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West Papua Collective on Campus: film & Catherine Delahunty
Thursday, 29 March 2012, 12:09 pm Press Release: West Papua Collective on Campus
West Papua Collective on Campus present: film screening & speaker Catherine Delahunty
Tuesday, 3 April 2012 4pm-5pm, Meeting Room SU218, Student Union Building, Victoria University of Wellington
Want to find out more about the struggle for self-determination in West Papua? Come along to a short film Witness: Pride of Warriors that will be followed by guest speaker Green MP Catherine Delahunty and a brief discussion.
West Papua is a Melanesian nation that was colonised by Indonesia in the late 1960s. While human rights abuses and widespread cultural repression are commonplace, the West Papuan struggle remains unknown by the majority of New Zealanders. West Papua Collective on Campus is a group formed in 2012 to raise awareness and support for these issues at the Victoria University of Wellington.
Catherine Delahunty is an active supporter of West Papuan self-determination. She recently helped establish the International Parliamentarians for West Papua group. Join us in discussing what we can do in Aotearoa to support this struggle.
BRISBANE archdiocese's Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) has called on the new Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr to change the direction of Australia's approach to conflict in the Indonesian provinces of West Papua.
The CJPC also formed part of a demonstration in King George Square on March 16, the same day as the final court appearance of five West Papuan independence leaders.
CJPC executive officer Peter Arndt said the demonstration included placards bearing the photographs of the five men.
"We later learnt the men had each been imprisoned for three years," he said.
The men were initially arrested after an attack by Indonesian military units on crowds gathered for the Third Papuan People's Con-gress last October.
A number of unarmed Papuans were killed following the attack.
The congress was held in the Zakheus Field in the West Papuan town of Abepura in Jayapura.
The field is in the grounds of a compound which includes the Sang Surya Franciscan Friary and the John Maria Vianey Diocesan Seminary.
Mr Arndt said the militarisation of West Papua had led to great problems in the region, situated on the western half of the island of New Guinea.
"The indigenous Melanesian people of West Papua have never accepted the Indonesian takeover of West Papua in the 1960s," he said.
"While there has been a small armed independence group in West Papua, non-violent, peaceful groups challenging Indonesian rule and the abuses of security forces have grown in recent years.
"Despite their commitment to peaceful action, Indonesian security forces respond with brutal tactics to keep a lid on their activities.
"The Indonesian Minister for Law and Human Rights recently said there were no political prisoners in Indonesia, but many Papuans are in prison for peaceful political actions like raising the Papuan flag."
Mr Arndt hoped the appointment of Mr Carr as Foreign Affairs Minister "will give Australia a chance to take a stronger stand on military brutality and intimidation in the region".
"We also hope Mr Carr can encourage the Indonesian Government to sit down with all political groups in West Papua and find a way to end a conflict which has lasted fifty years," he said.
The CJPC, late last year, hosted a visit to the archdiocese by West Papuan human rights lawyer Olga Hamadi who, along with 20 other lawyers, helped defend the five independence leaders in court.
"Olga spoke to me on the phone after the trial and said she and other lawyers had been harassed by members of security forces," Mr Arndt said.
"Reference to this harassment was also made by one of the lawyers during the trial."
Ms Hamadi visited Brisbane with Indria Fernida, a fellow member of the Indonesian human rights organisation Kontras.
At the time, she told The Catholic Leader some of the prisoners were suffering injuries from beatings and were often sent to police hospitals "which was not a good thing".
Mr Arndt appealed for donations to help run the region's Catholic hospital to help treat such prisoners.
He said a special West Papuan fund had been set up to receive such donations. "Since then we have had several donations, including a very generous amount of $500," he said.
'Declaring a commitment to freedom is not 'treason' in my language', says Maire Leadbeater. Photo / Thinkstock.
In 1961 the indigenous people of West Papua were preparing for independence and chose their national flag: the red, white and blue 'Morning Star'. They were still under Dutch colonial control, but their flag like Maori self-determination flags, represented their aspirations for the future and their national pride.
Only a year later the Netherlands succumbed to Indonesian and United States pressure and agreed to hand over their colony to a UN administration that was quickly replaced by Indonesian rule. Had the Dutch decolonisation plans stayed on track West Papua would have achieved independence in 1970 - earlier than their neighbour Papua New Guinea.
Under Indonesian rule the flag is banned, but the West Papuans have never stopped displaying it.
Non-violent resistance to Indonesian control has in recent years displaced military methods, and West Papuans also seek to remind the international community of their inalienable right to self-determination. There is strong historical backing for their claim that Indonesia's 1969 so-called 'Act of Free Choice' was conducted under extreme duress while western nations including New Zealand looked away.
Now a trial has just concluded in Jayapura, West Papua's capital, with an outrageous verdict that may come to mark a turning point, as it is being widely condemned.
Forkorus Yaboisembut, who proudly wore a Morning Star tie to court each day, and four colleagues were tried on the charge of treason, and have now been sentenced to three years in jail. Forkorus, Edison Waromi, Selfius Bobii, Agus Kraar, and Dominikus Sorabut, were arrested last October 19, for their role in organising an entirely open 3 day gathering of some 5000 Papuan people representing all districts.
On this occasion the participants decided to declare independence, and to elect Forkorus Yaboisembut, who heads the Papuan Tribal Assembly, as their new President, alongside Edison Waromi as Prime Minister. They called on Indonesia and the international community to respect their call.
There was an extremely menacing police and military presence throughout the Congress so the finale should be seen as a powerful expression of Papuan belief in the future and as a testament to their optimism. Declaring a commitment to freedom is not 'treason' in my language.
There should instead be a trial for those responsible for the terrible events that followed the Congress. As participants were preparing to leave the open air venue the police opened live fire from their armoured personnel carriers. At least 3 people were killed in cold blood. Participants were rounded up, beaten kicked and forced to crawl into the middle of the field. Some 90 sustained injuries and 300 people were arbitrarily arrested. The event was filmed in shocking detail at close quarters by brave young people who risked their own safety to make sure that the evidence could be posted on Youtube.
Some 17 Indonesian police personnel have since received 'administrative sanctions' in internal disciplinary hearings but that is hardly accountability for the gross abuses of October 19, 2011.
Amnesty and Human Rights Watch say that Indonesia is defying its signed commitment to the International Conventions that protect the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly. Instead Indonesia drags out an old colonial era treason law which seems to be used only for cases of peaceful dissent and mainly in West Papua.
Unusually, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke out last November about violence and the abuse of human rights in West Papua. She advocated dialogue and peaceful reform for West Papua. Foreign Minister McCully told my organisation that New Zealand is also concerned about allegations of human rights abuses and that the New Zealand Government would follow the progress of the trial of 'Jayapura Five.'
But, as in the bad old days when Indonesia occupied East Timor, words of concern will not cut the mustard. What did make a difference for the East Timorese was the cutting off of military ties to Indonesia. New Zealand resumed its defence relationship with Indonesia in 2007, ignoring the fact that the military had not reformed or been held accountable for past human rights crimes.
Compared with Australian and American defence links it is small scale stuff such as bilateral officer exchanges, but it is an unmerited seal of approval We have also offered training in Community Policing to the Police in West Papua.
Analysis of the reports of the training and an independent evaluation document of the programme show that we did not teach punitive skills. I believe the trainers had good intentions. However, in the deeply repressive context of West Papua, New Zealand's input seems to have been put to questionable ends. One Indonesian police officer said he had employed the skills and approach taught by New Zealand Police to resolve political unrest in his area, where Papuan 'nationalists' were planning to raise the Morning Star flag.
We should end our police and military training and instead urge Indonesia to take outdated 'treason' laws off its books. West Papuan leaders repeatedly call for dialogue with Jakarta and they need support from their Pacific neighbours to help find a peaceful resolution to this long and tragic conflict.
* Maire Leadbeater is spokesperson for the Indonesia Human Rights Committee
from the West Papua Media Editorial team, and local sources across Papua
March 21, 2012
Rallies held across West Papua, Indonesia, and Australia have drawn tens of thousands of people on to the streets calling on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to do more to protect West Papuans to Indonesian state violence, and to allow them exercise their universal human rights to self-determination.
Despite significant threats of violence prior to the rallies by Indonesian security forces against peaceful unarmed protestors, the mass mobilisations across West Papua significantly outnumbered security forces and were peaceful. In some centres, the police only sent a handful of undercover intelligence agents to monitor the situation.
In Jayapura, over 5000 demonstrators marched from Taman Imbi and joined with a long march of several thousand people. Security forces blocked access to the centre of Jayapura with heavy weaponry, but the rallies avoided provocation. Jayapura was reported to be a ghost town as the rallies paralysed normal business and movement.
Speakers in Jayapura demanded that the UN Secretary-General listen to the people of West Papua and tabled seven key demand on the UN. Buchtar Tabuni, from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) told the crowd that the UN must take responsibility for its role in the sham 1969 Act of Free Choice handover of West Papua to Indonesia, actions that violated international law.
“Ban Ki-Moon and SBY have to know the wishes of the sovereign independence of Papua on the land itself. KNPB will mediate the West Papuan people so they can determine their political choices through a mechanism that is democratic, peaceful, dignified and final in accordance with the principles and standards of international law”, said Tabuni.
Jayapura
Herman Wainggai, a West Papuan the West Papuan independence advocate based in the United States explained at the solidarity rally in Melbourne, Australia, “Our troubles began in New York in 1962, and I hope they will end there soon. We ask the United Nations to host talks between the Indonesian Republic and the Federated Republic of West Papua, just as the UN did between the Indonesians and the Dutch”
Ban Ki-Moon was visiting Indonesia to participate in The Jakarta International Defence Dialogue, hosted by the Indonesian Ministry of Defence on 21 March 2012, a move widely seen by human rights observers as giving legitimacy to Indonesian militarist objectives over West Papua and beyond.
West Papuan activists called on Mr Ban to use the opportunity to press Indonesia on human rights in Papua and its consistent denial of basic freedoms and rights to West Papuan people, including rights to life and of freedom of expression, and freedom from arbitrary detention.
“We would like Mr Ban Ki-moon to attend to our defence while he’s in Jakarta” said Herman Wainggai,
“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes the right of all individuals to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly and association. Also, Indonesia is a signatory to International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and Indonesia’s constitution also protects these rights,” Wainggai told West Papua Media.
“So, it would be appropriate for the Secretary-General to negotiate the release of all political prisoners in Indonesia while he is visiting the new ‘Peacekeeping’ Centre in West Java,” said Wainggai.
Widespread Mass Actions
The rallies across Papua drew tens of thousands of people in total in Wamena, Biak, Serui, Yapen, Sorong, Nabire, Jayapura and Fak-Fak. Security forces engaged in their standard procedures of intimidation and disruption at all rallies, but protesters maintained non-violence discipline at each area.
On Yapen island, close to 6000 people in total held two long marches to support the demands of the day, all under threat of arrest. Local police had refused to issue a permit for the rallies to go ahead, claiming the rallies would upset the security and integrity of Indonesia. After a week of pamphleteering and socialising the rallies, police had no choice but to allow the rally to go ahead. The rally began in the village of Mantembu, where former political prisoner Yawen Wayeni was brutally disembowelled and filmed by Brimob police in a video leaked on Youtube in 2010.
Mantembu, Yapen Island
The same Brimob unit on Monday attempted to block the long march from leaving Mantembu, using over 50 police to block the narrow road, and attempted to seize all Morning Star flags. Negotiations ensued, led by Reverend Jhon Pairire and FRWP Doberay Governor David Abon, who got agreement from police for the rally to continue to Serui city. Police continued to intimidate Papuans all day, but Morning Star flags still appeared throughout the day despite Police.
Serui, Yapen Island
Manokwari saw more than 7000 people from across Papuan society and resistance raise the Morning Star flag and conduct long marches all over town after prayer, eventually settling down to listen to orations from a wide range of speakers. Speakers called for the freeing of all political prisoners in Papua in Indonesian prisons, including the President and the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of West Papua. Brimob officers tried to seize the Morning Star flags early unsuccessfully, but soon stood aback training their weapons on the crowd, who studiously ignored the provocative intimidation according to stringers for West Papua Media.
Manokwari
In Sorong, our stringers reported that almost 1000 people took to the streets in a festive atmosphere. Organisers claimed that few security forces turned up other than about ten plain clothes intelligence agents. ”It is clear that this drastically changed the atmosphere, it must be because of international pressure,” said our stringer by SMS.
On the West Coast in Fak-Fak, almost 1000 people took part in prayers and listened to speeches in the main market square, with little interference by security forces present.
Fak-Fak
In Jayapura, stringers for West Papua Media reported a wide range of colourful, festive and dramatic demonstrations for Papuan aspirations, including the release of almost 300 balloons painted with banned Morning Star flags and the UN flag, which drifted across town and out to sea. This tactic has been used repeatedly as a tactic for distributed symbolic resistance in both Papua and Maluku for years. Isolated gunfire was heard when the balloons passed over military barracks, according to local sources, believed to be Indonesian soldiers attempting to shoot down the balloons.
And in Wamena, in the Baliem Valley, a thousand people joined in a rally and march to support the call for the UN to take action by sending peacekeeping force to protect Papuan people against Indonesian security forces. Stringers for West Papua Media report that few security forces were in overt attendance, but there was an understanding that troops were close by at all times The Baliem Valley and West Papuan highland people have borne the brunt of Indonesian violence since the occupation began, with sweeps against civilians by the Australian funded Detachment 88 counter terrorism group and Indonesian army still ongoing in Tingginambut, Mulia and the outer areas of the Baliem Valley.
