2) Thousands scramble to flee unrest in Indonesia's Papua
3) Kalla dismisses Papuan referendum proposal by Pacific nations at UNGA
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1) Filmmaker Dandhy Laksono named 'hate speech' suspect for tweeting about clashes in Papua
Arya Dipa The Jakarta Post
Jakarta / Fri, September 27, 2019 / 02:06 pm
Activist and documentary filmmaker Dandhy Dwi Laksono (left) and then Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) chairman Suwarjono during a press conference in 2017. (kompas.com/Reno Esnir)
Activist and documentary filmmaker Dandhy Dwi Laksono has been accused by the Jakarta Police for spreading hate speech after he posted about clashes in Jayapura and Wamena, Papua, on his Twitter account.
Dandhy was arrested by the police in Bekasi, West Java, at 11 p.m. on Thursday, after which he was taken to the Jakarta Police headquarters for an interrogation that lasted until 4 a.m. on Friday.
He was named a suspect of violating Article 28 and Article 45 of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law and accused of spreading information aimed at fueling hatred based on ethnicity, religion or race.
“In usual [practice], there should have been a summons [to testify] as a witness, but at about 11 p.m. [the police] suddenly handed me an arrest warrant,” Dandhy said after the questioning.
Dandhy’s lawyer Alghiffari Aqsa questioned the police’s decision to name his client a suspect, saying that the articles — which had been slammed by critics and activists for their potential to criminalize criticism — were irrelevant.
“The [information] that Dandhy wrote [on Twitter] is part of his freedom of expression in conveying his opinion on what happens in Papua,” Alghiffari said on Wednesday.
On Sept. 23, Dandhy wrote a thread on his Twitter account @Dandhy_Laksono about the clashes in Jayapura and Wamena, in which he posted the photo of students who were allegedly shot by bullets during the incident.
“JAYAPURA [photo 1] Papuan university students in exodus from campuses across Indonesia opened a crisis center in [Cendrawasih University]. Authorities pick them up from the campus to Expo Waena. Riots. Some died,” Dandhy wrote in his post.
“WAMENA [photo 2]. High school students protest against racism by a teacher. [Security] apparatus handle them. The city is in chaos. Many are wounded by gunshots,” he went on.
Violent unrest erupted in the two cities of Papua on Monday, with some senior high school students reportedly being attacked by security staff as they dispersed a protest.
Papua Police, however, said that the protest occurred because of “baseless” provocation among students about an incident in which a teacher allegedly called a student a “monkey” last week.
After being named a suspect, Dandhy was released by the police on Friday morning. The police’s decision to name him a suspect has been met by criticisms from human rights and press freedom activists, who argue that Dandhy was facing prosecution for expressing his opinion, which in fact is guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution. (dpk/afr)
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2) Thousands scramble to flee unrest in Indonesia's Papua
28 Sep 2019 02:41AM
WAMENA, Indonesia): Thousands of scared residents in Indonesia's Papua scrambled to board military planes Friday, fleeing urban unrest after one of the region's deadliest eruptions of violence in years.
Anger over racism against indigenous Papuans by residents from other parts of Indonesia has fuelled weeks of angry protests in the impoverished region, as well as fresh calls for self-rule.
Violence broke out again this week in Wamena city where over two dozen people were killed.
Authorities said that some were burned alive when buildings were set on fire, while others were stabbed during the chaos.
Some 700 Wamena residents - mostly migrants from other parts of the country - were evacuated on Friday to other parts of the country, the military said.
A further 1,500 residents gathered at a local airport Friday in a bid to leave, according to local air force official Arief Sudjatmiko, who added that at least 2,500 people had registered to get aboard flights.
"Our lives are at risk here," Debora Sibuea, who planned to return to her hometown in Sumatra, told AFP.
"My house was set on fire, stalls were set on fire, even government offices were burned," she said.
The fresh violence this week was reportedly sparked by racist comments made by a teacher towards students in Wamena, but police have disputed that account.
In August, protests broke out across Papua and in other parts of the country after the arrest, racial abuse and tear-gassing of dozens of Papuan students, in the city of Surabaya.
The majority of Papuans are Christian and ethnic Melanesian with few cultural ties to the rest of Muslim-majority Indonesia.
They have become a minority in Papua after years of internal migration from other parts of the country to the mineral-rich region, home to the world's biggest gold mine.
A low-level separatist insurgency has simmered for decades in the former Dutch colony after Jakarta took over Papua in the 1960s.
A UN-sponsored vote to stay within the archipelago in 1969 was widely viewed as rigged, but Jakarta has long refused to consider another referendum.
3) Kalla dismisses Papuan referendum proposal by Pacific nations at UNGA
14 hours ago
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla refuted a claim that Pacific countries had put forth a proposal on a Papuan referendum on self-determination during the 74th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
"There was no such agenda. Four of them (Pacific countries) have spoken earlier (at the forum), and none of them (came up with the proposal for referendum). Moreover, we do not consider the issue that big to be discussing it at the UN General Assembly," Kalla noted in a written statement released on Friday.
The four Pacific nations -- Fiji, Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Tonga -- spoke at the international forum, though none breached the topic of the Papuan referendum.
Related news: Melanesia Solidarity rejects Papuan referendum
Kalla affirmed that the 74th UNGA laid greater emphasis on lowering the poverty rate, conserving the environment, and maintaining health, so no country raised the issue of a Papuan referendum.
"Talks at the General Assembly mostly covered ways to reduce the poverty rate, (conserve) the environment, and (maintain) health. Several global problems should be discussed, so none of the Pacific countries touched on it," he stated.
The vice president explained that it is highly improbable for the UN to accept a proposal for a Papuan referendum on self-determination, as it had been conducted in 1969 through the Resolution of the UN General Assembly known as the People's Self Determination (Pepera).
"Do not forget that Papua is the result of the UN Resolution decided here (New York) in 1961. Hence, it is impossible (for the UN) to cancel the resolution. It is important to know (about it). Papua is different from East Timor that was not decided at the UN," he added.
Related news: Vice President to attend UN General Assembly in New York
Related news: President orders authority to tackle Papua unrest: Moeldoko
------------------------"There was no such agenda. Four of them (Pacific countries) have spoken earlier (at the forum), and none of them (came up with the proposal for referendum). Moreover, we do not consider the issue that big to be discussing it at the UN General Assembly," Kalla noted in a written statement released on Friday.
The four Pacific nations -- Fiji, Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Tonga -- spoke at the international forum, though none breached the topic of the Papuan referendum.
Related news: Melanesia Solidarity rejects Papuan referendum
Kalla affirmed that the 74th UNGA laid greater emphasis on lowering the poverty rate, conserving the environment, and maintaining health, so no country raised the issue of a Papuan referendum.
"Talks at the General Assembly mostly covered ways to reduce the poverty rate, (conserve) the environment, and (maintain) health. Several global problems should be discussed, so none of the Pacific countries touched on it," he stated.
The vice president explained that it is highly improbable for the UN to accept a proposal for a Papuan referendum on self-determination, as it had been conducted in 1969 through the Resolution of the UN General Assembly known as the People's Self Determination (Pepera).
"Do not forget that Papua is the result of the UN Resolution decided here (New York) in 1961. Hence, it is impossible (for the UN) to cancel the resolution. It is important to know (about it). Papua is different from East Timor that was not decided at the UN," he added.
Related news: Vice President to attend UN General Assembly in New York
Related news: President orders authority to tackle Papua unrest: Moeldoko
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