by security forces on peaceful dissent. Significant deployment of military hardware is expected on Monday which may provoke an already tense atmosphere.
West Papua Media will naturally report on any developments as they happen.
westpapuamedia.info
January 28, 2012 | Categories: News alert, Urgent Action | Tags: Congress, human rights, indonesia, Jayapura, Papua, Papuan, Rebellion/Subversion charges, Third Papuan People's Congress, treason, west papua | 1 Comment »
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Item: 7803
PARIS (Reporters sans frontières / Pacific Media Watch): An Indonesian military crackdown in the West Papua region, where at least two journalists were killed, five kidnapped and 18 assaulted in 2011, is the main reason for the country’s fall to 146th position in the annual Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.
A corrupt judiciary that is too easily influenced by politicians and pressure groups and government attempts to control the media and Internet have prevented the development of a freer press, said the 2011 RSF report released today.
West Papua strongly featured in an earlier Pacific Journalism Review media freedom report which condemned Indonesia’s human rights record in October.
Fiji, which has a draconian media decree imposed by the military backed regime that seized power in a 2006 coup, dropped again to 117th. The survey was completed before the Pacific country lifted its Public Emergency Regulations (PER) earlier this year.
Countries that have “traditionally been good performers in the Asia-Pacific region did not shine in 2011″, the RSF report said.
“With New Zealand’s fall to 13th position, no country in the region figured among the top 10 in the index.
“Hong Kong (54th) saw a sharp deterioration in press freedom in 2011 and its ranking fell sharply.
“Arrests, assaults and harassment worsened working conditions for journalists to an extent not seen previously, a sign of a worrying change in government policy.
“In Australia (30th), the media were subjected to investigations and criticism by the authorities, and were denied access to information, while in Japan (22nd) coverage of the tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear accident gave rise to excessive restrictions and exposed the limits of the pluralism of the country’s press.”
The best ranked Pacific Islands nation was Papua New Guinea (35th), three places above France (38th) which has territories in the region.
Samoa (54th) ranked equal with Hong Kong, just ahead of the United States territories and well clear of Tonga (63rd) and Timor-Leste (86th). Vanuatu, which has been a problem over the past year, was not listed. Nor was the Solomon Islands.
“In the Philippines (140th), which rose again in the index after falling in 2010 as a result of the massacre of 32 journalists in Ampatuan in November 2009, paramilitary groups and private militias continued to attack media workers,” the RSF report said.
“The judicial investigation into the Ampatuan massacre made it clear that the response of the authorities was seriously inadequate.
“In Afghanistan (150th) and Pakistan (151st), violence remained the main concern for journalists, who were under constant threat from the Taliban, religious extremists, separatist movements and political groups.
“With 10 deaths in 2011, Pakistan (151st) was the world’s deadliest country for journalists for the second year in a row.”
Full RSF world press freedom report index - Asia-Pacific
Pacific Journalism Review 2011 media freedom report
January 26, 2012 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: Asia Pacific, Hong Kong, indonesia, Maguindanao massacre, New Zealand, Pacific Journalism Review, Reporters Without Borders, west papua | Leave A Comment »
JUBI, 24 January, 2012
The Indonesian government’s inconsistencies in implementing a whole number of policies since West Papua was integrated as part of Indonesia have had a significant impact on the political movement of identity. Jakarta has even continued to violated the basic rights of the indigenous Papuan people
These comments were made by the Rev. Phil Erari, deputy chairman of the Alliance of Churches in Indonesia (GKI).
‘The special autonomy law , known as OTSUS, is just one example of the inconsistency in its policy towards Papua,’ he said.
In Erari’s opinion, the Papuan people have virtually no confidence the authority of the Indonesian government. Papuans regard Jakarta as being incapable of introducing a number of reforms on security, health and education or mapping the infrastructure of Papua. Added to all this is the incompetence of the bureaucracy which ‘stinks of corruption’.
The politics of identity which emerged in the second half of the twentieth century was intended to enable the organisation of the masses so as to ensure that the mass of people can identify themselves as part of the group to which they belong. The group is generally speaking based on the same identity of those within the group.
‘The political movement of identity in Papua is an integral part of the people’s affirmative position which must be respected. For many years, Jakarta has failed to include this as part of the curriculum; this is an example of the violation of the right of the Papuan people to get a decent education,’ said Erari.
Meanwhile, Kahar Nobara of Garda-P, the Papuan Democratic People’s Movement, told JUBI that Jakarta has hardly changed at all with regard to solving the Papuan problem.
‘Jakarta has taken no initiatives and its policy in most cases amounts to nothing more that responding to incidents, nothing more than patchwork, without dealing with the root of the problem and without any radical action for change. This is not democratic, and it displays no sensitivity whatsoever,’ said Nobara.
He went on to say, in connection with the political movement of identity, that the nationalism of the Papuan people is an integral part of their constant sufferings. Ths result of all this is that their desire for independence and sovereignty will continue to grow.
‘Jakarta’s inconsistencies provide the ammunition for the struggle of the Papuan people,’ he said.
January 26, 2012 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: human rights, indonesia, indonesian government, Jakarta, Papua, Papuan, Papuan people, west papua | 1 Comment »
A scene from a notorious video of Indonesian military torturing a Papuan. Photo: originally provided by West Papua Media
18 January, 2012
After a period of Dutch control, possession of West Papua was handed to Indonesia in a deal brokered by the US. This deal, known as the New York Agreement of 1962, promised West Papuan self-determination which led to the 1969 Act of Free Choice. This act, later branded as the “Act of No Choice”, was stripped of any legitimacy as a little more than 1000 hand-picked West Papuans representing a population of close to one million voted unanimously under military threats and coercion to retain Indonesian sovereignty. Reported incidents of human rights abuses inflicted on the West Papuan people at the mercy of the Indonesian military includes widespread violence, killings, torture, disappearance, rape, sexual violence, transmigration schemes, forced relocation, and the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV which has seriously harmed the existence of the West Papuan people. This article is a newspaper analysis of the Jakarta Globe, The New Zealand Herald, and The Sydney Morning Herald media coverage. Nigel Moffiet reports.
ANALYSIS: It can be argued that Indonesian abuses in West Papua are crimes consistent with the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as a consequence of exploitation, transmigration, West Papuan displacement, targeted military brutality at West Papuan communities, and the systematic spread of infectious diseases. Given genocide is not a term to use lightly extreme caution must be made in using the label so as to avoid “the risk of setting up taxonomies of genocide, or opening crucial space in debates for re-engaging precisely the kinds of discourses that enable and naturalise it in the first place” (Banivanua-Mar, 2008, p. 586). Yet, the debate is taken seriously with the interests of ‘prevention and restitution rather than simply definition in order to “more effectively work backwards to a deeper and more practical understanding of how genocide happens” (Banivanua-Mar, 2008, p. 596-597). In this context, I also carry out media analysis and reportage of West Papuan human rights abuses and the question of genocide by The Jakarta Post, The New Zealand Herald, and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Analysing human rights abuses within West Papua involved searching for the words “West Papua” and “genocide” within the archives of the three newspapers’ respective search engines. Surprisingly, the Jakarta Post had the most content fitting this description with 25 articles, followed by the Sydney Morning Herald with five articles and The New Zealand Herald with six.
Exploitation of West Papuan land and resources
The province of West Papua is rich in natural resources and since Indonesian rule government and military officials have been involved in the extraction this wealth through mining and forestry. The consequences of this exploitation has been dire for the Papuan people and has led to human rights abuses as observed by West Papuan campaigner John Rumbiak who stated that “all abuses in West Papua were caused by military and police presence aimed at protecting mining firms, forest concessions and timber estates exploiting natural resources”(Wing & King, 2005, p. 2).
Part of the systematic abuse towards the Melanesian people of West Papua included denying them the right to work or gain any wealth from their own natural resources in favour of generating work and wealth for the Indonesian Javanese population. On a 1980 visit to West Papua, a US professor noted a “planned influx of Indonesian workers, including more than 2000 families that were scheduled to be ‘dropped’ near two major oilfields in order to implement a ‘policy of non-employment of Melanesians in the oil industry’” (Brundige et al, 2004, p. 26). This is also evident in the US-ownedFreeport copper mine which in 1982 employed 452 expatriates, 1859 Indonesians, and only 200 Papuans who were employed as unskilled laborers” (Brundige et al, 2004, p. 26).
Intensifying the problem is the relocation of villages due the seizure of land. In June 1980, the Amungme tribe from the Tembagapura region were relocated to a coastal area that had widespread malaria creating an epidemic that killed 216 children. Freeport failed to provide food or medicine during the epidemic and the Indonesian government failed to assist despite the official acknowledgement of the epidemic” (Brundige et al, 2004, p. 26-27).
The exploitation of West Papua’s timber resources and exploitation of West Papuan labour is another problem with evidence of serious breaches of human rights. One of the documents of abuse includes the relocation of the Asmat tribe from the southern coast of West Papua by Jakarta-based timbre companies. The Asmat people were forced into compulsory labour which included the deforestation of their own land at below-subsistence wages with threats of arrest for those who refused to work. This relocation and enforced labour within the timber industry had such an impact that an Indonesian environmental group warned that the Asmat people were “on the brink of cultural starvation after a decade of enforced ironwood logging” (Brundige et al, 2004, p. 28).
A major 2005 report by Indonesian based environmental organisation Tilapia and the UK and US-based Environmental Investigation Agency found that the Indonesian military and government officials are involved in the illegal smuggling of up to 300,000 cubic meters of timber a month from Papua to China. This illegal smuggling is valued at more than US $1 billion (Wing & King, 2005, p. 4).
Transmigration and West Papuan displacement
As well as forcing many West Papuan tribes and communities from their land in order to exploit natural resources, Indonesia has also carried out systematic transmigration policy that has been designed to strip the West Papuan people of their identity making them minorities on their own land. By the end of 1984, the Indonesian government had set up 24 transmigration sites across 700,000 hectares of reappropriated West Papuan land. This resulted in 27,726 Indonesian families relocating on West Papuan land; close to 140,000 people over 10 years. Further more, the Indonesian government required that “Papuans be dispersed, with one Papuan family to every nine Javanese families, thus ensuring that the Papuans would become a minority in each area” (Brundige et al, 2004, p. 33).
This has resulted in the marginalisation of West Papuans within the cities as second class citizens to the extent that “propaganda posters sponsored by the ‘Project for the Guidance of Alien Societies’” urged the Papuans to relinquish their inefficient and primitive ways for the superior lifestyle of the Indonesians (Brundige et al, 2004, p. 34). As well as marginalisation within their own communities, transmigration has “led to the loss of traditional lands and forests where once local tribes used to hunt and gather food. There is no transfer of knowledge and technology to substitute for lost basic rights’ (Wing & King, 2005, p. 4).
Increased presence of Indonesian military
In a 2005, in a University of Sydney report for the West Papua Project, it was concluded that “the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) in Papua are the main source of suffering and instability in the province” (Wing & King, 2005, p. 2). Human rights abuses carried out by the Indonesian armed forces is only escalating as troop build up in the West Papuan region continues with incidents of rape, torture and extrajudicial killings. In 1981, the Indonesian military launched Operation Clean Sweep which resulted in rapes, assaults, killings, and looting of villages if anybody was suspected to be part of the Papuan independence movement Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) (Brundige et al, 2004, p. 29). The operation aimed to “intimidate those suspected of supporting the OPM and to cleanse the boarder regions of Papua to make room for Javanese migrants”. Survivors of the operation reported that “whole families had been bayoneted to death and their bodies left to rot”. The Indonesian military also had the slogan: “Let the rats run into the jungle so that the chickens can breed in the coop.” By the summer of 1981 the operation escalated into the Central Highlands of West Papua were the Indonesian armed forces responded to suspected OPM activity by bombing the village of Madi in the Paniai basin. The attack included the use of napalm and chemical weapons against the villagers and killed at least 2500 people with estimates that the death toll could have even reached 13,000 (Brundige et al, 2004, p. 29).
Since then, Indonesian troop buildups have continued and between 2005 and 2009 up to 15,000 extra troops were deployed throughout the West Papuan region (Wing & King, 2005, p. 13). The result of this military buildup is that there is an increased level of human rights abuses and violent clashes between resistant West Papuans and the Indonesian military. This is catastrophic for local communities as the incidents are “used to justify the deployment of new troop reinforcements, which in turn lead to greater human rights abuses, reaction from aggrieved Papuans, then further militarisation. A dangerous and destructive spiral is thus perpetuated” (Wing & King, 2005, p. 7).
The spread of serious disease and HIV/AIDS
The disruption and upheaval to traditional West Papuan existence brought about through Indonesian colonisation and exploitation of the regions natural resources has also led to the spreading of serious disease. A Dutch missionary working in West Papua during the 1980s said infant mortality rates in the region were above 60 percent, and the average life expectancy no more than 31 years (Brundidge et al, 2004, p. 34). Of grave concern is the spread of HIV infection which is rising dramatically in the region to the extent that 40 per cent of Indonesia’s HIV and AIDS cases were located in Papua despite accounting for less than one per cent of Indonesia’s population. Another figure from 2002 shows that just over 20 people per 100,000 were infected with HIV in Papua, compared to only 0.42 people per 100,000 in the rest of Indonesia (Brundige et al, 2004, p. 34). Much has been suggested of Indonesia’s responsibility for the spread of such disease throughout the Melanesian population to the extent human rights groups say the spread of HIV is the result of systematic attempts to destroy the Melanesian population of West Papua. Interviews conducted with workers in Jayapura and Merauke who deal with prostitution and the spread of HIV suggest clear evidence “that there is security force involvement in prostitution at different levels” (Wing & King, 2005, p. 8). Leo Mahuye, a health worker in Merauke says HIV is spread by prostitutes who are brought in by the military to the extent that there is “an indication it is systematic killing…[a]s long as they are importing these women, as long as the military and the police back these activities here, they are committing killings” (Butt, 2005, p. 413).
The Jakarta Post
Searching for the words “West Papua” and “genocide” on The Jakarta Post’s online search engine returned 21 relevant articles between 2001 and 2011 relating to genocide and human rights abuses in the region. The articles were a mix of 14 opinion pieces and six news reports, as well as one question and answer article with West Papuan human rights campaigner John Rumbiak.
Of these 21 articles, one opinion piece and one news report both addressed the issue of genocide in the headlines. The first article published on 8 January 2001 titled “Is Indonesia becoming a genocidal society?” and despite its title it does more to contextualise the nature of genocide throughout history rather than draw any strong conclusions on West Papua. The article references the nature of genocide in Germany, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Burundi and makes the statement that the “cycle of genocidal society, which is already apparent in Maluku and other regions, must be broken by effective law enforcement measures”. The article makes this statement without any reference to West Papua or without further contextual evidence to back the statement up.
An article published on 19 August 2005 titled “RI condemns report by Aussie researchers on genocide in Papua” does more to address human rights abuses and genocide in West Papua in light of the University of Sydney’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies report Genocide in West Papua? The article provides diverging view points with Indonesia’s foreign ministry spokesman, Marty Natalagawa, calling the report “baseless” and Indonesia’s deputy military spokesman, Bibit Santoso, labeling the report “incorrect and untrue”. Yet the article uses more space quoting from the report and the centre’s director Stuart Rees, who says even though he is cautious using the word “genocide” this “significant document details the destruction of a people, their land and prospects”. The article also quotes one of Papua’s leading church figures, Rev. Socratez Yoman, who talks of the Indonesian military intimidation and says wherever there are Indonesian soldiers, “the militia and jihadists are there too. They are inseparable.”
There were five remaining news articles which addressed human rights abuses in West Papua and the issue of genocide through the sources that had been quoted. An article published on 8 April 2006 titled “Netherlands ‘respects’ RI territorial integrity” does little to address the issue of human rights abuse in West Papua rather it focuses mostly on the Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende’s recognition of Indonesia’s territorial integrity including Papua’s integration into Indonesia. It also focuses on Indonesian criticism of Australia’s decision to grant temporary visas to 42 Papuan asylum seekers. In this criticism the article mentions the Papuan activists have accused Jakarta of genocide.
A news article published on 20 May 2006 titled “RI asks Australia to recognise territorial integrity in treaty” focuses on Indonesia’s effort to ‘get assurances that no neighboring country will support the succession of Papua from Indonesia’ and asking for Australia to “express its commitment to Indonesia’s territorial integrity in a written agreement”. Once again the article does little to address issues of human rights in the region by failing to quote West Papuan sources. It only puts some context to the story by saying that the “Papuans, including pro-independence activists and their families, have accused Jakarta of ‘genocide’ in Papua”.
The remaining articles focused more heavily on human rights abuses and the question of genocide. A news article published on 9 June 2007 titled “Papuans greet UN envoy with rallies, demands” focused on the visit of UN Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders Hina Jilani’s visit to the region. The article draws many sources and quotes around human rights abuses and the issue of genocide quoting West Papuan’s who had pleaded with Jilani and the UN to “stop the genocide of the Papuans” and “stop the killing in west Papua”. An article published on 27 January 2011 titled “RI, int’l public push for civilian court for torture” focuses on the torture of two West Papuan and calls for the Indonesian soldiers who committed the torture to be tried in a civilian court rather than an Indonesian military tribunal. Lastly an article published on 18 October 2011 titled “ 5000 attend 3rd Papuan people’s congress” focuses on the congress looking at the issue of human rights abuses in the region. It quotes organizing chairman Selpius Bobii who says “we greatly need support and solidarity from every party that upholds the values of democracy, basic human rights, honesty and justice for the sake of protecting the people of Papua from genocide”.
The remaining opinion pieces provided various forms of context to the human rights abuses in West Papua written mostly by outside observers. The most critical opinion piece was written by Roman Catholic Priest Neles Tebay on 28 September 2006 titled “More questions for the ICG on Papua issue”. The article strongly criticises the findings of the International Crisis Group who denied allegation of genocide in West Papua and downplayed any human rights abuses in the region. Tebay asks “what was or were the true intent(s) of the military operations conducted against the Papuans then, if not to wipe out the people in whole or in part?”
Finally, a question and answers article with West Papuan human rights campaigner John Rumbiak on 24 March 2000 titled “No letup in security approach spells trouble in Irian Jaya” does a lot to provide context and a West Papuan view point to the situation in the region. It adds context to the abuses with reference to the 1969 Act of Free Choice and the political circumstances surrounding the act and Rumbiak articulates West Papuan grievances on a number of levels.
The New Zealand Herald
Searching for “West Papua” and “genocide” on TheNew Zealand Herald’s online search engine drew only five relevant articles dating from 1999 (two articles have not been dated). Of these five articles, two are opinion pieces by Auckland Indonesian Human Rights Committee spokeswomen Maire Leadbeater, one is an opinion piece by former President of East Timor Jose Ramos-Horta, one news piece that briefly mentions Yosepha Alomang’s award for her “resistance against the destruction of rainforest, rivers and local culture caused by decades of gold mining in West Papua”, and another article that questions the right of four Indonesian military officers to study at Massey University in light of Indonesian military brutality.
Maire Leadbeater’s article (undated) titled “On the brink of genocide” is critical of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ failure to address the issue of West Papua. In the article she contextualises West Papua by drawing parallels to East Timor and by mentioning the 1969 Act of Free Choice and the consequences of the act. She draws on human rights estimates that 100,000 Papuans have been killed as a result of Indonesian military brutality and she references The University of Sydney’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies report to make her claim that the situation in West Papua is approaching genocide.
Leadbeater’s second article (undated) “West Papuans Face Masters of Terror” cited the Yale report to draw attention towards crimes against humanity including “torture, disappearance, rape, extra-judicial killings and destruction of resources” and that the report “strongly indicated a breach of the United Nations genocide convention”.
Jose Ramos-Horta’s opinion piece on 13 September 1999 titled “A terrible price to pay for freedom” again draws a parallel between West Papua and East Timor and raises the question of crimes against humanity, including genocide.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Searching for “West Papua” and “genocide” on The Sydney Morning Herald online search engine retrieved five relevant articles including two opinion pieces and three news articles between 2007 and 2011.
An opinion piece by Jennifer Robinson on 12 September 2011 titled “Leaks reveal it’s past time to speak for West Papua” draws attention to human rights abuses in the region and the level of surveillance and lack of transparency for journalists and human rights watch groups. On a visit to West Papua for a human rights group she mentions she was warned by an Australian diplomat that her “human rights work risked ‘becoming a political football’’ for [the Australian] government and that [she] was to ‘’keep [her] head down’”.
An opinion piece by Greg Poulgrain on 31 December 2009 titled “Oil and politics prove fatal mix for the people of West Papua” draws on West Papua’s colonial context since the Dutch and states that “[m]ilitary dominance in West Papua began in the 1960s and documents released under freedom-of-information from the US embassy in Jakarta in 1968 refer to the possibility of genocide occurring even then”.
On 18 June 2010 a news article titled “Papuans rally for independence” covers West Papuan protest to “reject the region’s special autonomy within Indonesia and demand a referendum on self-determination”. On 21 November 2009 a news article titled “Death in Papua: political intrigue clouds miner’s murder” refers to the killing of an Australian mine worker in West Papua as the result of an Indonesian military assault. And on 27 March 2007 an article titled “Report warns against Lombok Treaty” refers to a security treaty with Indonesia that potentially restricts Australia’s ability to speak out about human rights abuses. The article goes on to reference the University of Sydney’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies report on genocide in the region and quotes that “Australia will be providing training, funding and material aid to Indonesian forces who are engaged in what many Papuans believe is genocide against their people”.
Conclusion
Through widespread violence, killings, torture, disappearance, rape, exploitation of land, transmigration, and the systematic spread of infectious diseases, the West Papuan people are suffering human rights abuses at the hands of the Indonesian military to the extent that the nature of the abuses are consistent with the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In terms of facing the nature of these human rights abuses and raising the question of genocide directly, the Jakarta Post was more consistent than either The Sydney Morning Heraldor The New Zealand Herald in raising these issues within its content. The New Zealand Herald and The Sydney Morning Herald both had very limited content raising the question of genocide within West Papua. However, The Sydney Morning Herald had a more diverse and relevant spread of content in relation to human rights abuses and the question of genocide within West Papua whereas if it was not for the opinion pieces of Auckland Indonesian Human Rights Committee spokeswomen Maire Leadbeater, The New Zealand Herald would have had next to no content at all on this issue.
Nigel Moffiet researched and wrote this report as an Asia-Pacific Journalism postgraduate assignment at AUT University.
References
Books and journal articles:
Banivanua-Mar, T. (2008). ‘A thousand miles of cannibal lands’: imagining away genocide in the re-colonization of West Papua. Journal of Genocide Research, 10(4), December, 583-602.
Brundige, E.; King, W.; Vahali, P.; Vladeck, S.; Yuan, X. (2004). Indonesian human rights abuses in West Papua: Application of the law of genocide to the history of Indonesian control. Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic, Yale Law School.
Butt, L. (2005). ‘Lipstick girls’ and ‘Fallen women’: AIDS and conspirational thinking in Papua, Indonesia. Cultural Anthropology, 20(3), pp. 412-442.
Kirsch, S. (2010). Ethnographic representations and the Politics of Violence in West Papua. Critique of Anthropology, 30(1), pp. 3-22.
Sautman, B. (2006). Cultural genocide and Asian state peripheries. New York : Palgrave Macmillan
Wing, J. & King, P. (2005). Genocide in West Papua? The role of the Indonesian state apparatus and a current needs assessment of the Papuan people. West Papua Project at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney.
News articles:
- The Jakarta Post (2000). No letup in security approach spells trouble in Irian Jaya
- The Jakarta Post (2000). West Papua: Will it become the next East Timor for Indonesia?
- The Jakarta Post (2001). Is Indonesia becoming a genocidal society?
- The Jakarta Post (2002). Soeharto and the grand scheme of things
- The Jakarta Post (2005). RI condemns report by Aussie researchers on genocide in Papua
- The Jakarta Post (2005). Founding West Irian Jaya province
- The Jakarta Post (2006). Netherlands ‘respects’ RI territorial integrity
- The Jakarta Post (2006). How to protect Papuans — and RI-Australia ties
- The Jakarta Post (2006). RI asks Australia to recognise territorial integrity in treaty
- The Jakarta Post (2006). More questions for the ICG on Papua issue
- The Jakarta Post (2007). Papuans greet UN envoy with rallies, demands
- The Jakarta Post (2007). Indigenous languages in danger of disappearing
- The Jakarta Post (2008). The possibility of indicting Soeharto after his death
- The Jakarta Post (2008). On Timor Leste’s present situation
- The Jakarta Post (2008). New strategy behind separatism in Papua
- The Jakarta Post (2009). He ain’t heavy, he’s a brother from Papua
- The Jakarta Post (2009). Munir and the protection of rights defenders
- The Jakarta Post (2009). Issues: `Who is responsible for poverty in Papua?’
- The Jakarta Post (2010). Text your say: Gus Dur or Soeharto?
- The Jakarta Post (2011). RI, int’l public push for civilian court for torture
- The Jakarta Post (2011). 5000 attend 3rd Papuan people’s congress
- NZ Herald (n.d.). Maire Leadbeater: On the brink of genocide
- NZ Herald (n.d.). Maire Leadbeater: West Papuans face masters of terror
- NZ Herald (1999). A terrible price to pay for freedom
- NZ Herald (2000). Soldier students to finish studies
- NZ Herald (2001) Journalists share top environment award
- The Sydney Morning Herald (2007). Report warns against Lombok Treaty
- The Sydney Morning Herald (2009). Death in Papua: political intrigue clouds miner’s murder
- The Sydney Morning Herald (2009). Oil and politics prove fatal mix for the people of West Papua
- The Sydney Morning Herald (2010). Papuans rally for independence
- The Sydney Morning Herald (2011). Leaks reveal it’s past time to speak for West Papua
Blood money - Metro magazine
Genocide in West Papua?
January 24, 2012 | Categories: Academic Paper, Investigative Journalism, News alert, syndication | Tags: indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, media blackspot, media freedom, New Zealand Herald, Papuan, Papuan people, Sydney Morning Herald, west papua, West Papuan | Leave A Comment »
By Nick Chesterfield and local sources at Westpapuamedia.info
Special report and update
January 14 2012
Local human rights monitors report from the remote Paniai district of West Papua that Indonesian security forces continue to maintain a “disproportionate” military offensive since early January, intensifying the displacement of tens of thousands of villagers who fled from several weeks of village burnings in December.
Indonesia’s Australian trained Detachment 88 counterterrorism troops and Brimob paramilitary police together with Indonesian army battalions, are continuing to conduct search, capture and cordon missions on the villages in the hunt for the forces of a National Liberation Army (Tentara Pembebsan Nasional or TPN) commander Jhon Yogi.
This is despite Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyhono ordering the immediate suspension of the offensive and withdrawal of all non-organic security forces from Paniai, when meeting with West Papuan church leaders on December 12 at his residence in Bogor, West Java. No firm date for withdrawal was given.
Papua Police spokesman Wachyono, told the Jakarta Globe that 481 Brimob and Densus 88 members deployed in Papua from Jakarta, East Kalimantan and North Sulawesi would leave Papua by January 23. However West Papua Media understands from sources on the ground that these troops will significantly escalate the pace of attacks on civilians in the lead up to the departure. Local human rights sources have further questioned the ability of independent monitoring of this withdrawal when the Indonesian government is continuing to enforce an access ban on media to the area.
Yogi’s forces have consistently avoided capture since the offensive began, despite sustaining significant casualties. This continued escape and evasion has raised pertinent questions from observers on the real aims of the Indonesian security force offensive, in an area that has extensive gold deposits and a brutal history of land use conflict triggered by a lucrative “legal” and illegal gold trade. Several foreign gold mining companies continue to operate in the area during the offensive, and Brimob police and assets, that have been contracted to provide mine security to these companies, are continuing to be utilised in the ongoing offensive.
The systemic excessive force by Brimob and Indonesian security forces working for foreign mining interests are again under the spotlight across Indonesia after Brimob troops were recently caught on video uploaded to Youtube opening fire on a protest on behalf of another Australian gold mining company Arc Exploration in Bima, Sumbawa. At least 3 protestors were killed and 11 seriously wounded as local residents held a non-violent protest against the destruction of their village lands by the gold mine.
Credible information during the Paniai offensive has been incredibly difficult to verify due to the continuing Indonesian government ban on all journalists and foreign observers from coming to the area. Indonesian journalists covering have not been able to access the district either, despite article claiming that they have been present. However, stringers for West Papua Media, human rights monitors from Elsham, church officials, and witnesses have been able to get close to the area to report on the situation, which by all accounts in worsening for civilians. Indonesian security forces however are continuing to block any independent access to the immediate conflict area around the former TPN headquarters of Markas Eduda to verify or rule out human rights abuses, and most reports are still coming from interviews with refugees who have fled from the fighting.
West Papua Media has repeatedly attempted to contact spokespeople for the Indonesian police operating in Paniai, however no replies have been forthcoming.
Church* and Human rights sources have claimed that security forces are continuing to indiscriminately target civilians in the campaign, and have embarked on a policy of village and church burnings. According to detailed reports provided to West Papua Media by investigators, Brimob and D88 troops have burnt down 29 churches, 13 primary schools and 2 junior schools, and 13 villages have been destroyed over the New Year period. The razed villages are spread out across the south and west of Wegamo, and in Ekadide areas.
Local witnesses interviewed by human rights observers have reported that civilian helicopters have again been used in the intensified security offensive, with allegations that two helicopters belonging to mining companies operating in the area have been again used by troops to continue to strafe villages, drop live and gas grenades and ferry troops into the fighting areas. Multiple witnesses confirmed that one of the helicopters was a civilian Squirrel AS355 previously implicated in attacks, and identified formally with a helicopter identification sheet provided to West Papua Media stringers and human rights workers.
On December 21, West Papua Media published allegations that an Australian mining Company was supplying helicopter support to the security operations, having contracted Brimob paramilitary police to be used as mine security. Incredibly, the management of West Wits Mining and Paniai Gold continue to refuse to make comment or denials on the explosive allegations.
According to the report received, around dawn (0600) on the morning of January 1, 2012, A civilian Squirrel (pictured)
The AS355 Squirrel helicopter used by Brimob on December 13, and allegedly used over the New Year Paniai offensive (File: West Papua Media)
helicopter conducted what the report describes as “surgery” (surgical military strikes) on Wege mountain, and was used to ferry troops between White Sands and the now-occupied former TPN headquarters of Markas Eduda. Villagers in the White Sands area have been forcibly evacuated by Brimob troops and are still unable to return.
Hana Degei (37), Jemi Gobai (26), Oktolince Degei (20), Menase Kayame (41), Mabipai Gobai (18), Silpa Kayame (32) all from Dagouto, and Peter Kudiai, a 14 year old school student from Badauwo were all confirmed killed by Brimob and D88 troops in the New Year offensive, adding to the toll of those killed during December’s operations.
In the report, church sources stress that full extent of deaths from the Paniai offensive is still being shrouded by deliberate obfuscation and cover-up from Indonesian security forces. “The full death toll from the armed clashes between Brimob and the TPN we do not know, because our religious and community leaders have been refused access to the Eduda conflict area,” the report states. “Thus, we also have not been able to collect (exhaustive casualty) data which is accompanied by clear facts. Perhaps Brimob forces and TPN knows how many are wounded and dead due to gunshot wounds, (but) all the information is still closed to the public,” the report claimed.
Local sources have also expressed concern for the longer term humanitarian situation across Paniai when and if the offensive finishes, due to the deliberate village burnings. According to both church sources, Brimob and D88 deliberately destroyed and burnt food gardens across the offensive area, and burned down fences designed to keep livestock out. Surviving cattle have been moving freely and have eaten whatever food plants have survived the destruction, stoking fears of starvation for already stressed and displaced local villagers
Together with villages forcibly evacuated as reported in December, over 150 villages are now vacant, displacing at least 9000 civilians.
Indonesian officials have blatantly misrepresented the scale of displacement, claiming that only 1715 were displaced and all those “temporarily evacuated” were being supported at a military controlled “care centre”. This number is failing to take into account those who are in grave fear of the security forces running the “care centre”, and those who are staying with extended families and/or tribal networks. So far the 1715 have not been able to return to their villages, and their conditions at the “care centres” are deteriorating from already grave conditions, according to local observers.
An Indonesian health worker who has been in Enaratoli during the offensive, and who declined to be identified publicly after contacting West Papua Media privately via SMS, described the situation as extremely tense and a human disaster. He also expressed concern, from his observations and conversations with displaced locals, that there seems to be a wider plan from Indonesian security forces for the long-term.
“Everyone here knows that Brimob are in the gold trade across Paniai, doing business for and with both orang bule {white man} and Javanese, and now they are clearing people whose villages are on top of the gold diggings” the health worker told West Papua Media – in English – in an SMS exchange. “This human disaster is happening, and we are part of it, but who has ordered it? Is it just the police looking for golden scrapings, or is someone richer telling them to do it?”
West Papua Media has not been able to fully verify the authenticity of this source’s claimed identity, given the security risks of identifying them publicly speaking out.
The Paniai region has had a long and brutal history of land use conflicts between the Indonesian colonists and local people, mainly stemming from the illegal gold trade.
The church human rights investigations have also reported that all normal community activities in the conflict are have ceased, with those churches and schools not yet burnt by Indonesian security forces closed indefinitely, and local employment has also ceased – further exacerbating the humanitarian disaster in Paniai.
*Due to the danger faced by local church officials from Indonesian security forces in reporting these facts, West Papua Media has made a difficult decision to not identify either the church sources, nor their denomination.
West Papua Media
January 14, 2012 | Categories: Investigative Journalism, News alert, Urgent Action | Tags: Brigade Mobil (Indonesia), brimob, Detachment 88, indonesia, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Paniai, tpn, west papua | 1 Comment »
This new book from the West Papua Project is an edited volume of the collection of papers presented at the February 2011 University of Sydney conference “Comprehending West Papua”. It represents the views of the world’s leading scholars and activists currently working on understanding the conflict in West Papua.
Click to download Comprehending West Papua.
Click to download the Appendix of Images.
Editors’ Introduction
Peter King, Jim Elmslie and Camellia Webb-Gannon
Comprehending West Papua derives from a report that the co-editors wrote for
the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPACS) at Sydney University in July
2010 entitled, Get up, stand up; West Papua stands up for its rights.
The coeditors — Peter King, Jim Elmslie and Camellia Webb-Gannon — are coconveners (King and Elmslie) and coordinator (Webb-Gannon) respectively of the West Papua Project at CPACS. The Project was established in 2000 as an
intellectual meeting place and research centre focused on the profound onflict
that is occurring in West Papua.
The Get up, stand up report covered the mass civil society protests by West Papuans against Indonesian rule in mid-2010 and the background to this political insurrection. The report received widespread publicity and positive feedback so we decided to capitalise on this by organising a conference at Sydney University in February 2010. We asked those whom we considered the world’s leading authorities on the political impasse in West Papua and its historical roots to present short papers on the theme, Comprehending West Papua, with a view to helping Papuans, Indonesians and the rest of the world conceive new (or reconceive old) ways out of the impasse. We gave invitees the option of sending their papers for proxy presentation if they were unable to attend. The conference was a resounding success, with participants from West Papua, Indonesia, Vanuatu, New Zealand, The Netherlands, England, the United States, Singapore, Japan and Australia. We believe that it is the most significant academic-level conference that has ever been held on the political situation in West Papua.
Another aim of the conference was to map and update the global spread of
opinion on West Papua. Besides academic assessments, the conference also
had important West Papuan speakers and writers representing different diaspora factions pressing for independence or self-determination as well as a few who favour accommodation of the Indonesian government. Unity amongst the West Papuans (long derided) was also examined, set alongside the dramatic demographic transition caused by organised and “spontaneous” in-migration from the rest of Indonesia, which now makes the Melanesians a light minority in their own homeland.
The year 2010 ushered in a new wave of West Papuan independence politics.
This momentum-gathering wave is characterised by student and youth leadership with a tougher stance on West Papuan self-determination, the vigourous promotion of the cause through social media and greater international attention to Papuan politics through mechanisms such as WikiLeaks and YouTube, both of which have served to reveal often obscured and sometimes horrific conditions in West Papua.
Evidence of this new wave emerged dramatically in June and July 2010, when
civil demonstrations, led by a new NGO, FORDEM (Democratic Forum of the
United Papuan People), amassed up to 20,000 protesters on the streets of
Jayapura. FORDEM comprises the self-proclaimed and widely recognised
provisional government set up by the West Papua National Authority (WPNA)– represented in this volume by chapters from Jacob Rumbiak and Herman
Wainggai–and various civil society organisations drawn from the churches and the student and women’s movements. These demonstrations were triggered in response to Jakarta’s rejection of an MRP (Majelis Rakyat Papua—the all-Papuan upper house of the provincial parliament) decision popularly known as SK14, which ordains that “all candidates for elected office at the sub-provincial level had to be indigenous Papuans.”
The Home Affairs Ministry rejection of SK14 was considered to blatantly undermine the spirit of the Special Autonomy Law of 2001 which specifies that the provincial governors, vice governors and district (regency) chiefs (bupatis) in West Papua must be indigenous Papuans.
Thus, as discussed in Jacob Rumbiak’s chapter in this volume, the biggest demonstrations in West Papua’s history were launched against Special
Autonomy and for a referendum on West Papua’s political status. (These demands were two of the MRP’s 11 bold “recommendations” to the Papua
provincial government).
Papuan politics experienced a positive shift in the surrounding Pacific region as well during this time. Vanuatu’s parliament passed the Wantok Blong Yumi Bill which committed the Vanuatu parliament to work towards independence for West Papua through avenues such as the UN General Assembly and Decolonization Committee and the International Court of Justice. Vanuatu’s long term support of West Papuan independence is discussed in this volume in chapters by Rex Rumakiek and John Otto Ondawame, the latter making an impassioned plea for the success of the Papua Road Map. The Road Map constitutes a push for effective dialogue between Papua and Jakarta coming from Muridan Widjojo and the Indonesian Institute of Science in Jakarta and Neles Tebay and the Papua Peace Network in Jayapura. Father Neles has blessed the umbrella group established in Vanuatu in 2008, the West Papuan National Coalition for Liberation (with John Otto as Vice Chairman and Rex as Secretary General), as pivotal for bringing Papuans to the dialogue table.
Nick Chesterfield’s chapter shows the ways in which technology and social media have also been used to West Papuan political advantage by Papuans (who use Facebook prolifically to publicise their cause) and, inadvertently, by Indonesian troops. For example, the trend of capturing “incidents” on mobile phones has recently backfired on Indonesian military and police torturers in West Papua in a string of high profile cases that elicited deep international concern. In August 2009, West Papuan Yawan Wayeni was disembowelled with a bayonet and taunted by Brimob (Indonesian mobile police) as he lay dying. This was captured on camera by one of the torturers and subsequently leaked online. The public nature of torture in West Papua is discussed in Budi Hernawan’s chapter on this topic. In October 2010 another couple of horrific videos taken by Indonesian troops emerged. The soldiers hogtied, suffocated with a plastic bag and burned the genitals of one West Papuan man; held a knife to another’s neck, and kicked yet others in the head as they sat helpless on the ground. These videos were also leaked via YouTube, causing an international sensation. As political leaders from other countries responded to these videos by pressing the Indonesian government to investigate and punish the offenders, whistleblowers leaking other files, including Kopassus (army special forces) blacklists and diplomatic cables, brought further humiliation upon the Indonesian government for its attitude towards West Papua. In November 2010 US journalist Alan Nairn published a leaked Kopassus list of enemies of the state in Papua, all of whom were civilians. (At the top of the list is the Reverend Socrates Sofyan Yoman, who also contributes a chapter here.) Then, in December 2010, a series of WikiLeaks sourced US embassy cables from Jakarta was published in the Melbourne Age newspaper, revealing the extent to which politicians in Jakarta (and internationally) were and are aware of what has become the military fiefdom of West Papua, and the degree of natural resource exploitation, financial and political corruption and human rights abuse that prevails as a result. That these leaks and others published in The Sydney Morning Herald concerning the alleged corruption of the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and his family, caused the Indonesian government considerable humiliation is evident from the ensuing Indonesian lawsuit against the Australian newspapers for publishing the cables.
All of these events and trends were converging with a momentum that we would have been remiss not to follow up. The West Papua Project decided it was timely to invite a cadre of international experts on West Papua to a conference at the University of Sydney who would try to comprehend, as a group with diverse experiences and perspectives, this new wave in West Papuan politics and its likely future trajectory.
The conference unfolded at International House, Sydney University, over two
days, February 23-24, 2011. It attracted an audience of 80 people to hear 22
papers presented–three of them in absentia and one by virtual presence.
Participants were invited to pay or find donors to pay their fares and
accommodation, and the conference conveners-cum-editors can recommend this as a simplifying and surprisingly successful ploy for underfunded NGOs, even university-based ones. However the School of Social and Political Sciences and the Arts Faculty at Sydney University must be thanked for their prompt and generous response to last-minute requests for subsidy of conference venue hire, function costs and book publication.
Paper presenters included three women, five Papuans (all in exile) and two non Papuan Indonesians, as well as non-Papuan/non-Indonesian scholars, activists
and scholar-activists from Europe, North America, South East Asia and Australasia, as mentioned above.
Discussion did focus mainly on how to interpret and react to the new youth-led
turn towards mass mobilisation around independence, a referendum on self-determination and rejection of Special Autonomy in Papua since mid-2010. Apart from papers already mentioned above, Bilveer Singh’s presentation laid out political options for Papua in fine forensic detail; Jason McLeod, leading expert on non-violent resistance, perceived growing synergy between local and international mobilisation for the Papuans, and editor King chimed in that the deoccupation of Papua could yield large benefits in military reform, corruption reform and democratic reform for Jakarta and Indonesia.
Akihisa Matsuno persuaded large numbers of participants that the rising trend of “self determination as conflict resolution” (Kosovo, South Sudan, East Timor) and the “unsustainability” of Indonesian occupation have created a momentous opportunity for Papua, while Richard Chauvel was also persuasive with his distinction between the politics of independence and the politics of pork (elected Papuans’ massive looting of Special Autonomy funding)– and in dubbing Papua the Achilles heel of a still ostensibly reforming post-Suharto Indonesia. These two speakers led media coverage of the conference.
Editor Webb-Gannon, expert on West Papuan diaspora personalities and
perspectives, explored the cultural underpinnings, ancient and novel, of the
Papuan planetary resistance to conclude that independence was still a viable
option. Absentee cultural anthropologist Eben Kirksey meditated on the
extraordinary congressional hearing on Crimes against Humanity in Papua which was held in Washington DC during September 2010 (which he did much to organise), and concluded that the “messianic multiple”—a future with multiple messianic political options — could work even for a Papua “off the radar” in Washington.
Absentee editor Jim Elmslie (as presented by co-editor King) continued his
alarming and influential investigations into the demographic threat to West
Papuan identity and survival from unconstrained Indonesian settler arrivals in
Papua and called for an international fact-finding mission on the issue of ”slowmotion genocide”.
John Saltford, in absentia in London (and spoken for by editor Webb-Gannon),
the world’s leading authority on the Act Of Free Choice which sealed Papua’s
fate under occupation in 1969, called for negotiations without preconditions
between Jakarta and Jayapura, while Paul Barber of TAPOL and Rosa Moiwend,
also absent and similarly represented in Sydney, outlined the emerging threat of giant, largely foreign-funded food estates to Papuan forests, subsistence and
survival.
Like Saltford, Maire Leadbeater, New Zealand’s leading pro-Papuan campaigner, commended the peace process which resolved Papua New Guinea’s Bougainville crisis in 1998, specifically, New Zealand’s mediation which did so much to calm and clarify that other bloody conflict caused by a heedless giant mining company, while Kylie McKenna and John Braithwaite also identified giant resource companies as a threat to peace–in occupied as well as independent Melanesia–but gave a passing grade (so far) to BP’s giant Bintuni Bay LNG mining operation for its contribution to conflict avoidance in Papua.
And, finally, Pieter Drooglever, who wrote a 700 page commissioned study of the Papua conflict for the Dutch government (which was rejected by the then government on publication in 2007!), reminded us in his introductory presentation how much was lost in the sorry history of 1962-69.
* * *
The ambience of the conference was special. Two inter-Papuan conflicts were
seen as liable to surface and had caused mild apprehension among the
conveners. One was between the partisans of the two leading umbrella
organisations of the Papuan resistance as it exists and evolves internally and externally—the Coalition (WPNCL) and the Authority (WPNA). However, photographs on these pages show factional partisans not only chatting amicably, dancing and singing together but hugging each other indeed.
While personality conflicts may persist, the marginal policy disagreements between the factions were overshadowed by good fellowship and fruitful dialogue on the occasion of the conference.
The other conflict that threatened to haunt the conference was between the proJakarta or at least pro-collaboration ex-diaspora faction led by Franzalbert Joku (and including Nic Messet who actually represented the Indonesian government point of view at the congressional hearing of September 2010 mentioned above) and the mainstream of Papuan independentists–Coalition, Authority and Other.
However in fact there were revelations at the conference of counter-intuitive
collaboration between the apparent enemies. It transpired that Jacob Rumbiak’s semi-clandestine visit to Jakarta in late 2010 (his first since 1999 when he departed Cipinang prison), during which he presented political conditions to be met in the context of a possible dialogue with Jakarta about a peace settlement for Papua, and engaged in talks with ministers up to and including SBY himself, had been arranged and facilitated by none other than Franzalbert Joku.
In conference socialising and his own presentations Franzalbert argued that
Papua’s way ahead lay in a cooperative division of labour between Papuan
independence seekers able to highlight the deficiencies of Special Autonomy and military occupation and Papuan insiders like himself able to not only call for dialogue with Jakarta but actually arrange it. Whether many of the mainstream would really welcome long-term cooperation with business-oriented Papuans widely thought to be agents of BIN, the murderous Indonesian national intelligence agency, remains to be seen, but the value of the conference dialogue across factional boundaries seems to have been indisputable.
They could also be seen and heard dancing and singing a la Papouenne together.
The editors hope the chapters which follow will yield invaluable insights into the current situation in West Papua, which is well covered in updated chapters by Chauvel and King, since the conflict has important ramifications for many
countries in the immediate region, not least Indonesia, Australia and Papua New Guinea. Our authors suggest that the conflict is not receding, but rather
intensifying and complexifying, generating opportunities for conflict resolution and peacemaking which need to be urgently acted upon.
Please note: for all footnotes, please download ebook here:
Click to download Comprehending West Papua.
Click to download the Appendix of Images.
January 13, 2012 | Categories: Academic Paper, News alert, Press Release | Tags: Comprehending Papua Conference, indonesia, Jacob Rumbiak, Papua, Sydney University, Vanuatu, Wantok Blong Yumi Bill, west papua, West Papuan | Leave A Comment »
JUBI, 7 January 2012
John Magai Yogi and this troops
General John Magai Yogi, the leader of the TPN/OPM Makodam Pemka IV Division in Paniai, declared in a letter that they will not withdraw a single step in their operations against the Indonesian army and police which have been under way since August, 2011. He said that their struggle was a continuation of the struggle of their predecessors to achieve the aspirations of the people of West Papua.
‘We, the TPN/OPM throughout the Land of Papua, will never surrender and will continue to resist the forces of Indonesia to the very last drop of blood,’ he wrote in the letter dated 5 January.’The only weapons we hold in our hands are Ukaa Mapega, bows and arrows, but we have pledged to God Almighty that we are ready to confront the Brimob troops of the Indonesian police and Densus 88, the elite forces of Indonesia, who are equipped with modern weapons and are at present in control of the district of Paniai’
He made two other points in his letter. The first is: The United Nations, the USA and the Netherlands will soon be called to account for the mistakes they made in the past which sacrificed the Papuan people. And the second is: The UN and the USA must speedily resolve the Papuan problem because this problem will never be resolved by means of bargains and Indonesian development activities in Papua.
‘We will never surrender. People living in the kampungs and near the forests are always deemed to be part of the TNP/OPM, even though they are just ordinary people. They [the military] are now chasing the TPN/OPM and we are not free from military pressure in the forests of Paniai because the chief of police has ordered a large number of Brimob troops from Kalimantan and Densus 88 to come here and encircle our headquarters. They are threatening our lives. The troops that have been sent here are disrupting our tranquillity and are trying to destroy us, the TPN/OPM,’ he said in the letter.
He went on to write that since the encirclement and attack against their Eduda headquarters on 13 December 2011, members of the TPN/OPM division have held on to their position in the forests of Paniai. ‘This does not mean that we have surrendered.’
The letter concludes with the following words: ‘All people and groups have basic rights which must be respected by everyone, including the right to self-determination. This is the right which we Papuan people demand from the UN who never listened when our rights were trampled upon by the forces of Indonesia and the USA.’
January 12, 2012 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: Detachment 88, indonesia, Indonesian National Police, Paniai, Paniai Regency, Papua, Papuan people, west papua | Leave A Comment »
Bintang Papua,6 January 2011Papuans Needn’t be Afraid to Talk about
Merdeka-Independence
Biak: A human rights lawyer and advocate has reminded the Papuan people that they needn’t be afraid to talk about independence for Papua because independence for Papua is a basic human rights that is legally recognised and can be fought for by legal, democratic and political means. ‘I say this because the 1945 Constitution guarantees these rights,’ said Yan Christian Warinussy, executive-director of LP3BH-Manokwari.
He said that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People also guarantee these rights. He went on to say that Papua Merdeka is the political aspiration of the majority of the Papuan people which must be fought for by peaceful,dgnfied and democratic means through universal legal and political mechanisms. All components of the Papuan people should unite and discuss the various developments that provide the background for these aspirations of the Papuan people and should reach agreement on the issues that they should discuss in the context of a Papua-Indonesian dialogue.
The aspiration for Papua Merdeka must be used as the basis in every discussion which should at all times be based on the basic issues that were agreed upon at the Papuan Peace Conference held from 5 – 7 July 2011 which included political, security, legal issues as well as basic human rights, and social, cultural, economic and environmental rights. He said that these issues were drawn up as the necessary steps towards the Papua-Indonesia Dialogue, with a recommendation about five people as negotiators agreed upon at the people’s conference. A declaration on a peaceful Papua was also agreed upon as the guidance at the Papuan Peace Congress which was held from 16 – 19 October 2011 in Zacheus-Padang Bulan field, Abepura. Forkorus Yaboisembut was elected as the head, with Edison Waromi as the prime minister and all this was adopted as the strategic position of the Papuan people on their way forward to the Dialogue.
Other components that were included were the OPM, the Papuan Presidium Council, the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation, the West Papua National Authority, the National Youth Committee the military wing, the TPN-PB, as well as other organisations in the Land of Papua and overseas*. He expressed the hope that all these components would come together and draw up an agenda for this struggle in a systematic and responsible way, using legal and political mechanisms that are universally recognised. ‘Papuans need not be afraid to talk about their independence,’ he said.
{*West Papua Media note: this list of supporting organisations is referring to the Papua Peace Network meetings, and not to the 3rd Papuan People’s Congress at Zacheus Field: this Congress was not supported by all sectors of the resistance movement including the TPN-OPM and KNPB as they asserted it did not go far enough}
He also said that the Dewan Adat Papua – Customary Papuan Council – would be the people’s organisation that would unite all the various components in the Papuan struggle, in response to the aspirations of the Papuan people
He warned the security forces in the region not to stand in the way of the Papuan people or try to infiltrate the Papuan people in order to prevent them from freely using legal procedures and mechanisms based on the 1945 Constitution and Law 39/1999 [on human rights] as well as other human rights documents in the course of their discussions on their political rights in the Land of Papua.
January 10, 2012 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: Constitution of Indonesia, human rights, indonesia, Papua, Papuan people, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, west papua, West Papua National Coalition for Liberation | Leave A Comment »
Papuan prisoners in Biak Jail
Papuan prisoners in their cell in Biak prison: Numbungga Telengen (black clothes), Jefrai Murib (sleeping) and Apot Lokobal (wearing glasses). Jafrai Murib is thought to have suffered a stroke on 19 December 2011 which has caused paralysis. He can no longer stand.
I am often in and out of prisons to deal with political prisoners, so I know many detainees and their families and lawyers. Last week, I received a message from somebody representing three Papuan prisoners in Biak prison. He said that prisoner Jefrai Murib is thought to have suffered a stroke on the morning of 19 December 2011. He’s paralysed. He can’t walk. When he walks he does so with the aid of his friends. The left side of his body, his left leg and his left arm have lost all sensation.
Jefrai Murib
Murib has had a check-up in Biak General Hospital, where the doctor referred him to Jayapura hospital. Biak hospital is not as well equipped as Jayapura hospital. Murib is in a cell together with Numbungga Telengen and Apotnagolik Enos Lokobal. They were arrested in April 2003 following a raid on a Wamena weapons store. Murib and Telenggen got a life sentence, Lokobal was sentenced to 20 years in jail.
Lokobal also suffers from the same symptoms; the right side of his body has lost all sensation. He has also been seen twice at Biak hospital, on 12 November and 23 November. Lokobal is also suspected of having suffered a stroke. Unlike Jafrai Murib, by last week Apot Lokobal was able to walk again, although his steps are weak and faltering, and he has to be carried when taken to hospital. Lokobal needs more specialised medication. The Indonesian state is responsible for providing healthcare to prisoners. I hope that the health condition of these two prisoners will be taken seriously by the Penitentiary Director General.
In accordance with the doctor’s recommendations, Jefrai Murib should be moved to Abepura jail in Jayapura, and needs to receive medical attention at the Dok Dua Hospital in Jayapura.
January 6, 2012 | Categories: News alert, Opinion, syndication, Urgent Action | Tags: Biak, indonesia, Jayapura, Papuan people, Political Prisoner, Prison, Wamena, west papua | Leave A Comment »
This is the 91st in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). Back issues are posted online at http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com. If you wish to receive the report via e-mail, send a note to etan@etan.org.
West Papua Report
January 2012
This is the 93rd 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://www.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: Indonesian security forces, including the U.S. and Australian supported Detachment 88, conducted “sweeping operations” in the Paniai area of West Papua that destroyed churches, homes and public buildings, and forced hundreds of civilians from their homes. The Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) urged the Police Commander to remove forces from the region, echoing civil society leaders in Paniai. Jakarta’s failure to provided basic health services to Papuans has led to a high rate of death among mothers at child birth according to a recent report. An unconfirmed report claims that President Yudhoyono has committed to withdraw non-organic troops from West Papua and to suspend the operations of a special unit proposed to address fundamental Jakarta-Papua problems. The cost in human life for Papuans of Jakarta’s decades of neglect of the Papuan population is well documented. Amnesty International met with a senior official in Jakarta to press for release of political prisoners, particularly in West Papua and Maluku. The three-month old strike by workers at the Freeport McMoRan mines appears to be headed toward resolution.
Contents:
Brutal “Sweeping Operation” Continues to Displace Civilians in Paniai
Despite efforts by the Indonesian government and its security forces to block all monitoring of developments in the Paniai region of West Papua, courageous journalists, human rights advocates and others have been able to report on the ongoing tragedy there. Since the first days of December, Indonesian security forces, including the U.S.-trained and funded Detachment 88, Brimob elements, and units of the Indonesian military, have been conducting a massive “sweeping” campaign, purportedly targeting local leaders of the pro-independence Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM). Hundreds and in all probability thousands of villagers have been driven from their homes due to the violence unleashed by government forces which has destroyed churches, homes, and public buildings.
An early December report carried in the Jakarta Post revealed the dimensions of the human tragedy now unfolding:
- About 500 inhabitants of Dagouto village in Paniai Regency, Papua, have opted to leave their homes and seek refuge following the deployment of 150 Mobile Brigade officers to their area, Paniai tribe council chief John Gobai said Wednesday.
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- “Our people have become refugees at Uwatawogi Hall in Enarotali, Paniai, for several weeks. They are now afraid they may not be able to celebrate Christmas at home,” John told reporters at the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). John, along with four other Paniai people, was at the commission to complain about the presence of police officers in the area, which they said “exacerbated the security situation.”
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- The National Police has increased its numbers of personnel in the regency following several deadly shootings, reportedly claiming the lives of eight traditional miners working on the Degeuwo River, near Dagouto, last month.
Indonesian Human Rights Commission Calls for Withdrawal of Security Forces from Paniai
On December 17, Jubi reported that the Indonesian Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) called on the Indonesian Chief of Police to immediately withdraw all Brimob troops (the militarized police) from the West Papua district of Paniai and to refrain from sending any additional personnel there.
The request came in the wake of widespread reports (see above) of brutal security force sweeping operations that had targeted civilians.
The deputy head of Komnas HAM, M. Ridha Saleh, wrote the chief of police in response to a formal complaint made by the chairman of the Regional Traditional Council (DAD) in Paniai. The letter cited two recent incidents involving members of the police force: A shooting near the copper-and-gold mine in Degheuwo which led to the death of a civilian. And the situation following the dispatch of 150 additional Brimob troops who arrived in Enarotali on November 11-14, 2011
The letter called for the removal of a Brimob post set up in the midst of several kampungs and for a police investigation into the death of Mateus Tenouye. The letter noted that only a Brimob withdrawal could enable Paniai to return to their daily lives which have been badly disrupted by security operations by Brimob and other Indonesian security personnel.
(WPAT Note: There are consistent reports of the involvement of Detachment 88, Kopassus, and other TNI personnel in the sweeping operations. Neither the U.S. nor Australian governments have made any comment regarding their support for an organization that in this instance, and in numerous previous incidents, has resorted to brutality in dealing with peaceful non-combatants.)
The Komnas HAM appeal concluded with a call for dialogue among all parties.
Inadequate Health Care Responsible for High Rate of Death of Mothers at Child Birth
The Jakarta Post reports that maternal deaths in West Papua remain high. Victor Nugraha, an official with the Papuan Health Agency, speaking to media in Manokwari, said that the rate of deaths in 2011 would be at least as high as in 2010. Real figures, he added, were difficult to ascertain because many cases of death during child birth are not recorded due to the shortage of medical personnel to maintain records.
According to the official the main causes of maternal death were hemorrhage, post-pregnancy infections, and hypertension. Anemia due to iron deficiency can lead to hemorrhaging. Beside low iron levels due to poor nutrition, anemia can also be caused by malaria, which is common in West Papua. The official also explained that late pregnancy checks and poor surgery facilities for caesarean sections in clinics also contribute to maternal deaths.
This report echoes a far more detailed study conducted in the Kebar Valley of West Papua in 2008 (see Health care in the Bird’s Head Peninsula. Its conclusions are stark:
- Out of 708 pregnancies 4.7% led to miscarriage and 1.4% of the children were born dead.
- Out of 665 child births, where the baby was born alive, 213 baby’s and children eventually died. This is an infant mortality rate of 32.0%. This means that almost 1 out of 3 children dies before its fifth birthday.
- 57.3% of the died children (213) were younger than 1 year old. 27.7% is between the age of 1 to 5 when it dies.
- Most baby’s and toddlers (32.9%) died of fever or malaria. Fever in combination with coughing (probably pneumonia) causes a mortality rate of 13.9%.
- Diarrhea, icterus, prematures and pulmonary affections like tuberculosis, pneumonia and bronchitis also occur, but in smaller numbers.
- In 12.7% of the dead infants the cause of death was unknown, according to the mother.
- 94.4% of the pregnant women give birth at home, whether or not with the presence of a traditional midwife .
- 14 children were born twins; 3 are still alive.
WPAT Comment: Inadequate health services are common throughout those areas of West Papua where the majority of Papuans live. Services are better, sometimes substantially so, in towns where the majority of the non-Papuan, government-assisted migrants live. Totally inadequate health services, along with government failure to provide education or employment opportunities, in majority Papuan populated areas have inevitably contributed to lower birth rates for West Papuans and greater deaths among Papuan children under the age of five. This decades-old policy of neglect of Papuans constitutes one of the bases of charges of genocide leveled against the Indonesian government.
Report of Major Jakarta Pledge on Demilitarization of West PapuaWest Papua Media Alerts on December 18 reported that President Yudhoyono made a commitment to Papuan Church leaders in a December 16 meeting to withdraw non-organic troops from West Papua. He reportedly said that he would suspend the activities of the special Unit to Accelerate the Development of Papua and West Papua (UP4B) which was to have addressed fundamental issues in the Jakarta-Papua relationship.
Key Papuan leaders in attendance included: Chair of the Papua GKI Synod, Yemima Kret; Chair of the Baptist Church of Papua, Socrates Sofyan Yoman; Chair of the Kingmi Synod, Benny Giay; Martin Luther Wanma and Rika Korain.
Upon hearing an appeal for an end to the troop presence the President reportedly asked the Police Chief and Commander of the TNI to stop the violence. According to Rev. Benny Giay, the President commanded the Chief of Police and the Armed Forces (TNI) “to stop the violence in Paniai, at least during the month of Christmas.” However, Pastor Gomar Gultom, also at the meeting, told the media that the President did not mention a specific deadline for withdrawal of non-organic troops.
With regards to efforts to launch a Jakarta-Papua dialogue, Gultom said the two sides have not yet decided on the dialogue format or issues to be discussed. Religious leaders are scheduled to meet again in mid-January 2012 to formulate the program in more detail.
Gultom added that President SBY spoke about the UP4B led by Lt. Gen. ( ret) Bambang Darmono. The Religious leaders said that UP4B was formed unilaterally, without hearing the aspirations of the Papuan people. “There is a meeting point agreed upon last night. All points will be evaluated together, and UP4B will be stopped until results of the joint evaluation are available,” he said.
WPAT Comment: There is no evidence as of early January that any of the undertakings reportedly set forth by President Yudhoyono have in fact come to pass. Fighting in Paniai continues and there has been no announcement of a suspension of the operation of UP4B.
Amnesty International Appeals for Political Prisoners Release
On December 6, Amnesty International officials met with Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Law, Politics and Security, Djoko Suyanto to urge the Indonesian Government free political prisoners incarcerated for peacefully expressing their views. Amnesty urged the government “to integrate human rights in their efforts to address the situation in Papua.”
Amnesty International’s presentation focused on at least 90 people who are in prison in West Papua and Maluku for peaceful pro-independence activities, including Filep Karma, a Papuan independence leader currently serving a 15-year sentence in Abepura, Papua. Filep’s case has received special attention by the human rights group.
The meeting took place less than one month following the brutal assault on the Papuan Third National Congress during which peaceful Papuan dissenters were beaten and killed and many were arrested, only to join the growing ranks of Papuan political prisoners.
Amnesty argued that “the Indonesian government should free all those who are detained in Papua and Maluku for peacefully expressing their views, including through raising or waving the prohibited pro-independence flags, and distinguish between peaceful and violent political activists.” Amnesty pointed out that although the government had the duty and the right to maintain public order, its actions restricting freedom of expression and peaceful assembly had violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia has ratified.
Amnesty stressed the need to set up a human rights court and a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate cases of human rights violations since Indonesia annexed Papua in the 1960s.
According to the Jakarta Globe, Minister Djoko Suyanto at the meeting expressed the government’s commitment to ensure accountability for human rights abuses committed by security forces.
Freeport Strike Grinds Toward Resolution
In early December worker representatives and the Freeport McMoRan corporation reached a tentative deal whereby workers would return to their job sites, thus ending a crippling strike which left the world’s largest copper and gold operation at a standstill since workers began striking the massive West Papua mine site in September. The Indonesian government was losing $8 million worth of taxes, royalties and dividends each day the strike continued.
As of late December, workers had not yet resumed work owing to unresolved issues outside the framework of the new contract. Principal among these is the workers insistence that their leaders not be sanctioned either by Freeport McMoRan, which had talked of firing them, or the police, who have threatened to arrest them for “subversion.” The status of a number of contract workers were also at issue. Workers have also insisted on security measures that will preclude additional violence by unidentified elements thought possibly to have ties to the authorities.
The workers achieved significant concessions in their over three months long strike. The key provisions of the new contract is an agreement by Freeport McMoRan to a pay rise of 40 percent over two years. The current pay is $2-$3 an hour. The union had demanded an hourly rate of $7.50.
January 5, 2012 | Categories: News alert | Tags: Freeport-McMoRan, indonesia, military operations, Paniai, Paniai Regency, Papua, Papuan people, sweeping operations, west papua | Leave A Comment »
Bintang Papua, 3 January, 2012
[Abridged in translation by TAPOL]
Jayapura: ‘The new year, 2012 must be a year in which dialogue between Papua and Jakarta takes place,’ said Hofni Simbiak, deputy chair of the MRP, during a discussion about development, the human rights situation and civil society in Papua.’As a response to the current political and
ECOSOCsituation in Papua, all sections of the people in Papua agree that 2012 should be the year in which dialogue between Jakarta and Papua should take place. This is an emergency and there should be a response from the central and regional governments,’ said Septer Manufandu. He said that if the government fails to respond to people’s calls for dialogue, this will damage the reputation of the government in the eyes of the people.
He went on to say that 2012s a year in which many problems must be solved through dialogue and it is up to the government quickly take the initiative, as a way of improving Indonesia’s reputation worldwide. ‘Dialogue is the only way to solve the problems in Papua and to put an end to violence.’ He also said that the government should make an evaluation of the implementation of the development programme since the adoption of the special autonomy law (in 2001). This should include evaluating developments in education and health and to see whether this has benefited the people or Papua or not. These are matters requiring the serious attention of the government, he went on to say.
According to Hofni Simbiak, all the activities in 2011 were orientated towards projects for which there was no financial backing because of the misuse of the funds and corruption which is widespread in the education and health sectors.
Although the government had taken action regarding the implementation of UP4B (Unit to Accelerate Development in Papua and West Papua), the MRP des not agree with this programme. As far as they can see, a lot of money has been spent but this has not had any significant impact which has resulted in the people losing confidence in the government. As long as the Papuan people are not themselves the object of all the development, this will continue to be a problem from year to year and could be a time bomb. This also applies to the UP4B, which could create big problems in 2012.
According to Septer Manufandu, the failures in human rights problems as well as political problems and ECOSOC had intensified in 2011 so much so that the government could be charged with failure on these issues as well as its failure to deal with the issues of education and health.
January 4, 2012 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: dialogue, human rights, indonesia, Jakarta, Jayapura, Papua, Papuan people, west papua | Leave A Comment »
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The Grasberg mine has damaged surrounding river systems, such as the Ajikwa river above [West Papua Media
Thousands of workers at Freeport mine in Indonesia have ended their three-month strike for better wages, after a signing a pay-rise deal with the company.
Production at Freeport‘s giant gold and copper mine in Papua has been at a standstill since workers began their industrial action. The workers are expected to return to work this week, but there are reports the Papuan police chief will charge protest organisers with sedition.
Presenter: Melanie Arnost
Editor of West Papua Media Nick Chesterfield
CHESTERFIELD: It’s seen to be a bit of a bitter sweet victory because whilst there have been ceremonies to enable peaceful resolution, the company, Freeport has given very little ground on the original demands and the Indonesian police in Papua have decided that they’re also going to charge the union leaders and the organisers with sedition.
ARNOST: What does this mean for the workers?
CHESTERFIELD: Well sedition is basically the charge under which everyone in West Papua gets charged if they raise the Morning Star flag. What it means is basically between 10 to 15 years in prison, and it’s not exactly a good faith act by the police. So there’s a lot of people who are going to be fearful. It’s designed by the police to stop anyone from taking legitimate industrial action by making out that it’s treasonous.
ARNOST: And how many workers are we talking about that look like they’ll be charged?
CHESTERFIELD: Well at the moment it’s looking at the union organisers, certainly the heads of the union and key organisers who’ve been manning the blockades and doing the education out there and doing what union organisers do on the ground during strikes. Whether or not they charge everyone, this is a question that the workers certainly want to have answered, and also one of their conditions in returning to work is there’s going to be no sanction on them for going on strike. There’s no real gains in wage justice for any of the workers there, I mean they were initially going for quite a significant pay rise, and in the end they’re getting less than seven dollars an hour for their efforts.
ARNOST: So why did they decide to end the strike?
CHESTERFIELD: At the end of the day companies like Freeport and the Freeport mine which is the most profitable mine on earth, it’s the largest gold and copper mine on earth. It doesn’t want to pay its workers, not its indigenous workers anyway. There’s an understanding simply that there was no willingness on behalf of management to even budge even a few cents. So any money is better than no money.
ARNOST: So these seven dollars, is that what they were originally being paid in the first place?
CHESTERFIELD: Look they were originally being paid about a dollar 50 to three dollars an hour. So certainly there have been a few increases but it’s far less than what they’re asking for and there’s no real guarantees of safety and security, and especially security from these ongoing attacks by unknown forces, which the police and military seem to not want to solve.
ARNOST: When do you expect the workers will return to work?
CHESTERFIELD: It could be any day but nothing is entirely guaranteed until we get the pictures from the ground really.
ARNOST: It’s said to be the longest in recent Indonesian history this strike, so do you predict something like this happening again?
CHESTERFIELD: Look certainly there’s an appetite for industrial action in Indonesia and certainly in West Papua. Certainly the Freeport Mine’s got to be separated in some way obviously from the independence struggle in West Papua, but there’s certainly issues of corporate behaviour and corporate impact on surrounding environments and surrounding social dislocation that workers have really switched on to. You can’t unlearn what you’ve gone through in a situation like that, so certainly there’s more of a willingness to take this kind of action. And they’ve certainly learnt a lot of lessons from it.
December 29, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Radio Interview, Story fixed by West Papua Media, syndication | Tags: Flag of West Papua, freeport, Freeport-McMoRan, Grasberg mine, indonesia, Indonesian National Police, Papua, spsi, west papua | Leave A Comment »
50 years ago on the 1st of December 1961, West Papuan
s flew their flag for the first time in preparation for their independence from the Dutch.
In 2011, despite ongoing repression, the Morning Star flag was once again flown across the country. The non-violent demonstrations and gatherings, as well as the military crackdown against them, were reported to the world via a network of citizen media journalists, breaking through the media blackout of West Papua.
This short wrap-up shows how the West Papuan people would not let outrageous threats of Indonesian state violence suppress their desire to declare their independence.
December 27, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Story fixed by West Papua Media, Video | Tags: australia, December 1 West Papua, Dutch East Indies, Flag of West Papua, indonesia, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Morning Star Flag, Papuan people, west papua | 1 Comment »
EXCLUSIVE IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATION FROM WEST PAPUA MEDIA
BY NICK CHESTERFIELD
December 27, 2011
Allegations of brutality, corruption, and a failure of the rule of law are being levelled at PNG Police and Customs officers in Wewak, East Sepik, after a small group of West Papuan refugees fleeing from Indonesian violence were subjected to an unauthorised operation and imprisoned on illegal charges.
Procedural failures, responsibility avoidance and accusations of financial exploitation of vulnerable and traumatised refugees have transformed a simple misunderstanding into a major miscarriage of justice. International legal obligations, basic human, refugee and legal rights have been systematically denied as law enforcement officials in Wewak scramble to avoid any personal or legal responsibility for the debacle.
A group of four West Papuan refugees, fleeing to Wewak after the violent crackdown by Indonesian security forces on the Third Papuan People’s Congress, were arrested, beaten and imprisoned by Papua New Guinea police and Customs officers on November 17. Police and Customs officers at the scene refused to hear claims for Refugee status, and several weeks of direct appeals by family members were brushed off by East Sepik police hierarchy.
Pastor Abraham Kareni (51), Judit Kambuaya (61), Esboren Fonataba (30) and Anton Toto (39) were attacked by police and Customs, accused of illegally importing the fuel in their boat while escaping to PNG from Indonesian security forces.
Boram prison, Wewak
Since their arrest, PNG Police, Customs, Courts and Corrections have all denied the four men medical attention, legal representation and basic procedural fairness, who remain in detention at the notorious Boram prison. This is contravenes the minimum obligations on PNG as a signatory and ratifier of the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
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There is deep suspicion at the timing of the arrest of the four men, as part of an alleged campaign by Indonesia to silence its international critics in the immediate aftermath of its crackdown on Third Papuan People’s Congress. Kareni was a direct witness to the violence, and his testimony was internationally broadcast days after the Indonesian brutality was captured on video and social media.
The men’s families have grave fears for their lives and worry that the Indonesian Intelligence has motivated corrupt PNG authorities to imprison them.
This complex story shines light into the murky layers of a barely functioning state apparatus in a town riven by factionalism and corruption, amid allegations of outright treason against PNG. Where every player is deeply interconnected with a hundred others, the lack of basic accountability is complicating natural justice for the four innocent men.
At the centre of this debacle is the corrupt abuse of power by those who should be enforcing the law in Sepik. Senior Customs and Law Enforcement officials have denied any responsibility, telling West Papua Media that the arrests and beatings were conducted without their knowledge or approval, yet disciplinary action against those involved has still not occurred.
After agreeing to hold publication at the request of the prisoner’s families whilst a legal strategy was in play, and to ensure investigators safety, West Papua Media can now reveal that a deep malaise and tolerance for corrupt practices have enabled PNG law enforcement officials to be utilized for personnel vendettas, Indonesian military objectives, all with the shadowy involvement of local militias loyal to the leading business families of East Sepik province.
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A very slow boat to freedom
When a historic announcement was made that West Papuan people would hold the Third Papuan People’s Congress, for only the third time in 50 years, to discuss pathways to West Papuan independence, Wewak based refugees Abraham Kareni, Judit Kambuaya and Esboren Fonataba, together with Anthon Toto (a West Papua supporter from Sepik, PNG), decided they must do whatever they could for their people..
The four men planned to be present to assist exiles to return, and to be on standby as contingency should Indonesian violence mean more had to flee. Like most West Papuans, the four knew that returning to West Papua under Indonesian occupation could mean death, or arrest and guaranteed torture. It could also mean that like many ordinary Papuans, death could come from a random act of an aggressive soldier, a bombing or razing of a village, all acts that are untouchable through entrenched impunity.
Whilst in West Papua, they sourced a large amount of two-stroke engine oil, which was to supply not just their own escape, but also to be a contingency for other boat journeys to assist other West Papuans fleeing for their lives.
All four men had long experience of this. Rather than seeking a more secure life when they escaped, they chose to remain in a frontier town for the sake of others. Like Oskar Schindler in World War 2, who helped thousands of Jews escape Nazi persecution, Abraham Kareni is a man who has eschewed his own security and financial benefit to be on hand should more West Papuan people need to flee for their lives from Indonesian brutality. This was done for the noblest of motivations: pure altruism borne from the empathy of experience. Abraham was often a first point of contact for thousands of refugees who fled Indonesia’s violence.
Despite having to smuggle people to freedom, the men were not people smugglers in the accepted international legal definitions, as they have never sought personal financial advantage. The International definitions of people smuggling are explicit (author’s italics):
Article 3(a): ‘Smuggling of migrants’ shall mean the procurement in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a State Party of which the person is not a national or permanent resident. (Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (United Nations) )
With Kambuaya, Kareni set up the West Papua Action Group in Wewak and remained politically active, reminding the often sleepy town of the ongoing human tragedy occurring less than a day’s sailing away in West Papua.
Abraham Kareni
Abraham, from Serui in West Papua, originally fled to PNG in 1984 after joining the armed struggle after brutal Indonesian military offensives right across West Papua. Together with an influx of over 10,000 refugees at the time, he reunited with his wife and two children in Blackwater, near Vanimo, and was then sent to a refugee camp in East Awin, Kiunga. Since then, the family had been living in a small shelter in Wewak, a meeting place that is a cornerstone for the Free West Papua movement from armed struggle to non-violent movement, holding critical meetings and workshops for the formation of West Papuan civil resistance – meetings that were auspiced by Sir Michael Somare .
Judit Kambuayawas originally from Sorong in West Papua and also has living in Wewak for almost 32 years.
Jude Kambuaya
He married to a local lady from Lumi in East Sepik Province and has two children, both teenage boys. His activism was through music and culture with his Tabamramu cultural group, which toured PNG speaking (and singing) out about the violence occurring in his homeland. Kambuaya had also been assisting other meetings, workshops and creating safe havens for West Papuan student activists.
Esboren Fonatabais an activist in West Papua’s civil resistance movement from Ambai in Serui. His married and has 3 children.
Esboren Fonataba
His from Ambai as well and his family lives in Jayapura. Esboren , also known as Morris by locals around Wewak, is married with 3 young children living in Jayapura. Since early 2000, he has been the boat skipper helping the student activists coming to PNG for meetings, workshops or who are escaping from military repression in West Papua, and has been devoting most of his time and effort in helping activists crossing the border via sea route.
Anthon Totois a human rights activist and West Papua supporter from Warpo village, between Vanimo and Aitape, Sandaun, PNG. With a wife and 4 children, Anthon has been helping his friend Morris assisting civil resistance activists in crossing the border.
Anton Toto
On the afternoon of October 19, while thousands of people were celebrating the provocative declaration of the independent Federal Republic of West Papua, Indonesian troops opened fire on the peaceful aftermath of the Third Papuan People’s Congress. At least seven people were shot dead and hundreds severely beaten, with 800 arrested. Both Abraham and Judith were arrested, and severely beaten, but were released the next day because Indonesian forces simply did not have the space to detain them.
All four men went into hiding near Jayapura as Indonesian security forces were hunting them, aware of their need to stay in case a major refugee crisis was about to develop. Most activists eventually chose not to flee West Papua, electing to stay and intensify the civil resistance struggle against Indonesia. However, according to trusted sources, contingency arrangements still had to be made ahead of December 1, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of an Independent West Papua, and the first raising of its now banned symbol of freedom the Morning Star flag. Mass demonstrations had been planned for this day, as Indonesian security forces threatened to arrest and shoot anyone showing the flag, as an act of rebellion. A bloody crackdown was expected, but due to the discipline of the movement inside, the bloodshed was limited and Indonesian security forces were restrained by effective international civil media monitoring (coordinated by West Papua Media).
But for Abraham, Judit, Morris and Anthon, they cast off in mid-November to prepare for the moment when thousands would need to flee. They knew that they had to make that crossing, to test the route for that still inevitable day, when the Indonesian military will launch another bloody crackdown.
Local brutality or extending Indonesia’s war by proxy?
At 5pm on Thursday November 17, several hours after the four men arrived back at Kareni’s house on the beach at Boram, opposite Wewak Airport, Police and Customs stormed the house. Three car loads of police and Customs officers were present and threatened family, and destroyed property. 
The raid was led by Wewak Police Station Commander, James Wangihomie, who authorised the operation, together with his sister-in-law, Customs officer Maggie Wangihomie. Despite the verbal authorisation, no legal warrant was issued by either Customs or the Police.
According to several witnesses, the police – mainly young recruits from outside Sepik – were drunk, as was a police officer known as Sergeant Tassi, who was alleged to be the main perpetrator of the violence. Tassi assaulted Kareni repeatedly in the house, and witnesses allege police struck Kareni – already sustaining a fractured skull from beatings during the 3rd Papuan People’s Congress – at least eleven times on his head.
Speaking on video interviews provided to West Papua Media, Abraham Kareni described the abuse he and his friends received at the hands of Tassi:
Kareni''s house, rebuilt after militia attack
“The policeman slapped me. He didn’t talk to me in a proper way. When he asked me questions he just hit me straight away, left, right. I wanted to explain my journey to the policeman, but I couldn’t explain because he didn’t respond with words but with his fists.”
“Then he said ‘you’re a con-man, you always import cigarettes and weapons’. I wanted to answer his claims but he just slapped me. I wanted to explain but he just responded with violence, just kept punching me.”
No cigarettes or weapons were found by either police or Customs.
Kareni continues: “As the police were hitting me I said, Ouch! Don’t hit me on the face. The policeman said ‘Do you want me to kill you? I can kill you now.’ I said ‘thank you, if you want to kill me kill me now’. I was calm, everything that was happening to me, I said to God, ‘whatever happens to me I surrender to you’.”
Mama Sonny described the violence. “As I was standing I saw Abraham getting slapped in the face, he told him to quickly go up into the house to bring down all the things, so from there Abraham carried the boxes down and they slapped him again when he was going to put them in the police car. Not long after the two guys were going to take things to the boat, but they were hit and kicked and slapped from behind until they reached the boat.”
Abraham's family home in happier days, Boram, Wewak, PNG
“I want that policeman to be fired. He is really too evil. Because his actions are so violent against us. What he was doing marching up and down was excessive more than the others?” demanded Mama Sonny.
Tassi, after restraining Kareni, turned his attention onto the other three men.
Jude Kambuaya described the attack on him. “They came up to the house without any notice, smashed our belongings, they took our bags. An army jacket that I had bought was wrapped up in the bag. A policeman by the name of Tassi broke open the bag, took out the jacket and put it on. Then he took the things out of the broken bags, and carried it away with the boxes of oil, our fishing nets, he took them and put them in the police car.”
Esboren Fonataba was dismayed at his treatment. “The policeman was holding a stick and started beating my back with it. Twice the stick broke when it hit my back. The first time the stick broke, the policeman just picked up another stick and kept going. I shouted out ‘God, how can this be happening to me!’. They hit me all the way to boat and told us to push to boat out into the water. While I was pushing the boat he hit me on the face.”
At no stage during the operation did James Wangihomie, the officer in charge, attempt to restrain his officers, and sat in or near his car.
Abraham’s son Ronny Kareni is a musician with the band Tabura, as well as a human rights advocate and community organizer living in Australia since arriving as a student in 2002. He travelled to Wewak to assist his father after performing with Tabura at a major music festival in Port Morseby. While visiting his father in prison, Ronny Kareni attempted to secure some element of responsibility from PNG officials over the situation.
According to Ronny Kareni, “The conduct of the arresting officers wasn’t within the law of PNG. How could an arresting Officer on duty, provide no search warrant, come in a drunken state, not have proper consultation, savagely brutalize suspects, and make a vicious verbal attack on the suspects that they are illegal migrants and trouble makers, without any evidence?
All the men were charged formally on November 19 on one count each of “tax Evasion”. Customs allege that detainees attempted to defraud PNG by illegally importing fuel, notwithstanding the lawful excuse that the two-stroke fuel was being transported and stored to provide contingency as a means to escape persecution for other refugees from recent well-documented Indonesian violence in West Papua.
Customs seized the fuel and the Banana boat and a significant amount of engine fuel, together worth an estimated K6000.
The seized banana boat in Customs' custody
Under accepted refugee practice, items that are means to escape persecution cannot be prosecuted. When Ronny went to inspect the seized goods he was presented with the engine oil boxes, including several that were missing their contents. Customs have yet to acknowledge the seizure of the goods, which could raise upwards of K10000 on the vibrant Wewak black market.
Seized boxes of 2 stroke oil.
According to Ronny Kareni, Customs would drop the charge for illegal immigration, and instead charge the four men under the Customs Acts, Section 16 (2), alleging the detainees sought to “convey imported goods without customs control and entry.”
Since their arrest, Police have consistently refused any of the detainees medical attention, despite being told by family and advocates of pre-existing head injuries from beings sustained during Indonesian security force crackdown at the 3rd Papuan People’s Congress. Francis Kikoli, a police officer who has been involved in previous attacks on the Kareni family, allegedly refused the four men access to food and medical attention for six days following the arrest, and reportedly told the families that they “were banned from bringing food”.
Boram Prison meal area
The conditions that the men are being held in are atrocious. Jude Kambuaya says that after being beaten, “we were brought here, we sleep on the cement floor, mosquitoes bite us all over, when the mosquitoes bite me I feel sick and my back is aching.”
Access to legal representation has been also been consistently denied, as the defendants faced Wewak Court on several occasions without the chance to consult lawyers or even having the opportunity to present a defence, according to the family.
Despite attempts to secure guarantees for the four men’s safety whilst being held at the notorious Boram prison, well known for extremely bad behaviour amongst inmates, they remain under grave risk of attack. A local police officer, sympathetic to the men, expressed to West Papua Media his own deep concern. “The detainees shouldn’t be put in Boram prison, especially Abraham and Judith because the prison is different world altogether where inmates run their own show.”
The East Sepik Police Provincial Commander (PPC) Vincent Pokas was not informed of the operation and was absent in Vanimo at the time, alerted only after West Papua Media contacted him for comment. Pokas initially was outraged, and promised to take action to bail the four immediately upon his return to Wewak, and was adamant that they would be released. Unfortunately, Pokas has yet to take action despite having the power to drop charges.
When a report was received that the men were about to be attacked by prisoners just before Christmas, the PPC did not attend as requested by the family and legal representatives. Pokas has been unreachable for comment ever since.
Arresting police have also claimed to West Papua Media that the West Papuan men cannot be considered refugees as they willingly went back to West Papua. Under PNG law (together with most countries) a person avails themselves of protection if they voluntarily choose to return to country of persecution.
Yet International Refugee law is also explicit on the question of fresh evidence. If a person who has returned to the persecuting country, and is then subjected to new persecution, then it is the new round of persecution that determines the claim. All conflicting evidence prior to the fresh persecution is not considered, under the standard guideline of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. The immediate experience of Kareni, Kambuaya and Fonataba prior to their most recent escape form West Papua all qualify for fresh claims.
Jude still cannot understand why the PNG authorities are treating him in this way, when he was fleeing for his life. “We came here to escape; now the Customs say that we are here illegally, what do they mean by illegal? We have already been here for many years. I have a permissive residency permit; the PNG government gave me that status in 1984. This is equivalent to being a PNG citizen. So why are they doing this to me? I am married to a woman born inside PNG.
A Wewak based community organiser, who contacted West Papua Media but wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, has described the events as “disgusting” and something that “all people who want a new beginning for PNG should hang their head in shame about”. The source described a situation where most locals in the deeply divided town do not want to get involved, and have also turned a blind eye to the plight of men well known as humanitarians.
“The fact that every policeman, every mauswara tukina raskol in uniform, has completely passed off responsibility for this, is one point to be angry about. But the fact that people like these honourable wantoks from West Papua, who are doing nothing more than making sure their countrymen, our countrymen, are able to have a place to land, and save their lives from the Indonesian killers …. The fact that these corrupt thugs are preying on them for an easy bribe is even more shameful.”
“These families have endured so much at the hands of corrupt thugs, and they are still being picked on by cowardly and corrupt people. They should immediately be given their freedom, permanent protection, and have restitution for their losses so they can have some dignity. And those criminal thugs at the wharf (Customs) should be sacked and forced to pay compensation to their victims,” said the organiser.
Indonesian Whispers lead to a chance to make some kina
One source within the PNG police in Vanimo has claimed to West Papua Media that the four men were spotted as they left a secluded cove near Jayapura, and Indonesian intelligence contacted its officers in the Consulate in Vanimo.
According to the Wewak office of Customs, the operation occurred after a tip off was received on the morning of November 17 in Vanimo that the boat was headed to Wewak and would need to be intercepted. It was alleged to Customs that the boat was carrying weapons and marijuana.
Enquiries made by West Papua Media have narrowed the source of the tip off to one of three possibilities: either from a troublesome faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN) based near Vanimo, or directly from the Indonesian military attaché at Vanimo consulate, or both.
West Papuan exiles are no different to any other displaced diaspora in that their politics are factionally riven. However one particular grouping in Vanimo has caused more grief for long term refugees in PNG than any other.
Allegations have long swirled around about both the connections, ease of travel and petulance of certain dual nationals who are aligned with the armed struggle in West Papua, and who had publicly collaborated with the infamous Operation Sunset Merona in January which burnt down refugee camps across Sandaun province.
Internet postings one week prior to Kareni’s arrest – that people associated with the nonviolent struggle were actually seeking to ferry weapons and drugs in and out of PNG – match up with the allegations that Wewak Customs said they received from Vanimo. PPC Vincent Pokas, on the day after the arrests, had confirmed to West Papua Media that the allegation had arisen from a West Papuan in Vanimo. However, when the author asked “was that the Indonesian consulate?”, the PPC answered “Yes”, and then “Look, Sir, I cannot tell you that”.
Whether the statement by Pokas is verifiable is unimportant. Past operations by PNG security forces against West Papuan refugees have left critical questions unanswered about the extent of Indonesian intelligence agency involvement. This is a question that not a single serving officer in Wewak Customs or Police will be drawn upon on the record.
Established Indonesian intelligence practice in many countries has been to manipulate local law enforcement as an extra-territorial extension of its anti-separatist policies. The is despite Jakarta’s double-standard in insisting that no other country interferes in West Papua, yet its agencies are happy to interfere in PNG government processes, using PNG personnel to continue the war against West Papuan activists by proxy.
There is deep suspicion at the timing of the arrest of the four men, as part of an alleged campaign by Indonesia to silence its international critics in the immediate aftermath of its crackdown on Third Papuan People’s Congress. Kareni was a direct witness to the violence, and his testimony was internationally broadcast days after the Indonesian brutality was captured on video and social media. Indonesia’s interests would be well served by indefinitely imprisoning a direct witness.
In November, the Indonesian government manipulated the Interpol Red Notice system to issue a highly controversial international arrest warrant for exiled West Papuan political leader Benny Wenda, to face charges stemming from his alleged involvement in a police station attack in Abepura in 2000, which Wenda denies. According to legal observers present at his trial, no witnessed called by the prosecution were willing to testify. Wenda escaped in 2003, and was sheltered and assisted in his bid for freedom by Kareni. Wenda is now living in the UK, where he leads the Free West Papua Campaign.
PNG has systemic form in denying West Papuan refugees legal representation under pressure from Indonesia. During the Sunset Merona raid, not one refugee was ever afforded independent legal representation after being accused by the Sunset Merona commanders of being armed rebels, and all were promptly bundled away to the Kiunga camps, deep in the jungle on the remote PNG – West Papua border, far from independent communications.
Tony Edwards, a long term supporter of the West Papuans in Wewak, says no-one can say that any of the four are here illegally. “The four guys who came here are not illegal immigrants, they are citizens of Sepik region. They are citizens of Wewak and we regard them as being Sepik people.”
Abraham Kareni is adamant that outside forces have played a role in their detention. “The way I see it, there is involvement from Indonesian Intelligence and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in this case.”
“Now they are also using our own people, they reported us to Customs so that Customs would come and arrest us. If Indonesian Intelligence and the CID weren’t involved, then nothing they wouldn’t have arrested us and we wouldn’t be in prison,” said Kareni.
Questions are still unanswered as to why PNG agencies still see fit to carry out Indonesian demands for persecution without any form of accountability or even basic cross-checking for the political motivations of such demands. By refusing to investigate and demand an onus of legal proof from Indonesian authorities, PNG has repeatedly run the risk of handing its sovereign process directly to the Indonesian security forces already physically present in the province.
Murky history of Customs corruption
Are PNG’s security forces, including Customs, in the hands of the Indonesian military? Or is the corruption of the few creating a danger for those honest officers within the forces? With the almost 18,000 Indonesian soldiers along the border being reinforced daily, and deep infiltration of both the former Somare government (too early to tell with the O’Neill government) and PNG’s business elite, massive ongoing corruption in the forestry sector with Indonesian military run logging interests
West Papua Media has been informed by several reliable sources in Wewak that the secretive operation was highly unusual and did not follow procedure. Gunu Gao Yonge, Acting Manager of the Customs Officer in Wewak, kept the operation secret from all other staff members apart from Maggie Wangihomie, the Customs representative that took the Police officers down to the Kareni house at Boram.
Only Gunu Yonge and Maggie Wangihomie were aware of the operation, according to other officers. When asked by Ronny Kareni, Yonge refused to disclose the name of the arresting officers or any of the police officers involved in the arrest, but this information was sourced from witnesses and other officers.
“Yonge is accountable, and must justify why those drunken police officers savagely brutalized four detainees. Her evasiveness to questions show there is a huge level of hidden truth and fraudulent conduct in this operation,” said Ronny.
The Wewak office of PNG Customs 
has a long documented history of corrupt dealings associated with the logging industry and biased operations and persecutions. Several reports by NGOs and government agencies since 2006 have identified repeated and deliberate failures by Customs to enforce PNG law on Malaysian owned illegal logging operations, the removal and correct labelling of high value hardwood timber, and the correct enforcement on equipment brought from Malaysia, Indonesia and West Papua on Indonesian military connected vessels.
Illegal workers, trafficked prostitutes, undutied imported supplies and contraband for the mainly Indonesian personnel working at the illegal logging sites are also ignored regularly by Customs in Wewak, despite their office being situated in front of the main entrance to the Wewak wharf.
In addition, Taiwanese and Filipino fishing fleets still bring in illegal labourers to their tuna cannery, once again right in front of the Customs office.
Most worrying of all is the selectivity of operations under Customs, and the question of who gets targeted. The blindspots of Customs surveillance is in East Sepik are telling.
Multiple direct complaints have been made to Customs and police by local human rights investigators in the past that their officers have only been present in Kaup, the family village of former Prime Minister and attempted coup leader Sir Michael Somare, whilst being entertained by Arthur Somare, the former East Sepik raskol leader, governor and business figure, and now Member of Parliament. This is despite the unmolested presence of a large timber terminal operated by notorious Malaysian logger Rimbunan Hijau, which is consistently shipping out undeclared timber, and shipping in undeclared contraband, illegal workers and sex slaves.
Local human rights investigators also claimed to the author during a previous investigation that Arthur Somare’s own house allegedly housed a prostitutes’ barracks
House of ARTHUR SOMARE with alleged Prostitutes accommodation in white donga
that has been a regular haunt of Wewak based Customs and Police officers.
From the house balcony of ARTHUR SOMARE overlooking the Rimbunan Hijau Log Pond at Kaup
Further allegations have been raised with West Papua Media, but at time of publication no confirmation or denial has been forthcoming if any of the officers involved in the illegal raid had been present in Kaup in the months ahead of the raid.
What is clear is that no contraband seizures or arrests from Indonesian timber vessels have occurred in recent months, despite numerous tip-offs from local investigators. Gunu Yonge reacted angrily when asked about this discrepancy by West Papua Media, and hung up the phone.
Deep internal divisions within both Wewak Police and Customs have also been exposed by the arrests and subsequent mishandling of the case. The PPC, Vincent Pokas, met with Abraham and the others on December 13 at Boram Prison and explained the extent of police and customs corruption and internal conflict, according to Kareni family.
Obed Mathew is the former customs manager in Wewak, and was suspended after Gunu Yonge allegedly engineered his dismissal after he raised discipline and accountability issues at the office. He told West Papua Media that the procedure of customs seizing of goods is outside the normal procedure.
“Usually we hold a briefing for all staff members, then we (Customs) go to the suspects and identify the goods. We then make consultation with the suspects, and seize goods only if they are used for commercial purposes have not been declared. The normal procedure is usually, if the suspect has not reported in 24 hours, there is a breach of customs provisional law. In this case they didn’t wait until after 24 hours”.
Matthew further explained that the operation authorised by Yonge is a clear case of Official Misconduct, as it was conducted without regard to procedure, understanding of the law, or fair process, and well before the expiry of the compliance period. Matthew was so incensed by the treatment of the four defendants that he agreed to become their legal guarantor.
Marryanne Gito, a Customs officer on day leave when the raid took place, told West Papua Media that she had no awareness of the operation. She testified that other staff members were not briefed of the operation beforehand, saying the case is very unusual.
Gunu Yonge told West Papua Media just before she hung up again on the author, that she had no understanding of the legal framework around the arrest, and therefore would have to refer all legal questions to Customs lawyers. However, when West Papua Media requested contact details for Customs legal representatives, officers had no knowledge of those representatives.
On December 14, after receiving the names of the arresting officers from his sources, Ronny Kareni returned to the Customs office to confirm this information with the acting Customs manager.
“When I went to double check with Yonge, she accused me of obstructing Customs, and further mentioned that their office was not handling the case, but the regional office is”.
However, Francis Nipuru, the East Sepik regional Customs Commissioner, was not notified of the operation, nor its outcome, until notified by Ronny on December 13.
“I said to her face that she was lying because the regional office wasn’t aware of the operation until I personally called Francis Nipuru, who followed up with Gunu later on Tuesday”
However, Nipuru also has not attempted to seek clarification or review of the charges laid by Customs on the four men, despite being in a position to drop all charges.
“When Yonge heard what I said, she walked away from me and went straight into her office. Her reaction was childish. By walking away from this conversation is enough proof that she authorised an illegal and corrupt operation to arrest my father and his friends,” Ronny said.
Denial of basic Justice
Since the arrests, none of the defendants have been afforded access to lawyers, and custodial police have actively obstructed lawyers and legal workers from meeting with their clients or having access to even basic charge sheets.
Two court appearances have occurred in this case, but both have been adjourned until January 9. In neither case were the defendants allowed to be present. The Police Prosecutor, Salvado Namtane, has also participated in the denial of justice by by not objecting to the procedural violations and basic court rules by insisting that adequate legal representation has been afforded to the defendants.
Nowhere in the process have either the family members been provided with either a Brief of Evidence or even a charge sheet, nor a Customs version of Facts and allegations against the four men. The police prosecutor has refused to provide any copies of allegations, which have not been formally obtained, however Ronny Kareni reported that he sighted the prosecutor’s Summary.
According to the Summary, the defendants have been categorised by the Provincial Court as Grade 5 suspects. Grade 5 is the most extreme Court categorisation, reserved for suspects in murder or aggravated armed robbery cases and requires a senior magistrate. The minimum cost for bail in such a case requires between 5000-6000 Kina (approx A$2300- A$2800)
Interestingly, the bail price itself has reduced significantly since arrest. Initial bail was set at an impossible 55,000 Kina, ten times higher than the bail set for accused murderers. This amount was promptly reduced to 5,500 kina when objected to.
The families of the detainees have expressed deep concern at what they are seeing as “a cycle of exploitation that has been started”. Ronny Kareni explained “my family feel like everyone is just trying to get on the game, and even the lawyers are just asking money we do not have”
According to Ronny, “3000 Kina has already been paid to the lawyer William Tekwie from Wagambie Lawyers, and he is demanding another 2000 kina as standby for bailout that might happen any day. But the court date has been adjourned to January 9, so my family cannot understand how they are going to get it. They are refugees, not businessmen”
“We fled from persecution, only to be persecuted by our own blood”
Reliable sources in Wewak, once again seeking anonymity for fear of reprisal, have expressed their belief that the detention is linked high level corruption in the province involving leading Sepik political and business families, and in particular, a development proposal for the land on which the shelters were burnt. The families and individuals have been named by these sources, but West Papua Media has not able to independently source robust supporting evidence or documentation directly in relation to this particular case to consider the identification of those family names. The land is considered prime tourism real estate in Wewak, immediately opposite the airport terminal and lined with a postcard tropical beach.
In 2008, the compound belong to the West Papuan refugees in Boram was attacked by a loosely formed group comprising raskols, who claimed – after 24 years – that compound squatted illegally on their land. All seven houses and fishing sheds in the compound were burned to the ground, and families had to again rebuild from scratch after calm was restored.
Both family members and independent community workers in Wewak have claimed that the land was legally provided by Jerewai clan members to house refugees after the massive Indonesian offensives in West Papua in 1984. The Somare family, who also have extended family land on the east side of the airport, reportedly gave their deep support to the refugees at the time to set up houses on the site in order to maintain their traditional fishermen’s lifestyle.
Damage from militia attack on Kareni home
Just one week before the arrest of the four men in early November, another attack occurred on Kareni’s house.
A Sepik local, who was drinking in the town, allegedly punched a man. He was chased and ran into the Kareni compound to seek shelter, when a group of drunken men attacked the compound to flush out the man.
Damage from militia attack on Kareni home
This attack, carried by children of several serving police officers, smashed up the houses under the cover of darkness. The son of senior police officer Francis Kikoli was allegedly involved in the attack. Kikoli himself has been linked by sources in Wewak to ongoing abuses on behalf of logging interests in the Sepik.
A complete failure of responsibility
According to Ronny Kareni, every office holder in East Sepik can put a speedy end to this embarrassing saga “by making a simple determination of misconduct, and simply dropping the charges to give the men their freedom and dignity. All is requires is for people to face up to their responsibilities”.
Most of all, the corrupt behaviour of the customs officers has turned ordinary people’s lives upside down, people that deserve the protection and not the persecution from the state.
Whatever the outcome of the court hearings, if the family remain in Wewak they will continue to remain in extreme danger. Mama Kambuaya is in a desperate situation.
“Right now we are very worried. I haven’t eaten today. I went there to see them in the prison. It’s a big burden to see them all in prison. It’s a big worry how can we help to release them. We feel really bad about this, we want them to be released and come back home to us.”
Will anyone in a position to take responsibility actually do so, or will this next episode of denial of West Papuan refugee rights be yet another shameful chapter of PNG acquiescence to Indonesian military aims? Will PNGs’ new leaders show resolve in standing up to Indonesia, or will they continue to do the dirty work for Indonesia’s proxy war on PNG soil?
For Abraham Kareni the situation is clear, and he calls on PNG people to not just help his friends, but to stand up for Papua as a whole. “We came to PNG, because we share one island, one culture, we are Melanesian brothers. From Papua New Guinea and from West Papua we are all brothers, we share one skin, that’s why we came here to seek refuge, for them to be aware of our bad situation, to see whether they can help us or not. But I see that they don’t recognise this yet, how we are fighting for our rights.”
Will the people of Papua New Guinea stand up for their wantoks?
To assist the family or the case, please contact Ronny Kareni at ronny_kareni<@>yahoo.com.au or at +61401222177
December 27, 2011 | Categories: Investigative Journalism, News alert, Video | Tags: Free Papua Movement, indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Operation Sunset Merona, Papua New Guinea, PNG Customs, Refugee Bashing, Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary, Third Papuan People's Congress, west papua, West Papua Media, West Papuan, West Papuan asylum seekers, Wewak | 1 Comment »
PRESS RELEASE: ACT FOR PEACE
http://www.actforpeace.org.au/Be_Informed/Latest_News/Time_to_change_Australia_s_involvement_in_West_Papua_offens.aspx?cat=West%20Papua
23/12/2011 11:03:39 AM
Reports are emerging this week that the helicopters from which 17 West Papuans were recently shot are those of an Australian-owned mining company, Paniai Gold. Further, this ongoing Indonesian offensive involves counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88, which has been trained by Australia.
This Indonesian joint military-police offensive reportedly also burned down the villages of Toko, Badawo, Dogouto, Obayoweta, Dey, and Wamanik, with 20,000 people now displaced. Images reported in Australian and international media show more troops being deployed to West Papua.
Act for Peace is calling on the Australian Government to urgently request that the Indonesian authorities cease any attacks impacting civilians, and that Indonesia and Paniai Gold account for their alleged actions relating to the civilian deaths and forced displacement.
Media is strictly controlled in the region, making the need to pursue a full account more important. The large-scale offensive is in retaliation to the killing of two Indonesian police by Papuan guerrillas in Paniai.
Prior to this operation, in October six unarmed protesters were reportedly killed and many more injured at the Third Papuan People’s Congress.
Act for Peace, the international aid agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia, is also concerned at the targeting of church leaders and communities and the occupation of church buildings, in particular the Kingmi Theological College in Paniai, harassment of Kingmi Church of Papua Moderator the Rev. Benny Giay, and the attack on staff, students and destruction of property at the Catholic Church’s Fajar Timur Theological College in Abepura by the Indonesian police and military on October 19.
We also call on the international community to ensure the Indonesian authorities allow church and Congress leaders in West Papua freedom of expression of their views and rights without fear of persecution.
Act for Peace has supported programs in West Papua including training young community leaders, raising awareness of and helping to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and growing small businesses to help strengthen the West Papuan economy.
West Papua is the western half of the island of New Guinea, with an indigenous Melanesian population. December 1, 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the declaration of West Papuan independence from Holland. It was forcibly taken over by Indonesia a year later.
Reports show more than 100,000 Papuans are estimated to have died from military operations since Indonesia took control. State-sponsored migration from other parts of Indonesia has now left the indigenous Melanesians a minority in West Papua.
It is time Australia, as a good international citizen concerned about the protection of civilians, did more to ensure the safety of our neighbours.
Alistair Gee
Executive Director, Act for Peace
December 23, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Opinion, Press Release | Tags: australia, Benny Giay, Detachment 88, indonesia, Indonesian National Police, new guinea, Papua, west papua | 1 Comment »
Alex Rayfield
22 December 2011
Human rights defenders in Paniai report that searches were recently carried out in the Badauwo, Geko and Kinouv area of East Paniai. Shooting was also heard in the vicinity of Mt Wege.
Local human rights defenders remain adamant that Australian and U.S trained and funded Detachment 88 police and military counter terrorism troops are still involved in the search for John Yogi, the Paniai based commander of the West Papuan Liberation Army (or TPN as it is known in Indonesian).
On Tuesday 20 December in Nabire the Head of Police (Kapolres) in Paniai, Mr Siregar urged John and Salmon Yogi to give themselves up. A local Brimob commander also told local press and community leaders gathered at the Nabire police station that Salmon Yogi had been wounded.
According to a source present at the meeting the Brimob commander said that military operations “would continue until John and Salmon Yogi and the men under their command either surrendered, were arrested or were shot dead”. The police commander also told people not to be scared; that the police would protect them and that they would be still be able to celebrate Christmas.
The Office for Justice and Peace in Paniai reports that Yogi has six men under his control and a total of two firearms. It also believed that the men’s wives and children are also with them.
The town of Enarotali is also not safe. Church leaders report that there has been shooting in Enarotali. The latest gunshots occurred on Tuesday 20 December at 6pm and again on Wednesday 21 December at 1am and 5am. A local church leader told West Papua Media that “local people are scared and in a state of panic”. A woman whose family lives in Enarotali told West Papua Media that her uncle went to the toilet at night and was shot and wounded by a sniper.
Despite the ongoing military operations human rights defenders, church, tribal and community leaders in Paniai are publicly calling for the Indonesian military and police to cease operations.
In relation to the alleged involvement of the Australian mining company Paniai Gold, it has now come to light that there are two gold mining companies operating in the area. Komopa (or Haji ARI – the exact name is still unclear) is believed to be an Indonesian owned company located in the vicinity of the Degeuwo River. Paniai Gold, a wholly owned Australian subsidiary of West Wits, is based on Derewo River.
According to local sources at 2pm on Tuesday 21 December the police again hired a commercial helicopter to carry out military operations. In a report provided to West Papua Media it is stated that the helicopter used on the 21 December was owned by the Haji ARI Company. In the same report it is alleged that the military and police flew over a camp (a blue tent) in the forest and proceeded to shot into the camp from the helicopter.
It is not clear to what extent the two companies share the use of the helicopters used in recent military operations against the TPN, given they allegedly share the same base in Nabire.
There are many unanswered questions about the military operations and extent of Australia’s involvement.
A key question concerns whether Indonesian military and police (including Brimob) providing security services to Paniai Gold were involved in the large-scale military operations against the West Papuan Liberation Army based at Eduda, and to what extent the Australian embassy helped facilitate Paniai Gold’s operations.
And despite Canberra’s denials that Australian and U.S. trained and funded D88 troops are involved in hunting down so-called separatists, there is mounting evidence that this is exactly what D88 are doing in West Papua. Papuan human rights defenders and their supporters continue to argue that Australian and U.S. support for the Indonesian military only help “create more efficient human rights abusers”. Despite this, the Australian government conducts no independent monitoring and evaluation of Australian taxpayer’s money provided to the Indonesian military.
There are also concerns about the role of the local and central government. Papuans are asking questions about who is funding the military operation. What is the role of the local Bupati and local government? Why won’t the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono cease operations when it is clear that ordinary villagers are dying as a result and that Yogi and his men have only two modern weapons between them?
West Papua Media, an independent media outlet working with a local network of citizen journalists, will continue to monitor the situation.
December 22, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Urgent Action | Tags: australia, Brigade Mobil (Indonesia), brimob, Detachment 88, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Paniai, west papua, West Papua Media | Leave A Comment »
EXCLUSIVE REPORT FROM WEST PAPUA MEDIA
21 December 2011
Alex Rayfield
Human Rights Defenders in West Papua accuse the Australian Government and an Australian-owned mining company, Paniai Gold, of being involved in ongoing military operations in Paniai, West Papua.
Mr Ferry Marisan alleges that the Australian-trained Indonesian counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88 (also known as Densus 88 or D88), is involved in ongoing military operations in Paniai. According to Marisan, the Director of Elsham Papua, the Institute for the Study and Advocacy of Human Rights in West Papua, the joint police and military D88 have been embedded in the Second “Coconut” (Kelapa Dua) paramilitary Police Force (Brimob) sent from West Java for military operations against suspected members of the West Papua Liberation Army (or TPN), based at Eduda, Paniai.
According to Mr Yones Douw, a human rights defender based in Paniai, D88 are currently being deployed against members of the TPN in a jungle warfare operation. John Yogi – the Paniai based commander of the TPN – and his men, believed to number a few dozen, fled into the jungle following an attack on his base in Eduda by the Indonesian military and police between the 12-15 December.
Marisan says that in total 30 people have died during the latest round of violence in Paniai Seventeen people were shot dead during the military operations in Eduda. Only ten of these victims were members of the TPN, according to Marisan. Between the 9th and 14th of December a further three people died, all from exposure related sickness. Amongst the dead were two children aged two and four. Prior to the military operations Brimob also shot dead eight Papuans. Yogi’s men responded by killing two Brimob soldiers, an event that triggered the recent military operations.
In addition Elsham Papua reports that the following six villages were burnt to the ground: Toko, Badawo, Dogouto, Obayoweta, Dey, and Wamanik. As a result of the violence Marisan says that up to 20,000 people have fled their homes. ”They are living in government care centres, or staying with family and friends. Many have also fled to the forest” says Marisan.
SBS Radio reported that a spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says that the “Australian Government does not train or fund Indonesia’s security forces to counter separatism.”
Irrespective of the training that both the Australian and U.S government’s say they provide to D88 , both Douw and Marisan claim that group is being used in military operations against so-called separatists. “Many of the victims in these operations” says Marisan, “are not members of the TPN, they are ordinary Papuan villagers who are supposed to be protected by the state”. D88 was also allegedly involved in the killing of six Papuans at the conclusion of the Third Papuan Congress on October 19.
D88 is not the only link between Australia and the recent wave of violence.
According to both Douw and Marisan, helicopters used at the Derewo River Gold (DRG) project were utilised by the Military and Police in these latest military operations. DRG is operated by Paniai Gold, a fully owned subsidiary of Melbourne based gold mining company West Wits Mining. A local source, requesting anonymity, told West Papua Media that the helicopters are those used by the mining company. “They are white with blue and red markings” the sources said. “They are defiantly mining company helicopters.”
The person responsible for Paniai Gold’s operations is Mr Vincent Savage, a Non-Executive Director of West Wits. According to publicly available company documents “Mr Savage has been intimately involved in all governmental and regulatory issues involving the Derewo River Gold Project as well as working closely with the Company’s local Indonesian partners.”
These same documents state that “security [for the DRG Project] will be provided by the local Paniai police and Brimob (Indonesian paramilitary police) under the supervision of a Company Security Officer”.
West Papua Media attempted to contact Mr Savage for comment, but he was not available.
The 2011 November-December military operations are not the first military operations in the area. Paniai was the scene of widespread military operations between 1963-1969, 1977-1978, and again in 1981-1982. During this period U.S. supplied Bronco aircraft were used to bomb villages while helicopters strafed Papuans with machine gun fire.
“People don’t forget these things easily” says Douw.
December 21, 2011 | Categories: Investigative Journalism, News alert, Story fixed by West Papua Media, Urgent Action | Tags: Australian military training, Brigade Mobil (Indonesia), brutality, Derewo River Gold, Detachment 88, Eduda, Impunity, indonesia, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Indonesian National Police, Indonesian State Violence, Paniai, Paniai Gold, TNI, tpn, village burnings, west papua, west papua media alerts, West Wits Mining | Leave A Comment »
by John M. Miller | December 17, 2011
This week the union and the U.S.-based mining corporation Freeport-McMoRan announced a settlement to a three-month long strike at its Grasberg mine in West Papua. Workers are expected to be back at work within days. Although the strike has been settled, Freeport and its activities remain controversial in West Papua and Indonesia.
The workers’ union settled for a 40 percent wage increase over two years, as well as additional housing and other benefits. The workers will also receive wages lost during the strike in the guise of a one-time three month “signing bonus.” Prior to the strike, which began on September 15, workers at Grasburg were the lowest paid at any Freeport facility. The company also has mines in the U.S., South America and the Congo. (A two-month strike at Freeport’s Cerro Verde mine in Peru was suspended at the end of November pending government mediation.)
Juli Parorrongan, a spokesperson for the union, said that pre-strike monthly wages range from $361 to $605 a month. He expressed dissatisfaction with the agreement to the Jakarta Post:
- However, we decided to agree on the increase because we have to consider the humanitarian aspect, given that the striking workers have not been paid by Freeport for the last three months. We were forced to agree to end the strike, but this is not the end of our struggle.
Workers had blockaded roads in the area at key points and were accused of cutting the pipeline which carries mining concentrate to the port from where it is loaded and shipped for processing. By the end of the strike, the mine was operating at 5 percent of capacity.
Two striking worker was killed and others were injured on October 10 when police opened fire at a large demonstration in Timika, the town near the mine. Attacks by unknown gunmen on a vehicle carrying police and Freeport personnel led to more deaths and injury to two others. Such attacks along the road to the mine are a relatively common occurrence, and it is not clear if the latest ones were related to the strike. These assaults against security and Freeport personnel are believed to result from conflicts among police, military and Freeport security personnel feuding over the spoils from extortion targeting Freeport, as well as conflict over freelance gold-mining efforts by local people. While these attacks are often blamed on poorly armed guerrillas fighting for independence, local police recently said that the shooters were “well trained.”
The strike by 8,000 employees at the controversial open pit mine halted production costing the Indonesian government $8 million per day in taxes, royalties and dividends, which helped to broker an end to the strike.
In the U.S., Occupy Phoenix, the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, the IWW and United Steelworkers (USW) demonstrated in support of the strikers at Freeport’s Phoenix, Arizona headquarters in late October.
The USW, which represents workers at Freeport’s Chino mine in New Mexico, urged the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate reports that the company was making illegal payments to the police in West Papua. In a letter to Justice’s Criminal Division, the union wrote:
- The Indonesian police have recently been quoted in the Indonesian media admitting that they accepted millions of dollars from PT Freeport Indonesia to provide security for the miner’s operations in Papua, Indonesia, and the National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo referred to the payments as “lunch money” paid in addition to state allocated security funding, stating “It was operational funding given directly to the police personnel to help them make ends meet.”
Human rights groups estimated that the payments raised salaries of the police near the mine between a quarter and one half. The payments are illegal under Indonesia law, where official corruption is a major problem. They are illegal in the U.S. if not reported. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act also “bans companies from paying foreign officials to do or omit to do an act in violation of his or her lawful duty,” the union wrote. It called the payments bribes:
- intended to persuade the personnel to act in defense of Freeport-McMoRan’s interests even when those interests conflict with the police and military personnel’s lawful duty to protect Indonesian people…
Five years ago, the company was investigated for payments allegedly made to the Indonesian military The company reported $1.6 million in payments in 2008 to provide a “monthly allowance” to police and soldiers for security at the mine.
In addition to its labor strike, Freeport faces challenges on a number of other fronts.
The Grasburg mine has been an unmitigated environmental disaster. The disposal of millions of tons of tailings and other mine waste has decimated forests and destroyed an entire river system. Local inhabitants have been marginalized by an influx of outsiders. The company’s human rights and environmental practices have long been criticized by major institutional investors. Norway’s government pension fund, divested its Freeport holdings in February 2006. In 2008, it divested from Rio Tinto, a minority owner of the mine. The deep scars from the mining operation can be seen from space.
Last year, the about 90 Amungme tribe members, who live near the mining complex, filed a lawsuit arguing that Freeport had seized their lands illegally. According to the Jakarta Globe, they are “seeking $32.5 billion in material and non-material damages for the alleged illegal acquisition of its ancestral land” in an Indonesian court.
Despite its poor labor, environmental and human rights record, Freeport sometimes receives high marks from those who monitor “corporate socially responsibility.” Recently, Corporate Responsibility Magazine had named Freeport as the U.S.’s 24th-best corporate citizen. “How is this possible?” askedDavid Webster, an assistant professor of International Studies at the University of Regina in Canada. “Well, the survey’s methodology seems to pay no heed to human rights performance. Only human rights rhetoric matters.”
Unsurprisingly, the Freeport mine is a lightening rod for the pro-independence movement in Papua. The company gained its mining permits in 1967, as Indonesiawith U.S. backingwas undermining West Papuan aspirations for self-determination. (While West Papua and Indonesia share a Dutch colonial heritage, West Papua was not included in Indonesia on independence.) At the time, Indonesia was administering the territory under a U.N. mandate brokered by the U.S. in preparation for an act of self-determination (which was a farce when it finally took place two years later). Under these circumstances, many West Papuans view the granting of mining rights by the Suharto dictatorship as illegal and the outflow of mining profits as theft that has left indigenous Papuans impoverished. These grievances have fueled broad sentiment for greater control over these and other resources, and Timika is a hot bed of pro-independence sentiment.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government has staunchly defended Freeport since it first arrived in West Papua. In Jakarta, the U.S. embassy:
- has conspired with Freeport management to defeat legal challenges as well as media and Congressional inquiries into human rights violations and other illegal acts carried out by security forces under Freeport pay and direction. In 2002, it conspired with Freeport and with the Indonesian government to limit and delay an investigation of an attack that cost the lives of three teachers, including two from the U.S.
The Freeport strike brought renewed attention to the company and to West Papua. It came at a time of increasing unrest and repression in West Papua over its political status. The strike also came at a time of increasing labor unrestthroughout Indonesia.
In mid-November, Occupy Jakarta’s general assembly adopted a resolution on Papua. Key points are withdrawal of security forces from the region and an end to violence to against Papuans. It called for Freeport to be brought to “justice for human rights violations, environmental damage and violence towards workers,” and putting the future of the Freeport mine in the hands of its workers and local people.
John M. Miller is National Coordinator of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, which co-publishes the monthly West Papua Report.
http://wagingnonviolence.org/2011/12/strike-at-freeport-settled-even-as-mines-scars-linger/
Website: http://www.etan.org
December 19, 2011 | Categories: News alert, syndication | Tags: Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, freeport, Freeport-McMoRan, indonesia, Indonesian National Police, Papua, united states, United Steelworkers, west papua | Leave A Comment »
19 Dec 2011
By Stefan Armbruster
POLRI GEGANA anti-terrorism troops attacking peaceful flagraisers, Taokou Village, East Paniai , December 1 (West Papua Media)
A Papuan human rights group says Indonesian helicopters have been strafing villages, killing more than a dozen people and displacing up to 25,000 others, in their latest operation against the Free Papua Movement, or OPM.
Indonesian media has reported clashed between OPM fighters and the police and military – known as TNI – in the past week in the troubled province.
West Papuans have been seeking independence since Indonesia invaded in 1962, at the end of 130 years of Dutch colonial rule.
Stefan Armbruster spoke with the director of the Institute of Human Rights Study and Advocacy in the Papuan city of Jayapura, Ferry Marisan.
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December 19, 2011 | Categories: News alert, Story fixed by West Papua Media, syndication | Tags: Free Papua Movement, human rights, indonesia, Indonesian language, Indonesian State Violence, Jayapura, Paniai Regency, Papuan people, State Terrorism, village burnings, west papua | 1 Comment »
