The Biak Massacre – A Citizens Tribunal 6 July 1998 – 6 July 2013 (in Sydney

The Biak Massacre – A Citizens Tribunal
6 July 1998 – 6 July 2013
seeking justice after fifteen years

John Woolley Building, University of Sydney
Ross Street Entrance on Parramatta Road
Sydney, New South Wales 2008
Australia
Saturday, 6 July 2013
10am to 5:00pm

RSVP: http://biak-6july.eventbrite.com.au

Shortly after Indonesia’s President Suharto was forced out of office
by a popular uprising in May 1998, the people of West Papua began
channeling this democratic energy in a new direction.  Hundreds of
peaceful West Papuans took to the streets in July 1998, demanding that
the Indonesian government give them the opportunity to vote on the
issue of independence.  On the island of Biak demonstrators occupied
the harbor, refusing to leave until the government met their demands.
Indonesian security forces surrounded these unarmed protesters at dawn
and began firing into the crowd.  Scores were killed.  Many survivors
of this initial assault were loaded onto boats, brought into open
ocean, and dumped overboard to drown.  Investigations by national and
international human rights organizations were thwarted by Indonesian
authorities.  Calls for a formal inquiry by the government and
relevant international bodies have been ignored.

Citizens of the world—from Asia, Melanesia, Australia, and the
Americas—are uniting on the fifteenth year anniversary of this
massacre.   We are assembling a distinguished international team of
jurists who will hear eyewitness testimony from survivors and issue a
formal decree.  Prima facie evidence for all of the essential facts of
this case will be presented and the Indonesian government will be
invited to mount a defence.

Tickets are available on a sliding scale.  If you would like one for
free, please select that option. If you would like to donate any funds
they will go directly to the costs of hosting this event.  The
survivors of the Biak massacre who will be testifying at the tribunal
will receive any remaining funds.

Register for a ticket now.  Only people with valid tickets and
identification
will be allowed in the venue.

Tickets: http://biak-6july.eventbrite.com.au