Manokwari, Jubi – Filep Wamafma, a lawmaker of the Regional Representatives Council from West Papua, regrets the increasingly closed democratic space in Papua, as seen by police action blocking protesters who rallied in various cities in Papua and West Papua provinces on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
The people on Tuesday protested against Papua’s Special Autonomy Law (Otsus) and the expansion of Papua. In Jayapura City, the protest was dispersed by the police before the protesters could convey their aspirations to the Papua Legislative Council. In Manokwari, the capital of West Papua Province, protesters were also intercepted by the police, thus failing to enter the office of the West Papua Legislative Council. However, the protest in Manokwari went peacefully, and the participants disbanded after protesting for 6 hours.
Filep Wamafma regretted the steps taken by the police to block the mass. He assessed that the democracy in Papua was completely repressed during the administration of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). “We see complete regression of democracy under President Joko Widodo’s regime. It was better in the era of President SBY [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono]. SBY was more inclined to maintain human values and democracy in Papua properly,” Wamafma said when contacted by Jubi via WhatsApp on Tuesday.
According to Wamafma, the Jokowi regime often uses the police and the army as tools of power. Wamafma even said that the way the state has been using the police to deal with protests reversed democracy in Indonesia.
Wamafma wondered why the central government continued to ignore the aspirations of the Papuan people. “Until now, we have been seeing the government putting aside the aspirations of Indigenous Papuans, using authoritarian means and state power while ignoring regional aspirations,” he said.
He further said that neglecting regional aspirations was a very serious problem because it put Indonesia back in the New Order era. “This is serious, the central government keeps crafting policies using New Order methods,” he said.
He regretted that civilians became victims only because they wanted to express their opinion in public. “As a lawmaker, I regret that the political dynamics in the regions are resolved by means of security forces. I think democracy in Papua is dead,” he said.
Previously, Manokwari Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Parisian Herman Gultom said the protest by Papuan students and people in Manokwari went peacefully and the protesters managed to express their opinions as well. However, Gultom admitted that his party forbade the students to perform a long march.
“Because of security considerations, we do not allow the masses to conduct long marches,” Gultom said.
Meanwhile, In Jayapura City, Jayapura Police chief Sr. Comr. Gustav Urbinas admitted his party indeed dispersed protesters on Tuesday because there was no guarantee that the protest would remain peaceful. Urbinas said his party was waiting for the person in charge of the protest to explain their purpose but no one came to the police station.
“They only left a letter. Therefore, to reduce the risk of clashes, I took decisive steps to block mass mobilization in Jayapura City,” Urbinas said.
In fact, in Indonesia, protesters are not obliged to seek permission from the authority to take to the streets. They are only required to notify the police about their rally. (*)
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Rights group, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), condemned the forced dispersal of people who rejected the new autonomous region in Papua during the rally on May 10, 2022.
Kontras said actions such as forced dispersal, beatings, pursuits, shootings, and arbitrary arrests happened during the disbandment of protestors.
“Violence and human rights violations occurred in various areas such as Abepura and Heram,” said Kontras Deputy Coordinator, Rivanlee Anandar, in a written statement, Wednesday, May 11, 2022.
Rivan said the rejection of the new autonomous regions voiced by the Papuan people is a legitimate and constitutional expression as regulated in Article 28 of the 1945 Constitution. He said such violent acts further showed that the state was still discriminatory and prioritized a security approach in responding to the voices of the Papuan people, instead of using a humanitarian approach.
The violence carried out by the officers, he added, was systematic because it was executed on the orders of the Papuan Police via a telegram. Rivan underlined that it was a form of excessive use of force. Besides, the actions resulted in injuries to 10 people who got beaten and shot by tear gas.
“As shown in a number of circulating videos, the police seem so brutal in handling the rally by attacking demonstrators for no apparent reason,” the human rights activist said.
Rivan mentioned that the Papuan people had rejected the new autonomous regions since 1999. However, the government continued to process law on the issue in 2003 and legalized it in 2021 while in fact, the objection stemmed from the bill formulation process that did not involve the native people of Papua.
Read: KontraS Records 52 Cases of Unlawful Killing by Police in 2021
M ROSSENO AJI
Jayapura, Jubi – The spokesperson for the Papuan People’s Petition, Jefri Wenda, was arrested by the police regarding alleged violations of the Information and Electronic Transactions Law or the ITE Law, regarding his action of calling on people to take to the streets to reject Papua’s Special Autonomy and the expansion of Papua, which took place in a number of cities in Papua on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
Jefri Wenda and six other people were arrested and questioned by Jayapura Police on Tuesday, including spokesperson for the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) Ones Suhuniap, Omikson Balingga, Nely Itlay, Maxi Mangga, Abidow, and Iman Kogoya.
Jayapura Police chief Sr. Comr. Gustav Urbinas said that Jefri Wenda and his friends were being investigated because the police found calls for protests by the Papuan People’s Petition widely circulated on social media. Urbinas said Ones Suhuniap, Omikson Balingga, Nely Itlay, Maxi Mangga, Abidow, and Iman Kogoya were examined as witnesses in the case but did not mention Jefri Wenda’s status in the case.
“Six people were examined as witnesses. We continue to provide space for legal assistance to the seven people,” said Urbinas in Jayapura City, Tuesday.
Urbinas said that recently, there had been many calls that have disturbed the public and were deemed provocative. He worried they would disturb the security situation in Jayapura City.
He said that Jefri Wenda often moved places, and on Tuesday did not attend the protest against Papua’s Special Autonomy and Papua expansion, despite calling on people to participate in the protest.
“JW is clearly the person in charge because his name is marked in the [call to protest] leaflet. In addition, his name is also mentioned in several audio recordings and the flyer,” he said.
Head of the Jayapura Police Criminal Investigation Unit Adj. Comr. Handry Bawilling said his party was still investigating Jefri Wenda and six other people who were arrested at Perumnas 4, Waena, Jayapura City. He confirmed that one of the people being questioned was the spokesman for the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), Ones Suhuniap. “That’s all I can say. We are still further investigating the others,” said Handry.
Demonstrations against Papua’s Special Autonomy and the Papua expansion plan took place in several locations in Papua and West Papua provinces on Tuesday. In Jayapura City, the protest was dispersed by the police before the protesters could convey their aspirations to the Papua Legislative Council. In Manokwari, the capital of West Papua Province, protesters were also intercepted by the police, thus failing to enter the office of the West Papua Legislative Council. However, the protest in Manokwari went peacefully, and the participants disbanded after protesting for 6 hours. (*)
Jordan Fennell of ABC Pacific Beat talks to Laurens Ikinia
Living in New Zealand as a student Laurens Ikinia wanted to create a space for the West Papuan diaspora to gather.
“We have been facing challenges and oppression back home so it is really hard for us to preserve and maintain our culture,” he said.
The West Papuan Students Association in Oceania started in 2020 but they launched the “Empowering Wantoks” programme last year.
- LISTEN TO ABC PACIFIC BEAT: Interview with Laurens Ikinia
- READ MORE: Other reports on the Papuan students
Guest speakers are invited to discuss topics with students about West Papua and they host language classes as well.
Ikinia is a Masters of Communication postgraduate student at the Auckland University of Technology and said that living in New Zealand had been a good experience.
“We are studying and living in a country that has a diverse community where indigenous people and non-indigenous people live together,” he said.
“That makes us feel like we are welcome.”
However, the students are currently campaigning to be able to finish their studies in New Zealand after Indonesia abruptly cancelled their scholarships at the start of this year.
Republished with permission.
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