Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
PO Box 28, Spit Junction, NSW 2088
Summary of events in West Papua for July
2017
(This
update coves the last two weeks of July up to 4 August. Previous update ended
16 July).
One person was killed and up to 17
injured including a number of children when the security forces opened fired on
a crowed when responding to an incident in Deiyai district. The incident occurred when one of a number
of men swimming in a river got into difficulty. The villager asked a
group of workers at a company’s construction site to take the person to the
hospital. A worker refused the request, as he feared he would be blamed if the
patient died on the way to hospital. This angered the locals, who gathered at
the site to confront the workers. The security forces deployed to handle the incident fired at
the villagers killing one and injuring others. Indonesia's human rights commission has sent its members to Papua to
investigate the incident. In a Reuters report on the incident a “Police spokesman
Kamal said its internal investigation unit and commission members had begun
questioning construction workers on Thursday. They would interview police
officers involved in the incident on Friday”
An initial report from the Free West Papua Campaign on the
incident.
https://www.freewestpapua.org/2017/08/01/urgent-up-to-17-people-reportedly-shot-by-the-indonesian-military-and-police-in-deiyai-1-killed/
https://www.freewestpapua.org/2017/08/01/urgent-up-to-17-people-reportedly-shot-by-the-indonesian-military-and-police-in-deiyai-1-killed/
Unlike
pass shootings this incident is receiving mainstream coverage from many media
outlets including RNZI, Reuters, AFP, and local media Tabloid Jubi. A Guardian report on the
incident at
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) released an urgent action on the incident. The AHRC has released a number of U/As in the past weeks and this is a way supporters can help the people of West Papua by responding to these urgent actions. A number of West Papuan events
are upcoming and people are also encouraged to support these events (details at end of update). Another way people can help is to sign the petition and support the swim at Sign & Share the Global Petition for West Papua
here
An extract from the an editorial in the Jakarta Post (2 August) mentions the back the swim campaign
"The campaign for an independent Papua has been relentless and has made significant gains in past years. In January this year, the Free West Papua Campaign launched with great fanfare a global petition demanding an internationally supervised referendum for the region. The petition will remain open until August this year and once it closes will be carried by a team of swimmers across Lake Geneva to be personally handed to the secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres. The campaign itself appears to have been designed by a techsavvy public relations team who also posted a YouTube video featuring pro-independence activist Benny Wenda calling for viewers to join the campaign".
Responding to U/As, supporting events and signing petitions are away individuals can easily do and support the people of West Papua in their struggle for self-determination.
INDONESIA: Alleged brutal shooting and violence by the Paniai Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in Papua
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT
APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-106-2017 2 August 2017
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-106-2017 2 August 2017
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
has received information from our local partner in Papua Province. It speaks
about an alleged brutal shooting and violence committed by the Paniai Police
Mobie Brigade. It was carried out against local indigenous Papuans in Oneibo,
South Tigi District, Deiyai Regency, Papua. Without any proper warning, the
Police forcibly dispersed and shot the local indigenous Papuans who protested
against the Putra Dewa Paniai Company. The protest was caused by the Company’s
refusal to help local residents to support the life of an indigenous Papuan. He
was in a critical condition after near drowning in the Oneibo River. Full U/A at
http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-106-2017
Relatives of Papua
shooting victims call on police to take responsibility
RNZI 4 August 2017
A relative of villagers in Indonesia's
Papua region caught up in a fatal police shooting says they're calling for the
police to take responsibility for the incident.
Amatus Douw's relatives were among
victims shot in a confrontation with paramilitary police in the Deiyai district
on Tuesday.
According to reports up to 16 people
were also injured, some of them critically, among them teenagers. Mr Douw is a
pro-independence activist for West Papua and lives in Australia after obtaining
political asylum in 2006.
He had been in contact with his family
and he said the dead man's body was placed in front of the police office in
Deiyai yesterday after the shooting.
"Without asking, without
advocat(ing) the issue, they just shoot and shoot. Uncompromised. They are
really sad and very worried," Said Amatus Douw.
Mr Douw said his people were worried
because more police and military have been deployed to the district. According
to a BBC report police say warning shots were fired in the incident and they
are investigating. The parliament of the Deiyai area has called for the arrest
of officers involved in the shooting and the withdrawal of the mobile brigade.
INDONESIA: Papuan human rights defender
insulted and intimidated by military command
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT
APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-096-2017
27 July 2017
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
has received information that Mr. Theo Hesegem, a coordinator of Advocacy
Network for Law Enforcement and Human Rights (JAPH-HAM) in Wamena, Papua, was
intimidated and insulted by military officers of Jayawijaya regent, due to his advocacy
efforts in the torture case of Mr. Niko Hisage. While there has been no
military or police action to prosecute the military officers responsible for
torturing Hisage, the military is now attempting to dissuade Mr. Hesegem for
his efforts to seek justice for the victim. …………………
---------
INDONESIA: Teenage indigenous Papuan
brutally assaulted
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT
APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-093-2017
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
has received information from its local partner in Papua about the torture of
Albert Nawipa (15), a junior high school student. Nawipa was illegally taken by
the police and brought to a police station near Potikelek market in Wamena. The
police accused him of attacking a dancing show in Potikelek market. He was
tortured by three police officers and subsequently hospitalized. His serious
injuries have prevented him from enrolling in the Senior High School in Wamena
regent. The police have yet to comprehensively examine the case, and no
adequate remedies have been provided to Nawipa.
Editorial Jakarta Post-Open Papua to the world
Jakarta | Wed, August 2, 2017
The campaign for an independent Papua has
been relentless and has made significant gains in past years. In January this
year, the Free West Papua Campaign launched with great fanfare a global
petition demanding an internationally supervised referendum for the region. The
petition will remain open until August this year and once it closes will be
carried by a team of swimmers across Lake Geneva to be personally handed to the
secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres. The campaign itself
appears to have been designed by a techsavvy public relations team who also
posted a YouTube video featuring pro-independence activist Benny Wenda calling
for viewers to join the campaign.
The publicity stunt is a follow-up to the
progress the movement has made in recent months. Last year, Free Papua
activists managed to enlist an impressive cast of characters to support their
cause, ranging from figures like Tongan Prime Minister Akilisi Pōhiva,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson. The PR
campaign followed what could be deemed as a coup for the independent Papua
movement. In September last year, seven Pacific island nations raised the issue
of human rights abuses in Papua to the UN General Assembly. Anecdotal
observations have also shown evidence that the campaign to promote an
independent Papua has gained steam in Australia and New Zealand. A senior
Indonesian diplomat told of his experience of being confronted by a Pacific
island student who was campaigning for a free Papua during a graduation event.
So, at almost every turn, we are being
outmaneuvered by campaigners who want to see Papua separate from Indonesia. And
yet the Indonesian government has done very little to counter it.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has made
efforts to hasten development in Papua including rolling out the one-fuel price
policy, which was aimed at boosting economic growth in Papua. Jokowi also
signed off on a series of massive infrastructure projects in the region. Early
in his administration, Jokowi made a gesture of reconciliation by releasing
five political prisoners, a decision the President said was to aid conflict
resolution in the restive region.
But none of these efforts have been viewed
positively by the outside world because the government continues to cordon off
Papua. Despite Jokowi’s pledge early in his administration to give foreign
journalists greater access to Papua, his government has maintained a policy
that makes it difficult for members of the international media to operate in
the region. Today, an interagency “clearing house” continues to operate to vet
requests from foreign journalists and researchers before they are permitted to
travel to the country’s easternmost province. Earlier this year, two French
journalists were deported from Timika, Papua, after failing to obtain a
reporting permit.
By maintaining this restriction, the
government is operating like a paranoid regime, afraid the outside world may
find the skeletons it hides in its closet. If the government has done much to
improve the lives of Papuans, why not show it to the world?
Students rally for
West Papuan independence in Bali
Ni Komang Erviani
The Jakarta Post
Denpasar, Bali | Wed,
August 2, 2017
Call for independence: Members of the
Papua Student Alliance (AMP) Bali call for West Papua's independence in a rally
in Denpasar, Bali, on Aug. 2. (JP/Ni Komang Erviani)
Around 30 students of the Papua Student Alliance (AMP)
Bali held a rally on Wednesday to demand West
Papuan independence.
They staged the demonstration at a location near the
US Consular Agency office in Denpasar, Bali, as the police did not allow them
to hold the rally in front of the office as initially planned. AMP
spokesman Wolker said the rally was held to commemorate the 48th year of
the Papuan People’s Free Choice (Pepera) in 1969. “The Papuan People’s Free
Choice was not democratic; [it was] full of terror, intimidation and manipulation.
Severe human rights violations also occurred at that time,” Wolker said.
In a statement, AMP said that 175 out
of 809,337 Papuans cast their vote in the Pepera in 1969 and that all
of them had been "quarantined" before the voting day. “Since then,
[acts of] colonialism, imperialism and militarism have been committed by the
Indonesian government,” it said in the statement.
The group’s activists held the rally at the US
Consular Agency as they believe the US government interfered in the
Pepera. “Papua should get freedom,” they yelled during the rally. They also
demanded that the government shut down multinational
companies' activities in Papua, such as those of Freeport, LNG Tangguh and
Medco. Furthermore, they called for the release of Obby Kogoya, a Papuan
student in Yogyakarta who was sentenced to one-year probation with
four years' imprisonment if he reoffends during probation for resisting police
arrest during a protest in Yogyakarta last year. (ebf
Call for ACP-EU Resolution on West Papua
By
Jonas Cullwick Jul 28, 2017 Vanuatu Daily Post
The
Co-president of the EU, Cecil Kashetu Kyenge, addressing the opening session of
the Pacific regional meeting of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly last
week. By Jonas Cullwick
Last
week’s 14th Pacific Regional ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Port Vila
issued a five-point position of the issue of West Papuan independence.
It
says Parliamentarians of the ACP-EU Parliaments can voice their concern and
they can support Papuan rights, including the right to self-determination by
rallying to the call from the 8 Pacific Island Countries for justice and
respect for the right to self-determination.
They
can get regional and global intergovernmental bodies such the African Union,
CARICOM and other regional and sub-regional multilateral bodies to pass
resolutions and restrict commercial and other relations with Indonesia.
As
member states of the United Nations ACP–EU countries can insist on an
internationally supervised referendum on independence (or at least the
re-listing of West Papua as a non-self-governing territory).
Support
with one voice the proposed resolutions in the upcoming Joint ACP-EU parliament
meeting in month of October and also the resolution on West Papua to be adopted
at ACP Council of Ministers meeting in November 2017; And call on ACP-EU
Parliamentarians to urge their respective governments to address the issue of
West Papua at the multilateral level and assist Indonesia to resolve this 54
year crisis.
NZ govt rejects West Papua human rights petition
RNZI 3 Aug 2017
A parliamentary committee in New Zealand has turned down a call to push
for a UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression to visit West Papua.
A human rights petition, organised by West Papua Action Auckland and
supported by other human rights groups and Catholic and Anglican church
leaders, had sought for New Zealand to condemn the arrest and intimidation of
peaceful protestors. A spokesperson for the petitioners Maire Leadbetter said
the Foreign Affairs Committee had instead opted for what she calls a 'business
as usual approach that will mean little more than occasional inoffensive chats
with Indonesian authorities and comments during the UN Universal Periodic
Review process'. Ms Leadbetter said she was pleased the committee doesn't deny
human rights breaches in West Papua, but she was appalled Foreign Affairs
officials told the committee that there was doubt about whether torture occurs
in West Papua. She said this flies in the face of extensive documentation from
numerous human rights, church and academic reports all of which describes the
use of torture in West Papua as endemic.
CLEMENCY FOR UWAMANG, A TEST FOR JOKOWI
Jul
31, 2017
Antonius Uwamang
while undergoing trial in Jakarta court 11 years ago – Getty Images
Jayapura, Jubi – Legislator of Papua,
Wilhelmus Pigai stated that after the lifelong sentence of the convicted,
Antonius Uwamang from Cipinang Prison, Jakarta to Abepura Prison, Jayapura
City, Papua succeeded, they are now trying to get the remission (reduction of
punishment) or pardon fom the president to Uwamang. Member of Commission I in the field of
politics, law and human rights said, since last week, Anton Uwamang has been
transferred to LP Abepura. The next struggle is to seek remission or pardon for
Uwamang. “Regarding remission, which is in the
process, the submission of a criminal change from a lifetime to a temporary
penalty, has been submitted and hopefully on August this year there is a
certainty,” said Wilhelmus Pigai to Jubi, Sunday (July 30).
According to him, the transfer of Anton
Uwamang to Papua will facilitate the family to monitor his condition and to
visit him. “For nearly 12 years Anton has been
detained at the Cipinang prisons, the family has never visited him, we are
grateful that our efforts and the family have asked Anton to be moved has been
successful, he has arrived at LP Abe since Tuesday (July 25),” he said. .
He said, in addition to the transfer
efforts from LP Cipinang to LP Abepura and the remission (reduction of
punishment), he will also fight for pardon or pardon from the president for the
convicted person who was charged for shooting in Mimika in 2002. “So there are three things that we are
fighting for: the transfer of detentions has succeeded, then the remissions and
pardons are now in process and pending,” he said.
While Vice Chairman of Commission I,
Orwan Tolli Wone said when one checked Uwamang track record during his time in
Cipinang prison, he should naturally got remission.
“Uwamang is entitled to a remission like
any other prisoner, that’s the right of citizens, especially during the
duration of the sentence Uwamang has never been in trouble,” Orwan said.
Anton Uwamang was sentenced to life for
the shooting of a convoy of employees of PT Freeport Indonesia, on August 21,
2002 which resulted in two Americans, Ricky Lynn Spier (44) and Leon Edwin
Burgon (71) and Indonesian citizen Bambang Riwanto killed. In addition to Anton, his colleagues
Yulianus Deikme and Agustinus Anggaibak were convicted 15 years in prison.
Yairus Kiwak, Rev. Isaac Onawame, Esau Onawame and Hardi Sugumol were charged
eight years in prison.
A test for Jokowi
The struggle for clemency for Uwamang
will be a test for Indonesian President, Joko Widodo. Although he once freed
five Papuan political prisoners in May 2015, none of them are a lifelong
convict. The president who is familiarly called Jokowi is also considered to
never prove his government’s commitment to solve the problem of alleged
violations of Human Rights in Papua, along with democratic space in Papua.
Setara Institute some time ago mentioned
in the policy span, it is proven that President Joko Widodo has no policy in
solving cases of human rights violations and democratic conditions in Papua.
This can be seen from the absence of any regulations or legislation concerning
human rights issues.
In contrast, Jokowi only political
maneuvered by attempting to open partial democracy taps such as granting
pardons to political prisoners, lifting up restrictions on foreign press, and
forming a team to resolve human rights cases in Papua, have not solving the
problems of Papua holistically.
“The presidential political steps seem
ambiguous and contradictory. On one hand, the president grants clemency to five
political prisoners and grants foreign press freedom. But on the other hand,
the government made a massive arrest against the peacefull demonstration of the
people of Papua. In fact, the President is actually planning to build a new
territorial command and police mobile brigade, Navy base, and add more troops
to Papua. This further demonstrates that governments is still present his
militaristic and repressive approach to Papuan society, “said Bonar Tigor
Naipospos, Deputy Director of Setara Institute. In international forums, continued
Naipospos, Jokowi runs a diplomacy ‘turn a blind eye’ by denying all complaints
and information about human rights violations in Papua.
In many forums, the government is more
defensive without adequate foundation. The international government’s arrogance
by ignoring the human rights situation report is evidence of a denial of the
humanist policy that Jokowi had promised.(*)
Papuan student jailed for resisting arrest in
Yogyakarta
Dozens of Papuan students stage a rally in support
of Obby Kogoya in front of the Yogyakarta District Court on July 27.
(JP/Bambang Muryanto)
Obby Kogoya, 22, a Papuan student in Yogyakarta, has been sentenced to
jail for resisting arrest by police officers during a protest in July last
year.
Yogyakarta District Court sentenced Obby to four months’ imprisonment
suspended for one year during a hearing on Thursday. The judges said the Papuan activist was found guilty of committing
violence against police officers, a violation Article 212 of the Criminal Code
(KUHP).
“The defendant does not need to serve
his four-month imprisonment but if he breaks the law during his one-year
probation, he must serve his jail sentence,” presiding judge Wiwik
Wisnuningdyah said.
Obby, deputy coordinator of the Tolikara
Student Group in Yogyakarta, is now the first Papuan student in the City of
Students to have received a prison sentence because of political activism.
Obby refused to obey police orders when
they asked him to stop his motorcycle on his way to the Kamasan Papuan Student
Boarding House compound on Jl. Kusumanegara, Yogyakarta, to attend a peaceful
rally to celebrate the Papuan People’s Free Choice (Pepera) anniversary on July
15, 2016.
The sentence was lower than that
demanded by prosecutors, who sought a six-month sentence suspended for one year
for the Respati Yogyakarta University (Unriyo) student.
Obby, via his lawyer Emanuel Gobay from
the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH), said he would first consider the
sentence before deciding whether to file an appeal. (ebf)
CHILD POVERTY IS THE HIGHEST IN PAPUA
AND WEST PAPUA
AdminJul 27, 2017
Jakarta, Jubi – The highest child poverty rates is in the provinces of
Papua, West Papua and East Nusa Tenggara, respectively 35.57 percent, 31.03
percent, and 26.42 percent. While the lowest rates were in the provinces of
Bali, DKI Jakarta and South Kalimantan, respectively at 5.39 percent, 5.55
percent, and 6.06 percent. This was revealed in the launching of Child Poverty
Analysis Book and Deprivation of Basic Rights of Children in Indonesia by BPS
(Central Bureau of Statistics) with The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
in Jakarta, Tuesday (July 25).
Head
of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) Suhariyanto emphasized the importance
of database related to child poverty so that policies taken by the government
can be effective to overcome the problem.
According to him, poverty is one of the
root causes of children’s obstacles to grow and develop based to their maximum
potential. Growing in poverty affects children’s health and nutrition,
educational attainment and psychosocial well-being of children.
As of March 2016, the poor population in
Indonesia reached 28.01 million people where 40.22 percent of them are children
that is 11.26 million of people.
Based on the National Socioeconomic
Survey (Susenas) March 2016, nationally, the percentage of poor children in
Indonesia is 13.31 percent. Almost half of poor children in Indonesia are in
Java, which is 47.39 percent.
Demographics and household
characteristics are also very influential with child poverty in Indonesia. Children living in households with five or
more household members are at a higher risk of becoming poor than those living
in households with fewer than five households. Child poverty is measured
through a broader and mulitidimensional aspect, such as the difficulty of
access to adequate housing, nutritionally adequate food, health and education
services, and the right to receive birth registration. Head of the National
Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Bambang Brodjonegoro, said that
sustainable development should start with the children.
Representatives from some of the biggest
unions in the world are heading to Jakarta to try to pressure Freeport-McMoRan
Inc. to reinstate thousands of workers who have lost their jobs and, according
to the local union, are now blocked from accessing hospitals, schools and
banks.
---------
Freeport
Indonesia mine workers extend strike for fourth month
JAKARTA/TORONTO (Reuters) - An estimated 5,000 workers at the giant
July 22, 2017
Grasberg copper
mine operated by Freeport-McMoRan Inc's (FCX.N) Indonesian unit will extend their strike for
a fourth month, a union official said on Friday, in an ongoing dispute over
layoffs and employment terms. The escalating
labor issue comes as Freeport, the world's largest publicly traded copper
miner, is snarled in a lengthy and costly dispute with Indonesia's government
over rights to the Grasberg copper and gold mine. Freeport resumed
copper concentrate exports from Grasberg, the world's second-largest copper
mine, in April after a 15-week outage related to that row, but a permanent
solution is yet to be found.
Copper prices CMCU3 hit a 4-1/2 month
peak on Friday, fueled by strong growth in top consumer China, a weak dollar
and worries about supply disruptions.
Freeport is pushing back against revised
government rules that require miners to pay new taxes and royalties, divest a
51-percent stake and relinquish arbitration rights. The Arizona-based miner
wants an 'investment stability agreement' that replicates the legal and fiscal
rights under its existing agreement.
Freeport Indonesia union industrial
relations officer Tri Puspital told Reuters on Friday that the strike was
extended because there is still no solution for worker concerns. The strike
began in May after Freeport laid off some 10 percent of its workforce to cut
costs. In May, Freeport said that mining and milling rates at Grasberg were
affected by the strike, and investors will look for more information when the
company reports second-quarter financial results July 25.
Indonesia said last week it would invite
Freeport chief executive Richard Adkerson to Jakarta this month to try to
settle a dispute, but a company spokesman would not confirm whether he would
attend. Freeport shares were down about 1 percent on New York at $12.93
Friday morning. Reporting by Wilda Asmarini in Jakarta, Susan Taylor in Toronto and
Maytaal Angel in London; Editing by Andrea Ricci https://www.reuters.com/article/us-freeport-mcmoran-indonesia-strike-idUSKBN1A61VJ
Global
Union Heads for Indonesia for Freeport Worker Cause
Officials from Geneva-based IndustriALL
Global Union and local unions are scheduled to meet with senior management from
Freeport’s Indonesian unit, PT-FI, on Aug. 10, IndustriALL’s Adam Lee said
by email.
Workers at Freeport’s
flagship mine in Papua province downed tools on May 1 to protest layoffs and
enforced furloughs that began during a government-imposed ban on the export of
copper concentrate. In June, more than a month after exports had resumed, Freeport
confirmed that 4,000 people, including 3,000 permanent workers and 1,000
subcontractors, had been “deemed to have resigned” after not showing up for
work. Last month, the local union said about 5,000 workers will extend a
strike until the end of August.......
---------
Upcoming events
Opinion
pieces/reports/press releases etc.
Indonesia’s
Neverending Freeport-McMoRan Saga
http://thediplomat.com/2017/07/indonesias-neverending-freeport-mcmoran-saga/
http://thediplomat.com/2017/07/indonesias-neverending-freeport-mcmoran-saga/
Fifty
years in the making: Refugees in Australia’s first Manus camp offered PNG
citizenship
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/07/14/fifty-years-making-refugees-australias-first-manus-camp-offered-png-citizenship
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/07/14/fifty-years-making-refugees-australias-first-manus-camp-offered-png-citizenship
HSBC
triggers investigation into palm oil company over deforestation allegations
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/17/hsbc-investigation-palm-oil-company-deforestation-allegations-noble-plantations
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/17/hsbc-investigation-palm-oil-company-deforestation-allegations-noble-plantations
Mounting
outcry over Indonesian palm oil bill as legislators press on
https://news.mongabay.com/2017/07/mounting-outcry-over-indonesian-palm-oil-bill-as-legislators-press-on/
https://news.mongabay.com/2017/07/mounting-outcry-over-indonesian-palm-oil-bill-as-legislators-press-on/
The
re-emergence of old power in Indonesia
http://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/summary-of-events-in-west-papua-for-june.html
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