2) Maire Leadbeater: Deafening silence as West Papua crisis deepens
3) Papua's honai to be lit with solar-powered lamps
----------------------------------
1) Indonesia: Six People Face Treason Charges over Papua Protests
Arie Firdaus Jakarta 2019-11-19
Six activists who were detained after a rally demanding a referendum on self-determination for Indonesia’s Papua region could soon go on trial on charges of treason after police submitted their case files to prosecutors, their lawyers and families said Tuesday.
The activists have challenged their arrests in a separate pre-trial motion and will not drop it even though their files were submitted to the Central Jakarta prosecutor’s office on Monday, said Tigor Hutapea, a lawyer at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) who is representing them.
“After the submission of case files, the trial will usually begin in two weeks,” Hutapea told BenarNews.
The six activists – Surya Anta, Charles Kossay, Dano Tabuni, Isay Wenda, Ambrose Mulait and Arina Elopere – were detained at the Mobile Brigade police headquarters near Jakarta after being arrested in August. All but one of them are ethnic Papuans.
They have been charged with treason for allegedly raising the Morning Star separatist flag at a rally in Jakarta in August to demand a referendum on self-determination for Papua, amid unrest in the country’s easternmost region that was triggered by perceived ill treatment of Papuans on Java island.
More than 40 people were killed in the unrest between August and September in Papua and West Papua provinces, which make up the Indonesian half of New Guinea island.
Jakarta has blamed the separatist United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) and the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB) for the uprising that started in mid-August, when thousands joined protests calling for a vote on self-determination.
Police arrested dozens of pro-referendum Papuan activists in the wake of the unrest, which prompted authorities to send thousands of additional police and troops to the region.
A pre-trial hearing to challenge the arrests of the six activists had been scheduled for Nov. 11, but was postponed because the defendant – the Jakarta police – did not show up.
A new hearing is scheduled for Nov. 25, Hutapea said.
“In our opinion, the two-week delay is unusual because it can obstruct the justice process for the suspects,” he said. “The delay should have been just one week.”
Andreas Harsono, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, said there were at least 25 political prisoners in Indonesia, including 22 who had been detained since the unrest in Papua in August.
“The government must release all political prisoners, because it will make it difficult for Indonesia in international forums. Many countries will question this, including the United States and Japan,” Andreas said.
Hutapea said the families of the Papuan activists had been having difficulty visiting them in detention.
Yumilda Kaciana, the wife of Dano Tabuni, said the police had twice cancelled an appointment she had made to visit her husband.
“Our disappointment grew when lawmakers from Papua were allowed to meet with the detainees, even though there was no appointment,” Yumilda told reporters.
“Why is there different treatment?” she said.
Another lawyer with the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, Oky Wiratama, said the police did not properly notify the defense attorneys and the activists’ families prior to the transfer of the case files to the prosecutor’s office, which usually signals that a trial is imminent.
“We were told only via a WhatsApp short message. We received it only on Sunday,” Oky said.
“There should be an official letter to inform about the transfer,” he said.
National police spokesman Argo Yowono denied that families and lawyers were prevented from visiting the detained activists.
“We work professionally and follow the rules,” Argo told BenarNews, adding that the police were ready to face a pretrial suit.
The Papua region was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969, after a U.N.-administered ballot known as the Act of Free Choice. Many Papuans and rights groups said the vote was a sham because it involved only 1,000 people.
The provinces of Papua and West Papua make up one-fifth of Indonesia’s land mass. Only 5.9 million of Indonesia’s 250 million people live there.
Tensions rose in Papua in December 2018 after separatist rebels allegedly killed 19 members of a crew building a highway in Nduga regency. Authorities immediately sent more than 750 soldiers and police to the region after the killings.
------------------------------
2) Maire Leadbeater: Deafening silence as West Papua crisis deepens
20 Nov, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read
COMMENT
Since August 17, Indonesia's national day, West Papua has been in the grip of an unparalleled uprising. Conflict has been relentless since 1963, when Indonesia took control of the territory, but this time Indonesia's repressive response is backed by a renewed determination to exclude the rest of the world. New Zealand's political leaders refuse to raise their voices, and a mild statement of concern from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was a pathetic token gesture.
Events were set in motion by attacks on Papuan students in East Java's Surabaya following unsubstantiated accusations that the young people had disrespected the Indonesian flag. Security forces and vigilante type nationalists besieged the students as they hunkered down in their dormitory. The students were tear-gassed and 42 were taken into detention, but it was the racist taunts used by the attackers – "pigs", "dogs" and "monkeys" that triggered the wave of outrage and solidarity demonstrations across West Papua and in many Indonesian cities.
READ MORE:
• Premium - Maire Leadbeater: West Papua must be on the agenda at the Pacific Islands Forum
• Rebels demand Indonesia negotiate on Papua independence
• Maire Leadbeater: A glimmer of hope for West Papua?
• Premium - Maire Leadbeater: West Papua must be on the agenda at the Pacific Islands Forum
• Rebels demand Indonesia negotiate on Papua independence
• Maire Leadbeater: A glimmer of hope for West Papua?
Within days Indonesia announced new troop deployments and imposed an internet ban, but the news of demonstrating students killed by gunshots leaked out. Indonesian human rights lawyer Veronica Koman, currently living in Australia, used her social media accounts to disseminate videos. In September, the Indonesian authorities threatened her with an Interpol "red" notice if she did not turn herself in to the Indonesian Embassy. However, in October, Veronica received a prestigious Australian human rights accolade: the Sir Ronald Wilson award. Australian authorities are urged to provide this brave young human rights defender with protection.
Wamena in the Highlands saw the worst violence on September 23 when 43 people were killed as buildings and vehicles were torched. More than half of the victims were non-Papuan migrants and many residents both Papuan and non-Papuan fled the area. Jakarta capitalised on the suffering of the migrants – offering them trauma counselling and flights home. Journalists were banned and the internet closed off, but some recent witness accounts suggest provocateurs may have been involved.
I was alarmed to note Jakarta's decision to exclude western diplomats from visiting West Papua, even though diplomats such as ours are well versed in playing by the rules. The newly inaugurated defence minister is retired General Prabowo Subianto. He was banned from entering the United States in 2000 because of his complicity in the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in the dying days of the Suharto regime. President Widodo seems to have given Subianto a blank cheque, saying he would not give him instructions because "he knows more than I do".
Indonesia's draconian treason law, a relic of Dutch colonial times, gives the state power to impose penalties up to life imprisonment. In a new surge, some 22 people (by Amnesty estimate) have been arrested under these laws for exercising the right to free expression and dissent. High-profile cases include the "Jakarta Six", who were hunted down after they participated in a peaceful demonstration in front of the State Palace. The group includes non-Papuan Surya Anta Ginting, a leader in the Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI-WP). The lawyers for the Six say they have only limited access to their clients and are very worried about detention conditions, especially isolation, which has caused physical and mental health issues for the detainees.
Another group of seven were arrested in West Papua itself and include leaders of the pro-independence West Papua National Committee KNPB. KNPB's modus operandi is "parliament of the street" so its activists are used to constant surveillance and harassment, but the charges against these leaders represent a grave escalation. The seven have been transferred away from family and lawyers to a prison in Kalimantan.
Beyond an ever-tighter security crackdown, and showcase visits to the territory, president Widodo has no realistic solution to the crisis – the talk of infrastructure such as roads and bridges is no salve. Papuans know from experience that means more resource exploitation, more deforestation and more palm oil plantations.
After nearly 20 years of campaigning for West Papuan human rights, I should be used to meeting a brick wall from the New Zealand government. We are put to shame by the dedication of Vanuatu, which champions West Papuan rights at every international opportunity. And by the courage of West Papuan activists and their Indonesian supporters who risk all for the sake of freedom.
• Maire Leadbeater is an organiser with West Papua Action Auckland
——————————————
3) Papua's honai to be lit with solar-powered lamps
4 hours ago
Wamena, Papua (ANTARA) - The Jayawijaya district administration in Papua Province is continuing to set up solar-powered lamps across the villages to brighten up the lives of the native people who live in their traditional honai.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is supporting this program by providing the lamps, Acting Head of Local Industry and Trade Service Agency, Lukas Kosay, told the press in Wamena, capital of Jayawijaya District, Wednesday.
"Between two districts, we set up one installment point to be distributed across the villages and light up the honai," he said.
Related news: Bright Indonesia program in W. Papua near completion
Through this program, several districts of Pyramid, Bolakme, Wollo, Wosi, Taginegeri, and Pupugoba have already been lit.
"We are planning to install lamps in Ibele District which is situated some seven kilometers away from the main road, but we will await the discussion in Jayapura prior to proposing the idea," Kosay noted.
Kosay confirmed that the houses are still not covered by the electricity provided by the State Electricity Company (PLN). From around 40 kilowatts of electrical power as part of this program, each honai will now have one-two lamps.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is supporting this program by providing the lamps, Acting Head of Local Industry and Trade Service Agency, Lukas Kosay, told the press in Wamena, capital of Jayawijaya District, Wednesday.
"Between two districts, we set up one installment point to be distributed across the villages and light up the honai," he said.
Related news: Bright Indonesia program in W. Papua near completion
Through this program, several districts of Pyramid, Bolakme, Wollo, Wosi, Taginegeri, and Pupugoba have already been lit.
"We are planning to install lamps in Ibele District which is situated some seven kilometers away from the main road, but we will await the discussion in Jayapura prior to proposing the idea," Kosay noted.
Kosay confirmed that the houses are still not covered by the electricity provided by the State Electricity Company (PLN). From around 40 kilowatts of electrical power as part of this program, each honai will now have one-two lamps.
----------------
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.