Author: westpapuamedia

Independent Journalism from West Papua to the World

More actions to release five detained nurses

JUBI, 24 March 2011

Nurses arrests violate human rights

KontraS Papua, the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of
Violence, is convinced that the detention of five nurses by the police
in Papua is a violation of their human rights. KontraS Papua member,
Olga Helena Hamadi said that the police should not treat the nurses as criminals, adding that the government should quickly act to resolve this case.

She also said that it was wrong for the governor of Papua Barnabas Suebu to ignore this case, as the consequences are being felt by many others in Papua. ‘Many people have already become victims.’

[This refers to the impact the case is having on services at the
hospital where the nurses work, which are vital to all local Papuans in
need of medical treatment at a hospital where they can be treated at
minimal cost. TAPOL]

Hamadi urged Komnas HAM, the National Human Rights Commission, to
continue with its investigations into this case to mediate in the case.
‘They need to work harder to produce stronger evidence to bring an end to this case,’ she said.

She also suggested that the police should hand this case over the
government in order to reach a settlement.

As already reported, eight nurses have been identified for questioning,
five of whom have been arrested and are being held by the police. Five
of the nurses have already been declared suspects, while two others are currently being interrogated.

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JUBI, 24 March 2011

Nurses working at DokII General Hospital in Jayapura have reported the secretary of the province of Papua Costant Karma to the police. They were accompanied by the team of lawyers who are acting for the nurses.

One of the lawyers, Michael Tieret, said they had produced the
governor’s instruction No 125/2010 which granted payment of an
incentive to the nurses, alongside the governor’s instruction No 141
which cancelled the incentive.

One of the lawyers, Cory Silpa, said that the provincial secretary had
also used abusive words against the nurses at a meeting in mid December 2010, when the nurses had made their demand for the incentive to be paid. He had said: ‘You lot seem to think I have no brains. I’ll use my own ways, just you wait and see. The names of all of you sitting here now are with me. ‘

The lawyer, Michael Tieret, said that this had caused great anxiety
among the nurses. He said that he hoped that the provincial secretary
would be summoned by the police for an explanation.

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Dialogue needed to solve problems at hospital in Jayapura

[Abridged in translation by TAPOL]

JOINT PRESS RELEASE
17 March 2011

The problems surrounding the moves to uphold the rights of members of
the medical profession – nurses, midwives and assistant medical
personnel – at the DokII Hospital in Jayapura have intensified and have
now led to their criminalisation. Eight nurses have been declared
suspects, five of whom are in police custody

In April 2010, medical personnel sought a meeting with the governor of
the province of Papua to discuss an improvement in their rights. On 2
December 2010, they held their first demonstration demanding payment of
an incentive that had been promised a year before by the regional
government. On 6 December, the governor issued Decision 125 ordering
that the incentive be paid from January 2010. On 17 December, during a
Christmas celebration at the hospital, the regional secretary of the
Papuan province said in his address that the incentive would be paid.
But all of a sudden, without any consultation, the governor issued
Instruction 141 on 30 December saying that the decision to pay the
incentive had been cancelled.

A number of meetings held with various official bodies including the
provincial legislative assembly, the DPRP, failed to secure any
agreement about the incentive.nor was there any response from the
provincial administration. On the contrary, the personnel were treated
as criminals. Services as the hospital were badly affected as many of
the personnel paid visits to their colleagues who were in custody, as a
sign of solidarity.

The undersigned NGOs, in a spirit of solidarity with the medical
personnel at DokII Hospital, wish to convey the following:

1. We are very concerned about the failure as yet to reach any solution
to the problems between the hospital.personnel and the Papuan provincial
administration. This long drawn out case shows that the provincial
administration is incapable of solving the problems in the healthcare
sector, which is one of the priorities under the special autonomy law.

2. We are very concerned about the fact that within a period of one
month, two instructions were issued by the governor on the matter, one
of which ordered the implementation of an instruction while the other
cancelled the instruction, without explaining the reason for this. This
has only highlighted the deficiencies in the system and the lack of
coordination and lack of understanding about governance in the province
of Papua.

3. Far from solving the problem, the criminalisation of eight medical
personnel has worsened the problem and has resulted in the paralysis of
healthcare services at DokII Jayapura Hospital .

4. We call on the police in Papua to release the five medical personnel
in custody and to withdraw the decision to criminalise them. This would
help safeguard the neutrality and authority of the police in the eyes of
the public.

5. We call on the medical personnel at DokII Hospital to continue to
comply with their responsibilities towards the community because the
Papuan people are entitled to receive proper medical attention.

6. The governor should immediately enter into dialogue with the medical
personnel in order to pay due attention to their rights, particularly
taking account of the burdens and risks involved in correcting the
management of DokII Hospital. Such a dialogue would prove that the
Papuan provincial administration has acknowledged its responsibility to
provide healthcare services while enhancing the positive reputation of
the provincial government in the eyes of the medical profession
throughout the Land of Papua.

ALDP (Alliance for Democracy in Papua), KontraS Papua,Legal Aid
Institute, Papua.

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AWPA calls on the MSG to give full membership to the Melanesian people of West Papua.

Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)

Media release 22 March 2011

In an open letter to the leaders of the MSG, AWPA calls on the MSG to give full membership to the Melanesian people of West Papua.
.
Joe Collins of AWPA said “as the MSG is allowing Indonesian to attend as an observer at the coming meeting in Suva, the MSG should offer full membership to the Melanesian people of West Papua. The issue of West Papua will not disappear and AWPA believes that as the situation in West Papua deteriorates further , it could lead to instability in the region”.

At the coming MSG summit in Fiji AWPA is urging the MSG Leaders to discuss the deteriorating human rights situation in West Papua and to make a public statement of concern regarding the human rights situation in the territory.

We note that the MSG is to allow Indonesia to attend as an observer at the MSG summit. AWPA urges the MSG to now offer full membership to the Melanesian people of West Papua, to those representatives of the West Papuan people involved in the independence struggle. A precedent previously given by the MSG to Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) of Kanaky (New Caledonia).

We believe the MSG can play an important role in helping facilitate dialogue between genuine representatives of the West Papuan leadership and the Indonesian Government. The West Papuan people have been calling on the international community for years to support such dialogue as a way of solving the many issues of concern in West Papua. We urge the MSG to do all it can to help facilitate such a dialogue.

We note that the MSG recently visited New Caledonia at the invitation of the Front de Libération National Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS). We encourage the MSG leaders to also pay a fraternal visit to West Papua in a show of solidarity with the Melanesian people of West Papua.

Info. Joe Collins Mob 04077 857 97

————————————-

Open Letter to MSG leaders

22 March 2011

Dear Prime Minister,

The Australia West Papua Association (Sydney), is writing to you concerning the issue of West Papua.[1] The human rights situation in West Papua has continued to deteriorate since the last Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) summit with ongoing human rights abuses occurring in the territory. We understand that you are aware of the issues of concern in West Papua including the human rights situation, highlighted in particular by the shocking video footage of West Papuans being tortured by Indonesian soldiers. The torture of the men prompted a wave of international criticism with human rights organisations around the world condemning the actions of the Indonesian military.

We will not go into detail about all the human rights abuses that were committed by the Indonesian military since the last MSG summit. However, the points below show the dangers the West Papuan face on a daily basis.

In October 2010, a report accused the police of burning down the village of Bigiragi in the Puncak Jaya district. The report said that 16 Mobile Brigade officers had burned the village to the ground on October 11. The report said that at least 29 homes were destroyed in the incident leaving at least 150 people homeless

In November an investigative journalist released a secret report by a Kopassus task force which shows a list of West Papuans engaged in human rights work are a target of the Indonesian Special Force Group, Kopassus. The list includes members of civil society organisations, church groups , activists, students and members of the MRP.

In December, cables released by WikiLeaks revealed that in the opinion of US diplomats, they blamed the government in Jakarta for unrest in West Papua According to the leaked US diplomatic cables the US believes that the Indonesian Government is causing unrest in West Papua due to neglect, corruption and human rights abuses.

Also In December the Papua chapter of the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) reported a 70 percent increase in the number of cases of violence in Papua, most of which were allegedly committed by security officers. The Jakarta-based Legal Aid Foundation in another report said Indonesian law enforcers routinely torture suspects and convicts to extract confessions or obtain information. The groups report found beatings, intimidation and rape are so commonplace they are considered the norm. It also found that few victims believe they have the right to lodge complaints.

The issue of West Papua will not disappear and AWPA believes that as the situation in West Papua deteriorates further it could lead to instability in the region.

At the coming MSG summit in Fiji AWPA urges the MSG Leaders to discuss the deteriorating human rights situation in West Papua and to make a public statement of concern regarding the human rights situation in the territory.

We note that the MSG is to allow Indonesia to attend as an observer at the MSG summit. AWPA urges the MSG to now offer full membership to the Melanesian people of West Papua, to those representatives of the West Papuan people involved in the independence struggle. A precedent previously given by the MSG to Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) of Kanaky (New Caledonia).

We believe the MSG can play an important role in helping facilitate dialogue between genuine representatives of the West Papuan leadership and the Indonesian Government. The West Papuan people have been calling on the international community for years to support such dialogue as a way of solving the many issues of concern in West Papua. We urge the MSG to do all it can to help facilitate such a dialogue.

We note that the MSG recently visited New Caledonia at the invitation of the Front de Libération National Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) We encourage the MSG leaders to also pay a fraternal visit to West Papua in a show of solidarity with the Melanesian people of West Papua.

Yours sincerely

Joe Collins

AWPA (Sydney)

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Lawyers oppose criminalisation of the nurses in Papua

JUBI, 17 March 2011

A team of ten lawyers acting on behalf of the eight nurses from DokII General Hospital in Jayapura [who are now under arrest] have told the Papuan Provincial Administration that it is not right for the nurses to have been criminalised by the police. It would be far better to enter into dialogue as the way of solving the case.

‘We dont agree with the decision to criminalise the nurses, and we also dont agree with the disruption in healthcare services. We believe that there is space for a dialogue between the governor of Papua, the hospital director and the nurses at the hospital to seek a solution to the case, said Yusman Conoras, one of the ten lawyers.

Another lawyer, Olga Helena Hamadi, said that the nurses had indeed held a demonstration and a strike. These actions had given voice to the feelings of many people. ‘But the issue should be carefully examined in order to understand why they had done these things,’ she said. She said they had taken action because they had not been paid. They had been working hard but their rights had not been respected. She said that the matter should not be handled by the police because it relates to an internal matter which should be resolved with the government and the Papuan legislative assembly.

She warned that the continued detention of the nurses could only further complicate matters and trigger a major problem..

A press release issued by the lawyers expresed deep concern that the issue of the nurses had not yet been resolved. They were also concerned about two decisions taken by the provincial government, namely Decision No 125 concerning the payment of incentives, and then the subsequent decision to cancel the incentive payments.

The lawyers acting for the nurses include Lativa Anum Sireger, Dominggus Frans, Pieter Ell, Olga Helena Hamadi, Corry Silpa, Simon Patirajawane, Eliezer Murafer, Jimm Ell, and Yusman Conoras.

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NURSES HAVE DONE NOTHING CRIMINAL

Bintang Papua, 16 March 2011

NURSES HAVE DONE NOTHING CRIMINAL

The director of the Institute to Strengthen Civil Society in Papua, Budi Setyanto said that the police should have avoided taking excessive action which has cast suspicions on the nurses who took part in a demonstration and went on strike and were eventually detained and arrested.

The actions that they took were their spontaneous response, based on a sense of solidarity among members of the nursing profession. When approached by Bintang Papua for his reaction to the arrest of the nurses, Budi Setyanto said that the nurses should not have to face criminal charges. ‘If they did indeed take strike action which led to an interruption in the delivery of public services as DokII General Hospital, they should only face administrative sanctions, not criminal charges.’

Instruction no. 125 issued by the governor that was subsequently withdrawn happened because the policy had not been properly socialised. He said that the issue concerning the nurses need not have been taken to such an extreme.

Setyanto suggested that the initial approach to the case should be ‘to give guidance to the nurses which I am sure they will be able to understand. If they stand firm by what they have done and don’t want to go on providing their services to the public, they should be asked whether they would like to resign. If they don’t want to continue with their duties, that would be an end to the matter,’ he said.

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