Category: News alert

IRIN: West Papuan refugees hope for citizenship in PNG

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humanitarian news and analysis
a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Dan Hanasbey was born in Papua New Guinea

PORT MORESBY, 17 December 2012 (IRIN) – Access to citizenship could prove the best hope yet for thousands of West Papuan refugees living in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

“I want citizenship. I’ve been here 28 years and want to get on with my life,” said Donatus Karuri, a 57-year-old father of six, outside the shelter he shares with five other families at the Hohola refugee settlement. It is one of four settlements for West Papuan refugees in the capital Port Moresby.

Like most West Papuan refugees, he is unable to work legally and has only limited access to public services.

According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are more than 9,000 West Papuan refugees in PNG today, many of whom have been in the Pacific island nation for over three decades.

Others know no other home and can’t imagine living anywhere else.

“I was born here. This is the only country I know,” said Dan Hanasbey, 27, another refugee wanting citizenship.

Flight from Indonesia

Between 1984 and 1986, more than 11,000 West Papuans fled east into PNG from the western, Indonesian half of New Guinea Island to escape political turmoil and economic discontent; the area’s longstanding secessionist sentiments towards Jakarta continue to simmer today.

West Province, a former Dutch colony rich in natural resources, was later divided into two separate provinces – Papua and West Papua – however, indigenous West Papuans continue to refer to the entire Indonesian area as West Papua.

At the time the refugees arrived, the PNG government was not yet a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention. It granted the West Papuans prima facie refugee status shortly after accession to the convention in 1986 – but with seven reservations, including Article 34 on naturalization.

Of the close to 9,300 West Papuan refugees in PNG today, almost half live along the border area with Indonesia.

Another 2,435 live in urban areas, while 2,290 live in East Awin, the only officially sanctioned area for West Papuan refugees to settle. There, regular assistance is available and access to 6,000 hectares of government land is provided – about 120km away from the Indonesian border. The site was established in an effort to resettle the refugees away from the border areas to avoid possible political problems with the Indonesian government.

Those who resettle in the area for six months are provided permissive residency permits (PRPs), which allow them certain rights, including the right to work and travel internally (excluding border areas), and gives them access to health and education services.

Few refugees, however, wish to resettle in East Awin, preferring instead to stay close to the border area and their land and families on the other side. Others frown upon its remote jungle location and inaccessibility.

The government estimates only 40 percent of West Papuan refugees hold PRPs. As a result, most survive on subsistence farming – particularly in the border area. Those in urban settings live on private or government land, under constant risk of eviction, and often work illegally.


Photo: David Swanson/IRIN
Like many West Papuan refugees, Donatus Karuri would like to stay

The cost of citizenship

Despite these challenges, many West Papuans – who share a similar Melanesian ancestry to Papua New Guineans – have integrated well in this nation of 7.3 million and would like to stay.

“Local integration with the opportunity to be granted PNG citizenship is the best solution for many West Papuan refugees under the current circumstances,” Walpurga Englbrecht, UNHCR country representative for PNG, told IRIN.

“The problem, however, is the application fee is too high.”

Under PNG law, any foreigner – including refugees – wishing to apply to citizenship and who has fulfilled eight years of residency must pay a 10,000 kina (US$5,000) application fee.

“We can’t afford that. It’s impossible,” Freddy Warome, 58, a West Papuan community leader, complained.

Under Article 34 of the Refugee Convention, signatory states should facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of refugees, and make every effort to expedite naturalization and reduce the costs as far as possible.

To date, the PNG government appears mindful of this responsibility, but it remains unclear when they might act upon it.

Speaking at a 2011 ministerial meeting to mark the 60th anniversary of the Refugee Convention, Moses Manwau, PNG’s former vice minister for foreign affairs and immigration, confirmed the government’s commitment to withdrawing its earlier reservations to the Convention, and to waiving all fees or introducing nominal fees for refugees seeking naturalization.

“We are determined to give refugees the kind of life, liberty, peace and prosperity they deserve so that they can hold their own against any other citizens in Papua New Guinea,” he said.

UNHCR believes there should be a path to citizenship for those who desire it, while those West Papuans lacking PRPs who would like to remain in the country should be provided PRPs without having to relocate to East Awin, Englbrecht said.

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Theme(s): Refugees/IDPs,

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

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UK Embassy denies fake journalism in Bintang Papua article

West Papua Media EXCLUSIVE

December 18, 2012

An article – “UK ambassador visits Papua to counteract ‘false information’ spread by ‘certain groups’ in London” – that appeared in the usually accurate Bintang Papua outlet on December 14, contained much false reporting in the original Bahasa Indonesia version, according to both Papuan journalists and the spokesperson for the British Embassy in Jakarta.

The Bintang Papua article, written by journalist Makawaru Da Cunha, who uses only his initial “MDC,” reported that “The British Embassy to Indonesia has described the situation in Papua as ‘very peaceful and conducive’. It is quite different from the information being disseminated by certain groups to the British government.in London”.

However, according to the British embassy in Jakarta today, this statement was not made, nor was the staff officer identified in the article, Millie McDevitt, able to speak with the press.

West Papua Media has been in extensive contact today with the Media Unit at the UK Embassy in Jakarta to establish the veracity or otherwise of this reporting.  A spokesperson for the UK Embassy in Jakarta told West Papua Media exclusively on Tuesday night:

“Mrs Millie McDevitt, political officer at the British Embassy, visited Papua last week as part of the British Embassy’s regular programme of Provincial visits. While there, she met a range of political and security representatives as well as the NGO and religious communities.

This follows on from the Ambassador’s own visit to Papua in September, when he wasted no opportunity with government, local government, military and police interlocutors to emphasise our hope that Papua will soon enjoy the same peace and prosperity as other parts of Indonesia.”

The spokesperson also said that the article “was littered with inaccuracies”.

Sources for West Papua Media who declined to be identified have claimed that the article, appearing in an outlet that is usually known for accurate reportage, was allegedly written by an Indonesian journalist in the pay of the Indonesian police.  West Papua Media has not yet been able to check the veracity of this particular claim, however there has been extensive prior reporting on the involvement and interference of Indonesian security and intelligence agencies in newsrooms in West Papua.

Numerous Papuan journalists today have raised concerns that this level of misreporting could significantly harm relations between the UK and Papuan people.

West Papua Media

More to come on this story

Original Bintang Papua Article:

Bintang Papua, 14 December 2012 The British Embassy to Indonesia has described the situation in Papua as ‘very peaceful and conducive’. It is quite different from the information being disseminated by certain groups to the British government.in London, she said .

The Special Staff of the British Embassy’s political section, Millie McDevit made these comments during a visit to the chief of police in Jayapura, Police Inspector-General Tito Karnavian on 13 December.  Mrs McDevit said that she had made a special visit to the chief of police in order to get confirmation directly from him about information being spread by certain groups who allege that the situation in  Papua is far from peaceful.

She went on to say that such information was being spread every time Papuans suffered discrimination by the Indonesian government, especially by the TNI – the army – and Polri, the police force. She said that after  visiting a number of places especially in Jayapura, she could see that things were very different indeed from what is being conveyed to the British government.

‘It is nothing like what I expected to find when I first set foot in Papua,’ she said. ‘When people visit Northern Ireland, you can be questioned anywhere, but in Papua you can go out late at night without being disturbed in any way.’

She said that security and development are proceeding very well in Papua and she expressed support for what the police in Papua are doing to combat corruption because combating corruption is the best way to improve people’s welfare.

The police chief Tito Karnavian said that they had provided plenty of information to the Special Staff of the British Embassy’s political section in order to contradict all the negative information being spread about the situation in Papua. ‘She decided to come to Papua to check the information,’ he said.

Karnavian also said that they had asked the British government to provide the police in Papua with special equipment to check people’s DNA.  At present, the police have to identify people involved in violence  and shootings by checking the evidence outside Papua. ‘If we have the equipment to check people’s DNA, this will help to enhance the ‘supremacy of law’ here in Papua,; he said.

[Translated by TAPOL, corrected through WPM translators]

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Densus 88 shoot and arrest KNPB leaders near Wamena as tensions rise

Hubertus Mabel (Photo via Buktar Tabuni)
Shooting victim believed to be either Hubertus Mabel or Natalis Alua (CONFIRMED PHOTO; unconfirmed identity) in Wamena hospital, 16 Dec 2012. Both Victims died from their wounds by sunset, according to human right reports.  (Photo via Buktar Tabuni/KNPB)

compiled from reports of  Tabloid Jubi, Victor Mambor and West Papua Media stringers in Wamena

December 17, 2012

A West Papua National Committee (KNPB) activist has been killed, and a farmer has died from his wounds in hospital, after being shot by members of the Australian-trained anti-terror unit Detachment 88 outside Wamena on December 16, following raids that arrested at least six activists on Sunday morning, according to multiple sources.

KNPB activist Hubertus Mabel (aged 30) died shortly after being taken by police to Wamena hospital after the shooting at 1030am in the village in Milima (or Kugima) in Kurulu district outside Wamena.  Local farmer Natalis Alua (34) died in coma in hospital after being shot in the same incident, according to latest reports from human rights sources in Wamena.

According to journalist Victor Mambor, at this time Hubert was still alive and this was confirmed both by the police and Victor Yeimo (National KNPB Chairman).  “Police told me that Hubert was shot in the leg at 09.30 (morning). Hubert was taken to hospital by police and then died at the hospital because of loss of blood….  At 6 (afternoon), Hubert claimed by police died in hospital.”

Hubertus Mabel's body being prepared for burial, late December 16, 2012 (photo: KNPB/ West Papua Media)
Hubertus Mabel’s body being prepared for burial, late December 16, 2012 (photo: KNPB/ West Papua Media)

“Some peoples  in the Kugima Village, the place where Hubert was shot, told us police entered the village in full force. They brought two people who had been arrested before (Meky Kogoya and Wene Gombo) to the village to tell them where Hubert lived.”

Hubertus Mabel (Photo: KNPB)
Hubertus Mabel (Photo: KNPB)

At 9am, the same joint police/army and Densus 88 squad conducted a armed raid in the village of Kosi Hubi Holima, in Wamena.  KNPB Wamena Chairman Simion Daby was arrested with human rights activist Baroy Sambon, Meki Jikwa (Kogoya), John Huby, Pie Huby, Herae Huby, and Ima Mebel, allegedly at the house of Meky Kogoya, who was accused by police of being responsible for a bombing incident in Wamena.  They were all taken forcefully by police to Jayawijaya police headquarters.

It is believed that human rights worker Sambon was arrested as he was trying to alert international media to the situation, but this has not been verified.

The KNPB have repeatedly denied involvement in planning or carrying out acts of violence or bombings in Papua, a view supported by the Churches, human rights organisations and legal networks in Papua.  Police have yet to provide any credible evidence that shows their involvement, despite millions of dollars being provided to Densus 88 by Australia for forensic evidence analysis.

Alleged TPN retaliation questioned
There have been reports of an alleged West Papuan National Liberation Army (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional or TPN) retaliation against police over the shooting of Hubertus Mabel, but human rights workers have cast doubt on the involvement of TPN forces, instead accusing Indonesian security forces of acting up to continue to create a false scenario for conflict.
According to a report in Tabloid Jubi, the sound of gunfire could still be heard up to 11pm on 16 December in Wamena.
‘On 10.25pm, there was an exchange of fire between the TPN-OPM (the military wing of the OPM) and the TNI/Polri , Indonesian army and police, somewhere between Misi Market and  Sinakma, Yusodarso Road. The situation in Wamena was said to be tense and there were calls for help,’ according to a local report as quoted by Jubi.A local resident, Yason, confirmed reports of the sound of gunfire which was still continuing. It is alleged that this was in response to the shooting of Hubertus Mabel.  Another local resident named Vita told JUBI that the local police station had been burned down in response to the shooting of Hubertus Mabel. According to Vita, ‘Mabel and member of the KNPB was shot by the security forces as he was suspected of a bombing the Wamena, which led to the police station being burned down.’The local police chief later confirmed to JUBI that there had been an exchange of fire, but West Papua Media was unable to find any witnesses or evidence that any armed TPN unit was in the area.

However long time human rights worker Markus Haluk told West Papua Media that local  investigators had been visiting witnesses and have compiled a chronology that sits at odds with this account.  According to Haluk, at around 8pm local time, a number of drunk people set fire to one market stall at Pasar Misi/Bungsu.  Haluk also reported that at 11pm local time, police arrived on the scene with the Deputy Chief of Jayawijaya Police and opened fire with a barrage of shots, all from one side, with no clear target apart from civilians who had gathered.  Police then moved to the Dewan Adat Papua offices less than a kilometre from the scene, and set fire to them in retaliation, despite the burning market stalls having no connection to either the DAP leader or council staff.

Markus Haluk said that the “Alleged drunks burning kiosks in the market (is) scripted by the security forces to divert attention from the arrests and shootings of civilians and KNPB activists, and is a conscious Scenario consciously to burn the office and create psychological pressure against the leaders and members of the Papuan Customary Council Lani Pago Baliem Region.”

Local human rights workers believe this latest round of security force misbehaviour is due to the payment to the new Papua Police Chief Tito Karnavian (former Densus 88 commander) of Ten Billion Rupiah (approx US$1 million) from the Papuan Governors office, for the provision of “Phase 2”  security for the Papuan Gubernatorial Election campaign, which was also earmarked to maintain a peaceful environment in the lead-up to Christmas.

“Many parties are upset with these incidents,” said Haluk. “For catching, shooting in Wamena occurred on Sunday, when people were seeking to church to worship. While the arson of the DAP offices were do middle of the night, when the community was quiet for the night, ” he explained.

“On receipt of the funds, the Papua Police Chief conveyed the importance of maintaining the security and peace of Christmas and the election of Governor. Instead, he led police officers making arrests, shootings and arson of Balim Traditional Council offices,” an exasperated Haluk told West Papua Media.

These arrests come amidst a major series of operations by Indonesian security forces across Papua on the anniversary of the Densus 88 assassination of legendary TPN guerrilla leader Kelly Kwalik on December 16, 2009.  Heavily armed Densus 88 personnel, including an unidentified Australian man, were seen to be guarding Kelly Kwalik’s tomb to prevent a memorial service from being held to commemorate the anniversary of Kwalik’s extrajudicial execution.

Papuan homage (16/12) to tomb of murdered OPM General Kelly Kwalik, blocked by heavily armed intelligence personnel (note Buleh Densus 88 advisor)
Papuan homage (16/12) to tomb of murdered OPM General Kelly Kwalik, blocked by heavily armed intelligence personnel (note Buleh Densus 88 advisor). (Photo courtesy Beni Pakage)

Also, in news from the Paniai, Brimob paramilitary police have reportedly shot and captured Yakobus Utii in Enarotoli on Sunday, alleging that he was a senior figure in Jhon Yogi’s TPN command.

West Papua Media

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Australian media only tells half the story about West Papua

By Kayt Davies, Edith Cowan University

December 14,  2012

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There’s more to the West Papua story than men in Bambi suits. (Photo: Kayt Davies)

Last Friday a picture story appeared on page three of The Age that was ostensibly about events in West Papua. The story was pitched as a quirky yarn, replete with a wacky Disney character, a kilt (always a bit funny) and some large weapons.

All these elements tick boxes on the newsworthiness checklist – but, as US journalist Charles Feldman told a gathering of the Journalism Education Association of Australia in Melbourne earlier last week, “there is a difference between news and journalism”.

The story was about Gerard Michael Little, who presents as a well meaning man dismayed at the death toll in Papua and who allegedly wanted to put his military and paramilitary training to good use in the form of an armed peace keeping force. He was arrested in Brisbane last week under a rarely used law that prohibits hostile activities by armed non-state actors, including planning and training.

To make the charges stick, the prosecutor will have to prove that he was armed and intending to take offensive action.

The story’s first appearance was on Wednesday December 5 when The Australian, ABC Local, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Herald Sun and APN’s Toowoomba Chronicle reported that Little had been arrested. The Jakarta Globe followed up the next day as news emerged from his court appearance.

The articles were all accounts of the bare facts of the court case, in turn highlighting Little’s Victorian and Toowoomba connections, paramilitary training in the Ukraine, disability pension and grandfather status. Reporting a day later, The Age’s Justice Editor Dan Oakes did commendable research on the man and wrote up what he found.

But what was omitted was the context. What is happening in West Papua, in general and in particular this week, goes some way towards explaining Little’s actions.

Having arrived in Melbourne a day ahead of a gathering of journalism educators, I was in town for the December 1 West Papuan flag day celebrations in front of the State Library. West Papuan foreign minister in exile Jacob Rumbiak told the crowd he’d spent a decade in prison for raising a flag in Papua, and that he had many colleagues behind bars for exercising their right to peacefully express their opinion. A young Papuan activist read an open letter to Julia Gillard calling for Australia to take responsibility for the actions of the troops it is training and the atrocities they are committing on Papuan soil.

While Melbourne was sunny and bright, the cloud that passed over the gathering in its final moment at Federation Square was news that Victor Yeimo, the chairman of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) had been arrested. His crime was to lead a peaceful protest march.

The Melbourne West Papuan community waited for news, as international human rights monitors made enquiries about Yeimo’s status and whereabouts. The next day police announced he had been released, leading to concern that he may have “disappeared”.

But Yeimo surfaced, and filed a report that quoted Jayapura police captain Kiki Kurnia saying, “We are ready to wreak havoc and clash with all of you”. Yeimo called on the international community to take action.

Other positive news that didn’t attract the interest of News Ltd, Fairfax or the ABC: an announcement that the Indonesian Law and Human Rights Ministry had agreed to give sentence remissions to around 20 Papuan political prisoners. This announcement must be backed by vigilant international watchdog journalism to ensure that it delivers the due judicial process it appears to promise.

Tempering the optimism of this announcement was the sad news that political prisoner Timotius Napirem Ap was shot dead – in the feet, neck and back – by police.

This is just one week in the rolling saga of the civil resistance movement in West Papua. It’s a story that involves villagers who live in grass huts in jungles, students who live in dorms in the urban heart of Jayapura, Australian mining executives, and the protesters who gathered in Melbourne.

For them, the flurry of news attention given to Little’s arrest must seem odd. That events like these would prompt a military-trained man to step in and try to do something about the void of international neglect and media disinterest is not surprising. But he’s a symptom, not the cause, and his story is just a quirky tangent to a real story that is mostly ignored by Australia’s mainstream media.

Kayt Davies does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.

The Conversation

This article was originally published at The Conversation.

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Baptist leader calls for unconditional release of Forkorus

Bintang Papua
11 December 2012
The Indonesian government has been urged to free all political prisoners in Papua, including Forkorus Yaboisembut and Filep Karma. On the occasion of World Human Rights Day,  the human rights defender Socrates Sofyan Yoman spoke about the activities throughout 2012 of organisations such Polri (the police force), the TNI (the Indonesian military) and vicious armed civilian groups. He said 90  incidents of violence had been committed by these groups in all parts of Papua during the year so far.’As we celebrate Human Rights Day,’ he said, ‘we defenders  of human rights urge the Indonesian government to take the following actions:

‘Firstly, in accordance with its constitutional responsibility to safeguard its citizens, the government should acknowledge that the way it treats prisoners, convicts and the citizens in general is brutal, inhumane and demeaning. This includes the way it treats Papuan civil society and Papuan political prisoners. Such activities  should be prohibited, along with all practices that violate the law. Torture must be clearly identified  and criminalised. This would be seen as a concrete sign of Indonesia’s commitment to the International Covnention Against Torture which it officially ratified  by enactment of Law 5/1998

Secondly, the government should agree to adopt a policy that recognises Papuan citizens as victims. In those cases where legal processes have been resorted to, rehabilitation not imprisonment should be the method  chosen. The government should also adopt measures to  inform the general public about the many civilian victims in Papua.

His next point was to ensure that whenever the law on treason is used in a court of law, this should be non-discriminatory and concrete action should be taken to put an end to all criminal activities by the security forces, including judges, public prosecutors and all those people who are in charge of the prisons.

Furthermore,  the rights of all Papuan political prisoners must be safeguarded, including ending all illegal detentions. In cases where confessions were made under duress and without the presence of legal counsel, they should not be accepted as evidence in a court.of law.

The government should create mechanisms for people to be able to initiate charges. Such mechanisms should be available everywhere and in all places of detention and imprisonment.And in cases where charges are brought by detainees, this must be followed through by independent investigations by law-enforcement institutions as well as the National Human Rights Commission.

His next point  was to urge the National Human Rights Commision, the National Commission to End Violence Against Women and the Ombudsman  of the Indonesian Republic, to establish a mechanism  for a fully independent National Protection Unit to visit all places of detention, especially places of detention where persons charged with treason (/makar/) or other political prisoners  are being held as part of the state’s responsibility to act in accordance with the Anti-Violence Optional Convention.

The seventh point was to press the Indonesian government to enter in peaceful dialogue on the problem of Papua, mediated by a third party, one of the aims of which would to end torture and other forms of violence throughout the Land of Papua.

The eighth point was to press the Indonesian government to invite  the UN Special Rapporteur against Torture and Arbitrary Detentions to visit Papua.

The ninth point was to press the Indonesian government  to allow foreign journalists to visit Papua.

The tenth point was that the Indonesian government should accept responsibility for incidents of gross violations of human rights such as the incident in Abepura on 7 December 2000, the Wasior 2001 incident, the Wamena  2003 inicident and other incidents that have already been investigated by the  National Human Rights Commission, and to ensure that  the results of these investigations  are considered at the human rights court and dealt with in accordance with the principles of justice.

With regard to the role of the churches in Papua, it should be acknowledged that their main mission  has been paralysed by the state and governmental system in Indonesia.

Moreover, its prophetic voice is hardly ever heard in Papua, particularly since Papua was integrated into the Indonesian republic by military means and this the integration was preceded by the bloody events surrounding the Act of Free Choice, which continue to the present day.

‘The churches have forgotten or refused to recognise that Christianity arrived in Papua three centuries ago, on 5 February 1855.’

These thoughts were expressed by Socrates Sofyan Yoman during his opening address of the Congress of the Alliance of Baptist Churches in Papua at the Baptist Church in Wamena in October 2012.

He pointed out that his church  has supported the Papuan people with education, religious belief, healthcare and in the economic sphere, and has helped to improve access to the most remote areas by establishing small airfields which cater for small aircraft, with alll the risks this involves.

The church’s  missionaries live in close proximity with the Papuan people and help to foster the dignity of the Papuan people.in sharp contrast to what Indonesia has done since Papua’s integration, when it became a colonial power, a fact that is rarely criticised by the churches.

As a church leader, Yoman said that he not only studies the Bible but also learns from the history of Papua.  He has learned a great deal from this history, in particular the many untruths that have been told.  It is the role of the churches to insist on correcting these untruths, he said

Until now the churches talk about  ‘peace and well being’ but God’s people are continually  stigmatised as treasonous and accused of being part of the OPM.

As a church leader, he rejects all these allegations  and believes that Christians  must reflect of God’s will, as is stated in Genesis 1:26.  For all these reasons, he said in conclusion:

‘I will continue to speak out and will do everything I possibly can to share in the sufferings of God’s people. There is no future for Papua if it continue to remain a part of Indonesia. Papuans cannot live normal lives The churches must speak out about this and integrate themselves with those people whose very identity has been destroyed. It must speak out about  justice, equality  and the freedom  of all humankind regardless of race, ethnicity, culture or religion.

[Translated by TAPOL]

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