Month: June 2011

MRP dualism threatens the existence of the Papuan people

Bintang Papua, 23 June 2011

Pastor Jonga: ‘MRP has now become a mechanism for the government’s splitting tactics.’

The controversy about the setting up of an MRP for West Papua had
continued to rumble on and is likely to last for a long time. There are
people who now claim that having two MRPs will threaten the existence
of the indigenous Papuan people.

This was the theme of a seminar held by the Students Executive Council
(BEM) on Wednesday this week.

The controversy emerged when the governor of West Papua, acting on
behalf of the Minister of the Interior, announced the creation of the
West Papua MRP. The seminar was held at the auditorium of the
Cenderawasih University, and was attended by about a hundred people.The
main speakers were Fadhal Alhamid of the Papuan Customary Council (DAP)
and Pastor Jong Jonga, representing the religious community The
moderator was Laus Rumayon.

Fadhal Alhamid said that the danger posed by MRP dualism was that the
standard set for basic human rights of Papuans living in the province
of West Papua would be different from those set in the province of
Papua. In addition, the creation of the West Papua MRP was to promote
certain vested interests, part of a conspiracy between the governor and
the vice-governor of West Papua. ‘The MRP reached an agreement
regarding cultural and economic unity.But if there are now two MRPs,
there is the danger that this unity will disappear.’

He also said that responsibility for creating the second MRP rests with
the MRP itself. ‘We should raise the question of whether they were the
ones responsible for creating the second MRP.’

He also drew attention to the position of people in the leaderhip of
the Papua MRP and the West Papua MRP. ‘The fact that Ibu Dorkas is the
chairman of the Papua MRP and is also the vice-chairman of the West
Papua MRP has led to a great deal of confusion.

The other speaker, Pastor Jong Jonga, dealt more specifically with his
own experiences with congregations living in the district of Keerom. ‘In
my opinion, special autonomy (OTSUS) has failed to provide protection,
tranquillity and security indigenous because its benefits are only
being enjoyed by people living in the vicinity of the district capital.
‘These were precisely the regions where the percentage of indigenous
Papuans is very low as compared to the percentage of newcomers or
migrants.’ What they were hoping for, he said, was that the MRP which
had been intended as a unifying body would now become a means for
splitting the Papuan people.’

During questions and answers that followed the speeches, the students
focused primarily on OTSUS. Many said that OTSUS had become nothing
more than a mechanism to prolong the sufferings of the Papuan people.
OTSUS has become the long arm of the central government. ‘What was
needed now,’ the one questioner said, ‘was for the DPRP to take action
to disband the West Papua MRP.’ Many in the audience shared these views.

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WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT HOW MUCH FREEPORT PRODUCES?

JUBI, 22 June, 2011
It is still very difficult for the Mimika district administration to get information about the quantity of gold and copper produced by Freeport-Indonesia and how much is exported via Portsite, Amamapare.
Freeport's Grasberg mine - Earth's biggest hole in the ground

The head  of the mining, energy and minerals department of the Mimika administration, said:

‘We don’t know anything about the quantity of gold, copper and other minerals produced daily by Freeport and this is because  we do not have free access to the company to be able to control the level of production every day.’

He said that the administration did once charge two of its employees to oversee export activity in Amamapare, but after we had given them the task, the two men were unfortunately shifted other posts.’  [Could this have been a deliberate action.]

This is a big problem. Anyone charged with scrutinising exports and imports  would have to be a specialist. They would need to have a special certificate for controlling goods and services for both exports and imports..

All this has an impact on obtaining clarification about the quantity of minerals produced every year. How can this possibly be synchronised with the information received by the authorities in Jakarta? It’s all just a game because the people at the centre get data about gold and copper production which comes directly from the company, PTFI.

The department of mines in Jakarta only gets information from one side. ‘This doesn’t lead to any accuracy. Anyone with bad intentions can easily manipulate the data.  Although lots of stuff is exported, they report a very low figure.’

So the question is: who else but the company can know anything about the quantity of material it produces every year? Only the PTFI.

[COMMENT: This once again highlights the extraordinary powers that the US company has been given to keep a tight control over how much it exploits of Papua’s abundant natural resources, with the  Papuan people not only left in the dark but also left living in poverty while Freeport makes a fortune from its investments in West Papua. TAPOL]

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Bomb planted outside Law and Human Rights office, no suspects

Westpapuamedia.info

Local media and witnesses in Abepura, near Jayapura West Papua, have reported the discovery of an explosive device planted on Wednesday evening (local time) outside the offices of the Department of Law and Human Rights (KumHAM) office in Kotaraja.

Armed officers from Brimob Gegana, a specialised motorbike based paramilitary bomb squad, reportedly defused and secured the bomb and made it safe.  No injuries were reported.

The bomb had been lying at the front of the office all day, but no-one had thought to report the suspicious package.  Finally in the evening, the Brimob were called by KumHAM staff members.

According to a report by Bintang Papua, two men were seen leaving the sports bag earlier in the day, and then getting on a motorbike and speeding away.

The Department has frequently come under threat for its mandated work in occasional prosecutions of human rights abuses, and most recently was subject to a series of threatening letters and homemade bombs.

According to an SMS sent to West Papua Media by the Serui Regional Police Chief who was in Jayapura at the time (At police HQ), the bomb “was from the Dutch era”.  He did not elaborate on how a Dutch Era bomb came to be planted outside the KumHAM  building.

Bomb threats are frequently the subject of much speculation in Papua, with incidents usually occuring during times of political upheaval by nonviolence forces.  It is usually believed they are the work of Special Forces or Intelligence agencies keen to discredit the anti-violence movement, despite the fact that the independence movement has publicly disavowed itself of such tactics for many years.

During the 2010 Presidential Elections in Indonesia, many bombs exploded in remote areas of Papua, or at police stations or polling booths, and were never sufficiently investigated by Police.

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Large rally against torture held Serui; Police confiscate rally equipment, then apologise to organisers

by Nick Chesterfield, Ronny Kareni; local sources for West Papua Media team

Serui, Thursday, June 23, 2011

Indonesian police in Serui, off the north coast of West Papua, this morning have forcefully confiscated banners, Morning Star flags, amplifiers and other rally paraphernalia from West Papuan protestors, before allowing a major rally against torture to go ahead. Despite providing police with significant notice, organisers of today’s rallies have met with inconsistent police policy in allowing legitimate peaceful expression to occur.

The rallies are being held by the West Papua National Authority (WPNA) to express opposition to institutionalised Indonesian security force torture and maltreatment of West Papuan people, and against the continuing criminalisation of legitimate peaceful dissent.  It is also to support efforts in Washington DC for West Papua by Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC) including seminars, a Vigil to End Torture in front of the White House, and Congressional Briefings on Capitol Hill.  The rally had been planned to conduct a traditional long march or “jigjog” to the offices of the DPRD, the Papuan Provincial Parliament.

Police in Serui conducted security sweeps of the area from 8 to 10 pm last night.  “This is a usual sweeping that security forces do for security measures prior to an event”. said Pak Eddy, the head of intelligence for the police (KAINTEL POLRES) in Serui said via phone to West Papua Media.

At 8am this morning, rally organisers were visited by two uniformed Papuan police officers, who told WPNA Serui Governor David Abon to cancel the long march from Wombai Park to the DPRD office. Instead, they instructed Abon to drop people with trucks to the office, but stated firmly that Police “will not provide security for the protesters, nor guarantee their safety”.

Rally organisers expressed fears that this would be a prelude for police standing down in the face of militia or military violence, and were perturbed that the police would abrogate its State Responsibility for providing security for civilians engaging in legitimate peaceful expression.   The Indonesian police has a long and regular history of standing to one side while military or military controlled civilian groups conduct serious acts of violence against political or religious opposition, such as with East Timor, in West Papua, and more recently against the Ahmadiyah.  However, neither the WPNA nor Police have shared any specific intelligence about pro-Jakarta militia mobilisations, despite the local presence of both the Laskar Merah Putih, and the newly formed Euricio Guterres / Bas Suebu militia, ASWAIN.

Over 1000 people had begun to gather at Wombai Park, Serui, on Thursday morning in preparation for the long march and listen to speeches and music.  At 10:00am, as people were meeting to discuss security situation and day’s plans, one company (150 police) of local Police present at Wombai confiscated with force a truck, Morning Star flags and material (like bags and beanies), amplifiers, and four banners. Due to the speed and force used, people at the park were subject to mounting fear, and were uncertain for their safety.

KAINTEL Eddy told the crowd,  “Don’t bring flags or banners to the rally, but rally can still go ahead”.  This action was is contravention to the rights of people to engage in free cultural expression.

The crowd then dispersed peacefully from Wombai and made its way to the DPRD office.  Over 200 armed Gegana paramilitary motorbike police are in attendance, as are two companies of normal police.

WPNA Security is still on high alert against agents provocateur, and has clear line of communication open to prevent escalation with both Pak Eddy and the KAPOLRES (Regency level Chief of Police, currently in Jayapura).

In Mantembu at midday, prior to that march joining with the main rally, Police attempted to shut down the march, and again seized banners that displayed the Morning Star symbol.  An intense vocal confrontation between WPNA and Police ensued, but negotiations with Police successfully agreed the rally to be continued until 4pm.

” We will provide the safety and security of all the participants”, said Terrianus Israel Yoku, National Congress President of WPNA.   “We want to freely exercise our rights to freedom of assembly, and we ask for security forces to respect the rights of West Papuans to voice our concerns”, said Yoku.

“Even though the security forces stop trucks and confiscate morning star flags, banners and amplifiers, it wont stop us marching in peace” said David Abon, govenor of Yapen Waropen.

The Kapolres and KAINTEL POLRES apologised to Reverend Yoku, WPNA, for the confiscation of items and the force that was used against demonstrators this morning.

Participants from Wombai joined with the 500 Mantembu marchers, who then joined over 3000 people already gathered at DPRD.  Delegations also came from Sorong, Manokwari, Jayapura, Fak Fak, Bintuni, Waropen, and Mamberamo.  Over 5000 people stayed upon the steps of the DPRD office listening to speeches and music.

“A Salute to everyone who made the decision to participate in this long march for peace and justice in West Papua. This is an act of working together in support of what is happening in Australia and Washington to speak out on the ongoing torture and issues towards indigenous West Papuans”,  said Jacob Rumbiak, WPNA Foreign Affairs Coordinator, in Australia.

“Today, the international advocates are monitoring the situation in West Papua, especially in Serui, and we ask the Indonesian security forces to respect the rally and allow every West Papuans to freely exercise their freedom of expression and freedom assembly”, said Terry Bukorpioper, WPNA’s designated spokesperson to the UN.

At time of writing,  close to 5000 people joined on the steps of DPRD in a closing prayer with Reverend Phil Ayeni to peacefully end the rally.

West Papua Media will continue to monitor the situation closely, and provide timely updates.
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Freeport looking for more minerals to extract from Papua

Grasberg mine
Image via Wikipedia
JUBI, 21 June 2011
A crater that is many metres wide and as deep as a three-storey house is to be found at Mile Post 74 within the area of the mining concession of Freeport-Indonesia(PTFI). Thousands of people working for Freeport say that they know nothing about the mining potential of this deep crater and what exactly Freeport intends to mine there.Some of the workers are quoted as saying: ‘The company is concealing information about the minerals it plans to mine. Some have mentioned copper but more recently mention has been made of gold, silver, iron,  and other minerals about which nothing has been reported officially.’ The workers believe that as many as nine new minerals are going to be mined there.As regards the natural resources now being researched, the crater is said to be much greater than the one dug for the Grasberg mine to the north.

One worker said that it is not only a question of nine more minerals being exploited by Freeport. As regards the geo-science potential from Papua, most of the minerals will be taken abroad. One worker who is familiar with the minerals in Grasberg said that it is only if the minerals are processed here and not taken abroad that we will be able to know what Freeport it intending to extract. ‘It is likely that the stuff will be taken abroad through pipes so that no one here knows what is there.

Another report from JUBI of the same day says that foreign investors are busy investigating what more they can take away from Papua. Freeport undertook a major research a while ago near Kampung Ugimba.

‘People from the company who work in Tembagapura have been seen frequently coming and going, and we have been told that there is uranium there.’

JUBI has been told that aerial surveying – aerogeophysics -has been used to survey the mineral  potential.

They have been using helicopters  to assess the uranium potential, he said. Once this has been ascertained, more conventional techniques will be used.

As yet, Freeport has said nothing about these searches. But for sure, the company has been undertaking many surveys in various parts of Papua.

(West Papua Media Comment:  At this time of great market uncertainty about uranium and the safety of nuclear power following the still ongoing Fukushima reactor disaster in Japan, it beggars belief that Freeport and its main shareholder, Rio Tinto, are conducting illegal (uncontracted) exploration for potential uranium deposits (of which there are large amounts around the Grasberg complex).  It is also very curious that this is the exact area that the unsolved shootings and bombings of Freeport workers has been occuring over the past two years, yet in an “unsecured” environment this exploration and processing has been able to occur.  If the Indonesian civilian government were to set up a National Audit of all Freeport activities, they would see clearly that the military-corporate collusion is reaping massive financial benefits, just not for either West Papua, nor Indonesian people.)

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