1) University students call for release of Papua activists Victor Yeimo and Frans Wasini
Suara Papua – October 12, 2021
Cenderawasih University students hand over press release demanding release of Papuan activists – October 11, 2021 (SP
Atamus Kepno, Jayapura – Cenderawasih University (Uncen) students are urging the government through the Papua police to immediately release West Papua National Committee (KNPB) international spokesperson Victor F. Yeimo and student activist Frans Wasini.
The two activists were arrested in relation to the anti-racist demonstrations and riots in 2019. Yeimo was arrested on May 9, 2021 at Tanah Hitam in Jayapura and is currently being treated at the Dok II Jayapura public hospital. Prior to this he was detained at the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) Command Headquarters in Raja City, Jayapura.
Wasini was arrested in Sentani, Jayapura, on May 20, 2021, and is currently being held at the Papua regional police headquarters in Jayapura city.
"The pro-democracy activists being detained are not perpetrators of racism, but they are the victims of this racism. But the reality is the state has arrested and criminalised them as the perpetrators who have been indicted under the makar articles", Uncen Student Executive Council (BEM) Justice and Human Rights Coordinator Ayus Hiluka told Suara Papua on Monday October 11 at the Uncen Student Community Waena III state housing company in Jayapura.
In addition to this, the Uncen Student Deliberative Council (MPM) is also urging the public prosecutor to immediately and unconditionally release Yeimo and Wasini.
The students said that in accordance with Law Number 29/1999 on the Ratification of the 1965 International Convention on the Abolition of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, seven other Papuan activists who were imprisoned on charges of makar (treason, rebellion, subversion) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, in June 2020, in a case which was seen as racist, have already served their sentences,
"So we think that this has already been resolved in accordance with the law which applies in this republic. But the racist perpetrators continue to be looked after well, they have even been given private homes and now the victims of racism are arrested and in detention. The perpetrators of racism were not arrested in accordance with the law, but what has happened now is that the victims of racism are detained", the students said.
Uncen Solidarity Concern (SPU) Chairperson Venus Kabak called on the Jayapura district court to conduct advocacy in accordance with the constitutional rights of the suspects.
"The arrest of students and also pro-democracy activists in Jayapura, who were then charged under the makar laws. So Victor and Frans should be immediately and unconditionally released", he said.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Mahasiswa Desak Segera Bebaskan Victor Yeimo dan Frans Wasini Tanpa Syarat".]
A new United Nations report has detailed the harassment and surveillance of West Papuan human rights defenders at the hands of the Indonesian state.
The report, jointly compiled by the UN Secretary-General and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), records attacks on human rights defenders in 45 countries, including Indonesia.
The report details the Indonesian government’s harsh treatment of indigenous communities, infringements of land-related rights, and targetting of West Papuans trying to draw international attention to human rights abuses.
The UN report gives particular focus to the arrest and continuing detention of Victor Yeimo, spokesperson for the West Papua National Committee (Komite Nasional Papua Barat, KNPB), for the alleged crimes of ‘treason’ and ‘incitement’. In reality, Mr Yeimo was arrested after speaking at a peaceful protest, where he condemned anti-Papuan racism and called for the right of self-determination to be extended to West Papua. The UN, along with Amnesty International, has previously raised concerns about Mr Yeimo’s arrest due to the rapid deterioration of his already fragile health while in detention.
The treatment of Mr Yeimo’s lawyer, Veronica Koman, also gains the UN’s attention. Ms Koman, a native Indonesian, has been the target of significant threats and intimidation due to her advocacy for West Papuan rights. She currently resides in exile in Australia, unable to return to her homeland.
The report also details the case of Wensislaus Fatubun, a member of the Papuan People’s Assembly, who was surveilled and eventually arrested for working with the UN and other organisations.
The UN makes it clear that human rights advocates are not the only targets of Indonesian intimidation. Victor Mambor, a journalist for the Papuan-based newspaper Tabloid Jubi, has been subjected to digital and physical attacks for his reporting on human rights abuses in West Papua.
The report gives renewed energy to the calls for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit West Papua. Over 80 international states have now called for the visit to take place, following an international campaign coordinated by the ULMWP.
The relevant sections of the UN report can be read here.
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A Keerom District resident living in the Indonesian and Papua New Guinea(PNG) border on Monday had voluntarily handed over an ammunition stash to the National Armed Forces (TNI) task force.
Citing Antaranews, the TNI task force commander, Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Erfani said the local resident handed over the weapons after cleaning up his late parents’ house which consists of 44 of 11-mm ammunition and one 9-mm bullet.
“The ammunition handover was directly handled by the task force deputy commander of Yonif 131/Brs military command maj. Infantry Achmad Muzani CH at a post located in the West Arso District,” said Erfani in a statement on October 11.
Asked in a separate location, Achmad Muzani explained that the handover was the result of a program aimed to help improve regional security, which puts forward a persuasive human approach.
“We will continue to maintain a secure and peaceful situation in Papua,” he added.
Read: Police Refer Issue of KKB Supporters in Papua New Guinea to Foreign Ministry
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