Tag: Impunity

Sweepings by security forces in Paniai spread anxiety among the civilian population

JUBI, 17 November 2011

The deployment of army and police forces including Brimob has spread anxiety and fear among the people in Paniai during the past week.

‘We haven’t left our homes for the past week, people are being questioned by the army as well as the police along a number of roads,’ said one person who lives in the area. ‘We have done nothing wrong but they have been going from house to house and this has made us very afraid.’

Following the searches in the houses of ordinary people, the military in Paniai confiscated bows and arrows, axes, knives and other sharp things belonging to the local people. The Justice and Peace Secretariat (SKP) in Dekenat, Timika, reported that not only had sharp implements been confiscated. ‘People’s homes have been searched very roughly indeed. In some cases, doors and windows have been badly damaged. This is very strange indeed because there are no problems with the local people so why are they behaving like this,’ said Father Oktopianus Pekei, co-ordinator of SKP Dekenat.

Some of the homes that have been badly damaged are in Kampung Kogekotu, Gakouda, Madi and elsewhere in the area. ‘The destruction has been encouraged by Brimob, Kelapa 2 Unit, Jakarta,’ he said, referring to the fact that there has been an increase in the number of Brimob troops deployed in the area in the past week.

SKP also regretted the arrogant behaviour of the Indonesian military. ‘Why is it that equipment used in people’s households, things for chopping up vegetables in the kitchen, or for building new homes, or for cutting down wood to burn in their houses are all being confiscated?’

Father Pekei said that the church would make public its support for the concerns of the people. ‘When things like this happen, the church cannot stay silent. This is all about the people’s right to life, the family and the vulnerable people in our society. This is the voice of the church,’ he said.

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Reportage of Obama and Gillard discussions on Papua at ASEAN, Bali

FYI -Media information only

Note: these items contain Contradictory reporting. Independent media is banned by Indonesia from attending  gatherings like ASEAN in Bali, and therefore West Papua Media cannot independently verify claims made by corporate mainstream media or US/Indo or Australian government activists as being factual and reflective of what was discussed during the summit.

1) Yudhoyono quizzes Gillard on US marines
2) Obama, Gillard assure SBY on Darwin plan, Papua
3) Indonesian president defends military in Papua
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http://www.smh.com.au/world/yudhoyono-quizzes-gillard-on-us-marines-20111119-1not3.html
1) Yudhoyono quizzes Gillard on US marines

Daniel Flitton and Tom Allard, Nusa Dua, Indonesia

November 20, 2011

INDONESIA’S President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono quizzed Julia Gillard and Barack Obama over the new American ”base” in northern Australia but was assured that it posed no threat to Indonesia’s territorial integrity.

Dr Yudhoyono wrapped up the East Asia Summit last night and hailed the talks – which for the first time included the US and Russia along with regional giants China, India, and Japan – for tackling sensitive issues.

He told reporters last night that a joint Australia-Indonesia plan presented to the gathering for improving disaster readiness in the region had called for rapid deployment of emergency workers to save lives.

Asked if this would include a role for the 2500 US marines to be eventually stationed near Darwin, he said he would welcome the idea.

President Obama had raised the US presence in Australia during talks yesterday and said it would not unsettle the region, Dr Yudhoyono said.

Prime Minister Gillard also sought out Dr Yudhoyono to discuss the role of the American troops ahead of a formal meeting today.

”I’m happy they explained it to me personally,” the Indonesian leader said. ”On the establishment of that military base, it is not expected to change anything, it is not expected to distract or disturb neighbours … she [Ms Gillard] gave her guarantee.”

Indonesia has historically been highly sensitive to outside interference, and some Indonesian nationalists hold lingering suspicion about Australia after it led the peacekeeping mission to East Timor.

Indonesian military commander Agus Suhartono had also raised concerns that the training arrangement could result in Indonesia being dragged into a dispute involving the South China Sea.

Dr Yudhoyono said he had asked Mr Obama and Ms Gillard about their policy towards Indonesia in light of the new military arrangements and was happy to be told Australia and the US supported Indonesia’s territorial integrity.

Mr Obama also raised with Dr Yudhoyono the vexed issue of the restive region of West Papua, where there have been killings of independence activists in recent months and persistent allegations of human rights abuses by security forces.

Dr Yudhoyono said he told the US leader that Indonesian forces were conducting legitimate operations against an ”insurgency” and that Indonesian forces came under attack from separatists.

”If there are members who have violated the laws, gross violations of human rights, then they will go before the law,” he said.

”I told him personally, there is no impunity, no immunity.”

The Indonesian leader added that Mr Obama told him ”explicitly” that he respected Indonesia’s sovereignty over the territory, which was incorporated into Indonesia after a highly contested referendum in 1969 when 1025 hand-picked West Papuan delegates unanimously endorsed integration.
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http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/11/20/obama-gillard-assure-sby-darwin-plan-papua.html
2) Obama, Gillard assure SBY on Darwin plan, Papua
Esther Samboh and Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali | Sun,

East Asian Summit (EAS) leaders wrapped up their meetings here on Saturday, with ASEAN member nations trying their best to remain united, despite conflicting interests between the US and China, both of which, in different ways, have reportedly threatened to divide the 10-member regional grouping.

There have been concerns that different stances on crucial issues, such as tensions in the South China Sea and the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact, which some say have essentially divided the world into two sides — the US and China — would disrupt ASEAN’s ambitions towards forming an integrated and secure political, economic and socio-cultural community.

The US plan for a military base in Darwin, a city only 850-kilometers from Indonesia, has raised concerns from some ASEAN members, but perhaps most especially from China.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono dismissed such concerns.

“Countries have economic interests or other interests — any country has its own national interests. But when we unite into a regional grouping, there are common interests,” Yudhoyono told a press briefing after the three-day ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Bali on Saturday.

“Whenever there are respective interests, we ensure that with this association we build a common interest pattern, instead of having a common platform or common interest. ASEAN could still maintain its centrality and we will play roles in the region’s cooperation.”

The planned military base in Darwin has raised fear it may spark new tension in the ASEAN territory.

Yudhoyono said Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard have “guaranteed” there are “no intentions” to disrupt neighboring countries. “Presumption and prejudice could disintegrate us all in the region,” Gillard said.

The EAS meeting was part of US President Barack Obama’s nine-day Asia-Pacific trip, in which he has focused on bulking up America’s presence in the region, including setting up the Darwin base. The Darwin plan has been largely viewed as a hedge against the rise of China’s economic and military prowess and a guarantee to US allies in the region that if China were to use force in settling South China Sea disputes, the world’s largest economy would stand ready to help.

Four ASEAN countries — Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei — have competing claims over areas in the South China Sea.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reaffirmed China’s stance on the South China Sea issue but stressed the summit was not the right place to discuss such issues.

Obama held an impromptu meeting with Chinese Premier Wen on the summit’s sidelines Saturday to discuss the South China Sea and economic differences.

The US has planned to form a free trade alliance with its Pacific counterparts in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would exclude China but comprise four ASEAN countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam) as well as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Peru.

“We are ready to join the TPP. But as President, I chose to assess matters more deeply. If it brings benefits, we would say ‘we will join the TPP’,” Yudhoyono said.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/19/indonesia-papua-idUSL3E7MJ06W20111119
3) Indonesian president defends military in Papua

JAKARTA | Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:00am EST

Nov 19 (Reuters) – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono defended on Saturday the actions of its military in remote Papua province following accusations of human rights abuses and the recent killing of three people.

Three people were killed on Oct. 19 as police and military tried to disperse a political meeting in Abepura, a sub-district of Papua, a resource-rich yet underdeveloped province with a simmering separatist insurgency and heavy military presence.

The government’s national human rights commission found strong evidence of excessive acts that led to rights violations.

Human Rights Watch and other rights groups have called on U.S. President Barack Obama to address the issue when he met Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Bali during an East Asia Summit.

But Yudhoyono said on Saturday there was accountability and military personnel who committed crimes would be investigated.

“The world must know that in Papua there are armed cells who are launching attacks at us, including at an area of a firm there,” he said, referring to a mine run by Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc where a worker was killed by gunmen on Thursday.

“When our soldiers are doing self-defense then it can’t be categorised as violating human rights.”

Yudhoyono said Papua was not specifically discussed during his meeting with Obama in Bali.

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Call for Brimob persnnel to be withdrawn from Paniai

JUBI, 16 November, 2011

The shooting which is believed to have resulting in the deaths of eight local residents in Bayabiru who were illegally panning for gold in Degeuwo in the district of Bogobaida, Paniai, took place three days after Brimob troops arrived in Enarotali from Timika. Full details of the incident along with a chronology and the reasons for the shooting are not yet known.

‘If this is true, no one can accept what happened. We herewith demand that the Brimob troops be withdrawn from Paniai,’ said Yakobus Dumupa, a member of the MRP, the Majelis Rakyat Papua.

The chairman of the Paniai district Customary Council (Dewan Adat Daerah Pania)i, John NR Gobai, asked in a press release what was the reason for sending 120 Brimob troops to Paniai where the security situation can be described as conducive. ‘We are seeking an explanation about this from the local Brimob chief as well as the chief of police in the district.’ He said that the Brimob troops that had been deployed to Enarotali had for the first three days caused a great deal of anxiety and trauma among the local people.’There needs to be some campaigning and advocacy from the NGOs and we need to set up a fact-finding committee to prove that this is true,’ he said.

‘Someone must take institutional responsibility for what happened. This is not just a matter of some rogue member of the unit. If there is no response from the institution itself, then the people will have to make an issue of this. The MRP will set up its own team to investigate the shooting of eight local people.’ he said.

He strongly condemned the brutal action that of the security forces in Bayabiru, Degenwo.It happened at a time when a number of things had occurred that require special attention from the government.’These serious violations of human rights are putting a heavy strain on efforts to hold a dialogue between the Papuan people and the central government, And they suggest that it is the TNI and the police who are the ones who are the separatists the ones who are trying to cause disunity within the NKRI.’

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More Brutal Footage emerges from Congress crackdown

Fresh footage has emerged from last month’s brutal crackdown by Indonesian security forces on the Third Papuan People’s Congress in Abepura on October 19.

SBS Television broadcast the following footage which was also sent to West Papua Media.  The footage shows plain clothes and uniformed security personnel shooting hundreds of rounds into the crowd, beating and brutalising scores of participants, and violently attacking the elected President of the West Papuan Transitional Government, Forkorus Yaboisembut.

West Papua Media has also been provided with the remainder of the Congress footage through a source inside West Papua (via Tapol/ Down to Earth).  We have decided to make this available for the use of all media.  Please spread  widely.  Please be aware this contains images of extreme Indonesian state violence against unarmed civilians.

 

MEDIA NOTE:  For access to this original footage, please visit the contact page on this site and send an email or contact the number.

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SIGHTS AND SOUNDS FROM THE FREEPORT DISPUTE

by Lococonut

via our partners at EngageMedia.org

A snippet of footage and chatters around the Freeport strike in West Papua. The Freeport workers’ union says it is a matter of simple “revenue transparency”, the international trade union says the dispute “has nothing to do with” West Papua politics, and a worker recorded in his video testimony that the walk-out was something “important” and worth keeping.

 05:36
video information
produced by Lococonut
produced Nov 04, 2011
FULL DESCRIPTION

The Geneva-based International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), its Australian affiliated group Australia’s Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and the Freeport Indonesia Workers’ Union, SP KEP SPSI, met in Jakarta from October 30 to November 2, 2011.

In this video, SP KEP SPSI was represented by Airan Koibur, ICEM was represented by Information and Campaign OfficerDick Blin, and Wayne McAndrew spoke for the CFMEU.

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