Jayapura, Jubi – The Regional Coordinator of the Kemah Injil Indonesia Church (GKII), Hans Wakerkwa, said that in late March to early April there were a number of house burnings and arrests of civilians in the pursuit of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) by the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Police in Puncak Regency, Central Papua Province. GKII is still recording the amount of material losses from the burning of houses in Puncak’s Oneri District.
“We have confirmed to residents in Oneri District, there is indeed a pursuit of TPNPB to free the Susi Air pilot taken hostage, Philip Mark Mehrtens, and security forces burned honai (traditional Papuan houses) and arrested residents,” Wakerkwa told Jubi via WhatsApp message service on Monday, April 3, 2023.
Wakerkwa said he did not know the reason for the arrest of civilians in Oneri. GKII was also still confirming the number of civilians arrested. “We hope that the civilians who were arrested can be released and return to their homes, back to their families,” he said.
GKII Secretary Yotinus Kulua confirmed that the majority of people who were victims in the incident were GKII congregations. “They are our congregation members, so we continue to monitor their situation so that they get protection from the church and the government and resume their activities soon,” he said.
Kulua said his party continued to coordinate with GKII regional leaders regarding the development of the situation in Puncak. “We urge both the security forces and TPNPB not to use excessive force against civilians and leave residents out of their firefight,” he said.
He further asked the TNI and TPNPB not to chase or attack each other during the Easter celebration week. He said that in the month of Easter celebrations, all parties should be able to calm their hearts and follow the Easter celebrations. “I hope we can understand that. The congregation wants to celebrate Easter in peace,” he said. (*)
Jayapura, Jubi – The peaceful expression of Papuan students in Bali has again been repressed. On April 1, the Papuan Student Alliance of the Bali City Committee (AMP KK) who was going to take to the street was blocked by amass organization. Protesters were thrown stones and several people injured.
This is not the first time this has happened to Papuan students in Bali, Bali Legal Aid Institute (LBH Bali) data says. The NGO recorded a number of incidents of obstructions and dispersal of protests, often with violence that resulted in casualties.
The student’s protest titled “Democracy and Human Rights Die, Papuan People Strangled” wanted to voice human rights violations and the deteriorating situation of democracy in Papua, as well as the New Autonomous Region policy that had made it easier to exploit natural resources in Papua, harming the Papuan people.
“The recurrence of similar events is a violation of human rights that is perpetuated, especially in the absence of law enforcement against perpetrators of violence. Protests are obstructed by mass organizations and law enforcement officials, which only worsen Indonesian democracy in the eyes of the public and the international community,” the student alliance said in a written statement received by Jubi on Monday, April 3, 2023.
Responding to the recent alleged human rights violations against Papuan students, AMP KK Bali and LBH Bali condemned the action and made four demands:
1. Urge the Bali government and police to carry out their obligations to protect the rally of Papuan students as a manifestation of freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution;
2. Law Enforcement Officials to carry out law enforcement against the perpetrators of violence against the peaceful student protest on April 1, 2023.
3. The Bali Police Chief conducts an evaluation and examination of his members involved in securing the AMP KK Bali rally on April 1, 2023 for alleged violations of police ethics and discipline related to the omission of violence and obstruction by a mass organization;
4. The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to monitor the alleged repression and omission of violence by government officials related to the freedom of expression of Papuan students that continue to recur in Bali, and take steps to fulfill the rights to freedom of expression of Papuan students as guaranteed by the constitution. (*)
Aryo Mahendro, Denpasar – The Bali Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) has slammed the attitude of the police for allowing a clash to occur between the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) Bali and the social organisation (ormas) the Nusantara Garuda Patriots (PGN) Bali.
LBH Bali lawyer Rezky Pratiwi said that allowing the clash to occur was a human rights violation.
"There is a responsibility to protect demonstrators. This responsibility lies with the police. (The police) [must] ensure that demonstrations are secure and conducive. As well as ensuring that demonstrations can be organised", said Pratiwi on Monday April 3.
According to Pratiwi, the AMP protesters had not even had a chance to hold the demonstration at the planned location. Because of this, Pratiwi is if the view that there was no potential for the AMP to cause a riot.
"Our Papuan friends intended to hold a peaceful demonstration. To articulate what's happening in Papua. We think that this is quite legitimate. They (demonstrations) are already regulated under Article 13 Paragraph 2 of Law Number 9/1998 on Conveying an Opinion in Public", she explained.
As has been reported, on Saturday April 1, AMP protesters were blocked by the PGN before they arrived at the Jalan Sudirman intersection, and even before they could hold the demonstration.
This ended in a clash after the PGN argued that the AMP did not have a permit from the police to demonstrate and that it had the potential to disrupt traffic. A number of people suffered injuries including broken bones during the clash. (hsa/gsp)
- See: Nationalist group clashes with Papuan protesters in Bali, several injured. Bali Express – April 2, 2023
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "LBH Bali Kecam Polisi 'Biarkan' Bentrokan AMP Vs PGN".]
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