2) TPNPB calls on govt to protect Yahukimo citizens from security forces
https://en.jubi.id/ulmwp-calls-on-international-community-to-seek-conflict-resolution-in-papua/
1) ULMWP calls on international community to seek conflict resolution in Papua
News Desk - Susi Air Pilot Hostage
20 March 2023
Jayapura, Jubi – The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has called on the international community to pay serious attention to the escalated violence that continued to occur in Papua, or internationally known as West Papua.
Head of ULMWP’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau Daniel Randongkir said that ever since the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) took hostage New Zealand Susi Air pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens on February 7, 2023, tensions in Papua’s central mountainous region have escalated. The New Zealand government is pushing for Mehrtens’ peaceful release but the Indonesian Military (TNI) is preparing a military operation to free the pilot.
Randongkir said the TPNPB action was an effort to draw world attention to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Papua, and to ask the international community to recognize the political independence of West Papua, which has been occupied by Indonesia since May 1, 1963. Negotiations for the release of the Susi Air pilot are ongoing but TPNPB does not want the Indonesian government to intervene in the negotiations.
Randongkir said that in the past week, there had been armed conflict between TPNPB and TNI in Puncak Papua, Intan Jaya, Jayawijaya, and Yahukimo regencies. This shows the escalation of armed conflict in Papua.
According to Randongkir, since 2018 there have been more than 67,000 civilians displaced from conflict areas such as Intan Jaya, Nduga, Puncak, Puncak Jaya, Yahukimo, Bintang Mountains, and Maybrat regencies. They left their hometowns to seek refuge in other areas.
On March 16, 2023 the local government and the military began evacuating non-Papuans in Dekai, the capital of Yahukimo Regency, using military cargo planes. “Meanwhile, the indigenous people of Yahukimo were not evacuated from the city of Dekai,” Randongkir said in a press release received by Jubi on Saturday, March 18, 2023.
ULMWP assessed that the evacuation of non-Papuans was part of the TNI’s preparation to carry out full military operations. This has the potential to cause human rights violations. Past experience showed that TNI, when conducting military operations in Papua, did not pay attention to international humanitarian law.
“They will destroy civilian facilities such as churches, schools, and health clinics, burn people’s houses, damage gardens, and kill livestocks belonging to the community. They will arrest civilians, even kill civilians suspected of being TPNPB members,” he said.
Markus Haluk, the executive director of ULMWP in West Papua, said that regional organizations such as the Pacific Islands Forum and the African Caribbean Pacific, have called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to immediately send the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to West Papua.
ULMWP hopes the international community can urge the Indonesian government to immediately stop all forms of crimes against humanity committed in West Papua, and bring about a resolution of the West Papua conflict through international mechanisms that respect humanitarian principles.
In addition, Haluk said that ULMWP also called on the Melanesian, Pacific, African, Caribbean and international communities to take concrete action through prayer and solidarity actions in resolving the conflict that has been going on for the past six decades, in order to realize justice, peace, independence and political sovereignty of the West Papuan Nation. (*)
Jayapura, Jubi – The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) asked the Yahukimo Regency Government to pay attention to Papuan civilians in the Yahukimo war zone and protect them from Indonesian security forces who were hunting down the TPNPB.
“The government should not be picky in evacuating civilians, do not evacuate non-Papuan civilians while leaving behind the Papuan civilians in Yahukimo,” TPNPB spokesman Sebby Sambom told Jubi via WhatsApp service on Friday, March 17, 2023.
Sambom said the government must have the right concept to protect all civilians, both Indigenous Papuans and non-Papuans in Yahukimo.
“If the regent protects only non-Papuan people, the regent deserves to be tried if many people become victims in the war between the Indonesian Military [TNI] and police andTPNPB” he said.
“The government should not show an unfair attitude. There must be no favoritism. The government should not sacrifice the people in the operations carried out by Indonesian security forces to pursue TPNPB,” he said.
Sambom added that the government must understand how to handle displaced people in conflict areas. “Do not discriminate against indigenous Papuans in situations like this,” he said. (*)
West Papuans are today mourning the sad loss of Gerardus Thommey, an elder and leader of our struggle.
Thommey’s leadership and courage was evident from an early age. A regional commander of the West Papuan liberation movement in Merauke, he lived from his early twenties as a guerilla, fighting an oppressive occupying power. It takes amazing commitment to live all this time in the bush, without modern communications or conveniences, in the pursuit of liberation for his people. Thommey was captured near the PNG border with four other liberation leaders and deported to Ghana – like many of our leaders, he lived the rest of his life in exile. After five years there, he was able to join the West Papuan diaspora in the Netherlands, where he helped found the Free West Papua Netherlands Campaign.
I knew Gerardus as a leader in Parliament and in the streets. He was a source of constant wisdom since I arrived in the UK almost twenty years ago; a mentor and advisor on how to fight for West Papuan freedom from exile, while staying focused and keeping a humble spirit. He was also totally dedicated to the cause: as well as Free West Papua Netherlands, he also helped found the International Parliamentarians for West Papua, and would always be present at pro-independence events and offer encouragement to young activists.
I was honoured that both Thommey and Jacob Prai – another freedom fighter, and one of the founding fathers of the OPM – gave the ULMWP their blessing and mandated us to carry out their mission. Both were elders from the early days of our anti-colonial struggle, and understood the importance of unity to achieving our goals.
Even though he was exiled from his land, his commitment to a liberated West Papua never wavered. This is a great lesson to all West Papuans, whether in exile, in the cities, in the refugee camps or in the bush. It is now up to the new generations to carry on his legacy by continuing his fight for freedom.
On behalf of the ULMWP and the people of West Papua, I send my sympathies to Thommey’s family and friends. He leaves behind an inspiring legacy of leadership and commitment to our cause, and will continue to inspire West Papuans until we are once again free.
Benny Wenda
Interim President
ULMWP Provisional Government
Head of the Papua Regional Settlement Infrastructure Center Corneles Sagrim told ANTARA here on Monday that the construction cost included the consultant fee, with the cost of the physical construction recorded at Rp103 billion.
PYCH, which was built using a multiyear (2021 and 2022) budget scheme, spans an area of 1.5 hectares and houses several facilities, including rooms for micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) exhibitions, a dormitory, a sports field, and a theater room that can accommodate 400 people.
"The PYCH building is scheduled to be inaugurated by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Tuesday (March 21, 2023),” Sagrim informed.
According to the general coordinator of Inspirational Young Papua, Billy Mambrasar, PYCH has supporting facilities to assist the activities and interests of young people seeking to hone their entrepreneurship knowledge, as well as their agriculture, animal farming, content creation, and stand-up comedy skills.
Those interested in the activities can register by filling out the provided form.
Currently, Inspirational Young Papua has 12,232 individuals and several enterprising businesses as members.
"By joining, their business is expected to grow and they will be helped to overcome their problems," Mambrasar said, adding that the PYCH building was initiated after young Papuans met with President Widodo.
The PYCH building’s design draws upon features of the traditional houses of Jayapura and Wamena cities, namely the Honai and Kariwari roofs.
One of the facilities at PYCH is a music studio. "This studio is a place for young Papuans to record their music," PYCH's music studio coordinator, Julio Faot, said on Sunday.
Young talents in Papua will no longer need to go to big cities because the music studio in PYCH is of national standard, he added.
Related news: Papua Youth Creative Hub ready for launch by President Jokowi: BIN
Related news: West Papua's Ugar Village has sustainable ecotourism potential: govt
Reporter: Evarukdijati, Kenzu
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