1) Indonesia rebukes Carr over West Papua call
2) Warinussy: Papuan leaders warned not to spread false information
3) OTSUS implementation not being felt by the people
4) WEST PAPUA: ABC report raises questions for region's leaders
5) End Indonesia anti-terror training: Greens
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http://www.canberratimes.com.au/world/indonesia-rebukes-carr-over-west-papua-call-20120829-250yb.html
1) Indonesia rebukes Carr over West Papua call
Date August 30, 2012
A SENIOR Indonesian legislator has hit out at Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr for having ''double standards'' after he called for an inquiry into the police killing of a West Papuan independence leader.
Mr Carr called for the inquiry after allegations that officers of the Australian-trained Indonesian anti-terror unit, Detachment 88, were involved in the killing of leader Mako Tabuni in June. Mr Tabuni, the deputy chairman of the independence group the National Committee for West Papua, was gunned down in the street by police who were trying to arrest him.
In an interview with The Age, the head of Indonesia's parliamentary commission for security, Mahfudz Siddiq, seemed to confirm that Detachment 88 was present in West Papua, partly because, he alleged, Mr Tabuni was ''one of the actors behind a series of violent actions'' there.
''That makes the presence of Detachment 88 and its involvement in some cases in West Papua as being very much about doing their job. Several cases in West Papua at that time were already seen as terror,'' Mr Mahfudz said.
Independence activists have denied that Mr Tabuni was involved in a series of killings in the lead-up to his death.
Mr Mahfudz also chided Mr Carr because he said he had never heard Australian politicians complaining about Detachment 88 killing Muslim terror suspects.
''In my opinion, it is too far for Bob Carr to mention human rights training to Detachment 88. Did Australia give any comment when Islamic activists got killed or injured by Detachment 88 while the anti-terror squad was raiding a house?'' Mr Mahfudz said.
''I think Australia must be careful about these statements because they could be seen as having double standards.''
Mr Mahfudz is a member of the PKS party, which is strongly Islamic, and part of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's governing coalition.
Detachment 88 has been trained by Australia and other countries for counterterrorism operations, but its use in the long-running independence struggle in West Papua is highly controversial.
While some rebel groups in West Papua are armed, activists say Mr Tabuni's group used purely political means to agitate for independence.
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from Tapol
2) Warinussy: Papuan leaders warned not to spread false information
Statement by Yan Christian Warinussy, Executive Director of LP3BH in Manokwari on 24 August 2012
News has recently been circulating that the Political Status of the Land of Papua has been placed on the agenda of the General Assembly of the United Nations to be held in September in New York.
This information has been circulating through SMS messages on mobile phones to Papuan communities throughout West Papua. This information has raised many questions and feelings of concern among Papuan people.
Warinussy said that as the Executive Director of the LP3BH, the news which was being circulated is completely false.
The truth is that it is the session of the UN Human Rights Council that has on its agenda the problem of the Structural and Systematic Violation of Human Rights in West Papua at its session in Geneva, Switzerland which involves the Indonesian army and police force.
The fact is that the Indonesian government has been confronted by very strong criticisms from almost all the members of the UN Human Right Council. Altogether 179 important recommendations have been directed against Indonesia and Indonesia has been given time to consider these recommendations in relation to its overall policy and urged to find an approach to handle the various social, cultural, economic and political problems in West Papua.
The UN General Assembly is the top-level institution of the United Nations, while it is at the UN Human Rights Council that facts about human rights violations will be an important item on its agenda. It is hoped that this important agenda item will lead to a decision calling on the Indonesian Government to deal with the problem of human rights violations.
This makes it quite clear that the matter that has been placed on the agenda is the question of Human Rights and has nothing to do with the question of political status but relates to the question of human rights.
It was at the Second Papuan Congress held in May 2000 that the question of the revision of Papuan history was raised and it was the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban ki-Moon who said in Auckland, New Zealand on 7 September 2011 that such a matter would have to be discussed by the Decolonisation Committee which is an organ under the authority of the UN General Assembly.
In other words, the Papuan political elite, whether they like it or not, must understand that the question of being a non-self-governing territory must be handled by the UN in accordance with its established mechanisms.
I would like to remind all Papuan leaders that not a single country around the world has expressed political support for the independence of West Papua and this has not been placed on the agenda of the UN. Why is this so? Such a move would have to be made by an independent country such as Australia, New Zealand, Timor-Leste, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, PNG or Vanuatu.
In my opinion, the best thing would be for we Papuans, especially our political elite, to unite behind a single vision and to learn from our fellow Melanesians on how they struggled to fight around the question of their political status, so that we would achieve the right to self-determination and hold a referendum by 2014. [Translated by TAPOL]
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3) OTSUS implementation not being felt by the people
Bintang Papua, 28 August 2012
Timika, West Papua
The central government has acknowledged that implementation of Special Autonomy for Papua, known as OTSUS, is not being felt by all the people living in West Papua.
This was stated by the deputy minister for security, law and human rights, Judy Harianto when addressing a mass meeting that had been convened by the Forum of Concern for Development in the district of central Papua which was held in the area around the Ene Mene Yaware building in Timika, the capital of of the district of Mimika.
The deputy minister said that implementation of the provisions of OTSUS was not yet meeting with the basic needs of the people, in particular, the people at the very bottom of society.
He (the name could be a male or female) said that this was why the government is looking for the best way to solve the problems so as to ensure that the disappointments felt by the people would not go on accumulating. He also expressed the hope that the regional government would be pro-active in engaging in dialogue in order to find the best solution. He said that one of the moves in this direction had the creation of UP4B (Unit for Development of Papua and West Papua).
According to the deputy minister, the government needed to find the solution so that the impact of OTSUS could be felt by the people down to the lowest levels of society, because the approach currently taken was the security approach.
OTSUS was intended to be 'a gift from God' - a special endowment - meaning that implementation should be as effective as possible which means that not enough had been done to pursue the development approach.
During the meeting, a letter was delivered to the deputy minister from the family of Anthon Uamang who is at present incarcerated in Cipinang Prison (Jakarta), asking that he be moved to Papua. In response, he said that he did not have the authority to do this but he would pass it on to the relevant authorities.
The rally was attended by about four hundred people. Others due to address the rally included 12 speakers, among others Dr J. Kristiadi, a political commentator, the priest Dr Neles Tebay, and the chairman of the Papuan Caucus in the national parliament, Paskalis Kosay. The gathering was planned to continue until 29 August.
[Translated by TAPOL]
[It should be noted that the law known as OTSUS was adopted more than ten yers ago, in 2001.]
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http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/pacific-media-watch/west-papua-abc-report-raises-questions-regions-leaders-8075
4) WEST PAPUA: ABC report raises questions for region's leaders
A photo provided to West Papua Media Alerts after the violence at the Abepura dormitory yesterday. Photo: West Papua Media Alerts
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Item: 8075
AUCKLAND (Pacific Media Watch): Fresh allegations of human rights violations in West Papua implicating Australia on ABC's 7:30 Report series this week have opened up multiple questions for leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum on Rarotonga.
As new reports have emerged from West Papua Media Alerts of new violence at a school dormitory in Abepura, the 7:30 Report series - screened on Monday and Tuesday nights - shone new lights on the ongoing accusation that the Australian government is responsible for the training and financing of the anti-terrorist group Detachment 88, or Densus 88, as it is known in Indonesia.
The group was originally trained to combat terrorism in Indonesia following the deadly bombing in Bali in October 2002, which claimed 88 Australian lives.
But in recent months media reports have spread, mainly from West Papua Media Alerts, that the anti-terrorist group was being deployed in the provinces of Papua and West Papua, supressing insurgents as well as peaceful demonstrators.
Presence confirmed
The ABC interviewed Constant Karma, who is the secretary of the province of Papua. He said: "I don't really know about West Papua but in the Papuan Police (Polda Papua) there [is] also Detachment 88 on duty."
Apart from the reports from within West Papua by reporters Hayden Cooper and Lisa Main, ABC presenter Leigh Sales put questions to Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr, who confirmed the Australian government had raised its concerns with human rights abuses in the two West Papuan regional provinces as recently as earlier this month.
Senator Carr said the Australian training included training in respecting human rights, but the ABC reports featured a number of eye-witnesses to violence in West Papua at the hands of police as well as Detachment 88 troops, including in the recent killing of independence leader Mako Tabuni.
Senator Carr told the ABC: "We train Indonesians in counter-terrorism. We do that because it's in Australia's interest. We do it because we want the Indonesians to have a strong, a formidable, anti-terrorist capacity. It is absolutely in Australia's interests that we have this relationship.
"But we don't train them in counter-insurgency - it's counter-terrorism."
'No distinction'
However, the ABC also sought comment from the Australian Federal Police, which made this admission in their responses:
"Detachment 88 is a specialist counter terrorism unit within the Indonesian National Police, however it should be noted that Indonesian law does not differentiate between terrorism, separatism and insurgency."
In response to the reports, political parties and human rights groups have released statements urging leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum to take notice.
The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation, based in Vanuatu, said the violence was nothing new.
"Violence has always been Indonesia’s policy regarding the land of Papua over the past 49 years. Being an occupying power, violence is their only means of enforcing their authority in the Papuan society," said spokespersons Rex Rumakiek, Dr John Ondowame and Andy Ayamiseba.
"For almost half a century since Indonesia annexed West Papua, our people have been subjected to terror and trauma."
Political reaction
The Democratic Labor Party in Australia said the situation was "genocide happening on our doorstep".
Senator John Madigan and Democratic Labor Party federal secretary Mark Farrell said: “Indonesia is not being transparent with the Australian people or the Australian government.
“It is difficult to understand how the government of a democratic country like Australia can ignore the oppressive behaviour of a neighbouring country.”
The Green Party of Australia also voiced their concern, with Senator Richard Di Natale drawing comparisons with East Timor.
“Australians are now becoming more aware of these atrocities being committed on their doorstep," he said.
"They know what happened in East Timor under Indonesian rule and they know that we, as a nation, cannot sit idly by while it occurs again in West Papua."
Joe Collins of the Australian West Papua Association said the PIF should take up the Indonesian government's offer to encourage research and balanced journalism by sending a fact-finding mission from the Forum.
He also encouraged Pacific leaders to raise the matter with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
"The Leaders’ retreat is supposed to provide an opportunity for private and frank discussions at the highest level and we hope that the PIF leaders will question Julia Gillard on Australia's involvement in the training of Detachment 88 which is accused of targeting West Papuan activists," he said.
"We also hope that concern for the situation in West Papua will be mentioned in the official Forum communiqué".
The Democratic Labor Party statement also argued for observers to visit.
“If Indonesia is seriously expecting us to believe it is not engaged in the oppression of the West Papuan people then they must allow human rights observers and international journalists in to the country.”
The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation is pushing for more, calling on the Melanesian Spearhead Group, the PIF, as well as the US, the UK, the European Union and others "to sponsor a resolution at the UNGA(United Nations General Assembly) to re-inscribe West Papua on the UN List for Decolonisation.
"We also call on MSG and PIF to admit the West Papuan Independence Movement as an observer of these bodies as a sure way of encouraging peaceful solution to the conflict."
One confirmed dead
The violence in Abepura yesterday was confirmed by West Papua Media Alerts, who reported one student being killed, and others badly wounded.
The news agency said the violence was carried out at the Liborang Asrama (dormitory) by a joint force of Army (TNI) and Police.
"The students were allegedly targeted because they come from the same tribal group as many members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), who have been consistently engaging in peaceful civil resistance in protest at the increasing terror tactics of the Indonesian security forces, which has escalated significantly since May 2012."
West Papua Media Alerts confirmed today that 35 people had been arrested and 11 remained in custody after being subjected to beatings and torture.
The Indonesian embassy in Canberra, in response to questions from the ABC said the government was taking action.
The statement said the loss of life "is regrettable and is receiving attention from the Indonesian people, the media, and the President of the Republic of Indonesia himself".
"The Indonesian government has taken steps to restore law-enforcement in the Papuan provinces."
Just how it is doing that is the focus of the media attention that West Papua is receiving, and as in previous years, the Pacific Islands Forum is so far remaining silent on the issue.
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5) End Indonesia anti-terror training: Greens
The Greens say Australia should look at ending anti-terrorism training for Indonesian troops if they are found to be involved in human rights abuses in West Papua.
Greens senator Richard Di Natale has been concerned for some time about the level of accountability in Australia's funding and training for Indonesian forces. "The fact that Australian dollars are training Indonesian military, particularly counter-terrorism operations, that are contributing to human rights abuses in West Papua is a real concern to me," he told ABC television on Wednesday. The ABC's 730 program reported on Tuesday that West Papuan separatist leader Mako Tabuni was killed by Detachment 88, a counter-terrorism police unit trained by Australian forces. Senator Di Natale said if this was found to be the case, "there's a very strong argument that we should be withdrawing our support of those operations immediately. "If we're in fact fuelling that conflict, the onus is on us to ensure that we stop doing that and we get much better accountability in terms of our relationship with the Indonesians." He called on Foreign Minister Bob Carr to show leadership and "make it very clear to his counterpart in Indonesia that what's going on in the region is unacceptable". On Tuesday, Senator Carr said Australia wanted to see a "full airing of all the circumstances" surrounding Mr Tabuni's death. The Australian embassy in Jakarta has raised the issue, while Prime Minister Julia Gillard has discussed human rights in the provinces of Papua and West Papua with the Indonesian president, as Senator Carr has done with his counterpart. The foreign minister said it was in Australia's interests to help Indonesia achieve a formidable anti-terrorism capability.
