Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
PO Box 28, Spit Junction, NSW 2088
Summary of events in West Papua for September -3 Oct. 2017
Rockin’ for West Papua events this weekend (List of events at end of update)
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72"d Session of the United Nations General Assembly General Debate
The Pacific leaders again raised the issue of West Papua at the 72"d
Session of the United Nations General Assembly General Debate in New
York. Vanuatu, The Solomon Islands, Tuvulu
and from the Caribbean region, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines all raised concerns about the human rights situation
in West Papua.
The Solomon Islands Prime Minister,
Manasseh Sogavare condemned consistent human rights violations in West Papua,
adding that the people there had never been allowed to exercise their right to
self-determination.
UN Photo
Extract from his statement in relation to West Papua (pages 11-13).
72"d Session of the United Nations
General Assembly General Debate
Mr President,
Solomon Islands position on the
aforementioned issues are premised on principles that we have consistently
upheld. In this connection, Solomon Islands condemns the consistent human
rights violations in West Papua.
Our Sustainable Development Goals that
promote the notion of "no-one left behind" is synonymous to empty
promises unless we, in the United Nations, take active steps to
address the plight of the peoples of West Papua. Indeed, we have left them behind some 50
years ago when we, as a Family of Nations, noted their plight without much to
add. Since then, the peoples of West Papua were never allowed the proper act of
self-determination guaranteed by the inalienable right to self- determination
as expressed in UN human rights Covenants. Only international action -- by
individual countries and from the leading organizational bodies of the
international system, especially the United Nations General Assembly - can pave
the way for the recognition of a people whose right to self-determination had
been denied for nearly fifty years ago. Failing this, we as a Family of Nations
will become complicit in perpetuating the suffering and being blind to the
injustice; missing yet another golden opportunity to remain true to the saying
of "leaving no-one behind.
At the 71st session, a group of Pacific
Island nations called for this august body to address the human rights
violations in West Papua. Today, I stand on behalf of my people and
those in the Pacific region to reiterate that same call on this august
body to address the plight of West Papuan women, children and men. Our people are watching, West Papuans
inside West Papua are watching, praying and are hoping for a brighter future.
They have come in numbers to express their hope for a better future. We as
leaders have this responsibility of "leaving NO-ONE BEHIND". I
would therefore encourage Indonesia to engage in more constructive
dialogue, including with West Papua to find a way forward in addressing the
aspirations of the people of West Papua. I urge the UN to proactively engage in
these dialogues as well.
Vanuatu
Prime Minister Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas
of Vanuatu in his summary said,
“The Human Rights Council should
meanwhile address the situation in West Papua, he said, calling for decolonization
to be put back on the United Nations radar”.
In a RNZI report (23 Sept.).
He also accused world leaders at the UN
of turning a deaf ear to more than half a century of atrocities committed by
Indonesia on the people of West Papua, and
"We also call on our counterparts
throughout the world to support the legal right of West Papua to
self-determination and to jointly with Indonesia put an end to all kinds of
violence and find common ground to facilitate a process to make their own
choice. "
The Tuvalu Prime Minister, H.E.
Mr. Enele Sosene Sopoaga, said The United Nations must also be involved in
addressing the issue of self-determination for the people of West Papua.
Extract from his statement (page7)
37. Of similar concerns, the people of
West Papua should be enabled to exercise their fundamental right, with the
intervention of this responsible body, to allow them to determine their own
development aspirations and future. The West Papuans are a distinct people with
Pacific roots, with their own land, history and identity. The violation of
human rights in West Papua is a constant matter of great concern to us. Tuvalu
strongly believes the UN must engage in setting a clear pathway to addressing
these issues and the issue of self- determination of the people.
Deputy Prime Minister H.E.
Mr. Louis Straker of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines said “his country
had been honoured to host the 2017 Caribbean Regional Seminar on
Decolonization, but the “inconvenient truth” was that the decolonization
process remained incomplete, including in West Papua." https://gadebate.un.org/en/72/saint-vincent-and-grenadines
No surprises in Indonesia’s right of reply to these statements
Right of Reply (25 September 2017)
The representative of Indonesia,
responding to concerns by the representatives of Vanuatu and Solomon Islands concerning
Papua and West Papua, and echoed by Tuvalu and Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, said their false allegations were economically motivated.
Those countries were “blindfolded” and refused to understand that the provinces
had enjoyed great strides in economic growth and development. They were
growing at 9.21 per cent, the fastest in Indonesia, and remained
integral and sovereign parts of her country. Those making such claims
were motivated by individuals with separatist agendas to exploit the issue of
human rights, she said, asking why those concerns — if accurate — had not been
raised in the appropriate forum of the Human Rights Council. Stressing
that those countries’ own human rights records were not perfect, she said
illegal attempts to dismember the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a
Member State violated the principles enshrined in the United Nations
Charter. “We cannot let this happen.”
https://gadebate.un.org/en/72/indonesia
Indonesia is becoming concerned about the growing support for West Papua in the region.
August update
http://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com.au/2017/09/summary-of-events-in-west-papua-for.html
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Johnny
Blades from RNZI reports on the events in New York
Annual stoush in New York over West Papua
It's become an annual stoush in New York.
Pacific leaders call for an investigation into
killings and various alleged human rights abuses against West Papuans by
Indonesian security forces. The long-running complaint that Papuans were denied a
legitimate self-determination process in the 1960s is also raised. Indonesia
then exercises its right of reply to lash out at the leaders of Solomon Islands
and Vanuatu in particular. This year however there has been a twist: the
delivery of a petition by Papuan independence activist Benny Wenda purporting
to have signatures of 1.8 million West Papuans demanding an internationally
supervised vote on independence. It also seeks West Papua's reinscription to
the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/340342/annual-stoush-in-new-york-over-west-papua
Leading on from the Historic swim across Lake Geneva, on the 26th September at 17:00 New York Time, the West Papuan People’s Petition,
together with the Global Petition for West Papua was presented to the
United Nations Decolonisation Committee by Benny Wenda, the Spokesperson for
the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP). On
delivering the petition, Benny
Wenda stated: “Today, we hand over the bones of the
people of West Papua to the United Nations and the world. After decades of
suffering, decades of genocide, decades of occupation, today we open up the
voice of the West Papuan people which lives inside this petition.
West
Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda. Photo: RNZI/ Koroi Hawkins
Lots of media coverage on the issue (below).
Banned West Papua independence petition
handed to UN
Exclusive: Document outlawed by Indonesia was ‘smuggled
from one end of Papua to the other’ and signed by 70% of the population
Ben Doherty and Kate Lamb in
Jakarta 27 September 2017
A petition banned by the Indonesian
government, but bearing the signatures of 1.8 million West Papuans – more than
70% of the contested province’s population – has been presented to the United
Nations, with a demand for a free vote on independence. Exiled West Papuan
independence campaigner Benny Wenda presented the bound petition to the UN’s decolonisation
committee, the body that monitors the progress of former colonies –
known as non-self-governing territories – towards independence.
The petition was banned in the provinces of
Papua and West Papua by the Indonesian government, and blocked
online across the country, so petition sheets had to be “smuggled from one end
of Papua to the other”, Wenda told the Guardian from New York. Independence
campaigners have been jailed and allegedly tortured in Papua for opposing the
rule of Indonesia, which has controlled Papua (now Papua and West
Papua) since 1963. Those signing the petition risked arrest and jail. “The
people have risked their lives, some have been beaten up, some are in prison.
In 50 years, we have never done this before, and we had to organise this in
secret,” Wenda said.
UN committee
rejects West Papua independence petition
RNZI 30 September 2017
Rafael Ramírez,
the chair of the UN decolonisation committee, says it will not accept a
petition signed by 1.8 million West Papuans. Photo: UN Photo /
Manuel Elias
The United Nations
decolonisation committee says it will not accept a petition signed by 1.8 million
West Papuans calling for an independence vote.
The petition,
presented by the independence leader Benny Wenda on Tuesday, asked the UN to
appoint a special representative to investigate abuses and to put West Papua
back on the decolonisation agenda. But the UN decolonisation committee says
the West Papua cause is outside its mandate, which extends only to the 17
states identified by the UN as "non-self governing
territories."
The committee's chair
and Venezuela's representative to the UN, Rafael Ramírez, says he had received
no formal petition document, and his office had been "manipulated"
for political purposes. Mr Ramírez also says the committee accepts Indonesia's
sovereignty over West Papua, which took control of the western half of New
Guinea in 1969. In a
statement, Indonesia's UN representative, Triansyah Djani, who sits on the
committee, called Mr Wenda's petition a hoax and separatist propaganda.
Statement from Benny Wenda on
the West Papuan People’s Petition
The West Papuan people’s petition is no
hoax: it is the voice of our people – signed by the majority of West Papuans The
real hoax is Indonesia’s justification for its occupation of West Papua
This week I delivered a petition signed by
the majority of West Papuans to the United Nations, calling on the UN to act
over human rights abuses in West Papua and to carry out its 1962 commitment to
ensure West Papuans have the opportunity freely to exercise their right to self-determination. This petition is more than just paper.
These signatures are the bones and blood of my people who have been killed and
who have suffered; and who continue to suffer and die under Indonesian
occupation. This petition was presented with tears in my eyes and hope in my
heart as I handed over the spirit of my people, people who have struggled and
died in a neglected genocide for over 50 years, for the world to finally hear
their voice……. https://www.ulmwp.org/5017-2
Indonesia is becoming concerned about the growing support for West Papua in the region.
Indonesia
offers increased assistance to Samoa and Pacific
RNZI 18 September 2017
Samoa and other Pacific countries are being
offered increased technical assistance and capacity building programmes by
Indonesia.
The Observer reported that Indonesia
restated its commitment to playing an active role in regional development
during the recent Pacific Islands Forum summit in Apia. The Director for
Technical Cooperation for Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Syarif
Alatas, said the active role was part of his country's effort to contribute to
world peace and prosperity.
He said renewed technical assistance was
being made available to Samoa, which recently entered a trade relationship with
Indonesia. Mr Alatas said the assistance is usually in the form of training,
apprenticeships and scholarships in various fields. According to him, Pacific
countries have become one of then priority areas for Jakarta's international
development outreach. The various capacity building programmes Indonesia
offered come in the form of bilateral and triangular cooperation arrangements. The newspaper reported
that between 1999 and 2016 Indonesia conducted at least 182 programmes followed
by 1457 participants from countries in the Pacific region.
Indonesia, Fiji agree to set up defense
cooperation
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-29 |Editor: ying
JAKARTA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Defense
ministries of Indonesia and Fiji on Friday reached an agreement on defense
cooperation, bringing the bilateral ties to a higher strategic level, an
Indonesian minister said here. Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu
and his counterpart from Fiji Ratu Inoke Kubuabola witnessed the signing of the
agreement at the Indonesian defense ministry after their meeting. "This
shows the advancement of defense ties of the two nations heading to a
more-strategic level," said Ryamizard after the signing. The cooperation
included exchanges of military intelligence, collaboration on weapon industry,
shifting of defense technology and others, he said. On the same occasion,
Fiji's defense minister said his country considers Indonesia as a partner
particularly in relation with the security in the Pacific region. Indonesia has
long faced insurgency of Free Papua Movement known as OPM in Papua province of
easternmost of the country. The rebels have sought to have an independent state
of Papua. The rebels have targeted companies' workers, civilians, and soldiers
in conducting their mission.
Churches unimpressed by Indonesia’s comments on West Papua
RNZI 14 September 2017
The Pacific Conference of Churches says it is unimpressed by comments made by Indonesian officials at the recent Pacific Island Forum Leaders' Summit in Apia.
The General Secretary, Reverend Francois Pihaatae, said a protest that took place during the forum supporting West Papua's independence was nothing new.
Indonesia’s Ambassador to New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga, Tantowi Yahya, was at the meeting and condemned the protest and accused Pacific Islanders of being misled on a human rights situation that had largely improved. But Mr Pihaatae said the demonstrators believe that people in West Papua are still struggling. “Whatever the Indonesian said, I will never, never believe that something is fine in West Papua because we have evidence that [they are] living out everyday, the killing of the people," Reverend Francois Pihaatae said.
Second shooting in two days reported in
Freeport mining area, Papua
Nethy Dharma Somba The Jakarta Post
Jayapura | Mon, September 25, 2017
Ronald Sajensolar, a driver of a patrol car, sustained injuries to
his cheek and shoulders from shards of a broken window, after the car he was
traveling in was shot at by unknown assailants at Mile 60 in the mining area of
PT Freeport Indonesia in Papua on Monday.It was the second shooting incident in
the area in two days. On Sunday, a water tanker truck and patrol vehicle
reportedly belonging to Freeport were shot at by unknown assailants while
traveling to Mile 61 in the mining area. ''Ronald is receiving medical
treatment at Tembagapura Hospital at Mile 68,'' Papua Police spokesman Sr.
Comr. AM Kamal said in Jayapura on Monday. The shooting occurred when Ronald’s car was
traveling with 30 other vehicles carrying mining workers from Timika to
Tembagapura. The gun shots were heard from the left side of the road. Following
the incident, 20 of the vehicles could not immediately continue their journey
to Tembagapura.
Kamal said the police had been
investigating the case and looking for the perpetrators.
Freeport Indonesia spokesman, when asked about the incident via test
message, only replied, “we are still looking for confirmation [over the
incident].”
He added all scheduled journeys for employees between Timika and
Tembagapura had been postponed until further notice. Mimika Legislative Council
Speaker Eltinus Mom said he was concerned over the two shootings in the area,
while none of the perpetrators had been arrested. “The shootings are acts of
terror that worry people,” Eltinus said in Timika. (bbs)
Do not bow down to Freeport, Kadin tells
government
Jakarta | Mon, October 2, 2017
The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (Kadin) has advised the government not to bow down to the wishes of
the United States’ Freeport McMoRan, the parent company of PT Freeport
Indonesia, which had rejected the government’s proposal on its divestment
scheme. Kadin deputy chairman for eastern Indonesia H. Andi Rukman Karumpa said
in Jakarta on Monday that the government needed to defend its position on the
divestment of 51 percent shares of PT Freeport Indonesia as required by
Indonesian law.
“I hope the government will not feel
pressured. It needs to defend the scheme,” he said as reported by tribunnews.com.
Andi’s statement was made in response to
a letter sent by Freeport McMoRan Inc. CEO Richard C. Adkerson to the Finance
Ministry’s secretary general, a copy of which was also sent to Finance Minister
Sri Mulyani. In his letter dated Sept. 28, Adkerson said his company, which
agreed in late August to divest 51 percent of its shares, could not accept a
number of issues related to the valuation, timing and structure of the
divestment.
With regards to valuation, for example, the
government’s position is to buy the shares based on the market price, while
Freeport wants to take into consideration the reserve of its gold and copper
mining site in Papua in calculating the share price. He said the government was
in a strong position.
“The mineral reserve is owned by the state.
The company only rents. It is unlikely that we have to buy our owned [mining
reserves],” said Andi, citing Article 33, paragraph 3 of the Constitution.
(bbn)
Rockin’
for West Papua events taking over Australia this October
Gathering to make some passionate noise in rallying
around the peoples of West Papua, multiple shows around Australia are kicking
off – in conjunction with other global events – from October 6th – 8th. In its
second year in 2017, the Rockin’ for West Papua global concerts
have been massive, with events taking places across Australia and abroad in
South Africa, England, New Zealand and Spain.
With over 100 artists
taking part, these concerts are going to be unmissable. With West Papua still
enduring horrific living conditions, constantly living in fear, it is
unacceptable that such issues aren’t being given due exposure in mainstream
press in Australia, given our close proximity to West Papua itself.
To find out more
about recent developments surrounding the historic ULMWP Petition that was
submitted to the UN General Assembly this month, check out this Guardian
article here. The petition itself received signatures
from 1.8 million people after it was smuggled from village to village in West
Papua, with the majority coming from indigenous West Papuans who risked their
lives to sign the petition calling for vote on self-determination.
Of course, much more
work needs to happen for conditions to change, but in the concerts Rockin’ for
West Papua have been hosting right around the world, more awareness is being
raised and the good vibes for peace are being spread importantly, at a time
when we could use it the most.
Check the details of
the Australian concerts out below and follow Rockin’ for West Papua
online here for updates. All money raised will
be going towards the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.
List of events at
Opinion pieces/press releases/reports
etc.
Report-Human Rights in West Papua 2017
New Book-Rockefeller And The Demise
Of Ibu Pertiwi
Samsung won’t partner with Korindo
following outrage over forest destruction in Indonesia
Rough road ahead for powder keg Papua
August update
http://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com.au/2017/09/summary-of-events-in-west-papua-for.html
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