Author: westpapuamedia

Independent Journalism from West Papua to the World

Two people shot dead in Dogiyai but no action has been taken to solve the case

JUBI, 16 April 2011Following a number of shootings of inhabitants in the district of Dogiyai in the past few weeks, the place is now like a ghost town. Many of the inhabitants along with their wives and children have left town.

‘All the offices are closed and nothing is happening here any more.because all the inhabitants have fled,’ Hanen Sendu, head of public relations of the district, told Bintang Papua over the phone.

He said that during sweepings by the police and the security forces, a number of houses were burnt to the ground.. ‘This is now regarded as a ‘red’  (ie highly dangerous) zone by the security forces,’ he said .

According to inhabitants from Dogiyai, a number of homes near the Moanemani building where agricultural training was taking place have been burnt down by security forces who were sent there by Brimob based in Enarotali. ‘They arrived from Enarotali and burnt down people’s homes,’ according to a source in the area.

Many young people from Dogiyai are not going to school any more because the security forces have spread fear among the local people.”The women and children have also left. ‘We were being shot at all the time and we were very afraid, so we have left Dogiyai,’ they said, according to a brief message received from the area.

A member of the local legislative assembly, Frits Agapa said that young people were also afraid and have fled into the forests and to kampungs in a nearby district.

‘This is not a war, but when the security behave like this, nobody would want to accept such treatment.’

A few young people who remained in Dogiyai say that they are afraid to leave their homes because they are afraid of being shot at just like their colleagues were shot at a few days ago.

‘The security forces are shooting people for no reason at all,’ said one person living in the area.

—————————

JUBI, 17 April 2011

The association  of students from the Central Highlands has urged the police to take action quickly in response to the tragedy that happened last Wednesday.

‘Besides taking action against all those who have been shooting local inhabitants, the chief of  police should also  place Togel port  under special protection and put an end to the sweeping operations.’ said the chairman of the association, Andreas Gobai.

He also said that the police should put a stop to all the gambling and drinking in Dogiyai and other districts.

‘If he fails to do so, then he should resign for failing to act responsibly regarding the Moanemani case and other incidents that have occurred here in this region.’

Gobai said that his association is pressing for a comprehensive solution in this case.

Three days after the incident, the situation in Moanemani and the vicinity is still not conducive. Many local inhabitants are panic-stricken and have been forced to leave their homes, although everything had been very peaceful until now..

—————————–

JUBI, 16 April 2011

Following the shootings and sweepings by the police and members of the TNI, a few days ago in Dogoyai, some families were shocked by the discovery of the bodies of two young men, Kris Pigome from the Pouwouda kampung and Markus Goo, the son of the chief of Tuwaida kampung. Their bodies were found covered with terrible injuries, near the Nabire Trans highway, about 18 kms from Nabire district.

Their families have been informed of the tragedy.

‘It happened last night. We had advised them not to go to Dogiyai, but they were insistent on going because they wanted to return home to their kampungs, but they were murdered on the way,’ said Vincen Goo, one of the relatives who was contacted by JUBI.

How they died is still a mystery.

‘We have just come from the hospital and we dont know why they were killed. But it is clear that they were murdered,’ said Vincen. The bodies are due to be taken to the homes of the families in Nabire who are now in mourning.

—————————–

JUBI, 17 April 2011

Following the shooting dead of civilians in Dogiyai, the local people are shocked that the local government have not said anything about this incident.

‘People here are naturally very afraid  because since that incident, there has been no attempt to close off the area by the security forces, bearing in mind that members of the security forces have shot some local people dead.

‘If local government leaders had been at their posts and were concerned about the local people, this shooting might never have happened.’

As someone who comes from the area, Petrus Agapa  has also expressed his deep concern about the situation . ‘There are other ways to solve problems like this, not by shooting people,’ he said.

The local people have lost all confidence in the local government .

Until now, neither the acting bupati  nor other local officials  have taken any action to resolve the problem.

‘It seems as if officials in Dogiyai  are just hoping that officials from the provincial government will come along and solve the problem,’ said Agapa.

Related Articles
4

Hana Hikoyabi advised to withdraw from MRP and struggle from outside

Bintang Papua, 17 April 2011Jayapura: Now that the deadline of 14 days set for MRP member Hana Hikoyabi [to produce a clarification of her position] has passed since the swearing in of members of the new MRP, it would be better if she were to withdraw as a member of the MRP.

Political commentator Lamadi de Lamato told Bintang Papua that  she should withdraw her name as a member  rather than sit as a member of the MRP and keep having her critical remarks pounced on by the central government. According to the logic of the Indonesian state, the policies of the state must be accepted  even though they fail to take the side of the Papuan people, he said.

In his opinion, Hana should withdraw her name and wage her struggle from the outside without having to make compromises.

Many Papuans would have far greater respect for her outside the MRP than if she were a member  According to Lamadi, insisting that Hana should produce a clarification was virtually an act of terror  against an MRP member, warning her not to be critical  or consider the aspirations of the Papua people.

‘This is just like what happened under the New Order (of Suharto) and its demands for special investigations ((Litsus) towards people who were regarded as enemies of the state,’ he said.

There are many things that are going wrong in Papua; any protest  should not necessarily result in restrictions being imposed on people.

‘Hana  should not be treated like an enemy  and be forced to be loyal to whatever the state demands. Some people believe that the former chairman of the MRP Agus Alua  died because of his disagreements  with things coming from central government, but he should not be blamed for that.’

With regard to the recruitment of members of the new MRP, many people feel very disappointed. ‘The state can act as it likes, but these acts of terror should end,’ he said.

As already reported, the new MRP should have 75 members but only 73 were sworn in because two names had been struck off the list, Agus Alua and Hana Hikoyabi. It was said that if these two had delivered written statements of verification, they could both have been appointed as members of the MRP.

Related Articles
1

Interior Minister accused of exceeding his powers in excluding Hikoyabi

Bintang Papua, 14 Apil 2011
Abridged in translation by TAPOLJayapura: The statement by the interior minister, Gamawan Fauzi, that Hana S. Hikoyabi, member of the first-term MRP must deliver a clarification about her position within 14 days before being sworn in as a member of the new MRP was described  by Budi Setyanto SH as being beyond his authority and in breach of the law.

Since that person was chosen by the people, the interior minister should have sworn her in on 12 April.

If he declares that Hana does not agree with Special Autonomy (OTSUS) or with the way of recruiting of members of the MRP, this is simply a difference of opinion but the fact is that she was chosen by the Papuan people means that she clearly does not reject OTSUS because the MRP was set up because of OTSUS, and without OTSUS, there would be no MRP.

Budi said that the interior minister’s statement is against the law.

A member of the first MRP, Simon Simunapendi, said that the failure to swear in Hana Hikoyabi was because she had been told to produce a clarification with regard to the grand assembly held from 7-10 June 2010 and reveals a misunderstanding  about the role of that assembly because Law 21/2001  Article 20  makes it clear that members of the MRP must promote the aspirations of the Papuan people. Bearing in mind that these aspirations were expressed by representations of 254 ethnic groups  who had come together to express their aspirations, it meant that Agus Alue Alua and Hana Hikoyabi were duty-bound to present these aspirations to the DPRP.

They were only acting in accordance with the provisions of the MRP, expressing the wishes of 254 ethnic groups, and there was no other motive for what they did.
.
Since the news that Hana Hikoyabi had not been sworn in as a member of the MRP, no one has been able to make contact with her, including people from the media. The failure to swear her is seen as being directly connected to the many actions rejecting OTSUS that have taken place since the beginning of 2011.

The decisions taken at the grand assembly in June 2010 were not the product of the MRP and the individual members of the MRP cannot be held personally responsible for those decisions.

Related Articles
2

Food Crisis after Papua Floods

CRITICAL INFORMATION


Banjir Ambarita | April 17, 2011

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/food-crisis-after-papua-floods/435985

Jayapura. Thousands of people are at risk of starvation and disease after heavy flooding in Papua’s Paniai district, an official said over the weekend.

District head Naftali Yogi said heavy rains over the past three months have led to Lake Paniai overflowing and flooding at least seven subdistricts in up to 4 meters of water, destroying homes and farmland and rendering thousands of families homeless.

There have been no reports of casualties as a direct result of the flooding.

“The situation now is pretty grim because so much agricultural land and so many fish farms have been flooded and can’t be harvested,” he said.

“This means that around 10,000 people who are subsistence farmers and rely on prompt harvests are at risk of starvation.”

Naftali said the extent of the flooding also made outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, respiratory ailments and malaria more likely.

“We don’t have enough medical supplies or health workers to respond to a potential outbreak,” he said.

“So we’re calling on all residents not to drink water from the lake. Drink rainwater instead.”

He added his administration was already distributing food supplies to residents, including uncooked rice and instant noodles — both of which need to be cooked in clean water. However, authorities have not distributed any potable water.

“We’ve been given Rp 1 billion [$115,000] in relief aid from the provincial administration and Rp 500 million from Jakarta, but that’s only enough for a month,” Naftali said.

“We expect many residents won’t be able to farm for another two years, so they’ll need food aid until then.”

Authorities have not set up shelters for the evacuees, who have been forced to stay with family and friends or out in the open.

“We’re still looking for sites where we can set up temporary shelters for those rendered homeless,” Naftali said.

He blamed the flooding on the increased sedimentation in Lake Paniai, which he said was a result of the clearing of forests in areas adjacent to the lake.

“About 10 years ago the military scorched the forests because they suspected that separatists were hiding out there, and since then there hasn’t been any effort to reforest the area,” he said.

Besides the effects of deforestation and subsequent flooding, Naftali said the district was also at threat from illegal mining.

He said illegal gold mines in Baya Biru subdistrict were responsible for large-scale pollution and environmental degradation.

“We’ve given the companies responsible until June to halt their activities, but obviously this is a tricky issue to handle,” Naftali said.

“There are an estimated 7,000 people working in the industry there.”

He said previous calls by the district and Papuan administrations for a halt to the illegal mining had fallen on deaf ears because of the many interests involved in the industry.

“Those mines are so remote that you can only get there by helicopter,” he said.

“If those helicopter services could be stopped, there would be no more mining, but they continue to transport workers, supplies and ore in and out of there.”

Related Articles
0

More Mysterious Killings near Nabire

http://tabloidjubi.com/index.php/daily-news/seputar-tanah-papua/11794-dua-pemuda-dogiyai-ditemukan-tewas-misterius

Jubi — After shootings and sweeps by rogue police officers and personnel of the Indonesian National Army (TNI) a few days ago in Dogiyai, families and residents currently in Dogiyai are again surprised by the discovery of two bodies of known identity.

The two bodies found were from Kampung Pouwouda, named Kris Pigome and Mark Goo, the children of the Tuwaida Village Head, Southern District of You, Dogiyai District. They were both found dead last night (15 / 4) in the path of the Trans Nabire – Ilaga road, 38 kilometers Nabire.

This incident was known by the family. “It happened last night. They both have advised us not to leave the house or do not make the trip to Dogiyai. But they are two stone heads. Those two seem to travel to return home. But they were killed in the middle of the journey toward Dogiyai,” said Vincent Goo, a family member who contacted JUBI, Saturday (16 / 4).

Until now the cause of death is a mystery for both victims. “We were from the hospital Siriwini (Nabire). We do not know why and who to kill? But clearly they were both killed, “said Vincent. Until this story was written two bodies will preach from the bottom to the family’s funeral home in the city of Nabire. (Wells)

Related Articles
2

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑