AI - INDONESIA: PAPUAN ACTIVIST AT RISK FOLLOWING BEATING

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA21/014/2011/en/83b04516-cb19-4e38-b302-2ec940afa539/asa210142011en.html

DOCUMENT - INDONESIA: PAPUAN ACTIVIST AT RISK FOLLOWING BEATING

UA: 188/11 Index: ASA 21/014/2011 Indonesia Date: 17 June 2011 Date: 17 June 2011

URGENT ACTION

PAPUAN ACTIVIST AT RISK FOLLOWING BEATING

Yones Douw , a human rights activist in the Indonesian province of Papua , was beaten by military officers on 15 June and has been denied medical treatment . He fears for his health and safety , as he has previously been detained and assaulted as a result of his human rights activities.

A protest took place at the 1705 District Military Command (Kodim) base in Nabire, Papua province, on the morning of 15 June, to call for accountability for the stabbing and killing of Papuan Derek Adii on 14 May 2011, reportedly by military officers from the 1705 District Military Command. At about 9am on 15 June, Yones Douw, a 42-year-old human rights activist, heard that a protest, which included family members of Derek Adii, was about to take place, and he went to the base to monitor it. Thirty minutes after he arrived, a group of protesters turned up in three trucks, broke into the front entrance of the base and started to shatter the windows and throw objects. Yones Douw immediately rushed into the base to calm the protesters.

In response, the military fired shots into the air and started hitting the protesters. Yones Douw was struck on the head with pieces of wood many times. He also sustained injuries on his shoulder and wrists from the beatings. As he was beaten he heard the military threaten to shoot the protesters saying “these animals should be taught a lesson”. A military officer also hit the father of Derek Adii, Damas Adii, with a piece of wood. After the beatings, Yones Douw travelled to the Siriwini hospital for treatment and to obtain a medical report, but was told by medical staff that he required a letter from the police before they could treat him. He then decided to go home and is still suffering from the injuries. He fears for his health and safety.

Yones Douw is a respected human rights activist in Papua and has been documenting human rights violations by the police and military over the last decade.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Indonesia n , English or your own language:

Urging the authorities to take immediate action to ensure the safety of Yones Douw, in accordance with his wishes, and ensure his immediate access to medical care;

Calling for an immediate, effective and impartial investigation into the beatings and the threats against Yones Douw, with the results made public and those responsible brought to justice in fair trials;

Calling on the authorities to initiate an independent investigation into the possible unlawful killing of Derek Adii, and ensure that, should the allegations be verified, those responsible be brought to justice in fair trials and the victims receive reparations; and

Calling on the authorities to ensure that all members of the police and military are made aware of the legitimate role of human rights defenders and their responsibility to protect them, as set out in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 29 JULY 2011 TO :

Minister of Justice and Human Rights

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)

Ifdhal Kasim

Jl Latuharhary

No.4 Menteng Jakarta Pusat

10310, Indonesia

Fax: +62 21 39 25 227

Salutation: Dear Ifdhal Kasim

Papua Police Chief

Inspektur Jenderal Bekto Suprapto

Papua Regional Head of Police (Kapolda)

Jl. Samratulangi No. 8 Jayapura,

Papua, Indonesia

Fax: +62 967 533763

Salutation: Dear Kapolda

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

URGENT ACTION

PAPUAN ACTIVIST AT RISK FOLLOWING BEATING

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

In January 2009, police officers kicked and punched Yones Douw during his arrest, after he attempted to intervene to stop clashes between police and demonstrators in Nabire. He and seven other demonstrators were denied access to the outside world and he was deprived of food and drinking water during his one day detention.

In recent years, there have been a number of cases of intimidation and attacks against human rights defenders and journalists in Indonesia, and human rights defenders are regularly intimidated and harassed in Papua. International human rights observers, non-governmental organizations and journalists are severely restricted in their work there.

Amnesty International continues to receive credible reports of human rights violations by the security forces in Indonesia, including torture and other ill-treatment and the unnecessary and excessive use of force. There are often no independent investigations into allegations of human rights violations, and those responsible are rarely brought to account before an independent court. In January 2011 three soldiers who had been filmed kicking and abusing Papuans were sentenced by a Military Court to between eight and 10 months’ imprisonment for disobeying orders. The fact that the victims were not able to testify because of the lack of adequate safety guarantees raised serious concerns about the trial process. Amnesty International believes that the civilian courts are much more likely to ensure both prosecutions for crimes involving human rights violations and protection for witnesses than the military system, which is unlikely to be impartial and independent.

While Amnesty International acknowledges the difficulties faced by security forces in Indonesia, especially when confronted with violence, the power to use force given to security forces is restricted by relevant international human rights law and standards, the basis of which is the right to life. The Indonesian authorities must ensure prompt, independent and impartial investigations into all credible allegations of human rights violations by the security forces. Those found responsible, including persons with command responsibility, should be prosecuted in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness, and victims provided with reparations.

UA: 188/11 Index: ASA 21/014/2011 Issue Date: 17 June 2011

Media Release-West Papua and Pacific Islands Forum

Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)

PO Box 28, Spit Junction, Sydney, Australia 2088

Media Release 13 June 2011

West Papua and Pacific Islands Forum

AWPA has written to the Pacific Islands Forum leaders urging them to discuss the human rights situation in West Papua at their summit in Auckland in September (letter below).

This year is the 40th anniversary of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and the time is now right to bring the Melanesian people of West Papua back into the Pacific community. (A West Papuan representative attended the first SPC Conference and West Papuans continued to participate in the SPC meetings until the Dutch ceded their authority to the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) in 1962.)

AWPA urges the PIF Leaders to have the issue of West Papua on its agenda at its September summit and to not only discuss the deteriorating human rights situation in West Papua but to make a public statement of concern regarding the human rights situation in the territory. We also urge the PIF to raise concerns about the human rights situation in West Papua with the Indonesian President.

AWPA calls on the PIF leaders to grant observer status to genuine representatives of the West Papuan people who are struggling for their right to self determination at the 42nd Meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum to be held in Auckland in September 2011.

A number of governments have supported the autonomy package for West Papua stating that the it is the best way forward for the West Papuan people. Although funding for the autonomy package has flowed to West Papua it has only benefited some elites and the bureaucrats with no benefit for the majority of West Papuans, which is why it has been rejected. We believe that it is pointless for governments to keep saying the autonomy package is the best way forward. Even a revised Special Autonomy in whatever form it might take will never satisfy West Papuans demand for self determination. West Papuans have lost trust that Jakarta will ever develop West Papua for the sake of the Papuans. The Forum can help by urging Jakarta to dialogue with the Independence Movement to find a lasing solution.

We also call on the Forum leaders to urge the Indonesian President to release all West Papuan political prisoners as a sign of good faith to the West Papuan people and urge the Forum to send a fact finding mission to West Papua to investigate the human rights situation in the territory.

info. Joe Collins

Mob. 04077 857 97

Ends

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Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)

PO Box 28, Spit Junction, Sydney, Australia 2088

Re West Papua and Pacific Islands Forum

On behalf of the The Australia West Papua Association (Sydney), I am writing to you concerning the issue of West Papua[1]. The human rights situation in West Papua has continued to deteriorate since the last Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) summit in Port Vila, in 2010. One incident in particular highlighted the worsening human rights situation and that was the shocking video footage of West Papuans being tortured by Indonesian soldiers. The video showed several men in military fatigues torturing two Papuans. The soldiers in the video threaten the two men with sharp weapons and pressed a burning bamboo stick against one of the men’s genitals. The torture of the men prompted a wave of international criticism with human rights organisations around the world condemning the actions of the Indonesian military. The soldiers who were put on trial for the torture of the two West Papuan men only received light sentences of between 8 and 10 months. The soldiers were not even charged with torture but with disobeying orders. The message West Papuans will take from this is they will receive no justice under Indonesian rule.

This incident was not an isolated incident and in further evidence of human rights abuses another report accused the police of burning down the village of Bigiragi in the Puncak Jaya district. The report said that 16 Mobile Brigade officers had burned the village to the ground on October 11. The report said that at least 29 homes were destroyed in the incident leaving at least 150 people homeless

There is also a systematic campaign by the military and police to intimidate individuals involved in human rights work in West Papua. In November an investigative journalist released a secret report by a Kopassus task force which shows a list of West Papuans engaged in human rights work are a target of the Indonesian Special Force Group, Kopassus. The list includes members of civil society organisations, church groups , activists, students and members of the MRP.

In December, cables released by WikiLeaks revealed that in the opinion of US diplomats, they blamed the government in Jakarta for unrest in West Papua. According to the leaked US diplomatic cables the US believes that the Indonesian Government is causing unrest in West Papua due to neglect, corruption and human rights abuses.

Also In December the Papua chapter of the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) reported a 70 percent increase in the number of cases of violence in Papua, most of which were allegedly committed by security officers. The Jakarta-based Legal Aid Foundation in another report said Indonesian law enforcers routinely torture suspects and convicts to extract confessions or obtain information. The groups report found beatings, intimidation and rape are so commonplace they are considered the norm. It also found that few victims believe they have the right to lodge complaints.

At the beginning of June (2011) the human rights watchdog Imparsial launched a new report on the impact of the military presence in West Papua. The report, “Human Rights Implications of the Military Presence in Papua From the Old Order to the Reform Era,” was based on research carried out from September 2010 to May 2011. An extract from an article in the Jakarta Globe about the report (June 1, 2011 ) below.

“Imparsial is urging the de-militarization of Papua to be conducted soon because the military approach only brings human rights violations,” said Al Araf, program director of Imparsial. Since the country’s so-called reform era, he added, human rights conditions in the region had been marked by intimidation, torture and sexual violence. He said the handling of conflicts in Papua -home to a low-level but persistent insurgency by the Free Papua Organization (OPM), which has been active since the 1960s — had not changed even though the leadership of the republic did change several times. “In general, the security approach in Papua has not shifted. The government still uses the military approach as the main instrument to prevent conflicts in Papua,” Al Araf said.

It is now 48 years since Indonesia took over the administration of West Papua from the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) in 1963 and the people of West Papua still continue their struggle for self –determination. The West Papuan people face great challenges including ongoing human rights abuses, the exploitation of their natural resources with little or no benefit to themselves, the danger of becoming a minority in their own land as the result of migrants arriving daily and a HIV/AIDS epidemic. The issue of West Papua will not disappear and AWPA believes that it should be of great concern to the Forum that the situation in West Papua could deteriorate further leading to instability in the region. The problems in West Papua won't be solved by Jakarta deploying more troops to the region or conducting more military operations.

To avoid such a dangerous situation AWPA believes the PIF can play an important role in helping facilitate dialogue between genuine representatives of the West Papuan leadership and the Indonesian Government . The West Papuan people have been calling on the international community for years to support such dialogue as a way of solving the many issues of concern in West Papua. We urge the PIF leaders to offer to help mediate such a dialogue.

We note that this year is the 40th anniversary of the Forum and congratulate the Forum on it achievements over the past 40 years. We also note that in recent years the PIF has expanded the various categories for those who can attend as observers. New Caledonia and French Polynesia, previously Forum Observers, were granted Associate Membership in 2006. Current Forum Observers include Tokelau (2005), Wallis and Futuna (2006), the Commonwealth (2006), the United Nations (2006) and the Asian Development Bank (2006), with Timor Leste as Special Observer (2002).

AWPA believes that in this 40th year of the Forum the time is now right to bring the Melanesian people of West Papua back into the Pacific community. (A West Papuan representative attended the first SPC Conference and West Papuans continued to participate in the SPC meetings until the Dutch ceded their authority to the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) in 1962.)

AWPA urges the PIF Leaders to have the issue of West Papua on its agenda at its September summit and to not only discuss the deteriorating human rights situation in West Papua but to make a public statement of concern regarding the human rights situation in the territory. We also urge the PIF to raise concerns about the human rights situation in West Papua with the Indonesian President.

AWPA calls on the PIF leaders to grant observer status to genuine representatives of the West Papuan people who are struggling for their right to self determination at the 42nd Meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum to be held in Auckland in September 2011.

A number of governments have supported the autonomy package for West Papua stating that the it is the best way forward for the West Papuan people. Although funding for the autonomy package has flowed to West Papua it has only benefited some elites and the bureaucrats with no benefit for the majority of West Papuans, which is why it has been rejected. We believe that it is pointless for governments to keep saying the autonomy package is the best way forward. Even a revised Special Autonomy in whatever form it might take will never satisfy West Papuans demand for self determination. West Papuans have lost trust that Jakarta will ever develop West Papua for the sake of the Papuans. The Forum can help by urging Jakarta to dialogue with the Independence Movement to find a lasing solution.

We also call on the Forum leaders to urge the Indonesian President to release all West Papuan political prisoners as a sign of good faith to the West Papuan people and urge the Forum to send a fact finding mission to West Papua to investigate the human rights situation in the territory.

Yours sincerely

Joe Collins

AWPA (Sydney)

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[1] AWPA (Sydney) uses the name “West Papua” to refer to the whole of the western half of the Island of New Guinea.