1) Bintuni Bay communities want accountability at Tangguh
2) KNPB Timika Activist of West Papua in behind bars make message to International Community to Support
3) ‘Papuans Behind Bars’ website launched 
4) Human rights abuse allegations still overshadow Kopassus


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1) Bintuni Bay communities want accountability at Tangguh

DTE 95, March 2013

Communities have criticised the lack of transparency and unfulfilled promises at the giant Tangguh gas installation operated by UK-based energy multinational BP in Papua Barat.

At a recent three-day workshop in Bintuni, Papua Barat, communities affected by the Tangguh gas operation demanded that BP and the Indonesian government listen to their concerns and enable them to have a say over their lives, their livelihoods and the future of Bintuni Bay..........................

http://www.downtoearth-indonesia.org/story/bintuni-bay-communities-want-accountability-tangguh

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2) KNPB Timika Activist of West Papua in behind bars make message to International Community to Support

from Emoaluwo   15 hours ago / via Vimeo Android NOT YET RATED

KNPB Timika activist Behind Indonesian Bars in Timika, West Papua.

We are KNPB activist in Timika, West Papua. Indonesia Police jailed us with no reason.

Indonesian police jailed Romario Yatipai, Steven Itlay, Yakonias Womsiwor, Paulus Marsyom, Alfred Marsyom and Yanto Awerkion since 19 October 2012 until now.

Indonesian police say that KNPB activist are criminal, terrorism, Makar, separatist and so on.

Actually, KNPB activist in Timika always makes peace Demonstrate with all westpapuans. We always make peace Demonstrate to demand Referendum is the best solution for West Papua.

We hope International community, Amnesty International, IPWP, ILWP support us and pressure Indonesia government, Indonesia Police in
Papua and Timika.

West Papua activist and all west papuans Need UN Observer, UN Humanitarian and International Journalist now in West Papua.

video at

http://vimeo.com/64206837

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Abridged translation by TAPOL

3) ‘Papuans Behind Bars’ website launched 

Bintang Papua  – 16 April, 2013

JAYAPURA: The Civil Society Coalition to Uphold Law and Human Rights in Papua consisting of Foker LSM, Kontras, ALDP, Elsham – Papua,  LBH Papua, KPKC Synod GKI, TIKI, AJI Papua, Baptist Voices, Synod Kingmi Papua, BUK, SKPKC FP,  Septer Manufandu, Gustaf Kawar, and Yan Christian Warinussy launched a new website,papuansbehindbars.org, on Tuesday, 16 April.

The Director of Elsham-Papua, Ferdinand Marisan, said that the purpose of launching the website was to advocate for the rights of Papuan political prisoners in Papua and elsewhere.

The website will provide updates on the situation in prisons where 40 political prisoners are being held. It will also provide information about the use of violence against the prisoners and their families over the years.

It will report on the whereabouts of Papuan political prisoners, the history of their imprisonment and whether they have suffered from torture, the lack of access to legal  assistance, being forced to confess, and other kinds of human rights violations. ‘Their  existence should not be ignored despite the statement by Djoko Suyanto, Co-ordinating Minister for Legal, Political and Security Affairs who declared that all prisoners who are being held in  prisons in Papua are people who have committed crimes  and are undergoing rehabilitation’ said Ferdinand Marisan, who was accompanied by representatives of several  NGOs and community representatives concerned about the many  human rights cases in Papua.

He said that political prisoners, after being arrested and throughout their imprisonment, have been treated continually without  justice. ‘People would be amazed to hear about the brutality and inhumane treatment to which they are subjected, which is being perpetrated both by the TNI and the police, from the moment they are taken into custody and throughout the time that they are serving the sentences passed by the courts. They are being subjected to many kinds of human rights violations that should never occur.’

It is hoped that the existence of the website will mean that the Civil Society Coalition to Uphold Law and Human Rights in Papua and others who are concerned about the issue of human rights can be kept informed of the whereabouts of the prisoners in accordance with the law and the human rights to which these prisoners are entitled. ‘With the help of this website, the Coalition and all  those who are concerned about human rights  will be able to monitor the whereabouts of the prisoners in accordance with the law and ensure that they are not being subjected to the violation of the human rights.’

‘This is about those who are undergoing interrogation as well as those who  are serving sentences in  various prisons so as to ensure that they are treated in accordance with the rights to which they are entitled,’ he said.

Furthermore, their treatment should comply with fact that Indonesia has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights under Law No. 12/2005 as well as the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment through Law 5 of 1998.

The Coalition and all those who are concerned about human rights are calling on the Indonesian Government: 

First, to release all the political prisoners and immediately start a peace dialogue with the Papuan people.

Second, to safeguard the rights of political prisoners to access healthcare, legal services and other entitlements.

Third, to call on the Co-ordinating Minister for Legal, Political and Security Affairs, Djoko Suyanto, to visit Papua as soon as possible to meet political prisoners and gather information about the conditions in which they are being held.

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http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/04/17/human-rights-abuse-allegations-still-overshadow-kopassus.html

4) Human rights abuse allegations still overshadow Kopassus

Yuliasri Perdani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Wed, April 17 2013, 10:35 AM

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Paper Edition | Page: 2

After 61 years, the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) remains riddled with allegations of human rights abuses, with the Cebongan incident where its commandos stormed a prison in Sleman, Yogyakarta, and executed four inmates putting the elite forces under the spotlight for another abuse allegation.

As the elite force commemorated its 61st anniversary in Cijantung, East Jakarta, on Tuesday, Kopassus commander Maj. Gen. Agus Sutomo insisted that the raid on Cebongan prison that left four men dead was not a human rights abuse. “It was not a human rights violation. It was insubordination. That is clear,” he said as quoted by Antara.

 A number of public figures, including former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief AM Hendropriyono and House of Representatives deputy speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, took part in defending Kopassus. “Those who think that [Kopassus members] have abused people’s rights, just take a look at CCTV footage [at Hugo’s café]. A person was beaten to death, then his remains were dragged along the ground. That is a human rights violation,” Hendropriyono said, referring to a former Kopassus soldier whose death triggered the Cebongan raid.

They refuted a preliminary conclusion by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) that the raid violated human rights. The commission has yet to complete its probe into the incident.

Since being founded by Col. Alexander Evert Kawilarang in 1952, Kopassus have been involved in some notable missions, ranging from countering a plane hijack, insurgent attacks and the country’s confrontation with Malaysia in 1965.

In the 1950s, Kopassus took part in the counterinsurgency operation against the Darul Islam/Indonesian Islamic Army (DI/TII) rebellion.

In 1985, the elite force achieved global recognition after it successfully rescued passengers on board Garuda Indonesia’s DC-9 Woyla aircraft, which was hijacked by Komando Jihad, a network of Darul Islam.

In 1996, Kopassus commandos joined an operation to rescue 12 foreign and Indonesian scientists abducted by the Free Papua Movement (OPM) in Papua’s hinterland of Mapenduma. Two Indonesian hostages were killed by the rebels during the rescue operation.

But over the years the forces have also been mired in human rights violations.

In April 1999, 11 Kopassus members were found guilty of abducting nine political activists during the last months of Soeharto’s New Order regime. In 2003, a military tribunal sent seven Kopassus soldiers to jail for slaying Theys Hiyo Eluay, the leader of Papua Presidium Council, in 2002. Some of them were not discharged from the army.

A pile of human rights abuses committed by Kopassus had prompted the United States to impose a ban on military contact with the elite forces. In 2010, the US lifted the ban amid strong criticism.

Critics said it was now the time for Kopassus to evaluate themselves.

Haris Azhar, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) chairman said that the Cebongan case could be the impetus for Kopassus to end their culture of impunity.

“Looking back at previous cases, military tribunals gave soldiers lenient punishments. The public have been disappointed by that. The prison murder will test Kopassus’ commitment to supporting fair and transparent trials for their members,” he said.

Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, a defense analyst at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said that Kopassus should use the Cebongan case to build the morale of their members.

He added that Kopassus, like many other Indonesian military forces, was facing a challenge to shine in peacetime. “During the era of turmoil, Kopassus played a pivotal role in many security operations. Kopassus also engaged with civil society by deploying its members to coach the Karang Taruna youth groups,” Ikrar said.