1) Media release-Australia must act on
violence in West Papua: Greens
2)
Police Detain 3 People Over Papua Attacks
3) Riots in Jayapura as police shoot dead Papuan activist
4)Activist slaying sparks riot in Papua
5)
Papua Sees Four Major Problems
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1) Media release-Australia must act
on violence in West Papua: Greens
15 Jun 2012 | West Papua
Australian
Greens spokesperson for West Papua, Senator Richard Di Natale, called on the
Government to urge Indonesia to put an end to the violence in West
Papua.
“We are very concerned by reports of escalating violence in West
Papua over the past two weeks,” said Senator Di Natale.
“The Greens are deeply
saddened to hear of the killing of Papuan leader, Mako Tabuni, by Indonesian
police yesterday.
The
Greens extend their condolences to Mako Tabuni’s family and solidarity to the
people of West Papua whose human and democratic rights continue to be violated.
“We
also have reports of a number of shootings over the past two weeks, including
that of a visiting German-born man, a primary school teacher and a public
servant, and many others without any clear identification of who is committing
these crimes. It is vital that justice is brought to those perpetrating
violence.”
Conflict between Indonesian security forces and Papuans in
the town of Wamena have reportedly led to more than 70 homes being torched by
police and indiscriminate gunfire directed at Papuan people, causing at least 2
deaths and leaving at least 11 people with serious injuries. It is reported
that hundreds of people have fled into the nearby mountains and jungle.
“The
Australian Government must urge Indonesia to end the violence immediately and
enter into a peaceful dialogue with the Free West Papua movement.
“It is
vital that West Papua is opened up to journalists so that we can gain
information about what is happening in this region, only a few hundred
kilometres from our Australian border. We must also push for access to be given
to much-needed aid organisations so that basic care can be provided to those
affected by the conflict.”
Media contact: Andrew Blyberg
0457 901 600
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2)
Police Detain 3 People Over Papua Attacks
June 15, 2012
National
Police Gen. Timur Pradopo said on Thursday that police had detained three
people allegedly behind recent attacks in Papua.
The
suspects — BT, JT and C — are accused of burning cars and of shooting Dietmar
Pieper, a German tourist who was on vacation with his wife when he was shot
three times on May 29.
“From
the three persons that have been detained, [we] could develop a further
investigation,” Timur said in Jakarta on Thursday on the sidelines of his
meeting with lawmakers.
“Violence,
shootings in several locations in Papua, from May 22 to June 10, 2012, all are
being investigated by the National Police.”
He
said police were working hand in hand with the State Intelligence Agency (BIN)
and local people.
One
civilian recently shot to death by police officers, Mako Tabuni, was also
accused of being one of the perpetrators.
Timur
said the police had to shoot him because he had attempted to grab an officer’s
weapon.
“Investigation
at the crime scene found that he had a firearm with 18 bullets with him,” Timur
said.
Antara
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3) Riots in Jayapura as police shoot dead Papuan activist
Nethy Dharma Somba and Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post,
Jayapura/Jakarta | Fri, 06/15/2012 8:45 AM
Death and destruction: Police
officers are at the scene of a riot that broke out in Jayapura, Papua on
Thursday following the killing of West Papua National Committee deputy chairman
Mako Tabuni by police officers who had attempted to arrest him. Several shops
and vehicles were burned in the incident. (Antara/Anang Budiono)
Papuans ran amok in Jayapura on
Thursday, setting dozens of vehicles and buildings ablaze after a prominent
independence activist was shot dead by police while resisting arrest.
Speaking
at the State Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, National Police chief Gen. Timur
Pradopo said that Mako Tabuni, the deputy chairman of the National Committee
for West Papua (KNPB), was killed after he grabbed a weapon from an officer
attempting to arrest him and fled.
Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Bigman L.
Tobing provided a similar account, claiming that police officers scuffled with
Tabuni as they attempted to detain him.
Eyewitnesses, however, told a
different story. According to the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
Violence (Kontras), whose representatives interviewed people who saw the
shooting on the scene, Tabuni was suddenly and unexpectedly shot by a gunman in
one of several cars on the street as he walked alone near the Perumnas 3
housing complex in Waena.
Several men appearing to be police officers in
civilian clothes and carrying pistols and rifles, then exited the cars. Moments
later, another gunshot was heard, according to the eyewitnesses.
Tabuni fell
and was taken away by the armed men in one of the vehicles, Kontras
said.
According to the police, the officers took Tabuni to Bhayangkara Police
Hospital nearby, where he died about an hour later.
The police were attempting to arrest
Tabuni for his alleged involvement in the recent spate of shootings and attacks
in Papua recently, including the shooting of German tourist Pieter Dietmar
Helmut on a beach in Jayapura on May 29.
Following Tabuni’s death, a crowd
assembled on Jayapura’s streets and later went on a rampage. Witnesses said
some of the rioters were carrying machetes.
“These people got mad after
learning that their leader had been arrested and killed,” Coordinating
Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said.
Four
civilians were injured in the mayhem, according to the police. “One of the
victims lost an arm,” Bigman said. Twenty-five motorcycles, four cars, and five
shops were reportedly burned.
“The situation was chaotic. I fled Waena after
seeing so many people carrying machetes,” Yonas, a public minivan driver,
said.
Timur said that police officers and Indonesian Military (TNI) troops
eventually brought the riot under control.
KNPB leader Buchtar Tabuni, who is
reportedly not related to Mako, was arrested by the Papua Police on June 8 for
allegedly organizing violent rallies in Jayapura.
The National Committee for West Papua
has consistently pushed for a referendum on Papuan self-determination. Mako has
frequently told the media that neither he nor the KNPB supported the use of
violence in pursuing their goals.
The riots broke out just two days after
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told members of his Cabinet that the
violence that has racked the province was “small-scale”.
Violence in
Indonesia’s easternmost region has escalated recently. Seventeen people,
including several TNI members, have been killed in different places in Papua in
the past month.
Sita W. Dewi and Margareth S. Aritonang contributed
reporting.
------------------------------------
4) Activist slaying sparks riot in Papua
Jefrey Pattirajawane, Associated Press, Jayapura | Fri,
06/15/2012 2:23 PM
A- A A+
Rioters angry over the killing of an independence activist by
police set fires and killed one person in Indonesia's restive Papua province
before hundreds of security forces restored order, the police chief said
Friday.
Mobs stabbed an onlooker to death, injured four other people and
burned five shops, four cars and more than 20 motorbikes on Thursday, hours
after they learned police had shot and killed Mako Tabuni, the deputy chairman
of the National Committee for West Papua.
Shops were closed Friday, and many people were afraid to leave
their homes.
"It is safe and quiet now. There are many troops on the
streets," said Papua police chief Maj. Gen. Bigman Lumban Tobing. He said
police detained three people and seized several handmade bombs, machetes,
arrows, separatist flags and documents during a raid in a student dormitory in
Jayapura.
A low-level insurgency in the province remains an extremely
sensitive issue for the government, which restricts access to foreign
journalists, human rights workers and academics, making it difficult to verify
claims of abuses.
Tobing said Tabuni was shot Thursday morning when police tried
to arrest him near Waena housing complex in Jayapura, the capital of Papua
province. He said Tabuni fought back and grabbed a weapon from an officer
before he was shot, and that he died hours later at a hospital.
Tobing said Tabuni was suspected in a recent spate of attacks in
the province. He said 16 people, including seven soldiers and police, have been
killed in different places in Papua since last month. Four were
pro-independence activists.
Human Rights Watch, however, says the military is responsible
for some of the violence. The New York-based group said the government is
failing to adequately investigate the killings, and is preventing rights
monitors and journalists from going to Papua to see for themselves.
"Allowing full access to the province for U.N. rights
experts and the press could curtail the rumors and misinformation that often
fuel abuses," Elaine Pearson, Human Rights Watch's deputy Asia director,
said in a statement Wednesday.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has conceded that Indonesian
security forces have overreacted at times but said the attacks were "on a
small scale with limited victims."
Tobing said that following Tabuni's death, a crowd of protesters
went on a rampage in Jayapura, many of them were carrying machetes and arrows.
Police said most of those injured or killed in Thursday riot were settlers from
elsewhere in Indonesia.
------------------------------------------
5) Papua Sees Four Major Problems
“The situation
helps raise suspicion among the Military/Police over the Papuans,”
JUM'AT, 15 JUNI 2012, 12:32 WIB
Anggi Kusumadewi, Mohammad Adam
VIVAnews – Riot broke in Waena District, Jayapura, Papua,
on Thursday, June 14. The rioters protested against the arrest of the Deputy
Chairman of West Papua National Committee, Mako Tabuni. They set fire on
motorcycles, cars, and homes.
Police arrested Mako Tabuni for allegedly helming the group
which had perpetrated a series of mysterious shootings in the province.
“The group is had done the shootings over some Indonesian
Military personnel, Police members, and Civil Servants,” said Coordinating
Minister for Political, Justice and Human Rights Affairs, Djoko Suyanto.
The riot in Waena District took place almost one week after the
visit of Commission I of the House of Representatives in Jayapura. The event
also occurred only two days after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono instructed
the Indonesian Military Commander and the Indonesian Police Chief to take
Security Recovery Operation in Papua, on Tuesday, June 12.
In response to the issue, Deputy Chairman of Commission I,
Tubagus Hasanuddin, said the escalating situation in Papua does not only center
on security issues.
“There are greater problems in Papua that must be addressed
through comprehensive and integrated efforts,” said Hasanuddin to VIVAnews.
He cited four major issues which had surfaced in Papua.
First, there was failures in implementing special autonomy,
especially in the fields of economic welfare, health, and education; second,
the existence of discrimination and marginalization towards indigenous Papuans;
third, the trauma felt by some
Papuans as a result of unresolved past repressive actions by law
enforcement.
“Fourth, there are different perceptions on Papua’s integration
into Indonesia through the Act of Free Choice in 1969,” said Hasanuddin.
Hasanuddin revealed that within the past 18 months, 30 cases of
shootings have come to pass in Papua.
“This situation helps raise suspicion among the Military/Police
over the Papuans,” he said.
“However, I’m concerned that the Security Recovery Operation
will only lead to new turmoil,” said Hasanuddin.
Meanwhile, Chief of National Police, General Timur Pradopo,
called on the people of Papua, especially in Jayapura, to remain calm.
“Jayapura and its surrounding area are under the control of the
Regional Police and the Military Command and the intelligence,” Timur said.
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