JUBI, 12 September 2010 The chairman of the Synod of the Evangelical Church (Kingmi) of Papua, Dr Benny Giay, said that many problems continue to bear down heavily on the Papuan people in the Land of Papua. Many young people face a host of very complex problems, from awareness of their own identity in the face of influences coming from outside Papua, to alcoholic drinking, HIV/AIDS, and the absence of any democratic space. 'Many problems are occurring every day, compelling us to confront them together. At the very least, people feel the need to stand up and fight back, and dont like the idea of simply accepting things as they are.' Dr Giay was speaking at the conclusion of a Spiritual, Cultural and Sports Week run by the Kingmi Church in Enarotali on Saturday, 9 September. The theme of the week was 'The Need for Change in order to be Strong.' The problems cover a wide range of issues, social, economic, political, cultural, the search for knowledge, acts of violence and human rights violations. All these things are acutely felt by the Papuan people. 'There are so many excesses, they make us feel very insecure.' What we need to do is to turn to God with prayer and also work very hard, he said. 'All forces in society, including the Church, have the responsibility to focus on the problems confronted by the people.' He said that people need to be supported by their faith. 'As people created by God, we must all focus on people's problems and complaints and also on their aspirations.' 'Young men and women must be guided by their faith and need help to ensure that their potentials can be developed in every field of life.' Dr Giay also hoped for collaboration with other churches in confronting a variety of phenomena that are threatening the very existence of our people in the Land of Papua. ------------------------- [Nothing new for nearly a week from Bintang Papua, no doubt because of the Idul Fitri gatherings and events. TAPOL]
SMH: Counter-terrorism squad to stay in Papua
Tom Allard
Media Information – FYI
September 14, 2010
JAKARTA: Detachment 88 has a legitimate role in countering separatism and will remain in Papua, where a long-simmering independence campaign has been running, the unit’s commander, Tito Karnavian, has confirmed.
In an interview with the Herald, Brigadier General Karnavian said Papua was different to Maluku, another Indonesian province where members of the counter-terrorism unit have been accused of abuses and from where they will soon leave.
General Karnavian pointed to shootings last year near the US-owned Freeport mine, in which an Australian worker, Drew Grant, and others died, as evidence that separatists in Papua were using ”tactics of terror”.
”Any group using violence against civilians must be seen as a terrorist group. It’s not just Islamic groups,” he said.
”You can’t confine Detachment 88 only for Islamic groups. That would be used by Islamic groups to say that we are just an extension of the Western powers against Islam.”
Independence supporters dispute that their armed wing, Organisasi Papua Merdeka, was involved in the Freeport shootings, blaming Indonesian military and police who lost the lucrative job of guarding the gargantuan gold and copper mine.
One analyst, who asked not to be named, doubted whether Detachment 88 should play a significant role in suppressing separatism and said it could prove counter-productive.
”It’s a huge mistake to brand separatist activity as terrorism – activities designed to create fear – when you are trying to find a political solution in places like Papua,” the analyst said.
Australia and the US fund and train Detachment 88, Indonesia’s elite counter-terrorism unit, and value its skill in preventing terrorist attacks, uncovering networks and arresting offenders.
But the nations have been concerned by repeated allegations of abuses in Maluku and are wary of being linked to its counter-separatist activities.
In response to the Herald’s revelations yesterday about abuses in Maluku, l an Australian Foreign Affairs spokesman said: ”Det-88 has not sought assistance from Australia in any investigations or operations to counter internal separatist movements.”
Brigadier General Karnavian said an imminent restructuring of Detachment 88 would see its forces outside Jakarta, including those in Papua, focus on ”intelligence gathering rather than investigations”.
Under the new arrangements, forces would report directly to Jakarta. At present, General Karnavian said he had no control over Detachment 88 police outside the capital, including those in Maluku. ”They were instructed directly by the head of police or head of detectives in the province,” he said.
An Indonesia analyst from the Australian National University, Greg Fealy, welcomed the restructure. ”There are some well trained, highly professional Densus [Detachment 88] officers at the national level, but regional units often reflect local police culture and preoccupations, including a greater tendency to use violence.”
Pax Christi International Statement on the Situation in the Papuan Provinces of Indonesia
Pax Christi International Statement on the Situation in the Papuan Provinces of Indonesia
Human rights issues arising from the transfer of the western half of New Guinea from Netherlands to Indonesia in the 1960s threaten to flare up again if Papuan concerns are not addressed peacefully.
Pax Christi International made a written intervention on the occasion of the 15th session of the Human Rights Council: 13 September – 1 October 2010.
The Human Rights Council should urge the Indonesian Government to enter meaningful negotiations with the leadership of the representative Papuan bodies without pre-conditions and under international mediation.
Recently, political tension in the Papuan provinces of Indonesia has increased, particularly over the past two months as Papuan people across all sectors have openly rejected the 2001 Special Autonomy Law (OTSUS). The high hopes for greater self governance brought about by the autonomy law, have withered away as its implementation is obstructed by the Indonesian authorities. From the start OTSUS has been hamstrung by delays in the Central Government’s empowering regulations and systematic interference by Indonesia’s political and military bureaucracies. Money allocated to the provincial government for development, education and health is being absorbed by a vastly increased bureaucracy as regencies grew from nine to thirty, each with its own military, police and intelligence agencies. Because these funds are depleted by corruption, the maintenance of buildings, public servants’ wages and military operations, healthcare and education are in serious decline. The hopes for greater self governance have also been swamped by the persistent migration from other parts of Indonesia which rendered the Papuans a minority in their own country. The ever growing numbers of police and military personnel, countering any form of Papuan opposition with severe and sometimes deadly force as well as the central government’s plans for clear-felling millions of hectares of rainforest can only confirm the fears of the Papuans for their very survival as a people. The rejection of OTSUS has been accompanied by public demonstrations, including one of more than 20,000 indigenous people in Jayapura on 8 July. Pax Christi International fears that such demonstrations of discontent by indigenous people will lead to increasingly violent suppression by the Indonesian authorities. Recent reports speak of “sweeping” operations in the regency of Punkak Jaya, the central highlands area in the vicinity of major mining operations. This practice, where military units focus on a particular area to “sweep” out any real or suspected resistance to the takeover of land or resources, was already a feature of the early years of Indonesian occupation of West Papua, resulting in extensive loss of life and destruction of indigenous infrastructure.
Full statement here: Pax Christi International Statement on the Situation in the Papuan Provinces of Indonesia
Institute of Papuan Intellectuals calls for a referendum
Bintang Papua, 7 September 2010
[Abridged in translation]
The Central Council of the Institute of Intellectuls in the Land of
Papua has issued a statement which rejects any move to Revise and
Evaluate Special Autonomy. They said that the Special Autonomy Law – OTSUS – was adopted nine years ago but, they asked, what has the
government done in all that time?
When it was adopted, OTSUS was described as being an alternative move by the central government in response to the wishes of the indigenous people to secede from the Indonesian Republic. This was because of the huge disparity in many spheres, such as welfare, education, economic activities,.health, infrastructure and human rights violations.
In fact, OTSUS was introduced by the Indonesian government in order to ensure that West Papua remains with the Republic of Indonesia.
Implementation of the law should have involved the introducetion of
special regulations – Perdasus and Perdasi – but the central government along with officials of the two provinces, Papua and West Papua have turned OTSUS into a disaster for the people of the Land of Papua. So what can the central government be proud of achieving in its wish to revise and evaluate OTSUS?
The statement said in conclusion:
The Institute of Intellectuals of the Land of Papua and its members
throughout Papua, in other parts of Indonesia and abroad, hereby declare:
1. We reject any revision of OTSUS and any evaluation of the
implementation of OTSUS.
2.We call for a Referendum.
3. We call on the UN to facilitate the process for a referendum in West
Papua.
4. We call on the UN to take action to uphold the rights of the indigenous people of West Papua.
Signed by:
Pares L. Wenda, Chairman for Politics, Law and Human Rights
Natalsen Basna, General Chairman
Complaints about market space for Papuan women
Bintang Papua, 7 September 2010
[Abridged in translation]
Solidaritas Perempuan (Women’s Solidarity) Port Numbay has called on
the Papuan provincial legislative council (DPRP) to pay proper attention
to the needs of Papuan women – mama-mama – traders who have not been
provided with suitable space in the market, Pasar Hamadi to sell their
wares.
In a demonstration to represent the aspirations of the women, they
complained that the Jayapura municipal administration has failed to
promote the interests of the women and the customary rights of the
Ireuuw people to a decent place for stalls in the market. They said that
there were still quite a lot of the women without decent locations to
conduct their business.
This was in breech of the Special Autonomy Law 21/2001 which stresses
the need to take sides with the indigenous Papuan people. This is a
matter that needs the special attention of the government, especially
the provincial administration, they said.
Solidaritas Perempuan itself consists of eleven mama-mama. It insists
that the traditional rights of the people must be respected.
The chairperson of the organisation, Yosephine Hamadi, together with the
local coordinator, met a member of the DPRP and wants to meet members of
Commissions A and B.
A representative of Commission A, Hein Ohee, said that he felt unable
to respond to the demands of Solidaritas Perempuan because they did not
appear to be united among themselves on the matter.
He also said that the market’s location was still problematic following
a recent fire, and since the reconstruction of the market after the
fire, complications had arisen over the traditional rights of the Ireuuw
people and the compensation payments, all of which needs further
discussion, and the risk that anything done in the location might lead
to further problems.
The complaint by Solidaritas Peremmpuan that the decision about the
location for the women revealed a lack of justice and understanding,
reflects concerns not only of the Ireuuw people but of Papuan women in
other parts of Papua. They said that they would have further meetings
with the trade department to try to resolve the issue.
West Papua Media Alerts 