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Tag: State Terror

  • Australia committed to military cooperation with Indonesia

    Australia committed to military cooperation with Indonesia

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    Melbourne, Australia – Australia says it will continue to provide military training, conduct joint exercises and export weapons to Indonesia despite increased violence and allegations of human rights abuses in West Papua, in the far east of the archipelago, where conflict has been rumbling for decades.

    The Australian Department of Defence confirmed in a statement to Al Jazeera that Anthony Albanese’s government, which was elected in May, would continue to supply arms to Indonesian forces and provide them with military training.

    “Indonesia is one of Australia’s most important partners. Australia will continue to conduct joint exercises, provide military and policy training, and – consistent with appropriate legislation – export military equipment to Indonesia,” the statement said.

    Despite some rocky patches, Australia has had a longstanding military relationship with Indonesia, including joint training and weapons supply, with Thales Australia selling three Bushmaster troop carriers to Kopassus, Indonesia’s elite forces, in 2014.

    Military units, such as Kopassus, conduct joint training exercises with the Australian SAS, the country’s special forces, while Detachment 88 — also known as Densus 88, a counterterrorism force set up in the wake of the 2002 Bali Bombings — gets funding and training from both Australia and the United States.

    Such initiatives have been credited with reducing the threat from hardline groups, but Indonesian forces remain under scrutiny over allegations of serious human rights abuses in West Papua, where Indigenous people have been fighting for independence for 50 years.

    Indonesia moved into the resource-rich region in the early 1960s, formalising its control through a controversial, United Nations-approved referendum in 1969.

    “Indonesia is one of Australia’s most important partners. Australia will continue to conduct joint exercises, provide military and policy training, and – consistent with appropriate legislation – export military equipment to Indonesia,” the statement said.

    Despite some rocky patches, Australia has had a longstanding military relationship with Indonesia, including joint training and weapons supply, with Thales Australia selling three Bushmaster troop carriers to Kopassus, Indonesia’s elite forces, in 2014.

    Military units, such as Kopassus, conduct joint training exercises with the Australian SAS, the country’s special forces, while Detachment 88 — also known as Densus 88, a counterterrorism force set up in the wake of the 2002 Bali Bombings — gets funding and training from both Australia and the United States.

    Such initiatives have been credited with reducing the threat from hardline groups, but Indonesian forces remain under scrutiny over allegations of serious human rights abuses in West Papua, where Indigenous people have been fighting for independence for 50 years.

    Indonesia moved into the resource-rich region in the early 1960s, formalising its control through a controversial, United Nations-approved referendum in 1969.

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  • Pengamat Militer: Dialog Tak Akan Berhasil Tanpa Propaganda Kuat Dari Pemerintah

    Pasukan gabungan TNI dan Polri tiba di Ilaga, Kabupaten Puncak, Papua, Sabtu pagi, 1 Mei 2021. (Foto: ANTARA/HO-Humas Satgas Nemangkawi)

    JurnalPatroliNews – Jakarta, Pengamat militer dari Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS), Khairul Fahmi mengaku pesimistis bahwa pendekatan dialog dapat menyelesaikan masalah kelompok kriminal bersenjata (KKB) di Papua.

    Apalagi, tidak ada tenggat waktu dalam penanganan gangguan keamanan tersebut. Sebab, pendekatan itu dinilai tidak akan berhasil tanpa ada propaganda yang kuat. Menurut Fahmi, perlu dipertanyakan pendekatan dialog seperti apa yang dilakukan pemerintah.

    Sebelumnya, Menteri Koordinator bidang Politik, Hukum dan HAM (Menkopolhukam), Mahfud MD, mengatakan pendekatan dialog dilakukan untuk penanganan persoalan KKB di Papua sekaligus menawarkan pendekatan kesejahteraan.

    “Apakah pendekatan kesejahteran itu sudah dilakukan memang mengacu pada kepentingan masyarakat Papua itu sendiri? Atau lebih mengedepankan kepentingan Jakarta (Ibu kota)?” kata Khairul Fahmi kepada Beritasatu.com, Jumat (21/5/2021).

    Sudah sejak lama, lanjut Fahmi, pemerintah Indonesia berbicara soal pendekatan dialog dan kesejahteraan masyarakat untuk menyelesaikan persoalan di Papua. Namun di sisi lain, operasi keamanan dengan kekuatan bersenjata terus dilakukan TNI dan Polri.

    Seharusnya, dilakukan moratorium sementara terhadap operasi keamanan dengan kekuatan bersenjata TNI dan Polri selama dialog tersebut akan atau sedang dilaksanakan.
    “Kemarin statement Pak Mahfud menyampaikan TNI, Polri, pemerintah daerah dan pusat harus melakukan tindakan cepat. Artinya, penindakan yang dilakukan TNI-Polri ini menunjukkan ketidaksungguhan pemerintah dalam urusan dialog. Apalagi kita tidak tahu formula dialog itu seperti apa,” ujar Khairul Fahmi.

    Fahmi menerangkan, formula pendekatan dialog yang ditawarkan pemerintah belum jelas dan masyarakat belum mendapatkan gambarannya. Operasi keamanan yang melibatkan TNI-Polri, dinilainya dapat menggagalkan rencana pendekatan dialog tersebut.

    “Karena persoalan ini terjadi ada aksi dan reaksi. Kegiatan operasi TNI-Polri direspon dengan kekerasan ekstrem oleh KKB. Sementara dialog mau kapan dilakukan juga belum jelas. Diinisiasi kapan, juga tidak jelas,” terang Khairul Fahmi.

    Karena itu, Fahmi menegaskan pemerintah harus mempunyai target yang jelas dalam penyelesaian persoalan KKB di Papua. Target yang diberikan bukan asal target, karena selama ini masyarakat selalu diberikan janji atau harapan setiap pergantian pejabat militer atau kepolisian terkait penuntasan kasus kekerasan baik di Papua, maupun di Poso.

    “Namun berpuluh-puluh tahun, tidak selesai. Bahkan semakin berlarut-larut, dan uang negara banyak dihabiskan untuk urusan ini,” tutur Khairul Fahmi.

    Menurutnya, ada dua langkah yang bisa dilakukan pemerintah untuk menyelesaikan KKB di Papua.

    Pertama, kalau memang melakukan pendekatan dialog, maka TNI dan Polri harus bisa menahan diri. Dalam artian, jangan sampai terjadi praktik kekerasan yang tidak patut di Papua. Bila itu terjadi, maka akan menjadi propaganda yang buruk dan berpotensi menggagalkan upaya dialog yang akan dibangun.

    Kedua, Fahmi melihat selama ini propaganda pemerintah tidak cukup kuat untuk mengantisipasi propaganda yang dilakukan pihak KKB. Karena itu, pemerintah perlu punya kemampuan melakukan propaganda yang kuat dan efektif untuk meraih simpati dan dukungan masyarakat.

    Dengan begitu, akan lebih jelas mana warga termasuk KKB atau warga sipil.

    “Propaganda pemerintah harus kuat agar simpati dan dukungan masyarakat semakin besar. Propaganda yang didukung dengan fakta yang kuat, yang mampu menunjukkan harapan dan lebih dekat dengan realita. Nah ini tantangan buat TNI, Polri dan pemerintah. Saya kira ini prioritas yang harus dilakukan kalau pemerintah serius dengan rencana dialog untuk menyelesaikan KKB di Papua,” terang Khairul Fahmi.

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  • Pernyataan Bucthar Tabuni atas penangkapan Victor Yeimo, tangkap dan adili semua oknum pejabat yang terlibat dalam demo anti rasisme

    Pernyataan Bucthar Tabuni atas penangkapan Victor Yeimo, tangkap dan adili semua oknum pejabat yang terlibat dalam demo anti rasisme

    JAYAPURA, KABARMAPEGAA•com – Deklarator ULMWP, Bucthar Tabuni mengeluarkan pernyataan keras atas penangkapan Victor Yeimo, Juru Bicara Internasional Komite Nasional Papua Barat (KNPB) pada Minggu 09 Mei 2021 di Tanah Hitam, Abepura, Jayapura. Buchtar Tabuni mengatakan, segera tangkap dan adili semua Oknum pejabat yang terlibat dalam demo anti rasisme pada 2019 lalu.

    Berikut pernyataan Deklator ULMWP, Bucthar Tabuni pada 12 Mei 2021 di Jayapura, Papua :
    Pada Minggu, 09 Mei 2021, Satuan Tugas (Satgas) Nemangkawi di Jayapura menangkap Tuan Viktor Yeimo, Juru Bicara Internasional Komite Nasional Papua Barat (KNPB), tepatnya di tanah Hitam, Abepura-Jayapura. Alasan penangkapan dari pihak Kepolisian Kolonial Indonesia adalah status Daftar Pencarian Orang (DPO) dalam kasus protes Rasisme bersama rakyat Papua. Berdasarkan laporan polisi No: LP/31 7/X/RES. 1. 24/2019/SKPT Polda Papua, tanggal 5 September 2019, dikeluarkan tanggal 09 September 2019, tuan Viktor Yeimo ditetapkan sebagai DPO.

    Kami Parlemen Nasional West Papua, sebagai salah satu deklarator United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) menyayangkan tindakan Kepolisian Indonesia yang menangkap tuan Viktor Yeimo, sebagaimana tidak sesuai dengan prosedur ketentuan UU Nomor 8 Tahun 1981, yang mana telah disampaikan oleh Koalisi Penegak Hukum dan HAM Papua dalam siaran pers pada 11 Mei 2021.

    Terkait Demo Anti Rasisme di Papua, perlu kami sampaikan bahwa;
    Dalam Aksi Demonstrasi Anti Rasisme di Papua (2019), Pemerintah Kolonial Indonesia melalui Kepala Kepolisian Republik Indonesia, Irjen Pol. Tito Karnavian telah menuduh ULMWP dan KNPB sebagai dalang dari Aksi-Aksi Demonstrasi Anti Rasisme di Papua. Berdasarkan tuduhan tersebut, Pimpinan KNPB tuan Agus Kossay selaku Ketua KNPB Pusat, Steven Itlay selaku Ketua KNPB Timika dan Pimpinan ULMWP, Tuan Buchtar Tabuni selaku Ketua II Komite Legislatif ULMWP ditangkap bersama dengan 4 orang Mahasiswa lainnya: Alexander Gobay (Presiden Mahasiswa Universitas Sains dan Teknologi Jayapura-USTJ), Ferry Kombo (Mantan Presiden Mahasiswa Universitas Cenderawasih-UNCEN), Hengky Hilapok (Mahasiswa USTJ) dan Irwanus Uropmabin (Mahasiswa USTJ).

    Sama seperti yang terjadi pada tuan Viktor Yeimo, tanpa prosedur yang jelas, ke 7 orang tersebut ditangkap dan ditetapkan sebagai tersangkah dalam Demontrasi Anti Rasisme di Papua.

    Sebagaimana yang dialami ke 7 tersangkah tersebut di atas, setelah pemeriksaan di POLDA Papua, dipindahkan ke tahanan BRIMOB Papua selama 1 bulan.

    Kolonial Indonesia memakai alasan keamanan di kota Jayapura sehingga tanpa prosedur memindahkan 7 tersangkah ke Balik Papan, Kalimantan Timur. Di Balik Papan, Kalimantan Timur, disidangkan. Dalam persidangan, dituntut masing-masing 10 – 17 tahun penjara. Namun dalam proses persidangan, tidak ditemukan bukti kuat atas dugaan makar dan kriminal, sehingga Hakim memutuskan hukuman masing-masing 10 – 11 bulan penjara, dipotong masa penahanan.

    Setelah menjalani masa tahanan 1 – 2 bulan, 7 tersangkah Demo Anti Rasisme di Papua dibebaskan.

    Sedangkan tahanan Rasisme yang lainnya juga menjalani proses pemeriksaan, persidangan dan menjalani masa tahanan, seperti di kota Jayapura, Wamena, Manokwari, Sorong dan di Jakarta (2019 – 2020).

    Dengan menyimak penangkapan, penahanan, persidangan dan menjalani masa penahanan atas tuduhan makar serta kriminal terkait Demo Anti Rasisme (2019 – 2020), kami hendak menyampaikan:
    Kasus Demo Anti Rasisme di Papua telah dipertanggungjawabkan melalui Persidangan dan Penahanan 7 tersangkah di Balik Papan, Kalimantan Timur, sebagaimana yang telah kami sampaikan pada poin (a) di atas.

    Penangkapan dan Penahanan Tuan Viktor Yeimo dengan alasan Demo Anti Rasisme di Papua (2019) adalah tidak sesuai dengan ketentuan prosedur, sebagaimana telah disampaikan oleh Koaliasi Penegak Hukum dan HAM Papua dalam Siaran Pers pada 11 Mei 2021.

    Kepolisian Republik Indonesia (POLDA PAPUA) harus professional dalam melihat kasus demontrasi anti rasisme. Bukan hanya Viktor Yeimo yang ditetapkan sebagai DPO dan ditangkap. Semua pihak yang terlihat dalam demonstrasi anti rasisme harus ditangkap.

    Penegakan Hukum tidak boleh “Pilih Kasih”, Kepolisian Republik Indonesia (POLDA PAPUA) harus tegakan Hukum, tangkap semua yang terlibat dalam demontrasi anti Rasisme, seperti: Gubernur Papua, anggota DPRP, beberapa SKPD, Ketua MRP, Ketua KNPI Provinsi Papua, Tokoh Agama, Tokoh Perempuan dan Tokoh Pemuda Papua.

    Jika pihak Kepolisian Republik Indonesia (POLDA PAPUA) tidak menangkap oknum-oknum pejabat yang terlibat, maka demi keadilan Viktor Yeimo, juru bicara Internasional KNPB harus dan segera dibebaskan tanpa syarat.

    Jayapura, 12 Mei 2021
    NIEUW GUINEA RAAD
    Parlemen Nasional West Papua
    BUCHTAR TABUNI
    KETUA
    https://kabarmapegaa.com/…/pernyataan_bucthar_tabuni…

    Parlemen #VictorYeimo #FreeVictorYeimo

    WestPapua #FreeWestPapua #Referendum

  • WPRA Express Deep Condolences for Families and Friends of Churches Bombings in Surabaya

    WPRA Express Deep Condolences for Families and Friends of Churches Bombings in Surabaya

    Pemerintah Perlu Jelaskan Definisi TerorismeFrom the Central Headquarters of the West Papua Revolutionary Army (WPRA), Lt Gen. WPRA Amunggut Tabi, on behalf of Gen. TRWP Mathias Wenda

    Expresses Deep Condolences to Families, Friends and Relatives Killed by Inhuman Bombers in colonial town of Surabaya, Indonesia.

    Strongly Condemns Indonesian Terrorists as Barbaric and non-human, as being nurtured and kept grow in Indonesia by various state-agencies and majority Moslem populations of Indonesia. Using the name of God for kiling other human created by God when they are worshiping God is barbaric uncivilised act.

    Every human beings today in the world that watch this barbaric, inhuman, uncivilised acts of terror in the name of religion and God should understand that Indonesia is keeping terrorists, Indonesia is nurturing terrorists, Indonesia is allowing terrorists grow well.

    Only when foreign funds and guns are supplied then they will act as if they are against terrorists, but on many occasions they have been spotted running training together with the Indonesian Special Armed Forces, polices forces as well as with other militia groups that operate in all political parties in Indonesia that generally labelled as “Satgas” (Task Force).

    When there is no mor funds and training from abroad, then they allow the terrorists to bomb. This kind of behaviour is also inhuman, uncivilized because it costs lives of innocent civilians, mothers and children.

    The West Papua Revolutionary Army (WPRA), even though fighting against the might of Indonesia State-Terrorism, never carry out suicide bombings, bombings in churches, mosques or other worshiping places, and always avoid casualties on children and women. Indonesian terrorists are just like their State-Terrorists, they kill priests and evangelists, Christians in West Papua, bomb villages and burn churches. The world never know these stories are real. We know it from our daily experiences. And this week, the world knows it because of the bombing in churches.

    The world should not allow Indonesia to become powerful in South East Asia and South Pacific Region, across small countries in Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, as they will spread the spirit and energy of terror, murder, killing in barbaric and uncivilized way across our Melanesian, Polynesian and Micronesian brothers and sisters.

    All Pacific Island countries should not expect Indonesia to end its violations of human rights in West Papua. It should not think of bringing a peace settlement. Islamic Jihadists, Islam Terrorists are strongly involved in fighting against Free West Papua Campaigns.

    ISIS training camps are situated in some areas across the border between West Papua and Papua New Guinea. Only blind people will not notice this.

    Issued in : WPRA Central HW

    On date: 14 May 2018

     

    signed

     

    Amunggut Tabi, Lt.Gen.WPRA
    BRN: A.DF 018676

     

  • Journalist Faces Defamation Probe for Comparing Indonesia’s Treatment of West Papua with Myanmar’s Rohingya

    Indonesian police in East Java are investigating a veteran journalist for comparing former President Megawati Sukarnoputri to Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi in a Facebook post.
    On September 3, 2017, journalist and documentary filmmaker Dandhy Dwi Laksono wrote on Facebook that Megawati and Suu Kyi are alike in many ways, noting that both are former opposition leaders who now head the ruling parties in their respective countries. Dandhy added that if Myanmar’s government is being criticized for its treatment of ethnic Rohingya, the Indonesian government should similarly be held liable for suppressing the independence movement on the Indonesian island of West Papua.
    He further compared Suu Kyi’s silence on the persecution of the Rohingya to Megawati’s role as party leader of the government, which has recently intensified the crackdown on West Papuan independence activists.
    Rohingya people born and living in Myanmar are not recognized as citizens by the Myanmar government. In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya civilians have been displaced from their homes due to clearing operations of the Myanmar military in response to attacks by a pro-Rohingya insurgent group in northwest Myanmar. Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees, who are mostly Muslim, are crossing into Bangladesh to escape the fighting.
    West Papua is a province of Indonesia with a vocal independence movement that has called for the creation of a separate state since the 1960s. Human rights groups have documented many cases of abuse committed by Indonesian state forces against activists, journalists, and other individuals suspected of supporting the independence movement.
    Dandhy posted his comments on Facebook following a big rally was organized by Muslim groups in Indonesia, condemning the Myanmar government for its treatment of Rohingya refugees.
    The youth arm of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) filed a defamation complaint against Dandhy on September 6:
    On the whole, (Dandhy’s) opinion was clearly intended to take advantage of the Rohingya incidents in Myanmar in order to insult and spread hatred of Megawati Soekarnoputri as the chairwoman of PDI-P and Joko Widodo as the president who is backed by PDI-P.
    He is now under investigation by the police cyber crime unit. If he is prosecuted for and convicted of defamation, Dandhy could face up to four years in prison.
    Reacting to the complaint, Dandhy wrote that it is a minor issue compared to the injustices suffered by Papuan activists and Rohingya refugees.
    The complaint is the latest case of how the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law is being used to silence dissent in the country.
    According to Indonesian digital rights group SAFEnet, at least 35 activists have been charged with online defamation since its enactment in 2008. Aside from Dandhy’s case, the group has documented six defamation charges involving activists and journalists in 2017.
    Activists were quick to launch a campaign expressing support to Dandhy. They asserted that Dandhy was simply expressing an opinion which should be considered legitimate criticism and not a criminal act.
    SAFEnet is encouraging Indonesian netizens to submit reports and testimonies about how the ITE Law is being abused to silence activists like Dandhy and suppress online free speech in general.
    Instead of preventing the public from commenting on Megawati, a local investigative portal suggested that Dandhy’s case could in fact trigger greater interest in the former president’s legacy as a leader, including some of the issues that led to her defeat in the polls.

  • West Papuan demographics update highlights disparity

    New statistics show indigenous Melanesians are not yet the minority they were thought to be in West Papua.

    Indonesia’s Statistics Office has produced an ethnic breakdown of Papua region, based on the last census in 2010 which established an overall population of 3.6 million.

    While the proportion of Papuan people as a percentage of the population continues to decline, this process varies widey between different regencies.

    The percentage of Papuans has fallen catastrophically in some regions, particularly in urban centres, but Papuans still make up the vast majority in the Highlands.

    Using the new data, Jim Elmslie of Sydney University’s West Papua Project has produced a new paper updating his previous work on Papua’s demographic transition.

    He talks to Johnny Blades.

    Listen
    Ni-Vanuatu march in support of West Papuan self-determination aspirations.

    Ni-Vanuatu march in support of West Papuan self-determination aspirations. Photo: Vanuatu government

    Transcript

    JIM ELMSLIE: You’ve got to handle the figures with some degree of care and you’ve got to sort of doubt the accuracy to some extent because the large area that’s there, the terrain, the fact that large areas of the Highlands, I don’t know if you’d call it a revolt, but there are certain areas that are conflicts between certain areas of the island and the state are fairly entrenched. So the figures – what you can get clearly from them is the trend and the change over time and that’s clearly continuing because of the large-scale inward migration of non-Papuan settlers drawn into the region mostly for economic opportunity, and most of that economic opportunities are on the plains.

    JOHNNY BLADES: You’ve established that the Melanesians – the Papuans – their growth rate is quite a bit less than the non-Papuans.

    JE: That’s what the research shows and that’s even given that the numbers are a bit rubbery. Because for them to conduct an accurate census would be damn-near impossible and the figures that we have to use, so we use them. But anecdotally as well – from talking to health experts and looking at what’s going on on the ground compared to say PNG – then yeah the birth rate clearly is lower. There’s a whole range of reasons for that. One is the infant mortality and the maternal mortality rate is very high, there are untreated diseases that cause infertility. But that’s fairly clear and it’s also clear that large numbers of migrants are coming in, the government is building new ports, there are ships that come in on a weekly basis, there’s many flights every day from other parts of Indonesia. There’s clearly the demand, and as we’re talking, they are clearing tens of thousands of acres of rainforest and putting in labour-intensive things like oil palm plantations, where the workers are being brought in from Java rather than being recruited locally.

    JB: Back in 2010 you had estimated that the total population of West Papuans in West Papua, that whole Papua region, was some 48%. And now with these new BPS (Indonesian Statistics Office) figures it’s indicating that their percentage is something like 66%. Isn’t that in some ways a positive, given that in the last couple of years a lot of the discourse around the West Papuan diplomatic wrangle has been around them having become a minority in their own land?

    JE: Well, when you extrapolate these figures forward, and there’s two different population growth rates, you come up with these figures of the minoritisation of the Papuan population. And that was a projection, I guess, if all else remained the same. And I think the exact figures may vary but the trend is still there. So in terms of whether that’s positive or not… I think it certainly is positive that large areas of the Highlands of West Papua are still populated very strongly by groups of indigenous Melanesian people, even if that’s not the case in the lowlands. But in means that the Papuans, certainly in the Highlands, are not on the verge of disappearing under the weight of inward migration. So yes, I think that’s a positive thing. Some people seem to feel that the general conflict in West Papua would disappear over time as the Papuan population became a minority. Well that’s obviously not going to happen. That is happening in the lowlands, but it’s not going to happen anytime soon in the Highlands, even though – I must stress again – that there’s a lot of development going on there which will bring in outsiders, bring in more military, which will always be a threat to them (Papuans).

    JB: Transmigrasi is no longer an official programme, is that right? But these people are still coming in?

    JE: Yeah so there’s no official transmigration, but it’s the policy, I think, of the Indonesian government because looking at the bigger picture of Indonesia and the Indonesian  economy – and people talk about it growing – West Papua makes up something like 23 or 24 percent of the land mass of Indonesia and it’s got huge resources: obviously the forestry, when most of the rest of the trees of Indonesia have been cut down, so Papua is really the last place where there’s huge stands of rainforest; there’s also the mineral wealth which is possibly the richest part of the entire world – the Freeport mine is probably the biggest gold mine in the world, the biggest copper mine, it’s also the biggest economic entity in Indonesia and also the biggest taxpayer. So looking into the future, the Indonesians’ capacity to exploit the natural resources of West Papua, and with all that brings, that will be one of the factors that allow Indonesia to grow as people are predicting it to grow, and become one of the main economies in southeast Asia, and certainly bigger than Australia. Which is one of the fears, I guess, which is underlying Australian policy, that in some future when the Indonesian  economy overtakes the Australian economy in size, and Indonesia becomes a more important country internationally, then that’s going to be quite a different situation than has been the case in this part of the world up until now, where the Australian economy and therefore its military resources and the rest of it were superior to the Indonesians. So a lot of that long-term growth will come out of West Papua. And if that continues, it will involve shifting more and more people down to that region.

    Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/

  • Indonesia’s Jokowi still owes resolution of past rights abuses

    By PMC Editor –By Margareth S. Aritonang in Jakarta

    A nun observes photographs of victims of past human rights abuses in front of the State Palace in Jakarta during a weekly rally that is locally known as Kamisan. This rally was the 417th since 2007 and it demanded demanding the government resolve the cases. (Seto Wardhana )
    A nun observes photographs of victims of past human rights abuses in front of the State Palace in Jakarta during a weekly rally that is locally known as Kamisan. This rally was the 417th since 2007 and it demanded demanding the government resolve the cases. (Seto Wardhana )

    After two years of running the country, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has still not fulfilled his campaign promise to address long-unresolved human rights abuse cases in Indonesia, a promise that is thought to have sealed his victory against his former contender Prabowo Subianto, who is implicated in the forced disappearances of pro-democracy activists in 1998.

    “The government must fulfill its obligation to solve all cases of gross human rights violations that occurred in the past,” prominent human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said at a discussion yesterday.

    “The President will forever owe us that promise unless he keeps his word.”

    The unresolved cases that Jokowi promised to address consist of the 1989 Talangsari massacre, the forced disappearance of anti-Soeharto activists in 1997 and 1998, the Trisakti University shootings, the Semanggi I and Semanggi II student shootings in 1998 and 1999, the mysterious killing of alleged criminals in the 1980s, the anticommunist massacres of 1965 and various abuses that took place in Wasior and Wamena in Papua in 2001 and 2003, respectively.

    Activist Al Araf from the Jakarta-based human rights watchdog Imparsial cited a lack of political will to prioritise human rights among Jokowi’s administration as a core reason behind the lagging attempts to address the issues during Jokowi’s two-year presidency.

    As the world will commemorate International Human Rights Day today, Al Araf called for Jokowi and his subordinates to make the resolution of human rights abuse cases one of the government’s priority programs.

    “Otherwise Jokowi’s regime will be no different to his predecessors,” he said.

  • Indonesian police under fire over arrest of Papuan students, racial abuse

    Jefry Wenda, coordinator of a Papuan students group covering Java and Bali … the Papuan students in Yogyakarta have been left traumatised by police behavior. Image: Ryan Dagur/UCA

    July 21, 2016, By Ryan Dagur in in Jakarta

    Indonesian Church officials and activists have accused police in Yogyakarta of racism and using excessive force after six Papuan students were arrested for singing Papuan songs in their college dormitory.

    “Police officers must be fair. They must protect Papuan people too,” Father Paulus Christian Siswantoko, executive secretary of the Indonesian bishops’ Commission for Justice, Peace and Pastoral for Migrant-Itinerant People, said.

    “The government has the task to protect all citizens and disregard their ethnic background,” he said.

    Police say they surrounded the dormitory belonging to Yogyakarta’s College of Community Development on July 15 to prevent a number of Papuan students from attending a banned rally organised by the People’s Union for West Papua Freedom.

    The rally was aimed at supporting a bid by the Papuan nationalist group, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

    The group is an intergovernmental organisation comprising Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, as well as the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front, a political party from New Caledonia. The ULMWP currently has observer status.

    The Papuan students said they initially planned to hold the rally in the city center, but decided instead to sing some Papauan songs at the dormitory after organisers failed to obtain a rally permit from local police.

    Tear gas

    Police allegedly used tear gas on the students before arresting them.

    During the arrest it is alleged officers manhandled and racially abused the students, who were also subjected to racial taunts by local pro-Jakarta activists who had gathered to support the police as the drama unfolded.

    All the students were later released on July 17 following questioning.

    “Police officers must not let racial abuse happen,” said Father Siswantoko.

    He said the students had the right to express their views.

    “They didn’t even stage a rally, but their voices were silenced anyway,” he said, adding that there is deep-seated prejudice by locals against Papuans.

    Risky Hadur, a Catholic student activist also denounced the police action.

    Left traumatised

    “We express our deep condolences to the death of humanity and brotherhood in this nation.”

    The students were left traumatised by the incident, according to Jefry Wenda, coordinator of a Papuan students’ group covering Java and Bali.

    “Police officers and other people shouted at them and called them ‘pigs’ and ‘monkeys,’” he said, calling on the government to put a stop to abuses against the Papuan people.

    National Commission on Human Rights official Natalius Pigai said the incident would be investigated.

    “We must not let such racial discrimination happen,” he said. “We will send a team next week to Yogyakarta to investigate.

    Ryan Dagur is a contributor to the Union of Catholic Asian News service.

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