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West Papua Report |
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| Early April rally in Nabire in support of the ILWP. |
April 3 Thousands of Papuans stage a peaceful demonstrations in Jayapura
and Nabire calling for a referendum on Papuans' political future; celebrating
the formation of the International Lawyers for West Papua (ILWP) group and also
demanding the release of Papuan political prisoners. The demonstrations are
organized in part by the National Committee for West Papua which on march 30
established a tent base camp near Nabire for the purpose of organizing the
demonstrations there.
April 3 Brimob raid the Dewan Adat Papua (DAP) office in Jayapura. During
the raid Police destroy a computer and other equipment and seize a number of
documents. The police claim to have confiscated two firearms from the office.
Police hold 15 people overnight. Some are released the next day and told to
report regularly to police. Facing charges are: Mako Tabuni (also known as Musa
Tabuni), Serafin Diaz, and Yance Motte. The three men will face charges of makar
(subversion), under Article 106 of the Penal Code, for which the maximum penalty
is 20 years imprisonment, and under Article 160 for incitement. They are accused
of pursing the aim of separating part of the territory of Indonesia. Police
chief Bagus Ekodanto claims the men were arrested for their involvement in a
demonstration at several locations in Abepura and outside the provincial
assembly building (DPRP) in Jayapura on 10 March 2009. The men had reportedly
called for a referendum in West Papua and urged Papuans not to vote in the April
9 Parliamentary elections.
April 3 Police arrest two political activists from Jayapura.
April 6 TNI and Brimob raid and destroy a tent base camp of the National
Committee for West Papua at a site just outside Nabire. In the assault, one
Papuan was shot and killed; six Papuans were arrested.
April 6 Brimob open fire on a protest demonstration by hundreds in Nabire
injuring at least seven people. According to local sources, four of the wounded
are taken to the hospital in critical condition, including a 10 year-old student
who was shot as he was returning from school. A police officer is also injured
by an arrow. The approximately 200 demonstrators had called for the boycott of
upcoming parliamentary elections and investigations into past human rights
violations in Papua. They also celebrated the launch of the International
Lawyers for West Papua (ILWP) in Guyana in early April 2009.
Amnesty International's Isabelle Arradon noted this is not the first incident in
the town and there should be an independent investigation. "It is the third
demonstration since September 2008 where some demonstrators in Nabire have been
shot by police," she said. "According to the eyewitnesses those six people are
the militias ... from Indonesia's security forces who have used the situation to
trigger conflicts between demonstrators and the police," she said. But the
footage clearly shows uniformed officers working with other men dressed in
civilian clothes. (ASA 21/012/2009, 7 April 2009 "Indonesia: Police Head must
investigate excessive use of force by Nabire Police") AI notes "This is the
third reported incident of such abuses by the Nabire police force since December
2008." WPAT notes there is eye-witness reporting that the violence was
orchestrated by provocateurs employed by the Indonesian military.
April 7 Authorities arrest Markus Haluk, secretary-general of the
Leadership Council of the Association of Students from the Central Highlands, on
charges of spreading information and provocation for calling for a boycott of
the election in Papua.
April 8 at 11pm, rumors circulate that a member of the police force had
been stabbed by an unidentified person near Youfeta Market, Abepura. In
response, the police conduct sweeps along the main roads.
April 8 Bombs explode near a bridge between PNG and West Papua.
Subsequent police statements claimed that this bomb and one found near the
Abepura police station (see below) were both composed of TNT and, the police
contended, therefore indicated a common perpetrator group.
April 8 An explosion and fire at a Biak Refinery kills one person. There
is speculation the incident may have been an accident.
April 8 Three migrant ojek drivers are stabbed to death in Wamena.
April 8-9 Unidentified people numbering possibly up to 100 assault the
Abepura police station. Police shot one of the attackers dead and injured four.
Attackers, according to police, used bows and arrows and "bombs"
April 9 at 2.30am, the Rector's Building at Cendrawasih University
suffers an arson attack by unidentified people. Police conducted sweeps which
result in the arrest of eight students at the Minmin Students Mess, one of whom
sustains gunshot wounds. Damage in the fire is limited to one floor.
April 10 An Avia Star cargo plane carrying election materials crashes in
West Papua killing six government officials.
April 11-12 Fighting erupts at PNG-West Papua border involving TNI and
Papuan resistance fighters. Unconfirmed reports contended that six TNI personnel
and five Papuan fighters are killed. The fighting is centered at the border town
of Wutung (PNG town) and at Batas, the actual border crossing point. One report
contends that Papuan fighters may have shot down a military aircraft, apparently
a helicopter. Other reports claim that Papuans destroyed a bridge. The TNI
torches many houses in the area, leaving hundreds homeless. The border is
reportedly closed as is the Batas market.
April 12 Police claim to find "bombs" near Abepura police station.
April 12 Another migrant ojek driver in Wamena is stabbed to death.
April 14 Media report 38 prisoners escape from a Wamena detention
facility, five are immediately recaptured.
April 14 At 10 PM a fire is reported at Provincial Election Committee
Headquarters in Jayapura. The fire may have been caused by an electoral fault,
though arson is not ruled out. Possibly due to the fire, Jayapura suffers
electrical blackout for two hours. The following day, the police announce that
200 additional police personnel were being brought into West Papua.
April 15 A police convoy in Tingginambut in the Pucak Jaya is attacked.
One policeman is killed and six are wounded. Police blame the attack on the OPM.
Police announce that 80 Brimob personnel will be deployed to the area from
outside of West Papua.
April 16 A fire at the State Junior College in Wamena destroys a lab, a
warehouse and three classrooms.
U.S.
Groups Call For U.S. Government Action in Context of Escalating
Repression and Violence in West Papua
On April 9, in the wake of escalating repression of human rights and
violence in West Papua, several U.S. groups called on the U.S. Government to
act. Land Is Life, the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) and the
West Papua Advocacy Team wrote to leaders of the House and Senate Foreign
Affairs Committees expressing their deep concern. The groups noted in part that
Indonesian government forces had targeted peaceful protesters and that the
repression followed a series of arrests of dissenters under charges of
"subversion" and "incitement," colonial era laws that had been widely criticized
by human rights organizations. The organizations called for investigations of
the repression and the increased violence, urged the U.S. government to press
Indonesian officials to protect human rights and called on the U.S. government
to press for an internationally facilitated dialogue between senior Indonesian
officials and Papuans, including Papuan civil society leaders. (see
http://etan.org/news/2009/04papua.htm
for text of the statement)
Papuan Church Leaders Call for Investigation of Pre-election Violence
Papuan Church land civil society leaders have called for investigations
regarding the identity of perpetrators of a spate of pre-election violence in
West Papua. Their call echoes concerns raised by Papuan and international
observers who cite first-hand accounts of provocateurs with ties to the security
forces as instigating some of the violence, such as in Nabire on April 6.
Similarly, observers were dubious of national police claims that nine bombs
found at three locations were likely the work of Papuan resistance fighters. The
police claimed that all the bombs were composed of TNT and ammonium nitrate but
lacked detonators. It is doubtful that any of the OPM would have access to these
materials in sufficient volume or be able to coordinate placement in all the
locations where the bombs were reportedly discovered. The police contention that
all lacked detonators similarly rang untrue to observers. Other possible
explanations for the bombs include an attempt to manufacture a security crisis
without causing severe death and destruction, an attempt to frame the OPM, or a
combination of these motives.
The Indonesian Government
Expels the International Committee of the Red Cross
from West Papua
The Indonesian government on April 23 expelled the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) from West Papua. The Indonesian action followed a visit
by ICRC officials to Papuan political prisoners. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson
claimed, however, that the closure of the office was not because of the prisoner
visit but rather was because the ICRC was operating illegally because it did not
have permission to be in West Papua. Citing the ICRC's 1977 and 1987 agreements
with the government, the spokesperson contended that the ICRC was only allowed
to use its Jakarta office as a "regional headquarters" for its work in the
Asia-Pacific region.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson added that there was no longer any need for
human rights abuse monitoring in Indonesia.
The Indonesian government in the past has worked closely with the ICRC in West
Papua. The Indonesian military used the ICRC as a go-between in an attempt to
secure release of hostages taken by the armed Papuan resistance in 1996. When
the nearly successful effort foundered over a dispute among senior Indonesian
military and political figures as to who would get credit for a release which
the ICRC had brokered, the Indonesian military, under the leadership of then
General Prabowo, sabotaged the deal. Several Papuans villages were killed in a
botched military raid aimed at freeing the hostages. The hostages subsequently
escaped, except for one who was killed.
The ICRC office in Aceh will also close.
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