Category: News alert

Forkorus: Independent Papua will come in a matter of days

Bintang Papua, 28 February 2012Jayapura: The trial of Forkorus Yaboisembut which is now under way  in Jayapura has not lessened Papuan calls for Merdeka – independence. On the contrary, people are intensifying their calls for independence and secession from Indonesia. Forkorus is even saying that a free West Papua will come into being in a matter of days. This was clear from the speech he made after the hearing that was held today. They also said prayers together.

As he and others left the courthouse, they burst into song, and Forkorus said in a speech that it would not be long before West Papua would be free and no longer part of Indonesia. The Republic of Indonesia will have to recognise the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of West Papua  and withdraw all its troops from the Land of Papua.

The hearing was held to hear the testimony of more witnesses.  But some of the witnesses did not turn up and the prosecutor asked the permission of the judge to read out their statements, although the five defendants said that this was unacceptable because the witnesses should first be sworn in. Nevertheless, the prosecutor was allowed to read out a statement by one of the witnesses, Hans Makabory, 39 years old, a civil servant who witnessed the events on 19 October, following the end of the Third Papuan Congress.

In the statement, he said that as he went onto the field (where the congress had been held). [See note below.] He stood behind a barrier  and watched the large crowd running round the field. He intended to go home but the pathway to his house had been closed so he returned to the field so as to leave through a gateway from the field. He said that crowd continued to run round the field. Some members of the security forces pushed him back onto the field and then dragged him to police headquarters.

He said that the Congress had agreed to establish the Federal Republic of West Papua which would be a state independent of Indonesia.

A statement by another witness, Linus William  Waprawiri, said that he was standing behind the tent where the congress had been held and heard that the chairman of DAP, Dewan Adat Papua, Forkorus  said that people should not fly the Morning State flag at that moment but should do so on 1 December, the anniversary of the West Papua state, when the flag would be flown everywhere throughout the territory.

The witness said that he supported the Third Papuan Congress and West Papua had won its freedom since 1961, with the support of the Dutch.

Another witness, Bernard Done said in his statement that the Papuan people have the right to self-determination. He said that the Congress had been held to establish the Federal Republic of West Papua and had elected Forkorus as its President.

Th next hearing of the trial will be held on 2 March.

[Note:The original intention was for the Third Papuan Congress to be held at Cenderawasih  University or another building in Jayapura. But the authorities had denied permission for these venues to be used. This despite the fact that permission had been given for the Congress to take place. It had even been agreed that a senior official of Indonesian Department of the Interior would deliver the opening address of the Congress. Having been denied a venue, the Congress organisations decided to hold the Congress in the open air, in a field normally used for sports events.]

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24 Feb Update on Forkorus trial: Testimony from witness

Bintang  Papua, 24 February 2012 

One of the witnesses to appear in the trial, Eliezer Awom told the court that the declaration of establishment of the Federal Republic of West  Papua had come about as a result of pressure from the Papuan people, as had been expressed during the Third Papuan Congress which was held in October last year.

Eliezer Awom was the only one of nine witnesses who were due to testify at the hearing. The other witnesses did not turn up.

Awom reminded the court that the Third Papuan Congress had been attended by around four thousand people.

The witness described the decision that was taken at the conclusion of the Congress and the subsequent arrest of Forkorus, along with a number of other people, including the witness himself. He insisted that the Congress was a manifestation of the wishes of the Papuan people and said that the Congress which had taken place and had been given official permission to take place. He said that the Congress had agreed to the establishment of the Federal Republic of West Papua and had elected Forkorus Yaboisembut as the President of the Federal Republic, along with Edison Waromi as its prime minister.

He described how Forkorus made his statement very public through loudspeakers and that two hours later, the security forces had started shooting the participants  in order to force them to disperse. He described the banners that had been unfurled at the Congress and insisted that they were simply restoring the Federal Republic of West Papua, and that West Papua belongs to the West Papua people.

Around 400 people were taken into custody at the time, many of whom were subjected to maltreatment such as kicks and punches by the security forces.

Forkorus and the other four Papuans who are on trial with him confirmed that what the witness said in court was true.

He said that the declaration should be sent to the United Nations in order for the Federal Republic of West Papua to obtain formal recognition from the international community.

As with previous hearings, security forces were out in force around the courthouse.

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Monitoring of the trial of Forkorus and colleagues

This briefly covers the monitoring of four of the most recent hearings of the trial of Forkorus Yaboisembet and his four colleagues who are facing the charge of subversion – makar – in relation to their attendance at the Papuan Peace Conference 16 – 19 October and the subsequent declaration by Forkorus of the establishment of the Federal Republic of West Papua.Monday 6 February 2012

At this hearing when the defendant’s demurrer was submitted, security forces were out in force along the roads leading to the courthouse and related offices. Armed troops from the police, Brimob and the army were present alongside the courthouse.

The identities of all those wishing to enter the court were checked
.
Solidarity groups held a demonstration with banners declaring support for the Federal Republic of West Papua and waving the Morning Star flag.

Friday, February 10.

Guarding by the security forces from the police and the army continued to be heavy, while all those wishing to attend had their identities checked. Many of those who turned up had to remain outside because the court was already full.

The army and Brimob in nine Brimob trucks were present causing the atmosphere to be very tense.   Army troops bearing weapons set up their own tents  on both sides of the  courthouse while a Brimob unit was stationed on the right of the courthouse. Members of PETAPA (a solidarity group)were also present.

Hearing on Friday 17 February.

Witnesses for the prosecution were expected to give testimony but none of them appeared, as a result of which the prosecutor only presented material evidence.

The hearing was due to commence at 9am but was delayed because one of the defendants, Dominkus Sorabut, was unwell and was taken to hospital by members of the legal team. His condition was said to be not very serious and he was provided with medication. In the afternoon, the defendants returned to the court and the hearing to hear witnesses for the  prosecution was resumed; however, again the witnesses did not appear while 64 items of material evidence were produced and read out at great length by the prosecutor.

Gustaf Kawer, a lawyer for the defendants, objected  to the presentation of material evidence as this was intended to be a hearing to hear witnesses, but the panel of judges nevertheless decided to proceed. The hearing grew tense when Forkorus and his colleagues protested, saying that there was no need for the hearing to continue.

The area outside the courthourse was again packed with members of the security forces.

Hearing on 21 February

Guarding by security forces was even heavier all round the courthouse The reason for the high presence of police officers was that most of the witnesses due to appear were members of the police force. Some of the police were in uniform while others were in plain clothes. Inside the court, the witnesses who testified said either that they knew nothing about the declaration that had been read out by Forkorus or said that they could not remember. They also told the court that they did not know any of the defendants.

One of the witnesses was Alfons Rumbekwan, the secretary of the Majelis Rakyat Papua, but defence lawyer Gustaf Kawar objected to this witness giving testimony because he was an indigenous Papuan and also because of his membership of the Majelis Rakyat Papua.

This hearing was also held to  hear testimony from ordinary Papuans. Five of these witnesses were expected to appear but only one of them appeared. This was Elieser Awom, a 67-year-old Papuan and former political prisoner. He gave evidence regarding the Papuan Peace conference and spoke about the  attack on participants at the conference and the killing of several of the participants. Elieser Awom had himself been arrested and said that he had been tortured by police officers.

Before the hearing concluded Forkorus protested against the prosecutor and the judges, accusing them of using various pretexts  [against the defendants].

On this occasion also, the prosecutor announced that following the hearing on 21 February, they had reported a number of the police officers present at the hearing because of unacceptable behaviour. This announcement was met with disbelief by the defence team because that session had proceeded quite smoothly.

After the members of the defence team returned home, they were told that there were reports that they were likely to be summoned by  the police in order to face charges. If this were to happen, it would been seen as part of a strategy by the prosecutor and the judges to exert pressure on the defence lawyers ahead of the final verdict by the judges.

Meanwhile, at a press conference held by the defendants, they said that they rejected all the statements made by witnesses at the hearing on 21 February as well as at the subsequent hearing.

The next hearing is scheduled to take place on 24 February.

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Witness testimonies at Papuan treason trial

The sixth hearing of the trial of Forkorus Yaboisembet and his four colleagues took place on 21 February at which seven witnesses for the prosecution were called to give evidence. According to the executive-director of the LB3PH, Yan Christian Warinussy, six of the seven of the witnesses were members of the police force who  had been involved in the attack against the Third Papuan Peace Conference (KRP-III) on the third day of the event, 19 October 2011.Six of these witnesses were unable to answer questions from the chief prosecutor regarding the declaration that was allegedly read out at the end of the  conference nor could they say whether the five defendants had been involved in a criminal conspiracy to set up the Federal Republic of West Papua.One of the witnesses who had been summoned was Drs Alfons Rumbekwan, a member of the Majelis Rakyat Papua. Speaking for the defence team, Olga Helena  Hamadi said that this person should not testify at the trial because the majelis of which he is a member is the cultural body of the indigenous Papuan people. Since the trial was related to the political aspirations of the Papuan people, his appearance might cause a conflict between the MRP and the Papuan people. It was agreed that Drs Rumbekwan  would not be called to give testimony.

According to a lengthy report of the hearing in Bintang Papua, the police witnesses appeared not to know the defendants and were unaware of the declaration by Forkorus calling for the re-establishment of the Federal Republic of West Papua.

According to Bintang Papua, for example, the first witness, Lambertus Limbong Sattu, a member of the Jayapura City police force who reportedly told the hearing that he did not know the identity of one of the accused, Agustinus Sananay Kraar, when he pulled him into the police vehicle but only knew his name after they reached police headquarters. He told the court that he had not seen the document proclaiming the establishment of the Federal Republic of West Papua but confirmed that there was a banner  on which were inscribed with the words: ‘Let Us Affirm the Basic Rights of the Papuan Indigenous People, Today and in the Future’.

The second witness, Aamet Mahu told the court that he was in the vicinity of the venue of the KRP-III  on 19 October 2011 and was there on orders to handle security of the conference.

The defence team of the five defendants said that all the testimony given on that day in court was in way related to the charges in the indictment.

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Rallies reject Indonesian status quo in Papua, and demand referendum

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February 22, 2012

By Nick Chesterfield at WestPapuaMedia.info with local sources

Thousands of people took part in peacful rallies across West Papua on Monday, February 20,  rejecting attempts by Indonesia to impose new development policies on Papua, and demanding an internationally supervised referendum as the key step towards solving the Papua problem.

The rallies, organised by the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), took place in Jayapura, Biak,  Manokwari, Timika, Nabire, Wamena, Yakuhimo and Merauke.  According to initial reports, all rallies remained peaceful despite standard Indonesian security force threats to forcibly break up proceedings.

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In Jayapura, a long march was held from Abepura to the offices of the Papuan People’s Assembly (Majelis Rakyat Papua or MRP) with the crowd of close to a thousand people shouting “we want referendum”; “Special autonomy has failed, why start it again”; and “We reject the dialogue between Jakarta and Papua and demand a Referendum”.

Mako Tabuni, on behalf of the KNPB, told the gathering that the the plans by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to impose a new body U4PB (or Program to Accelerate Development of Papua and West Papua) to implement the failed Special Autonomy package is not a solution to the problems in Papua and was thoroughly rejected by West Papuan people.  Only a Referendum would address those grievances, and it must be. held soon.  U4PB, with authority over all of Papua, is to be headed by former army intelligence chief Bambang Darmono, himself subject to numerous allegations of human rights abuses whilst stationed in Aceh.

Tabuni expanded: “when in Papua, there are two paths of narrow and wide roads. Papuan Special Autonomy the road is paved with a lot of money, including UP4B, but the road is narrow.  The road to independence is a wide open road, like the road to referendum being fought KNPB”.

Former Political Prisoners Yusak Pakage and Saul Bomay echoed the KNPB concerns and demanded that Indonesia just try to listen to the will of the people and stop trying to implement policies proven to have been a failure, like Special Autonomy.

The demonstrators dispersed peacefully with a promise of escalation of mass actions.

westpapuamedia

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