Tag: indonesia

Socratez Sofyan Yoman reject the MRP now being set up

JUBI, 15 February 2011

SOCRATEZ: NEXT MRP WILL NOT HELP EASE PEOPLE’S SUFFERINGS

The chairman of the United Baptist Churches in Papua, the Rev Socratez Sofyan Yoman, is of the opinion that the new MRP (Majelis Rakyat Papua -Papuan People’s Assembly) now being formed will only add a new dimension to the suffering of the Papuan people.

‘Please don’t add to the people’s suffering. The Papuan people should be consistent in making no compromises with the members of the MRP now being appointed.’

He said that Special Autonomy (OTSUS) has been rejected by the people which means that the MRP, which is at the heart of OTSUS, will do nothing to protect the interests of the indigenous Papuan people (orang asli Papua) and its presence is not acceptable. He also said that the political elite should not try to utilise the present moment to promote their personal interests and cause further sufferings for the people.

He said that there is no legal justification or reason to continue with
the nomination of the new MRP because most of the churches are not
involved in the process, although some have allowed themselves to be
recruited.

He called on the Papuan people to consistently refuse to get involved in the political process that is now under way. The people’s struggle must stay pure and press for something better.

‘We from the churches will stand by the voice of God’s congregation and continue to consistently reject OTSUS. ‘

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Police urged to say who shot Miron Wetipo

JUBI: 17 February 2011

A lawyer in Jayapura, Gustaf Kawer, has called on the police to be transparent and explain what happened to Miron Wetipo, who was being held in the Abepura Prison. He was shot dead by the police/TNI and Densus 88 during a sweeping operation and searches being undertaken by BTN Puskopad (an army unit).

‘The police must be transparent and explain publicly what happened to Miron Wetipo. All the more so since Miron was not the person who was behind the shooting in Nafri. The police should tell his family and the general public what happened,’ said Gustaf Kawer. He also said that it was important for the name of the peron responsible for the shooting to be made public so as not to cast suspicion on the whole of the police force.

‘They must have the courage to say who it was in the security forces who shot Wetipo. They cannot ignore this case because it involves a violation of human rights that must be resolved,’ he said.

Miron Wetipo was shot dead by forces of the police/TNI and Densus 88 while they were on sweeping operations and were searching the home in the location of BTN, Puskopad, in the district of Abepura, Jayapura, Papua. He was also thought to be a leader of the OPM and was involved in the shooting that occurred inNafri Kampung on Sunday, 27 November 2010.

[The article includes a photo of a poster saying: ‘Who is it who murdered Miron Wetipo’.

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DAP: Transmigration harmful to local people

JUBI,16 February 2011

Responding to a report that the government plans to send more
transmigrants to Papua, the chairman of DAP, Dewan Adat Papua, Forkorus Yoboisembut said this was a serious matter because it would turn the Papuan people into a minority, as well as triggering conflict.

‘As the representative of the adat (traditional) people in Papua, I
reject the transmigration programme which fails to safeguard the
position of the local people,’ he said. It is reported that the government has allocated Rp 600 billion to pay for the transmigration of people from Indonesia to a number of places in Indonesia regarded as being ‘under-populated’, including Papua.

‘I hope the central government will consider this matter carefully
because the transmigration programme to Papua has already resulted in the marginalisation of the indigenous people at a time when a lot of
development work is going on.’

Forkorus said that the location of transmigrants in many places in
Papua has made it difficult for the local communities to preserve
their own culture and lifestyles. Development of more luxurious
lifestyles intensifies the marginalisation of the little folk. In addition, with the government’s attention being focused on the transmigrants, feelings of envy emerge because the local people do not get the same degree of attention.

He also said that the transmigration programme under way in Papua
undermines Papuans’ sense of being masters in their own homeland because the vast majority of those now running the economy are non-Papuans. Papuans are not yet able to compete with the newcomers in economic affairs and this is something the government needs to give serious attention to.

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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.

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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.

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[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]

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