2) Papuan Gunmen Attack Freeport Indonesia's Escort Car
3) Warrnambool's West Papua support group raises Morning Star flag
4) Bintang Kejora Dikibarkan di Balai Kota Leichhardt Australia
5) Vigil for West Papua
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1) Scores of West Papuans arrested in lead up to OPM anniversary
CNN Indonesia – December 1, 2019
Jakarta – The Jayapura district police (Polres) have arrested 34 people for allegedly planning to celebrate the Free Papua Movement’s (OPM) anniversary on Sunday December 1.
Jayapura police chief Assistant Superintendent Viktor Mackbon told the Antara state news agency that the 34 people were arrested on the evening of Saturday November 30 at around 10pm.
“[People] were indeed arrested and they are still being questioned by investigators at the Jayapura Mapolres [district police headquarters] in Sentani”, said Mackbon on Sunday December 1.
Mackbon was unable to provide further details because there has yet to be a report on the questioning of the 34 people.
Based on information gathered by Antara, the 34 people were members and sympathisers of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) who were planning to celebrate the OPM’s anniversary on Sunday.
During the arrests evidence was found in the form of uniforms and KNPB logos, catapults, knives, bayonets and machetes.
Four arrested
At a separate location on Sunday police also arrested and detained four people in Abepura for wearing Free Papua symbols or decorations.
Papua regional police chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw said that the four had painted their faces with motives of the Morning Star – the symbol of the Free Papua movement.
The four youths were worshiping at a church and police asked them to exit the church building, after which they were then taken to the Abepura sectoral police around 200 metres from the church.
“I have ordered the Jayapura City Polres to look into the case, to find out what they planned to do”, said Waterpauw.
During the arrest, police sized three Morning Star flags that the four youths were carrying.
Earlier, National Police Headquarters Public Information Bureau Head Brigadier General Argo Yuwono said that police have been mapping out areas which are prone to conflict in Papua in the lead up to the anniversary.
According to Yuwono, this is to determine whether or not there is a need for additional troops from outside the Papua regional police to maintain security there.
“Like what kind of susceptibilities, which areas, what is the suitability, what is the susceptibility like, it’s still being identified by intelligence”, Yuwono told journalists in Jakarta on Friday November 22.
The Papua regional police will deploy 1,300 personnel to secure the region in the lead up to the anniversary. According to Waterpauw this is to provide a sense of security to local communities.
He explained that the regional police have already reached an agreement with local governments to ban any and all forms of activity being held in the context of commemorating the OPM’s anniversary. (Antara/gil)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Puluhan Warga Papua Ditangkap Jelang HUT OPM”.]
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2) Papuan Gunmen Attack Freeport Indonesia's Escort Car
1 December 2019 18:28 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Papuan gunmen fired at an escort car owned by PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) at around Mile 60 in Tembagapura Subdistrict, Mimika District, Papua Province, on Saturday but there were no casualties in the incident, a military spokesman said.
The gunmen who fired at the PTFI's "Delta Zone" escort car might belong to an armed Papuan rebel group, led by Hengki Wamang, Spokesman of the XVII/Cenderawasih Regional Military Command Colonel Eko Daryanto told ANTARA in Jayapura on Saturday evening.
The ill-fated vehicle was attacked when the driver and its two passengers, Latif and Matthew Philips Driven by Ramadhani, were waiting for the coming of an employee shuttle bus coming from the Timika bus terminal, he said.
The shooting occurred at around 3:50 p.m. local time. Ten minutes later, several members of the Indonesian military and police task force were deployed to the site of the attack to assist the victims and secure the Mile 60 area, he said.
"No one is injured in the shooting incident," he said, adding that the military and police personnel should stay alert on the armed Papuan criminals who were keen to disrupt Papua's security.
He also urged local people to remain calm and cautious. The attack occurred ahead of the commemoration of the Free Papua Movement's (OPM's) anniversary on Dec 1.
Papua Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw had earlier warned of the potential security threats posed by the armed Papuan groups at the mining sites of gold and copper mining firm PTFI ahead of the commemoration of the OPM's anniversary.
The reports he had obtained found that several groups of armed Papuan rebels from Pegunungan Tengah in Jayawijaya District were observed in Intan Jaya District and were heading toward the mining areas of PT Freeport Indonesia, he stated.
Waterpauw said he had instructed security agencies' special team members to constantly monitor the movements of criminals, he remarked, adding that civil and religious leaders were also approached to prevent residents from being provoked by the groups.
By and large, the security situation across Papua Province remains under control, he stated.
Papua and West Papua have come under the radar of both the Indonesian and foreign media after a spate of violence erupted in several parts of these two Indonesian provinces in August and September 2019.
On August 28, violence erupted in Deiyai District, some 500 kilometers away from Jayapura, resulting in the deaths of an army soldier and two civilians.
The indigenous Papuan residents of Jayapura again held protests on August 29, as they vented their ire over alleged racist behavior against their Papuan compatriots in Surabaya, but their rally then took a violent turn.
On September 23, a deadly riot had erupted in Wamena, the capital city of Jayawijaya District, Papua Province, killing 33 civilians, including a senior medical doctor, who had served the native Papuans for 15 years.
ANTARA
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DECEMBER 1 2019 - 1:00PM
3) Warrnambool's West Papua support group raises Morning Star flag
Jessica Howard
It's been 10 years since a group of Warrnambool activists started flying the West Papuan 'Morning Star' flag and their spirit has not dampened.
Nearly 20 people attended the flag-raising ceremony at Warrnambool's Civic Green on Sunday - the biggest turn out in about five years.
Australian West Papua Association south-western Victoria spokesman John Gratton Wilson said the event was an act of both support and defiance, as flying the flag was outlawed by the occupying Indonesian government.
He said some people in West Papua had been jailed for raising the flag that had been approved by the Dutch government in 1961 before Indonesia took control of the country soon after.
After more than a decade of campaigning, Mr Wilson said the way his West Papuan neighbours and friends were treated by the Indonesian government still made his skin crawl.
"I've witnessed personally the way the Indonesians treat the local people and in the last 12 months, the racial and religious tensions have arisen," he said.
"There are stories that you wouldn't want to repeat.
"They regard them as basically sub-human, but really we know who are the sub-humans in the way they treat other human beings."
Mr Wilson called on Australia's politicians and the United Nations to act, stating about 500,000 people had died in 50 years - an average of 200 people per week.
"It is wrong that we ignore these gross human right abusers on our doorstop," he said.
"The UN needs to acknowledge their mistakes from the 1960s and give indigenous West Pupuans a vote for self determination from a brutal oppressor."
Mr Wilson said a 2017 petition collected 1.8 million signatures in West Papua.
"I've seen a copy of the petition only two months ago. It weighs 40 kilograms, it's the biggest book in the world.
"Those 1.8 signatures is 70 per cent of the Melanesian population in West Papua and that has been handed onto the UN human rights commissioner Michelle Bachelet Jeria, and if that's doesn't indicate to the world that these people want freedom, then what does?
"West Papua will get freedom it's just a case of when."
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4) Bintang Kejora Dikibarkan di Balai Kota Leichhardt Australia
JAYAPURA, SUARAPAPUA.com— Asosiasi Papua Barat Australia, Sydney menyampaikan terima kasih kepada Inner West Council atau Dewan Pusat Barat di Sydney yang telah mendukung dengan mengibarkan bendera Nasional Papua Barat (Bintang Kejora) di Balai Kota Leichhardt pada tanggal 29 November 2019.
Pengibaran bendera Bintang Kejora itu dilakukan sebagai bentuk memperingati kemerdekaan Papua Barat pada tanggal 1 Desember 1961 yang akan dirayakan 1 Desember 2019…………..
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5) Vigil for West Papua
Issue
Human rights activists are holding regular vigils outside the Indonesian Consulate in Sydney, calling for a United Nations-supervised referendum to allow the people of West Papua to vote on independence.
There has been a recent upsurge in activism around West Papuan independence, including among Indonesians, despite intimidation and serious consequences for activists. West Papuans risk up to 15 years jail for flying the West Papuan flag.
West Papuan students in Indonesia were recently subjected to racist taunts by the military, leading to widespread protests and violent crackdowns.
According to Stuart Highway, who initiated the vigil, passersby have been particularly supportive: “Motorists wave, toot their horns or call out words of solidarity. We also get thumbs up and clenched fist salutes from bus drivers, truckies and tradies.
“People also stop to give words of encouragement or ask for information. Australians, even in these difficult times, still support the idea of a fair go and support the underdog. People like the idea of having a go at a powerful enemy despite the odds, and West Papua's struggle for independence is certainly a David and Goliath struggle.”
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