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West Papua Report
April 2010
This is the 71st 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. Contents
OPM Calls for Internationally Mediated Dialogue between Papuans and Indonesian Government
The military wing of the Free Papua Movement (TPN-OPM) announced on March 13
that it would support internationally mediated dialogue(preferably
by the UN) between
Papuans and the Indonesian central government. The statement specifically
offered support for plans proposed
separately by Papuan Catholic Priest Neles Tebay and the Indonesian
Institute of Sciences (LIPI).
On March 22 the Indonesian police used force to break up a rally in Jayapura sponsored by the West Papua National Committee (KNPB). It was the second protest KNPB had organized within a week and was aimed at communicating Papuan concerns to President Obama before his visit to Indonesia, now set for June. Demonstrations were also held in several other cities, including Sorong, Manokwari, Wamena and Serui. All the demonstrations were peaceful. Organizers in Jayapura had obtained a permit but police there fired their weapons to disperse the crowd and arrested 15 Papuans. All but two of the peaceful demonstrators detained by the police in Jayapura were released. Mara Koyoga and Linus Pagawe were formally charged for alleged possession of "sharp implements." The two will face charges under Law 12/1951 regarding possession of weapons. They face a maximum of 20 years in prison. All the demonstrations were coordinated by the KNPB. Buchtar Tabuni, chair of the KNPB, is serving a three-and-a-half year sentence in Abepura Prison. He reportedly said that the peaceful demonstration had taken place according to the organization's intentions. "They are taking place according to my directives. If the police need any clarifications, they should ask me," he said. At least one Papuan official, the deputy chairman of the provincial legislative assembly (DPRP) Yehuda Gobay S.Th, condemned the detentions and arrests in Jayapura. He noted that security officials frequently round people up during peaceful demonstrations and fire shots in the midst of demonstrators. He described this as unacceptable in an era of democracy and called for the unconditional release of all those arrested.
Also on March 22, hundreds of Papuans demonstrated peacefully without police interference in Manokwari . The coordinator of this action, Zeth Wambrauw, welcomed the prospective visit of President Obama and urged local officials to arrange a meeting of Papuans with him. This demonstration, as did the others, called on the Indonesian Government to withdraw organic and non-organic troops from Papua. The demonstrators, including students from the University of Papua (UNIPA), rejected calls for a Papua-Jakarta dialogue unless there is an international mediator, especially the UN. The demonstrators also called for closing of the massive Freeport McMoran copper and gold mine and for a review of the so called "Act of Free Choice." Although some of the demonstrators tried and failed to meet members of the local Parliament (DPRP), some did meet the secretary of Commission A, Yulius Moniaga, and someone from Commission B. Moniaga urged the police not to use violence towards those arrested. He was also quoted as saying that when people are arrested and put onto trucks, what usually happened was that they were immediately beaten. A demonstrator named Mako Tabuni was quoted as saying that similar demonstrations had been held in other parts of the territory since 18 March where the demonstrators had been calling for proper legal procedures to be used. "These are not anarchistic actions but people calling for the principle of democracy to be respected," he said. One of their demands was for Memorandum of Understanding to be reached regarding the way people can struggle for their aspirations. The harsh police action against the demonstrators in Jayapura coincided with publicity surrounding a flawed report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) which alleged that the KNPB (which organized these demonstrations) was a separatist organization which was prepared to employ violence to advance its aims. (WPAT among others has criticized the report, see item below for summary of the ICG report and WPAT's critique.) Victor Yeimo Trial Begins
The respected UK-based Indonesian human rights organization Tapol has translated a report about the opening of the trial of Papuan activist Victor F. Yeimo on March 11. Yeimo, a leading figure in the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) is charged with rebellion (makar) under Article 106 of the Criminal Code for allegedly seeking secession. The prosecutors charge that in a speech at a peaceful rally on March 10, 2009, Yeimo "demanded independence for West Papua, rejected special autonomy, and called for a referendum, and a review of the 1969 Act of Free Choice He also called for the release of all political prisoners, both those tried as well as those not yet tried." Outside the court house after the hearing, witness Marcho Tabuni, told journalists on behalf of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) that Yeimo's arrest and "detention had taken place without any proof.... He said that Article 28 of the Indonesian Constitution upholds the right to freedom of expression. He called for greater space in West Papua for basic freedoms, for the withdrawal of the military," and the unconditional release of all Papuan political prisoners. Article 106 of the Indonesian criminal code which criminalizes peaceful political speech is regularly employed by prosecutors to target dissenters. Article 106 is fundamentally inconsistent with Indonesian obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Articles 19 and 21) which Indonesia signed in 2006 as well as the under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Articles 19 and 20). TNI Announces Plan to Augment Troops in West Papua
The Indonesian military (TNI) March 23 announced plans to deploy thousands of additional troops to West Papua. Papuan officials, echoing public calls by demonstrating students and other Papuans, have repeatedly called for the removal of TNI personnel from West Papua. There is no indication that the central government has discussed the troop increase with Papuan officials. Rear Marshal Sagom Tamboen said up to four battalions, approximately 4000 troops, from a "Rapid Reaction Strike Force" division based in Jakarta could be sent to the province to "maintain the territory's unity within eastern Indonesia." Experts assess that there are already at least 10,000 troops in West Papua plus addition unknown numbers of military personnel associated with the special forces (Kopassus), military intelligence personnel and other special units. Rear Marshal Tamboen said the planned deployment, which has not yet been approved by the government, had nothing to do with recent shootings targeting police and employees of U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoRan. Despite deployment of additional security personnel to the region in 2009, violence there has continued. The proposed deployment appears unrelated to any conceivable foreign threat and the lightly armed, small-in-number armed resistance poses no significant military threat. It appears that the principal purpose of the proposed deployment would be to intimidate Papuans who are increasingly vocal in peacefully advocating for their human and political rights. The troops would also be in position to increase the flow of cash into TNI coffers through extortion of local businesses, enforcement for "developers" attempting to push Papuans off their lands, human trafficking, and illegal logging. New Complications for Food Estate Project in Merauke Greenomics Indonesia, an environmental NGO, has expressed concern about the Government's agricultural estate development plan for Merauke (see WPAT reports for February and March regarding this plan). According to the March 24 Jakarta Post, Greenomics Indonesia predicted most of the planned 1.6 million of hectares to be transformed into food estates would consume virgin forested areas. An assessment of forestry data by Greenomics said there were only 300,000 hectares of production forest (i.e., non-virgin forest). This area of production forest is too scattered and not large enough to accommodate so vast an area of food estates. "The area is not large scale; they are scattered and the permit should be issued by the Forestry Ministry," Greenomics Executive Director Elfian Effendi said. He also said that developers should also seek approval from the House of Representatives. The Indonesian environmental group Walhi called the project a land grab and warned that the estate would threaten the ecosystem. "Large-scale land conversions in Merauke, which consists of predominantly low-lying land and marshes, could cause it to lose its land areas," Walhi said in a statement. "The decrease in forest and water catchment areas could result in a faster intrusion of sea water to the land." The issues raised by Greenomics and Walhi add to previously voiced concerns over land tenure rights and the impact of a large influx of non-Papuans into the region to be employed in the agricultural development. (WPAT Comment: A similar government plan to convert a massive area in South Kalimantan to agricultural use in the latter years of the Suharto dictatorship led to disastrous results when brackish water inundated the area being prepared for agriculture rendering it useless for any purpose.) U.S. State Department Finds Extensive Human Rights Abuse in West Papua The annual U.S. Department of State annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, included a detailed account of human rights abuse in West Papua, especially by Indonesian security forces (see Indonesia report at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/eap/135992.htm) There were important omissions despite the extensive coverage. The report completely ignored the widely cited June 2009 report by Human Rights Watch, "What Did I Do Wrong?" which documented in great detail abuse of Papuans by Indonesian Special Forces (Kopassus) personnel. Observers speculate that the omission might have been intentional with the purpose of diverting attention from the notorious unit which is under consideration for U.S. training and other assistance for the first time in 12 years. The U.S. Congress has long barred assistance to units like Kopassus because of their exceptionally notorious record of human rights violations, many of them committed in West Papua, East Timor, Aceh, and elsewhere.
The Report also fails to note the fundamental inconsistency between Indonesia's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (signed by Indonesia in 2006) and the persistence of Article 106 in the Indonesian criminal code, which criminalizes as treason or rebellion peaceful, political speech. Article 106 is a common weapon used by Indonesian authorities to punish peaceful dissent, especially in West Papua. As in past years the State Department report fails to note the failure over many decades of the Indonesian Government to provide minimally adequate services to Papuans, especially those in rural areas. The infrastructure for health care and education are insufficient and account for some of the worst rates of infant mortality and other health indices in Asia. The report errs in not acknowledging the Indonesian Governments utter failure to address such basic human needs as required by the International Covenants on Social, Cultural and Economic rights to which Indonesia is party. The following highlights key description in the State Department report for the year 2009 regarding government policies and practices which have negative implications for human rights protection in West Papua. The report also contains specific reports of human rights violations:
A more detailed critique of the State Department report by WPAT and the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) will be released shortly (check www.etan.org). International Crisis Group Accused of Misrepresenting Causes of Violence in West Papua
A March 11 report by the International Crisis Group (ICG), "Indonesia:
Radicalization and Dialogue in Papua, claimed
that several Papuan groups were behind rising tension and violence in West
Papua. Some media and senior ICG officials misrepresented elements of the
report to suggest, incorrectly, that it had assigned blame to Papuan rebels
for recent violence in the area of the Freeport McMoran mine. The Report had
described the rebels as more likely to be responsible, but said "there
are no conclusive answers." The
ICG report usefully criticized the Indonesian government for its
restrictions on access to West Papua by journalists, researchers and others
and also urged the Indonesian Government to desist from attempting to
portray all Papuan critics and dissenters as "separatist." ICG also
usefully encouraged efforts supported by Papuans and some Indonesians to
launch a dialogue between Jakarta and West Papua. Incident in the Puncak Jaya The Antara news agency reported on March 23 that Indonesian troops and a group it labeled "separatist" were involved in an exchange of gunfire in the troubled Mulia District in the central highlands regency of Puncak Jaya. The incident reportedly began when an armed group fired on a military vehicle as it was returning to its base in the Puncak Senyum area. Local officials said that no civilians were hurt and there appear to have been no casualties among the 13 TNI personnel in the vehicle or their alleged attackers . WPAT sources in the area report that some villagers have already fled their homes fearing onset of military operations.
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