Friday, July 24, 2015

1) Papua Police Charge Two for Inciting Tolikara Riot

2) Papua Police arrest two  suspects behind Tolikara  riot

3) Cover Up of human rights violations by the security forces in Tolikara
4) Trial starts for two people arrested on demonstration at PT Permata Putera Mandiri’s offfice.
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1) Papua Police Charge Two for Inciting Tolikara Riot

Jayapura. Papua Police have charged two people for allegedly inciting a riot in Tolikara district, which saw a small mosque burn to the ground last week and triggered widespread fears of sectarian violence across the country.
Police identified the suspects as 26-year-old local bank employee A.K. and J.W., 31, a civil servant.
“The two were seen provoking the assault,” Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Yotje Mende said at his office in the provincial capital of Jayapura.
The pair has been charged with inciting others to commit crime under Indonesia’s Criminal Code and could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison if convicted.
The two suspects were apprehended in Tolikara district capital Karubaga on Thursday and were flown to Jayapura the following day where they will face more questioning.
Police suspected the two had provoked a group of around 200 people to pelt stones and set fire to shops owned by Muslim migrants in Karubaga during the Islamic Idul Fitri holiday. Investigators also claimed they have obtained video footage of the pair during the riot.
Violence erupted in Tolikara last week after members of the Evangelical Church of Indonesia (GIDI) — the largest religious group in the district — complained about the use of loudspeakers during a mass Idul Fitri prayer and called for the event to be canceled.
Police opened fire at protesters, killing one and injuring 11 others, although the exact nature of the shooting has been widely contested by the GIDI, security officials and witnesses.
But there is no dispute that the shooting led to the riot.
Scores of officials and religious groups, both Muslims and Christians, immediately called for peace  out of fear that violence might spread to the rest of the Muslim-majority country, which saw a brutal string of sectarian conflicts between 2000 and 2005.
National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti has also instructed officers across the archipelago to counter the spread of provocative messages circulating in the aftermath of the incident.
Meanwhile, police in Jakarta have stepped up security to prevent Papuan students and churches from becoming a target of hate crimes, said Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian.


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2) Papua Police arrest two  suspects behind Tolikara  riot
Nethy Dharma Somba, thejakartapost.com, Jayapura, Papua | National | Fri, July 24 2015, 4:02 PM -

Papua Police said on Friday that they had arrested two suspects related to the recent religious clash in Tolikara, Papua.
The police suspect that the two people, with the initials JW and AK, instigated the riot that resulted in the death of a teenager and the injury of 12 others of various ages.
Papua Police chief Ins. Gen. Yotje Mende said on Friday that JW and AK were flown from Tolikara to Papua Police’s headquarter for further questioning.
“They were both involved in the attack against Muslims, who performing Idul Fitri prayers, and they were also involved in the burning of several kiosks” Yotje added.
The police said the two men were members of the Evangelical Church of Indonesia and they both worked as clerks in a local bank in Tolikara.
Yotje also said that the suspects would be charged with provocation and assault under articles 160 and 170 of the Criminal Code, which can see a sentence of up to five years’ imprisonment. (ika)(++++)
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3) Cover Up of human rights violations by the security forces in Tolikara
Statement by the Executive Director of LP3BH

 LP3BH-Manokwari  has received reliable and accurate information from the leaders of GIDI, the Evangelical Church in Indonesia, about
the Tolikara Incident  which has enabled us to reveal that a gross violation of human rights occurred [See Article 7/b and Article 9/a of
LAW 26/2000). The violations were perpetrated by members of the security forces, the TNI-Indonesian Army and the Police Force on 17th
July this year. A man named Endi Wanimbo, 15 years old  was killed and eleven others were seriously injured and are now being treated in
hospital.

 These young people felt very dissatisfied about what the security forces had done and set fire to several stalls in Tolikara Market.
This spread to a nearby wooden mushola [small mosque] located near the stalls.

Accusations against these young people associated with the GIDI Church which were published in the local media that they were
responsible for the mayhem are without foundation.   According to the LP3BH, the actions were taken by members of the
security forces and were not in accord with the procedures required towards any peaceful action and therefore constitute a gross violation
of human rights. This incident should be investigated by the civil authorities and the security forces in accordance with the laws in
force.

The LP3BH therefore calls on President Ir H. Joko Widodo to guarantee full access  to the area and ensure that the security forces
do not get involved in this case, as this would prevent an independent investigation from being undertaken by the National Human Rights
Commission (KOMNAS HAM) in accordance with Law 39/1999 on Basic Human Rights and Law 26/2000 on Human Rights Courts.
Furthermore, KOMNAS-HAM should be given the opportunity to gather all the information and data as provided for in Article 184 of the Procedural Code to determine 
whether gross human rights were perpetrated and seek to find the perpetrators of the arson attack that occurred in Tolikara on 17 July.

 Furthermore, the LP3BH urges the Chief of Police in Papua together with his subordinates to investigate the incident and determine who it
was who was responsible for the arson against the stalls in the market, in accordance with the laws in force.
The Chief of Police should also summon the commander of the police in Tolikara, AKPB Suroso who seems to have failed to establish
 good communications between the leaders of the GIDI Church and the leaders of the Muslim community in Tolikara in order to prevent the spread of
ill feelings between these communities which could inflame social conflict, as was the case with the 17 July incident in Tolikara.

The LP3BH also calls on the leaders of civil society in Tolikara and throughout the Land of Papua to avoid being drawn into disputes
that could occur, and avoid spreading news in the local print or electronic media. Everyone should strive to maintain friendly
co-operation between the various religious communities as the way to avoid any social conflict emerging in the Land of Papua.

Manokwari, 23 July 2015
On behalf of LP3BH and the Coalition of Civil Society for Justice and
Peace in West Papua
Yan Christian Warinussy, Executive Director to the LP3BH, Institution
of Research, Analyzing and Development of Legal Aid.
Translated by Carmel Budiardjo
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4) Trial starts for two people arrested on demonstration at PT Permata Putera Mandiri’s offfice.

On 15th May this year, dozens of students and others from the Iwaro ethnic group from Metamani and Inanwatan in South Sorong Regency, staged a protest action with banners and speeches, blocking the offices of oil palm company PT Permata Putera Mandiri (PPM), on Jalan Ahmad Yani, Sorong City, West Papua Province.
According to Simon Soren, one of the participants on the action, “the people were demanding that PT PPM offer a solution to the problems of land grabbing, the destruction of the forest and sago groves, illegal logging and an unfair level of compensation, and indications that illegal exploration for oil and gas were also taking place”.
The company refused to meet with the demonstrators, and then police from the Sorong City station, who were already present at the area, broke up the action and arrested dozens of participants. After questioning, several detainees were released little by little, until eventually only two people were being held: Obed Korie and Odie Aitago from Puragi village, Metamani District, South Sorong.
On 14th July 2014, Obed Korie and Odie Aitago attended the first session of their court process at the Sorong District Court, where the prosecution read out the accusations. According to Loury Dacosta, their legal support who attended that session, “Prosecutor Ola Dimara read out the accusations which formed the basis of charging the two people under article 170 of the Indonesian Criminal Code, which refers to violence towards persons or property, and carries a threat of a five year prison sentence”.
Justice appears to be very distant for the victims of PT PPM: the company has not met their demands, and now on the contrary the victims of development are criminalised by the government.

The ANJ Group’s business in South Sorong

PT PPM is a subsidiary company of PT Austindo Nusantara Jaya (ANJ) Group, owned by business tycoon George Tahija. ANJ also owns two other oil palm plantations in South Sorong and nearby Maybrat, PT Putera Manunggal Perkasa (PMP and PT Pusaka Agro Makmur (PAM). The ANJ Group also owns PT ANJ Agri Papua which is engaged in exploiting sago forests and in the sago processing industry, with operations between Metamani and Kokoda districts in South Sorong.
Before being acquired by the ANJ Group, the three oil palm companies were believed to be owned by Jakarta-based PT Pusaka Agro Sejahtera with the majority of the shares held by foreign companies (most likely offshore holding companies). 90% of the shares in PT PPM were owned by Xinfeng Pte Ltd, and 90% of PT PMP was owned by Xinyou Plantation Pte Ltd, both based at the same address at 30 Cecil St, Singapore. In January 2014, these shares were transferred to the AnJ Group. PT PAM, whose shares were registered in the name of another Singapore-based company Wodi Kaifa Ltd, was acquired by the ANJ Group in October 2014.
The company obtained the land for their plantations through mechanisms based on Indonesian state law, ignoring local customary law mechanisms. This actually contravenes the provisions of the 2001 law concerning special autonomy for Papua, which state that if any party requires access to customary land, a meeting of indigenous people must take place to reach a consensus decision before any permits to operate or land title may be granted.
Local indigenous people, who actually have control and title over the land and forest are never involved in land acquisition, including in this case involving PT ANJ. The process of land acquisition takes place furtively and without transparency, with police and military involvement, and without the community having the opportunity to understand or find out what the wider impacts of forest clearance might be.
Land acquisition and compensation documents reveal that the average compensation paid is 75,000 Rupiah per hectare (US$6), with a stipulation that the land will be used for the duration of the company’s operational permit, 35 years. This amount is extremely unfair if compared to the benefits the community would otherwise obtain from forest products in the area. The company on the other hand, will receive huge profits from its exploitation of forest products and large-scale land management.
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