Protest Highlights
Restrictions on Access
to Papua
Calls for Opening Papua
to International Journalists,
Aid Organizations
and Human Rights Investigators
On Wednesday,
April 29, an
international group
of protesters
gathered at the
Indonesian consulate
near Central Park in
New York to call for
an end to
restrictions on
access to West
Papua. New Yorkers
were joined by a
number of West
Papuans who were in
New York for the
UN's annual
indigenous peoples'
forum, as well as Indonesians,
Australians, and
Hawaiians, and
others, to urged
Presidents Jokowi
Widodo to fulfill
his promise to open
the region.
Protesters
leafletted and
otherwise engaged
passers-by and
members of the
consulate staff.
Many of the
protesters wore
all-black clothing
to symbolize the
media blackout in
Papua.
The protest was
organized by the
East Timor and
Indonesia Action
Network (ETAN), as
part of
the
Global Day of Action
for Free and Open
Access to Papua.
The NYC protest was
one of 22 in 10
countries, including
Indonesia,
Australia, England
and the Solomon
Islands. In the
U.S., demonstrations
also took place in
Los Angeles and San
Francisco.
ETAN also delivered
a letter
to the consulate and
the Indonesian
embassy in
Washington, DC,
asking "what is
Indonesia hiding in
West Papua?" The
letter urges "the
end to restrictions
on access to Papua"
and says "the
media blackout in
Papua denies the
Papuan people the
right to have their
voices heard and
allows human rights
violations such as
killings, torture
and arbitrary
arrests to continue
with impunity."
It was organized by
Tapol and signed
by 52
Papuan, Indonesian
and international
groups and
parliamentarians
(including ETAN and the West Papua Advocacy
Team).
"Why
are there such heavy
restrictions on access
to West Papua?"
asked John M. Miller,
coordinator of ETAN. "Indonesia's
President Joko Widodo
should fulfill his promise
to end the barriers
to journalists, human
rights investigators
and humanitarian organizations
working in the region."
West Papua is one of
the world's most isolated
conflict spots. For
decades, indigenous
activists campaigning
for their rights have
been arrested, disappeared,
tortured and killed.
Local journalists who
uncover the truth face
lethal risks. Foreign
journalists trying to
report on Papua have
been arrested, deported,
and even imprisoned.
One by one, international
humanitarian organizations
have closed their Papua
offices. Access for
UN human rights observers
has been closed for
eight years. Until Indonesia
lifts the repressive
restrictions on access
to Papua, Indonesian
security forces and
paramilitaries are free
to act with total impunity,
and indigenous Papuans
will continue to be
killed.
Global Day
of Action
for
Access
to West
Papua
unites
protesters
across
20 cities
London,
29
April
2014
- Dozens
of demonstrators
dressed
in black
gathered
outside
the
Indonesian
Embassy
today
to lead
the
global
protest
against
West
Papua's
50-year
long
isolation. The
demonstration
was
organised
by TAPOL
and
Survival
International,
supported
by Amnesty
UK and
the
Free
West
Papua
Campaign.
The
rally
was
one
of 22
protests
around
the
world
calling
for
free
and
open
access
to Indonesia’s
most
secretive
region.
Since
West
Papua’s
annexation
in 1963,
Indonesia
has
imposed
a media
blackout
on the
contested,
resource-rich
territory,
allowing
perpetrators
of human
rights
violations
to act
with
total
impunity.
West
Papua
is one
of the
world’s
most
isolated
conflict
spots.
For
decades,
Indonesian
security
forces
have
brutally
suppressed
Papuan
pro-independence
movements.
The
‘Global
Day
of Action
for
Free
and
Open
Access
to Papua’
has
sparked
rallies
in West
Papua,
Indonesia,
Australia,
New
Zealand,
the
Solomon
Islands,
Scotland,
Germany,
France,
Italy
and
Spain.
Protests
in Los
Angeles,
New
York
and
San
Francisco
are
planned
to take
place
later
today.
This
global
coordinated
effort,
the
first
of its
kind,
shows
that
worldwide
solidarity
for
West
Papua
has
reached
unprecedented
levels.
Esther
Cann
from
TAPOL,
a London-based
NGO
coordinating
the
rally
said,
“This
is the
first
time
we’ve
seen
anything
like
this
level
of support
for
West
Papua.
NGOs,
parliamentarians
and
solidarity
groups
all
around
the
world
are
telling
Indonesia
that
human
rights
abuses
in Papua
can
no longer
be ignored.
Papuan
voices
must
be heard.
In this
age
of information,
it’s
astounding
that
there
are
blackspot
regions
like
West
Papua.”
From
the
Solomon
Islands
to Scotland
to San
Francisco,
hundreds
of demonstrators
from
22 cities
in 10
different
countries
united
to call
for
a free
and
open
West
Papua.
Demonstrators
wore
black,
representing
the
ongoing
media
blackout
in West
Papua.
They
gathered
to demand
that
President
Joko
Widodo
fulfill
his
presidential
campaign
promise
of opening
West
Papua
to international
journalists,
humanitarian
and
human
rights
organisations.
A three-minute
silence
was
observed
to symbolize
the
silencing
of the
media
in West
Papua.
“President
Jokowi
himself
has
said
that
there
is nothing
to hide
in Papua.
So why
is it
still
virtually
impossible
for
journalists
and
NGOs
to report
on Papua?
We know
that
serious
human
rights
violations
are
happening
in Papua,
but
we still
have
no idea
of the
scale
of the
killings
and
torture
over
the
last
50 years,”
said
Cann.
This
global
day
of action
is our
way
of telling
the
Indonesian
government
that
the
world
is watching.
Even
though
they’ve
kept
West
Papua
isolated
for
50 years,
the
world
has
not
forgotten.
The
truth
must
and
will
come
out,”
said
human
rights
activist
Peter
Tatchell,
who
took
part
in the
protest.
At the
end
of the
demonstration,
a joint
letter
to President
Jokowi
signed
by 52
Papuan,
Indonesian
and
international
groups
and
parliamentarians
was
delivered
to the
Indonesian
Embassy
in London.
The
letter
pointed
out
that
‘the
media
blackout
denies
the
Papuan
people
the
right
to have
their
voices
heard
and
allows
human
rights
violations
such
as killings,
torture
and
arbitrary
arrests,
to continue
with
impunity.
The
de-facto
ban
on foreign
journalists,
NGOs
and
humanitarian
organisations
contributes
to the
isolation
of local
journalists,
and
makes
independent
investigation
and
corroboration
virtually
impossible’.
An Avaaz
petition calling for media freedom in West Papua, launched by the Free
West Papua Campaign and signed by over 47,000 people was delivered to
President Jokowi by Papuan students in Jakarta today.
Reporters
without
Borders,
a co-signatory
to the
joint
letter,
criticised
Indonesia’s
decline
in media
freedom.
Benjamin
Ismail,
the
Head
of the
Asia-Pacific
Desk
at Reporters
without
Borders
said,
“Indonesia’s
ranking
in the
World
Press
Freedom
Index
has
worsened
dramatically
in the
last
four
years.
In 2015,
it ranked
138
out
of 180
countries.
This
year’s
position
is mainly
the
result
of the
media
blackout
in West
Papua
orchestrated
by the
authorities.”
Access
for
UN human
rights
observers
has
been
closed
for
eight
years.
In recent
years,
international
humanitarian
agencies
and
NGOs
have
been
pressured
to close
their
field
offices
and
leave
Papua.
International
journalists
and
NGOs
seeking
to visit
and
work
in Papua
are
currently
required
to undergo
a stringent
visa
application
process
involving
the
unanimous
approval
of 18
separate
government
agencies
known
as the
Clearing
House
committee.
In October
last
year,
two
French
journalists
were
sentenced
to 11
weeks
in detention
under
immigration
charges
because
they
had
tried
to report
the
Papua
conflict.
During
a UN
Human
Rights
Council
event
last
month,
Valentine
Bourrat,
one
of the
two
journalists
detained
stated
that
“keeping
Papua
closed
to journalists
means
that
the
Indonesian
authorities
are
hiding
human
rights
violations.
As journalists
we cannot
let
a murderous
silence
prevail.”
Independent
reporting
by local
and
national
journalists
in Papua
is dangerous
and
sometimes
lethal.
According
to the
Papuan
branch
of Indonesia’s
Alliance
of Independent
Journalists
(Aliansi
Jurnalis
Independen,
AJI),
in 2014
there
were
20 reported
cases
of violence
and
intimidation
against
journalists
in Papua.
“Journalists
must
be able
to work
without
intimidation,
threats
or restriction.
We should
be able
to report
independently
and
without
fear
for
our
security.
Why
is this
not
guaranteed
to journalists
in Papua?
As Indonesian
citizens,
why
are
our
rights
not
safeguarded?”
said
Oktovianus
Pogau,
a journalist
with
Suara
Papua,
a Papuan
news
site.
During
his
presidential
campaign,
President
Jokowi
publically
stated
that
there
was
nothing
to hide
in Papua
and
promised
to open
the
region.
Yet
six
months
into
his
presidency,
Papua
remains
closed
off
to the
international
community.
While
President
Jokowi
has
pledged
his
commitment
to resolve
past
rights
abuses,
the
execution
of eight
people
for
alleged
drug
trafficking
offences
less
than
24 hours
ago
puts
the
future
direction
of
Indonesia’s
policy
on
human
rights
into
serious
question.
ETAN is "A
voice of reason, criticizing the
administration's reluctance
to address ongoing human rights
violations and escalating oppression
in West Papua and against religious
minorities throughout Indonesia."