Friday, July 24, 2020

1) Papuan People should have rights to determine Special Autonomy for Papua



2) When the autonomy policy era ends, Papua should become a sovereign territory
3) President’s instruction to blame for rights violations, displacement in Nduga: LBH Papua
4) Lacking supplies, Papua’s biggest lab stops PCR testing 
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https://en.jubi.co.id/papuan-people-should-have-rights-to-determine-special-autonomy-for-papua/


1) Papuan People should have rights to determine Special Autonomy for Papua
Published 2 days ago on 23 July 2020 By Admin


Papuan students in a demonstration held in front of the Ministry of Home Affairs in Jakarta on Tuesday (14/7/2020). – Jubi/Supplied by Ambros Mulait


Enarotali, Jubi – Willem Wandik, an Indonesian parliament member from Papua, firmly said that those who have rights to decide whether the Special Autonomy in Papua should be continued or terminated are the people of Papua.
“Papuan people have rights in governing the Special Autonomy policy in Papua, and it would never be under the command of the Papuan Police Chief,” Wandik recently told Jubi.
Wandik, the politician from the Democratic Party, deeply regretted the Papuan Police Chief’s statement to ban public campaigns to decline the Special Autonomy policy in Papua. In his view, the police chief’s statement has reflected the authoritarian method to control democracy in the land of Papua.
“It demonstrates how the iron hand approach always becomes an option for security forces in responding to people’s demand, in particular indigenous Papuans in the land of Papua,” he said.

Moreover, he stated that the police chief has no right to control people from democracy. Instead, by giving this order, the police chief has violated the Constitution 1945 as the supreme law in Indonesia which provides rights for people to participate in determining regulations or policies that would influence their lives.
Separately, the Secretary for Bangun Papua fraction in the House of Representative Papua Alfred Fredy Anouw said the Papuan Police Chief’s statement could be interpreted that the chief considered Papuans were not the Indonesian citizens because Indonesia is a democratic state.
“The Papuan Police Chief should not ban people from expressing their opinion in public,” said Anouw.
He, therefore, asked the Papuan Police Chief to not publish a statement that might lead indigenous Papuans to disappointment. “Because the Special Autonomy Policy is not a small problem. It’s about the lives of Papuan people,” he said.
“So, not just because of his personal achievement, he can tell people whatever he wants. He must see Papuan people as the whole. He cannot be egoistic,” he said.
Earlier, the Papuan Police Chief Paulus Waterpauw considered the launch of Papuan People Petition initiated by 16 civil organisations to decline the extension of Special Autonomy Law as an effort to provoke the public.
“I disagree with them, with their campaign. It was an effort of provocation,” Waterpauw firmly told reporters in Jayapura on Friday (17/7/2020) as cited in suarapapua.com. (*)
 
Reporter: Abeth You
Editor: Pipit Maizier

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https://en.jubi.co.id/when-the-autonomy-policy-era-ends-papua-should-become-a-sovereign-territory/

2) When the autonomy policy era ends, Papua should become a sovereign territory
Published 2 days ago on 23 July 2020 By Admin1

Sentani, Jubi – Papua should become a sovereign territory following the end of the autonomy policy era. The claim has aligned with the wishes of the people of Papua.
“Sovereignty has been a long time claim of Papuan people in some congresses, and it has never changed until today,” said Zadrahk Taime, the Papuan Customary Council Chairman for Mamta Region, on Monday (20/7/2020).

He further explained that the demand for sovereignty in Papua has risen since 1961, and respectively emerged in Papuan People Congress II in 1962, Papuan People Congress III in 2011 until today.
“The struggle for Papuan sovereignty has significantly linked to international law. The Government of Indonesia should recognise it,” said Taime.
Moreover, he said if Papua becomes a sovereign country, Papua and Indonesia can still help each other in overcoming shared problems. In this sense, Papua will consider Indonesia as a ‘foster father’.
“Indonesia workers will still be able to work at PT. Freeport, while in turn, Indonesia should assist Papua to deal with its domestic affairs,” said Taime.
In the meantime, Abner Giyai from the Papuan Customary Council for Grimenawa Region said Papuan people never found justice in development since the implementation of the Special Autonomy policy in 2001. The landowners had never been invited to involve in the processes of planning or implementation of the empowerment program for indigenous Papuans.
“There were no job opportunities and access to the market for local communities. When we asked for justice, it, in turn, was politicised (accused as separatists),” said Giyai.
He claimed the Government of Indonesia has never taken a lesson and evaluated the implementation of development in Papua. “During the administration of Widodo-Kala, Rp100 trillion had spent (allocated) to Papua but that’s it (the results were invisible).” (*)
 
Reporter: Engelbert Wally
Editor: Pipit Maizier
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https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/07/24/presidents-instruction-to-blame-for-rights-violations-displacement-in-nduga-lbh-papua.html


3) President’s instruction to blame for rights violations, displacement in Nduga: LBH Papua

Budi Sutrisno 
The Jakarta Post  
Jakarta   /   Fri, July 24, 2020   /   05:15 pm
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's instruction for the military and the police to hunt down armed separatist rebels responsible for the 2018 Nduga massacre in Papua has led to a security crisis that has affected civilians in the region, the Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua) has said.
The instruction – issued shortly after the incident in December 2018 – was directed at the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander and the National Police chief and, according to LBH Papua, had since been used as justification to launch a security operation called Operation Nemangkawi.
The group has blamed the President’s instruction for “opening” rampant armed conflicts in Nduga between Indonesian security forces and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) after the 2018 incident until now.

Due to the conflicts, large numbers of civilians – whom the group deemed "victims" of the President's instruction – had been seeking refuge in shelters, many of whom had died due to poor living conditions there, LBH Papua director Emanuel Gobay said.
“[We] firmly urge the President to immediately evaluate his instruction [...] because in practice, it has resulted in displacement and human rights violations, in particular the right to life,” Emanuel said in a statement on Wednesday.
The President's instruction, issued in response to the killing of dozens of workers of state-owned construction firm PT Istaka Karya by TPNPB fighters, has led to a protracted security operation in Nduga that has forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes and seek refuge.
According to Amnesty International Indonesia data, 263 Nduga residents that were displaced during the ongoing military operations had died of hunger or illness as of late January.
LBH Papua also alleged that the President's instruction led to the killing of two Papuans by TNI personnel in the regency recently.
Citing information from the TPNPB, local media outlet suarapapua.com reported that the two – identified as Elias Karunggu, 40, and Seru Karunggu, 20 – were among 58 Papuans from three districts who had long sought refuge in the forest and were forced to head to Nduga’s capital due to hunger and illness.
On July 18, Elias and Seru were shot by military personnel as the group crossed the Keneyam River in Masonggorak village using wooden boats, the report said.
LBH Papua claimed that the deadly shootings were carried out by members of the Infantry Battalion 330/TD task force, assigned to Nduga under the Nemangkawi operation.
TNI spokesperson of the Joint Regional Defense Command (Kogabwilhan) III, Col. Gusti Nyoman Suriastawa, confirmed that the task force was behind the shooting, saying that Elias and Seru were both members of the armed separatist group.
Gusti refused to comment on whether the task force's presence in Nduga was a part of the operation as directed by the President; however, he claimed that Jokowi’s instruction was not the main guideline for the TNI’s actions in Papua.
“We must see that the reason behind the TNI’s presence there is that there is still turmoil and oppression against the people. [The President’s instruction] is not why the TNI is operating in Papua. The TNI have long been there,” Gusti told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
He said the military were able to detect the position of the two "separatists" because they had two bags containing cell phones stolen from the TNI last month. Before crossing the river, the two were spotted receiving a revolver pistol from others, Gusti claimed.
“After crossing the river, the other residents immediately jumped into a pick-up [truck] heading for Kenyam, but the two did not. That posed a danger, so the TNI personnel shot them,” he said.
LBH Papua said the incident violated citizens’ constitutional rights and the right to life, as guaranteed in the 1999 Human Rights Law and provisions in the 1949 Geneva Convention relating to civil society in military operations.
Emanuel argued that Jokowi’s instruction following the 2018 incident was an operation to arrest, not kill, suspected separatist rebels.
He further urged the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to immediately form an investigation team to study the “alleged gross human rights violations” against the two Papuans and called for the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) to immediately provide assistance for displaced persons in Nduga in times of conflict.
During his recent visit to Papua's Timika, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD warned the TNI and police personnel not to be “provoked” into “excessive actions” and to prioritize a legal approach in handling security issues in Papua.
“I know your work is hard, but my message is to act cautiously. Don’t be provoked by other parties into taking actions that can be considered a violation of human rights,” Mahfud said on Wednesday.
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https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/07/24/lacking-supplies-papuas-biggest-lab-stops-pcr-testing.html

4 ) Lacking supplies, Papua’s biggest lab stops PCR testing 
Victor Mambor 
The Jakarta Post  
Jayapura   /   Fri, July 24, 2020   /   02:55 pm

The largest PCR testing lab in Papua has announced that it will stop accepting new samples for COVID-19 testing on July 25 because of a lack of reagent and single-use equipment.
The lab at the Papuan Health Research and Development Agency (Balitbangkes) accounts for more than half of the province’s testing capacity under normal circumstances.
Typically, the Balitbangkes lab, which is managed by the Health Ministry, receives 400 to 500 samples a day. The lab was previously able to test between 300 and 400 samples a day. On Thursday, it received 599 samples and tested 382, accounting for about 60 percent of the 641 samples the province tested using PCR and molecular test (TCM) methods that day.
The head of Balitbangkes in Papua, Antonius Oktavian, said the lab still had about 1,482 samples that had not been tested and that the supply of reagent and single-use equipment, such as pipettes and tubes, was thinning.
“We’re worried that if we keep receiving new samples the new samples will be damaged because we don’t have reagent and other equipment,” he told The Jakarta Post. “If we get new samples, they will certainly have to wait until we finish testing the existing ones,” Antonius said.
He said the agency would accept new samples once it received more testing supplies. “We have requested them from the central government,” he added.
As of July 23, the Papuan provincial government had confirmed 2,720 COVID-19 cases. Of that number, 1,259 patients had recovered and 30 had died. On July 23, the provincial administration reported 68 new confirmed cases in Papua, a different figure than the central government had reported.
Indonesia is now grappling with a gap in testing capacity between Java and the rest of the nation. The country is operating 269 PCR testing laboratories, half of which are located in Java. None of Papua’s 10 labs are currently accepting new samples.
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