Jayapura, Jubi – The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) has asked the media that reported the terror against the parents and relatives of rights lawyer Veronica Koman to immediately make corrections, as a number of media clearly state in their reports the identity and addresses of Veronica Koman’s parents and relative.
AJI chairman Sasminto Madrim said that mentioning the identity, names, and addresses of Koman’s family members in the news would lead to further terror.
“Regarding the news that reveals the identity of Veronica Koman’s family, we want to convey that there is no news worth a life. The safety of the informants is paramount,” Madrim said during an online press conference on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.
Article 2 of the Journalistic Code of Ethics (KEJ) reads “Indonesian journalists use professional methods in carrying out journalistic duties”. Madrim said that being professional meant respecting the privacy of the source in certain cases, such as victims of terror, violence, or sexual violence.
Madrim further mentioned Article 10, which says “Indonesian journalists immediately retract, rectify, and correct false and inaccurate news accompanied by apologies to readers, listeners, or viewers”.
“Please immediately correct [the news] to prevent a detrimental impact. We also suggest journalists investigating the case talk to the victim’s attorney,” he said.
Other than calling on the media to correct their reporting mistakes, AJI also demands the police to protect victims’ personal data.
AJI condemns the terror against Veronica Koman’s parents and relatives, saying it is a threat to democracy and the struggle for human rights in Indonesia.
Recently, there were two terror attacks at the homes of Koman’s parents and relatives. The first terror occurred on Sunday at the parents’ house, where the unidentified perpetrator threw an object which caused an explosion.
On the same day, Koman’s relative got a mysterious package containing a chicken carcass. Head of Advocacy for the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute Nelson Nicodemus Simamora said the inscription on the package sent to Koman’s relative read “Whoever hides Veronica Koman will suffer the same fate as this carcass”.
According to Simamora, terror against Veronica Koman’s parents was not the first time. Previously, unknown people hung and burned a package on the fence of Koman’s parents on Oct. 24, 2021. (*)
Reporter: Arjuna Pademme
Editor: Syam Terrajana
West Papua Action Auckland
westpapuaactionauckland@gmail.com
9 November 2021
Hon Nanaia Mahuta
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
Tēnᾱ koe Nanaia Mahuta,
West Papua Action Auckland was pleased to note your comments about West Papua (Radio New Zealand New Zealand aims to work more alongside Pacific nations | RNZ News, 8 November 2021).
It is good to hear that the issue of the UN Human Rights Commissioner’s visit to West Papua is still high on the agenda of the Pacific Islands Forum. We also note your acknowledgement that there is more to be done for West Papua.
We are calling on you now to make urgent representations to the Indonesian authorities to investigate the recent violent attacks on the family of Veronica Koman and to take steps to ensure the family’s safety.
Veronica Koman, human rights defender and lawyer has lived in exile in Australia, since 2019 when she was threatened with an Interpol Red Notice and with retribution for her stand in defending West Papuan activists. Veronica reports that she regularly receives death threats.
On Sunday 7 November there was an explosion outside the Jakarta home of Veronica’s the parents
The police have not confirmed whether the explosion was caused by a bomb, but it is reported that a letter was left at the time of the explosion. The wording was very alarming - suggesting that if Veronica cannot be arrested abroad ‘ we were called to scorch-earth wherever you hide, including your protector horde’. Amnesty International has said the letter claimed to be written by militant ‘who defended the nation’.
We understand that this is not the first time that Veronica’s family has been subject to threats and intimidation, including an attempted arson attempt. In a separate incident, also on Sunday 7 November, another of Veronica’s relatives was sent a package containing a dead chicken alongside a letter that said ‘anyone who helps to hide Veronica Koman will end up like this’.
In September, the UN Secretary General expressed concern about the reports of intimidation and reprisals against individuals who have worked with the United Nations field of human rights. His report on this issue,‘ Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights’ , was presented to the 48th Session of Human Rights Council. Veronica Koman’s situation was singled out for special mention because part of the reason she has faced terrifying harassment is because she has provided important documentary evidence to the United Nations about human rights abuses in West Papua.
We look forward to your favourable response to this urgent request,
Ngᾱ mihi,
Maire Leadbeater
Catherine Delahunty
- UNESCO has renewed its call for Indonesia to close the Trans-Papua road that runs through a national park in the easternmost region of Papua, citing environmental concerns.
- The call comes after the environment minister said UNESCO’s request is not realistic and thus the road can’t be closed since it connects multiple districts in the region.
- The government also says the road construction doesn’t violate any law, but UNESCO says the concern is on the environmental impact of the road, not on whether the project is legal or not.
- Activists in the region say the road is also meant to serve extractive industries in the park, including logging and mining.
JAKARTA — UNESCO has renewed its call for the closure of a road running through Indonesia’s Lorentz National Park after the nation’s environment minister said shutting it down would be impossible.
The park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, encompasses a variety of biodiversity-rich ecosystems on the western coast of the island of New Guinea. BirdLife International has called the park “probably the single most important reserve” on the giant island.
The 190-kilometer (118-mile) road, known as the Habema-Kenyam road, is part of the Trans-Papua Highway, a series of road segments, some still under construction, spanning thousands of kilometers on the Indonesian half of New Guinea.
After UNESCO urged Indonesia to temporarily close the road for public use because of the risks it poses to the park, Indonesian environment minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said doing so would be unrealistic.
“Based on reality on the ground, it’s not possible to close the road because it’s an interdistrict road,” she told Indonesian lawmakers during a parliamentary hearing on Aug. 26 . “Everyone who wants to go to whichever district has to go through [that road].”
Separately, the ministry’s director-general for conservation, Wiratno, said infrastructure development in conservation areas was only a problem if it resulted in encroachment, which he said wouldn’t happen in Lorentz.
“There’s a lot of development around conservation areas or roads in conservation areas” in Indonesia, he said.
Responding to the ministry’s statements, UNESCO Jakarta director Mohamed Djelid reiterated the significance of the park and the threats posed by the road.
“While road construction in itself would not necessarily lead to encroachment, it nonetheless represents a threat to the park because roads bring with them other associated developments, including settlements,” he said in an email.
“These may lead to the eventual loss of rainforest and negatively impact the integrity and connectivity of the property and its wider ecosystem.”
Veronika Kusumaryati, a Georgetown University anthropologist who works in Papua province, said the road’s importance as a transportation artery has been overhyped.
“Nearly all districts in Papua’s central ranges are connected by a network of airports built by Christian missionaries,” she told Mongabay. “The Hameba-Kenyam road only connects the districts of Jayawijaya and Nduga, out of 14 districts in the central ranges.”
Some local Indigenous communities are adamantly opposed to the road project, she added.
The ministry has reiterated that the construction of the road violates no rules.
But according to Djelid, UNESCO’s concern is not about whether the project breaks any national regulations.
“As a State Party to the 1972 World Heritage Convention, the Government of Indonesia has made a commitment to take appropriate measures to protect its cultural and natural heritage,” Djelid said, while acknowledging that any decision over the road was solely up to the Indonesian government.
As a World Heritage Site, the park can obtain funds from UNESCO’s World Heritage Fund to facilitate its conservation.
Siti said the government could minimize the road’s environment impact while keeping it open.
“What’s most important is the environmental planning and that’s already prepared by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, and which received assistance from experts at UNESCO Jakarta,” she said. “So actually our environmental commitment remains strong. So nothing is violated.”
Djelid said UNESCO Jakarta had not been involved in the environmental impact assessment process for the road.
“Indeed, an Environmental Impact Assessment for the Habema-Kenyam road was considered by World Heritage Committee during its 2017 session,” he said. “However, UNESCO Jakarta has so far not had the opportunity to provide assistance towards such a document. If requested by the Ministry, UNESCO will be pleased to assist.”
UNESCO previously said it was in the dark about what mitigation measures were planned to be implemented, despite having requested that information from the Indonesian government.
Veronika said there were indications the government was building the road to facilitate the extraction of natural resources from within the park.
“The government, especially the environment ministry, should be honest by saying that besides road development, there’s also a project to exploit natural resources massively, which is facilitated by the Trans-Papua road in Lorentz National Park,” she said.
According to environmental NGO Auriga, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has issued permits to nine mining companies to prospect across 156,189 hectares (385,951 acres) inside the park.
There are also indications that the road has facilitated logging activity, with trucks carrying merbau logs, a prized tropical hardwood, seen to be coming out of Lorentz.
“So the ecological problems raised by UNESCO aren’t only related to the road as infrastructure, but also deeply connected to land acquisition projects and the exploitation of natural resources that’s done by the administration of President Joko Widodo in the land of Papua,” Veronika said.
Therefore, it’s important to comprehensively see UNESCO’s warning not only as concerns over infrastructure development, but also the subsequent development and natural resource exploitation that the road will usher in, she said.
“In other words, the Indonesian government has to be honest by admitting who the road project is for and why all environmental standards, including the one related to World Heritage Site, are ignored,” Veronika said.
Banner image: Lorentz National Park in Papua, Indonesia. Image courtesy of Arfani Mujib/Wikimedia Commons.
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