Month: November 2012

Police chief calls on Papuans to ‘remain calm’ as 1 December approaches

Morning Star Moon Landing
Ironic Morning Star Moon Landing (Artwork: AK Rockefeller)

 

Tabloid JUBI

28 November, 2012

The police chief  of the district of Mimika, Jeremias Runtini has called on the people to ‘remain calm’ as1 December approaches. He said that people should act together to safeguard security and public order and should avoid getting involved in activities that tend towards subversion such as flying the Morning Star flag.

He said that to mark its anniversary, the OPM, Organisasi Papua Merdeka, the Papuan Freedom Movement, usually flies the Morning Star flag and other people join in this as well.

‘There is nothing special about 1 December,’ he said, adding that the police and the military will be patrolling the area, after mustering their men on Timika Indah Square,’ he told journalists, as 1 December approached.

He said that in anticipation of people flying the Morning Star flag, his men will be mounting patrols throughout the region of Mimika. ‘I very much hope that people will not get involved in activities that are in violation of the laws in force in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, ‘especially bearing in mind that flying the Morning Star flag is regarded as an act of subversion and is therefore against the law.’

Repeating his call for people to ‘remain calm’ and avoid doing anything that is against the law,  he called on people to support all the development activities that are being undertaken. ‘Let us join together and get involved in these development activities; I am ready to be a partner in these joint endeavours.’

He told journalists that during the three days approaching 1 December, the police will be at the top level of readiness during these three days.

‘All of us must think positively and refrain from doing anything that is in violation of the law, so as not to disrupt peace and tranquillity.’

[Translated by TAPOL]

(WPM NOTE: West Papua Media will be providing monitoring services for international media for December 1 events.  Please contact the editorial team to assist or report.  Donations are required to enable effective monitoring.)
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No primary schools in over a thousand kampungs in Papua

JUBI,

28 November 2012

Jayapura: The head of  the Education, Youth and Sports Service in the province of Papua, James Modouw, said that there are at least one thousand kampungs (villages) spread across the province where there is no primary school.

‘Of the more than four thousand kampungs in Papua,’ he said, ‘ it is thought that around 1,047 do not have a primary school. It is also the case that throughout the district of Suru-Suru in the Regency of Asmat, there are eight kampungs, none of which has a primary school. This does not include the regency of Yahukimo about which no data has yet been received.’

He said that the kampungs without a primary school are mainly in the mountainous regions of Papua. ‘In the whole of the Bintang Highland Regency, there is not a single primary school,’ he said. The same is true throughout the regencies of Lany Jaya, Puncak Jaya and Nduga. ‘This is a matter that requires the attention of the local governments in these areas,’ he said.

He said that the problem of the lack of availability of primary education in Papua should be resolved. ‘We call on the local and municipal  administrations to  insist that adequate funds are made available for primary schools everywhere in the 2013 budget.so as to deal with the lack of schools and the widespread illiteracy among the Papuan people. He said that is calculated that thirty percent of Papuan children get no education at all.

[Translated by TAPOL]

[COMMENT: Over the years, we have read so many reports about the non-availability of teachers as well as healthcare workers in so many parts of West Papua. This is clearly an extremely serious matter indeed, a situation that clearly has not improved since the enactment of the Special  Autonomy Law in 2001, more than eleven years ago. No wonder Papuans are being thrust aside as more and more better-educated migrants from other parts of the country outnumber Papuans and take control of the territory’s economy and administration. As is so often the case, Papuans are frequently described as being ‘terbelakang’ or ‘backward’. So whose fault is that?! TAPOL]

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Is West Papua being split up to marginalise the Papuan people?

Jubi,
24 November 2012Jayapura: The many proposals for West Papua to be split up into separate autonomous provinces is provoking a variety of responses. Some say that it is a good move provided there is careful selection, while others fear that splitting up the territory will lead to the marginalisation of the indigenous Papuan people, and turn them into mere spectators in their own country.

Member of the provincial legislative assembly Melkias Yeke Gombo said that splitting u the territory must first and foremost be beneficial to the indigenous Papuan  people.’It must lead to improving the welfare of the Papuan people and not result in their becoming mere spectators,’ he said.

Any decision to split up the territory should occur because it is what the community itself wants and not be taken to serve the interests of a clique of the political elite.

‘The chief reason for any decision to split up the territory  should be to raise the level of welfare and should be based on the consideration that the human resources in the area in question are better served in terms of developing the area in question. The fact is, he said, that the territories that have been split up have simply turned the Papuans into mere spectators, he said, making it impossible for them to do anything at all in advancement of their own interests.

He also said that splitting up the territory  should not result in the creation of little kings who rule the new regions and who forget about serving the interests of the indigenous Papuan people.

‘This will only create difficulties for the Papuan people. What should happen, he said, in that it should provide maximum good for the people as the area being served is diminished in size.

The Minister of the Interior, Gamawan  Fauzi described the moves to split up the territoy as ‘progress’ although he accepts that there is room for improvement. ‘This is based on the evaluation of the results of splitting the territory up so far, over a period of three years. He said that there has been some progress although there is room for improvement. According to the minister, there needs to be improvements in the basic infrastructure to comply with the standards reached in other parts of the country.

He admitted that the building of roads and bridges in Papua as being far behind what has been achieved elsewhere in the country.

Prior to this statement, a decision was taken to split up two regencies in the Province of West Papua, namely the Arfak Mountain Regency and the South Manokwari Regency He said that these regions had been turned into new autonomous  regions at the same time as the creation of new autonomous regions had been created in North Kalimantan.

[Comment: As is evident, indigenous Papuans see the move to split up their territory as a way of turning them into minority groups, bereft of any political power to determine their own future and indeed to secure their right to self-determination which has been denied to them since the fraudulent ‘act of free choice ‘.]

[Translated by TAPOL]

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Solidarity organisation calls on police not to use violence on 1 December

Bintang Papua,
26 November 2012Jayapura: Alius Asso, the deputy chairman of SHDRP,  the Papuan Civil Society Organisation for Solidarity, Law and Human Rights, has urged the police to use persuasive methods on 1 December when demonstrations will take place to mark the anniversary of 1 December.

Asso said that on that day, there will be actions by indigenous groups in seven regions that claim to be part of the Federated Republic of West Papua  in Mamta, Saireri, Bomberay, Domberay, Me Pago, Ha Amin and several other places, which will take the form of prayer meetings or flag ceremonies.

However, Asso said that it was not possible for him to tell groups not to wave the Morning Star flag  ‘because they have every right to do so’.

He said that it was up to the security force to act in a professional way during these coming events. Demonstrations on 1 December have become a regular annual feature for Papuan people to  commemorate this historic day and this has been going on for many years.

‘The police should act wisely and professionally. They should avoid repressive actions. If they fail to do so, there will be many victims among the Papuan people . In Sentani, it is likely that  the event will take place at the grave of [the assassinated Papuan leader] Theys Eluay with prayers being said.’ But Asso said  he was not sure what would happen in Jayapura.

The chief of police for Papua, Inspector-General Tito Karnavian has said that the army (TNI) and the police will be out guarding the areas because this is an integral part of their duties.. But Asso said that they should not resort to the use of violence. ‘If the demonstrators only intend to say prayers, why should this be banned by the security forces?’

He went on to say that the spirit of democracy is developing and people are expressing their aspirations in peaceful ways, but if the State goes on silencing democracy, it will be responsible for closing down the space for democracy and there will be yet more injustices and human right abuses.

‘Everyone agrees about the need for security and moreover there is a law in force which guarantees protection for the citizens. And this is quite clear in the first article of the 1945 constitution.’

[Translated by TAPOL]

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KNPPB A Rival Organization Created By Indonesia To Compete With KNPB

by wedaumamo at KNPB News
November 17, 2012
Analysis / Opinion

Jayapura, KNPBnews – In their continuous efforts to destroy the legitimate movement of the people of West Papua who are fighting for their rights, Indonesian counter-intelligence operations have now created a rival organization called the West Papua Youth National Committee (Komite Nasional Pemuda Papua Barat, or KNPPB). The organization claims itself to be a forerunner of a self-claimed Republic of West Papua under the leadership of Yance Hembring, an agent of the Indonesian Republic.

The KNPPB, an acronym which bears a striking resemblance with KNPB, was created by Indonesia to further strike a blow at the genuine struggle for Papuan rights, led by the KNPB. The fact that Indonesia would instigate further attacks towards the good image of the political struggle of the people of West Papua was to be expected and it was also predicted. It was only a matter of time before journalists of the newspaper Bintang Papua, a number of which are mere agents of Indonesia, calculatedly published the news item concerning the establishment of this rival organ, based on information passed on by sources who are nothing more than the minions of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), and who have been paid to discredit the struggle of the people of West Papua, a struggle led by the KNPB and the people of West Papua.

Active monitoring of the online media shows that Yance Hembring’s group constitutes a faction of the OPM which has already surrendered to the Republic of Indonesia and which is now being used by Indonesia to influence and destroy the bases of the OPM. This faction is now also being used by Indonesia to recruit young people to destroy the KNPB by setting up the rival organ called KNPPB, in exchange for money.

The release today of this deceit by the newspaper Bintang Papua (issues numbers 14 and 15) has as main purpose to blacken the good image of the KNPB and to diminish the sympathy of the people of West Papua for the KNPB. Wim Metlama, KNPB’s National Spokesperson, said that Indonesia was resorting to the old ways of paying Papuans and Papuan newspapers in order to play their dirty political games and soiling the good image of the struggle of West Papua.

“Treacherous moves like these are not something new. These are old tricks that Indonesia has been using, but it has always been to no avail. And we are convinced that the people of West Papua are wise enough to recognise these dreadful tricks played by the colonisers. Even more so, this deceit only proves once again to the people of West Papua that Indonesia is in the habit of manipulating the truth and lying to the people, and precisely for that reason will they realise that the NKRI is truly an occupying colonial force in West Papua”, said Wim.

The newspaper Media Papua is unfortunately contributing to the spreading of the lie, by publishing the news item and disseminating the deceitful information into the public in West Papua. According to our monitoring, a month ago, Papua police chief Tito Karnavian had approached the board of editors of the newspaper Bintang Papua and he had asked them for their support for his colonial agenda. Soon, if not already, many agents of the printed media and other reporters in West Papua will be offered money in return for services to support the colonial program as Tito Karnavian has recently requested.

[Translated by LT]

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