Jayapura, Jubi – Mukry M Hamadi, Chairman of Commission A of the Jayapura City Council, emphasized the necessity for the Jayapura City Administration to have detailed information regarding the number and status of Indigenous Papuans.
“The government must compile data on Indigenous Papuans,” he stated in Jayapura City on Thursday (7/12/2023).
Hamadi stressed the importance of this, saying that having this data would enable the Jayapura City Administration to understand their circumstances more effectively.
“The data, owned by the Jayapura City Administration, will shed light on the conditions of Papuans in this city. It will detail what the Papuans are eating, the condition of their homes, their education, access to healthcare, and their economic situation,” he elaborated.
Hamadi recalled that in 2022, an allocation of Rp 3.5 billion was set aside for the census of Indigenous Papuans. However, he noted that the census program could not be executed by the Jayapura City Office of Statistics Indonesia (BPS).
“The program and budget were in place. The issue is simple—how to utilize the funds and who should be responsible. We argued about this, but the BPS could not manage it in the end. There was a dispute at that time,” he explained.
According to Hamadi, the data on Indigenous Papuans is crucial to ensure that the Special Autonomy Program remains on target. In addition, the local government is obligated to establish a database of students, including Indigenous Papuan students, therefore the availability of such data will serve as the foundation for providing quality educational services in Jayapura City.
“To keep the special autonomy program on track, we need that data that we currently do not have,” he emphasized. (*)
Jayapura, Jubi – In Yahukimo Regency’s Dekai, Mountainous Papua Province, a resident was found dead from stab wounds on Tuesday (5/12/2023) around 1:30 p.m. Papua time.
Sr. Comr. Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo, the spokesperson of the Papua Police, confirmed the incident on Wednesday (6/12/2023), saying the Yahukimo Police Criminal Investigation Unit is currently handling the case.
“The deceased victim is identified as Natan (40), and the incident occurred on Halabok Street, Dekai, Yahukimo Regency,” Benny stated.
According to an eyewitness who found the victim, the victim was discovered with wounds on the back of the neck. Subsequently, he transported the victim to the Dekai Regional General Hospital.
“Upon receiving the report from the community, officers from the Yahukimo Police, led by Chief of Criminal Investigation Second Insp. Tantu Usman, immediately responded by checking on the victim at the Dekai Regional General Hospital,” he mentioned.
Besides gathering information from witnesses, Benny noted that several pieces of evidence, such as clothing and a sweater, were secured by the Criminal Investigation Unit for further investigation.
“We’ve secured several pieces of evidence. Furthermore, several witnesses have provided information about individuals seen around the incident location,” he added.
Benny highlighted that the Criminal Investigation Unit, along with the Cartenz Peace Operation Task Force 2023, is sweeping around the crime scene to trace the perpetrator.
“The team has also detained two individuals found near the crime scene for further questioning. This incident is under intensive investigation to uncover the motives and the individuals behind this tragic murder,” Benny concluded. (*)
Jakarta – Scores of Papuan activists held an action in Central Jakarta on Friday December 1 at the Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat intersection. During the action they criticised a number of issues including the recent hunger crisis in Papua.
Calling themselves the Papuan Indigenous People (OAP), they criticised the government's policies towards the people of eastern Indonesia, even though there are quite a lot of natural resources there.
They said that after 62 years of Papua being part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), there is still violence and poverty in the region.
"Over these 62 years we can honestly and openly convey that we have never been happy. We are always faced with censorship, deprivation and murder", said December 1 commemoration coordinator Pilamo in a speech at the Horse Statue.
According to Pilamo, the Indonesian government only wants the benefits of the exploitation of Papua's natural resources, but does not bring prosperity to the Papuan people.
"The situation in Papua doesn't make sense. Isn't logical. How can we have land with huge SDA (natural resources), the biggest mine [in Indonesia], but the ordinary people are hungry. This is a system that has been created", said Pilamo.
"We know that the poorest province [in Indonesia] is Papua. Yet the biggest contributor is Papua. The Indonesian government does not prioritise Papuan welfare, rather Indonesia is only concerned with exploiting SDA", they added.
The scores of Papuan protesters had earlier gathered in front of the United States Embassy in Central Jakarta at 9 am. They formed a line holding posters containing criticisms and demands.
At around 10.30 am the demonstrators held a long-march to the nearby Horse Statue where they gave speeches that were greeted with cries of "Freedom!".
The initiation of West Papua's independence, which was also recognised by the royal Dutch government at that time, was marked on December 1, 1961.
The people celebrated by gathering at Hoofd van Plaatselijk (HPB) or regional government offices to raise the Morning Star flag for the first time alongside the Dutch flag.
The Indonesian government, known as the Old Order, responded quickly to these events. The president at that time, Sukarno, immediately issued the Triple Commands of the People (Trikora) declaration on December 19, 1961, and tasked Major General Suharto to command the attack on the Dutch and the West Papuan independence fighters.
The West Papua independence effort was then sidelined by the New York Agreement on August 15, 1962.
Pilamo said that the protesters are demanding that the Papuan people be able to determine their own future because they believe that the decision for Papua to unite with Indonesia at the time was forced on them. (yla/kid)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Aktivis Papua Demo di Jakarta, Protes Kelaparan di Tanah Kaya".]
Around one hundred protesters from the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) and the Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) held a demonstration at the zero kilometre point in front of the central post office in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on Friday December 1.
The action was held to commemorate December 1, which is beloved to mark the anniversary of West Papua's declaration of independence.
Yogyakarta December 1 action coordinator Denis Irawan said that the aim of the action was to demand a referendum so that the West Papuan people can determine their own future.
"We fully support the West Papuan people determining their own future through a referendum", said Irawan on Friday.
Irawan said that the West Papuan people want to be given an opportunity to determine their own future, whether or not to remain part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) or to become their own sovereign nation.
In 1969 the West Papuan people were actually given an opportunity to determine their own future in a UN sponsored plebiscite known as the Determination of the People's Opinion (Pepera). The plebiscite however only involved 0.2 percent of the West Papua population.
"The Pepera process was also conducted under military coercion and intimidation so the Papuan people agreed to integrate with Indonesia", he continued.
Irawan emphasised that Papuan independence as a sovereign nation had already been declared on December 1, 1961. West Papua also had its own flag, state symbol and national anthem.
It is based on this they are demanding the Indonesian government give the West Papuan people the opportunity to hold a referendum and determine their own future.
"The West Papuan nation is a nation that is already independent, therefore we demand that the West Papuan people must be given an opportunity to determine their own future", said Irawan.
Notes
Although it is widely held that West Papua declared independence from Indonesia on December 1, 1961, this actually marks the date when the Morning Star flag was first raised alongside the Dutch flag in an officially sanctioned ceremony in Jayapura, then called Hollandia. The first declaration of independence actually took place on July 1, 1971 when the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) unilaterally proclaimed West Papua as an independent democratic republic.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Marking December 1, Papua students in Yogya demand referendum".]
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