Tag: Jayapura

PRP calls for release of nurses

JUBI, 29 March 2011

PRP calls for release of nurses

In a statement issued today, the Working People’s Association, the PRP, has called for the release of nurses arrested in Abepura, West Papua.

‘When working people demand a decent living, the neo-liberal regime
responds by arresting them.This is happening everywhere in Indonesia and on this occasion in Jayapura. Nurses working at DokII General Hospital have been under arrest for calling for the payment of incentives which they have been demanding since January 2010,’ said the PRP.

According to the PRP, this criminalisation of working people for demanding better living conditions is happening not only in Papua.
Working people elsewhere in Indonesia are also experiencing the same
thing. This is being done in order to silence the demands of the working people and to thwart the rights of working people to organise themselves.

It went on to say that union busting is happening on a grand scale
across the country, a sign that the the neo-liberal regime is scared
when working people organise themselves and demand their rights.
Measures to thwart the right of assembly and the right to organise or
even to organise demonstrations in happening in many parts of the
country, such as for example the district of Bintan.

The statement which is signed by the national chairman and the
secretary-general of the PRP makes the following demands:

1. Release the DokII nurses who have been arrested by the police because they organised a strike.Charging them with incitement is pure fantasy on the part of the police.

2. Working people throughout Indonesia should resist these efforts to
silence trade unions and organisations.

3. New forces need to be built by all sections of the working people in
Indonesia in opposition to the neo-liberal regime.

4. Capitalism and neo-liberalism have failed to improve the living
conditions of the people. Only socialism can bring prosperity to the people.

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Unions call on Indonesia to release arrested nurses

ACTU MEDIA RELEASE :  

Tuesday, 29 March 2011


Unions call on Indonesia to release arrested nurses


Australian unions have called on the Indonesian Government to respect international labour Conventions and human and trade union rights following the arrest of five nurses in West Papua.

ACTU President Ged Kearney said it was outrageous that the nurses had been detained for nine days and were reportedly subjected to long periods of police interrogation, simply because they had supported an industrial campaign to ensure they received their contracted entitlements.

“It is disturbing that at the same time as workers in North Africa are beginning to benefit from newfound democratic freedoms, repression of basic human rights including the freedom of association is taking place in our region,” Ms Kearney said.

“These West Papuan nurses were pursuing their legitimate rights and it is obscene to think they are languishing in jail.

“I am advised that more than 1500 nurses took spontaneous and unprecedented industrial action in response to an announcement that the Government of the province of West Papua had withdrawn industrial payments.

“We are told that in an attempt to intimidate the nurses and to force them back to work, five nurses were arrested.

“The intimidation has failed and the nurses and their community are more resolute than ever in their determination to secure the release of the five nurses and to win the industrial campaign.

“However it is simply outrageous that this type of intimidation and violation of human and workers’ rights is occurring.”

Ms Kearney said the arrests of the nurses, including two officials of the National Union of Indonesian Nurses, was a heavy-handed and excessive response to nurses pursing a legitimate industrial campaign in support of their contracted entitlements.

“This action is a clear breach of ILO Convention 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise), which was ratified by Indonesia in June 1998.

“It violates the fundamental human and trade union rights enshrined in C87 and reflects poorly on the Indonesian authorities.

“The Indonesian Government should take immediate steps to release the nurses, to remove all charges and to enter a constructive dialogue with the National Union of Indonesian Nurses to resolve these issues.”

Media contact: Rebecca Tucker ph (03) 9664 7359 or 0408 031 269; rtucker@actu.org.au

 



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PDP leader on dialogue: Don’t forget the OPM

[Slightly abridged in translation by TAPOL]

Bintang Papua, 27 March 2011

Jayapura: Thaha Alhamid, secretary general of  Papuan Presidium Council, (PDP),has welcomed the initiative taken by the Papuan Peace Network, the JDP, to seek to solve the Papuan problem by means of a Jakarta-Papua dialogue, and says this should include all the leaders of the struggle for Papuan independence, here in the Land of Papua as well as abroad. He was responding to a report in Saturday’s issue of Bintang Papua’s report regarding the initiative taken by Pastor Neles Tebay regarding dialogue.

But he said that the failure to include representatives of TPN/OPM in the JDP was a serious matter, bearing in mind that the OPM is still struggling in the forests of Papua. ‘I realise that there are problems of communication but that doesn’t mean that they should not be represented in the JDP.’ He said he was sure that the JDP would deal with this, bearing in  mind the fact that the TPN/OPM was present at the Grand Papuan Congress in 2001.

He said that the TPN/OPM consists of a considerable number  of groups but this does not mean that it should be excluded. Moreover there was once a UN resolution which made the point that geographical problems should not result in the exclusion of any communities. ‘I am sure that by means of a process of communication, the TPN/OPM will be represented in the  dialogue.’

He said that all sides should understand that dialogue or peaceful struggle has been the agreed platform of the Papuan people since the time of the IInd Papuan Congress when it was  decided that the Papuan struggle must be pursued by peaceful means and this means prioritising dialogue.

‘What we should focus on is not war but dialogue or peaceful struggle,’ he said.

He said that he welcomed the network, the communications, the role of civil society and the good initiative taken by LIPI, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, to press for  dialogue He also recognised that it will not be easy.

In the first place, there needs to  be an internal Papuan dialogue, which should include all Papuans, including those  who are in the forssts, those who are living abroad or wherever they may be, for they are all entitled to have their say regarding the question of dialogue.

Secondly, for all those Papuans here in the Land of  Papua, there’s no need to consider what their background is because all Papuans have the right to say what they think the dialogue should discuss.

In the third place, the JDP has entered into communication with various groups at home as well as abroad in order to start preparing for the dialogue process, and  have agreed to a joint approach towards the central government in Jakarta.

‘If we intend to move towards the process of dialogue, bridges will need to be built  even if this brings in voices of people who are in favour or against, as all this must be part of the discussion. I am convinced that the JDP is not in any way subordinated to the central government; they are all leaders of civil society who are trying to find a middle way. Dialogue with those everywhere in the world is something that all of us should appreciate,’ he said.

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Australian Nurses Demand Release of Jailed Nurses in West Papua

Media release

ANF demands release of jailed nurses

29 March 2011

The Australian Nursing Federation is calling for the immediate release of five nurses in West Papua who have been jailed by the Indonesian government for taking industrial action.

ANF acting federal secretary Yvonne Chaperon said eight nurses and midwives were originally detained by the criminal investigation unit of the Papuan police in Jayapura for their involvement in industrial action. Five nurses remain in jail.

“The nurses and midwives at the DokII Hospital in Jayapura were promised an incentive payment over a year ago and were suddenly informed on 30 December 2010 that the local authority had rescinded the decision to pay them. This led to a decision by the nurses and midwives to take industrial action and the subsequent detention and interrogation of five nurses.”

Ms Chaperon said the Australian Nursing Federation, representing over 200,000 nurses and midwives nationally, condemned the excessive response by the Indonesian Government.

“These nurses and midwives were exercising a democratic right to take industrial action in response to a decision that was made without reason or warning to withhold an incentive payment they had been promised more than a year ago,” Ms Chaperon said.

“We stand united with our colleagues in West Papua and call for their immediate release. They must be allowed to return to their homes and families without the threat of further intimidation or harassment.”

Media enquiries: Cathy Beadnell 0400 035 797

The ANF, with over 200,000 members, is the professional and industrial voice for nurses, midwives and assistants in nursing in Australia.  For more information, go to www.becausewecare.org.au.

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AJI Papua Presses Police About Lack of Progress Over Stabbing

Media information FYI

The Jakarta Globe
Sunday, March 27, 2011

AJI Papua Presses Police About Lack of Progress Over Stabbing

The Papua chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists has
expressed frustration with the sluggish pace of police investigations
into the stabbing of local journalist Banjir Ambarita.

“The investigation is taking too long, that is why we are monitoring
the case closely,” said Viktor Mambor, chairman of the Papuan branch
of the alliance also known as the AJI. “We are going to do something
to pressure the police, like hold a protest rally.”

“The new [Papua] police chief was once in Densus [the National
>Police’s counterterrorism unit], investigating a case like this should
be easier than capturing terrorists,” he said.

Banjir, a freelance reporter and contributor to the Jakarta Globe, was
attacked in Jayapura by two men on a motorcycle as he was riding his
own motorcycle home shortly after midnight on March 3.

The Jayapura Police’s detective unit questioned Banjir on Friday, more
than three weeks after the stabbing. “Because Banjar Ambarita’s
condition has improved, we formally asked him for information in
relation to the stabbing,” said First Adj. Insp. Widodo, an officer in
the unit. “A total of 37 questions were posed and were answered well.

“We have already questioned five witnesses, but we have yet to find a
lead,” he added.

Viktor said the AJI appreciated the police’s efforts but said: “Even
though they are working quite well in carrying out their job, this does not guarantee that they are taking the case seriously.”

Poengky Indarty, director of external relations at rights group Imparsial, said that as a defender of human rights in Papua, it was
vital that Banjir be protected.

“Until today, the perpetrators responsible for the violence have not
been identified,” she said. “We urge the Papuan Police to make every
effort to catch the offenders and legally process them.”

She said Banjir had provided police with information to make a sketch
of his attackers. “We want them to investigate based on this sketch
and look into police officers who may be involved in the case,” she
said.
Nurfika Osman

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