AWPA update
Summary of events in West Papua (16 July -25 August 2020)
The 17 August was Indonesian Independence and one year since the mass anti-racism rallies that occurred throughout West Papua and also in Indonesia. The rallies in August 2019 were triggered by the arrest of 43 west Papuan students in Surabaya on the 17 August, Indonesia Independence Day.
The incident occurred because it had been reported that an Indonesian flag had been vandalised near a student hostel for Papuans. (It’s not unusual for Papuans to further their education in Indonesia.) in this case Surabaya. Nationalists groups believed that the Papuan students had vandialised the flag and that the students were refusing to take part in Indonesian Independence celebrations.
The Jakarta Post (19 August) reported that security personnel and members of Indonesian Nationalist groups attacked the Papuan students throwing stones at the dormitory and chanting “Kick out the Papuans!” and “Slaughter the Papuans!” The mob also called the students monkeys, pigs and dogs. As they stormed the building the Police fired tear gas into the building and arrested the students. The students were later released after questioning. They had denied any knowledge of the damaged flag. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in all the major cities and towns not only in West Papua but also Indonesia. They were not only showing solidarity with the arrested students but also protesting against the racial abuse, both verbal and physical that occurred during the arrest.
Benny Wenda, Chairperson of the ULMWP urged people not to celebrate Indonesian Independence day. From his the statement.
“This week is incredibly important for the people of West Papua’s collective memory. At the end of the week, we will commemorate the 58th anniversary of our country being signed away to Indonesia, and mark a year since the West Papua Uprising, sparked by racist attacks from Indonesian security services. Instead of celebrating Indonesian Independence Day, August 15-17 must be days of mourning and reflection for all West Papuans.
On August 15, 1962, secret negotiations between Indonesia, the Netherlands and the United States governments decided the fate of my people. No West Papuans were consulted, and the referendum promised to us in the 1962 New York Agreement never took place. To us West Papuans, the New York Agreement is an agreement of broken promises”.....
There were a number of opinion pieces on racism in West Papua. Victor Mambor in the Jakarta Post.
After a year of Papuan antiracism rallies, discrimination remains an everyday occurrence Victor Mambor The Jakarta Post August 19, 2020
A mural reads depicting two Papuans reads: “If we are monkeys, don’t force monkeys to raise the red and white [Indonesian] flag. Stop racism.” Displayed on a road connecting Depok and Bogor, West Java, the mural refers to an incident in Surabaya, East Java, in which a Papuan student was called a “monkey”. The incident led to a string of antiracism protests. (JP/P.J.Leo)
Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia also wrote an article on racism “Racial discrimination and human rights abuses are a reality in Papua” (Jubi 22 August 2020)
Discussion of human rights issues in Tanah Papua must hold in Papua, illustration - Jubi/doc
By Usman Hamid
The debate over Papua flared up again in Indonesia after anti-racism protests in the US triggered a social media campaign highlighting the plight of Papuans. Like black people in America, they have long suffered from structural racism.
In a rare event, racism in Papua was brought into the public conversation. With the powerful hashtag #PapuanLivesMatter, Indonesians — Papuans and non-Papuans — spoke about the various abuses suffered by Papuans, including the fate of dozens of Papuan prisoners of conscience prosecuted for protesting against the same thing that took George Floyd’s life: racism.
This has happened before but this time there were at least two major shifts in the conversation about Papua. First, it caught the attention of the wider community beyond human rights activists, academics and government officials. Second, its focus shifted somewhat from the issue of separatism to the question of racism and its implications……………
Protests against The New York Agreement
A large number of protests took place to condemn the New York Agreement (15 August 1962) in West Papua and by their supporters in Indonesia.
Demonstration against the New York Agreement at Jalan Pos 7 Sentani, Jayapura Regency-Papua, Saturday (15/8/2020), which was dismissed by security forces - Jubi / IST
A brief summary of some of the protests
https://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com/2020/08/protests-against-new-york-agreement.html
Demonstration against the New York Agreement at Jalan Pos 7 Sentani, Jayapura Regency-Papua, Saturday (15/8/2020), which was dismissed by security forces - Jubi / IST
A brief summary of some of the protests
https://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com/2020/08/protests-against-new-york-agreement.html
Media freedom also cropped up in the past month in a number of articles.
Andreas Harsono “Indonesia’s harmful restrictions on foreign journalists, academics” (Jakarta Post August 19, 2020)
Pacific Journalism Review covered Media Freedom in Melanesia in its July edition.
Partnering with the Melanesia Media Freedom Forum (MMFF) and Griffith University, the journal has published 32 articles in the July edition, mostly devoted to threats to the region’s media but also addressing other critical issues such as the covid-19 pandemic, climate change and tropical cyclones.
Pacific Journalism Review ... articles in the July edition are mostly devoted to threats to the region’s media but also addressing other critical issues such as the covid-19 pandemic, climate change and tropical cyclones. Image: PJR
https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/pacific-journalism-review/issue/view/20
One article “West Papuan control: How red tape, disinformation and bogus online media disrupts legitimate news sources” by Victor Mambor and Palagio da Costa Sarmento points out that Indonesia ranks 124th out of 180 countries in the 2019 Global Press Freedom Index, West Papua (meaning the two provinces of Papua and West Papua) as the most closed region to foreign media coverage
Abstract:
Indonesia is ranked 124th out of 180 countries in the 2019 Global
Press Freedom Index. West Papua, comprising the two Melanesian provinces
of Papua and West Papua, is a significant factor is this low ranking. While other parts of Indonesia enjoy relatively free media coverage, West Papua remains the most closed region to media access, particularly to foreign media. There are patterns of threats that implicate the safety and security of local journalists in the territory. A clearing house, an intricate red-tape system, was re-introduced in May 2019 to screen foreign journalists going to the region of West Papua. Journalists require a permit to go there. Security forces monitor the journalists during their work in the region. In the past decade, two journalists have been killed, multiple journalists have been assaulted and arrested, and international journalists deported. Most of the cases remain open with no clear investigation process. Online media disrupts the work of legitimate news sources, sharing positioned disinformation to manipulate the public. There is no freedom of expression or freedom of information in West Papua.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on Facebook to restore an article that was censored for violating its rules on nudity and has urged the social media platform to be more transparent and responsible about respect for the free flow of information.
Posted on August 6 on the International Federation of Journalists website, the article described the contents of the latest issue of the Pacific Journalism Review, a research journal published by the Pacific Media Centre………..
New report-Press Release: West Papua 2019 Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Assembly Report
(London, 12th August 2020) Surveillance, intimidation and harassment, protest dispersals, torture, arbitrary arrests and extra-judicial killings continued in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua, and in Indonesia more broadly, as the state tried to crack down on the contentious issue of West Papua’s self-determination in 2019. Alarmingly, the Indonesian Government also used new tactics such as internet shutdown and cyber-attacks during the anti-racism protests and riots which culminated in the ‘West Papuan Uprising’ in August and September 2019. Last year, the Indonesian security forces arrested more than 1300 in demonstrations, peaceful rallies and gatherings that were related to West Papua. The majority of arrests took place in West Papua (Papua and West Papua Provinces) totalling 1175 people. The largest mass arrest was 756 which took place in September in West Papua during the Uprising. Outside West Papua, there were a total of 173 people arrested across the provinces of Bali, Maluku, North Maluku, East and West Java, North Sulawesi and Jakarta. By the end of 2019, 120 people had been charged of which 86 were charged with treason. These arrests were part of the police and authorities tactics to crack-down on political activities related to West Papua’s self-determination.
While the majority of arrests were taking place during the West Papuan Uprising which took place between August and September 2019, lower level of arrests, intimidation and harassment occurred, targeting the political activist groups such as the West Papuan National Committee (KNPB), the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Papuan (university) Student Alliance (AMP) and the Indonesian People’s Front for West Papua who are largely peaceful political activist groups. Non-political activist groups such as the human rights activists, Papuan Customary Council, women’s groups, university student groups, farmers and journalists experienced various forms of abuse from the state authorities. Some of the protest dispersals were forceful with protestors experience beatings from nationalist groups or torture from the state security forces. At least 20 people were killed in a direct action by police to disperse anti-racism protests in West Papua in September 2019.
During the Uprising, the Indonesian state also used new methods such as blocking internet access in West Papua. The Indonesian Government’s declared reason was that it was to prevent the spread of ‘fake news’ however it was a clear attempt to prevent information coming out of West Papua. Although the method was new it clearly followed a well-established pattern of violation of freedom of expression and assembly around the world.
TAPOL has documented over 100 cases of incidents of violations of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly on West Papua in 2019. In this report, the West Papua 2019 Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Assembly Report, we aim to highlight those violations and provide recommendations to the Indonesian Government as well as to the international community to draw attention to the situation of freedom of expression and association in Indonesia particularly on West Papua. -End-
Full report https://www.tapol.org/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/pdfs/WESTPAPUA2019_FOA_FOE_REPORT_TAPOL.pdf
Campaign/action
Join tree-planting ceremonies in honour of UN Sec-General Dag Hammarskjöld (1953-1961)
West Papua Womens Office in Docklands and Democratic Republic of Congo Community (Victoria) are planting a tree in honour of Dag Hammarskjöld, the UN Secretary-General found dead on 18 September 1961 after a plane-crash near the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where he was mediating post-independence conflict. His death, which is still being investigated, precluded him from presenting a decolonisation program to the 1961 UN General Assembly for the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Dutch-Nieuw Guinea (West Papua). The program would have deterred Indonesia from invading the territory in 1962, and thus rendered unnecessary the so-called peace treaty that facilitated its incorporation of the territory.
Organisations and Individuals are invited to join the memorial (online, or face-to-face) on 13 September 2020, or create their own tree-planting ceremony and email a 2-minute video of it to the West Papua Womens office. We particularly invite diaspora communities from places that have been decolonised and those that are still struggling to achieve self-determination. The videos will be presented to UN Sec-General Guterres on 29 September—the date Mr Hammarskjöld was buried in Sweden in 1961—by Herman Wainggai, West Papua’s UN Representative in New York. The tree-planting ceremony can take place at any time, but please ensure your video is sent to the office by 15 September 2020.
1. To send video, go to www.transfer.com, add your video, and email frwpwomensoffice@gmail.com. Scroll down for sample videos.
2. Inquiries: FrwpWomensOffice@gmail.com; Louise 0424 745 155; www.dfait.FederalRepublicofWestPapua.org
3. People are naming their tree the ‘Hammarskjöld Papuan Tree’ with wording on the plaque: “In honour of Dag Hammarskjöld, UN Secretary-General 1953-1961, killed before he could raise his Decolonisation motion for West Papua in the 1961 General Assembly.”
2. Inquiries: FrwpWomensOffice@gmail.com; Louise 0424 745 155; www.dfait.FederalRepublicofWestPapua.org
3. People are naming their tree the ‘Hammarskjöld Papuan Tree’ with wording on the plaque: “In honour of Dag Hammarskjöld, UN Secretary-General 1953-1961, killed before he could raise his Decolonisation motion for West Papua in the 1961 General Assembly.”
more at
Stop Persecuting West Papua Human Rights Defenders!
Urgent appeal to support Veronica Koman
https://chuffed.org/project/veronica-koman
We are West Papuans living in Australia, calling for our friends to support Veronica Koman, an Indonesian human rights lawyer. Many West Papuans admire her advocacy work on West Papua issues, including her defense of West Papuan clients charged with treason for peacefully demanding our right to self-determination.
Veronica Koman, center, with family of West Papuan pro bono clients after representing them against treason charges at the district court in Timika, West Papua, 2019)
The government of Indonesia has imposed a financial punishment upon Veronica Koman
in a new attempt
to pressure her into stopping her internationally recognised human rights advocacy work in
West Papua. After fabricating criminal charges, putting her on the national police wanted list,
seeking an interpol Red Notice, and threatening to cancel her passport, now the government is
forcing her to refund the value of a scholarship
awarded in 2016. The amount she is required to pay is IDR 773,876,918 (~AUD 72,500).
Add your voice to theirs
Amnesty International has condemned this latest sanction against Veronica Koman. Last year,
drop charges against her and to protect her rights as a human rights defender. Australians
recognised the importance of Veronica’s advocacy by awarding her the 2019 Sir Ronald Wilson
West Papuan indigenous leader Mama Yosepha Alomang (winner of the 2001 Goldman
Environmental Prize and the 1999 Yap Thiam Hien Award on human rights) said,
in support of Veronica:
"For 57 years Indonesia has taken from West Papua, consuming my body. You took my gold from the
Nemangkawi (sacred mountain mined by Freeport) to send thousands of your children to school. I never
asked you to return it. They study at the highest levels but they never defend my dignity, the people and
environment of West Papua. They also never come to me to say thank you. Now I am telling you that V
eronica is me. She is the young Yosepha. As a woman and mother of all West Papuan people I ask
everyone to unify to help Veronica. The West Papuan nation has dignity. I have put Veronica into
my 'noken', the West Papuan noken, to defend my dignity."
Veronica Koman with Mama Yosepha Alomang (center) and others at the Sami Parliament in Karasjok, Norway
We Will Return the State Scholarship!
We can’t let Veronica pay the price for her human rights advocacy in West Papua. Your donation
will be used to cover this financial punishment.
https://chuffed.org/project/veronica-koman
https://chuffed.org/project/veronica-koman
Freed from Prison, Papuan Activist Vows to Keep Fighting for Independence
Benar News Gunawan and Ronna Nirmala
Balikpapan, Indonesia, and Jakarta 2020-08-12
Papuan activist Agus Kossay (left) is joined by his sister and lawyer in front of the Balikpapan Detention Center, in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, following his release on his treason conviction over 2019 anti-Jakarta protests in Papua, Aug. 12, 2020. Gunawan/BenarNews
The last of seven Papuan activists was released from a detention center in Indonesian Borneo on Wednesday after serving a sentence on charges of treason for taking part in anti-Jakarta protests last year. Agus Kossay said jail was like “a free hotel” that would not discourage him from carrying on with the separatist campaign for the Papua region. “I will continue to fight for the freedom of all Papuan people,” Agus told BenarNews in front of the Balikpapan Detention Center in East Kalimantan after being released on Wednesday.
In June, the Balikpapan District Court sentenced Agus and six other pro-independence activists and students to 10 to 11 months in prison for treason linked to organizing and taking part in anti-Jakarta protests in Papua last year. All seven were credited for the nine months they had already spent behind bars.
The defendants were “proven to have committed treason with others,” the judges ruled in their verdicts. The four students – Ferry Kombo, Hengki Hilapok, Irwanus Uropmabin and Alexander Gobai – were sentenced to 10 months and released in early July. Co-defendants Stevanus Itlay and Buchtar Tabuni, who also were sentenced to 11 months, were released last week. Agus said he and other activists were willing to risk imprisonment in their efforts for Papuan independence. “For me, prison is like a free hotel. It will not discourage our fight,” said Agus, the chairman of the pro-independence West Papua National Committee (KNPB). He said the Papua region, located at the far eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago, had abundant wealth in natural resources to allow people to determine their own future. “We have gold, forests, others. We will able to stand alone,” he said.
2019 protests
More than 40 people were killed in August and September 2019 after anti-government protests turned violent in Papua and West Papua provinces, which make up the Indonesian half of New Guinea Island. The unrest was sparked by perceived heavy-handed and racist treatment of Papuan students by security personnel on Java Island. It prompted the government to send as many as 3,000 police and military troops to the Papua region, according to rights activists, and to block the internet for three weeks. Officials said at the time that the blackout was intended to curb the spread of misinformation after protesters torched government buildings during the anti-government demonstrations. The central government in Jakarta blamed the separatist United Liberation Movement of West Papua and the West Papua National Committee – Agus’s group – for the uprising, during which thousands of people joined protests calling for a vote on self-determination for the mainly Melanesian Papuan region. On Wednesday, Agus urged the government to withdraw those additional officers sent to the region last year, saying there could be violence if they did not leave.
“We are not against the Indonesian government, only against the system that curbs Papuan freedom,” he said. The activist admitted that his efforts were not universally backed in Papua. “There are people in Papua who are not supportive, but it is our duty to make them understand,” he said.
The seven are not the only Papua activists to serve time behind bars.
In April, Jakarta District Court sentenced six others to prison after finding them guilty of treason for demanding a Papua referendum and waving separatist Morning Star flags in front of the presidential palace in Jakarta. The six, who had been in custody since August 2019, were freed a month later.
The Papua region was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a United Nations-administered ballot known as the Act of Free Choice. Many Papuans and rights groups said the vote was a sham because it involved only about 1,000 people.
Scholarship issue
Meanwhile, Veronica Koman, a human rights lawyer focusing on alleged abuses in Papua, asked Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to be impartial in handling her case in which, Koman alleged, she was being forced to return hundreds of millions of rupiah of government-sponsored scholarships.
Koman said she had been ordered to return money granted by the Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP), a scholarship program managed by the Finance Ministry, totaling 773.8 million Rupiah (U.S $52,400), for failing to return to Indonesia after studying abroad. “However I did return to Indonesia in September 2018 after completing a master’s of law program at the Australian National University,” said Koman, who lives in Australia.
In a statement to the media, she said that a month after returned to Indonesia, she joined the Jayapura-based Human Rights Lawyers Association for Papua.
In March 2019, she went to Switzerland to attend a U.N. event before returning to Indonesia. “I provided pro-bono legal representation in court for West Papuan activists in three separate court proceedings in Timika, West Papua from April to May 2019. I then visited Australia on a three-month visa for a graduation ceremony held in July 2019,” she said. While there, Koman said she was alerted that she had been summoned by the National Police for alleged incitement of violence over releasing information about unrest in Papua. “I hereby call on the Indonesian Ministry of Finance led by world-renowned Sri Mulyani to not join a list of government institutions that persecute human rights defenders and to acknowledge my post-study return to Indonesia,” she said.
LPDP Director Rionald Silaban confirmed the order to return the funding, but declined to say if it was related to Koman’s activities related to Papua. “Veronica is one of four scholarship recipients whom we asked for a refund,” Rionald told Tirto.id, an Indonesian news website. He said Koman should have stayed and worked in Indonesia for a minimum of five years after completing her scholarship.
Indonesian Forces Kill Papuan Rebel Commander Near Grasberg Mine
BENAR News Ronna Nirmala Jakarta 2020-08-17
Government security forces in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua province have killed a separatist commander whose group carried out deadly shootings at the Grasberg mine, police said Monday. Hengki Wanmang (alias Hendrik Wanmang) was a regional commander of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) who claimed responsibility for the March 30th killing of Graeme Thomas Wall, 57, a New Zealand national working at the Grasberg gold and copper mine operated by U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
Hengki was killed Sunday during a raid by 196 police and 92 soldiers on a separatist base in Mimika Regency, Papua police chief Paulus Waterpauw told a press conference in the provincial capital of Jayapura on Monday.
“Confirmed dead. The profile and the attributes he used match with the photo provided by another member of the separatist group we caught earlier,” the police chief said. Security forces also injured three other members of the separatist group, but could not confirm their identities because they escaped into the surrounding forest. "The team saw three KKB members being shot, but we could not confirm their identities," said Paulus, using an acronym that stands for “armed criminal group” in Indonesian. The slain man had been operating in the area for some time although he became a commander only in 2018, Paulus said.
In 2009, Hengki was involved in a series of attacks and hostage-takings around the Grasberg mining area that killed three people and injured 11, including police, the police chief said. "Hengki was the person who invited KKB members in the Central Mountains region to enter Tembagapura district and carried out attacks in the Freeport area," he said. Police confiscated homemade weapons, 381 bullets, 22 million Rupiah (US$1,484) in cash, mobile phones, and three separatist flags in Sunday's raid, he said. "We will keep hunting them down, in life or death," Paulus said.
‘We will counterattack’
A TPNPB spokesman, Sebby Sambom, said the killing of one of the group's commanders was a call to war against Indonesian authorities. He claimed that the group has 33 regional commanders, each leading 2,500 personnel.
"We will counterattack. This is war. War needs retaliatory action," Sebby told BenarNews via text message onMonday. "TPNPB will not back down and will not surrender even if one of our leaders was shot dead by the enemy forces," he added.
"We also have non-permanent members, they are the Papuan people. So we believe that one day, when TPNPB-OPM announces war, all fighters and the people will definitely join in,” said Sebby.
The provinces of Papua and West Papua make up one-fifth of Indonesia’s landmass but 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.
According to the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), a Jakarta think-tank, Paniai Regency is the main stronghold of Papuan separatist groups, followed by Puncak Jaya and Mimika regencies.
A low-level separatist conflict has simmered since the 1960s in Papua and West Papua, a region at the far eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago that declared independence from Dutch colonial rule on Dec. 1, 1961.
In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded the region and annexed it. Six years later, the region held a referendum in which security forces selected slightly more than 1,000 people to agree to Papua’s formal absorption into the nation, according to human rights advocacy groups. Papua was rocked by weeks of violence in August and September last year after news about allegations that security forces on Java Island had mistreated Papuan students ignited mass protests. The unrest left more than 40 people dead.
Militants in Indonesia’s restive Papua region increase online presence
New Delhi TimesBy NDT BureauAugust 17, 2020
The TPNPB’s online presence spans various platforms to reach diverse audiences
Papua, Indonesia’s eastern-most province, has been in a grip of a civil unrest. The Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka or OPM) is an umbrella term for the independence movement established during 1965 in the West Papua territory which is currently being administrated by Indonesia as the provinces of Papua and West Papua, also formerly known as Papua, Irian Jaya and West Irian. The rebel West Papua Liberation Army Tentara Pembebasan Nasional Papua Barat (TPNB) is the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM).
The TPNB has now increased its online presence. On July 5, an account in the name of an armed Papua separatist group-Tentara Pembebasan Nasional Papua Barat (TPNPB), or West Papua National Liberation Army – emerged on Twitter. The account referred to itself as ‘TPNPB News’ and immediately began posting video footage and images of the group’s Komando Daerah Pertanahan (KODAP, or regional defence commands), located in the Paniai, Nduga, and Bintang Mountains regencies of Papua province. As of July 20, its audience remained small, having attracted only 57 followers, before being suspended by Twitter on a later unspecified date.
On Facebook, a page called ‘The TPNPB News’ has 19,770 followers as of August 13, 2020. This page describes its mission as that of “informing current affairs and alert world attention of the West Papua’s freedom and self-determination.” The TPNPB News Facebook account refers to itself as the group’s “official news agency”. A check on the account using Facebook’s page transparency feature – intended to help Facebook users better understand the purpose of a page – shows that it is run from Australia. The page carries statements from the local TPNPB units as well as from the group’s leadership. A post published on the page on July 3, carried a statement from Tabuni, described as the TPNPB’s “Supreme Commander”. In the post, Tabuni claimed that he presided over 33 KODAPs, all of which he had ordered to “take up arms against Indonesia”. The post identified an individual named Lekagak Telenggen as the group’s “Commander of general operations”. The page last posted on August 11, 2020. As per the post, the TPNPB obtained a secret document belonging to the Indonesian Government which called for open military operations in Central Mountains of Papua and pitting Papuans against Papuans.
On You Tube, the militant group runs a channel under the name “Central Secretariat of TPNPB-OPM”, which has more than 10000 subscribers. The You Tube channel has the following description, “The long journey of the West Papua National Liberation Army which was formed two years after the proclamation of July 1, 1971, namely on March 26, 1973, was born an embryo that emerged with a nationalist/patriotic spirit of a struggle for liberation of the beloved West Papua Land and Nation.” The TPNPB’s online presence spans various platforms to reach diverse audiences. The group’s outlets on social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram, predominantly feature Indonesian-language content. This indicates that they are being used by the TPNPB to build support inside Indonesia for the armed separatist movement.
Pressure on Indonesian students speaking out on Papua
August 2020
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Indonesian students becoming engaged in the West Papuan human rights struggle are under pressure from authorities. Human rights advocates have called for the reinstatement of four Indonesian university students expelled for protesting against human rights abuses in Papua, including one young man charged and facing a lengthy prison term for his actions.
A demonstration for West Papuan self-determination by people from other parts of Indonesia in Yogayakarta. Photo: FRI WEST PAPUA
The four students were kicked out of Khairun University, a public institution on Ternate Island in North Maluku province, for participating in the protest last December. The protest involved about 50 students who called for Indonesia's government to release Papuan political prisoners and grant Papuans self-determination. Video footage showed the protesters were forcefully dispersed by police, with some officers roughing up students before a number of arrests were made. Within days the rector of Khairun University received a notification letter from police and then used this as a reference to sign a decree to dismiss the four students, saying they had breached the ethics of being a student, and threatened national security. Then the university's deputy rector for Student Affairs & Alumni Affairs, Syawal Abdulajit, issued a further statement saying the students had committed acts of 'treason' by siding with armed Papuan "separatists.
Human Rights Watch flagged concern about the move, saying the university should support academic freedom and free expression, not expel students peacefully expressing their view.
A civil lawsuit brought by the students, challenging their dismissal, is underway in the Ambon state administrative court.
But matters become more serious when one of the four students, Arbi Nur, was last month charged with "treason" and "public provocation", for which he faces a maximum of 26 years in prison.
A spokesman for the Indonesian People's Front for West Papua, or FRI-WP, to which Arbi Nur belonged, said that when the students filed the lawsuit, a second police letter of notification was issued saying an investigation into Nur was ongoing. "The notification letter from the head of the Ternate police can't be used as a lawful reference to expel Arbi and other students," said FRI-WP's Nanang Kosim. Human Rights Watch's Andreas Harsono said authorities should drop the charges against Arbi Nur, as they violated his right to freedom of expression. He also urged the Indonesian government to investigate the matter, as well as the alleged excessive use of force by police against students.
Two Indonesians protest the expulsion of four students from Khairun University for their role in a Papua human rights protest. The protest is outside the Ambon state administrative court where the students are challenging the expulsion. Photo: Mahasiswa Unkhair Ternate
Established four years ago, FRI-WP is mainly made up of university students and activists, and has a growing presence in the country. According to Nanang Kosim, with the Black Lives Matter movement being applied within the local context, more Indonesians were now paying attention to racism against West Papuans.
But when it came to their public actions, FRI-WP and others who spoke up, often have problems from police or military, he explained. "Beating or yelling at us 'traitor to the nation'; stalk or terrorise us, use propaganda, or as recently happened, some of us were accused of treason and expelled from campus," Kosim said.
"In blocking our activities security forces often use other parties. For example when they forcibly dispersing our discussion or demonstration, police or army usually use reactionary civil society organisations or some organisation that they built to attack us. "They did it so it would look like horizontal conflict, so they can run from human rights violations." Equally disturbing is the picture emerging of a collaboration between university management and police to pressure students involved in activities related to the human rights problem in West Papua.
Papuan students burn a coffin in front of the Home Affairs Ministry Office expressing their rejection to Special Autonomy Policy Phase II in Papua
Jubi Admin1 August 16, 2020
The Action Committee against the Special Autonomy Policy Phase II held a protest and burned a coffin read the Special Autonomy in front of the Ministry of Home Affairs Office in Jakarta, Monday (10/8/2020). – Supplied
Jayapura, Jubi – The Action Committee against the Special Autonomy Policy Phase II held a protest in front of the Indonesian Ministry of Home Affairs Office on Monday, 10 August 2020. Protesters carried banners of ‘Tolak Otsus (decline special autonomy)’, ‘Referendum Yes’ and a coffin read ‘RIP Otsus’. It reflected their voice of rejection against the central government’s policy regarding the extent of the implementation of Otsus policy in Papua. In their press release, the committee stated that Papuans had struggled for their rights for self-determination peacefully. However, this aspiration continued to be silenced by the central government. The protest coordinator Eto Rumpeday said that Papuan people’s aspiration for self-determination had been deployed by 100 Papuan envoys to former President BJ Habibie on 26 February 1999. Through this meeting, Papuan representatives revealed that the root of problems in Papua was its political status, and people’s desire that Papua become an independent and sovereign state.
However, people’s desire failed to materialise because of some Papuan political elites who ‘played double-faced’ and served the political elites in Jakarta. They finally made a political compromise by agreeing on the implementation of Law No. 21/2001 regarding the Special Autonomy for Papua (known as UU Otsus Papua). UU Otsus Papua aims to accommodate specificities of the policy implementation, including the establishment of Papua representative office of the National Human Rights Commission (KOMNAS HAM) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR), history clarification or correction, and the Special Autonomy Fund. However, up to 19 years, the Human Rights Court and KKR have not yet been established by the Central Government. Also, the government neglected the mandate to clarify or correct the history of Papuan integration.
On the other hand, the Otsus Fund disbursement is equivalent to 2 per cent of the ceiling of the General Allocated Budget as regulated in Article 34 paragraph (3e) of Law No.21/2001. According to this law, the subsidy for autonomy will terminate in 2021. It then raised a discourse to evaluate and revise this policy from many parties, including the Minister of Home Affairs Tirto Karnavian.
In the protest in front of the Home Affairs Ministry Office, the Student Alliance against the Special Autonomy Phase II declared six demands, namely (1) to reject the government’s intention to extend the Special Autonomy policy; (2) to decline any forms of political agreement that does not involve Papuan people; (3) to urge the government for opening access for foreign journalists to come and cover story in Papua; (4) to ask the government to stop the establishment of new military regional commands in Papua and withdraw soldiers and police officers in those proposed military regional commands; (5) to ask the Indonesian government to release all Papuan political prisoners and (6) to give Papuans the rights for self-determination as a democratic solution for problems and conflicts in Papua. They also burned a coffin that read ‘RIP Otsus’ as a symbol of their demands.
In the meantime, Andi Bataralifu, a representative from the Directorate General of Regional Autonomy of the Ministry of Home Affairs, finally came out to see the protesters. Batarlifu said he would forward the demand of the Action Committee against the Special Autonomy Phase II to the authority. (*)
Reporter: Jubi Editor: Pipit Maizier
DAP organises a petition against Autonomy Policy Phase II on the commemoration of the International Indigenous Peoples Day
Jubi Admin1 August 16, 2020
Wamena, Jubi – Papua Customary Council (DAP) commemorated the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples of 9 August 2020 by organising public prayer at Karma football square of DAP Hubula Office located in Wesaput Sub-district on Monday (10/8/2020). The council also organised a petition to decline the extension of autonomy policy. The Chairman of Papua Customary Council elected through the extraordinary consensus, Dominikus Sorabut, stated two points marked in this commemoration day, namely the Covid-19 pandemic and human rights violations in Papua. “This momentum combines two points of concern. They are mainly food security of indigenous peoples that are being threatened amid the Covid-19 pandemic and severe human rights violations against indigenous Papuans,” he said.
According to him, regarding their rejection over the Special Autonomy, DAP and the indigenous community would not organise demonstrations, but create a petition and distribute it to all customary territories. This petition is a form of public consultation for the government to assess what people need, which is the evaluation of Special Autonomy policy.
“It has never been evaluated yet but forced to amend for an extension. As such, we cannot categorise it as Special Autonomy since the Special Autonomy should belong to the indigenous peoples. Therefore, this petition will be compiled by a working committee. If the targeted signatures from seven customary areas have been collected, the working committee would decide the next step,” he said.
Regarding the world’s indigenous peoples, Article 1 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of International Indigenous Peoples acknowledges that indigenous peoples have rights to collectively or individually pursue all human rights and fundamental freedoms recognised in the UN Charter, the Charter of Human Rights and the Charter of International Human Rights Law.
“The awareness of Papuan indigenous peoples begin in the implementation of the protection of their basic rights over natural resources and their identity as part of the world’s indigenous peoples.” The statement was declared by the Head of Manokwari Legal Aid Research and Development Institute (LP3BH), Yan Warinussy, in a release received by Jubi on Monday (9/8/2020) in Jayapura. (*)
Reporter: Islami Adisubrata Editor: Pipit Maizier
Amnesty International considers military in Tambrauw had violated Convention Against Torture
Jubi Admin1 August 9, 2020
Manokwari, Jubi – Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia Usman Hamid was concerned about violence occurring to four Kosyefo residents by Indonesian soldiers in Kwoor Sub-district, Tambrauw Regency. He thought this act of violence had violated the Convention Against Torture.
“We regret that violence against civilians by the military in Papua is still happening. This kind of action would not only cause physical injuries to victims but is also inhumane and degrades their dignity as human beings. Such acts of violence had violated the Convention Against Torture. It should not be accepted if the state apparatus whose tasks are to protect citizens and abide by law conducted such repressive violence towards civilians. This case reveals the unprofessionalism of military officers,” Hamid as cited in the official release on Tuesday, (4/8/2020).
In this year, according to Hamid, there are many cases of torture and extrajudicial killing against civilians in Papua that involved military and police officers. Recently the extrajudicial killing involving police officers took place in Nduga and Asiki, while a police officer allegedly killed a banana farmer Marius Bertera.
Regarding these series of violent acts, Hamid said the State should be responsible for the human rights violations that continue to happen in Papua and Papua Barat provinces. Therefore, the Amnesty International urges the Indonesian Government to conduct an independent and transparent investigation in which the alleged perpetrators should commit punishment because apologies and internal sanctions are not enough.
“We urge the State to ensure there is no longer impunity against the law. We suspect that there is a direct relation between law impunity and any failure and delay of authorities in investigating the human rights violations in Papua and Papua Barat provinces. The law impunity is a serious threat to human rights,” Hamid said in the release received by Jubi.
In the meantime, Tambrauw Regent Gabriel Asem has not given any responses to confirm the violence acts by the military until this article was published.
Earlier, a video showing four men in military uniform committed verbal violence against six indigenous Papuans. In the 3 minutes 37-second video uploaded on YouTube TV West Papua on 2 August 2020, those soldiers were shouting to those six locals, which three of them were not wearing clothes, while the incident identified to occur in Kwoor Sub-District, Tambrauw Regency, Papua Barat.
The local sources of the Amnesty International from the Legal Aid Research and Development (LP3BH) Manokwari and the Coalition for Law and Human Rights Enforcement Papua have reported that the incident in the video occurred on 28 July 2020.
At that moment, soldiers from the Army Strategic Command (Kostrad) Kwoor base came to the location where the meeting to settle the dispute among Kosyefo residents took place at 1 pm local time. The soldiers forced the four men—Neles Yenjau (35 yo), Karlos Yeror (35 yo), Harun Yewen (30 yo) and Piter Yengres (27 yo)—to take off their clothes. According to LP3BH, the soldiers then shouted on those young men and kicked their chest and stomach three times before leaving the scene. The Coalition for Law and Human Rights Enforcement Papua reported that three of four men have recovered and returned to their home in rural Kosyefo while another one is still under treatment by his family.
However, a local media reported that the Spokesperson of Regional Military Command Kasuari denied the violent acts by its members. He clarified that the incident captured in the video was a military method to discipline local young men based on the request by the local community. They often committed vandalism and threatened people when they were drunk.
The violent act, continued Hamid, is a form of torture prohibited in the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). The convention has been ratified by Law No.5/1998 which firmly declares that each State Participant must take legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction. Therefore, such violent acts by the military can be categorised to violate this article. The human rights perpetrators must take before the criminal justice system instead of the internal discipline handling system. Although the disciplinary sanction could occur upon the ongoing legal process, it could not replace the trial on the court.
The UN Committee of Human Rights as the authoritative interpreter of the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) declares that the State must conduct a thorough and effective investigation on alleged human rights violations immediately. It should establish independent and impartial institutions for investigation and must guarantee the appliance of trials against those who are responsible and to provide the right of reparations for the victims.
“In the national law framework, the rights to not being torture has also been guaranteed in the Constitution, namely in Article 281 and Article 4 of the Law No.39 of 1999 on Human Rights. The law states that every person should be free of any acts of violence and tortures. These rights are absolute and cannot be reduced under any circumstances,” said Hamid. (*) Reporter: Hans Kapisa Editor: Pipit Maizier
VWPAUC to focus on alleged human right abuse
By Len Garae August 6th
Chairman of Vanuatu West Papua Association and Unification Committee (VWPAUC), Pastor Alan Nafuki, has welcomed Prime Minister Bob Loughman’s confirmation that his Government supports 100% his Committee’s stand against alleged Human Rights abuse by the military of Indonesia against the people of West Papua, and the importance to recognise the future of the Melanesians.
In his keynote address on the country’s 40th, the Prime Minister assured the country and the world of his Government’s commitment against the suffering of the people of West Papua.
The Chairman says he is confident that his Committee is going to make progress in leaps and bounds under the current Government because it is exactly forty years since Vanuatu first pledged its support for the people of West Papua.
“The Prime Minister and I go to the same church every Sunday and I am confident that a praying Head of Government at this time is essential, and coincides with our biblical doctrine that we have arrived at the door after forty years in the wilderness for greater achievements for Vanuatu, VWPAUC, and West Papua as a Melanesian country”, he says. While he confirms the Prime Minister’s denial that Jakarta has invited Vanuatu nor his Committee to visit Jayapura for talks, the Chairman has not ruled out any such possibility for such dialogue. “If someone is regarded as an enemy, a way has to be found for the two to talk to each other to find a way out. In the same way, we have to be ready to dialogue with Jakarta”, he says. “The Prime Minister assured my Committee that he has not received any invitation from Jakarta but that his Government received a communication from a Jakarta Office in New Zealand in which West Papua was mentioned but that there was no invitation directly from Jakarta”.
The Chairman was approached by an individual who claimed that the Chairman’s name was also on the list of persons allegedly invited by Jakarta to visit Indonesia. “Following the allegation, I wish to reiterate that my committee can only work with the Government but not with any innuendo(s) regarding our work on West Papua”, he stresses. He says so much has been delayed due to COVID-19 but that as soon as the current travel restrictions are lifted, he wishes to assure the people of Vanuatu and the Pacific and the world that his Committee will definitely be “moving with the current wherever it is heading”.
Indigenous priests call for a referendum for Papua
Jubi Published 27 July 2020 By Admin1
Indigenous priests from five Catholic Dioceses across the Papua regions in the press conference held at the Kondius Pastoral Residence, Abepura on Tuesday (21/7/2020). -Jubi/Hengky Yeimo
Jayapura, Jubi – Fifty-seven indigenous priests under the coordination of the Rev. Jhon Alberto Bunay asked the Government of Indonesia to conduct a referendum in West Papua. They said the government should not be afraid to do that because it would bring benefits to Indonesia. “The Government of Indonesia can take a position and make the best decision to Papua, which their people are still Indonesian citizens and by law, the territory is under the Indonesian authorities,” said Bunay in reading their statement at the Kondius Pastoral Residence in Abepura on Tuesday (21/7/2020).
Furthermore, Bunay said the Government of Indonesia should make a spectacular and prestigious political decision to allow a referendum held in Papua and accept its outcome. “We thought the referendum for West Papua would entirely help the arrangement of Papua after the great political decision,” he said.
Therefore, on behalf of the group members, Bunay asked the Government of Indonesia to not further take natural resources in Papua into account regarding the referendum.
“If the majority of Papuans choose for the independence of Papua, Indonesia should accept it. Nevertheless, Indonesia should stand with Papua to bring Papua as a leader of Melanesia to achieve the golden era of the Pacific. There would be no more tears and blood pouring on the land of Papua like it had when they were with Indonesia,” he said.
Moreover, Bunay said that after independence, Papua would maintain its friendship and partnership with Indonesia. Both nations will work together and turn to be a new power in the global community.
“Both Indonesia and Papua should have a mutual understanding and respect the humanitarian values on the land of Papua. Therefore, there would be no more oppression or massacre occurring in the future,” he said.
In this sense, Bunay said the Indonesian government and citizens must recognise and respect indigenous Papuans’ dignity as the landowners.
“Therefore, Papuans should lead their own land. Give a free choice on the hand of Papuans, and over their relationship with Indonesia,” he said.
Earlier, the founder and member of Papuan Church Council, the Rev Dr Socrates S Yoman stated his rejection of the Special Autonomy policy and asked for a referendum.
“As an indigenous, I thought the Special Autonomy Policy in Papua failed. As a church representative, I believe that people trusted me to declare that the Special Autonomy policy was a failure. As a member of the Papuan Church Council, I conclude that the Special Autonomy policy is dead. Please conduct a dialogue with the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP),” he said.
Yoman further said that Papuan people knew that the Government of Indonesia once negotiated with the leaders of the Freedom Aceh Movement (GAM). If the Indonesian Government does not discriminate against Papuans, they should also want to sit with the ULMWP as the representative of Papuans.
“If the negotiation has never been done, it means the Indonesian Government has been discriminative against Papuans. They could negotiate with GAM in Helsinki to solve the conflict with Aceh. It should be applied for Papua as well,” said Yoman.
Moreover, Yoman said the Papuan Church Council thought the Indonesian Government is worried to have a dialogue with the ULMWP. He said the Indonesian Government should be more open minded to meet the ULMWP. They should be open to asking the third party to mediate their negotiation.
“If Indonesia is a democratic state, they have to show their courage. They should treat Papua as equal as their treat to Aceh, which allows the GAM flag to raise, the establishment of the local party. Do not think that Papuans have a lower position, so they refuse to negotiate. We, the churches in Papua, suggest that negotiation with the ULMWP is a must” said Yoman. (*) Reporter: Hengky Yeimo Editor: Pipit Maizier
Indigenous community employed by the palm oil plantation company PT BIA as manual workers Jubi Admin1 August 16
Merauke, Jubi – Oktovianus Mahuze Milafo, a customary landowner whose land is used by PT BIA for oil palm plantation (https://www.ptbia.co.id/), talked about his dissatisfaction after finding out that two customary landowners hired by the company located at Ulilin Sub-district, Merauke Regency, Papua, as manual workers only. “We, Mahuze Milafi clan, own 3,000 hectares of the land under the management of PT BIA. In the meantime, 900 hectares of the total land used for oil palm plantation,” said Oktavinus Mahuze to Jubi in an interview held in Kindiki Village of Ulilin Sub-district, Merauke Regency, earlier this week.
Regarding employment, he said the indigenous community as the customary landowners mostly employed as land cleaners, palm oil harvesters, and chainsaw operators, and only two customary landowners recruited to work in PT BIA Office.
It contradicts with their expectation as the customary landowners to work in the office. “That is right if some indigenous people from Kindiki Village whose land is used for palm oil plantation by PT BIA work in the palm oil plantation. We thought the company should recruit them to work at the office,” he said.
In the meantime, PT BIA Public Relations Officer Erwan told Jubi on Friday (7/8/2020) that he must confirm this complaint to the Human Resources Department first to clarify the issue. We also have data on the indigenous peoples working in the PT BIA office. Where did the data saying only two people hired in the office come from?” Erwan asked Jubi in an unfriendly tone.
The corporation should provide short and long-term community programs
Given that PT BIA has long been operating in Muting Sub-district, Merauke Regency, a religious leader is concerned about how the corporation does not accommodate the local community to get a better position in the corporation. It only focuses on business. “The corporation should consider to provide both short and long-term programs to offer to the customary landowners,” said Pastor Anselmus Amo, the Director of the Secretariat of Justice and Peace (SKP) of Merauke Archdiocese (KAME), on Saturday (8/8/2020). According to him, PT BIA should provide training, courses and other empowerment programs to the community as part of their short-term program, while providing scholarship for children and youth to access various levels of education can be their long-term program. Therefore, it would accommodate them to access employment in the office after finishing their studies. “If PT BIA has no such policy like this, the customary landowners would continue to become manual workers in the palm oil plantation. As a result, the complaint and demonstration would continue to emerge because they cannot be hired to work in the office,” added Pastor Amo. PT BIA’s unresponsive attitude towards the customary landowners is ironic because it has been operating in the village for a long time. It means the corporation only wants to do a shortcut by bringing workers from outside rather than invest in education for the children of the customary landowners. “If it has not put this matter as a priority, it is a failure of the corporation because they have not provided proper investment on education for the customary landowners,” said Pastor Amo. (*) Reporter: Ans K Editor: Pipit Maizier
Indonesian workers block access to giant gold mine over family visits
Jakarta Post News Desk
Agence France-Presse
Timika, Indonesia Mon, August 24,
A heavy vehicle passes gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia’s (PTFI) mining areas in Grasberg, Tembagapura, Mimika, Papua in this undated file photo. (thejakartapost.com/Nethy Dharma Somba)
More than 1,000 Indonesian workers blocked access to the world's biggest gold mine on Monday in protest at a company move to shut down visits to their families over virus concerns. The miners demonstrated at the main entrance to the Grasberg complex -- also a major copper mine -- in Indonesia's easternmost Papua region, as the workers and US-based operator Freeport held talks.
The protest, which started early Monday morning, came in response to a company decision to cancel bus services to the city of Timika in response to fears about the spread of coronavirus infections.
"They're staging a peaceful protest and so far everything is under control. Nobody is acting violently," Tembagapura police chief Eduard Edison told AFP
Workers and management "haven't yet agreed on things and they are still negotiating", he added. Freeport spokesman Riza Pratama said the company was "studying" the workers' demands. "We'll give them an answer as soon as possible, taking into account health and safety protocols," he added. In May, Freeport said it was reducing its staff at the mine, which employed about 25,000 people, after virus infections rose in the area.
Opinion pieces/reports/media releases etc.
What we talk about when we talk about Papua
What we talk about when we talk about Papua
Author. Usman Hamid is executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia.
Why I stand for my tribe’s forest: It gives us food, culture, and life (commentary)
For the occasion of International Indigenous Peoples Day August 9, 2020, Arkilaus Kladit, a member of the Knasaimos-Tehit people in South Sorong Regency in West Papua Province, Indonesia, writes about the importance of his tribe’s customary forests.
Photos: In southern Papua, navigating an alien world built on palm oil
BY ALBERTUS VEMBRIANTO ON 22 JULY 2020
Mongabay Series: Indonesian Forests, Indonesian Palm Oil
Papuan tribes fear sacrifice of sago forests that stave off hunger
West Papua Project and International Academics for West Papua Presents Online Webinar
West Papua scores lowest democracy index, free expression declines
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk
Indonesia’s West Papua province has again been recorded as having the worst democracy index in the republic, reports CNN Indonesia.
RSF calls on Facebook to restore censored Papua press freedom article
By Pacific Media Watch - August 12, 2020
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