Category: Urgent Action

Sorong Police arrest Papuan customary leaders at Freedom Flotilla ceremony

West Papua Media

August 29, 2013

Indonesian police in Sorong, West Papua, yesterday arrested four leading Papuan customary leaders for organising a welcome celebration and prayer for the safe arrival of the Aboriginal-led Freedom Flotilla, currently sailing from Australia.

2000 people gathered in Sorong for prayers for the West Papua Freedom Flotilla (Photo: NFRPB/WPM sources)
2000 people gathered in Sorong for prayers for the West Papua Freedom Flotilla. *note – men in blue berets are from Petapa, West Papua’s community security / police force guarding West Papuan civilians against Indonesian police violence. (Photo: NFRPB/WPM sources)

The four were arrested after over 200 armed police surrounded a peaceful prayer gathering at Marantha Church in central Sorong yesterday afternoon, after thousands of local people joined with religious and adat (customary) leaders, and leaders of the self-declared National Federated Republic of West Papua (NFRPB) alternative government, to  express their solidarity with the aims of the Freedom Flotilla.  The Freedom Flotilla is  a journey being conducted with Aboriginal and West Papuan elders and Australian activists to highlight internationally the human rights situation in West Papua and is currently enroute sailing from Australia to West Papua.

Internationally renowned environmental defender, researcher and customary leader, NFRPB Sorong secretary Yohanis Goram,  was arrested together with  Apolos Sewa (Vice chair of Dewan Adat Papua, Greater Sorong),  Amandus Mirino (NFRPB State Secretariat senior worker), and  Samuel Klasjok (NFRPB’s alternative Chief of Police (Security) for  region 3, Doberay).  Sorong Police Chief Harry Goldenhad met with the organisers of the gathering, and initially “approved the activities with the proviso that they did not disturb the peace, and maintained security,” according to witnesses statements provided by established credible sources to West Papua Media.

sorong freedom flotilla congregation police
Police surrounding event just prior to arrests of organisers (Photo: NFRPB/WPM sources)

Over 2000 people had gathered for the solidarity event that spilled outside the large church compound.

About 45 minutes after the prayer meeting had finished, as participants were preparing for a press conference with local media including such as Radar Sorong, West Papua Post, and Fajar Papua, Police Chief Goldenhad took ten heavily armed officers into the church and arrested the four activists.

According to local sources who spoke with police and activists, Based on information collected on site, the arrests were made in connection with the unfurling of the Morning Star, Aboriginal, and Torres Straits flags inside the church.

Apolos Sewa in the Police interrogation room (Photo: West Papua Media)
Apolos Sewa in Police interrogation room (Photo: West Papua Media)

The four activists are still being held at Sorong Police headquarters according to local sources, and their condition is unknown.  However grave fears are held for their safety, as these are the first West Papuans to be arrested over a connection to the Freedom Flotilla, which has attracted significant international media interest, and ignited major controversy and comment from Indonesian and Australian government ministers.

International human rights organisations have reacted quickly to the arrests, with Amnesty International (AI) in London expressing concern about the arrests of the four Papuan political activists.  AI’s Indonesia and Timor-Leste Campaigner, Josef Benedict said that AI “believes they have been arrested and detained solely for their peaceful political activism and call for their immediate and unconditional release.”

Activists raise the banned West Papuan Morning Star flag during the ceremony, prompting the arrests of the organisers under makar (treason) provisions Photo: West Papua Media sources)
Activists raise the banned West Papuan Morning Star flag together with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands flags, during the Flotilla ceremony, prompting the arrests of the organisers under makar (treason) provisions Photo: West Papua Media sources)

textsecure-1571866598-1 “Amnesty International calls on the Indonesian authorities to respect the rights of Papuans to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly which are guaranteed in Article 19 and Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a state party. Our organisation is concerned that the Indonesian government has consistently failed to make a distinction between violent armed groups and peaceful activists, and between peaceful expression of opinion and acts of physical violence, ” Benedict told West Papua Media by email.

textsecure-1857961604-1Activists on board the  Freedom Flotilla have reacted with dismay at the news of their supporters being targeted inside West Papua, but say this highlights the daily denial of Freedom of Expression for Papuan people, that originally motivated their plans for direct action.

sorong freedom flotilla congregation 2
The Maranatha Church in Sorong during the prayer service (Photo: NFRPB/WPM sources)

Ronny Kareni, the spokesperson for the Freedom Flotilla said “It is shocking and yet not surprising, but completely unacceptable in this day and age that peaceful demonstrations of basic freedom of expression is censored in such an extreme way. We demand the immediate release of the 4 prisoners in Sorong.”

Kareni explained, “The asorong freedom flotilla congregation 1rrests yesterday of the four Papuan leaders are a reflection of the reality that there is no space for democracy in Papua and West Papua Province under the Indonesian occupation, and yet foreign governments are complicit to these ongoing abuses. The Freedom Flotilla to West Papua is aiming to highlight this entrenched long-term brutality that is demonstrated by these arrests.

Arabunna elder, Uncle Kevin Buzzacott, the elder who inspired the journey, said in a statement to West Papua Media, “Indonesian government – you must immediately release those 4 prisoners and not to harm them in any way. They need to be released and not to be harmed because they have not committed a crime. We felt very sad when we seen it in the news today. We are waiting for the other mob to turn up here on Horne Island so we can work out how to respond a bit more but for now we need to ask all Australians to take a firm position on this issue, to be strong for Human Rights in West Papua. They are hurting them everyday, for years and regardless of the Freedom Flotilla this is happening, but we having a go, tryin’ to get the World to see, to look and listen and take a stand for these people. The Papuans have had it rough for too long with Indonesia there and this can’t keep going on. The prisoners must be released immediately”.

Izzy Brown, one of the organisers of the Freedom Flotilla said: “We are dismayed to hear that the peaceful act of prayer has resulted in such extreme actions by the police and military in West Papua, highlighting once more the lack of basic human rights and freedoms that we in Australia take for granted every day. We need immediate international pressure to be placed on the Indonesian government to ensure that no harm comes to these good people who have simply undertaken to express themselves in a democratic way.:

Kareni sums up the feeling of Flotilla members: “This is the time Australia, to stand up for people who are being militarily controlled and attacked for simply trying to have a voice.”

West Papua Media, with local sources

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Brimob officer shoots dead mentally ill teenager in Wamena, beat witnesses

by West Papua Media
August 12, 2013
(Apologies for the delay in posting, due to fact checking)
An Indonesian Brimob police officer has shot dead an unarmed mentally ill Lani youth in Wamena on Thursday, after the youth allegedly verbally ridiculed the passing heavily armed police patrol on Jalan Ahmad Yani, according to witnesses interview by West Papua Media stringers.
Irwan Janengga, also known as Irwan Wenda (18) was shot dead without verbal warning by a Brimob anti-terrorist officer from Ambon, BrikPol Lua Lusman from the Jayawijaya brigade, who was a member of a five-man patrol that encountered Janengga outside the police post, according to witnesses interviewed by human rights activists and our stringers.
According to witnesses with the initials AW and BK,  Janengga taunted the officers with nonsensical words and said, “”The plane has landed so (are) storing the goods,” (referring to corruption in the police).  The five man patrol took offence to this taunting, and several members fired two warning shots from their automatic rifles without a verbal warning.  Janengga took no notice of these warning shots, according to the witnesses, and continued his “crazy talk”.
Peluru di Perut Irwan WendaAs the Brimob officers were preparing to shoot Janengga, the two witnesses shouted to BrikPol Lusman, “Just ignore him, he has  nervous disorders of the brain, do not shoot him!”.  Brikpol Lusman ignored this plea, and opened fire on Janengga, aiming multiple shots directly at the legs, abdomen, head and left hand of victim.  Janengga died instantly according to witnesses.
Immediately after the shooting, the 5 police officers began an unprovoked attack and beatings on the two witnesses, and arrested them with force.  Polisi Tembak Kepala Irwan WendaThey were taken then to the Jayawijaya Police HQ, where the witnesses reported to West Papua Media’s stringer that they were forcefully interrogated by police, allegedly with the aim to manipulate the official witness statements of the shooting incident according to BK and AW.  Upon learning of their detention, the victims families demanded the immediate release of the witnesses a demand with which Police complied by early afternoon on Thursday.

Janengga’s body was then brought by another police unit to the General Hospital in Wamena.
The body of Janengga was retrieved from the hospital by his family late on Thursday afternoon, and brought to his home, where the family conducted mourning ceremonies.  At the time of publication, the victim was still unburied.

Irwan Wenda Tiko Kogoya, the victim’s aunt, told human rights workers after learning of the testimony of two witnesses after the shooting. “Our victim’s family is upset over the shooting of our son.”Tempat Penembakan Irwan Wenda
“Our Boy, he was (with) nervous disorders of the brain, he just simply said ‘why police shoot’,” said Tiko Kogoya.

Tiko continued, “we the victim’s family, ask that the perpetrators should be prosecuted in court, act honestly, and be punished accordingly,” she said.
Footage shot by local witnesses has emerged of the aftermath of the shooting, showing local people outraged at another unprovoked killing by Indonesian forces on unarmed  indigenous Papuan citizens.
 Meanwhile Ogram Wanimbo, an activist with the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) Wamena chapter, told our stringer, “The shooting that happened, it is a human rights abuse, since police shot a mentally ill young man because of a nervous breakdown in the brain.. who was sayings word without (being) conscious (of the meaning)”, he said.
Ogram also said “We strongly condemn the perpetrators of the shooting, and we are annoyed by his preaching of the case in local and national media, engineering the chronology of the incident, without interviewing witnesses and families of victims… the fraudulent news does not fit the facts of incident,” he said.
A human rights worker in Wamena told West Papua Media: “This shooting that was done in service of a State mission, that continues to be done, and will be done by the Indonesian invader forces, through military and police in Papua, are unlawful acts under International law, the ICCPR and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, (all of) which have been ratified into law of the Republic of Indonesia.”
WestPapuaMedia
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Breaking News: Mayora and Astra Offices Occupied in Merauke

From AwasMIFEE
August 12, 2013

anakwoboyu

Around 100 people from the SSUMAWOMA Malind Woyu Maklew Intellectual Forum are currently occupying PT Mayora and PT Astra’s company offices on Jalan Ternate, Merauke City.

The occupation started at 11.00 local time, involving youth and community members from the Malind Muli Woyu Maklew sub-ethnic group, from villages such as Wamal, Dokib, Wambi, Dodalim and Kimam.

Their demand is that the two companies stop their operations and drop their investment plans for sugar-cane plantations in Okaba, Ngguti, Tubang and Ilwayab. At the time of writing, two hours after the action started, the companies had yet to respond to the people’s demands. The action was being guarded by dozens of local police.

Recently it was reported that the companies had used Brimob military police and the accusation of separatism to force people in affected villages to accept an agreement with the company.

After villagers in Yowid village reported that they had been intimidated into signing PT Mayora’s document, the SSUMAWOMA forum recorded video testimony of the elders who had been forced to sign (which can be watched here: https://awasmifee.potager.org/?p=472 ).

Then yesterday ( Sunday 11/8) the SSUMAWOMA forum organised a meeting and press conference in the Payum beach area of Merauke city. As tabloidjubi.com reported the discussion, there was heated argument between the people attending, but in the end all present were agreed on the need to oppose the two companies.

Masyarakat-Wambi-Distrik-Okaba-sedang-pertemuan-bersama

Aside from the intimidation experienced in Yowid, the discussion focussed on some of the other impacts that villagers are already experiencing as companies engage in the first phase of their plans, to survey the land and open negotiations with indigenous landowners. From Tabloid Jubi’s report:

A well-known Marind intellectual, Leonardus Moyuend, explained how villagers in the area were already feeling the pressure and can no longer sleep well. They also cannot go about their everyday activities as before, knowing about the companies’ plans to start operations around their villages. “To be honest, when the companies move in, it totally destroys the arrangement between one village and its neighbours,” he explained.

The problem, Leonardus continued, was that each village would make different claims about the boundaries of their land. “We never ad clear information from the government about this major program. If there is really a desire for companies to operate here, then all concerned parties such as the District Legislative Council, indigenous leaders from each village and other stakeholders should sit down with the government and investors and start discussions again from the beginning”, he said.

Instead what has been happening, he said, is that companies move in to the different villages on the quiet and then tell some of the people there that they are going to invest. “This is a really bad method the companies are using. It is the reason we have a strong commitment to resist the various areas of work they are focussing on”, he said.

He added that village elders had already given a mandate to local intellectuals to speak out and make interventions to oppose investment activities in their villages “We will never stay passive in the face of the companies’ efforts” he stated.

Meanwhile, an indigenous leader from kampung Wambi, Wilhelmus Bole Kaize said that he had already held meetings together with local indigenous people around ten times. The outcome was always that the people of that village opposed investment. The reason was because it would destroy the natural environment the people had taken care of through the years.

According to him, the area around Kampung Wambi should be used for tourism and culture. The outlook could be promising. In that way, there would be no more possibilities for corporate investors to move in. “We are completely agreed to resist the investors,” he said.

Three years after the MIFEE megaproject was launched, opening up Merauke Regency to plantation companies, initiatives by local people to organise to resist the companies appear to be on the increase. While the SSUMAWOMA forum is mostly concerned with the western part of the MIFEE area, a week ago on August 3rd another meeting brought together villagers from all over the central area of Merauke Regency. In that area companies such as Medco, Rajawali and Wilmar are operating and land is also being taken over for agriculture by transmigrants. That meeting also demanded that the government withdraw the permits for companies that are destroying the forest.

Johanes Mahuze, from Tanah Tinggi explained the predicament: “Real Marind people live with the land and the forest and wildlife are kept safe. We sit, we stand and we live from the land. We carry out our traditional rituals from the land and the forest, and the animals provide our food. If the land, forest and animals are all gone and we no longer own them, then the Marind Anim people are wiped out and become Plastic Marind, having to buy what we need for our traditions from the shops. We don’t want to become Plastic Marind”.

We will try to provide information on the outcome of the occupation action when we receive it.

Sources: Jubi http://tabloidjubi.com/2013/08/11/investor-bawa-konflik-bagi-masyarakat-di-kampung-kampung/#

Pusaka pusaka.or.id/musyawarah-waendu-meminta-pemerintah-menghentikan-izin-pemberian-lahan-untuk-perusahaan/

Action report received via email.

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Beheadings and dumped bodies pile up as Indonesian special forces rampage again in Tingginambut

Special Report by West Papua Media

May 27, 2013

Credible and disturbing reports are continuing to emerge from Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya, in the West Papuan highlands, detailing evidence of another violent rampage by the Indonesian army special forces (Kopassus) against civilians throughout May, allegedly by Kopassus officers stationed in the district which has been suffering war conditions since February.

The death toll is mounting, with six of the victims village chiefs and social leaders returning from invited attendance at the inauguration of new Papua Governor Lukas Enembe in Jayapura, and were intercepted, tortured and killed by Kopassus officers mounting a roadblock at Ilu on the Mulia road on May 8, 2013, according to preliminary evidence uncovered by human rights investigators in the field and provided to West Papua Media.

Photo: One of the victims, as yet unidentified. (supplied from human rights investigators)

At least 18 headless, mutilated or amputated bodies have since been confirmed found in roadside ditches and drains, and named as victims from around the Mulia and Pirime areas of Tingginambut, with unconfirmed but credible reports putting the total toll of the “mysterious killings” at over 41 people to date.  Activists from the West Papua National Committee (Komite Nasional Papua Barat or KNPB) have said that the discovery of so many bodies points to “a covert operation of killing and forced disappearances of indigenous Papuans in Puncak Jaya that has been operating since 1 April 2013 until now”.

Those confirmed dead are:

  1. Mili Tabuni (37),
  2. Sony Tabuni (35) ,
  3. Ella Enumbi. Born Mewoluk DOB 12 March 1986, Secondary school student at Mulia State School Class III, Male,
  4. Yerson Wonda,  Born at Wondagobak, Mulia, Male. Tertiary College Student in Technical Trade in Jayapura; Also worked as Secretary of KNPB Puncak Jaya Region at Puncak Jaya.
  5. Yos Kogoya (40) Former village head Mewoluk;
  6. Pauwuli Tabuni (35) Village Head of Regional District Tingginambut;
  7. Yaningga Tabuni (37) Village Head Regional District Yembuni Tingginambut;
  8. Tepaus Tabuni (40) Village Head of Regional District Tingginambut;
  9. Terius Enumbi (39) Shepherd of the Church of Kampung Kalome;  and
  10. Yemundan Enumby (35)
  11. Inoga Wonda,
  12. Deniti Telenggen,
  13. Telapina Morib,
  14. Aibon Tabuni,
  15. Yomiler Tabuni,
  16. Bongar Telenggen,
  17. Eramina Murib.
  18. Regina Tabuni.

West Papuan human rights activists in Puncak Jaya have also reported that women in villages under occupation by the TNI are being regularly raped by soldiers, with at least 12 documented cases since April and unconfirmed reports of many more.   Two female high school students among the dead were found to have been brutally raped and beaten in Tingginambut by Kopassus officers,   West Papua Media is not publishing the names of these sexual assault victims in line with ethical journalism practice.

Relatives of the a total of 30 missing adults are still searching across Puncak Jaya for their family members, though unconfirmed reports have emerged that Kopassus have arrested and detained at least 15 more people while searching for their family members.  Grave fears are being held for the safety of these detainees, with at least one case of torture believed to have occurred on family members.  According to statements from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), a senior high-school aged youth of class III was arrested in the town area and is believed to have been tortured over a period of 2 weeks after which he was killed and beheaded, with his beheaded body placed in a sack and thrown under a bridge. His family is still hunting for his head, according the KNPB.

Wim Medlama, the spokesperson for the KNPB, told KNPBNews.com, “Every person in the community known for activist activities in Puncak Jaya has been interrogated such that the whole community is now terrified to even carry out their usual daily activities.”

TNI soldier aims .50 Calibre heavy machine gun at Papuan villagers in TIngginambut during recent sweep operations in May 2013 (Photo: supplied by indp human rights investogators)

Independent human rights investigator Yasons Sambon have just returned from Puncak Jaya interviewing surviving victims and witness who have pointed the finger at new Papua governor Lukas Enembe, detailing that six of the victims were returning as invited guests from Enembes inauguration in Jayapura.  Enembe’s electoral team provided the six with transport to attend the inauguration, but allegedly left them stranded in Jayapura after allegedly reneging on their transport home, however Enembe’s team finally covered their fares back to Wamena only after the Governor had arrived back in Jayapura from a visit to Jakarta..

On the afternoon of May 8, 2013, the six men,  (Yos Kogoya (40) Former village head Mewoluk; Pauwuli Tabuni (35) Village Head of Regional District Tingginambut; Yaningga Tabuni (37) Village Head Regional District Yembuni Tingginambut; Tepaus Tabuni (40) Village Head of Regional District Tingginambut; Terius Enumbi (39) Shepherd of the Church of Kampung Kalome;  and Yemundan Enumby (35) Society of Kampung Yembuni), left Wamena to return home by car to their villages in TIngginambut, Puncak Jaya, when they were stopped at the Ilu military infantry post on the Mulia road.  According to the testimony from surviving witnesses interviewed by Sambon, the victims were forced out of the car and were beaten and tortured whilst being interrogated by the soldiers and detained through the night.

The testimony provided by the witnesses reported that at 0800 the next morning (May 9), the victims were then confronted by” a number Kopassus officers in the middle of the road”, further adding that “Kopassus in Puncak Jaya were assigned to kill people in a way like the mafia”.  (Kopassus officers are regularly referred to across Indonesia as Mafia or gangsters, given their well-documented control of vast, well organised criminal cartels of drugs, money laundering, prostititution, illegal logging and mining, finance, human trafficking, and a myriad of other illegal business activities.)

Heavily armed Indonesian military look towards heir target, a small village near Mulia in the highlands of West Papua, during recent deployments (photo supplied by local human rights investigators)

“Then victim number 6 is tortured until killed by inhumane way, gunshot victims by Kopassus and cut the legs and head off, and waste (dumped) in different places,” the witness reported to Sambom.  Sambom described the witness as an ordinary villager who found the bodies of the chiefs, and who begged for his name not to be published for “fear he will be searched again by Kopassus and removed after being found as the the source of this news report”.

According to the sources interviewed by Sambom, “we found the victims dead, they (perpetrators) had dismembered the head and feet and hands in different places, we gathered all of the victim’s body.”   “Once we found them, we made a grave all in one place. Right now we’re done mourning, and sympathizers close to the family who came to pay respects had returned to their respective villages,” the village witness said.

“We now, all the people are afraid, because Kopassus kill again we are all scared,” he said.

Indonesian military interrogating villagers during a raid of unidentified village near Mulia, TIngginambut, during sweep operations, May 2013 (Photo supplied by indp human rights investigators)

The driver, who according to witnesses was a “newly posted” member of the State Intelligence Agency BIN provided by the pro-military Governor Enembe, has not been seen since, and witnesses have questioned if he was a participant in the murder of the Chiefs, or if he himself was murdered by the Kopassus officers seeking to cover their tracks.

According to sources from the KNPB, two more victims, Yerson Wonda – the Secretary of KNPB in the Puncak Jaya region  – and KNPB member and high school student  Ella Enumbi were also arrested by Kopassus at Ilu TNI post, then killed and their bodies beheaded. The body of Yerson Wonda and the head only of Ella Enumbi were thrown under a bridge in a sack, and their bodies were found on 26 April 2013.   KNPB News reported that “It is suspected that for two weeks following the date of their deaths that their bodies were hidden by Kopassus at the place of detention at the Kopassus Post at Purume (Pirime), Mulia. The family is still searching for the remainder of the body of Ella Enumbi.”

Sweep operations by Indonesian security forces have not lessened in intensity since December 2012, when a new phase of repression against local civilians and non-violent political activists began with the violent raids by joint Detachment 88 counter terror and TNI soldiers on the home villages of the KNPB political activists.  Several of those still missing include non-violent political activist members of the local chapter of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), which has seen a massive and violent crackdown led by new Australian trained Papua Police Chief Tito Karnavian, the former head of the notorious counter-terror unit turned extrajudicial death squad, Detachment 88.

The area of the latest alleged TNI rampage is the same area in Sinak subdistrict, close to Mulia, where troops from General Goliat Tabuni’s West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-PB) unit attacked Kopassus soldiers who had built a military post on a sacred burial ground in on February 21.  A massive influx of several thousand soldiers from the Indonesian Army’s (TNI) Kostrad (strategic reserve),  notorious locally based Indonesian battalions 753 and 756, several hundred Kopassus special forces soldiers, and members of the Australian-trained and funded Detachment 88 counter-tterror unit flooded into the area to hunt Tabuni’s unit.  Since the influx, constant operations have caused thousands of people to be displaced from their villages, whilst those remaining behind are subjected to arbitrary and brutal treatment from the military and police on a daily basis.  Hundreds of houses, livestock and food gardens have been destroyed in a collective punishment against civilians that breaches international laws on war crimes.
Disturbing footage from human rights investigators has also been released showing the brutal conduct of Indonesian troops terrorising unarmed civilians as they raid a unidentified village in Tingginambut during this years sweep operations.  The video can be viewed below.
The KNPB has reiterated a call made from local residents for human rights monitors to be present in the region.  “We urgently seek the help of KOMNAS HAM (National Human Rights Commission) in Papua, and any independent persons with humanitarian concerns to please immediately come to Puncak Jaya to investigate,” said Wim Medlama.  “These covert operations and mysterious killings are still to this moment continuing.”
Sambon also contacted General Tabuni by phone on May 23 and reported that Tabuni was shocked at the killings and denied involvement. “They are the people and the village head, not my TPNPB-OPM members who do not shoot” …  According to Tabuni, “the public spotlight is on me, why Goliath is silent? But the village head make themselves part of the Indonesian government, why should they be shot like that? I have no link related to this event. It is the responsibility of the Governor,” Tabuni said.

WestPapuaMedia

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Breaking News: Beatings, Arrests as KNPB Rally forcibly broken up by police

West Papua Media

May 13, 2013

UPDATED WITH PHOTOS 8.15 wp time

Indonesian police in Jayapura have this morning violently dispersed a pro-independence rally being held by the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), arresting its leader Victor Yeimo, media worker Marthen Manggaprouw and two KNPB activists, according to early reports.

The rally was being held to commemorate the shootings and violent crackdown by Indonesian security forces on peaceful demonstrations across Papua on May 1, which left four people dead and drew international condemnation up to the UN Human Rights Commissioner, Navi Pillay.

Reports from witnesses at the scene have confirmed that police conducted several rounds of baton charges against rally participants who arrived on motorbikes, and then joined by over 1000 other participants who continued to resist the police charges outside the gates of Cenderawasih University in Abepura.  Injuries have been reported by but no particulars are yet available.  More arrests are expected according to witnesses.

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Jayapura police chief Alfred Papare ordered the arrests of Yeimo, Manggaprouw, Yongky Ulimpa (23), Ely Kobak (17) after intense negotiations  from 9am local time between police and the activists to allow the rally failed.  In this time, thousand’s of frontline Papuan civilians and activists had gathered ready to march from Lingkaran Abepura (outside the Post office) near the National Housing Complex 3 (the site of late KNPB Chairman Mako Tabuni’s assassination by Australian-trained Detachment 88 officers) to the People’s Assembly Council (MRP) office.

At 1050am local time, the mass gathering was attacked and the activists were arrested, beaten by Police, and media activist Manggaprouw had his camera equipment seized by Police.  They were taken to Polda Papua headquarters in Jayapura, where grave concerns are held by human rights workers for their safety and freedom from torture.

At 5.30pm this date WPB Victor Yeimo following his earlier arrest was taken to LP Abepura by the Public Prosecutor led by an escort force of police “with full war apparel” using 2 Dalmas trucks, a police patrol vehicle and one vehicle with darkened windows.  Stingers for West Papua Media have reported that Police are working together with the Public Prosecutor regarding a previous case against Yeimo for which punishment was never finalised, hence the Prosecutor has detained him again.

At time of Update,  Marthen Manggaprow, Yongky Uliampa and Ely Kobak are still being interrogated at Polda Papua.

KNPB Spokesman Wim Medlama told suarapapua.com, “True, officers had arrested four people on Housing III, near the taxi round. Police officers came down with their trucks, crashing into and damaging several motorbikes as well, and then arrested them.  Currently they are being brought to the Papua Police. We beg for advocacy.”

“We want to MRP to hold accountable the government and security apparatus-related deaths in all the land of Papua, especially those occurring in Aimas, Sorong, at the time of Papua’s integration demo day on May 1, 2013 and now,” said Medlama.

The rally had been banned by notorious former Detachment 88 chief, now Papua Police chief, Tito Karnavian, in a move that had been widely criticised by Papuan civil society leaders, including Baptist Church leader Socretez Yoman and Kingmi Church leader Benny Giay.

KNPB Chairman Victor Yeimo yesterday told SuaraPapua.com that the ban would not deter Papuan people from peacefully voicing their aspirations. The Papua Police banning peaceful demonstrations is very unnatural, as well as it being illegal, because freedom of public expression is guaranteed by law in the country of Indonesia.

“The Police Chief’s ban is part of the continued suppression of expression was silenced in Papua. In principle, we will continue to go down, ” Yeimo told SuaraPapua.com.
The rally was organised with Papuan civil and political organizations – Solidaritas Peduli Pelanggaran Hak Asasi Manusia(SPP HAM), Komite Nasional Papua Barat (KNPB), Gerakan Rakyat Demokratik Papua (GARDA-P), Dewan Perwakilan Mahasiswa Fakultas (DPMF) FISIP Uncen & West Papua National Authority (WPNA) agreed to join forces in the protest in Jayapura, despite POLDA Papua banning the peaceful actions.
Journalists with SuaraPapua.com and stringers from West Papua Media reported that hundreds of fully armed police and military were at present “securing” Jayapura with 6 truckloads of police, 4  barracudas armoured cars and water cannons, and “police motorcycles continue to keep all the corners of the city of Jayapura to cancel the action plan undertaken by Papuan people.”.  Unconfirmed reports from witnesses have also claimed that Indonesian Army (TNI) soldiers have been mobilised.
The situation in Jayapura is currently highly tense, with more reaction expected from both Papuan civilians and security forces.

More to come – this is a developing story

@westpapuamedia

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