Tag: Jayapura

Ferdinand Pakage needs medical treatment, says SKPHP

JUBI, 17 February 2011

Peneas Lokbere, the chairman of SKPHP HAM Papua (Solidarity for the Victims of Human Rights Violations in Papua) has declared that they will continue to press for medical treatment for Ferdinand Pakage, a political prisoner, who is suffering from a badly damaged eye which has blinded him in one eye.

‘We will continue to fight for treatment after he was struck in the eye by an official of the Abepura Prison. This caused his eye to bleed and he is now not able to see any more with this eye.’

Lokbere said that what he really needs is a new eye but since this is not at present realistic, he must immediately get medical treatment to cure his current condition. In fact, Pakage’s family want him to have an eye transplant.

At present SKPHP is working closely with his family for the prison authorities to speed up medical attention to his condition. He said that they have been pressing for this since last year, when they sought permission for him to go to Jakarta, but the director of the prison, Liberti Sitinjak, said he would not allow the prisoner to leave Jayapura.

‘In 2010, Ferdinand heard a doctor at the General Hospital in Dok II say that he needs to have an operation in Jakarta. The doctor said that his eye was badly damaged and that even if he does get medication in Jakarta, he will continue to be blind.’

Ferdinand Pakage is a victom of the bloody UNCEN case which occurred on 16 March 2006. Actually, he knew nothing about what happened during that incident. When the incident was over, he left his house whereupon he was arrested and handcuffed by the police. He was accused of being involved in the killing of several members of Brimob when they were surrounded by a number of people.

After he was transferred to Abepura, he was tortured and struck by three prison warders: Alberth Toam, Victor Apono and Gustaf Rumaikewi. It was Alberth Toam who hit him in the face with a key. This struck him in the right eye which began to bleed.

He is currently being held with narcotics prisoners in the district of Jayapura.

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Prisoners’s lawyer concerned about health of her client in Nabire Prison

JUBI, 15 February 2011
Latifa Anum Siregar, the lawyer acting for the prisoner, Kimanus Wenda, has written to the authorities calling for her client to be moved from Nabire Prison to Jayapura in order to receive the medical attention he needs.
She said that he is suffering from a tumour. She said she had written to the provincial office of the law and human rights ministry on 4 February when she explained that Kimanus Wenda had been undergoing treatment for a long time, facilitated by the medical personnel in Nabire Prison who have now said that he must be operated on at the earliest opportunity.

However because of the lack of medical equipment available in Nabire and for family reasons, Kimanus Wenda should be moved to Jayapura where he would have the support of his family and a lawyer during medication and the operation. She has asked the Nabire Hospital to issue a letter calling for him to receive medical treatment and to be operated on in Jayapura.

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AJI has urged press to monitor rights violations in Papua

JUBI, 11 February 2011
The chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in
Jayapura, Victor Mambor, has called on the press in Papua to regularly
monitor cases of human rights violations in Papua.

‘Reports written in the media about these violations are helpful to
organisations that fight for the rights of the victims of violations,’
he said, during a speech at a workshop on the Papuan perspective
regarding human rights violations.

He stressed the importance of the role of the press in reporting the
human rights situation in Papua because this can help reduce acts of
repression against the civilian population.

‘Reports about human rights in Papua are only available from NGOs active
in the field, and these are frequently quoted in reports that appear in
the media,’ said Mambor. He also stressed the importance in ensuring
that these published reports are accurate and credible. It was also
important, he said, for journalists to provide the appropriate
references so as to make it easier for others to investigate the
violations that occur.

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JUBI: PAPUANS URGED NOT STAND FOR MRP

JUBI, 10 February 2011

PAPUANS URGED NOT STAND FOR MRP

The legal aid organisation, LP3BH, has called on Papuans not to agree
to be nominated for a seat on the MRP (Papuan People’s Assembly) in the forthcoming elections. They should also reject the entire nominations process which is now being organised by two agencies, the Kesbangpol and the LMA.

Speaking on behalf of the LP3BH, its executive director, Yan Christian
Warinussy urged Papuans to reject any offers to be nominated for the
MRP. He said that by accepting nominations, Papuans would be indicating that they support the election of a new MRP. If Papuans refuse to be nominated, this will thwart the efforts of the government to continue with the election process.

He said that by adopting such a position, Papuans will be showing that they do not support the efforts currently under way throughout West
Papua to elect members of a new MRP in all parts of the territory.

On 26 January 2011, thousands of Papuans from a variety of communities and churches took part in a demonstration calling on the Papuan provincial council, the DPRP, to halt the election of members of the MRP. The demonstrators called on the DPRP, the central government and the provincial government to respond to the eleven recommendations adopted on 9 June 2010 by the grand assembly of Papuan communities and the MRP.

[These recommendations included the call for a referendum to be held in West Papua, for the Special Autonomy Law 21/2001 to be handed back to the government and for a dialogue between the Papuan people and the Indonesian government. The first MRP was set up in 2006 in accordance with the provisions of this law. Since late last year, there have been many demonstrations in West Papua calling for the ‘return’ of the special autonomy law to the government.]

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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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