Tag: Jayapura

DAP wants dialogue, not constructive communcations

Morning Star flag, Flag of West Papua
Image via Wikipedia

JUBI, 4 March 2011

Responding to recent moves to hold a dialogue between Jakarta and Papua, the chairman of DAP, the Papuan Traditional Council, Forkorus Yaboisembut, said that such a dialogue will not be acceptable if it takes the form of constructive communications.

‘Dialogue between Jakarta and Papua must be mediated by a neutral,
international party. There is no such thing as a dialogue between the
Indonesian government and the Papuan people being held within the
Indonesian Republic,’ he said.

He said that the offer of construction communcations as recently
suggested by the Indonesian government can only be to talk about
something like development because it would only be attended by district chiefs, the provincial legislative assembly (DPRP), the governor and the MRP.

What the Papuan people want is a dialogue at an international level, not a dialogue within the framework of OTSUS or Special Autonomy. He said that a neutral, internationally mediated dialogue would be able to fully accommodate all the basic problems in Papua.

‘Those who participate in the dialogue would carry with them the Kejora – Morning Star Flag – not some plastic party membership card. This isn’t what we want.’

He went on to say that the Papuan people have full confidence in the
Papuan Peace Network – Jaringan Damai Papua – to make all the
preparations for such a dialogue to take place.

He said that the dialogue would deal with a number of problems in Papua such as marginalisation, discrimination, the failure of development, the violation of basic human rights and the contradictory views of the Indonesian government and the Papuan people about the history of Papua.

‘In order to deal with all these questions, there must be a dialogue
that is mediated by a third, neutral party, not constructive
communications,’ he said.

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AI URGENT ACTION JOURNALIST STABBED IN INDONESIA

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA21/004/2011/en/af581980-0b39-4576-bfe7-d7bc77734e0d/asa210042011en.html

DOCUMENT – INDONESIA: JOURNALIST STABBED IN INDONESIA: BANJIR AMBARITA

UA: 53/11 Index: ASA 21/004/2011 Indonesia Date: 03 March 2011

 

URGENT ACTION
JOURNALIST STABBED IN InDONESIA

In the early hours of 3 March, journalist Banjir Ambarita was stabbed in the Indonesian province of Papua. He is currently in intensive care, recovering after an operation. He is at risk of further attacks and intimidation.

Banjir Ambarita is a journalist with Bintang Papua, a local newspaper, based in Jayapura, Papua province. He was stabbed at about 1 am in the morning of 3 March 2011. Banjir Ambarita was on his motorcycle heading home when the attack occurred. Reliable sources told Amnesty International that when he was in front of the Jayapura Mayor’s office, two men on a motorcycle approached him, stabbed him twice in the chest and stomach and sped off. As he began to bleed, Banjir Ambarita rode his motorcycle to the nearby police station. Police officers took him to the Marthen Indey Hospital in Aryoko, Jayapura. He had an operation on 3 March 2011 and is recovering in hospital.

Banjir Ambarita has worked in Papua province for five years and is also a regular contributor to Vivanews and The Jakarta Globe. He had recently written about two alleged rape cases involving the police. In the first case, which occurred in February 2011, four police officers and three civilians allegedly raped and tortured a 15 year old girl in Biak, Papua province. In a second case, three police officers forced a woman detainee to perform oral sex on them over a three-month period from November 2010 to January 2011 at the Jayapura police detention centre in Papua province. The three officers were reportedly only given disciplinary punishments of 21 days’ detention and a delay of their promotions. The media coverage of the second incident led to the resignation of Jayapura Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Imam Setiawan on 1 March 2011, and a report on the incident filed by the woman’s husband to the Papua branch of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM).

International human rights observers, non-governmental organizations and journalists are severely restricted in their work in Papua amid ongoing reports of serious human rights violations by the police and military.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Indonesian or your own language calling on authorities in Indonesia:
  • To immediately conduct a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the attack against Banjir Ambarita and bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with international fair trial standards;
  • To take immediate steps to provide appropriate protection to Banjir Ambarita, according to his wishes;
  • To initiate an independent investigation into the two reported rape cases highlighted by Banjir Ambarita, and ensure that, should the allegations be verified, those responsible be brought to justice in fair trials and victims receive reparations;
  • To ensure that all human rights defenders in Papua, including local journalists, can work freely, independently and with full protection from state authorities.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 14 APRIL 2011 TO:
Papua Police Chief
Inspektur Jenderal Bekto Suprapto
Papua Police Chief (Kapolda)
Jl. Samratulangi No. 8 Jayapura,
Papua,
Indonesia
Fax: +62 967 531717
Salutation: Dear Kapolda
Minister of Justice and Human Rights
Mr. Patrialis Akbar
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights
Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said Kav No. 4-5
Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan 12950 Indonesia
Fax: +62 21 525 3095
Salutation: Dear Minister
Chairperson National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM)
Mr. Ifdhal Kasim
Chairperson National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM)
Jl Latuharhary
No.4 Menteng Jakarta Pusat
10310
Indonesia
Fax: +62 21 39 25 227
Salutation: Dear Ifdhal Kasim
COPIES TO: diplomatic representatives of Indonesia accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

URGENT ACTION

JOURNALIST STABBED IN INDONESIA

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

In recent years, there have been a number of cases of intimidation and attacks against human rights defenders and journalists in Indonesia.

In July 2010, Tama Satrya Langkun, a Jakarta based anti-corruption activist, was severely beaten by unknown persons in an apparent move to silence him. That same month, Ardiansyah Matra, a journalist covering corruption and illegal logging in Papua, was found dead in the province. Despite police investigations, no one has yet been held accountable for these attacks.

Amnesty International has documented how victims and witnesses in Papua have little available legal remedies to make complaints about human rights violations. In a report published in June 2009, Amnesty International highlighted weaknesses in internal and external accountability mechanisms to deal with police abuse. To date, these mechanisms have yet to be reviewed.

Please refer to the following documents for more information:

Digest: Amnesty International Papua Digest, January 2011
Document: Open letter on unchecked police abuse in Nabire district, Papua, (Index ASA 21/024/2009), 30 November 2009.
Report: Unfinished business: Police accountability in Indonesia, (Index ASA 21/013/2009), 24 June 2009.
Report: Amnesty International’s briefing to the UN Committee Against Torture, (Index ASA 21/003/2008), 15 April 2008.

UA: 53/11 Index: ASA 21/004/2011 Issue Date: 3 March 2011
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Kampung inhabitants need more medical personnel

JUBI, 22 February 2011

Kampung inhabitants need more medical personnel

People living in Mosso kampung, district of Muaratami have urged the
Health Service to increase the number of medical personnel available to kampung dwellers because it is very inadequate at present.

‘We need help from the medical service because we are getting complaints every day from patients about the lack of medical facilities,’ said Charle Wetapoa, an official.

He said that the lack of personnel had been a problem for years, with
the result that people living in the kampung are finding it difficult to
get the medical assistance they need. He said that there were only two people working at the clinic in the kampung

He said that they have called on the Health Service in Jayapura to
prioritise medical personnel for Mosso this year , which would help
improve the conditions of the people in the kampung, especially with
regard to their health.

The Mosso kampung is part of the administrative district of Jayapura
Municipality but is located at a great distance from other kampungs in
the same district, meaning that it is very difficult for the people to
get the service they need. There are altogether 45 people living in the
kampung.

[COMMENT: This is happening in a territory like Papua that is providing
revenues for the Indonesian state coffers from the hugely profitable
mining operations of Freeport copper-and-gold mine. TAPOL

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Human rights situation raised with US diplomat visiting Papua

Bintang Papua, 16 February 2011

HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION REPORTED TO US DIPLOMAT

Biak: The traditional Papuan community in Biak reported the current
social and political situation in Papua to the first secretary for
political affairs at the US embassy, Melanie Higgins, when she visited
the office of DAP (Dewan Adat Papua) in Biak. Their representatives drew attention in particular to the human rights situation and the
deteriorating welfare since the enactment of the Special Autonomy Law (OTSUS) which had led to the failure of OTSUS.

The issue that came to the fore was that for the Papuan people the
solution was merdeka – independence. ‘This poured forth from the hearts of the indigenous people during their meeting with the US diplomat on Wednesday. They said that this would be the best solution for the accumulation of problems in Papua,’ said Yan Pieter Yarangga, chairman of DAP in Biak-Supiori, following his meeting with Higgins.

He said that the visit by Melanie Higgins was consistence with the US
decision to evaluate OTSUS in Papua. She was able to hear how OTSUS had been implemented in the ten years since its enactment.

Besides talking about the failure of OTSUS, they raised some specific
cases, such as the beating of a civilian by a member of the security
forces (TNI) over a land dispute regarding land being held by the Air
Force.

They also talked about such matters as history, the development process and the growing number of poor Papuans. Women who were present spoke about the growing number of HIV/AIDS victims in Biak and everywhere in Papua.

‘We talked about many serious problems which were an indication of
genocide. ‘But we very much regret the fact that according to the US
there is no genocide in Papua,’ said the chairman of the local DAP.

He said that the indigenous people of Papua nevertheless warmly
appreciated the visit by Melanie Higgins and the present position of the US, and understood their US support for NKRI (Unitary State of the
Republic of Indonesia.).

‘But they should realise that we will not retreat and will continue to
struggle until we reach a solution for the political status for the
people of Papua and hope that Melanie Higgins will pass on the views of the indigenous Papuan people to the US government, in so that they would be passed on to the central government in Jakarta for them to take steps in favour of a comprehensive solution of the Papuan problem.’

‘Actually, there were many problems to raise with her but time was
short, so we came to the conclusion that we should raise a number of
basic indicators about problems of a very substantial nature.’

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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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