1) Papuans Behind Bars October update

2) Papuan leaders urged to work together.

3) Police searching for perpetrator of Manokwari shootout case

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1) Papuans Behind Bars October update

October 2014: ‘Bloody Yotefa’: police turn a blind eye to violence against indigenous Papuans
At the end of October 2014, there were at least 69 political prisoners in Papuan jails.
At least 46 members of the West Papua National Committee (Komite Nasional Papua Barat, KNPB) were arrested in Jayapura and Merauke this month for participating in peaceful demonstrations. The demonstrators were urging the Indonesian government to release two French journalists who faced trial for breaching immigration rules. In likely reference to the Social Organisations Law (RUU Organisasi Kemasyarakatan, RUU Ormas), police claimed during the mass arrests that the KNPB is an illegal organisation as it is not registered with the Department of National Unity and Politics (Kesatuan Bangsa dan Politik, Kesbangpol) and affiliated symbols or attributes are also therefore illegal. Last June, police conducted a mass arrest in Boven Digoel under the same auspices. Indonesian human rights group Imparsial challenged the shutting down of peaceful demonstrations in Jayapura and Merauke, stating that freedom of expression in Papua is the worst in Indonesia, particularly when it comes to the treatment of KNPB rallies. The criminalisation of peaceful demonstrations, often under the auspices of the Ormas Law, restricts democratic space and stigmatises Papuan civil society groups....................................      
http://www.papuansbehindbars.org/?p=3252

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2) Papuan leaders urged to work together.

Political developments in the context  of the right to self-determination for the indigenous Papuan people is stipulated  in Article 3 of the UN Universal Declaration Regarding the Right of Indigenous People in all parts of the world.

In my opinion, a major factor must be the need for unity of all the Papuan leaders who are involved in various political issues pertaining to  the lives of the Papuan people. This is all the more important at this present time, bearing in mind that at the beginning of December this year, a meeting will be held in Vanuatu to be attended by political activists representing the People in the Land of Papua.

This meeting will be attended by people involved in a variety of political activities. There needs to be consolidation and reconciliation for them to work together for the achievement of action in a way that is much healthier and is dedicated to the principle of peace and close co-operation.

This is clearly evident from the fact that when the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is to hold a meeting to be held in December 2014, the application to attend was rejected because there was a lack of unity between the various groups campaigning for political issues being pursued by organisations campaigning on a variety of issues in Papua. Although the West Papua  Coalition for Liberation and the National Coalition for West Papua both applied to attend that meeting,  their applications were not accepted because neither of them could be said to have the support of all the people of Papua.

In my opinion and as a senior legal activist for the people of Papua, I herewith call upon all those struggling for leading political

issues to seriously think about the need for unity and unanimity among the indigenous Papua people without regard for regional area, various

different clans, background issues or other political matters. The political agenda for achieving the right to self-determination

is universally accepted as a basic human right and is not in conflict with the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

 Nor should this struggle be seen as a movement for separatism which could in any way damage Indonesia's national interests because the

Papuan struggle in being undertaken purely by peaceful means. This is clear from the National Dialogue held on 22 January 1999 at the

presidential palace during the presidency  of Professor B.J Habibie as well as at the Second Papuan Congress held in 2000 when it was

emphasised that this struggle would be undertaken by peaceful means, rejecting all forms of violence.   This means that at this moment, all actions and intentions should

be undertaken in accordance with a united memorandum of all our forces and groups.

 In 2010, the Peace Congress held in Abepura-Jayapura established the principle indicators for a peaceful struggle in accordance with

criteria formulated by the late Dr John Otto Ondowame in Vanuatu, Rex Rumakiek  in Australia, Benny Wenda in Oxford, UK as well as

Octovianus Motte in the USA and Lionine Tanggahma in The Netherlands. They all undertook a number of important activities  within the

context of political actions along with a number of international agencies as well as the Government of Indonesia. 

  This clearly reinforces the need for unity between all the political leaders who need to clarify their diplomatic mandate and show that they respect the principle of struggle in accordance with the mechanism made possible under international law.

Peace!

Yan Christian Warinussy, Executive-Director of the LP3BH and recipient of the John Humphreys Award in 2005 in Canada, as well as a human rights defender and member of the Steering Committee of Forum Kerjasama and Secretary of the Human Rights Commission-Papua

 Translated by Carmel Budiardjo

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http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/96572/police-searching-for-perpetrator-of-manokwari-shootout-case

3) Police searching for perpetrator of Manokwari shootout case

Senin, 17 November 2014 21:48 WIB | 293 Views

Manokwari, W Papua (ANTARA News) - The Manokwari Resort Police are still on the lookout for a suspect, alias ON, who is believed to have killed a person in Oransbari Sub-district of Manokwari, West Papua Province, in September 2014.

"The suspect and his gun have not yet been found by the police," Chief of Manokwari Resort Police Senior Commissioner Adjunct Jhony Edison Isir stated here on Monday.

The police had encountered difficulties in tracking the suspect as he had fled to the jungle and was always on the move, Jhony noted.

He revealed that the Manokwari Police will take necessary efforts to trace the suspect to be prosecuted under the law.

The police have approached the suspects family to persuade ON to surrender.

The officer has also approached a local leader and religious figure to assist the police in persuading ON to immediately surrender to police.

"The Criminal Investigations Unit has distributed the search list to all the police sectors to search ON," Jhony remarked.

The chief noted that the police have considered the shooting incident that claimed the life of Ridwan in September 2014 as a special case. Thus, the police will continue its search efforts until the suspect is arrested.(*)

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