2) PAHAM Papua regrets terror against journalists
3) Indonesian soldier gets life for killing Papuan Christians
4) Family demands police to take responsibility in Second Brig. Diego Rumaropen’s death
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1) Eight-year old West Papuan pleading
Left to right: Interim President Benny Wenda poses with Malvatumauri President, Chief Willie Plasua on each side of the namele plant marking the birth place of ULMWP eight years ago
Over one million West Papuans are standing behind a young ‘boy’ from West Papua who was born at the entrance of the Malvatumauri Nakamal eight years ago. Now he is pleading to be accepted into the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
Interim President Benny Wenda led a three-man delegation to the President of the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs, Chief Willie Plasua, yesterday to plead with him to use his traditional network to enable the ‘boy’ to become a full member of MSG and not continue to sit on the fence as a an “observer” with no legal powers to take part in the official decision making processes of the Melanesian Organisation.
Speaking for the Interim President, West Papua Interim Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Morris Kaloran explained, “As President of the Malvatumauri (Chief Willie Plasua), you are aware of the birth of the ‘baby’ called United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) eight years ago, which was witnessed by both local and regional dignitaries and marked by the planting of a namele tree which is still growing at the entrance of your Nakamal today”.
Despite Vanuatu’s now common stand which was first voiced by the then Prime Minister of Vanuatu, late Father Walter Lini, who said, “As long as West Papua and Kanaky in New Caledonia are not free then even though Vanuatu is a sovereign nation, it will not be really free until all of Melanesia is totally free from colonialism”.
Now over 40 years later the Interim President of ULMP, Benny Wenda, has arrived at his Office opposite Crow’s Nest from London to remind the Malvatumauri, Vanuatu Christian Council, MSG Secretariat as well as the relevant Government Authorities, to recognise the right of ULMWP to be offered its rightful place in the MSG.
In response the Malvatumauri President and his Chief Executive Officer, Jean Pierre, both agreed to work with relevant authorities towards facilitating the ULMWP Application for full membership of MSG.
They also noted all the unsuccessful applications to date and indicated that there are other ways to explore towards making sure that the current application is accepted.
“The boy is struggling still outside the official organization of MSG after its first attempt to enter MSG in 2013 but it was rejected. It was rejected again in 2017 and yet again in 2019 while the one who was supposed to have been rejected from entering MSG continues to remain an Associate Member. This is Indonesia”, said Kaloran.
He holds his post in ULMWP with commitment as he has been in the West Papua struggle for the last 23 years.
“Malvatumauri President, while it seems a struggle to recognise ULMWP here in Melanesia, this ‘boy’ is recognized internationally by 83 Asia Caribbean Pacific countries”, says Kaloran.
“So here we are with you in your high Office seeking your assistance to find the best way to get the ‘boy’ to be accepted into his rightful place in MSG”.
In conclusion he reminded the Malvatumauri that all members of the Vanuatu Government are its children therefore, it has a right to tell the Government to grant the ‘boy’ his wish to become a full member of MSG.
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2) PAHAM Papua regrets terror against journalists
News Desk - Violence Against Journalists In Papua
26 January 2023
The police found explosion residue and the fuse of the bomb that exploded with a loud noise. The residue will be examined in a forensic laboratory to confirm the material of the bomb.
Gustaf R Kawer, director of the Papua Human Rights Advocates Association (PAHAM Papua), regretted the terror. “This is the umpteenth incident. Journalists and media workers in Papua have been treated like this, as well as activists. However, there has never been a follow-up from the police,” Kawer said in Jayapura City on Wednesday.
Kawer said journalists and the media are important pillars of a democratic country, therefore they needed special protection from the state. Moreover, journalists have been protected by Law No. 40/1999 on the Press.
Kawer said there should be no more threats, terror and intimidation against journalists. “If terror against journalists still occurs, there is an impression of negligence, even the impression that the State is behind the terror,” he said.
Kawer asked the police to be really firm in revealing the perpetrators and completing the legal process of the case. “If in the legal process there is involvement of members of the military, police, or other institutions, there must be strict sanctions,” he said.
“If all of that is done, of course there will be a deterrent effect for the perpetrators, and in the future the media and civil society will be in a better place in democracy. That way of course the country will be better,” he added. (*)
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3) Indonesian soldier gets life for killing Papuan Christians
Local residents found the victims’ dismembered bodies on the Pigapu River, floating in bags
Human rights organizations and activists have welcomed the life imprisonment awarded to an Indonesian soldier accused of murdering four Protestant Christians in the strife-torn Papua region.
A military court in Jayapura, the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of Papua, sentenced Major Helmanto Francis Dakhi to life imprisonment and dismissed him from the military on Jan. 24.
He is one of the five soldiers accused of the "premeditated murder" of four Protestant Christians in Nduga, Mimika Regency of central Papua province, in August last year.
Father John Djonga, a prominent human rights activist in the Jayapura diocese, said the verdict "signals that there are efforts to take firm action against the state apparatus who are perpetrators of crime in Papua."
"This is at least a bit of relief that there is a government commitment to protecting the rights of the Papuan people," he told UCA News on Jan. 26.
The punishment is the heaviest so far given by the military court to the security officers who commit atrocities in the easternmost region of the country. The life imprisonment is harsher than the military prosecutor's demand for a four-year prison term for Major Dakhi.
Major Dakhi told the judge that he was planning to file an appeal to the higher court.
Four other soldiers are currently under trial, while another person died last month.
Indonesia maintains a large military presence in the resource-rich but underdeveloped easternmost region of Papua, where conflict between the army and the pro-independence separatists has claimed thousands of lives.
The victims' dismembered bodies, packed in sacks, were dumped in the river.
Father Bernard Baru, chairman of the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Commission of the Augustinian Order in Papua, said execution of the verdict is also important as it is awarded by a military court.
He said that the verdict still did not meet the demands of civil groups which wanted the case to be tried by a civil court.
“Don't let this verdict only improve the image of the state in the public eye. We want the soldier [Major Dakhi] to be imprisoned in the Papua region so that he can be monitored," Father Baru told UCA News.
"Our reason is that their [soldiers’] brutal actions are criminal, not in the context of carrying out their duties as state apparatus," he said.
Atnike Nova Sigiro, chairwoman of the National Human Rights Commission, welcomed the verdict in a statement on Jan. 25.
"We hope that this verdict can signal a step forward in upholding human rights in Papua," she said.
Aptoro Lokbere, brother of Arnold Lokbere, one of the victims, told local news portal Jubi, "A life sentence is appropriate, given what the convict did to our family members."
The military court’s verdict was met with surprise as the Indonesian government acquitted a soldier in December last year over the 2014 shooting of four Christian students in a case known as the Paniai shooting.
A former Dutch colony, Papua declared independence in 1961, but Indonesia annexed the territory soon. An independence referendum that followed was widely manipulated in favor of Indonesia.
Local residents of Iwaka village in Mimika district found the bodies of Arnold Lokbere, Irian Nirigi, Lemanion Nirigi, and Atis Tini in floating bags on the Pigapu River on Aug. 26.
The five soldiers had targeted their Christian victims accusing them of having links with the separatists and allegedly killed them on Aug. 22 in the guise of selling weapons to them.
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4) Family demands police to take responsibility in Second Brig. Diego Rumaropen’s death
News Desk - Bripda Diego Rumaropen Death Case
26 January 2023
Helmi, a member of the Coalition, said the family demanded criminal proceedings against Adj. Comr. Rustam as Diego’s commander.
“On August 2, 2022, Adj. Comr. Rustam underwent an ethics trial and was declared guilty of negligence that resulted in Diego’s death and the loss of two guns,” said Helmi.
Helmi said the Police’s Ethics Commission also recommended Adj. Comr. Rustam dishonorable discharge. “Therefore, it is appropriate for Adj. Comr. Rustam to be criminally processed because his negligence caused the death of Fernando Diego Rumaropen in accordance with Article 359 of the Criminal Code,” Helmi said in a press conference held in Jayapura City on Monday, January 23, 2023.
Helmi said there were many irregularities in the chronology of Diego’s death and the disappearance of the two firearms including a sniper rifle.
The location of the incident was an open field visible from the military post. There were at least eight people who were around the location as stated by Adj. Comr. Rustam. However, there were no eyewitnesses to Diego’s murder. The Coalition also questioned why Rustam did not report to the military post near the location.
Helmi emphasized that the family had reported Diego’s death to the Jayawijaya Police. According to Helmi, his office had received Jayawijaya Police Chief Letter Number: B/633/IX/2022/Res Jawi dated September 10, 2022 stating that the case of Diego’s death had been transferred to the Papua Police.
Helmi asked the Papua Police to announce the progress of the investigation and the obstacles experienced by investigators to carry out criminal proceedings against Adj, Comr. Rustam.
Meanwhile, Gustaf R Kawer, another member of the Coalition, said he appreciated the ethics trial that had been carried out against Adj. Comr. Rustam. However, Kawer emphasized that it should be followed up with criminal charges for Diego’s death. “We hope our report will be followed up proportionally and professionally,” Kawer said. (*)
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