Tag: Papuan peoples

JUBI: Defining “orang asli” in Papua

The following item is from the newspaper JUBI and was published earlier this month (apologies for not having the precise date).

BPS criteria regarding orang asli Papua is strongly rejected

In connection with the criteria that were used by the Central Bureau of Statistics (Biro Pusat Statistik, BPS) for West Papua in the publication of its data about the census which was held some time ago, DAP (Dewan Adat Papua – Papuan Traditional Counsel) regards the criteria as incorrect.

He said: ‘Those said to be OAP – orang asli Papua- indigenous Papuans – are persons whose father and mother are OAP, because in accordance with the word ‘asli’, it must mean that there has been no inter-marriage whatsoever,’ said Forkorus Yaboisembut, the chairman of DAP.

He said that according to DAP, the status of OAP includes only two
criteria, which is that both the father and mother are orang asli
Papua, or the father is OAP but the mother is from outside. Persons who mother is OAP but whose father is not, cannot be said to be OAP.

According to Forkorus: ‘Their lives would also need to be considered to
see whether they have struggled and done anything in favour of Papuan interests. A referendum could not be held about the future of Papua if they were not to vote for independence,’ he said. ‘It was very clear that someone cannot be declared to be OAP without the knowledge of DAP, bearing in mind that DAP occupies the position of the protector of Papuan traditional rights in Papua.’

For the first time last year, the BPS produced six criteria for determining who is OAP, as follows:

1. Persons whose father and mother are both OAP.
2. Persons whose father but not the mother is OAP.
3. The mother is an OAP but not the father.
4. Neither parent is an OAP but they have been acknowledged as OAP.
5. Neither parent is Papuan but they have been recognised according to ‘marga’ or ‘keret’ as OAP.
6. The person has been domiciled in Papua for 35 years.

According to this definition, the number of Papuans in the province of
Papua Barat (West Papua) was given as being 51,.67 percent, of the total population of 760,000.

In view of all this, DAP hopes that the BPS will speedily correct their
data, because it is not possible for instance to say that an OAP can
include people who have lived in the province for a very long time.

Related Articles
3

AFP: Papuans Rally for Independence from Indonesia

Thousands of Papuans march in a rally in Jayapura on July 8, 2010 to urge the provincial parliament to demand a referendum on self-determination, and reject the region's special autonomy within Indonesia. (AFP Photo/Banjir Ambarita)

Hundreds of Papuans have protested in Jayapura rejecting the region’s special autonomy within Indonesia and demanding a referendum on self-determination.

Carrying a wooden coffin covered with a black cloth which said “Special Autonomy is Dead in Papua,” more than 1000 activists, students and church leaders protested on Wednesday in front of the provincial parliament, witnesses said.

“Independence for Papua, reject special autonomy,” they shouted.

“Indonesia the coloniser, Indonesia the oppressor, Indonesia the robber.”

They also called for the upper house of tribal leaders called the Papua People’s Assembly (MRP) to be disbanded.

“The MRP had done nothing to improve the welfare of Papuans. Our people are poor in their own land,” protest coordinator Selpius Bobi said.

“We reject special autonomy as that is the Indonesian government’s policy which has never supported the natives. We want a referendum that will allow us to determine our own fate,” he added.

Papua’s special autonomy status, introduced in 2001 after the fall of former president Suharto’s military dictatorship, has seen powers including control of most tax revenue from natural resources devolved to the provincial government.

However many Papuans say it has failed to improve their rights and activists accuse the Indonesian military of acting with brutal impunity against the indigenous Melanesian majority in the far-eastern region.

A court martial jailed three Indonesian soldiers on Monday for up to 10 months for abuse and insubordination after graphic video footage showed them torturing civilians in Papua.

The sentences were criticised by the United States and rights campaigners as too lenient.

Foreign media and aid workers are not allowed into Papua and West Papua provinces to investigate allegations of human rights abuses against the indigenous people.

Papua has been the scene of a low-level insurgency for decades and despite Indonesia’s vast security presence in the region, Jakarta remains extremely sensitive about any sign of separatism.

Indonesia has sent mixed messages about its willingness to loosen its grip on Papua, offering talks with separatist rebels on the one hand while jailing and killing their leaders on the other.
© 2011 AFP

7

News Flash: 2 Papuan civilians shot dead in military raid on village in highlands

Two West Papuan civilians were shot dead during an independence day raid on their village by the Indonesian military.

The raid, at 1:30am this morning was on the village of Bolakme, Wamena. The same village was the target of burnings last year by the military.

The 2 civilians confirmed dead so far are Asli Wenda and Elius Tabuni. We understand some others have suffered life threatening injuries. All villagers from the surrounding areas have now fled to forests and remain in hiding.

More news on the situation as we get it.

1

9 people arrested for displaying West Papua flag face lengthy prison sentences

Article from AFP

Nine people have been arrested after displaying the West Papua flag in Indonesia’s remote Papua province.

Eight men and a woman unfurled the banned “Morning Star” flag on Saturday in a village in Jayawijaya district, local police chief I Gede Sumerta Jaya said.

“We arrested nine people and they’re being investigated. They had raised the Morning Star flag. We found the flag and a wooden pole,” he told AFP.

“They’re likely to be named suspects on charges of plotting against the state,” he added.

Anyone convicted of displaying separatist symbols faces possible life sentence in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago with a history of secessionist rebellions.

Indonesia won sovereignty over Papua, a former Dutch colony on the western half of New Guinea island, in 1969 after a vote among a select group of Papuans widely seen as a sham.

Many Papuans accuse Indonesia’s military of violating human rights in the province and complain that the bulk of earnings from its rich natural resources flow to Jakarta.

2

Leaked files show that Kopassus, Indonesia’s Special Forces, targets Papuan Church leaders and Civilians

Jakarta, November 9, 2010.
Secret documents have leaked from inside Kopassus, Indonesia’s red berets, which say that Indonesia’s US-backed security forces engage in “murder [and] abduction” and show that Kopassus targets churches in West Papua and defines civilian dissidents as the “enemy.”

The documents include a Kopassus enemies list headed by Papua’s top Baptist minister and describe a covert network of surveillance, infiltration and disruption of Papuan institutions.

Kopassus is the most notorious unit of  Indonesia’s armed forces, TNI,  which along with POLRI, the  national police, have killed civilians by the hundreds of thousands.

The leaked cache of secret Kopassus documents includes operational,  intelligence and field reports as well as personnel records which list the names and details of Kopassus “agents.”
The documents are classified “SECRET” (“RAHASIA”) and include extensive background reports on  Kopassus  civilian targets  — reports that are apparently of uneven accuracy.

The authenticity of the documents has been verified by Kopassus personnel who have seen them and by external evidence regarding the authors and the internal characteristics of the documents.

Click on the links below to download reports (these are in PDF format)
The Kopassus “enemies” list — the “leaders” of the “separatist political movement” includes fifteen civic leaders.  In the order listed by Kopassus they are:
— Reverend Socrates Sofyan Yoman, chair of the Papua Baptist Synod
— Markus Haluk head of the Association of Indonesian Middle Mountains Students (AMPTI) and an outspoken critic of the security forces and the US mining giant Freeport McMoRan
— Buchtar Tabuni, an activist who, after appearing on the Kopassus list, was sentenced to three years prison for speech and for waving Papuan flags and was beaten bloody by three soldiers, a guard, and a policeman because he had a cell phone
— Aloysius Renwarin, a lawyer who heads a local human rights foundation
— Dr. Willy Mandowen, Mediator of PDP, the Papua Presidium Council, a broad group including local business people, former politcal prisoners, women’s and youth organizations, and Papuan traditional leaders.   His most prominent predecessor, Theys Eluay, had his throat slit by Kopassus in 2001.
— Yance Kayame, a committee chair in the Papuan provincial legislature
— Lodewyk Betawi
— Drs. Don Agustinus Lamaech Flassy of the Papua Presidium Council staff
— Drs. Agustinus Alue Alua, head of the MRP, the Papuan People’s Council, which formally represents Papuan traditional leaders and was convened and recognized by the Jakarta government
— Thaha Al Hamid, Secretary General of the Papua Presidium Council
— Sayid Fadal Al Hamid, head of the Papua Muslim Youth
— Drs. Frans Kapisa, head of Papua National Student Solidarity
— Leonard Jery Imbiri, public secretary of DAP, the Papuan Customary Council, which organizes an annual plenary of indigenous groups, has staged Papua’s largest peaceful demonstrations, and has seen its offices targeted for clandestine arson attacks
— Reverend Dr. Beny Giay, minister of the Protestant evangelical KINGMI Tent of Scripture church of Papua
— Selfius Bobby, student at the Fajar Timur School of Philosophy and Theology (LAPORAN TRIWULAN p. 6)
2

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑