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West Papua Report
November 2008
This is the 54th 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 by the East Timor and Indonesian
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:
International
Parliamentarians for West Papua Organization Launched in London
On the October 15, the "International Parliamentarians for West
Papua" was officially launched by the Chairman of the All Party
Parliamentary Group on West Papua in the UK House of Commons, Rt Hon
Andrew Smith MP.
The launch took place in the British parliament and was attended by
Hon Moana Carcasses Kalosil MP, representing the Vanuatu Parliament;
Lembit Öpik MP (UK Parliament);
Jeremy Corbyn MP (UK Parliament); and Mr. Benny Wenda, West Papuan
independence leader in the United Kingdom. This event was witnessed
by West Papuan representatives from the Netherlands, university
students (from Oxford, Exeter, Reading, and London), and
representatives of UK based human rights and environmental groups.
Melinda Janki (international human rights law expert) presented a
paper on West Papua's legal rights to self determination. Speakers
from International Parliamentarians for West Papua included Andrew
Smith MP (UK), Lord Harries (UK), Lembit
Öpik MP (UK) and Hon Moana
Carcasses Kalosil MP (Vanuatu). U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) was
among those sending congratulatory messages. Other supportive
messages came from Australian Senators and MPs from New Zealand,
Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Guyana.
Peaceful Papuans
Beaten, Detained for Welcoming Formation of IPWP; Indonesian
Parliamentarians Protest Launch
October 14 - 16 saw widespread rallies and demonstrations
throughout the Indonesian archipelago intended to welcome the
creation of an international parliamentarian caucus for West Papua
(IPWP) in London October 15 (see report above). A major rally in
Jayapura drew thousands of Papuans. Additional demonstrations and
meetings took place in the West Papuan cities of Sorong and
Manokwari, Papuan students outside of West Papua rallied in
Makassar, Manado, Jogjakarta, Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bali. Papuans
also demonstrated at the Indonesian embassy in Canberra.
In Jayapura, Buchtar Tabuni, chairperson of the Committee for
International Parliamentarians for West Papua, was among many
Papuans subjected to police scrutiny. He and 17 other Papuans were
taken into custody for questioning by Jayapura city police. Lawyer
Latifah Anum Siregar told the Jakarta Post that those detained were
"beaten in public and then forced at gunpoint to enter police
cars."
One of the key organizers of the rally in Jayapura was brutally
murdered on or about October 17. An autopsy conducted by the
Jayapura District Public Hospital DOK II on the body of Yosias Syet
of Sentani concluded he had died of torture. Another Papuan
demonstrator, Martinus Grewas, was killed in Sorong, reportedly by
security forces.
Tabuni has been interrogated on "suspicion of subversion" for his
participation in the demonstration. The interrogation was based on
Articles 106, 107 and 110 of the Criminal Code regarding
subversion, as well as Article 212 of the Criminal Code related to
"obstructing state officials in the performance of their duties."
Two other prominent Papuans, chairman of Dewan Adat Papua (DAP)
Forkorus Yoboisembut and DAP secretary general Leonard Imbiri also
responded to summons for interrogation by the police regarding the
October 16 demonstration. Imbiri also faced questioning as a
witness to the October 16 demonstration and as a witness in
connection with the event in Wamena on August 9, 2008, during which
the Morning Star was unfurled. Opinus Tabuni reportedly was shot by
security forces for no apparent reason at that event (see October
2008 West Papua Report).
The Jawa Pos reports that the local deputy police chief in Jayapura
prohibited journalists from reporting about investigations into the
subversion case related to the October 16 demonstration. The police
officer warned that if journalists pursue the case, they could be
the victims of an accident on their way home ("bisa mengalami
kecelakaan saat pulang"). The warning came while TV journalists were
in the office of the director of criminal investigation of the Papua
police. The journalists wanted to follow the questioning of several
persons as witnesses in the case of DAP head Forkorus Yoboisembut,
the DAP general secretary, Leonard Imbiri, and Buchtar Tabuni.
"Don't investigate this question in the area of Polda (local police
force). Your motorcycle could end up having a crash," said Borent,
the deputy director. The head of public relations of the police,
Agus Rianto expressed his apologies in advance "if anything untoward
happens" to any journalists.
Reacting to the developments in London, a member of the Indonesian
Parliament announced his intention to protest the formation of the
IPWP to the British government, claiming the UK parliamentarians
were supporting "separatism." Theo L. Sambuaga, chairman of the
House's Commission I overseeing defense, information, foreign and
political affairs, said the protest would be sent to the British
Embassy in Jakarta. Sambuaga added: "We can't accept any efforts to
support such a separatist movement, because it indicates foreign
intervention in our country's affairs," he said. The House will also
bring the case to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which has stated it
will not tolerate any separatist movement."
Papuan Church Leaders
Urge Dialogue Regarding 1969 Annexation
The Jakarta Post reported on October 20 that Papuan church
leaders are calling for peaceful talks to consider the 1969
annexation of West Papua, conducted through the "Act of Free
Choice," which is widely viewed as a fraudulent exercise. The
leaders noted that police had rejected a proposal to hold a massive
rally on Oct. 20. The aim of the planned demonstration was to make
Papuan views known to the Papuan legislative council. The leaders
criticized the police, backed by the military, for detaining the
activists who planned the mass demonstration.
Greenpeace Calls for
Logging Moratorium in West Papua
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| Nabire, Papua
province, Indonesia. Logs being loaded onto log barge for
shipment. Greenpeace
released evidence of continued illegal logging
activities in a suspended logging concession area in Kaimana,
West Papua province. © Greenpeace / Ardiles Rante
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The international environmental organization Greenpeace
has called on the Indonesian government to declare a moratorium on
logging in West Papua. Greenpeace argued that only a moratorium
could save what is left of the Papuan rainforest. Underscoring the
urgency of the current situation, Greenpeace spokesperson Bustar
Maitar reported that Greenpeace, which is currently monitoring the
situation in West Papua, has observed accelerating illegal
deforestation. Greenpeace also noted that West Papua's forests are
under threats posed by illegal logging and the expansion of palm oil
plantations.
TNI "Reform"
The unreformed Indonesian military (TNI) for decades has been the
principal agent for violence against the Papuan people and others
throughout the Indonesian archipelago. Despite reformist rhetoric,
the TNI remains a largely unreconstructed, rogue institution,
unaccountable and beyond the control of Indonesia's democratizing
civilian government.
That reality is elaborated in an analysis prepared by Kontras, the
Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, one of
Indonesia's most effective and respected human rights organizations.
Kontras was founded and led by Munir Said Thalib who was
assassinated in 2004. The organizers of his killing, widely believed
to be from the ranks of senior retired TNI, have not yet been
successfully prosecuted.
Key judgments of that analysis follow:
The success of eliminating the TNI's political role should
not be measured by the revocation of the TNI's seats in the
parliament (DPR). Although the TNI's presence in the parliament
ceased in 2004, the stipulations in certain legal instruments
such as the Law on the TNI and Law on the Truth and
Reconciliation Committee show the strong influence the armed
forces continue to wield.
In the Law on the TNI, for example, several of the TNI's old
positions, such as the presence of territorial command (koter)
and the "functionality" function, are still justified. The Law
on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which was
expected to be a medium to resolve past human right violations
within the framework of TNI's institutional reform, was found to
be an example of a problematic political product and revoked by
the Constitutional Court.
The TNI still maintains the Army's territorial command
structure, such as Kodam (military regional command), Korem
(military regiment command), Kodim (the military district
command) and Babinsa (village guidance), whereas the 1998 reform
demands the retraction of the military "dual function" and the
removal of territorial command structure. The Armed Forces
Faction in the parliament was abolished in 2004 but the
territorial command remained.
The state has neglected to take action against ongoing business
practices, and even failed to stop the transfer of the TNI's
assets to private parties. There appears to be a large amount
of the state's assets used by the TNI that have been misused for
illegal objectives.
The delay in amending the Law on the Military Tribunal has
caused the low public accountability of the TNI before the law.
TNI members and the former officers of the military still have
access to special treatment when they are brought before the
court. This culture of impunity is hard to eliminate, and one of
the causes is that the Law on Military Tribunal has never been
revised. The process of promotion to strategic positions in the
TNI does not give enough consideration to a person's human
rights record. Thus impunity and military violence endure, which
demonstrates the strong influence of the TNI on the national
political stage.
Soldiers' welfare only serves as a political commodity to ask
for an increase in the defense budget, even to legitimize
illegal practices. The welfare of the soldiers has never been
achieved because, since the beginning, there has never been any
serious effort exerted on behalf of the government to achieve
it. The argument that TNI businesses would increase the capacity
and welfare of the soldiers is a bifurcation of truth, because
the profit has always been enjoyed by a few elites in the TNI.
Senate Testimony
Regarding Freeport's Impact on The Lives of Papuans
Abi Abrash Walton -- assistant to the President of Antioch
University of New England for sustainability and social justice and
associate core faculty in the
Environmental Advocacy
and Organizing Program --
provided testimony which was read into the record of the U.S.
Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Human Rights and the
Law for its September 24, 2008, hearing on "Extracting Natural
Resources: Corporate Responsibility and the Rule of Law." Her
research about the human rights and environmental impacts of mining
in West Papua and the need for greater corporate accountability
formed the basis for her testimony.
Read the full text of testimony
here
http://www.antiochne.edu/news/news_detail.cfm?News_ID=524
Read ETAN and WPAT's joint submission to the committee at
http://etan.org/news/2008/09freeport.htm.
A
webcast of the full hearing is available on the Senate's
website.
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