Amnesty calls for release of students arrested over Morning Star
graduation parade
CNN Indonesia – May 8, 2024
Jakarta — Amnesty International Indonesia is urging the police to
release a number of high-school students who were arrested for wearing
Morning Star independence flag attributes during a parade in Nabire,
Central Papua.
Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid said
based on information they received, at least six students were arrested
by police during a senior high-school (SMA) graduation celebration on
Monday May 6.
"We call on the authorities to immediately free all the students who
were detained for no apparent reason and carry out a fair investigation
of acts of violence that allegedly occurred", said Hamid said in a
written statement on Tuesday May 7.
According to Hamid, the arrests were accompanied by alleged acts of
violence by police against students which is unacceptable. He said the
expression of happiness through a peaceful procession is not a crime.
Hamid is also of the view that the symbol of the Morning Star represents
a cultural expression, so it should not be a reason for the authorities
to arrest anyone without due legal process.
"The police and the government should emulate Gus Dur’s [former
Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid] approach towards indigenous
Papuans. Cultural symbols such as the Morning Star flag were
accommodated because it’s a peaceful expression", he said.
Based on information obtained by Amnesty, the students celebrated their
graduation by holding a parade on a main road while wearing their school
uniforms.
Some of them drew motives of the Morning Star flag on their uniforms,
which the authorities see as being a symbol of the Free Papua
Organization (OPM). A similar celebration was also carried out by SMA
students in Dogiyai regency.
But the celebration in Nabire ended with the arrest of the students
accompanied by alleged violence by the authorities. So far, the identity
of the six arrested students is still unknown. The students were said to
have been taken to the Nabire regional police station.
CNN Indonesia has contacted the head of Papua regional police public
relations division, Senior Commissioner Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo, to
ask about the arrests in Nabire, but as of this report being written he
has not responded.
Earlier, Prabowo said the police had asked for clarification regarding
the students’ parade wearing the Morning Star attributes. "We have asked
for clarification from the Dogiyai Polres [district police] related to
photos of the event that were circulated on a WhatsApp group", said
Prabowo on Monday.
Meanwhile, quoting from by Detik South Sulawesi, Dogiyai police chief
Police Commander Sarraju said the long-march by the Dogiyai 2 State SMA
students was in deed to celebrate their graduation. He claimed that the
police who were on patrol in the area were prohibited from entering the
school.
"Indeed (on Monday) morning at around 9.30 am our officer conducted
patrols and monitored the announcement of 12th grade graduation at the
Dogiyai SMU [State High School] 2 led by Second Police Inspector
Agustinus Rirey and officers", he said on Tuesday.
"But when they wanted to enter the school grounds to appeal to students
not to carry out the parade or long-march they were prevented by several
students standing guard at the school gate", he added.
The police, he said, are looking into the actions of the Dogiyai 2 State
SMA students who celebrated their graduation wearing clothes with
pictures of the Morning Star flag. The school principal and four
teachers have already been questioned over the incident.
"The Dogiyai police criminal investigation unit has conducted a
clarification with the school principal and teachers, as many as four
people, in relation with yesterday’s incident", said Dogiyai district
police chief Police Commander Sarajju.
Sarajju said that Dogiyai 2 State SMA school principle Fredy Yobee has
apologised for the incident claiming that he and the teachers did not
have prior knowledge of students’ actions. (yoa/kid)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was
"Amnesty Desak Polisi Bebaskan Siswa Papua Dibekuk Imbas Bintang
Kejora".]
Amnesty urges government to explain policy after TNI reverts to using
OPM term again
Kompas.com – April 30, 2024
Icha Rastika, Jakarta — Amnesty International Indonesia Executive
Director Usman Hamid is of the view that the change in the nomenclature
used for Armed Criminal Groups (KKB) in Papua to the Free Papua
Organization (OPM) could have a positive impact.
"It could be positive if it’s intended to recognise the existence of a
Papua independence organisation and abandon the negative stigma about
criminal groups and terrorist groups", said Hamid following a discussion
at the Salemba Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) office in Central
Jakarta on Monday April 29.
The problem is however, said Hamid, the change in nomenclature is only
within the TNI (Indonesian military) and is not a government policy. And
the change in terminology originated from a telegram from TNI commander
General Agus Subiyanto.
"The letter was actually confidential, in other words not for general
consumption. And if for example it is now circulating in the mass media,
of course it needs further explanation about why the TNI Commander
restored the OPM nomenclature and abandoned the terms KKB and KST
[Separatist Terrorist Group]", said Hamid.
Therefore Amnesty is urging the government to provide an explanation
after the TNI started using the term OPM again.
"The government needs to provide an explanation. Is it true that the
change in nomenclature is government’s policy. If it is only within the
TNI environment, then what is the government’s policy?", said Hamid.
On the other hand however, the change in nomenclature could have a
negative meaning.
"It could be negative if it is used for the labelisation of Papuans.
Every time there is a protest [over] land, plantations, mines, then
they’re labeled OPM, it could be negative", said Hamid.
Earlier, General Subiyanto said that his staff no longer called armed
groups that encouraged Papuan independence KKB.
"Because they themselves call themselves the TPNPB (West Papua National
Liberation Army) so it’s the same as the OPM", said Subiyanto during a
press conference at the TNI Commander’s office in Menteng, Central
Jakarta, on Wednesday April 10.
Subiyanto said the OPM has been committing terror and murder of
community members and TNI and Polri (Indonesian police) personnel. The
OPM also rapes teachers and health workers. Therefore, the TNI will not
remain silent.
"I will act firmly against what is being done by the OPM. There is no
country within in a country", said Subiyanto.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was
"Amnesty Dorong Pemerintah Jelaskan Perubahan Istilah KKB Jadi OPM".]
Indonesian Imperialism Is Alive – And Brutal – in West Papua
https://thediplomat.com/2024/04/indonesian-imperialism-is-alive-and-brutal-in-west-papua/
Indonesian Imperialism Is Alive – And Brutal – in West Papua
In the restive eastern province, Cold War realpolitik continues to reverberate.
By David Hutt
April 26, 2024
ASEAN BEAT | SECURITY | SOUTHEAST ASIA
Indonesian Imperialism Is Alive – And Brutal – in West Papua
In the restive eastern province, Cold War realpolitik continues to reverberate.
David Hutt
By David Hutt
April 26, 2024
Indonesian Imperialism Is Alive – And Brutal – in West Papua
Supporters of the independence of the West Papua shout slogans during a rally commemorating the 59th anniversary of the failed efforts by Papuan tribal chiefs to declare independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1961, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020.
Credit: AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim
Last month, videos emerged of 13 soldiers from an elite Indonesian battalion in West Java torturing a Papuan man, Definus Kogoya. According to Human Rights Watch, Kogoya “had his hands tied behind him and been placed inside a drum filled with water. The soldiers taunted Kogoya with racist slurs, kicking and hitting him. In another video, a man used a bayonet to cut his back. The water turned red.” The military, while apologizing for the incident, insisted that Kogoya was a member of the West Papua National Liberation Army and that he and two comrades – one of whom “died when he jumped from a military vehicle after arrest” – had burned down a clinic. Later, the police released the two alive men without charge.
At least 10 Papuan teenagers were killed by Indonesia’s military last September alone, while the implications of the 2019 Papuan uprising, the largest pro-independence mobilization in decades, are still being felt. Douglas Gerrard produced an excellent article on the conflict (“Indonesia Is Stepping Up Its Repression of West Papua’s Freedom Movement”) last year.
When the rest of Indonesia won independence in the 1950s, West Papua remained part of Dutch New Guinea. Jakarta wanted the entire territory. Sukarno’s first foreign minister demanded that Jakarta and its forces “get them down from the trees,” a racist notion of West Papuans that aped the racism of the European colonizers and which continues today. In the 1950s, Indonesian troops led some incursions into the Dutch colonial holdout but they were rebuffed, in part because Washington was unsure of which side to take, not least because Sukarno was still flirting with the communists.
But by the end of the 1950s, as the Cold War became more intense and Indonesia was seen as a country that had to become an ally, by hook or crook, the Americans made it known to the Dutch that they could no longer count on U.S. support for the status quo. Knowing that its empire would soon end and motivated to maintain some influence in Southeast Asia once it did, the Dutch cautiously favored independence for the West Papuans and supported the formation in 1961 of the New Guinea Council, which drafted a manifesto for Independence and Self-Government and declared the territory Papua Barat – “West Papua.”
Still, Washington wouldn’t support the effort. Instead, it orchestrated talks that led to the August 1962 New York Agreement. Jakarta gained control of West Papua (renamed West Irian), and after a brief transitional period overseen by the U.N., things were supposed to climax in (and Indonesia was obligated to hold) a referendum on self-determination.
Starting in July 1969, U.N. officials oversaw the so-called “Act of Free Choice,” an Orwellian term if there ever was one. The U.N. claimed it would be a fair election conducted under international scrutiny and by international norms. And all adults from West Papua were supposed to have a vote, per the U.N.’s rules. However, that wasn’t the case. Jakarta upped its attacks on West Papuan separatists, especially after Suharto became dictator in 1965. Having already decimated much of the separatist movement, Jakarta then handpicked 1,022 West Papuans to vote on behalf of the region’s 800,000 people in the plebiscite, despite committing to a universal ballot. Naturally, they voted unanimously in favor of integration with Indonesia.
In July 2004, on the 35th anniversary of this Act of Free Choice, the U.S. National Security Archive released declassified documents on U.S. policy deliberations, which I quote liberally from below. The violation of the Act of Free Choice was obvious long before the 1,000 or so Jakarta patsies were led forcibly into the polling booths. In 1968, U.S. embassy officials visiting the region noted that “Indonesia could not win an open election.” The U.S. ambassador, Marshall Green, fretted at the time that U.N. officials might “hold out for free and direct elections,” while Green stressed that all U.S. and Western officials should make known to their U.N. counterparts the “political realities,” meaning that Washington needed the vote to go Jakarta’s way because it was a committed anti-communist ally at the time.
By October 1968, months before the election, the U.S. Embassy wrote back to Washington in relief that U.N. officials had conceded “that it would be inconceivable from the point of view of the interest of the U.N., as well as the [Government of
Indonesia], that a result other than the continuance of West Irian within Indonesian sovereignty should emerge.” Even still, Green’s successor as U.S. ambassador, Frank Galbraith, noted in 1969, the year of the “referendum,” that “possibly 85 to 90%” of the West Papuan population “are in sympathy with the Free Papua cause.”
Nonetheless, Nixon and Kissinger visited Jakarta in July 1969 while the referendum was underway. Kissinger instructed his boss, “You should not raise this issue” of West Papua, and advised that “we should avoid any U.S. identification with” the matter of independence or integration. This was from a man who described Suharto as a “moderate military man … committed to progress and reform.” (Or was that said by U.S. officials of Prabowo today?) In any case, Indonesia’s control over the region was accepted by the international community, West Papua became a formal part of Indonesia, and six years later Kissinger masterminded, shadowing another U.S. president, America’s support for Indonesia’s colonization and occupation of Timor-Leste.
Why do I write all this? For starters, it’s a story often forgotten. How many people have heard of West Irian or West Papua or know that there remains a separatist movement? And there remains the notion that Indonesian imperialism ended in the 1990s with the death of the Suharto regime. That’s true for Timor-Leste, though Indonesians traipsed off only through pools of blood. Indonesia’s imperialism is also back in the news as Prabowo Subianto, the incoming Indonesian president, is accused of war crimes during his time in occupied Timor-Leste as head of the Kopassus special forces. As I argued some months ago, it’s not always healthy to pick at history’s healing wounds, and Indonesia’s relations with Timor-Leste, despite its barbaric past, had been healing for several years. But it’s quite another thing for the majority of Indonesians to elect an alleged war criminal, which must surely re-open those wounds.
But, also, this history serves as a reminder that American foreign policy is at its most heinous and brutally hypocritical when it wants to appease dictators and tyrants for a greater cause. A few months ago, after the death of Henry Kissinger, I was asked by a newspaper to write an obituary. A family emergency meant I hadn’t the time. But, for research and pleasure, which aren’t mutually exclusive, I did re-read a number of biographies, including Niall Ferguson’s sonorous first volume “Kissinger: 1923-1968: The Idealist,” and its polar opposite, Christopher Hitchens’ “The Trial of Henry Kissinger,” a short pamphlet that dedicates a chapter to how Washington (and Kissinger) sold out East Timorese independence and permitted an Indonesian invasion in order to appease Suharto and to keep stoking anti-communism in Southeast Asia. Hitchens had no space, though, for West Papua. Yet he did write: “Those who willed the means and wished the ends are not absolved from guilt by the refusal of reality to match their schemes.”
Realpolitik didn’t die with Kissinger last November. It is found – although not to the same extremity as in the 1960s and 1970s – in U.S. policy in Southeast Asia today. It’s quite obvious that Washington doesn’t just tolerate but provokes the worst excesses of the Communist Party of Vietnam because of China’s hostilities with Hanoi. Equally, Washington is now seeking to make friends with Phnom Penh because it has realized that it cannot condemn Cambodian authoritarianism at the same time as deterring Cambodia’s friendship with Beijing, so support for Cambodian democracy has been ditched. Elsewhere, all effort is now on rivaling China. Liberation and liberty, not least in Myanmar, are the casualties.
Contributing Author
David Hutt is a journalist and commentator. He is a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS), and a columnist at The Diplomat and Radio Free Asia.
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Amnesty International Report 2023/24: INDONESIA 2023
Amnesty International Report 2023/24
INDONESIA 2023
Peaceful demonstrators were arrested and excessive force was used to break up protests. Military operations in Papua resulted in unlawful killings and torture and other ill-treatment. Pro-independence activists were imprisoned. Torture and other ill-treatment by security forces of criminal suspects was commonplace, in some cases resulting in deaths. Non-state armed groups in Papua were also responsible for unlawful killings. The government failed to conduct meaningful consultations with populations affected by controversial development projects. Indonesia remained heavily reliant on coal for energy generation and plans to phase out fossil fuels were inadequate.
Background
Tensions in Papua increased following the taking hostage in February of a pilot, a New Zealand national, by members of the National Liberation Army of Free Papua Organization (TPNPB-OPM) at Paro Airport in the remote highlands of Nduga regency, Papua Pegunungan province. In response the Indonesian military raised the operational status in Nduga to “combat alert” and deployed additional troops to the area, raising fears for the safety of civilians there and in surrounding areas.
Freedom of assembly
Security forces arrested peaceful demonstrators and used excessive force to disperse protests, often resulting in injuries.
On 5 August, police arrested 18 people who were resting in West Sumatra Grand Mosque in the provincial capital Padang during protests against plans for an oil and petrochemical refinery in Nagari Air Bangis village in Barat regency. Police removed other protesters from the building, some of whom were praying at the time, including women who were dragged from the mosque. At least five journalists who were live-streaming or reporting on the event were physically assaulted and threatened by police officers. All of those arrested, including community leaders and activists, students and lawyers, were subsequently released without charge. These events followed a six-day protest in Nagari Air Bangis by residents concerned about the risk posed by the construction of the refinery to their livelihoods and the local environment.
On 14 August, security forces arrested seven people and used tear gas to disperse protesters who were blocking a road in the city of Bandung, West Java, to protest against the planned eviction of around 300 residents of Dago Elos, a suburb of the city. Those arrested included Dago Elos residents and a lawyer who was supporting them in the land dispute. All were released on 16 August but three were charged with committing violent acts. Several people were reportedly injured as a result of excessive use of force by the police.1
Freedom of expression
Authorities continued to prosecute people for crimes against the security of the state for exercising their right to freedom of expression, including those calling for independence of Papua. At least three Papuan activists were imprisoned during the year for expressing their opinions.
On 8 August, Jayapura District Court found Yoseph Ernesto Matuan, Devio Tekege and Ambrosius Fransiskus Elopere guilty of treason under Articles 55 and 106 of the Criminal Code and sentenced them to 10 months’ imprisonment each. The three students were arrested in November 2022 while participating in a vigil at Jayapura University of Technology and Science to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the abduction and killing of pro-independence leader Theys Eluay, at which the Morning Star flag, a symbol of Papuan independence, was raised. All three were released in September having served their sentences.2
Unlawful killings
At least 26 incidents resulting in unlawful killings by security forces were reported in Papua, involving a total of 58 victims.
In September, security forces shot and killed five Indigenous Papuans in Dekai, the capital of Yahukimo regency, Papua Pegunungan province. The security forces claimed that the five, who were aged between 15 and 18, were killed in a firefight with the TPNPB-OPM. Other sources denied that the youths were members of the armed group but rather were returning to their village having bought food in Dekai. Anyone leaving Dekai was required to report to a security post on the outskirts of the city and if they failed to do so they were automatically considered to be members of the TPNPB-OPM. The authorities had not initiated investigations into the alleged killings by the end of the year.
Torture and other ill-treatment
Security forces subjected detainees to torture and other ill-treatment to extract information or confessions.
Torture and other ill-treatment remained commonplace in Papua, where incidents of arbitrary detention and torture also occurred in the context of military operations in and around Nduga regency. On 6 April, the military detained and tortured six Indigenous Papuans from Kwiyawagi village in Lanny Jaya regency, Papua Pegunungan province. The six, who included four boys, were transported by helicopter to the military headquarters in Timika, where 17-year-old Wity Unue died, reportedly as a result of injuries sustained from torture. The five others were released without charge on 20 April, but were reported to be in poor health. No one had been brought to justice by the end of the year.
In September, eight members of the narcotics division of Jakarta Metropolitan Police were named as suspects in the beating to death of a suspected drug dealer during interrogation in July. None of the eight had been charged by the end of the year.
In August, the body of Imam Masykur was found more than three weeks after he was abducted and tortured by three soldiers from the Presidential Security Force and the Indonesian military. According to the Asian Human Rights Commission, the three detained the 25-year-old in the capital, Jakarta, after accusing him of selling illegal drugs and demanded a ransom for his release. Imam Masykur’s body was found in a reservoir in West Java. In December, the three perpetrators were sentenced to life imprisonment and dismissed from the military.
Abuses by armed groups
Eleven incidents resulting in the unlawful killings of 24 victims by the TPNPB-OPM in Papua were documented during the year.
On 28 August, a spokesperson for the armed group claimed that it had killed Michelle Kurisi Doga in Kolawa, Lanny Jaya regency, Papua Pegunungan province. At the time of her death, Michelle Kurisi Doga was travelling to gather data on displacement resulting from military operations in Nduga, but according to the spokesman they suspected her of being a member of military intelligence.3
The New Zealand national taken hostage by the TPNPB-OPM in February had not been released by the end of the year.
Economic, social and cultural rights
The government failed to carry out meaningful consultations and effective human rights due diligence processes before allowing work to start on the Rempang Eco-City project, a multibillion-dollar industrial and tourism development project on Rempang Island. The project involves the relocation of around 7,500 residents from 16 villages primarily inhabited by the Tempatan Indigenous Peoples that would result in loss of access to their ancestral lands. The national development project met with strong opposition from Tempatan Peoples and other local communities. Consultations on the project were held with affected communities in August, but security at some of the meetings was reportedly heavy and observers described the meetings as a one-way dissemination of information from the government and the company to residents.
A series of protests against the acquisition of land for the Rempang Eco-City project were held in August and September, culminating in clashes with security forces on 7 September during which some protesters threw stones and water bottles and security forces responded with water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets. At least 20 protesters were injured and approximately 25 pupils from two schools located near the site of the protests required hospital treatment from the effects of tear gas. Following the events of 7 September, new joint police/military security posts were established on the island. According to the local branch of the NGO Legal Aid Institute, at least 35 people were charged with using or threatening to use violence against officials carrying out their duties, which carries a maximum prison sentence of one year and four months.4
Right to a healthy environment
Although Indonesia generated an increasing amount of its electricity from renewables, it remained heavily reliant on coal for electricity generation. Coal was also Indonesia’s biggest export product. Plans to phase out the use of fossil fuels in energy production, set out in Presidential Regulation No. 112 of 2022 on the Acceleration of Renewable Energy Development for Power Supply, were inadequate because, among other factors, although the regulation banned new coal-fired energy plants, it permits the development of those already planned. As such, the government proceeded with a planned 35 thousand-megawatt power generation project, agreed in 2015, involving the construction of 109 mainly coal-fired power plants across the country.
- “Indonesia: The Indonesian people have not yet gained freedom from state violence”, 16 August (Indonesian only)
- “Indonesia: Release three Papuan students from treason charge”, 8 August (Indonesian only)
- “Indonesia: Investigate the perpetrators of the murder of Michelle Kurisi and armed violence against civilians in Papua”, 30 August (Indonesian only)
- “Indonesia: Do not force Batam residents to accept national strategic project”, 8 September (Indonesian only)
Full report here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/7200/2024/en/
Restrictions on foreign journalists impact journalism in Papua
https://en.jubi.id/restrictions-on-foreign-journalists-impact-journalism-in-papua/
Restrictions on foreign journalists impact journalism in Papua
News Desk – Foreign Journalists
1 November 2023
Jayapura, Jubi – Foreign journalists facing restrictions when reporting in Papuais a significant factor impacting the state of journalism in the area. Lucky Ireeuw, the chairman of the Jayapura Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI Jayapura), highlighted this issue during a journalism training program at the Jubi Editorial Office in Jayapura City on October 30, 2023.
Ireeuw mentioned that even though President Joko Widodo had expressed his willingness to allow unrestricted coverage of Papua by journalists, the actual situation on the ground is quite different.
Foreign journalists interested in reporting on Papua must navigate stringent government screening procedures, which can be exceptionally strict.
“Visa-related complications can also lead to their potential deportation to their home countries,” said Ireeuw.
Ireeuw emphasized that the presence of foreign journalists in Papua could bridge information gaps about Papua. He suggested that one effective approach is to encourage collaborative reporting efforts with local journalists.
“It is our responsibility as local journalists to disseminate information,” Irreuw told 14 aspiring Jubi reporters who are participants of the training. (*)
AWPA Update No 8-(1st November 2023)
AWPA Update No 8-(1st November 2023)
There was no improvement in the human rights situation in West Papua since the last update. Armed clashes continued between the TPNPB and the Indonesian security forces. The latest incident occurred on the 27 October (below)……..
Update
https://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com/2023/10/awpa-update-no-8-1st-november-2023.html
S03 E08 East Timor and West Papua
https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/s03-e08-east-timor-and-west-papua/
THE EPISCOPAL PODCAST
S03 E08 East Timor and West Papua
By Staff Writers
October 20, 2023
he Christian Faith and Non-Violence, with Sister Susan Connelly & Dr Joel Hodge.
Today we’re continuing our discussion of the nature of Christian faith and the Church in the context of violence, with particular reference to the experience of East Timor and West Papua which we discussed in our last episode.
Sister Susan Connelly – a Sister of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, and author of “East Timor, René Girard and Neocolonial Violence: Scapegoating as Australian Policy”. Sister Susan has taught in Catholic and State schools. She has worked with the people of East Timor and has a particular concern for the West Papuan people, and with the treatment of asylum seekers.
Dr Joel Hodge – Senior Lecturer (Theology) at the Australian Catholic University, who is also a published author and whose work includes: “Resisting Violence and Victimisation: Christian Faith and Solidarity in East Timor”. Dr Joel has an active interest in East Timor and speaks the main local language, Tetun. Dr Joel was also the supervisor of Sister Susan’s doctoral thesis, which eventually grew into her book.
This week’s co-host is Adam Wesselinoff – Editor of the Catholic Weekly.
episcopalpodcast.com.au
info
Twitter: Bishop Umbers: @BishopUmbers
Part one is here: https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/s03-e07-east-timor-and-west-papua/
East Timor and West Papua – The Christian Faith and Non-Violence, with Sister Susan Connelly & Dr Joel Hodge.
https://en.jubi.id/catholic-church-appeals-for-the-safe-return-of-46926-displaced-papuans/
Catholic Church appeals for the safe return of 46,926 displaced Papuans
News Desk – Armed Conflict In Papua
17 October 2023
Secretariat of Justice and Peace or SKP of the Catholic Church throughout Papua when visiting Maybrat refugees in Sorong Regency. – Doc. SKP of the Catholic Church in the Land of Papua
Jayapura, Jubi – The Secretariat of Justice and Peace (SKP) of the Catholic Church in Papua reports that 46,926 civilians have been displaced from their villages due to the armed conflict between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Police and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB).
A Pastoral Call endorsed by some diocesans was issued on Thursday, October 12, 2023, urging the government to facilitate the return of the displaced people to their hometowns. The displaced people have often expressed their desire to return to their hometowns but are worried about their safety as there is still suspicion from the security forces toward them.
Chairman of the SKP of the Manokwari Sorong Diocese, Rev. Izaak Bame said tens of thousands of displaced people were scattered across various regions in Papua. For example, 37,000 Nduga residents fled to the regencies of Asmat, Mimika, and Jayawijaya; 6,000 residents of Maybrat sought refuge in Kumurkek, Sorong Regency, and Sorong Municipality; while 2,252 residents from Kiwirok and surrounding areas fled to the Oksibil and even to Papua New Guinea.
In addition, 1,000 residents of Intan Jaya Regency fled to Nabire Regency, Paniai Regency, and Mimika Regency, and at least 674 residents of Muara Bontoh in Yahukimo Regency fled to Dekai, the capital of Yahukimo Regency.
Bame emphasized the dire conditions of these people, highlighting challenges in economic livelihoods, access to education services, and healthcare. In Sorong, numerous cases are observed where multiple families of displaced Maybrat people live together in a single house. Some have fallen ill and died.
Ultimately, the Catholic Church calls for the central and regional governments to guarantee the basic rights of these internally displaced individuals, including the provision of temporary shelters, food, healthcare, and access to education for children.
On the program today
Calls for humanitarian intervention in West Papua after escalating violence.
Alternative options mount for hand shoppers following ban on single-use plastics.
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr addresses the UN General Assembly.
Authorities worry higher temperatures could lead to coral bleaching and affect fisheries.
The Solomon Island’s growing relationship with China is charted in a new book.
And an investigation is launched into stolen treasure at the British Museum.
Credits
Broadcast 9h ago9
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Indonesia cancels West Papua rights meeting with Melanesian nations, delegate says
Harlyne Joku 2023.10.10 Port Moresby
Indonesia canceled a regional meeting this week on the human rights situation in its Papuan provinces on the grounds that the leaders of Melanesian nations weren’t attending it, a member of Papua New Guinea’s delegation said on Tuesday.
The canning of the meeting comes after the Papuan independence movement had its application to become a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group rejected in August. The U.N.-recognized organization comprises the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia’s indigenous Kanak independence movement.
Indonesia, an associate member of the Melanesian group, has lobbied against the liberation movement’s membership aspirations for at least a decade.
“I am disappointed that the meeting was canceled by the Indonesian government at the last moment,” Powes Parkop, the governor of Papua New Guinea’s National Capital District, told BenarNews.
Leaders of the Melanesian Spearhead Group nations agreed at a summit in August to create “space” for dialogue with Indonesia on the human rights situation in its Papuan provinces – often known as West Papua – rather than encouraging the independence movement, which has strong grassroots support in Melanesian countries.
Possible measures included an annual parliamentary dialogue between Indonesia and Melanesian nations.
Poorly armed Papuan fighters – collectively known as the West Papua National Liberation Army – have battled Indonesia since the early 1960s, when it took control of the western half of New Guinea island from the Dutch.
Papuans, culturally and ethnically distinct from the rest of Indonesia, say they were denied the right to decide their own future. Indonesian control was formalized in 1969 with a U.N.-backed referendum in which little more than 1,000 Papuans were allowed to vote.
Documented and alleged killings and abuses by Indonesian military and police, from the 1960s until the present day – along with impunity and the exploitation of the region’s natural resources and widespread poverty – have fueled resentment of Indonesian rule.
The Papua New Guinea government’s invitation to Parkop to be a member of its delegation said that Indonesian President Joko Widodo had called for Melanesian leaders to “have a historical meeting with him on West Papua issues.”
He was about to leave Papua New Guinea for the meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday in Bali, alongside a summit of island and archipelagic states, when he was informed of the cancellation.
Parkop said he spoke to Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and her explanation for the cancellation was the nonattendance of the leaders of Melanesian nations.
“I have impressed on her to allow dialogue to commence initially with those MSG leaders like myself … who have been pushing this agenda and not to wait for prime ministers,” said Parkop.
“I am hopeful that this meeting will take place soon so we can see progress toward resolving the long standing political and human rights issue in our region.”
Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Papuan groups that peacefully advocate for independence from Indonesia suffered a setback in August when the Melanesian Spearhead Group denied the United Liberation Movement for West Papua’s application for full membership.
The official communique from the August summit was not released publicly, but a copy seen by BenarNews said leaders could not reach a consensus on West Papuan membership, which meant it could not be approved.
It reiterated long standing international calls for Indonesia to allow a U.N. human rights delegation to visit the Papua region.
Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka had earlier in the year made a public show of support for West Papua and Vanuatu is a longstanding bastion of support for the independence movement.
But Papua New Guinea, which has a 760-kilometer (472-mile) border with Indonesia and is dwarfed in both military and economic strength by the Southeast Asian country, has made improving relations with Jakarta a foreign policy priority.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, formerly a supporter of West Papuan independence, said earlier this month that self-determination is an internal matter for Indonesia’s Papuan provinces.
“Melanesian politics are pretty fluid, a change of governments will result in a different conversation about self-determination and human rights in the region,” Hipolitus Wangee, a researcher at Australian National University, told BenarNews.
“There is another chance for the ULMWP application as long as the Indonesian government fails to address the root causes in West Papua.”
Charley Piringi contributed reporting from Honiara and Stephen Wright from Wellington.
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https://en.antaranews.com/news/295713/vice-president-amin-discusses-peace-building-efforts-in-papua
2) Vice President Amin discusses peace-building efforts in Papua
41 minutes ago
Jayapura (ANTARA) – Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, on Tuesday, met with religious figures and human rights activists in Papua Province to discuss efforts to build peace in the region.
"Vice President Ma’ruf Amin expected this meeting to result in peace for the Land of Papua," Deputy for Government Policies and National Insight at the Vice Presidential Secretariat, Velix Wanggai, noted in his opening speech during the meeting at the Papua Governor’s Office, Jayapura City.
According to Wanggai, the vice president brought several missions during his visit, including to build sustainable peace in the region. On the occasion, he held a dialogue with 15 religious figures and human rights activists.
Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs John Wempi Wetipo, and Acting Governor of Papua Ridwan Rumasukun accompanied VP Amin during the meeting.
After the meeting, VP Amin is scheduled to chair the Coordination Meeting of the Papua Steering Committee (BPP) to discuss preparedness for planning and execution of the development of governmental facilities and infrastructure for the four newly-formed autonomous regions in Papua.
Related news: Govt must prioritize peace diplomacy in Papua: House Speaker
Meanwhile, on Wednesday (October 11), the vice president will meet with representatives of the Alliance of Churches (PGG) of Papua, PGG of West Papua, and the Papua Christian Center.
Furthermore, he will visit the Papua Youth Creative Hub (PYCH) of Jayapura to symbolically hand over the Complete Systematic Land Registration (PTSL) Certificate.
As Head of the Coordination Team for the Grand Design of National Sports (DBON), VP Amin will also hold a dialogue with Papua’s sports figures at the Papua Bangkit Stadium, Jayapura District.
Earlier, on Friday (October 6), Masduki Baidlowi, spokesperson for the VP, explained that the vice president’s agendas would be carried out during his office camp in Papua on October 9-13.
According to Baidlowi, the VP decided to set up a temporary base in Jayapura to directly heed to the aspirations of the people, including human rights activists.
"He wants to listen to them directly, not from the news, other people, or routine reports," he noted.
Related news: Religious leaders should partake in Papua’s development: Minister
Related news: Celebrating interfaith tolerance in Papua
Reporter: Ardiles L, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
West Papua Action Network 