1) Police Put Five on Wanted List for Papua
Shootings
2) Some parties fanning trouble in Papua
3) President should return home to solve Papuan conflicts: KontraS
4)
Papua activist was armed, say police
5) Papua and problem of structural injustice
6) Top minister tries to woo Papuan leaders
1) Police Put Five on Wanted List for
Papua Shootings
Banjir
Ambarita, Arientha Primanita & Ismira Lutfia | June 19, 2012
The
National Police have issued warrants for five people allegedly behind the
recent series of shootings in Papua’s provincial capital Jayapura, adding to
three people that were earlier arrested and another who was shot dead in a raid
last week.
“We’ve
put five people on the wanted list, based on the development of our investigation.
But we cannot publish their identities yet,” National Police spokesman Sr.
Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said in Jayapura on Tuesday.
“The
National Police chief has ordered for their immediate arrest. The National
Police want to settle this case and ensure smooth investigation into the case
in order to provide legal certainty and ensure security of every Indonesian
citizen,” he added.
Boy
was in Jayapura on Tuesday to accompany National Police chief Gen. Timur
Pradopo in his meeting with Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. B.L. Tobing, along
with Indonesian military (TNI) chief Adm. Agus Suhartono and State Intelligence
Agency (BIN) chief Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman, to discuss the security situation
in Papua.
He
added that police managed to piece together the five people’s alleged roles in
the shootings, some of them fatal, partly due to information from locals.
Indonesia’s
restive Papua province has seen incidences of violence over the years, but the
frequency has risen significantly, especially in Jayapura, since the May 29
shooting of a German tourist there.
The
National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said
in a press statement earlier this month that at least eight people had died and
15 others were injured in a series of seemingly random attacks since late May,
with most of the victims being civilians.
The
Indonesian authorities have put the blame on pro-independence groups, leading
to a raid on Thursday of last week that led to the death of pro-independence
activist Mako Tabuni. Mako’s death triggered a riot on the same day, in which
angry residents burned vehicles and shops in Waena, Jayapura.
But
the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, Djoko
Suyanto, who was also on a visit to Jayapura, said on Tuesday that the security
situation in the Papuan capital was improving.
“The
situation is returning to normal. Public activities and traffic of people and
goods are recovering,” Djoko said in a text message to Beritasatu.com
on Tuesday.
“There
remains, however, social jealousy between newcomers and native inhabitants,” he
admitted.
Djoko
added that he and some other top central government officials took part on
Monday evening in a dialogue with locals, including religious figures and
university students, to discuss problems in Papua.
He
said it was part of a peaceful approach that the Indonesian government was
employing in handling the restive province.
Kontras,
however, criticized the central government’s move, saying it was not the right
time for such forums.
“What
needs to be done right now is, firstly, building the trust of Papuans by
evaluating the work of security officers,” Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar said
in Jakarta on Tuesday.
JG/BeritaSatu
---------------------------------------------
2) Some parties fanning trouble in Papua
Tue, June 19 2012
22:46
Jakarta (ANTARA
News) - The National Police Commission (Kompolnas) suspects certain parties are
bent on provoking conflicts in Papua.
"We call on
the people not to be provoked by parties deliberately wanting to worsen the
situation in Papua," said Edi Saputra, a member of Kompolnas in charge of
Papua`s police office, here Tuesday.
He urged Papuans
to give the police and military a chance to restore order and improve security
in the region.
"We are sure
the National Police (Polri) and the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) have been
working hard to restore peace in Papua. Kompolnas is also sure the security
officers are doing a good job, particularly the personnel at Papua`s police
office," Edi said.
Coordinating
Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Djoko Suyanto, is currently
on a working visit to Jayapura, Papua to conduct meetings with local leaders
and senior officials to ease tensions in the area.
The minister is
being accompanied by chief of Indonesian Military (TNI), Admiral Agus
Suhartono, National Police chief General Timur Pradopo and chief of National
Intelligence Agency Marciano Norman.
(Uu.F001/INE/KR-BSR)
Editor:
Priyambodo RH
------------------------------------------
3) President should return home to solve Papuan conflicts: KontraS
The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta | National | Tue, 06/19/2012 9:16 PM
Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono (JP)
A human rights
activist said on Tuesday that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should
immediately return to Indonesia to solve the escalating conflicts in Papua.
The Commission for
Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) coordinator Haris Azhar said
that Yudhoyono, who is currently attending the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico,
should “unravel the Papuan conflicts with his own hands.”
“The President
should come back to Indonesia in the next few days to organize a conflict
resolution team for Papua as soon as possible,” Haris said as quoted by
tempo.co. “He [Yudhoyono] should also start dialogues with related parties.”
Haris said he was
pessimistic about the dialogue between the government and Papuan community
members, saying that Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs
Minister Djoko Suyanto had a tendency to defend the security officers,
particularly in the killing of Papua independence activist, Mako Tabuni.
“He [Djoko] should
have listened to the opinion from eyewitnesses in the community first, but he
went on to defend the law enforcers instead,” said Haris.
Commenting on
this, Haris said that it was about time Yudhoyono took on Papuan matters by
trying to hold dialogues with the Papuans.
Tabuni died an
hour after he was shot by law enforcers last Thursday.
The police claimed
that they had to shoot Tabuni because he was violently resisting the officers
who were trying to arrest him. Tabuni was reported to have been involved in a
number of provocative and violent incidents. (asa)
-----------------------------
4)
Papua activist was armed, say police
Michael
Bachelard
June 20, 2012
Under the gun: West Papuan university
students are held after rioting that followed the killing of leading
independence activist Mako Tabuni by police. Photo: AFP
POLICE in West Papua have claimed that
the independence activist they killed in the streets last week was carrying the
same gun used to shoot a German tourist in May.
But the police spokesman Senior
Commissioner Johannes Nugroho, confirmed the weapon was a police-issue Taurus.
''Mako Tabuni did have a gun with him
and it belonged to the police. They [independence organisation the Free Papua
Movement] stole it but I don't remember when,'' Commissioner Nugroho said.
Mr Tabuni was the deputychairman of the
West Papua National Committee, which is agitating for independence from
Indonesia, and his death last Thursday prompted rioting and a security
crackdown in the already restive province.
In the police version of events, Mr
Tabuni was threatening to shoot a police officer who had tried to arrest him.
But eyewitnesses have said the independence leader was unarmed and shot as he
tried to run away.
Commissioner Nugroho said Mr Tabuni and
unnamed others were responsible for the non-fatal shooting of a German tourist,
Pieter Dietmar Helmut, at a beach in the capital Jayapura on May 29, as well as
a number of other mysterious shootings.
Police were sure the independence
activist was the gunman, because the pistol they allegedly found on him would
be revealed as the same weapon used to shoot the German, Commissioner Nugroho
said. But he added that Mr Helmut's wife could not positively identify Mr
Tabuni because he ''is already buried''.
The chairman of Baptist Churches in
Papua, Socratez Sofyan Yoman, rejected the police's account, saying that Mr
Tabuni had not been armed and that Indonesian security forces were acting as
provocateurs.
''They create conflict so that they need
[to be given] more money,'' Reverend Yoman said. '''They want more troops in
West Papua. They want to [commit] genocide [against] the Papuan [people].''
Reverend Yoman's nephew, a witness to
the shooting, said he had been shot ''like an animal'' and that the ''police
are like criminals''.
Both major political parties in
Australia are reluctant to question Indonesia's actions in West Papua. Greens
senator Richard di Natale has called on the government to urge Indonesia to end
the violence.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/papua-activist-was-armed-say-police-20120619-20m17.html#ixzz1yGrgGJLA
-----------------------------------------
5) Papua and problem of structural injustice
Riwanto
Tirtosudarmo, Jakarta | Opinion | Tue, 06/19/2012 9:25 AM
A- A A+
The problem
confronted by Papua, the easternmost province of Indonesia, is structural,
rather than developmental as perceived by the current government.
The
creation of the Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West
Papua (UP4B) was also based on an assumption that Papua suffered from
developmental neglect and that its development should be accelerated to solve
the problem.
Such a technocratic view was proved to be wrong as shown by
the collapse of the Soeharto regime that was built on the “developmentalist”
ideology.
Last week, I had a chance to visit Jayapura, Merauke and Boven
Digoel, observing and talking with some experts and ordinary people about the
latest developments in Papua.
My visit coincided
with daily mysterious shooting incidents, mostly in Jayapura. Intentionally or
unintentionally, these random acts of violence looked to be perpetrated to
create a specter of terror that would contribute to a climate of fear that has
long characterized Papuan society.
Political relations between the
center and the periphery are an old problem in this country. Following the end
of Soeharto regime in 1998, the format of center-periphery relations was
renewed with bigger autonomy given to regional governments. But the horror of
disintegration, particularly among the military elites, was the reason for a
halfhearted decentralization policy, as autonomy is given to the
regency/municipality rather the provincial level of government.
Apart
from this problematic decentralization, the post-Soeharto era was also marked
by the Timor Leste partition in 1999, and a peace agreement in the rebellious
province of Aceh in 2005. After Timor Leste and Aceh, Papua is now seen as the
main problem of center-periphery relations in the republic.
Armed rebels grouped
under the Free Papua Organization (OPM) radically call for a separation from
Indonesia.
Some argue that a healthy dialogue is urgently needed between
Papuans and the central government in order to address the intractable tension
and conflict in the province. Dialogue is important but I would argue that it
will not be sufficient. Apart from the immediate problem of representation, a
dialogue assumes the presence of two opposite but equal parties. Such an
assumption is unlikely to be accepted by the Indonesian government.
As
the basic issues in Papua are structural rather developmental, I would argue
that a new perspective should be proposed to resolve the problem in Papua. From
a structural perspective, the problem of Papua is not unique. By seeing Papua’s
problems as Indonesia’s problems we look at the solution to Papua as a solution
for the whole of Indonesia without any exception.
A structural
perspective views the problem of the society as a result of structural
injustices emanating from continuing economic and political inequalities
between the center and periphery. The central government’s policies toward
Papua have officially changed in the guise of special autonomy, yet the
structural injustices persist.
These injustices
are a problem facing not only Papuans but the majority of Indonesian citizens.
Structural injustices are rooted in the wrong assumption in the Constitution
that the state will unquestionably take care of the life of its citizens, but
in reality we continue witnessing the state’s failure to protect its citizens
from violence and the abuse of power.
What is currently happening in Papua is
only a reflection of the state’s failure to resolve the continuing problem of
structural injustices in this country. The difference between Papua and other
places in Indonesia, including in the capital city of Jakarta, is just a matter
of the degree of violence. In Papua the level of violence is higher than that
in other places as the latest string of fatal shootings strongly indicated. The
basic right of the Indonesian citizens to security protection from the state is
simply violated. The climate of fear and the insecurities felt by ordinary
citizens in Papua are growing unchecked.
From what I have witnessed,
today, both sociologically and demographically, Papuans can no longer be
divided into particular ethnic or racial groups.
The movement of
people, in and out-migration in Papua, has occurred for centuries. The latest
population census (2010) clearly indicated the high level of in-migration into
Papua.
Papua is in fact a pluralistic society, in which any attempt to
distinguish between indigenous and migrants is becoming more futile. Every day,
the number of people who move in and out of Papua is increasing as the number
of daily flights and weekly ships obviously indicate. While certain Papuan
elites and their organizations understandably try to reassert their claims
about a pure Papuan identity, such a move runs counter to the
reality.
Cities and urban areas in Papua have become the most
pluralistic places, in which people from different social and economic
backgrounds mingle and interact.
In such urban
settings, social tensions and conflicts normally occur, as people are competing
for economic and political resources.
It is the constitutional duty of
the state to protect its citizens from discrimination. Economic and political
fairness should be the order of the day, where the state has to act as an
impartial referee when tensions and conflicts arise between different groups
and people in society. Yet as we are witnessing these days in Papua, the
Constitution, which mandates the state to protect all its citizens, is simply
being violated.
The writer is a
researcher at the Research Center for Society and Culture, Indonesian Institute
of Sciences (LIPI) and the author of Looking for Indonesia 2: The Limits of
Social Engineering (LIPI Press, 2010
------------------------
6) Top minister tries to woo Papuan leaders
Nethy Dharma Somba
and Margaretha Aritonang, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura/Jakarta | Headlines | Tue,
06/19/2012 9:51 AM
A- A A+
Coordinating
Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto ruled out a
military operation to tackle the escalating violence, which claimed another two
lives in Mimika on Monday.
“We have so far adopted an approach that promotes
the economy and people’s welfare, not a military [approach], because military
action should only be used to deal with crimes,” Djoko said as quoted by Antara
news agency during a gathering with community figures, religious leaders and
members of the Papua Legislative Council (DPRP) and Papuan Consultative
Assembly (MPRP) in Jayapura on Monday.
He was accompanied by Indonesian
Military (TNI) chief Adm. Agus Suhartono, National Police chief Gen. Timur
Pradopo, National Intelligence Agency (BIN) head Lt. Gen. Marciano, and Papua’s
caretaker governor Syamsul Arief Rivai.
The arrival of the
top-ranking delegation was reported in the wake of escalating violence that has
claimed dozens of lives. Djoko, however, insisted that it was a routine tour of
duty, and not specifically prompted by the ongoing security challenges in the
province.
The latest communal clash in Mimika, Papua on Monday killed two
people and injured dozens of others, including four police personnel.
The clash
reportedly had its roots in ongoing resentment following a fatal traffic
accident in May.
“The clash [on Monday] killed two people, but they have not
yet been identified. Four police officers were rushed to hospital with arrow
wounds,” Papua Police spokesman, Adj. Sn. Comr. Johanes Nugroho, told The
Jakarta Post.
The fighting crowds also burned five Mimika Police vehicles and
two motorcycles.
It was reported that the clash between the residents from
Harapan and Bawah villages began at 7:30 a.m.
The police were
called in to deal with the situation but received a rough reception as the
crowd turned on them, despite their firing warning shots into the air.
As the
police retreated, the crowd vented their fury upon the vehicles and
motorcycles.
The incident is the latest in a spate of violent attacks that
have battered the country’s easternmost province over the past few weeks,
including unsolved shooting deaths and riots in Jayapura and a rampage by
military personnel in Wamena.
The marked escalation in violence has
prompted the House of Representatives to establish a working committee to deal
with the issue.
“We need to form a working committee and we are discussing
what measures we need to take.
For sure, the
committee must seek an amiable and dignified solution. Weapons should be
avoided in order to restore security; so, we are prioritizing dialogue and
trust building,” said TB Hasanuddin, who chairs the House Commission I
overseeing defense and foreign affairs.
“We met with the chief of the military
and he said they were awaiting instructions,” he said in Jakarta on Monday.
He
quoted the military chief as saying further: “If we are asked to launch a
security operation, give us the legal as well as political umbrella so that we
do not bear the brunt of the blame.”
Hasanuddin said the effectiveness of the
policy to form a committee would depend on the government’s political will to
execute the measures.
Violent cases
2007-2012:
Oct. 17, 2007
Eight
people are killed and 19 injured in violence involving four tribes in
Tembagapura district, Mimika.
March 11, 2007
Tribal violence in Paniai regency kills nine
people. The violence is sparked by the death of a local teacher.
Jan. 5-19, 2010
Three people are killed and 34 people
injured in a clash between two groups in Kwamki Lama, Mimika regency. The
conflict is sparked by a rape and the payment of customary fines.
July 30, 2011
Seventeen people die and dozens are injured
when the supporters of rival candidates in a local regency election clash in
Ilaga district, Puncak Jaya regency.
Jan. 21, 2012
One person dies in a regional election clash
during campaigning for a local regency election in Tolikara regency.
Feb. 15, 2012
Four die and almost 100 others are injured as
supporters of rival candidates in the Tolikara regency election clash.
------------------------------------------
7) Govt to continue welfare approach to deal with Papua problems
Mon, June 18 2012
21:30
Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA
News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has continued implementing a welfare
approach to deal with the problems in Papua, according to chief security
minister Djoko Suyanto.
"Until now the
approach used is welfare and not military, because a military approach is only
useful for dealing with crimes," Djoko said at a meeting with community
and religious leaders and members of the Papuan legislative assembly (DPRP) and
the Papuan People Council (MRP) here on Monday.
He stated that he had
come to Papua not because of the recent violent incidents, but because of his
duty to learn about what happened in the region.
"Indeed it is
not easy to unite the views of different parties, but the most important thing
is how to unite Papua peacefully so that the province could catch up with other
regions," Djoko noted.
He added that the
government hoped to "bring Papua in harmony with the Unitary State of
Indonesia".
Regarding the
implementation of special autonomy in Papua, Djoko said the program had not yet
been able to meet public expectations.
In view of that, he
added, the implementation of the program would continue to be evaluated, which
had led to the issuance of Presidential Instruction Number 5 of 2005 and the
establishment of the UP4B (Papua and West Papua Development Acceleration Unit)
in 2011.
The meeting was also
attended by defense forces commander Admiral Agus Suhartono, national police
chief General Timur Pradopo, and National Intelligence Agency chief Marciano Norman.(*)
Editor: Heru
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