2) Racism against West Papua raised in British parliament
3) Probe points to Indonesian military role in pastor’s killing
4) LPSK ready to protect witnesses in Intan Jaya shooting case
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1) Papua Customary Council: Intan Jaya was in chaos after the deployment of Indonesian Army
News Desk October 22, 2020 5:32 pm
The atmosphere of people in Intan Jaya, at traditional market.
Nabire, Jubi – The Papuan Customary Council or DAP noted, the chaos that occurred in Intan Jaya began with the implementation of security forces. Especially Indonesian Army since the early 2020 who are using helicopters and roads from Paniai Regency.
“The Intan Jaya area was previously safe, but has been in chaos since the deployment of troops. The existing problem is not a social problem, so the Regent of Intan Jaya can solve it, ” said Secretary II of The Papuan Customary Council, John NR Gobay to Jubi via phone call, on Tuesday (20/10/2020).
According to Gobay, the indigenous people of Intan Jaya really know how to solve problems if it was social problems.
“This is not a matter of mining permits. Because this matter really depends on the people of Intan Jaya. If people reject the Mining Industry Indonesia (MIND ID) Company to enter Intan Jaya, then it won’t happen. Therefore, the Papua Governor’s recommendation is then seen as a source of trouble, “he said.
However, he emphasized that the problem was the existence of non-organic troops, which then arose and resulted in casualties on various sides.
“There must be a strategic effort by the Papuan People’s Representative Council (DPRP), People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) and People’s Representative Council of Indonesia (DPR RI), which is the withdrawal of non-organic troops from Paniai and Intan Jaya, this area must developed without the sound of weapons,” he said.
He emphasized that Papuan problems must not be resolved with violence, but must be resolved dialogues and peace without the sound of weapons.
“It is a solution for Papua,” he said.
Intan Jaya’s Catholic Pastor, P. Yance Wadogoubii Yogi, Pr asked all church congregation throughout Meepago and Papua so that the conflict in Intan Jaya would be resolved quickly.
“I ask the various components to not raising false issues in the mass media. This is worsening the situation; I hope to pray for us at Intan Jaya to recover soon from the unsafe situation that we faced there, ”he said when met by Jubi in Paniai.
He also asked the central government and the province of Papua not to add a heavy burden to the people with offering various programs, but actually solve the problem properly.
“That’s it, you can’t overdo it with any offers. We are dying to take care of all congregation, whether Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), Indonesian Army, police, as well as my people. I stood in their midst. I cannot be partial. Let us end this problem together, “he said. (*)
Editor: Syam Terrajana
Translated by: Nuevaterra
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2) Racism against West Papua raised in British parliament
Photo: Free West Papua Movement
A British parliamentarian has told lawmakers in the UK parliament about racism faced by West Papuans in Indonesia.
Alex Sobel, who is the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on West Papua, was speaking during a discussion on Black History.
Sobel said the plight of West Papuans under Indonesian rule was rarely taught in British academic institutions or schools.
He said the Black Lives Matter movement in the US resonated with West Papuans, who co-opted it under the slogan "Papuan Lives Matter"
"The campaigners shed light on Indonesia's institutional racism against West Papuans.
"For instance, in August 2019 Papuan students were attacked in Indonesia's second largest city (Surabaya) and called monkeys. The police then rounded up the students firing tear gas into their dormitory. These and many other incidents of racism will chime with many of my colleagues in the Chamber, and they reflect how many black communities in the UK were treated in the past."
However an Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman described racism against West Papuans as isolated.
Sade Bimantara recently said at least one of the perpetrators of racist abuse in the Surabaya incident had been convicted and jailed.
But Sobel told fellow MPs that Papuans who live, study and work in Indonesian regions outside of Papua often face discrimination.
"The Jakarta Post last year discussed Papuans living in Yogyakarta and said that it was not unusual for landlords to express approval of rent applications by phone only to reject them once they find out where they are from."
Bimantara underlined that such cases were isolated and in no way reflected government policy.
According to him, the government put in place a very robust and strong policy of affirmative action in Papua and nationally.
Sobel said the All-Party Parliamentary Group on West Papua would continue to raise UK parliamentary support for and pressure for West Papuan self-determination.
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3) Probe points to Indonesian military role in pastor’s killing
9:00 pm on 23 October 2020
An Indonesian government-sanctioned fact-finding team has found evidence that security forces were involved in the killing of a West Papuan pastor.
Yeremia Zanambani was shot dead last month, one of a series of killings in Papua's Intan Jaya regency.
The pastor was killed while tending to his pigs, two days after a pair of Indonesian soldiers were killed by what the team called an armed criminal group, the government's oft-used term for the West Papua Liberation Army.
The Liberation Army's guerilla fighters are engaged in ongoing conflict with Indonesia's military in Papua's rugged interior.
The team said it found indications that Indonesia's security forces were involved in the shooting of Pastor Zanambani.
However it also said there was a possibility that a third party was involved in the killing, which has sparked outrage in Papua region.
Indonesia's Co-ordinating Political, Legal and Human Rights Minister, Mahfud MD, said the government would follow up on the findings.
According to him, this would include ordering the National Police and Attorney General’s Office to solve cases such as the killing of the pastor by following the applicable criminal and state administrative laws.
The Jakarta Post reports the minister saying he would also pass on the findings to the National Police, the Indonesian Military and the State Intelligence Agency for further investigation.
Furthermore, Mahfud recommended that the government equip vulnerable communities with better security to provide safety to locals.
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4) LPSK ready to protect witnesses in Intan Jaya shooting case
Budi Sutrisno
The Jakarta Post Jakarta / Fri, October 23, 2020 / 09:41 am
The Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) has expressed its readiness to follow up on a request for witness protection following the shooting of Pastor Yeremia Zanambani in Intan Jaya, Papua, in September.
The request was submitted by the central board of the Indonesian Evangelical Christian Church (GKII) on behalf of Yeremia’s family and witnesses of the incident, LPSK deputy chairman Edwin Partogi Pasaribu said. “We have received the request, and we will follow up on it in accordance with the law,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
The agency will review witness testimonies that were submitted to a government-sanctioned joint fact-finding team, as well as those that were not submitted to the team. Seven civilian witnesses provided important information during the fact-finding team’s field investigation in Intan Jaya, according to Edwin, who is also part of the team. “It is difficult to find a safe place there, which should be noted when looking at protection for the witnesses,” he said, while asking for support from both the public and Indonesian security forces in providing safety for the witnesses.
The LPSK is also willing to protect any justice collaborators, as stipulated in the 2014 law on the protection of witnesses and victims. Read also: PGI, Komnas HAM call for further investigation into Papuan pastor’s death following report “Apart from witnesses, we are hoping to disclose this case with the help of justice collaborators,” Edwin said.
The joint fact-finding team ended a 14-day field investigation of the shooting case and gave its findings to the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister on Oct. 14. No suspects were named in the report. The team has indicated that security forces may have been involved in the shooting, although it also stated there was a possibility that a third party was behind it.
Four members of Yeremia’s family, including his wife, signed a police interrogation report, which made them witnesses in the case. The fact-finding team received permission from Yeremia’s family to have the body autopsied for the ongoing investigation. According to the Indonesian Communion of Churches, the GKII and local media in Papua, Yeremia was allegedly shot by Indonesian Army (TNI) personnel on his way to his pig pen on Sept. 19, at the same time when a military operation reportedly took place.
The TNI has denied the allegation, instead saying that Yeremia was shot by an armed group.
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