Tag: Papuan people

Two West Papuan Community led Ecological Struggles

From our friends at Hidup Biasa

http://hidupbiasa.blogspot.com/2012/03/west-papuan-community-ecological.html and http://hidupbiasa.blogspot.com/2012/03/tablasupa-nickel-minings-drilling-rig.html

Two West Papuan Community Ecological Struggles

On the sidelines of the Papuan People’s struggle for self-determination, at a local level Papuan communities continue to resist the logging and mining industries that are destroying their forests. Here are two stories of recent community resistance from areas close to the Papuan capital Jayapura, translated from the Alliance for Democracy in Papua website http://www.aldepe.com.

1. Seeing their forest destroyed, Arso Villagers Burn Five Logging Camps.

Annoyed by hearing the sound of chainsaws almost every day, and in addition the reports of villagers who regularly enter the forest telling of finding loggers’ camps there, around 20 people from Arso, both young and old, agreed to check the forest for themselves.

Community Resistance against logging (file photo: "The forest eats the forest-eater" by manukoreri.net/westpapuamedia)

This area of forest is commonly called the ‘Golden Triangle’, and is divided between the territory of three villages, Arso, Workwana and Wambes.

As they had guessed they would, once inside the forest they found two sites used by loggers, which had been connected with a track made from offcuts of wood which the loggers would use, dragging the wood from behind a vehicle.

At the first site there was only one camp. At this camp they confiscated two chainsaws and took statements from three loggers who were at the location. They then forced the loggers to leave.

The group continued to the next location. Possibly because the loggers had received information from their friends at the first site, there was only one person left, and they didn’t find any chainsaws.

As their emotions rose some people almost hit out at the logger, but were held back by others. At this second location, four camps were found, complete with televisions, speakers, supplies of food and clothing and so on.  Two vehicles used for dragging wood were also found.  In their emotional state, the people destroyed and burned the camps and everything they found there, along with the camp at the first location.  The two vehicles were also burnt.

According to statements from the loggers, they had been given permission by the customary chief of kampung Workwana, although the Arso villagers felt that they had been cutting trees far inside the Arso territory.

Several people interviewed in kampung Arso on Tuesday 6th March explained that they were still angry “It’s so sad to look at that forest, they even cut very small ironwood trees.” said Wenderlinus Tuamis, a youth who had participated that day.

Meanwhile, according to Franky Borotian, they had been allowing the logging to continue because previously a villager from Workwana had asked to use wood to build her house “a sister had asked for permission to build a house, but then it turned out someone used that permission for business purposes”, he said.

The problem has been passed over to the Customary Council (Dewan Adat).  Villagers asked the Customary Council to use their wisdom to resolve the situation so that conflicts between the people would not emerge.  Especially since the Golden Triangle had become the area which people rely on for food, as other areas have been taken over by two big oil palm plantations, state-owned PTPN II and PT Tandan Sawita Papua (Part of Peter Sondakh’s Rajawali Group)

source: http://www.aldepe.com/2012/03/merasa-hutannya-dirusak-warga-arso.html

2. Tablasupa Nickel Mining’s Drilling Rig Burned, Three Imprisoned

On the morning of 8th February 2012, local people from kampung Tablasupa, near to the Papuan capital Jayapura, burned a drilling rig belonging to the mining company PT Tablasupa Nikel Mining.   The action was connected to an ongoing conflict between local people and the company, which plans to mine nickel on 9629 hectares of land, and is currently carrying out exploration activities.   Although the company has been given a permit by the local Jayapura Bupati’s office, the people of Tablasupa feel that their rights as the holders of customary rights over the land have not been respected.

Two weeks after the machine was burnt, on February 20th,  police arrested
three villagers. Saul Sorontouw, Lambertus Seibo and Kanisius Kromisian.
They have been charged under article 170 of the Indonesian penal code, and are being held in Jayapura police headquarters. While in prison Saul Sorontouw has been ill with gout, which has caused swellings in his knees.  On February 28th police demanded statements from another six villagers, but they were allowed to go home that evening.

The following statement was released by villagers of Tablasupa the day
before the action:

Statement of opinion of the Sorontou-Okoseray-Kiswaitou Ethnic Group
As holders of rights to customary lands on the area covered by PT Tablasupa Nickel Mining’s Mine Enterprise Permit (IUP), Mining Rights (KP) and the Bupati’s recommendation that allows exploration in Kampung Tablasupa, Jayapura Regency

Regarding the as yet unresolved problems around PT Tablasupa Nickel Mining commencing exploration activities on customary land belonging to the people of kampung Tablasupa, the Sorontou- Okoseray- Kiswaitou ethnic group wishes to make the following declaration:

“Reject PT Tablasupa Nickel Mining” conducting exploration and mineral exploitation activities within the customary boundaries of the Sorontou- Okoseray- Kiswaitou ethnic group.

The reasons for our rejection of mining activities are as follows:
1. The whole territory of kampung Tablasupa is unsuitable for mining
activities.

2. The impact of mining activities would also damage the environment of
areas that fall within the territory of neighbouring villages.

3 To avoid mining activities causing conflict with the people and nearby villages.

4. The effect of mining activities will damage and desecrate the environment, and industrial pollution from the mine will contribute to global warming and affect the sources of clean water from the Cyclop mountains.

5. No consensus has been reached through a musyawarah system that would
represent an agreement between the people of Tablasupa and neighbouring
villages.

6. The holders of customary rights to the land have not given their approval (under the Law on Mineral and Coal Mining 4/2009 article 135, companies holing a Mine Enterprise Permit can only commence activities if they have obtained agreement from the holders of customary rights on that land).

7. The customary and human rights of the Sorontou- Okoseray- Kiswaitou
ethnic group must be respected and valued by all.

A solution to the development of kampung Tablasupa which supports the
social economy and also contributes to local business could include:
-building beach tourism and hotels
-developing fishing
-selling fresh water.

Such development would involve all the people of Tablsupa either as workers or taking roles in a management structure and could take the form of an enterprise or foundation that was formed by the people of kampung Tablasupa.

This is the message that the Sorontou- Okoseray- Kiswaitou ethnic group wishes to be known by the general public.

Tablasupa, 07 February 2012 .

Sources: http://www.aldepe.com/2012/02/polisi-menahan-3-tiga-warga-sehubungan.html ; http://www.aldepe.com/2012/03/saul-sorontouw-sakit-di-tahanan-polres.html ; and other articles on http://www.aldepe.com
statement: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Komunitas_Papua/message/2952

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Stop criminalising lawyers and human rights activists in makar cases

JUBI, 5 March 2012
Chairman of the Garda KPP P Bovit Bofra (Jubi / Arjuna)

 

Bearing in mind the continual terrorising of defence lawyers during the makar (treason) trial  [now under way in Jayapura] and  of human rights activists as well as journalists covering the trial, the central executive of GARDA-P , the Movement for People’s Democracy has called upon the security forces to put an end to all of their attempts to silence these people.

In a press release issued by GARDA-P on 5 March, it called for an end to the criminalisation of the lawyers defending Forkorus Yabisembut and his four co-defendants. They also urged the Indonesian government to  dismiss the head of the Public Prosecutors Office, Julius D Teuf, SH and replace him because he has been deliberately attempting to criminalise the defence team of Forkorus and his co-defendants.

‘We also call on the prosecutors to stop their questioning during which they have made offensive and insulting remarks  about the defendants and also about the Papuan people during the trial.We call for the unconditional release of the defendants and for an end to all the violence and  prohibitions  against journalists wanting to report the trial hearings because the trial is being held in public.’

GARDA-P said that during makar trials in Papua, the defence lawyers  are always being subjected to threats and terror by the security forces because they are defending persons who are being charged with makar.

Not only the lawyers but also the judges  are threatened and subjected  to interruptions, to ensure that the hearings comply with the interests of the state. Not only that, but also the bags of the defence lawyers are searched  before they enter the court.for the trial of Forkorus and his co-defendants.

GARDA-P  also said that the police on duty frequently carry weapons outside the courthouse in order to terrorise the defendants and their lawyers. and seek to threaten journalists who are reporting the trial which is open to the public.

GARDA-P regards these actions as being attempts to influence the court proceedings  in order to ensure that the police and the prosecutors make heavier demands for those facing  makar charges.

‘During the hearing on 24 February, while witnesses were being questioned, the prosecutor was constantly interrupting the questioning which greatly angered the defence lawyer, Gustaf Kawar, with the prosecutor now seeking to exclude Gustaf Kawar from the defence team. Such actions are an attempt to cause division (among the lawyers) and to make things more difficult for the defendants.’

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‘Saying that there are no political prisoners in Papua is a Lie’

Bintang Papua, 7 March 2012Following a statement that has just been made by Amir Syamsuddin, the Minister for Law and Human Rights claiming that there are no political prisoners (tapol/napol) in Papua, various human rights groups as well as Mama Yosepha, the Director of  the Human Rights and Anti-Violence Foundation, and Markus Haluk, a well-known Papuan human rights activist, have responded.

Mama Yosepha and Markus Haluk said: ‘This statement by the Minister for Law and Human Rights shows the extent of the lies being made in public, which came after the dialogue organised by Amnesty International  last November. The Minister said that there were no political prisoners in Papua, only criminal prisoners. This is in line with the racist policies that are used against the Papuan people,’ said Markus Haluk.

Mama Yosepha and Markus Haluk said: ‘We are well aware of the denials and lies continually being spread by the Indonesian government through the Minister for Law and Human Rights. This is happening systematically in relation to the true facts that are known to the Papuan people. Since late 2011, five political prisoners have been on trial, Forkorus and his four colleagues, who are facing the charge of makar – treason – in connection with the declaration made by the Federal Republic of West Papua in October 2011 on Zakheus Square, Jayapura. In addition, from 2008 – 2010, sixteen political prisoners have been in custody in Manokwari while in Fak-Fak there are as many as sixteen prisoners, as well as fifteen in Nabire, four in Mamberamo Raya, one in Biak who is being held in  Abepura prison, and of all these, four are convicted prisoners, plus another six in Timika , which means that from 2008 to the present there have been 67 political prisoners.’

Markus went on to say that there are around ten political prisoners being held in connection with the assault on the ammunition dump in Wamena in 2003 who are now in  custody in Nabire and Biak prisons,while Filep Karma has been in custody since 2004, having been sentenced to fifteen years  and is being held in Abepura Prison, which brings the total since 2008 to seventy-two tapols and napols (tapol refers to detainees, while napol refers to convicted prisoners).

The fact that there are political prisoners in  Papua  was officially acknowledged by the head of  the Papua office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Drs Daniel Biantong in 2010, when he produced a list of 25 persons registered as tapol and napol throughout Papua.

‘The demands for sentencing have varied from eleven months to life imprisonment. This can be broken down as follows: one person for eleven months, two persons for three years, three persons for five years, one person for six years, one person for ten years and one person for fourteen years, as well as three persons who  were sentenced to fifteen years, five who were sentenced to seventeen years, four to twenty years, while two were given life sentences. In all these cases, the prisoners were charged with makar under Article 106 of the Criminal Code,’ he said.

If we go farther back, said Markus,  following the dialogue held on 26 February 1999 during the presidency of B.J.Habibie , all political prisoners who were then being held in Papua were released. However, one year later, in 2000, many Papuan leaders  and ordinary Papuans were arrested and put on trial for makar, and this has been going on up to the present day.

Mama Yosepha,  said: ‘We human rights activists in Papua  have been firmly insisting that there are tapols and napols in Papua, and they are not criminal prisoners. We urge on the Indonesian government to stop spreading lies  and making racist remarks, like talking about murders, arrests and detentions with regard to Papuan leaders and ordinary Papuans here in the Land of Papua. Instead they should release Papuan leaders such as Forkorus Yaboisembut and Edison Waromi as well as the three others with them and lift the makar charges that are being made against all five of them.’

She went on to say: ‘Bearing in mind the statement made by the Minister for Law and Human Rights last  year and then on 5 March 2012, and bearing in mind too that Indonesia is now a Democratic State,what should happen is that the Indonesian government should release all the political prisoners who are now being held throughout Papua  as well as outside Papua.’

She went on to add: ‘We urge the Indonesian government to allow complete access for diplomats, journalists, human rights workers, members of Senates and congresses [around the world] to visit Papua.’

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World Council of Churches concerned about human rights violations in Papua

[Abridged in translation by TAPOLBintang Papua, 6 March 2011]
Photo at head of article: Rev. Dr Sae Nababan, President of the World Council of Churches

Jayapura: The World Council of Churches is very concerned about the violation of human rights  in Papua , said the Rev. Nababan in a discussion with Bintang Papua on Tuesday, 6 March. He said that the WCC was very concerned about the many injustices being suffered by the Papuan people.

The World Council of Churches  has registered its concerns and has informed the Indonesian government of this as well as churches around the world.

The Rev. Nababan said that he was not interested in political developments but was concerned about the fate of its congregation in Papua. ‘We are not following the political developments but what we are concerned about is the fate of the Papuan people who are suffering suppression, who feel that they are a colonised people and are being marginalised. This is what we are concerned about,’ he said.

‘We are not discussing the basis of the state but we are very concerned about the Papuan peoples lack of  freedom,that their dignity must be respected and an end to the discrimination that they suffer.’

Asked whether the WCC supports the idea of a referendum news of which has been circulating here, he said that people should not be confused  about things like this but the fact is that the Council had received a great deal of information about the situation, not only from Papua and Indonesia but also  from organisations around the world and when they had looked at the situation, they were very aware that human rights were repeatedly being violated in West Papua.

Rev Nababan said that the WCC which has been able to visit Papua had indeed found that human rights violations have been repeatedly occurring there.

In statement issued by the WCC at its meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from 14 – 17 February, they issued a statement in which they also said that the Papuan people are not benefiting from the rich natural resources in Papua, that there is widespread poverty as well as a lack of facilities to for health care and for a decent education for the children. Multi-national corporations were exploiting its natural resources and the activities of these corporations had seriously damaged the environment.

The special autonomy law was not being properly implemented by the government which resulted in the Papuan people feeling that they were being badly treated by the security forces.

The statement also called on the United Nations to set up a Permanent Observer Mission in Papua  to supervise a referendum.

The statement issued by the WCC at the end of its four-day meeting made the following points:

a) Expressed deep concern about the worsening human rights situation in the Land of Papua.
b) Called upon the Indonesian government to take the necessary steps to free its political prisoners and lift regulations banning people from gathering peacefully and to demilitarise West Papua.
c) The government was urged to take the necessary steps for a dialogue with the indigenous Papuan people and to protect the rights of the people to live according to their basic rights.
d) To ensure that the security forces halt the killings and injuries inflicted on Papuan people and the damage done to their mental health.
e) Called upon churches and their partners to get involved in advocacy for peace and security n Papua.
f)  Ensure that the member churches of the WCC should work on advocating peace and security for the Papuan people.
g) To pray for the people and the churches in the Land of Papua to continue to give witness  for peace, reconciliation and hope.

 Read the full World Council of Churches committee statement on Tanah Papua here: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/executive-committee/bossey-february-2012/statement-on-the-situation-in-tanah-papua-indonesia.html

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West Papua Report March 2012

West Papua flag


This is the 95th in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). Back issues are posted online at http://www.etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com. If you wish to receive the report via e-mail, send a note to etan@etan.org.

Summary: A proposed U.S. sale of assault helicopters to the Indonesian military (TNI) would augment the military’s capacity to conduct “sweeping operations” against Papuans, especially against villagers who have for years suffered indiscriminate military attacks. The West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT), in comment, calls on the U.S. Congress to block this sale. Indonesian authorities continue to block efforts of respected international non-governmental organizations to work in West Papua. The international media freedom advocacy organization, Reporters without Borders, is calling on the Indonesian government to end its repression of journalist activity in West Papua. WPAT notes that impeding NGO activities in West Papua and restricting media are part of a deliberate government policy aimed at obscuring Jakarta’s repression in the region. The policy, developed by the Suharto dictatorship, continues. Papuans, demonstrating peacefully, rejected Jakarta’s latest plan to salvage its “special autonomy” policy and demanded a referendum. Jakarta’s trial of Papuan leader Forkorus Yaboisembut and others for organizing the Papuan Third National Congress (October 16-19, 2011) is off to a rocky start as prosecution witnesses prove ineffective in documenting the government’s case. The World Council of Churches has issued a “wake up call” to the international community regarding growing tension and rights abuse in West Papua. International Parliamentarians for West Papua launched its Australian-Pacific branch.

Contents

* Sale of U.S. Military Helicopters to Indonesian Military Endangers on Papuan Civilians
* Indonesian Authorities Stiff Arms NGO Efforts to Work in West Papua
* International Media Freedom Group Raises Alarm About Repression of Journalists in West Papua
* Papuans Reject Central Government Unit Established to Salvage Special Autonomy
* Jakarta Case Against Papuans Peacefully Calling for Papuans Right to Self Determination Encounters Problems
* World Council of Churches Issues “Wake Up Call” to The International Community
* Australian-Pacific Branch of International Parliamentarians for West Papua

As this report was being prepared pressure on the legal team defending the Papuans involved in the Papuan Third National Congress has increased. A particular target is lawyer Gustav Kawer. TAPOL has issued the following plea which WPAT strongly endorses:

On Wednesday, March 5, call +62 967 532640 and ask to speak to the Head of the Prosecutor’s Office Imanuel Zebua, or his representative. There should be somebody there who speaks English, but if not it shouldn’t be a big problem – as long as the name and the concern come across that should have some impact.


Sale of U.S. Military Helicopters to Indonesian Military Endangers Papuan Civilians

Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told Antara that Indonesia intends to buy eight AH-64 Apache helicopters from the United States. The sale of the AH-64 helicopters to the Indonesian military (TNI) poses a direct threat to Papuan civilians who have been the target of TNI assaults for many years. TNI “sweep operations,” including one currently underway in the Central Highlands region, include attacks on villages and the destruction of homes, churches and public buildings. These TNI assaults, purportedly aimed at eliminating the poorly armed Papuan resistance, force innocent villagers from their homes. The Papuans either flee to neighboring villages or into the surrounding forests where many die cut off from access to their gardens, shelter and medical care.

The AH-64 is designed for air to ground attack. It comes with a night vision system and is armed with chain gun M230 30mm. It also is equipped with rocket pods.

These aircraft will substantially augment the TNI’s capacity to prosecute its sweep operations in West Papua and will almost certainly lead to much higher cost to the civilian populations long victimized by such operations. The U.S. Congress must be notified of major weapons sales and can object to them.

WPAT Comment: Provision of these helicopters to the Indonesian military would significantly expand its capacity to extend its notorious sweep operations into remote areas that are now effectively beyond the reach of TNI ground forces. A U.S. decision to dramatically enhance the range and effectiveness of TNI sweeps would cast the United States in the role of an enabler and collaborator in military operations targeting civilians. The U.S. Congress can and should block the sale of this weapons system to the Indonesian military.)

Indonesian Authorities Stiff Arms NGO Efforts to Work in West Papua

Employing bureaucratic subterfuge, including manipulation of visa requirements and refusal to issue travel permits, the Indonesian central government has prevented respected international non-governmental organizations from monitoring human rights developments in West Papua, providing protection for Papuan human rights workers and even from affording humanitarian services. In 2009, Jakarta forced the International Committee of the Red Cross to close its offices in West Papua.

In late 2010, Peace Brigades International (PBI), an organization devoted to protecting human rights advocates around the world, ended its activities in West Papua following years of dealing with visa obstacles thrown in its path by Jakarta. PBI’s good faith effort to negotiate an arrangement whereby it would staff an office in West Papua with Indonesian personnel failed.

The Dutch humanitarian organization Cordaid was also forced to end its activities in West Papua. A July 2010 directive from the Indonesian government ended the agency’s decades old work in the area of social development and economic empowerment for the poor. Indonesian authorities refused permission for Australia’s Caritas to place its personnel in West Papua. A recent Oxfam project in West Papua, intended to empower women, has operated under constraints imposed by Jakarta including refusal to allow non-Indonesian consultants of the organization associated with the project to travel to West Papua.

International Media Freedom Group Raises Alarm About Repression of Journalists in West Papua

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on February 10 called on the Indonesian government to ensure press freedom after a series of media freedom violations in West Papua.

Darma Sahlan, a journalist working for the weekly Monitor Medan, was found dead in a ditch in the village of Lawe Dua in Aceh province on February 5. RSF urged “the authorities to do everything possible to shed light on his death, and to not rule out the possibility that he was murdered in connection with his work.” The victim’s wife told local media (Serambi Indonesia) that her husband had had a heated phone conversation about one of his stories with someone a month before. An autopsy showed he had sustained a blow to the head from a blunt object and injuries to the face. Skid marks were also found near the body.

“They must also do what is necessary to guarantee the safety of journalists and freedom of information. We are very worried by the problems for journalists throughout the country and in West Papua in particular,” RSF said.

The group also also criticized the February 8 arrest in West Papua of Czech journalist Petr Zamecnik for taking photos of a pro-independence demonstration in Manokwari town in Papua region. The Czech reporter was subsequently deported. The demonstration protested the trail of prominent Papuans for their role in the peaceful convening of the “Third Papuan National Congress, October 16-19” (see report on the trial below). Photos of that demonstration from a separate source (see http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/2012/1203wpap.htm#photo ) reveal a peaceful, colorful demonstration. Indonesia imposes strict visa regulations on foreign visitors to Papua and tight restrictions on foreign journalists looking to report from the region. In 2010, two French journalists were deported from Papua for filming a peaceful demonstration outside government-approved areas.

Reporters Without Borders ranks Indonesia 146th out of 179 countries in its latest Press Freedom Index.

WPAT Comment: Pressure on international NGO’s attempting to work in West Papua (see above), in conjunction with the pressure on international journalists, are key to Jakarta’s continuing strategy, developed under the Suharto dictatorship, to prevent the world from witnessing its repressive policies in West Papua.

Papuans Reject Central Government Unit Established to Salvage Special Autonomy

Papuans demonstrated in opposition to the creation of a special unit intended to implement Jakarta’s failed “Special Autonomy” policy. Papuans have widely rejected the policy after a decade of failed implementation. The special unit, the Papua and West Papua Development Acceleration Unit (UP4B), was the target of Papuan students demonstrations. UP4B has the backing of President Yudhoyono. (For discussion of this Unit, its purpose and leadership, see the West Papua Report for November 2011.)

Demonstrations were organized by Papuan students studying in Makassar, South Sulawesi, and in Jayapura (Port Nambay), the capital of Papua province. The students in Makassar, according to a Jakarta Post story contended that the new unit would not solve problems, but only create new ones, in part by providing opportunities for corruption as has the “Special Autonomy” policy itself. The February 20 Makassar demonstration was organized by the Student Solidarity Forum for Papuan People. The students reportedly called for a tri-partite dialogue to address problems in Papua to involving the central government, the Papuan people and Amnesty International.

Meanwhile, thousands of Papuans in Jayapura on February 21 also called for the disbanding of the UP4B unit in a demonstration before the Papua Peoples Assembly (MRP) building. The demonstrators in Jayapura, like the Papuans in Makassar the day before also rejected “Special Autonomy” but added a call for a referendum on West Papua’s political future.

Jakarta Case Against Papuans Peacefully Calling for Papuans Right to Self Determination Encounters Problems

The trial of Forkorus Yaboisembut and four others who organized the October 16-19, 2011 Third Papuan National Congress is increasingly lurching toward a juridical farce. The public prosecutor announced that he would pose criminal charges against Gustaf Kawar, one of the defendants’ principal lawyers.

The prosecutor appears to be reacting to an incident on February 24 in which Kawar rebuffed the prosecutor’s attempts to interfere with the defense team’s cross examination of police witnesses. The defense team confronted the police witnesses with various facts, including that the meeting had proceeded peacefully and that police had severely mistreated Papuans who had attended the Congress.

Earlier in the trail, the police whom the prosecution produced as witnesses proved to be less than effective. Six of these witnesses were unable to answer questions from the chief persecutor regarding the declaration regarding Papuan independence that was allegedly read out at the end of the conference nor could they say whether the five defendants had been involved in a criminal conspiracy to set up the Federal Republic of West Papua.

One of the witnesses who had been summoned was a member of the Papuan People’s Assembly (MRP). Due to his membership in that body he was disallowed as a prosecution witness. The defense team successfully argued that inasmuch as the MRP is a cultural, and since the trial was related to the political aspirations of the Papuan people, that MRP member’s appearance might cause a conflict between the MRP and the Papuan people.

According to a lengthy report of the hearing in Bintang Papua, the police witnesses appeared not to know the defendants and were unaware of the declaration by Forkorus calling for the re-establishment of the Federal Republic of West Papua. According to Bintang Papua, the first witness, member of the Jayapura City police force, admitted that he did not know the identity of one of the accused, Agustinus Sananay Kraar.

World Council of Churches Issues “Wake Up Call” to the International Community

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee recently issued a statement expressing concern over the escalation of violence in Tanah Papua (West Papua). The organization urged the Indonesian authorities to stop the killings of civilians at the hands of armed forces and protect the rights of Papuan people.

The statement highlights that the “tragic escalation in tension once again poses a wake-up call to Indonesia and the international community.” It insists that the “grievances of the Papuan people must be addressed without further delay.”

The report described how Papuans has suffered economic deprivation since the times of the Suharto dictatorship which developed a policy of “transmigration” whereby non-Papuans were transferred from other islands into West Papua,rendering Papuans a minority in their own land.

“Over the past several years the Papuan people have been demanding freedom of expression and the right to self determination, but the demands for their legitimate rights have been continuously suppressed by the Indonesian authorities,” reads the statement.

The statement called the churches to “provide long term accompaniment and also to be engaged in advocacy on peace and security for all Papuans in their struggle for the right to life and right to dignity.”

The statement was released during a WCC Executive Committee meeting in Bossey, Switzerland, which took place from 14 to 17 February.

Australian-Pacific Branch of International Parliamentarians for West Papua

The Australian Green Party, February 28, hosted the launch of the Australia-Pacific chapter of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP). The event took place in the Parliament House in Canberra and was attended by some members of the ruling Australia Labor Party. Their participation drew criticism of the Labor Party leadership. Acting Foreign Minister Craig Emerson had urged Labor parliamentarians not to attend. One Labor member of Parliament, Laurie Ferguson, who defied Emerson’s advice by attending the launch, called Emerson’s urgings as “unprecedented, ridiculous and ill-informed.”

He called the launch “overdue,” adding “We’re talking about a country where people get 15 years in jail for raising a flag, where on all common analyses of Indonesian society it is the second worst province in regards to longevity of people’s life, child, infant mortality, income levels.” Ferguson said that there are about 60 West Papuans being held as political prisoners and described allegations of heavy militarization of the province.

The launch was welcomed in West Papua. In Biak, demonstrators carried the banned morning star flag and signs in English welcoming the launch. They called the 1969 “Act of Free Choice,” the fraudulent exercise through which Indonesia annexed West Papua, “illegal.” Demonstrators also peacefully took to the streets in Jayapura and in Timika where demonstrators flew the flags of Australia, New Zealand and Vanuatu.

In Fak Fak, at least ten Papuans were arrested on March 1 after peaceful February 28 demonstrations welcoming the formation of the IPWP chapter in Australia. The demonstrators also reportedly protested the formation of the U4PB (see above).

Back issues of West Papua Report

Full March 2012 report with graphics is here: http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/2012/1203wpap.htm

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