2) Papua Govt: Istaka Shooting Violates Human Rights
3) House Speaker Calls on TNI-Polri to Investigate Papua Shooting
4) Indonesia attack: Gunmen kill 24 construction workers in Papua
5) Authorities Found 4 Survivors of Papua Shooting
6) Rising political violence overshadows Jokowi’s populist policies in Papua
7) Minister Hadimuljono expresses regret over murders of workers in Papua
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1) Separatism violence intensifies in Indonesia's restive Papua Province
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-04 17:48:51|Editor: Shi Yinglun by Abu Hanifah
JAKARTA, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Separatism-related violence in Indonesia's easternmost Papua Province has intensified recently, with killings against road construction workers and attacks against a military outpost. The fresh violence occurred as separatist groups commemorated what they called as Independence Day on Dec. 1. A group of militants identified as Civilian Criminal Armed Band (KKSB) made an ambush on a military outpost in Nduga regency, killing a soldier and injuring another. A military officer overseeing the attack scene said Tuesday that efforts to evacuate the remains of the killed soldier and the injured one were underway at present, with helicopter being used due to the tough terrain.
"This (the ambush) has a relation with the previous killing against road construction workers, perpetrated by the KKSB," local media quoted Deputy Commander of Cendrawasih Military Command Dax Sianturi as saying Tuesday.Papua Provincial Police Spokesperson Mustafa Kamal confirmed on Monday that 31 workers constructing the government-initiated Trans Papua road were killed by KKSB on SundayThe KKSB insurgents initially killed 24 workers at the road construction site in Kali Yigi and Kali Aurak, Mustafa said.They chased the other eight workers, who managed to flee, and killedanother seven, whom they captured. Another worker also managed to escape from the insurgents' chase.Reports said the killings were prompted as the insurgents found the workers taking photos of them conducting ceremony to observe their independence day.Mustafa added that efforts to pursue the KKSB insurgents and retrieve the bodies of the killed civilians were hindered by telecommunications problem and tough terrain in the remote regency.Responding to the latest development in Papua, Indonesian President Joko Widodo stressed that efforts to develop economy in the province must continue despite the challenging situation. "We know that the process would be hard due to extreme geographical condition and security issue. Development in Papua must be expanded and carried on. It should not be stopped because of such an incident," the president said here on Tuesday. The Trans Papua road project spans from Papua's northern city of Sorong to the easternmost city of Merauke and is expected to be completed next year. The 4,325-km road would provide convenience land transport for locals and logistics, lowering the cost of transportation, the main driving factor of economy in this easternmost province, which has been lagging behind other regions for decades.
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2) Papua Govt: Istaka Shooting Violates Human Rights
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Papua Provincial Government condemned the murder of dozens of Istaka Karya workers by a group of armed men in Yall District, Nduga Regency, on Sunday, December 2, 2018.
The Papua Provincial Secretariat's deputy Doren Wakerkwa, said in Jayapura on Tuesday that the incident was a serious human rights violation, and was a security threat for Papuans.
"If you want war, do not attack civilians. That it is a human rights violation," he said.
According to Doren, the killing of workers who were building the TransPapua road bridge in Kali Yigi and Aurak was execrable.
"We hope that the District Government of Nduga and the local community will provide as many information and access to help the authorities arrest the murders and evacuate the victims," he said.
Doren is also concerned that incident will affect security in Papua, which — if allowed to continue — would disrupt the development process in the province.
Antara wrote that Rev. Wilhelmus Kogoya from Yigi District has reported the massacre at Yigi River and Aurak River that killed 24 workers of Istaka Karya.
From his report, it was revealed that two workers fled and survived, and are now safe in the Mbua District.
Meanwhile, eight others in the Yall District were rescued by family member of Alimi Gwijangge, who served as Deputy Chairperson of the Nduga Regency DPRD. They are safe and have been taken to the Koroptak District, Papua.
Antara
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3) House Speaker Calls on TNI-Polri to Investigate Papua Shooting
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - House of Representatives speaker (DPR) Bambang Soesatyo condemned the shooting in Papua. The incident had caused the death of dozens construction workers employed by Istaka Karya.
Speaking in Jakarta on Tuesday, December 4th, Bambang expressed his anger over what happened at Nduga Regency.
Bambang requested the Army and the National Police to investigate the incident in Istaka Karya. He said that the House's Commission I will coordinate with law enforcement to work on the case.
"I ask the TNI-Polri to thoroughly investigate the shooting," he said.
Thirty-one workers were building a bridge Yigi and Aurak River at Nduga Regency, a project by PT Istaka Karya, on Sunday, December 2. At the workers' camp, they were shot at by a group of gunmen.
As of Monday night, the Papua Regional Police had identified 24 of the victims.
Eight men reportedly escaped and ran to the home of a DPRD member. But the armed group came for them.
"Seven were killed and one ran away. We haven’t found him yet," Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Ahmad Musthofa Kamal said on Tuesday, December 4.
Taufiq Siddiq
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4) Indonesia attack: Gunmen kill 24 construction workers in Papua
- 1 hour ago
At least 24 construction workers have been killed by gunmen in Indonesia's eastern province of Papua, officials said.
A soldier was also shot dead when a team of police and security forces were sent to investigate Sunday's killings, authorities added.
The workers had been building a road and bridges in the remote and mountainous Nduga region.
Police have blamed the deaths on separatist fighters.
Insurgents calling for independence have been active in Papua for decades.
The BBC's Rebecca Henschke in Jakarta says that if the killings are confirmed it will be the deadliest bout of violence in years in the restive province.
What do we know happened?
Military spokesman Colonel Muhammad Aidi said the incident started when members of an "armed criminal separatist group" held a ceremony to commemorate what they considered to be their independence day on 1 December.
Col Aidi said one of the workers from the construction company PT Istaka Karya was reported to have taken a photograph of the group, which angered them and triggered the attack.
The bodies of the workers were found near a bridge they were building, he said.
Police and troops who arrived in the area on Monday to investigate came under gunfire, leaving one soldier dead and another wounded, officials said.
Who are the separatists?
Papua declared independence from the Netherlands in 1961 but was incorporated into Indonesia eight years later, becoming its easternmost province.
There has been a low-level separatist insurgency for decades but the Free Papua Movement is described as a fragmented and poorly armed rebel group.
The Indonesian government heavily restricts access to the region by foreign journalists, citing security concerns, so independent information is scarce.
Construction work in the dense jungle is part of President Joko Widodo's infrastructure push, an attempt he says to bring development and prosperity to the resource-rich area.
However, Papuan leader Timotius Murib recently told the BBC: "We don't need development, because with development we lose control of our land."
Work on the road has been postponed until the area is secure, Indonesian Public Works Minister Basuki Hadimuljono told reporters.
Papua is home to one of the world's largest gold and copper mines, operated by US firm Freeport-McMoran, but it remains the poorest province in Indonesia.
Papua shares the island of New Guinea with the independent country Papua New Guinea.
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5) Authorities Found 4 Survivors of Papua Shooting
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The national armed forces (TNI) and police joint team has found four victims of an attack done by the suspected armed group in Kali Yigi-Kali Auruk, Yigi District, Nduga Regency, Papua. The four victims managed to escape and survived the attack.
“The four survivors were Martinus Sampe, an Istaka Karya employee, suffering gunshot wound to his left leg, Jefrianton, an Istaka Karya employee, suffering gunshot wound to his left eyelid, Irawan, a Telkomsel employee, and John, a public health center officer,” said the Head of Public Relations of the Papua Regional Police Senior Comm. Ahmad Musthofa Kamal through an official statement on Tuesday, December 4.
The four survivors have been evacuated to Wamena, Jayawijaya.
Based on information from the four survivors, the TNI post in the Mbuma District was destroyed by the armed group's attack. One TNI member died in this incident, while the conditions of 31 other project workers were unknown.
Kamal suspected that the mastermind behind the killing of 31 Istaka Karya workers was an armed group led by Egianus Kogoya. The Egianus group is known to often carry out a series of shooting in the Papua. Egianus once took hostage dozens of teachers and health workers in the Mapenduma, Nduga, in October.
The shooting of the Istaka Karya workers took place on December 2, around 3:30 p.m., in Kali Yigi and Kali Aura, Yigi District, Nduga Regency, Papua.
To date, the police together with the TNI are still trying to discover the whereabouts of the victims in these two places; Kali Yigi and Kali Aura. Based on information gathered, the death toll allegedly reached 31 people.
ANDITA RAHMA
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6) Rising political violence overshadows Jokowi’s populist policies in Papua
Jayapura/Jakarta | Tue, December 4, 2018 | 06:15 pm
Arnold Belau and Kharishar Kahfi
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has done more than any of his predecessors to build Papua and West Papua, the nation’s easternmost provinces that have long been plagued by extreme poverty and violent separatism.
Jokowi, who is seeking reelection in 2019, has sped up infrastructure development and implemented a policy of uniform fuel prices in the two provinces—where market prices for fuel would be much higher than in other regions —to boost the local economy and bring prosperity to Papuans.
The populist policies, however, have failed to put an end to the desire of some Papuans to be independent from Jakarta.
Mass killing
The region has seen increasing political violence in recent days, with the latest incident taking place on Sunday, when a rebel group led by Egianus Kogoya allegedly massacred at least 28 workers hired by state-owned construction firm Istaka Karya in Yigi district, Nduga regency, Papua.
The group, believed to be a faction of the National Liberation Army of West Papua (TPNPB), also killed an Indonesian Military (TNI) member and injured another.
The workers, mostly from South Sulwesi, were assigned to build a 275-kilometer section to connect Wamena and Mamugu, which is part of Jokowi’s signature trans-Papua road project.
Construction of the 4,300-km road through Papua and West Papua is expected to finish in 2019.
National Police and TNI personnel have been deployed to the location of the alleged massacre to verify the report and recover the bodies of victims, if a massacre did take place.
“Our duty and priority is to rescue those who are still alive and check if the number of victims reported in the media is correct,” National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. M. Iqbal said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Mass arrests
The alleged massacre took place only days after police arrested more than 500 Papuans taking part in nationwide rallies on Dec. 1 to commemorate what some Papuans claim to be the birth of the West Papuan nation in 1961.
The lawyer of the arrested Papuans, Veronica Koman, said in a statement on Saturday that 537 people had been arrested in Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Ternate in North Maluku, Manado in North Sulawesi, Makassar in South Sulawesi, Jayapura, Asmat and Waropen in Papua and Surabaya in East Java. Of the total, 322 were arrested in Surabaya.
In Papua, 90 people were arrested in separate places and at different times.
On Friday, a day before the rallies, a force of the military and National Police searched the headquarters of the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB) in Kampung Vietnam in Jayapura. The joint force also arrested Larius Heluka on Friday.
The following day, the joint force arrested 89 people in Abepura in the Jayapura municipality, in separate places in Jayapura regency and in Yapen regency. All 90 have since been released.
In Surabaya, which saw one of the biggest Dec. 1 rallies, a clash occurred between about 300 people grouped under the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) and other groups that accused the Papuans of treason.
Seventeen people were injured, with some sustaining head wounds.
AMP spokesperson Dorlince Iyowau said the Papuans only demanded the right to decide their own fate.
“Our main demand is the right to decide our own fate, as a democratic solution for West Papua. We want Papuans to have their own political rights,” Dolince said.
Human rights groups have condemned the arrests, calling on the authorities to release the arrestees and respect the rights of the Papuans.
“This is a clear and shocking violation of Papuans’ human rights to freedom of expression and assembly. These people did nothing, but peacefully attend public events,” said Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid.
“These arbitrary arrests add to the long list of acts of harassment, intimidation and arrests faced by Papuans this year.”
Usman further said: “The police must bring to justice the attackers and should not be arresting peaceful Papuans – it should instead respect and protect their right to come together in peace and say what they think, in a safe environment.”
Populist policies
Responding the reported violence in Nduga, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who is seeking reelection and has been touting his infrastructure drive in his campaign, gave assurances that the development in Papua would continue.
“Papua's infrastructure development will not stop because of this.”
Jokowi has drawn support from Papuans, winning 72 percent of the vote in the region during the 2014 presidential election.
Since he was elected President in 2014, Jokowi has visited Papua eight times, with the last visit taking place in April this year, when he vowed to accelerate development in Papua.
During his visit, Jokowi directly handed over land certificates to around 3,000 Papuan residents. He also visited the Mama-mama Market in Jayapura, which was finally built under the Jokowi administration after years of delay.
Jokowi has also insisted that his fuel price policy would work, even though the policy would force state-owned energy company Pertamina to shoulder Rp 800 billion in subsidies annually.
The President said the most important consideration was not the money, but social justice for all Indonesians. “We should not let just one or two people enjoy the fuel prices enjoyed in other parts of the country, while others have to buy fuel at a higher price.”
'Referendum as solution'
Analysts, however, said Jokowi’s populist policies were not enough to contain the separatist sentiment.
“The separatist sentiment in Papua is still strong, because the government, in particular President Jokowi, has not tackled the root of the problem yet, from the Papuan perspective,” Adriana Elisabeth, head researcher on Papua studies at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), told the Post via telephone on Tuesday.
“The root of the problem includes discrimination and marginalization, priority of development, and violence as well as the violation of human rights.”
“Jokowi’s infrastructure development only focused on the structures, and not yet on the human resources,” she further said. “All of the problems are correlated.”
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo gets ready to inspect the progress of trans-Papua road project by trail motorbike in Wamena on May 10. (Courtesy/State Palace)
National Committee for West Papua chairman Agus Kossay deplored the reported mass killing in Nduga, saying civilians should not have been killed in an ongoing war between the TNI and the TPNPB.
“The KNPB as the media of the Papuan people called on the two militaries to focus on their respective targets. They must not disturb civilians.”
In light of the incident, the KNPB argued that political rights was an important issue for Papuans.
Agus said the solution offered by the committee was for Indonesia to hold a referendum on whether it should stay with Indonesia, “so that we can address the problem of Papua peacefully and honorably.”
“Indonesia is a democracy so [Indonesia] could show the Papuans and the world that there is democracy in Papua, and in a democracy all parties that are against Indonesia should be given the right to speak.”
Meanwhile, Papuan figure Theo Hasegem conveyed his condolences over the reported death of the construction workers. “We are saddened, because the action is wrong. The action will create a huge problem for civilians in Nduga,” he said, as quoted by suarapapua.com on Tuesday. (ggq/spl/ahw)
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7) Minister Hadimuljono expresses regret over murders of workers in Papua
Reporter: Antara 11 hours ago
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono regrets the murders of workers in the fifth segment of the Trans Papua construction site under the government`s focus to improve connectivity in Indonesia`s easternmost province.
"The Wamena-Heberna-Kenyam-Mumugu section is the fifth segment of Trans Papua, stretching 278 kilometers," Minister Hadimuljono informed the press here, Tuesday, following a report on the murders of construction workers building a bridge in Papua.
The road construction work will be completed this year, but the development of 35 bridges is still ongoing.
"PT Istaka Karya is building 14 bridges, and the construction work for 11 of them is underway," he revealed.
"Meanwhile, PT Brantas Abipraya Persero is working on the construction of 21 bridges, the work for five of which is underway," he stated.
"The incident being reported this morning occurred in the bridge section," he revealed.
"This will not dampen the spirit to continue to forge ahead. The construction will continue for the sake of ensuring social justice for every Indonesian," the minister remarked.
"We are sending troops regarding the incident and its victims. Hence, I confirm that yes, the incident took place in Wamena in Trans Papua`s fifth segment," he stated.
Despite security obstacles, the local community does not object to the Trans Papua development. The ministry has established coordination with the commander of the regional military command (Kodam) in Papua.
"I am waiting for information from the Kodam commander. I will go down there. Right now, we could not as yet confirm the number of the victims -- whether 24 or 31 people -- since it has yet to be checked and confirmed," he revealed.
A group of armed men is believed to have murdered 31 workers at the Trans Papua construction site located in a remote village in Nduga District, Papua Province.
The bodies of the victims are still being held by the murderers.
Reporting by Anggarini Paramita, Fardah Assegaf
Editing by Andi Abdussalam
"The Wamena-Heberna-Kenyam-Mumugu section is the fifth segment of Trans Papua, stretching 278 kilometers," Minister Hadimuljono informed the press here, Tuesday, following a report on the murders of construction workers building a bridge in Papua.
The road construction work will be completed this year, but the development of 35 bridges is still ongoing.
"PT Istaka Karya is building 14 bridges, and the construction work for 11 of them is underway," he revealed.
"Meanwhile, PT Brantas Abipraya Persero is working on the construction of 21 bridges, the work for five of which is underway," he stated.
"The incident being reported this morning occurred in the bridge section," he revealed.
"This will not dampen the spirit to continue to forge ahead. The construction will continue for the sake of ensuring social justice for every Indonesian," the minister remarked.
"We are sending troops regarding the incident and its victims. Hence, I confirm that yes, the incident took place in Wamena in Trans Papua`s fifth segment," he stated.
Despite security obstacles, the local community does not object to the Trans Papua development. The ministry has established coordination with the commander of the regional military command (Kodam) in Papua.
"I am waiting for information from the Kodam commander. I will go down there. Right now, we could not as yet confirm the number of the victims -- whether 24 or 31 people -- since it has yet to be checked and confirmed," he revealed.
A group of armed men is believed to have murdered 31 workers at the Trans Papua construction site located in a remote village in Nduga District, Papua Province.
The bodies of the victims are still being held by the murderers.
Reporting by Anggarini Paramita, Fardah Assegaf
Editing by Andi Abdussalam
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