2) Indonesia to offer ‘amnesty’ for West Papuans contesting Jakarta’s rule
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Human Rights Monitor
https://humanrightsmonitor.org/reports/papua-quarterly-report-q3-2024-civil-society-resistance-and-human-rights-advocacy/
1) Papua Quarterly Report Q3 2024: Civil Society Resistance and Human Rights Advocacy
This comprehensive 11-page document lists cases and developments including human rights violations and their patterns; escalation of armed conflict and its impact on civilians; significant political shifts in Indonesia affecting
West Papua; and international responses and initiatives. It covers the period from 1 July to 30 September 2024.
Summary
Human rights
Human rights statistics between July and September 2024 were marked by a significant increase in violations of the freedoms of expression and assembly, as well as arbitrary detention and ill-treatment, in response to the commemoration of the New York Agreement on 1 August in various towns across West Papua. A total of 222 protesters were arbitrarily detained, and 41 were injured. Police officers employed disproportionate force to disperse peaceful rallies and detain protesters, as well as activists distributing leaflets for the protests.
Three Papuan human rights defenders were subjected to intimidation or assault after speaking about the human rights situation in West Papua at an international human rights forum. Extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, and torture continue, particularly in areas affected by armed conflict. Meanwhile, the government persists in the ruthless exploitation of natural resources, excluding indigenous land rights holders. Of particular concern is the government’s Merauke Rice Estate Project, which will inevitably destroy 1 million hectares of savanna and forest land under the pretext of national food security without the free, prior, informed consent of the Marind Anim Ha, the customary owners of this land. In the Kapiraya District, Deiyai Regency, the local government’s lack of response to illegal gold mining has triggered violent reactions and horizontal conflicts.
As of September 2024, more than 79,867 people in West Papua remain internally displaced as a result of armed conflict between Indonesian security forces and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). New displacements were reported between June and August 2024 in the regencies Maybrat and Puncak.
Neither the military nor the police are holding perpetrators of human rights violations accountable, and impunity prevails despite public pressure from local communities and the national media. A case of torture and extra-judicial execution in the Puncak Regency in February 2024 caused national awareness of the human rights situation in West Papua. The case, involving suspected soldiers of the Raider 300/Braja Wijaya Infantry Battalion, has been under investigation by the Komnas HAM team in Jakarta and the Papua Representative Commission since April 2024, yet remains incomplete. The same applies to numerous other cases of extra-judicial executions. As of late September 2024, relatives and community members continued to demand justice for the unlawful execution of Mr Tobias Silak by security forces in Yahukimo on 20 August 2024, but to no avail.
The reporting period also saw some positive developments. On 24 September 2024, the Indonesian Supreme Court delivered a significant victory for civil liberties by upholding the acquittal of human rights activists Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti. On 10 September 2024, judges at the Wamena District Court acquitted Melianus Baye and Benny Elopore, two minors who had been arrested in the regency of Yahukimo, Papua Pegunungan Province, on 22 February 2024. New reports published by the NGOs Tapol and ALDP, as well as Human Rights Watch, highlight the persistent pattern of racial discrimination in the law enforcement process, which remains a systematic issue of concern.
Conflict
As of late September 2024, more than 79,867 people in West Papua remain internally displaced as a result of armed conflict between Indonesian security forces and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). HRM documented 24 armed attacks and clashes throughout the third quarter of 2024, bringing the total number of armed clashes in 2024 to 96 as of 30 September. The period between July and September 2024 was marked by a high number of fatalities among both Indonesian security forces and civilians. Seven members of the security forces were killed, and two were injured during this period. In contrast, the TPNPB lost two combatants, with two others injured. Once again, the highest number of victims were among civilians, with five civilians killed and three injured by the TPNPB and five killed and eight injured by security force members.
In response to the escalating armed conflict across West Papua, the Indonesian military (TNI) is pushing for a significant expansion of its presence in areas of economic interest. On 2 October 2024, the Commander of the Indonesian National Army (TNI), General Agus Subiyanto, inaugurated the formation of five new Infantry Battalions (Bhs Indonesia: Yonif Penyangga Daerah Rawan) in the regencies of Sarmi, Kerom, Boven Digoel, Merauke, and Sorong. These new battalions are intended to facilitate the smooth implementation of natural resource projects in these regions. The Indonesian government is actively promoting the establishment of palm oil and other agricultural plantations in Boven Digoel, Merauke, and Sorong. The regencies of Sarmi and Keerom contain vast areas of pristine rainforest and palm oil plantations. Sarmi, in particular, has become a hub for both legal and illegal logging operations in West Papua.
At present, the regencies of Sarmi, Kerom, Boven Digoel, Merauke, and Sorong have been largely unaffected by the armed conflict, indicating Indonesia’s strategic focus on safeguarding economic development rather than controlling the escalation of violence in the central Papuan highlands. In late September, Indonesian President Joko Widododo announced that all development projects in the Papuan provinces would need to be escorted by security forces. Moreover, the TNI has reportedly plans to establish 100 new battalions by 2025, with 25 new battalions being established in the Papuan provinces alone.
Following the killing of New Zealand helicopter pilot Glen Malcolm Conning in the Mimika Regency on 5 August 2024, and the release of Kiwi pilot Captain Mark Mehrtens after 19 months of captivity, Indonesian security forces increased their presence in conflict-affected areas near airports aiming to prevent further TPNPB attacks on aeroplanes and helicopters. Meanwhile, military members continue to visit traumatised children in schools, engage in community work, and provide basic medical services. Local government agencies seem increasingly unable to maintain public services in remote areas across West Papua. Health centres (Puskesmas) and schools in these areas are either dysfunctional or have been abandoned due to a lack of equipment and the absence of professional health workers and teachers.
Political developments
Political developments between July and September 2024 reinforce earlier observations that Indonesia is drifting further away from the spirit of reform that led earlier governments to transition from the military dictatorship under President Suharto (aka ‘New Order’) to a democratic republic. The failure of post-Suharto governments to hold perpetrators of the New Order period accountable for atrocities they committed and consequently ban the military from politics has enabled old elites and new political dynasties to regain power. The latest presidential elections were won by former dictator Suharto’s son-in-law, Prabowo Subianto, and Joko Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka. In late September 2024, the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker, Golkar Party politician Bambang Soesatyo, proposed awarding the title of national hero to military dictator Suharto, who was responsible for various gross human rights violations across the archipelago, including West Papua, Aceh, and East Timur.
Meanwhile, attempts continue to undermine the Papuan Special Autonomy Law. The Papuan People’s Assembly (MRP) of Southwest Papua Province plans to take legal action against the General Election Commission (KPU) of Indonesia and Southwest Papua. The MRP alleges that the KPU is attempting to undermine its authority to verify candidates for the governor and deputy governor elections. This controversy stems from a KPU circular letter that the MRP claims oversteps its jurisdiction in determining the eligibility of indigenous Papuan candidates. The MRP argues that it has the legal authority to decide on candidate eligibility based on Indonesian law and a Constitutional Court decision. In response, the MRP has appointed legal representatives and reported alleged violations to the Election Supervisory Body. Meanwhile, candidates disqualified by the MRP initiated and subsequently withdrew a lawsuit at the Jayapura State Administrative Court, highlighting ongoing tensions between regional autonomy and central government control in Papua’s electoral process.
A Papuan ‘Constitution and Democracy Advocacy Team’ has again challenged the revised Papua Special Autonomy Law (Otsus II) through a judicial review at the Indonesian Constitutional Court on 15 July 2024. They have called for the review of several articles within Law No 2/2021, which amended the original special autonomy law No 21/2001. The plaintiffs argue that these amendments undermine the constitutional rights of indigenous Papuans (OAP), particularly concerning their ability to hold executive and legislative positions in West Papua.
International developments
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP), Mr Fadli Zon, met with parliamentary representatives from countries that are members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), among them Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands. The meeting aimed to present an alternative narrative to that shared by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) with Pacific countries, focussing on the government’s efforts to improve infrastructure and increase the human development index in the Papuan provinces.
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) held its 53rd assembly in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, from 26 to 30 August 2024, attended by Heads of State and Government from Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Fiji, French Polynesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, the Republic of Vanuatu, and the Republic of Kiribati. Following the meeting, PIF published a communique, which included a brief section on West Papua. PIF reiterated its 2023 decision of 2023 to appoint a Forum Envoy, comprising the Prime Minister of Fiji and the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, to facilitate a dialogue with Indonesia on areas of shared interest.
The Permanent Peoples Tribunal (PPT) which took place in London between 27 and 29 June 2024, published its verdict and recommendations. The State of Indonesia was convicted of all the charges in the indictment, namely (1) taking by various means the ancestral land of the Indigenous Papuan people against their will, (2) employing racial discrimination causing the loss of culture, traditions, and Indigenous knowledge, (3) committing violent repression, including unlawful detention, extra-judicial killing, and population displacement in West Papua as a means of furthering industrial development; (4) organising environmental degradation, including the destruction of eco-systems, contamination of land, the poisoning of rivers and their tributaries and of providing the permits, concessions and legal structure of non-compliance for national and foreign companies to invest in West Papua in a way that encourages environmental degradation; (5) colluding with national and foreign companies to cause environmental degradation, population displacement and sustain violent repression in West Papua.
Full PDF report
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2) Indonesia to offer ‘amnesty’ for West Papuans contesting Jakarta’s rule
By APR editor - October 24, 2024
The National, PNG
Indonesia will offer amnesty to West Papuans who have contested Jakarta’s sovereignty over the Melanesian region resulting in conflicts and clashes with law enforcement agencies, says Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape.
He arrived in Port Moresby on Monday night from Indonesia where he attended the inauguration of President Prabowo Subianto last Sunday.
During his bilateral discussions with the Indonesian President, Marape said Prabowo was “quite frank and open” about the West Papua independence issue.
“This is the first time for me to see openness on West Papua and while it is an Indonesian sovereignty matter, my advice was to give respect to land and their [West Papuans] cultural heritage.
“I commend the offer on amnesty and Papua New Guinea will continue to respect Indonesia’s sovereignty,” Marape said.
“The President also offered a pledge for higher autonomy and a commitment to keep on working on the need for more economic activities and development that the former president [Joko Widodo] has started for West Papua.”
While emphasising that Papua New Guinea had no right to debate Indonesia’s internal sovereignty issues, Marape welcomed that country’s recognition of the West Papuan people, their culture and heritage.
Expanding trade, investment
Marape also reaffirmed his intention to work with Prabowo in expanding trade and investment, especially in business-to-business and people-to-people relations with Indonesia.
The exponential growth of Indonesia’s economy currently sits at nearly US$1.5 trillion (about K5 trillion), with the country aggressively pushing toward First World nation status by 2045.
Papua New Guinea was among nations allocated time for a bilateral meeting with President Subianto after the inauguration.
- A low-intensity struggle for independence by many West Papuans has continued since a contested UN-supervised plebiscite in 1969 when 1,025 people selected by the Indonesian military voted unanimously in favor of Indonesian control. The vote has been rejected by critics as an “Act of No Choice”.
Republished from The National with permission.
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