Author: westpapuamedia

Independent Journalism from West Papua to the World

PT Victory will likely destroy Keerom’s Golden Triangle

from our partners at AwasMifee

 Published: May 13, 2014

“We call it the Golden Triangle because it is the land we have always lived from, until now.  We can use the wood, go fishing in the river, and there are also sacred places there,” said Cleman Nouyagir, in a meeting in the Arso deanery. (06/05/2014)

The meeting discussed the Keerom Regency head’s Decision Document SK 93/2013 dated 5th September 2013 which awarded PT Victory Cemerlang Indonesia Wood Industries a location permit for a 4885 hectare oil palm plantation in East Arso district, Keerom Regency.

“All of our forest has been destroyed, we have handed it all over. There’s just a little bit left for our grandchildren, so I would put my life on the line for it”, he stated firmly.

Clemen and the other participants in the meeting were agreed that land that had previously been taken and turned into oil palm plantations had not brought any positive impacts for the people of Keerom.

He continued, “When we talk about Keerom we are not only talking about Arso City, but also people in Workwana and Wambes, all of them should be aware and protect what is left of our land”.

According to him, the people in Workwana and Wambes should be wary of being talked into accepting outside investors’ plantation plans because they would lose their main source of livelihood.

The term ‘Golden Triangle’ emerged in a mapping exercise which was originally conceived in 1992 an eventually finished in 2004 when a mutually-agreed map was produced. This map became a reference when designing the map of Keerom regency, which decided that the area should be designated protected forest. The land is owned by the indigenous people of Workwana, Wambes and Arso City.

“I was involved in making that map before and that land is protected forest and the source of our livelihood. The government should know this already, which means they shouldn’t be giving out permits,” he said.

Source: ALDP

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Problems faced by Sinar Mas plantation workers in Lereh, Jayapura

translated by our partners at awasMifee from a SKP Jayapura report

May 13, 2014

SKPKC Jayapura staff organised a meeting in the Juk-Lereh church which was attended by around 20 employees of PT Sinar Mas. The meeting was a response to the Taja parish priest Hendik Nahak’s request to address problems facing workers at Sinar Mas’s oil palm plantation.

Father Hendrik explained that there are quite a few problems that occur in the oil palm plantation, but they are covered up by the company. The problems relate to, for example, workers’ rights, recruitment, clean water and habitable accommodation. Father Hendrik’s explanation was confirmed by the workers present in the meeting. They made clear that these problems had been ongoing for some time and were frequently ignored by the company.

Problems that often arise include recruiting company workers by using supervisors who find the workers, making all sorts of enticing promises. People who want to work for the company are asked to sign agreements to accept all company decisions concerning their wages and other working conditions.

There are also problems concerning housing and clean water. The company brings new workers to the site without taking their accommodation needs into consideration, meaning that 3x3m2 houses are being inhabited by two or even three families. People have to rely on rainwater for their everyday clean water needs because the nearby river is polluted by fertilizer which is sprayed by aeroplane. Then when wages are paid, money is docked without explanation, meaning that quarrels sometimes break out between workers and supervisors.

Source: SKP Jayapura

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KNPB Timika Chairman freed from custody after international pressure

From our Partners at Pacific Media Centre

KNPB’s Steven Itlay … arrested then set free. (Image: Free West Papua Campaign)

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

JAYAPURA (Pacific Media Watch): The West Papua National Committee’s [KNPB] Timika chairman, Steven Itlay, has been released from prison after being arrested by the Indonesian police yesterday.

The news site KNPB has reported that Indonesian police shot 10 bullets into the campaign’s office in what seemed to be an attempt to provoke a fight in order to arrest activists inside.

KNPB reported that when West Papuan activists asked the police why Itlay was being arrested, they told them: “Steven Itlay is a suspected Free West Papua activist”.

The Free West Papua Campaign said Itlay’s relatively speedy release was due to international pressure being placed on the police.

Just hours earlier, the campaign had published the phone number of the head of the Indonesian police in Jayapura on its Facebook page. It is understood that activists from all over the world phoned the number to call for Itlay’s release.

In a statement issued yesterday, the campaign said: “We would like to thank you all with all our hearts for all your incredible support for Mr Itlay and the people of West Papua, especially after the international plea for his release was made earlier today. Following his release, Steven also asked us to thank you all for the support of the suffering people of West Papua”.

Meanwhile, Papuans Behind Bars has released its April 2014 report, which details 12 incidents of torture of West Papuans in custody last month.

In one case, two West Papuans were “stabbed and slashed” by Indonesian police for objecting to police brutality against a third person, while “another seven men were tortured on arrest with electric stun batons”, the report says.

On April 2, the international day of protests for a Free West Papua, Indonesian police tortured two students at the campus of Cenderawasih University in Jayapura.

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Moenemani braces for security sweeps as Brimob shoot 3 relatives of 2 Dogiyai crash victims.

By West Papua Media, with additional reporting from Tabloid Jubi

May 8, 2014

Villagers were again last night bracing for a new round of Indonesian state violence in the town of Moenemani, in the gold rich Dogiyai district in Paniai, as Indonesian Brimob paramilitary police units were reportedly conducting security sweeps after a series of tragic events left three people dead and three more fighting for their lives.

Latest reports from Paniai from credible sources, priests and human rights defenders are noting that large numbers of security forces from Brimob, Army, Kopassus Special forces, BIN (National Intelligence) and Air Force Kopaska special air commandos are being drafted in to form a special task force to “secure” Moenemani.  Local sources have reported that the situation remains highly tense right across Dogiyai after an unconfirmed report of a reprisal killing of an Indonesian colonist caused a major crisis meeting at the local Koramil (military command).

Brimob police opened fire on a crowd on Tuesday May 6, critically wounding three civilians, who gathered to seek accountability for two teenagers killed when a truck driver ploughed through a group of church pilgrims.

According to a detailed chronology written by local human rights investigators with the KINGMI church, around 6.40pm local time on May 5, Jhon Anouw and Yunsens Kegakoto, both aged 18 years, were returning on motorbikes from a religious residency at the local KINGMI church.

A truck with the number plate DS 9903 was “racing” through the streets, according to witness Benny Goo (as interviewed by SuaraPapua.com), and lost control, hitting the two teenagers outside the Papuan People’s Regional Assembly office, killing them instantly with massive injuries to their bodies.

As residents found the two victims and took them to a local funeral home to lie in state according to local custom, the truck driver had fled the scene and sought shelter at the Moanemani Brimob post in the town, according to witnesses.

The next morning, villagers and relatives began to gather at outside the Police station to demand that police release the driver in order to amicably settle the matter according to custom, and investigate the traffic accident.   Brimob officers refused, and local villagers responded by throwing stones on the roof of the Police post.

At 10am, Brimob officers emerged from the police post, firing directly at the gathered crowd without issuing any warning to disperse.  Three men were shot, Anthon Edowai, 32, Yulius Anouw, 27, and Gayus (Sepnat) Auwe, 32, and all are now in a critical condition, undergoing surgery in the Siriwini hospital in Nabire.

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All images credited JPIC/WestPapuaMedia

Tabloid Jubi confirmed the incident with Papua Police Deputy Chief Brigadier General Paulus Waterpauw, who commented. “I’ve got a preliminary report. Currently the case is being under the jurisdiction of the Paniai Police and the Kamuu Valley Police.”
Waterpauw said the situation on the ground was sometimes difficult, but urged police officers to act in accordance with the Standard Operations Procedure. “We will ensure the completion of this report,” he told Jubi.

However Brimob and the Indonesian Army have a history of extreme unprovoked violence and impunity in Moenamani against civilians, including a notorious campaign of terror in 2013 where people were forced to shave their beards and dreadlocks and traditional music was banned, and the extrajudicial execution of five civilians who were holding a card game.

Previous offensives in the  Paniai since December 2011 have displaced tens of thousands of civilians, and burnt down hundreds of villages.

A Kingmi priest with family in the area told West Papua Media on Wednesday night, “Dogiyai is in a very heated situation and emergency (sic). There will probably be further victims.  Let us take concern of the behaviour of the security forces towards civil society in Moanemani.”

Allegation are circulating that a reprisal killing occurred on a non-Papuan civilian at 1230pm after the shooting, however several credible sources cannot independently confirm this to West Papua Media, nor if the killing is an OTK (‘unknown persons’ black operation killing).  However these sources have said that alleged killing is the reason that the Special Task Force (Satgas) is being created and deployed across the district.

More information as it comes to hand.

westpapuamedia

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West Papua Media’s April break from publishing

Editorial Statement

April 19, 2014

West Papua Media has recently taken a month long break from publishing original content.  This has occurred for a variety of reasons, but please rest assured, we will be back on deck in full capacity in the lead up to the May 1 cycle of Papuan resistance to provide necessary and timely coverage of civil resistance and human rights issues.

One part of this break has been due to events beyond human control, such as the presence of Nick Chesterfield, Coordinating Editor, in remote areas in northern Australia for training, cultural and personal reasons, and subsequent inability to travel or access reliable internet  due to being repeatedly caught in the path of a recent category five Cyclone, which cause significant flooding and road damage.

Secondly, WPM’s Editorial team has been working from a skeleton staff since January, due to training and field work commitments, and also sustainability issues faced by every member of our journalism crew – a situation which has forced us to work cash jobs to survive.  This could have been avoided had we received enough recurring donations (subscriptions) to pay our costs, but unfortunately the lack of funding for phone calls for example means we are unable to verify and initiate complex stories to WPM’s high standards.   You can help us increase our capacity in the future by clicking on the big red Donate button at West Papua Media, or if you are sharing on Facebook, by clicking on the link at our mirror URL at http://westpapuamedia.tumblr.com/post/79287889774/donate-to-support-media-freedom-for-west-papua (WPM has had to do this as Facebook is still banning all WPM links due to malicious false reporting by the Indonesian government).  A commitment of a regular donation or subscription is the most useful way you can support us financially.  If you cannot support us financially, we are always looking for folks to donate skills with translations, social media dissemination, and crowdfunding support (to name a few tasks) and would welcome you into the team.

Thirdly, we have been organising some in-depth fixing work for international media which has taken some significant time and effort, but the results will be worth it later in the year.

WPM Editors are also currently continuing in depth investigations into incidents in Yapen, Paniai, the northern PNG border area and the Highland regions, and of course ongoing investigations in other sectors of West Papuan civil society.

Finally, we are also completing consolidation and curriculum development for our Safe Witness Journalism training projects, and about to start testing and some exciting new partnerships with global partners committed to the education and safety of citizen and professional media.  We will keep you posted as these partnership progress.

Of course, our Twitter feed (twitter.com/westpapuamedia) has all the latest breaking news from across the wider WPM network of partners, and will continue to be the first point at which breaking news is posted.

Even when WPM is not publishing, our original partner Tabloid Jubi’s English-language West Papua Daily will provide updates for critical news.  We have a RSS feed on the right hand sidebar of our site.

So, see you back soon!

 

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