1) Concerns grow over delayed investigation into alleged shootings in Papua amid escalating conflict

 

2) Major agreement reached on Freeport tailings impact mitigation 

3) PNG’s Marape makes foreign policy gaffes over Israel, West Papua

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https://en.jubi.id/concerns-grow-over-delayed-investigation-into-alleged-shootings-in-papua-amid-escalating-conflict/

1) Concerns grow over delayed investigation into alleged shootings in Papua amid escalating conflict

News Desk - Civilian Shooting In Dogiyai 

14 September 2023

Jayapura, Jubi – Director of the Democracy Alliance for Papua (AIDP) Latifah Anum Siregar has criticized the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) for the slow progress in investigating the alleged shootings of civilians in Dogiyai Regency, Central Papua Province. Siregar expressed concern that this delayed investigation was contributing to the escalating conflict in the region.

“We had hoped that Komnas HAM would swiftly initiate their investigation after the incident, as it is crucial to conduct a prompt and thorough examination,” Siregar said on Monday, September 11, 2023.

On July 13, 2023, a civilian named Yosua Keiya (20) allegedly died from gunshot wounds, reportedly fired by Mobile Brigade personnel in Idakebo Village, North Kamu District, Dogiyai Regency. The Legal Aid Institute Talenta Keadilan Papua (LBH-TKP) and the Human Rights Advocacy Network claimed that Yosua Keiya’s shooting was followed by another incident on the evening of July 13 in Dogiyai’s Moanemani, resulting in the deaths of Yakobus Pekey (20) and Stepanus Pigome (19).

However, on July 19, 2023, Papua Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo, denied information regarding the alleged shootings that led to the deaths of three Dogiyai civilians. According to him, investigations conducted by various police units did not find any fatalities or injuries during the handling of mass riots in Dogiyai on July 13-14, 2023.

The conflicting data has prompted several human rights organizations to call on Komnas HAM to dispatch a team to Dogiyai to verify the casualties or injured victims during the  incident.

Siregar emphasized that a delay in addressing the alleged shootings could further intensify the conflict. Additionally, the ripple effects of the conflict could include the displacement of people, disruption of local governance, economic stagnation, interrupted education services, the reinforcement of stigmas against Indigenous Papuans (OAP), and heightened tensions between OAP and non-OAP communities.

Siregar also urged Komnas HAM to prioritize cases of violence in Papua, despite their limited authority, and pay closer attention to the overall conflict situation in the region.

“Komnas HAM, despite its limited authority, should prioritize handling cases in Papua. If their procedural approach remains slow, they may become overwhelmed as one case is not yet resolved before another is reported,” she explained.

Siregar insisted that Komnas HAM should provide the public with preliminary findings of the Dogiyai shooting case to help dispel confusion stemming from conflicting information.

“Even if it’s preliminary data, it should be clarified and confirmed. This way, other confusing information can be minimized with Komnas HAM’s data,” Siregar emphasized.

Furthermore, Siregar emphasized the need for professionalism within local governments to prevent the spread of unverified information. He stated that unclear information could create fear, trauma, and severe stigmatization within the community.

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https://en.jubi.id/major-agreement-reached-on-freeport-tailings-impact-mitigation/

2) Major agreement reached on Freeport tailings impact mitigation  

News Desk - PT Freeport Indonesia 

14 September 2023

Jayapura, Jubi – The meeting of Committee II of the Papua Regional Representative Council (DPD) resulted in the agreement on various aspects concerning the impact of mining giant Freeport Indonesia’s tailings in the Mimika region of Jita and Agimuga, Central Papua Province.

John NR Gobai, chairman of the Special Group of the Papua Legislative Council (DPRD) who was an active participant in the gathering, disclosed that this event occurred in Central Jakarta on Monday, November 9, 2023. The meeting was led by yCommittee II DPD chairman Yorris Raweyai.

During this assembly, several agreements were formally endorsed, outlining the tasks that Freeport Indonesia must undertake in collaboration with the local community. It was emphasized that the involvement of an NGO concerning indigenous communities, Lepemawil, and the establishment of a supervisory team were imperative to oversee the execution of these agreements.

The signed agreement encompassed various provisions, including Freeport Indonesia’s commitment to constructing multiple infrastructure projects and establishing the said supervisory team. Furthermore, the meeting witnessed a request for Freeport Indonesia to provide airboats capable of operating in silting areas.

In addition, Gobai and his associates put forth a proposal for Freeport Indonesia to substitute lime with more environmentally friendly materials in their mining processing operations, with the aim of reducing environmental impact.

“While tailings may bring benefits to the government, they present challenges to the local community,” Gobai said.

Consequently, attendees advocated for Freeport Indonesia to develop a program that addresses the community’s needs. Instead of awarding projects to contractors, there was also a call for the establishment of a cement mortar factory owned and managed by the indigenous people.

The meeting drew the attendance of representatives from various ministries, including the Acting Governor of Central Papua Province, Ribka Haluk, and executives from Freeport Indonesia, such as President Director Clayton Allen Wenas, Director Claus Wamafma, and Vice President Director Jenpino Ngabdi.

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https://asiapacificreport.nz/2023/09/14/pngs-marape-makes-foreign-policy-gaffes-over-israel-west-papua/

3) PNG’s Marape makes foreign policy gaffes over Israel, West Papua

7:14 am today

Analysis by David Robie

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has made two foreign policy gaffes in the space of a week that may come back to bite him as PNG prepares for its 48th anniversary of independence this Saturday.

Critics have been stunned by the opening of a PNG embassy in Jerusalem in defiance of international law - when only three countries have done this other than the United States amid strong Palestinian condemnation - and days later a communique from his office appeared to have indicated he had turned his back on West Papuan self-determination aspirations.

Marape was reported to have told President Joko Widodo that PNG had no right to criticise Indonesia over human rights allegations in West Papua and reportedly admitted that he had "abstained" at the Port Vila meeting of the Melanesian Spearhead Group last month when it had been widely expected that a pro-independence movement would be admitted as full members.

The membership was denied and the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) remained as observers - as they have for almost a decade, disappointing supporters across the Pacific, while Indonesia remains an associate member.

Although Marape later denied that these were actually his views and he told PNG media that the statement had been "unauthorised", his backtracking was less than convincing.

In the case of Papua New Guinea's diplomatic relations with Israel, they were given a major and surprising upgrade with the opening of the embassy on September 5 in a high-rise building opposite Malha Mall, Israel's largest shopping mall.

Marape was quoted by the PNG Post-Courier as saying that the Israeli government would "bankroll" the first two years of the embassy's operation.

Diplomatic rift with Palestine

This is bound to cause a serious diplomatic rift with Palestine with much of the world supporting resolutions backing the Palestinian cause, especially as Marape also pledged support for Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attending the inauguration ceremony.

Papua New Guinea has now joined Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo and the United States as the "pariah" countries willing to open embassies in West Jerusalem. Most countries maintain embassies instead in Tel Aviv, the country's commercial centre.

Israel regards West Jerusalem as its capital and would like to see all diplomatic missions established there. However, 138 of the 193 United Nations member countries do not recognise this.

Palestine considers East Jerusalem as its capital for a future independent state in spite of the city being occupied by Israel since being captured in the 1967 Six Day War and having been annexed in a move never recognised internationally.

As Al Jazeera reports, Israel has defiantly continued to build illegal settlements in East Jerusalem and in the Occupied West Bank.

"Many nations choose not to open their embassies in Jerusalem, but we have made a conscious choice," Marape admitted at the embassy opening.

"For us to call ourselves Christian, paying respect to God will not be complete without recognising that Jerusalem is the universal capital of the people and the nation of Israel," Marape said.

Law as 'Christian state'

According to PNG news media, Marape also plans to introduce a law declaring the country a "Christian state" and this has faced some flak back home.

In an editorial, the Post-Courier said Marape had officially opened the new embassy in Jerusalem in response to PNG church groups that had lobbied for a "firmer relationship" with Israel for so long.

"When PM Marape was in Israel," lamented the Post-Courier, "news broke out that a Christian prayer warrior back home, 'using the name of the Lord, started performing a prayer ritual and was describing and naming people in the village who she claimed had satanic powers and were killing and causing people to get sick, have bad luck and struggle in finding education, finding jobs and doing business'.

"Upon the prayer warrior's words, a community in Bulolo, Morobe Province, went bonkers and tortured a 39-year-old mother to her death. She was suspected of possessing satanic powers and of being a witch.

"It is hard to accept that such a barbaric killing should occur in Morobe, the stronghold of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which has quickly condemned the killing."

The Post-Courier warned that the country would need to wait and see how Palestine would react over the embassy.

"Australia and Britain had to withdraw their plans to set up embassies in Jerusalem, when Palestine protested, describing the move as a 'blatant violation of international law'."

Indonesian 'soft-diplomacy' in Pacific

The establishment of the new embassy coincides with a high profile in recent months over the Indonesian government's major boost in its diplomatic offensive in Oceania in an attempt to persuade Pacific countries to fall in line with Jakarta over West Papua.

Former Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Minister Wiranto - previously a former high-ranking Indonesian general with an unsavoury reputation - gained an additional budget of 60 million rupiah (US$4 million) to be used for diplomatic efforts in the Pacific.

"We are pursuing intense soft-diplomacy. I'm heading it up myself, going there, coordinating, and talking to them," he told a working meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) Budget Committee in September 2018.

Wiranto was annoyed that seven out of 13 Pacific countries back independence for West Papua. He claims that this is because of "disinformation" in the Pacific and he wanted to change that.

In 2019, he was appointed to lead the nine-member Presidential Advisory Council but his Pacific strategy was followed through over the past six years.

"We've been forgetting, we've been negligent, that there are many countries there which could potentially threaten our domination - Papua is part of our territory and it turns out that this is true," said Wiranto.

But for many critics in the region, it is the Indonesian government and its officials themselves that peddle disinformation and racism about Papua.

Atrocities in Timor-Leste

Wiranto has little credibility in the Pacific, or indeed globally over human rights.

According to Human Rights Watch: "The former general Wiranto was chief of Indonesia's armed forces in 1999 when the Indonesian army and military-backed militias carried out numerous atrocities against East Timorese after they voted for independence.

"On February 24, 2003, the UN-sponsored East Timor Serious Crimes Unit filed an indictment for crimes against humanity against Wiranto and three other Indonesian generals, three colonels and the former governor of East Timor.

"The charges include murder, arson, destruction of property and forced relocation.

"The charges against Wiranto are so serious that the United States has put Wiranto and others accused of crimes in East Timor on a visa watch list that could bar them from entering the country."

Australian human rights author and West Papuan advocate Jim Aubrey condemned Wiranto's "intense soft-diplomacy" comment.

"Yeah, right! Like the soft-diplomatic decapitation of Tarina Murib! Like the soft-diplomatic mutilation and dismemberment of the Timika Four villagers! Like Indonesian barbarity is non-existent!," he told Asia Pacific Report, saying that Jakarta's policy had continued since Wiranto's declaration.

"The non-existent things in Wiranto's chosen words are truth and justice!”

Conflicting reports on West Papua

When the PNG government released conflicting reports on Papua New Guinea's position over West Papua last weekend it caused confusion after Marape and Widodo had met in a sideline meeting in in Jakarta during the ASEAN summit.

According to RNZ Pacific, Marape had said about allegations of human rights violations in West Papua that PNG had no moral grounds to comment on human rights issues outside of its own jurisdiction because it had its "own challenges".

He was also reported to have told President Widodo Marape that he had abstained from supporting the West Papuan bid to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group because the West Papuan United Liberation Movement (ULMWP) "does not meet the requirements of a fully-fledged sovereign nation".

"Indonesia's associate membership status also as a Melanesian country to the MSG suffices, which cancels out West Papua ULM's bid," Marape reportedly said referring to the ULMWP.

Reacting with shock to the report, a senior PNG politician described it to Asia Pacific Report as "a complete capitulation".

"No PNG leader has ever gone to that extent," the politician said, saying that he was seeking clarification."

Marape statement 'corrected'

Three days later the Post-Courier reported that Marape had "corrected" the original reported statement.

In a revised statement, Marape said that in an effort to rectify any misinformation and alleviate concerns raised within Melanesian Solidarity Group (MSG) countries, West Papua, Indonesia, and the international community, he had addressed "the inaccuracies".

"Papua New Guinea never abstained from West Papua matters at the MSG meeting, but rather, offered solutions that affirmed Indonesian sovereignty over her territories and at the same time supported the collective MSG position to back the Pacific Islands Forum Resolution of 2019 on United Nations to assess if there are human right abuses in West Papua and Papua provinces of Indonesia."

He also relayed a message to President Widodo that the four MSG leaders of Melanesian countries - [Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon islands and Vanuatu] - had resolved to visit him at his convenience to discuss human rights.

But clarifications or not, Prime Minister Marape has left a lingering impression that Papua New Guinea's foreign policy is for sale with chequebook diplomacy, especially when relating to both Indonesia and Israel.

Dr David Robie, editor and publisher of Asia Pacific Report, has written on West Papuan affairs since 1983 and is author of Blood on their Banner: Nationalist Struggles of the South Pacific.

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