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West Papua Report
September 2010
This is the 77th in a series of monthly reports
that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the
non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO
assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This
report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN)
Back issues are posted online at
http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm Questions regarding this report
can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at
edmcw@msn.com.
Summary:
More than a score of international
non-governmental organizations called on President Yudhoyono to release Papuan
Political Prisoners in commemoration of Indonesia's August 17 Independence Day.
Although the President did release and reduce sentences for convicted terrorists
and common criminals on the national day, he did not respond to the appeal
regarding political prisoners. The Indonesian Government has banned activities
by Cordaid, a Dutch humanitarian organization that has aided poor Papuans for
over three decades. The action is reminiscent of the Indonesian Government's
banning of International Committee of The Red Cross in West Papua in 2009. The
Indonesian Commission on Human Rights and Papuan churches have urged the
Indonesian government to reconsider its security approach in the Puncak Jaya
region and address the growing violence there, including attacks on churches.
The Indonesian government is under growing pressure to investigate the
mysterious murder of a journalist in Merauke. Local police claim he committed
suicide. The murdered journalist had built a reputation on investigation of
illegal military businesses. The murder comes at a time of growing tension in
the area as corporate interests seek to develop a massive food plantation. A
video circulating widely on YouTube reveals the final moments of a Papuan
bayoneted while in custody as he is taunted by the police.
Contents:
International NGOs Call
on President Yudhoyono to Release Papuan Political Prisoners
Twenty five international
non-governmental organizations have urged President Yudhoyono to release Papuan
Political Prisoners.
The August 16 letter which
on the President to announce the release in the context of August 17
Independence Day celebrations. The letter also urged him to amend the Indonesian
Criminal Code which criminalizes peaceful political protest and to investigate
and prosecute prison warders guilty of abuse of these prisoners.
The NGO appeal noted that Indonesia's incarceration of peaceful political
dissenters violates Indonesia's commitments under the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights which Indonesia ratified in 2006. Indonesian
authorities also have
incarcerated Moluccans and others engaged in peaceful
protest. There continue to be
credible
reports that political prisoners are being mistreated in custody.
President Yudhoyono has failed to respond to the NGO appeal though he did
announce release of criminal prisoners, including those convicted of crimes of
violence.
(See
here to view full text of the August 16 letter and list of 25
signatories)
The Indonesian Government Blocks Operations of International Humanitarian
Group in West Papua
The Jakarta Post, August 6, reported that
the Indonesian government has banned Cordaid, a Dutch funding agency, from
operating in West Papua. Cordaid has operated in West Papua for over three
decades, assisting Papuan NGOs and the Papuan people more generally with a focus
on social development and economic empowerment for the poor.
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The decision to close the Cordaid office in West Papua
parallels the decision to close down operations there by the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 2009
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The ban came in the form of a refusal by the Ministry of Social Affairs to
extend an existing Memorandum of Understanding that had expired in April of
this year. The Government announcement that Cordaid must end its activities
came in the form of a July 23 letter from the Social Affairs Ministry that
responding to the standard request for an extension.
In rejecting the extension the Ministry, according to the Post, voiced
suspicions regarding Cordaid's exchange program between Papua and Mindanao,
a restive region in southern Philippines --the program promoted
participation of women in development from a faith-based and women's
perspective. The Government suspicions included purported Cordaid support
for separatist elements.
In her written response to the Ministry, Cordaid sector manager Margriet
Nieuwenhuis strongly denied that Cordaid helped Papua separatists. "The
participants met only with Mindanao community groups and women leaders, not
with political actors," Nieuwenhuis said, adding that the program had been
stopped.
The Jakarta Post reported that the July 23 letter also alleged that Cordaid
had violated a "principle provision" in the memorandum of agreement with the
Indonesian government. The letter claimed that "Cordaid has been involved in
commercial and political activities by being a shareholder of Bank Andara
and sponsoring the participation of a community group in the "Initiatives
for International Dialog (IID)." The Indonesian ministry contended that
IID supported secessionist movements in southern Thailand, Myanmar, the
Philippines and Indonesia." The government requested that Cordaid hand over
ongoing projects to its local partners and neither expand the scope of the
projects nor extend deadlines.
While adhering to the ban, Cordaid said its share in Bank Andara was less
than 10 percent and that its participation in the program was directed
toward support of microfinance institutions, particularly those with a
strong focus on poverty reduction, helping clients who are considered too
poor by other financial institutions to get loans.
The government's policy to ban Cordaid was criticized by prominent human
rights lawyer Totdung Mulya Lubis who said the decision was taken "too
hastily" and without sufficient evidence. "It could set a bad precedent and
lead outsiders to believe Indonesia is isolating Papua," he said. Lubis
pointed out that the government needed foreign donors to help develop Papua,
one of Indonesia's poorest regions. The Post quoted Lubis as observing that
"to stop foreign social funding is akin to killing off NGOs in Papua, which
almost entirely depend on overseas funding.
WPAT Comment: The decision to close the Cordaid office in West Papua
parallels the decision to close down operations there by the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 2009. Cordaid,
like the ICRC, is seeking to negotiate its return to West Papua quietly.
Shutting down the operation of these respected humanitarian organizations is
consistent with the Jakarta policy to limit international assistance to
Papuans who for decades have suffered from a dearth of basic humanitarian
services and respect for human rights, areas of need that Cordaid and the
ICRC respectively were manifestly addressing. The decision also is
consistent with Jakarta's long standing campaign to limit international
awareness of Papuan suffering. Finally, it is noteworthy that closing the
operation of these two organizations which have done so much good for
Papuans was a decision taken exclusively by Jakarta with no involvement of
Papuans. These two episodes underscore that the promise of "special
autonomy" is hollow.
Komnas HAM Speaks out against
Security Forces Operations in Puncak Jaya
The Papuan branch of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) urged
the Indonesian police and military to cease their military operations in
Puncak Jaya district, in an August 11 statement by Mathius Murib, deputy
chair of the organization in Jayapura. The public appeal came on the heels
of a visit to the area by a Komnas HAM team to investigate recent
incidents. The team, which Murib led, urged senior police officials in
Puncak Jaya to initiate legal proceedings against all those persons or
groups involved in the Puncak Jaya case from 2004 rather than simply employ
armed force.
Murib noted that from 17 August 2004 up to August 2010 the inhabitants of
Puncak Jaya have lived in a constant state of trauma because of reports that
dozens of civilians as well as members of the security forces have been
killed in Puncak Jaya. Murib urged that the police and the military
immediately stop all operations to hunt people down in Puncak Jaya district
and consider instead other ways of resolving the problems there. "We believe
that force of arms or other forms of violence will never resolve these
problems and will only lead to yet more problems and more casualties," he
said.
He also urged the civilian population in the area to remain calm, work
together, and avoid being provoked by irresponsible elements. Murib said
that Komnas HAM will be urging the district chief of Puncak Jaya as well as
civil society, in particular the church, to draft a comprehensive account of
developments during the current year. Murib explained that the role of the
church in particular was important.
Churches Call for an Investigation of Attacks on Churches in Puncak Jayaa
Church leaders in the Puncak Jaya region on August 18 called for an
investigation of shootings which have targeted churches in Puncak Jaya since
2004. Rev. Socrates Yoman, President of the Fellowship of Baptist Churches
in Papua, called for creation of an "independent team" to investigate the
attacks.
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A police autopsy of the victim revealed that Matra'is was struck by several
blows before falling into the water and drowning in Maro River, Merauke. The
Indonesian police spokesman in Jakarta acknowledged that several of Matra'is
teeth were missing and that there was swelling in several parts of his body,
wounds likely to have resulted from his having been struck with a blunt
implement.
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The Jakarta Post reported
that Yoman's call has been echoed by other Papuan religious leaders
including the Indonesia Christian Churches (GKI) of Papua, Indonesia Bible
Churches, the Kingmi Synod of Papua, the Catholic Diocese of Jayapura. All
specifically call for an independent investigation of the attacks.
For its part, the Fellowship of Baptist Churches of Papua urged the
provincial council and the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) to immediately
invite the Governor and police and military chiefs to explain about the
violence to the public and appealed to people to remain calm.
Government under
Growing
Pressure to Investigate Journalist's Murder Seriously
The July 30 murder of journalist Ardiansyah Matra'is in Merauke
and the failure of the Indonesian police to seriously investigate the crime
has drawn growing criticism.
A police autopsy of the victim revealed that Matra'is was struck by several
blows before falling into the water and drowning in Maro River, Merauke. The
Indonesian police spokesman in Jakarta acknowledged that several of Matra'is
teeth were missing and that there was swelling in several parts of his body,
wounds likely to have resulted from his having been struck with a blunt
implement. The Merauke police, however, rejected the announcement in
Jakarta, saying that Matra'is had probably committed suicide.
Nezar Patria, the chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI)
stated that the police should immediately investigate who murdered Matra'is,
adding that it had sent a representative to visit Jayapura and trying to
arrange a meeting in Jakarta with the national police.
Forkorus Yoboisembut, the chairman of the Papuan Customary Council,
suggested President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to set up an independent team
to investigate the murder of Matra'is as well as Ridwan Salamun, a Sun TV
stringer in Tual, Kei Island, on August 21.
Yoboisembut told the Voice of Human Rights radio that many parties have
interest in not having the police to seriously investigate the Matra'is
murder. "I think if the case is investigated, many
parties will be implicated, prompting the investigation to be delayed up to now,
a month after the murder."
Matra'is is the son of a Javanese transmigrant in Merauke. He worked mostly
as a freelancer, including his latest work for the Tabloid Jubi website. He
is survived by his wife and two children.
The Voice of Human Rights reported that Matra'is had earlier written reports
on illegal logging around Jayapura as well as military businesses in
Merauke. The killing transpired at a time of growing tension in the Merauke
area associated with a plan backed by the local government and Jakarta to
create a massive plantation. The "development" plan would severely impact
local Papuans who rely on the forest and other lands that would be consumed
by the project. Local opposition and local media coverage of that protest
has been under growing pressure from local authorities. Some journalists
received threatening text messages in the week during which Matra'is was
murdered.
Complicating any effort to understand or resolve this crime is the
infiltration of intelligence personnel into the ranks of journalists. The
Voice of Human Rights named two men who had allegedly worked for the
intelligence and infiltrated the Tabloid Jubi website. One of them is a
Javanese man who originates from Rangkas Bitung, West Java, but went to
college in Yogjakarta, who claimed that he is an NGO activist but also a car
workshop owner, a crocodile skin trader and a political analyst. His writing
revealed his Indonesian military-styled analysis about the failures of local
elites in post-Helsinki Aceh and in Sarmi, Papua. He has disappeared from
Papua after the Matra'is murder.
see also
The Reality of Security Force Brutality in West Papua
Through much of August
a video depicting the reality of Indonesian state
security force brutality in West Papua has circulated widely on the
internet. The stark YouTube video presents the last minutes of a
Papuan man captured and then bayoneted by the Indonesian police (Brimob).
In the video, as the man lies dying with his intestines spilling onto the
ground, his head propped against a log, he is taunted and tormented by his
murderers. "Oh God!" Yawan Wayeni cries a few times in pain. Instead of treating him, the
policemen seen on the video continue to question and taunt him. The scene
is reminiscent of the killing of Papuan resistance leader Kelly Kwalik
several months later who bled to death from an untreated bullet wound to his
thigh while in police custody.
see Al-Jazeera report on video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxHTpQho5es&feature=channell
The torture-murder of Yawan transpired in early August 2009 but the video of
his final moments surfaced only in late July 2010. During the intervening 11
months the police failed to investigate the incident. Only in the wake of
the surfacing of the tape and growing international outrage did the police
move to investigate. But even that tardy explanation has been inappropriate
with police threats and intimidation aimed at any potential witnesses
including Yawan's wife and young family. The evidence the police have sought
to suppress incriminates Yawan's captors: Yawan was seized without a weapon
and was hobbled by a bullet wound to the calf. He was secure in police
custody at the time a bayonet was thrust into his abdomen.
Yawan was no stranger to the Indonesian authorities and was on a police
blacklist. He was the personal bodyguard of the Chairperson of the Serui
Traditional Board, Yusuf Tanawani, a vocal critic of Indonesian policy.
Yawan, 39, was also a member of the "Team of 100" Papuan civil society
leaders who in 1999 met with President B.J. Habibie at the Palace to demand
independence for Papua. It was this group that 50 U.S. members of Congress
proposed that President Obama meet with during his anticipated November 2010
visit to Indonesia.
At the time of his capture, as he breakfasted at dawn with his family in a
potato patch on Yaopen Waropen islands, Yawan was also a wanted man. He had
who escaped from Serui prison months earlier where was serving a nine-year
jail sentence for state-alleged involvement in an armed raid against the
employees of PT Artha Makmur Permai and the military post at Saubeba, Serui.
According to the report of the Commission for Missing Persons & Victims of
Violence (Kontras), during the raid the police found only Yawan's wife and
children in the hut. Yawan's widow has stated that Yawan did not have a
weapon. He had fled the breakfast site at their approach but returned when
his children began crying in the presence of the heavily armed police at
their garden hut. As he returned to the site of his distressed family he
was shot in the calf and seized.
Chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights, Ifdhal Kasim has
joined in a wide public outcry in Indonesia over the incident, insisting the
"Police must investigate Yawan's
death and protect his family."
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