2) Papuan student rally in Yogyakarta demands referendum for West Papua
3) Police nab Papuan separatist movement's youth sympathizers in Abepura
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1) Police break up Papuan student rally in Ambon calling for referendum
Kompas.com – December 1, 2019
Papuan students hold rally demanding referendum in Ambon – December 1, 2019 (Kompas)
Rahmat Rahman Patty, Ambon – A protest action by scores of Papuan students calling themselves the Struggle Committee for Democracy and Human Rights in front of the World Peace Gong in Ambon City, Maluku, was broken up by police on Sunday December 1.
The protest action, which was being held to commemorate the anniversary of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), was deemed to be an illegal gathering because it was held on a holiday and no prior notification was given to police.
Before the rally was broken up, the students were involved in an argument with police. The war of words broke out after police confiscated a megaphone from the students and then removed the batteries.
Nevertheless, both the police and the students were able to stand their ground so the usual chaos at the end of anarchic protests did not happen.
During the action, the students demanded that the West Papuan people be given the right to self-determination through a referendum.
The students also expressed their support for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) becoming a full member of the Melanesia Spearhead Group, the Pacific Island Forum and for the ULMWP’s membership at the United Nations.
“We also ask that the scores of political prisoners from Papua be released and we also ask that all military and non-military troops be withdrawn from the land of Papua”, said the students.
In their demands, the students also slammed alleged human rights violations in Papua committed by the TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (Indonesian police).
The students also asked for guarantees of freedom of information, expression and assembly for the Papuan people.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Tuntut Referendum, Aksi Mahasiswa Papua di Ambon Dibubarkan Polisi”.]
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2) Papuan student rally in Yogyakarta demands referendum for West Papua
Tempo – December 1, 2019
Shinta Maharani, Yogyakarta – Around 100 students from the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) along with various other organisations held a protest action demanding a referendum for West Papua at the Gajah Mada University (UGM) traffic circle in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on Sunday December 1.
During the action, the students brought a variety of posters with messages rejecting discrimination, racism, colonialism, the arrest of pro-democracy activists, restrictions on reporting by the mass media and other forms of military pressure.
“A referendum is the most democratic demand”, said AMP National Chairperson Jhon Gobai at the protest on Sunday.
In his speech, the Papuan student said that Papua is not the red-and-white national flag of Indonesia but the Morning Star flag. The Morning Star flag is a symbol used by Free Papua supporters.
The students also protested all forms of criminalisation and the arrest of pro-democracy activists. They urged the police to release Indonesian People’s Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) national spokesperson Surya Anta – an activist arrested in October for fighting for Papuan liberation. They also condemned the criminalisation of lawyer and Papua rights activist Veronica Koman.
Yogyakarta, said Gobai, has become the centre for commemorating the birth of Papua on December 1, 1961. Actions commemorating Papuan independence are also taking place in Papua. But they are only being carried out through religious services because of military pressure.
“End military operations in Nduga which are full of violence and repression”, he said.
FRI-WP spokesperson Pranadipa Ricko Syahputra said that the Indonesian government should acknowledge that West Papua has been independent since December 1, 1961.
Indonesia and the United Nations, he said, must take responsibility and be actively involved, fairly and democratically, in an act of self-determination, straightening out history and resolving human rights violations against the people of West Papua.
He said that the UN must make a resolution to restore independence to West Papua in accordance with international law. “End racist discrimination and Indonesian colonialism in West Papua”, he said.
Notes
Although it is widely held that West Papua declared independence from Indonesia on December 1, 1961, this actually marks the date when the Morning Star flag was first raised alongside the Dutch flag in an officially sanctioned ceremony in Jayapura, then called Hollandia. And while the anniversary of the foundation of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) separatist group is often commemorated on December 1, the organisation was in fact established in Manokwari either in February or March (depending upon sources) 1965. The first declaration of independence actually took place on July 1, 1971 at the Victoria Headquarters in Waris Village, Jayapura.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Peringati 1 Desember, Aliansi Mahasiswa Papua Tuntut Referendum”.]
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3) Police nab Papuan separatist movement's youth sympathizers in Abepura
3 hours ago
Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Four youths in Abepura Sub-district, Jayapura, Papua, were apprehended, Sunday, over motifs of Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flag painted over their faces indicating their support for the Free Papua Movement (OPM), a police officer stated.
"I have ordered the chief of the Jayapura city police to probe this case to uncover their plan," Papua Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw stated.
Several policemen approached the youngsters in a civil manner while partaking in a prayer gathering at a local church and requested them to leave the congregation. They were then taken to the Abepura police precinct, located some 200 meters away from the church.
They remain under police custody and were grilled by the police investigators. Several local policemen, who approached them inside the church, also confiscated three Bintang Kejora flags that they had brought, he revealed.
Apart from this arrest, Waterpauw claimed that the security situation in Papua, by and large, remained peaceful and under control on Sunday, the day the OPM sympathizers chose to commemorate this separatist organization's anniversary.
In a bid to maintain law and order in Jayapura City and its outskirts, some 700 personnel of the Indonesian military and police as well as the local government's public order officers were deployed to secure Sentani City and the surrounding areas, Jayapura District.
Those personnel were deployed as a precautionary measure against any untoward incident during the commemoration of OPM's anniversary, Jayapura Police Chief Adjunct Sen. Coms. Victor Dean Mackbon stated.
On Saturday, a group of Papuan gunmen fired at an escort car owned by PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) at around Mile 60 in Tembagapura Sub-district, Mimika District, but no casualties were reported in the incident.
Spokesman of the XVII/Cenderawasih Regional Military Command Colonel Eko Daryanto informed ANTARA that the gunmen, who had fired at the PTFI's "Delta Zone" escort car, might belong to an armed Papuan rebel group, led by Hengki Wamang.
The ill-fated vehicle had come under attack when the driver and its two passengers, Latif and Matthew Philips, driven by Ramadhani, were awaiting the arrival of an employee shuttle bus from the Timika bus terminal, he revealed.
The shooting took place at around 3:50 p.m. local time. Some 10 minutes later, several members of the Indonesian military and police task force were stationed at the site of the attack to assist the victims and secure the Mile 60 area, he stated.
"No one is injured in the shooting incident," he confirmed, adding that the military and police personnel should remain on alert to the armed Papuan criminals harboring insidious plans of disrupting Papua's security. Related news: 1,300 police officers deployed in Papua to anticipate Dec 1 rally
Related news: Papua police chief chairs meeting before OPM's anniversary
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"I have ordered the chief of the Jayapura city police to probe this case to uncover their plan," Papua Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw stated.
Several policemen approached the youngsters in a civil manner while partaking in a prayer gathering at a local church and requested them to leave the congregation. They were then taken to the Abepura police precinct, located some 200 meters away from the church.
They remain under police custody and were grilled by the police investigators. Several local policemen, who approached them inside the church, also confiscated three Bintang Kejora flags that they had brought, he revealed.
Apart from this arrest, Waterpauw claimed that the security situation in Papua, by and large, remained peaceful and under control on Sunday, the day the OPM sympathizers chose to commemorate this separatist organization's anniversary.
In a bid to maintain law and order in Jayapura City and its outskirts, some 700 personnel of the Indonesian military and police as well as the local government's public order officers were deployed to secure Sentani City and the surrounding areas, Jayapura District.
Those personnel were deployed as a precautionary measure against any untoward incident during the commemoration of OPM's anniversary, Jayapura Police Chief Adjunct Sen. Coms. Victor Dean Mackbon stated.
On Saturday, a group of Papuan gunmen fired at an escort car owned by PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) at around Mile 60 in Tembagapura Sub-district, Mimika District, but no casualties were reported in the incident.
Spokesman of the XVII/Cenderawasih Regional Military Command Colonel Eko Daryanto informed ANTARA that the gunmen, who had fired at the PTFI's "Delta Zone" escort car, might belong to an armed Papuan rebel group, led by Hengki Wamang.
The ill-fated vehicle had come under attack when the driver and its two passengers, Latif and Matthew Philips, driven by Ramadhani, were awaiting the arrival of an employee shuttle bus from the Timika bus terminal, he revealed.
The shooting took place at around 3:50 p.m. local time. Some 10 minutes later, several members of the Indonesian military and police task force were stationed at the site of the attack to assist the victims and secure the Mile 60 area, he stated.
"No one is injured in the shooting incident," he confirmed, adding that the military and police personnel should remain on alert to the armed Papuan criminals harboring insidious plans of disrupting Papua's security. Related news: 1,300 police officers deployed in Papua to anticipate Dec 1 rally
Related news: Papua police chief chairs meeting before OPM's anniversary
EDITED BY INE
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