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https://suarapapua.com/2020/11/08/two-catechists-shot-kadepa-bishops-in-papua-do-not-be-silent/
1) Two Catechists Shot, Kadepa: Bishops in Papua Do Not be Silent!
Rufinus Tigau wearing a Catechist robe while carrying a Bible during a Eucharistic celebration at the Parish Church of St. Michael Bilogai, Dekenat Moni-Puncak, Diocese of Timika. (Special - SP)
ENAGOTADI, SUARAPAPUA.com – The leadership of the Catholic Church in Tanah Papua should not ignore the shooting case of two catechists from Bilogai Parish, Dekenat Moni-Puncak, Timika Diocese.
“I ask the Timika Diocese to convey its attitude. The shooting case of the two catechists must be raised by all bishops in the Land of Papua, and at the same time serve as a serious spotlight from the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference (KWI), “said Laurenzus Kadepa, Member of Commission 1 DPR Papua, Wednesday (4/11/2020).
The two Catholic catechists or preachers are Rufinus Tigau and Agustinus Duwitau.
Rufinus Tigau, a catechist at the Stasi Jalae Catholic Church, Bilogai Parish, was killed by a bullet belonging to the Indonesian security forces, last Monday (26/10/2020).
Previously, Agustinus Duwitau, a catechist at Stasi Emondi Catholic Church, Bilogai Parish, was shot when he returned home after attending a meeting of the Catechists at the Parish Church of St. Michael Bilogai.
The catechist Agustinus Duwitau who was appointed after Rufinus Tigau’s inauguration at Jalae Station was shot by security forces on October 7, 2020. On his way to Emondi village, he was hit by gunfire and is still undergoing medical treatment.
Kadepa is even worried that if this is allowed, a similar case could happen in the future.
“I am very worried about the new targets for God’s servants and medics in Tanah Papua. The Roman Catholic Church needs to look at the problems of God’s people in Papua. For this reason, it is time for bishops in Papua to speak out at the KWI level, if necessary it is up to the Pope. ”
The leadership of the Papuan Catholic Church is necessary, said Kadepa, because this concerns the safety of the lives of God’s people, especially the shooting victims of church officials.
“In Intan Jaya, two reporters were shot, this is humanity, justice and peace must be voiced and there must be an attitude,” said Kadepa.
He said that Catholic catechists or preachers are people who always fall up and down with the issue of the faith of the people, especially in Papua, their role is very large.
“When the Pastor was not there, the catechists were still carrying out their ministry duties among God’s people. Their work is truly extraordinary. They are the backbone of maintaining the Church with the people in joy and sorrow, ”he said.
When the catechist was shot to death, the Pastor and the diocesan leadership in Tanah Papua were advised to speak for the humanity of God’s people.
“Don’t be silent in a thousand languages. Pastors do not be silent about this. Catechists, preachers, church staff who are also partners in building the Kingdom of God as Pastors usually convey in the celebration of mass and sermons every Sunday at church, “he said.
“For the sake of humanity, it is time for the militaristic approach to the end.”
Pastor Marthen Ekowaibi Kuayo, Pr, Diocesan Administrator for Timika Diocese, confirmed that there are a number of field data based on the testimony of several witnesses regarding the shooting of catechists Rufinus Tigau.
With the testimony of the residents of Jalae, the Diocese of Timika has compiled a report and a chronology of the shooting incident that killed one of its flagship catechists.
Apart from the two Catholic Church preachers, previously Pastor Yeremia Zanambani was shot dead by security forces. On September 19, 2020, Pastor Zanambani was found dying in his pigpen. Pastor Zanambani is a translator of the Bible into the Moni language. He is also the head of the Hitadipa Indonesian Bible Tent Church (GKII), Intan Jaya.
Reporter: Markus You
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By Laurens Ikinia in Auckland
US President-elect Joe Biden’s pledge to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement is “fresh air” news for Pacific Islands countries, say some commentators.
The US formally left the Paris pact a day after the US elections last week – a year after the Trump administration gave notice it was quitting.
However, the same day Biden promised that his incoming administration would restore US commitment to the agreement.
- READ MORE: New Biden era heralds global climate politics switch with US rejoining Paris
- More US elections reports
The UN agency that oversees the agreement expressed regret over the Trump administration action, saying: “There is no greater responsibility than protecting our planet and people from the threat of climate change.”
Biden posted a tweet saying that the US would restore membership in “exactly 77 days”.
Biden’s victory will also help make the issue of human rights violations in West Papua more prominent.
This is because Biden and the Democratic Party have greater concerns about raising human rights issues,says international relations academic Dr Teuku Rezasyah of Padjajaran University.
Human rights pressure
“As a democratic country, [the United States] often argues, it gets pressure from within the country to pay attention to human rights aspects in Papua,” said Dr Rezasyah.
Last week, a renewed call was made for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit West Papua by the UK government through the Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), Nigel Adams.
“The UK supports a visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) to Papua,” the statement said.
“Officials from the British embassy have discussed the proposed visit with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and continue to encourage the Indonesian Government to agree on dates as soon as possible.”
The former Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Heather Wheeler, attended the Pacific Island Forum in August 2019.
“It is our longstanding position that we regard Papua and West Papua provinces as being part of Indonesia and consider dialogue on territorial issues in Indonesia as a matter for the Indonesian people,”Adams said.
Pacific leaders have congratulated Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris for their success.
Ardern welcomes Biden
In Wellington, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was important for New Zealand to have tight connections with the US on big global issues – including trade, covid, and climate change – and she would pursue a strong relationship with Biden.
In Fiji, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama is reported to have become the first world leader to publicly congratulate US President-elect Joe Biden on his victory – despite there being no clear winner on Saturday morning when he did so.
RNZ Pacific reports that Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said he admired Biden’s patience as results had trickled in and his calming comments assuring people their votes would be counted.
Brown also praised Biden’s unifying speeches, describing them as “inspirational” to the American people and many internationally.
Northern Marianas Governor Ralph Torres, a Republican and staunch supporter of Trump, said his administration hoped it could work with the incoming Biden-Harris administration for the betterment of the people of the US and the islands.
Torres recognised the historic milestone of leadership for women in the US with the election of Harris.
“We look forward to working with them and their Democratic administration, just as we did with President Obama and his administration to great success,” Torres said.
Presidency for ‘all’ Americans
NMI Democratic Party chair Nola Hix said they were confident that the Biden-Harris team would be a presidency for all Americans.
American Samoa’s Congresswoman, Aumua Amata Radewagen, a Republican, expressed the need for bipartisan work across the political spectrum.
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape congratulated Biden yesterday and mentioned Harris, who would be the first woman and first Black and Asian-American person to serve as vice-president.
He thanked departing President Trump for his support, particularly for sending former Vice-President Mike Pence to APEC 2018 in Port Moresby, and for signing a $US2.3 billion deal with Australia, New Zealand and Japan to improve PNG access to electricity and the Internet.
“The US election was an event that captivated the world, including PNG, with our people glued to their TV screens and internet to get the latest updates,” Marape said.
In Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison congratulated Joe Biden and Kamila Harris, wishing them “every success” in office.
“The Australia-US Alliance is deep and enduring and built on shared values. I look forward to working with you closely as we face the world’s many challenges together,” he said.
However, The Guardian reports that Biden’s election would increase diplomatic pressure on Australia to step up its commitments on climate change.
Laurens Ikinia is a Papuan Masters in Communication Studies student at the Auckland University of Technology who has been studying journalism. He is on an internship with AUT’s Pacific Media Centre.
Three investigations point to the involvement of military personnel in the death of a Christian priest in Indonesia’s troubled Papua province in September.
Separate probes by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Humanitarian Team for Intan Jaya into the death of Pastor Yeremia Zanambani said only military men were involved and that he died from torture.
A third probe by a government team did not mention torture but said military personnel or a third party may have been involved in the clergyman’s death. Currently, a police investigation is underway based on the government team’s report.
On Wednesday, a senior Indonesian government official pledged to uphold human rights in the restive far-eastern region of Papua in light of the priest’s death. The Papuan population is predominantly Christian.
“The ministry and Komnas HAM share the same exact desire for human rights to be upheld and for problems to be resolved without violence,” Mohammad Mahfud MD, the minister for political, legal and security affairs, said in a statement.
He added that he would submit Komnas HAM’s report to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
The information gathered by the government’s fact-finding team, which it released last month, was “in principle the same” as those of Komnas HAM’s report published on Nov. 2, Mahfud MD said.
“There are similar findings on the incident of violence in Intan Jaya. There are some differences in terms of perspectives and technicalities,” Mahfud MD said without elaborating.
Zanambani, who was with the Gospel Tabernacle Church of Indonesia in Papua’s Intan Jaya regency, died in the early hours of Sept. 20.
On Monday, Komnas HAM announced that its investigation found that a soldier identified as Alpius Hasim Madi – a deputy commander of the army unit in Intan Jaya – was suspected to have shot and tortured Zanambani.
Meanwhile, a report released last week by the Humanitarian Team for Intan Jaya also named Alpius, and said he committed the act with another soldier, who remains unidentified. Victor Mambor, a correspondent for BenarNews who is based in Papua, is a member of this investigative panel.
Last month, Mahfud MD said the government team’s report indicated that “[the shooting of] Pastor Jeremiah allegedly involved security officers or another third party.”
The government investigative team questioned Alpius during its investigation in October, Col. Gusti Nyoman Suriastawa, spokesman for the Papua-based Joint Regional Defense Command III, told BenarNews.
“He [Alpius] explained the chronology of the incident. So we’ll just wait for the results of the police investigation,” Suriastawa said.
In September, international human rights watchdog Amnesty International called for “an immediate, independent, impartial” investigation into Zanambani’s death.
“This shooting may represent the state’s inability to bring accountability to Papua. For years, the Papuans’ freedom to live in peace and security has been denied when in fact the state has an obligation to protect life,” Amnesty said in a statement issued in late September.
According to the watchdog group’s Indonesian office, at least 22 people have been victims of unlawful killings in Papua in 2020.
In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded Papua, which makes up the western half of New Guinea Island, 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.
Tensions rose in Papua in December 2018 after separatist rebels allegedly killed 19 members of a crew building a highway in Nduga regency. Indonesian authorities immediately sent more than 750 soldiers and police to Papua.
Police: ‘Still collecting evidence’
Brig. Gen Awi Setiyono, the National Police spokesmen, declined to comment on the Komnas HAM report but said police were investigating the findings in the report issued by the government team.
“It’s too early to come to any conclusions,” Setiyono said in a video conference with journalists on Tuesday.
“If it was a shot, what kind of bullet was used? From what firearm? Everything will be investigated. We are still collecting evidence.”
The government team’s findings are more comprehensive, Benny Mamoto, the head of the government’s joint fact-finding team, said in a statement Monday.
“Our data come from primary and secondary sources,” Mamoto said.
The military’s Suriastawa said it was important to consider all of the government team’s findings.
“We have to appreciate the findings of the joint fact finding team, which are more complete. They said there was a possibility that the criminal armed group was also involved,” Suriastawa told BenarNews, referring to Papuan separatist rebels.
Tortured
According to the reports from both Komnas HAM and the Humanitarian Team for Intan Jaya, Zanambani was shot.
Haris Azhar, the head of the Humanitarian Team, said two soldiers shot Zanambani and also stabbed him in the neck with a military knife.
Komnas HAM said Zanambani died from blood loss some six hours after he was shot in the arm and choked.
“The victim’s death was not caused directly by injuries to his left arm, or injuries caused by other acts of violence. According to the experts, the cause of death of the victim was due to blood loss,” Komnas HAM’s Muhammad Choirul Anam told reporters Monday.
On the day of the priest’s death, Alpius and other soldiers were searching for military firearms seized by rebels from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), Komnas HAM said.
The rebels had killed two soldiers in Intan Jaya days before Zanambani’s death, and Alpius was heard saying that Zanambani was an enemy, according to the Komnas HAM report.
“Pastor Yeremia [Zanambani] was thought to have been a target of, or wanted by, the suspected perpetrator and was subjected to torture and/or other acts of violence to force information out of him about weapons that were seized by the TPNPB,” Anam said.
Police spokesman Awi said police investigators found at least 13 bullet holes, and ballistic test results were still being analyzed.
“It is premature to say that the victim died of torture,” he said.
Tia Asmara in Jakarta contributed to this report.
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