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2) LBH accuses state of perpetuating racism against Papuans after latest slur
Jakarta – Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta) Director Arif Maulana has confirmed the view that the state has played a role in perpetuating racism against Papuans.
Maulana's remark was in response to an acrimonious exchange on social media between of former National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) commissioner Natalius Pigai and the chairperson of the President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo support group the Pro Jokowi-Amin Volunteers (Projamin), Ambronicus Nababan.
It followed the posting of a photograph of Pigai juxtaposed alongside a guerrilla, who said in response that the state maintains racism as a tool to strike at groups deemed to be at odds with the government.
Maulana also gave examples of racist violations shown through government discrimination against Papuans.
"For example, if there's a protest action, an action conveying a view in public, the treatment is different for actions by Papuan students and actions by other Indonesian people", Maulana told CNN Indonesia by phone on Monday January 25.
In a number of cases, Maulana revealed that discrimination against Papuans is often found in the judicial process. Just recently, he continued, LBH Jakarta handled a case related to the murder of a construction worker in Nduga regency, Papua, which was allegedly committed by a 16-year-old Papuan youth.
In the end the case was halted because the youth, according to Maulana, was the victim of wrongful arrest. Although the case was halted, he highlighted the judicial process which he said was discriminative.
The Papuan youth was transported to Jakarta and on several occasions was not even accompanied by a lawyer.
"Now, the youth's case should have been heard in a special secession. What was interesting was the process should have been conducted in Papua, not Jakarta. So his rights as a child in court of law were totally violated", explained Maulana.
"This is a serious form of discrimination, like that, yes. It was ridden with human rights violations because the examination done was there [in Jakarta]", he reiterated.
Although LBH Jakarta does not have any statistical data on cases of racism or discrimination against Papuans, Maulana says that similar cases often happen.
The most concrete example was the incident in Surabaya in 2019 when security personnel called Papuan students monkeys.
State discrimination against Papua, according to Maulana, can also be seen by the deployment of thousands of military personnel in the land of the Cenderawasih or Bird of Paradise as Papua is known.
The troops have been deployed in Papua without any clear legal status, quite different from martial law which was declared in Aceh in early 2000.
"Before in Aceh it was martial law. Now, sending thousands of troops, police as well, without a clear legal status. That's the politics of discrimination, right", he said.
"Politics where the root of the problem is not clear, so [Papuans] are not treated the same by the state", said Maulana.
A racist slur recently targeted Papuan human rights activist Pigai through the posting of a photo capture on Facebook by Nababan. In the posting, Pigai's photograph is juxtaposed alongside a photograph of a guerilla accompanied by a comment on the Covid-19 vaccine.
"Edodoeee pace. Your vaccine is not a synovac pace, but your brother said it was rabies vaccine", wrote Nababan in a caption which was then reposted on Pigai's Twitter account @NataliusPigai2 on Sunday January 24.
[Alongside the photo, Nababan posted a picture with a caption in which the gorilla is saying to Pigai, "Our vaccine is not Sinovac but a rabies vaccine".]
In the reposting Pigai said that racism has now become a collective state crime against Papuans. According to Pigai, Papuans are struggling against racism which been occurring for more than 50 years.
In the posting he also alluded to black African-American Lloyd Austin who is now the US Secretary of Defense.
"I'm proud of you, Mr. @LloydAustin, the toughest African-American black man in the world. We have fought the collective (state) racism of Indonesia against black Melanesians Africa (Papua) for more than 50 years. Torture, murder & slow genocide. We need attention", tweeted Pigai. (thr/nma)
Notes
Nababan's posting followed remarks by Pigai – who has often been critical of the government – in which he said refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19 was his right. Pigai was responding to an earlier statement by Justice and Human Rights Deputy Minister Edward Hiariej who said people who refused the Covid-19 vaccine could be punished.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "LBH Jakarta Nilai Negara Berperan dalam Praktik Rasisme Papua".]
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3) President Wenda: State-sanctioned racism against West Papuans reveals Jakarta’s true agenda
January 26, 2021 in Statement
More leading Indonesian figures have made racial slurs against Natalius Pigai, former chair of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), and all West Papuans. Since the illegal Indonesian invasion in 1963, Indonesian elites have made clear their racist plans to destroy Melanesian West Papuans as a distinct people.
Last month retired General Hendropriyono, former head of the Indonesian intelligence agency (BIN) and special forces (Kopassus) general, stated that two million West Papuans should be separated from their Melanesian brothers and sisters in the Pacific and moved to the island of Manado in Indonesia. This is racial ethnic cleansing, a genocidal fantasy at the highest levels of the Indonesian state.
Last week one of President Jokowi’s most prominent supporters called a leading West Papuan human rights defender a monkey, the same racial slur that sparked the 2019 West Papua Uprising. Ambronicus Nababan, chair of the Pro Jokowi-Amin Volunteers (Projamin), made the racial comment about Natalius Pigai, former head of Indonesia’s leading human rights group.
These remarks stand in a long tradition. When Indonesia invaded our land, General Ali Moertopo said the Papuan people should be transferred to the moon. In 2016, General Luhut Panjaitan said the Papuans should be transferred to the Pacific. Indonesia’s rulers have always seen us as sub-human, as an obstacle to ‘development’ that needs to be ethnically cleansed and killed.
My people rose up against this racism and colonisation in 2019. Thousands of students returned from the rest of Indonesia in an exodus from racism, dozens were killed by Indonesia, and hundreds arrested. The Indonesian state punished those who spoke out with over 100 years of collective prison time. The killers and racists in the army, police and state-backed militias were allowed to go free.
These are not just statements from Indonesian officials. They are linked to the military operations that have displaced over 60,000 people since December 2018. The racist attitudes justify treating us as second-class citizens, torturing and imprisoning us for exercising our rights to free expression under international law. Indonesia’s settler colonial project in West Papua is built on racism.
This is why the ULMWP Provisional Government was formed on December 1 last year. We are no longer accepting any Indonesian law, policy or proposal. We will not bow down to Indonesian rule any more. The Provisional Government is issuing the following four points.
1. We reject all forms of Indonesian law enforced in West Papua;
2. We support the 83 countries demanding Indonesia allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights into West Papua;
3. The solution to West Papuan suffering is an independence referendum.
4. All West Papuans must unite behind the Provisional Government.
It is time to end this: no more torture, no more displacement, no more killing, no more discrimination. To all my people, those who are working in the Indonesian government, in the civil service, professionals, exiles, lawyers, those inside, in the highlands, coasts, islands and towns – we are no longer Indonesian citizens. We are forming our own Melanesian nation. Come behind the Provisional Government, and we will peacefully reclaim our country and refuse Indonesia’s illegal occupation of our territory.
Benny Wenda
Interim President
ULMWP Provisional Government
Investigators asked Nababan 25 questions during his interrogation on Monday evening before deciding to name him a suspect in the case, director of the National Police's Cybercrime Investigation Division, Brig.Gen. Slamet Uliandi, said here on Tuesday.
The National Police took over the probe into Nababan's alleged racist remark against former commissioner of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), Natalius Pigai, from the West Papua and Papua police headquarters.
As disclosed earlier by National Police spokesperson, Insp. Gen. Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono, the National Police's cybercrime investigators took over the investigation since they had analyzed it to gain a precise understanding of the crime scene (locus delicti) and Nababan's whereabouts.
Based on a cyber-based analysis, Nababan may have uploaded his racist remark on his Facebook account from Jakarta, he noted.
According to local media reports, West Papua police had received a report seeking a police probe into Nababan's alleged racist remark from chairman of the Indonesian Youth National Committee (KNPI), West Papua chapter, Sius Dowansiba, on Monday.
Meanwhile, Nababan had disclosed to CNN Indonesia the reason behind his posting photos of Natalius Pigai and a gorilla on his Facebook account.
Nababan, who is also general chairman of the Pro-Jokowi-Amin Volunteers (Projamin), was quoted by CNN Indonesia on Monday as saying that he had made the remarks in response to Pigai's statement rejecting Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine.
As a volunteer of incumbent President Joko Widodo, Nababan had voiced his discontent over Pigai's statement, according to CNN Indonesia.
In response to Nababan's remarks, Pigai wrote a post using his Twitter handle @NataliusPigai2for Lloyd Austin, a retired army general appointed by US President Joe Biden as his defense secretary.
Austin is the first African American to hold the top Pentagon post in US history.
"I am proud of you, mr@LloydAustin, black African American most powerful gentleman in the world. We have been on fire against Indonesian Collective (state) Racism to black African Melanesian (Papuan) for more than 50 years. Torture, killing & slow motion genocide. We need attention," Pigai wrote.
In August and September 2019, Papua and West Papua had come under the radar of both Indonesian and foreign media after a spate of violence engulfed several parts of the two Indonesian provinces.
On August 28, 2019, violence had erupted in Deiyai district, about 500 kilometers away from Jayapura, resulting in the deaths of an army soldier and two civilians.
The indigenous Papuan residents of Jayapura had again held protests on August 29, 2019, venting ire over alleged racist behavior against their Papuan compatriots in Surabaya, but their rally had taken a violent turn.
On September 23, 2019, a deadly riot had erupted in Wamena, the capital of Jayawijaya district, Papua province, which had claimed the lives of 33 civilians, including a senior medical doctor, who had served native Papuans for 15 years. (INE)
Related news: National police investigate case of Nababan's alleged racist remark
Related news: Papua: Batak community urges police action on Nababan 'racist' remark
EDITED BY INE
The ‘racist’ remark against Natalius Pigai that Nababan made on his social media account reflected his personal views and not those of the Batak community in Papua, head of the Harmony of Papua's Batak Community, Kenan Sipayung, said here on Tuesday.
Sipayung said the Batak community condemned what Nababan — a People's Conscience Party (Hanura) politician, who is also coincidentally general chairman of Pro-Jokowi-Amin Volunteers (Projamin) — posted on his social media account.
Ambroncius Nababan's “act of racism” has not just damaged the Batak community's good image in Papua, but may also create misunderstandings between the Bataknese and other ethnic groups in the province, he added.
Makmur Nababan, former commissioner of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and a Batak community leader in Papua, said he will report Nababan to Papua police.
"What Ambroncius Nababan did is obviously an unlawful act that has made the Bataknese people in Papua, who have coexisted peacefully and harmoniously with those from the Papuan communities, anxious," he remarked.
Meanwhile, Nababan disclosed to CNN Indonesia his reasons for posting photos of Natalius Pigai and a gorilla on his Facebook account.
Nababan was quoted by CNN Indonesia on Monday as saying that he did so in response to Pigai's statement rejecting China-based Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine.
As a volunteer for incumbent President Joko Widodo, Nababan voiced his discontent over Pigai's statement, according to CNN Indonesia.
In response to Nababan's post, Pigai wrote to Lloyd Austin, a retired army general appointed by US President Joe Biden as defense secretary, using his Twitter handle @NataliusPigai2.
Austin is the first African American to hold the top Pentagon position in US history.
"I am proud of you, mr@LloydAustin, black African American most powerful gentleman in the world. We have been on fire against Indonesian Collective (state) Racism to black African Melanesian (Papuan) for more than 50 years. Torture, killing & slow motion genocide. We need attention," Pigai wrote.
Related news: Hanura politician seeks strict action from police against racism
Related news: Police should act against racist remarks on social media: KSP
In August and September, 2019, Papua and West Papua came under the radar of both Indonesian and foreign media after a spate of violence broke out in several parts of the two Indonesian provinces.
On August 28, 2019, violence had erupted in Deiyai district, about 500 kilometers away from Jayapura, resulting in the deaths of an army soldier and two civilians.
The indigenous Papuan residents of Jayapura had again held protests on August 29, 2019, venting ire over alleged racist behavior against their Papuan compatriots in Surabaya, but their rally had later taken a violent turn.
On September 23, 2019, a deadly riot had erupted in Wamena, the capital of Jayawijaya district, Papua province, which had led to the deaths of 33 civilians, including a senior medical doctor, who had served native Papuans for 15 years. (INE)
EDITED BY INE
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