Tag: corruption

Bintang Papua: DPRP member calls for end to separatist stigma

Bintang Papua, 9 February 2011

[Abridged in translation by TAPOL]

STOP SILENCING PAPUANS WITH THE SEPARATIST STIGMA

The chairman of Commission A of the provincial legislative assembly, the DPRP, Ruben Magai, has called on the police chief to stop using political stigmatisation when conducting operations in Papua. Such statements, he said, result in scaring the indigenous Papuan people and trying to silence them.

These remarks followed a recent statement by a police officer [lower down, it is clear that the statement was made by the police chief] alleging that the OPM is present in the region of Degeuwo, on the border between Paniai and Nabire,. where security disturbances have recently occurred.

Regardless of whether the police have firm evidence, such statements are a form of character assassination, in a region that is known to have abundant natural resources where investors would be keen to invest, with the backing of the security apparatus.

‘This kind of thing is very bad and should be corrected,’ he said. ‘It is as if all the security disturbances are the work of separatists and have nothing to do with injustice. When the term separatism is used in Papua, it is clearly directed against the Papuans who live in the area.’

He warned of a high-level conspiracy by people in authority. All this makes the indigenous Papuans harbour feelings of hostility towards those who make such baseless statements. The term NKRI (Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia) should not be the exclusive property of people in officialdom. People throughout the territory , including those living in the interior, should be able to speak loud and clear about the NKRI.

But at a time when the state is engaged in a number of questionable activities, including acts of violence against the population in the interior as well as making all kinds of baseless accusations, such things can only spread a feeling of insecurity and anxiety for isolated communities in the interior who know very little about what is going on. ‘What they do know is that they are suffering from injustice as well as the consequences of development which have destroyed their natural resources.’

They are living without any guarantees for security in their old age, which is something that should be taken into consideration, he said.

The age-long problems will remain unresolved as long as the security forces pursue the approach of violence and intimidation, he said.

 

The Alliance of Intellectuals is also disappointed by the chief of police

Similar views have been expressed by the Alliance of Intellectuals of Suku Wolani Moni, who regret the statement made by the chief of police to the effect that the OPM has a base in Degeuwo.

An Alliance deputy chairmen, Tobias Bagubau, said that a week ago the chief of police promised that they would put an end to illegal logging in Degeuwo. ‘As a representative of the Wolani Moni people, I regret the police chief’s statement to the effect that the OPM is based in Degeuwo whereas in fact there are no OPM members in Degeuwo.’

He said that he thinks the police chief is playing a new game of distracting attention from all the unresolved problems. ‘Please stop making such allegations about the OPM in Degeuwo. What we want is for the problem of illegal mining to be halted,’ he said.

He said that he can’t stop wondering why the police chief is always making such statements which can only lead to widespread feelings of dissatisfaction and result in insecurity for the state.

‘If the OPM is indeed here, they should be arrested. After all, there are plenty of members of the security forces based here,’ he said.

Related Articles
0

INDIGENOUS PAPUANS IN INTAN JAYA REJECT MINING OPERATIONS IN AGISIGA

JUBI, 10 February 2011

There are now reports that illegal mining is under way not only in the
Degeuwo Estuary but also in the Dogabu Estuary, in the district of
Intan Jaya, Papua.

The illegal mining is being carried out by groups that are unknown to
the local community or the local government.

‘The mining operations are being carried out without a licence from the
local government,’ said Agustinus Tapani, secretary of the Intan Jaya
Traditional Council. He said that the local community is the rightful
owner of the land and they firmly reject the presence of any companies or businesses in their area. ‘In any case, they have never agreed to surrender their land, nor have they issued any licences to others to operate there.’

Agus Tapani said that a number of mining operators are excavating
minerals and coal in West Papua, including in Degeuwo without licences either from the government or from the local communities. ‘Law No 4/2009 makes the position clear. Yet, many companies have bypassed these authorised mechanisms which have been laid down by the government,’ he said.

Speaking on behalf of the local DAP, Tapani said that all companies must abide by the provisions of the regulations. He called on the company now operating in Degeuwo to end their operations because the community in Intan Jaya is suffering as a result of these mining operations.

Agus Tapani who is also the secretary of the KNPI in Intan Jaya warned all companies which come to Papua and partiularly to Intan Jaya district to realise that they need to pass through three stages, the traditional community, the churches and the government.. The presence of mining companies in Agisiga can initiate a process that will damage the lifestyles of the entire community in Intan Jaya. He also called on the executive and legislative bodies to pay attention to this problem.

Although the identity of the company now operating in Intan Jaya is not known, JUBI understands that PT Freeport Indonesia is involved in explorations in a number of districts, including Sugapa, Ugimba, Mindau, Pogapa and the Dogabu Estuary, through its subsidiary company PT Mine Serve International.

 

2

JUBI: New unit (UP4B) to be set up in Papua

JUBI, 9 February 2011

New unit (UP4B) to be set up in Papua

A new unit, UP4B -Unit Percepatan Pembangunan Papua dan Papua Barat – a Unit to Accelerate Development in Papua and West Papua – is to be set up in March this year for the purpose of handling a number of political and human rights problems as well as development which is still virtually stagnant.

‘As members of the Papuan Peace Network – JDP – we have decided to help the government in setting set up this body,’ said Muridan Widjojo of LIPI., the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

Muridan said that LIPI had decided to get involved in this and help the
government, in the hope that this new body will not confine itself to
dealing only with social and economic issues such as development projects but will also prioritise the issue of human rights violations
and the political situation throughout West Papua so that these issues can be properly addressed.

‘We hope that the establishment of this body will be supported by all
those involved, so as to ensure that it does not confine itself only to
social issues but will also deal with the issue of human rights which
also needs to be prioritised.’

Muridan also said that the JDP hopes that the UP4B will be able to
advance the process of dialogue between the indigenous Papuan people (OAP) and the Indonesian government, mediated by a neutral international party, in order to get to the root of the problem. These problems should not be allowed to go on festering without end which can only mean that stability and the welfare of the Papuan people will continue to be disturbed.

————————–

[Another JUBI article reports that Muridan has called on the Indonesian president to deal seriously with the issue of dialogue between Indonesian and Papua, and will set up a special team for this purpose. We hope to post the item in full soon. TAPOL]

Related Articles
0

PARKOP LETTER TO PNG PM SOMARE: HALT TO POLICE OPERATION IN SANDAUN PROVINVCE.

Below is the full letter from PNG NCDC Governor Powes Parkop calling for Somare to immediately halt Operation Sunset Merona.  For bode fide media interview opportunities, and the copy of the original letter please contact West Papua Media at wpmedia_admin<at>riseup.net .

NATIONAL CAPITAL DISTRICT COMMISSION

Office of the Governor

Hon. Powes Parkop, MP

P.O. Box 7270, Boroko. NCD

CITY OF PORT MORESBY

 

 

Date        28th January 2011

Grand Chief Sir Michael T Somare GCL, GCMG, CF, CL, CH, KstJ

Prime Minister and Chairman of NEC,

Office of the Prime Minister,

Morauta House,

WAIGANI

National Capital District

 

Dear Prime Minister,

 

SUBJECT:    HALT TO POLICE OPERATION IN SANDAUN PROVINVCE.

 

I write to express my deepest concern and reservation against the on going Police Operation in the Sanduan or West Sepik Province otherwise known as Operation “Sunset Merona” .

Since the operation began, I have received many complaints from people in the Sanduan Province as to the conduct and focus of the operations. These Complaints have been received from ordinarily citizens in that Province but more particularly from West Papuan people who live in that Province either as refugees or traditional border crossers exercising their rights under the Border Agreement between the Independent State of Papua New Guinea and the Republic of Indonesia.

 

From the West Papuan people, I have received complaints of intimidations, harassment, houses being demolished and burnt, food gardens being destroyed and people being detained without being charged for a criminal or migration offence. Those arrested have included West Papuans who have comes to PNG as refuges and who have to fend for themselves due to lack of support from either the PNG Government or from the Office of the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees.

 

From the evidence and reports I have received and the from the conduct of the operation it has become obvious that this operation is targeted against West Papuan people either as refugees or suspect activist of the West Papuan struggle for independence. In this respect, while I acknowledged that as an Independent State, we are obliged to prevent our borders from being using as a sanctuary for people planning and conducting violent acts against another State, we also risked allowing ourselves to become involved in a dispute that we formally recognized as being the domestic affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. Worst still we will allow ourselves to be used by the Republic of Indonesia to suppress and intimidate West Papuan people from pursuing their legitimate struggle for independence.

 

Based on these reports and evidence, I appeal to your highest Office to immediately stop the operations as it is becoming obvious that our Government and therefore police are being used by the  Indonesian Government to harass and suppress suspected West Papua activist campaigning for Independence of West Papua. This is morally and legally wrong.

 

While the Government may not support the struggle of West Papuans people to self determination and independence, we have no right to suppress them or deprive them from exercising that right. The right to self determination is universally recognized rights recognized under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and under many United Nations Conventions. This right to self determination includes the right to bear arms and used armed struggle as a means to attain self determination. Many colonized people have used arms struggle as a means of exercising or realizing their rights to self determination where the colonial powers have denied them an opportunity to exercise that right peacefully. West Papuan people as a colonized people, deprived of peacefully exercising their right to self determination have the right to bear arms and used all other means to enable them to realize their rights to self determination.

 

There is no evidence to date to show that the West Papuan people are using our territory to conduct armed attack against the Republic of Indonesia.  The evidence to date shows that all armed attack conducted by West Papuan people has been conducted within the territory of the Republic of Indonesia. If its is an offence to peacefully advocate and support the rights of the people of West Papua to self determination and Independence, than I should be arrested too as I have been a long time advocate of West Papuan rights to self determination and independence. And there are thousands of Papua New Guineans who also support and advocate for the rights of West Papuans to self determination and independence.

 

I therefore urge you as Prime Minister and a person revered as a leader of Melanesian People and Pacific People to stop our police and security forces from being used as a tool of suppression at the behest of the Indonesian Government. I urge you to recommend to the Commission for Police to put an end to this operation and to release all West Papuan people who have been detained and to compensate those who have their houses and food gardens destroyed.

 

Further, Prime Minister, I urge you not to deport any West Papuan suspected of being involved in the independence struggle to the Republic of Indonesia. I draw in this respect the recent conviction of three members of the members of the Indonesian Military as a result of torturing of West Papuans. While there three men were convicted for a minor offence, the incident for which they charge was fully exposed in a video posted on the internet which was seen by the entirely international community. This incident confirms that while Indonesia is moving towards democratization, its armed forces are still involved in vicious acts of violence and torture against so called separatist. There is  no guarantee that any one deported to the Republic of Indonesia will safe or not subjected to torture or other forms of violence.

 

 

 

 

 

Due to public interest in this matter, I will be releasing copy of my letter to the public, including the media.

 

 

I look forward to you earliest reply.

 

 

Yours Sincerely

 

 

 

HON. POWES PARKOP LLB LLM MP

Governor and Member for NCD Provincial.

 

Related Articles
4

Brimob should act professionally and be loved by the people

Bintang Papua, 15 November 2010

Abridged in translation

Brimob should act professionally and be loved by the people
The commander of the Brimob unit in Papua has called on his men to avoid acts of violence in resolving problems that may arise. Speaking on the occasion of Brimob’s 65th anniversary, Police Commissioner Prasetyo said: ‘We need to be firm but without using violence. We may feel angry but we should not act in a spirit of anger.,’ he said.

Saying that these words were aimed at members of the force in Papua, he acknowledged that this would involve a process, over time. ‘It’s not something that is easy to do, like turning your hand upside-down and could take quite a long time.’

He said that the changes must start from the top. ‘We must set an example. We should not behave arrogantly towards the people but behave as leaders towards their subordinates, and stop beating up people.’

Measures were also being taken to reinforce the number of personnel and improve their equipment to ensure that they preserve security in those places where their presence is needed, without bringing in extra forces from elsewhere.

He referred to statements made recently by a number of Papuan leaders concerning the TNI (armed forces) and the police that had been reported in the media about the use of violence towards Papuans. He said that in principle, the presence of Brimob in these places was legitimate.’If any of our members behave incorrectly, then they should face sanctions,’ he said.

The national chief of police spoke abut the history of Brimob which was established in November 1946 as a special police force that had been active during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia. In 1961, Brimob was highly praised by President Suharto.

He said that the occurrence of many disturbances within the community meant that the presence of Brimob was necessary. It was, he said. a unit that was trained to handle all high-intensity disturbances of security.

[Comment: Brimob is a special unit of the Indonesian police force, Polri. Some years ago, it was decided that the Indonesian army, the TNI should take a back seat in West Papua and it would left to the police force to be in charge of maintaining ‘security’ in Papua. Members of the regular police force are frequently condemned in many parts of Indonesia for using violence against ordinary members of the public and for corruption. But as far as we know, it is only in Papua that Brimob has been brought in and deployed on a permanent basis.

As readers will know, several serious cases of the use of torture against Papuans have been condemned after being widely circulated on the internet, and several officers were last week tried before a military court and given very light sentences for these terrible crimes. Reports of these incidents have not identified which police units were involved but it is likely that the personnel involved were members of Brimob. TAPOL]

0

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑