Year: 2011

WOMEN SAY: DEPUTY GOVERNOR MUST KEEP HIS PROMISE

WOMEN SAY: DEPUTY GOVERNOR MUST KEEP HIS PROMISE

Bintang Papua, 8 February 2011

Hundreds of women traders (known as mama-mama) visited the office of the governor of the Papua province to demand that the deputy governor, Alex Hesegem keep the promise he made to give them assistance in the form of capital. The women stayed in the hall of the governor’s office, demanding to meet the deputy governor. After waiting for two hours, they were eventually able to meet him.

He said he was happy to enter into dialogue with the women but things became tense when they persisting in demanding that he keep his promise. He responded by saying that this would certainly be done, I can do it tomorrow.’

But he asked he women to draw up a list of their names because another official insisted that anyone receiving half a million rupiahs would have to pay a fee of five thousand rupiahs. This is reportedly the reasons why the capital has not yet been provided. Some women said that they had no objection to paying this fee.

‘This problem has been going on for two years, and we have been going back and forth to the governor’s office, but all the time they keep telling us to go somewhere else.’

She said that she hoped that after supplying the list of women, the
matter will be resolved because they were worn out, going back and forth about this.

The issue dates back to 2007 when the deputy governor held an open
house. When the mama-mama went there to meet the officials, they
requested help in the form of half a million rupiahs for each one of
them yet to this very day, they have not received anything.

[COMMENT: This just shows the problems Papuan people continue to
encounter in order to secure for themselves a role in engaging in trade
and business in Papua. TAPOL]

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AJI has urged press to monitor rights violations in Papua

JUBI, 11 February 2011
The chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in
Jayapura, Victor Mambor, has called on the press in Papua to regularly
monitor cases of human rights violations in Papua.

‘Reports written in the media about these violations are helpful to
organisations that fight for the rights of the victims of violations,’
he said, during a speech at a workshop on the Papuan perspective
regarding human rights violations.

He stressed the importance of the role of the press in reporting the
human rights situation in Papua because this can help reduce acts of
repression against the civilian population.

‘Reports about human rights in Papua are only available from NGOs active
in the field, and these are frequently quoted in reports that appear in
the media,’ said Mambor. He also stressed the importance in ensuring
that these published reports are accurate and credible. It was also
important, he said, for journalists to provide the appropriate
references so as to make it easier for others to investigate the
violations that occur.

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Flag raisers to go on trial in Manokwari

JUBI, 11 February 2011

Flag raisers to go on trial in Manokwari

Two Papuans are due to go on trial in Manokwari for raising the 14-star flag. The two men are Melkinus Bleskadit and Dance Bleskadit who, along with five others, raised flags on 14 December 2010. The documents regarding the two men were handed over by the police to the attorney’s office.

A lawyer acting for the two men, Yan Christian Warinussy, said that this is the second stage in the judicial process, following interrogation and bringing together other evidence.

‘The two men are now awaiting action on their case by the prosecutors who will present the charges against them,’ he said. He said that the two men were likely to be charged for treason – makar – and the lawyer hoped that the trial proceedings would commence as soon as possible.

Four others involved in the flag raising are Jhon Wena, 21, George
Rawiay, 20, Benha Supangha, 20, and Alex Duwen, 22. [The name of the fifth person was not mentioned .] The ages of the two men due to be formally charged were not given.

The seven men were arrested as they were commemorating the anniversary of the independence declaration of the West Melanesian Republic on 14 December 2010.

The five men are being held in police custody and are still undergoing
interrogation by the police.

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Bintang Papua: DPRP member calls for end to separatist stigma

Bintang Papua, 9 February 2011

[Abridged in translation by TAPOL]

STOP SILENCING PAPUANS WITH THE SEPARATIST STIGMA

The chairman of Commission A of the provincial legislative assembly, the DPRP, Ruben Magai, has called on the police chief to stop using political stigmatisation when conducting operations in Papua. Such statements, he said, result in scaring the indigenous Papuan people and trying to silence them.

These remarks followed a recent statement by a police officer [lower down, it is clear that the statement was made by the police chief] alleging that the OPM is present in the region of Degeuwo, on the border between Paniai and Nabire,. where security disturbances have recently occurred.

Regardless of whether the police have firm evidence, such statements are a form of character assassination, in a region that is known to have abundant natural resources where investors would be keen to invest, with the backing of the security apparatus.

‘This kind of thing is very bad and should be corrected,’ he said. ‘It is as if all the security disturbances are the work of separatists and have nothing to do with injustice. When the term separatism is used in Papua, it is clearly directed against the Papuans who live in the area.’

He warned of a high-level conspiracy by people in authority. All this makes the indigenous Papuans harbour feelings of hostility towards those who make such baseless statements. The term NKRI (Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia) should not be the exclusive property of people in officialdom. People throughout the territory , including those living in the interior, should be able to speak loud and clear about the NKRI.

But at a time when the state is engaged in a number of questionable activities, including acts of violence against the population in the interior as well as making all kinds of baseless accusations, such things can only spread a feeling of insecurity and anxiety for isolated communities in the interior who know very little about what is going on. ‘What they do know is that they are suffering from injustice as well as the consequences of development which have destroyed their natural resources.’

They are living without any guarantees for security in their old age, which is something that should be taken into consideration, he said.

The age-long problems will remain unresolved as long as the security forces pursue the approach of violence and intimidation, he said.

 

The Alliance of Intellectuals is also disappointed by the chief of police

Similar views have been expressed by the Alliance of Intellectuals of Suku Wolani Moni, who regret the statement made by the chief of police to the effect that the OPM has a base in Degeuwo.

An Alliance deputy chairmen, Tobias Bagubau, said that a week ago the chief of police promised that they would put an end to illegal logging in Degeuwo. ‘As a representative of the Wolani Moni people, I regret the police chief’s statement to the effect that the OPM is based in Degeuwo whereas in fact there are no OPM members in Degeuwo.’

He said that he thinks the police chief is playing a new game of distracting attention from all the unresolved problems. ‘Please stop making such allegations about the OPM in Degeuwo. What we want is for the problem of illegal mining to be halted,’ he said.

He said that he can’t stop wondering why the police chief is always making such statements which can only lead to widespread feelings of dissatisfaction and result in insecurity for the state.

‘If the OPM is indeed here, they should be arrested. After all, there are plenty of members of the security forces based here,’ he said.

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INDIGENOUS PAPUANS IN INTAN JAYA REJECT MINING OPERATIONS IN AGISIGA

JUBI, 10 February 2011

There are now reports that illegal mining is under way not only in the
Degeuwo Estuary but also in the Dogabu Estuary, in the district of
Intan Jaya, Papua.

The illegal mining is being carried out by groups that are unknown to
the local community or the local government.

‘The mining operations are being carried out without a licence from the
local government,’ said Agustinus Tapani, secretary of the Intan Jaya
Traditional Council. He said that the local community is the rightful
owner of the land and they firmly reject the presence of any companies or businesses in their area. ‘In any case, they have never agreed to surrender their land, nor have they issued any licences to others to operate there.’

Agus Tapani said that a number of mining operators are excavating
minerals and coal in West Papua, including in Degeuwo without licences either from the government or from the local communities. ‘Law No 4/2009 makes the position clear. Yet, many companies have bypassed these authorised mechanisms which have been laid down by the government,’ he said.

Speaking on behalf of the local DAP, Tapani said that all companies must abide by the provisions of the regulations. He called on the company now operating in Degeuwo to end their operations because the community in Intan Jaya is suffering as a result of these mining operations.

Agus Tapani who is also the secretary of the KNPI in Intan Jaya warned all companies which come to Papua and partiularly to Intan Jaya district to realise that they need to pass through three stages, the traditional community, the churches and the government.. The presence of mining companies in Agisiga can initiate a process that will damage the lifestyles of the entire community in Intan Jaya. He also called on the executive and legislative bodies to pay attention to this problem.

Although the identity of the company now operating in Intan Jaya is not known, JUBI understands that PT Freeport Indonesia is involved in explorations in a number of districts, including Sugapa, Ugimba, Mindau, Pogapa and the Dogabu Estuary, through its subsidiary company PT Mine Serve International.

 

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