Lush plans banned Morning Star flag shop protest for Papuans

21:34 August 16, 2012 0 comments

Paula Makabory and other West Papuans and supporters protest in Auckland during the Pacific Islands Forum last year. Image: Alex Perrottet / PMC

A cosmetics chain store is joining an awareness campaign next week over the indigenous West Papuan independence struggle.

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Suze Metherell

The “banned” Morning Star flag of West Papuan independence will be displayed in shop fronts across New Zealand next week.

The flag, which is illegal in both Indonesian-ruled Melanesian provinces in the region of West Papua, will be displayed in Lush natural cosmetics stores as part of a campaign to raise awareness about the indigenous independence struggle.

The campaign will run in conjunction with New Zealand-based West Papuan advocacy group, the Indonesia Human Rights Committee.

Megan Taylor, Lush’s campaign manager, says the Morning Star flag – the symbol of the independence movement of West Papua – will hang in shop windows all next week.

On Wednesday, employees will hold a protest outside their stores, with tape over their mouths to symbolise the lost voice of West Papuans.

Currently international journalists are forbidden from entering West Papua and the Indonesian media has been accused of misrepresenting the self- determination movement.

Margaret Taylor, activism support manager at Amnesty International, says there are grave concerns about human rights in the two West Papua provinces.

Media not free
“The media is not free there. A free media is one of the best ways to guarantee that human rights will be respected – and in the region some of the media has been targeted,” Taylor says.

Maire Leadbeater, spokesperson for the Indonesia Human Rights Committee, says the restrictions on the media limit greater global awareness of the issue.

“It’s partly deliberate policy on the part of Indonesians to restrict access to West Papua,” Leadbeater says.

“It is a tragedy really, that a country, which is a Melanesian nation in every other way, geographically, culturally, and ethnically and should be part of our Pacific, has been kept separate in that way.

“The Pacific neighbours find it hard to understand what is happening there because we only see so little information about it,” she says.

West Papua is internationally recognised as part of Indonesia, despite over 40 years of separatist movements by indigenous West Papuans.

Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty will also attend next week’s protest.

Delahunty believes the situation is becoming increasingly desperate for West Papuans.

Shot dead
On June 14, pro-independence leader Mako Tabuni was shot dead by Indonesian police.

Tabuni had been campaigning for an investigation into the death of West Papuans at the hands of the Indonesian military.

“I think that the situation on the ground is getting worse, because really it’s hard to keep hope alive that the government of Indonesia will recognise what is going on in terms of the self-determination of West Papua.

“I think there is a strong peace movement, and a strong leadership from the churches and many activists for a peaceful dialogue. But there are acts of violence but there is also a lot of provocation, deliberate provocation, by the Indonesians and military behaviour that is out of control,” Delahunty says.

“It is very, very hard without an independent media, or even the Red Cross being allowed to be there to find out whether the situation is; whether there are more acts of violent resistance by West Papuans, or whether a lot of it is being provoked.”

Leadbeater says since the 1960s Indonesia has increased its military presence in the area in a bid to keep control of the resource rich Freeport gold mine based in the province.

“For all of that time there has been a strong resistance to Indonesian rule sometimes led by a guerrilla movement, but a poorly armed guerrilla movement.

Rights abuses
“In many ways it is quite a close parallel to the East Timor situation. Because again you have a population that doesn’t accept being ruled by Indonesia, you have very heavy militarisation and ongoing human rights abuses and massacres under Indonesian rule; it’s a parallel in that situation,” says Leadbeater.

Not only are there reports of human rights abuses by the Indonesian police and military in the area, but environmental degradation due to deforestation and illegal logging.

Indonesia has also maintained an official policy of trans-migration to the province.

“The Indonesian migrants are now believed to be at a larger number in the total population than the indigenous Papuans,” says Leadbeater.

“It does make it very difficult for self-determination once that starts to happen. [The Indonesian Government] arranged for the people to be encouraged to move from over from crowded islands to West Papua and set up little villages.

Pressure needed
“Never mind the fact that indigenous people were already on the land.”

Delahunty says New Zealand awareness surrounding Indonesia’s involvement in West Papua needs to increase, so that the public can pressure the New Zealand government into action.

“We will not be giving up in raising awareness of the issue… I think we are far more likely to get greater awareness amongst New Zealand citizens who don’t believe in unfairness and violence by the state.

“I think the government is a follower, definitely not a leader on this issue, sadly,” says Delahunty.

Both Delahunty and Leadbeater agree that the government could take a tougher human rights approach to Indonesia.

“There are things that New Zealand can do, that it’s not doing. To some extent the fact that we have an ongoing military relationship with Indonesia undermines our human rights stand,” says Leadbeater.

Delahunty says there is an opportunity for New Zealand to play a leadership role in the struggle, by offering to mediate between the two interests.

“New Zealand could play a really good role and offer to negotiate a peace dialogue,” says Delahunty.

Influential  players
“I think that the West Papuan people would love to see either Australia or New Zealand, who are influential players in the region, with resources and influence to support a change in attitude from the Indonesians by calling for this peace dialogue.

“It may not be accepted by the Indonesians, but at least it would be an indication by the New Zealand government recognising the need for that kind of arbitration and that kind of dialogue.”

Joe Collins, secretary of the Australians for West Papua Association (Sydney), says recognising West Papua as Melanesian is vital to self-determination and independence from Indonesia.

He thought awareness in Australia was increasing, and the Jakarta government was becoming increasingly concerned about the increasing international spotlight on the situation.

“I think, unfortunately, it will get a bit worse before it gets better.”

However, he says dialogue is the best way forward and international pressure will be a powerful tool for the people of the Morning Star.

“I think the more publicity that happens,  the more pressure will come on Jakarta and they will need to respond,” he says.

The Lush Free West Papua campaign will run next week, and all proceeds from the sale of the Smell of Freedom perfume will be donated to Indonesia Human Rights Committee.

Suze Metherell is a Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies student journalist on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course at AUT University.

West Papua's cry for help

West Papuans have been rising up against neocolonial Indonesia - which took control of the country in 1962. Last Modified: 08 Nov 2011 14:38 inShare14 Email Print Share Feedback

"We might be small and poorly equipped... but we will continue to fight to win back our land," resident says [EPA] While the international community is fixated on events taking place across the Middle East, they are turning a blind eye to desperate cries for help by the Papuan people. Seeing Indonesian rule of their land as illegal, countless West Papuans across the island are growing increasingly frustrated with the status quo. As video of Gaddafi's dead body haunted TV screens across the world, images of beaten and murdered Papuans boomed around social media in the Asia-Pacific. Their crime: to peacefully raise their national flag and declare independence. The meeting was supposed to be peaceful. Thousands of Papuan leaders from across the country descended on the region's largest city, Jayapura, to attend a national congress. Then, after the Papuan leaders installed a national government, the peace was broken. Having waited on the fringes of the congress, the signal was given, and hundreds of heavily armed police stormed the compound. It is reported that the attendees had been peacefully dancing for an hour when the crackdown took place. While the Indonesian police say only warning shots were fired, several bodies have been found with bullet wounds. More than five people are believed have been killed - local human rights groups say 17 - some are still missing, hundreds arrested, and countless people wounded and in hiding. The government was quick to blame the incident on "separatists". Jayapura's Chief of  Police, Imam Setiawan said they had no choice but to crackdown on the congress, as an act of treason had been committed. Despite the mortalities and suffering, he showed no remorse for what had happened. "Whoever supports separatism or subversion activity, I will do the same as yesterday. I’ll finish them," said Setiawan. "So, if there is anyone supporting such movements, I’m ready to die and finish them. This is my duty." While the government calls their declaration for independence an act of treason, those inside West Papua see it as part of a struggle to reclaim their land. "Whoever supports separatism or subversion activity... I'll finish them." - Imam Setiawan, Jayapura's Chief of Police Although Indonesia officially gained independence in 1949, the Dutch government kept control over West Papua until 1961. Eager to get his hands on the resource rich region, Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, made repeated attempts through the United Nations to gain ownership. Frustrated with a lack of progress, Indonesia deployed tens of thousands of armed troops to take the western half of New Guinea Island, by force. The Kennedy administration, keen to avoid confrontation and the loss of another Asian country to communism, brokered the New York Agreement between the Dutch and Jakarta in 1962. The agreement transferred control of the colony to Indonesia on the condition it committed to hold a referendum on independence, to be called the ‘Act of Free Choice’. In 1969, 1,025 handpicked Papuans - out of a population of over one million - were chosen for the vote. These ‘representatives’ unanimously elected for West Papua to remain within Indonesian sovereignty. Amid allegations of threats to voters, a British Foreign and Commonwealth Office briefing that year found "the process of consultation did not allow a genuinely free choice to be made", while the US Ambassador to Indonesia said, "95 per cent of indigenous Papuans wanted to have freedom". Across West Papua, the Act was seen as a complete sham, fuelling protests and inspiring parts of the population to take up arms. The Indonesian military launched widespread campaigns to quell dissent. Thousands of refugees fled the country and members of the resistance set up armed groups deep in the jungle - where they remain today still fighting for independence. A teary-eyed general In February this year, I travelled undercover to West Papua. Foreign journalists are restricted from working freely there, so I had to evade detection by the authorities. Relying on networks of the independence movement, I was whisked into a boat and taken deep into the jungle to meet General Richard Youweni, one of the longest running commanders in the rebel army. Flanked by tribal soldiers in traditional attire, the teary-eyed general told me how he was an engineering student in Jayapura when the conflict began. Hearing what was happening to his people, he quickly returned. "I could not just stand by and let Indonesia take our land," Youweni told me seemingly haunted by the memory. "They do not care about our people or our land, they just want to take our resources." The same grievances were reiterated by the rest of the commanders. Many cried at the memories of Papuan people being tortured or killed by the Indonesian army. Many West Papuans see Indonesia as a neocolonialist power that is only interested in the country's resources [EPA] The rebels are fractured, poorly armed, and lack international support, but their dedication to their land and people is evident. One of the commanders, Freddie Laboi, makes sure I know this. "We might be small and poorly equipped," he says with a cheeky grin. "But we will continue to fight to win back our land, which is rightfully ours." The day I came out of the jungle, thousands of protesters had gathered outside a government building to protest against the continued rule by Indonesia. In recent months, the protest leaders, inspired by events remaking the Arab world, are launching protests on an almost weekly basis. The following day, I met with the student protesters on the outskirts of Jayapura. They were hiding from the security forces, fearing arrest for their organisation of the protests, the day before. One by one they took it in to turns, telling me about their dreams of liberating West Papua. Explaining how poverty levels are high, and they believe Jakarta's only interest in their land is resource extraction. They said they did not want international companies to continue destroying their land. "They have no right to be here, they did not ask for our permission," said the student's spokesman who is currently behind bars in Jayapura for organising the congress on October 19. "It is destroying our land and does not help the people". The Grasberg Mine has been criticised by environmental groups worldwide - and by Indonesia’s own environment ministers - for the severe damage caused by its waste deposits. The Norwegian government went as far as divesting around US $1bn of shares in Rio Tinto, citing concerns over environmental damage from the mine. Other concerns lie in Freeport-McMoRan-Rio Tinto paying the Indonesian military millions of dollars every year to protect the mine, which have been accused of committing human rights abuses against Papuan villagers. Freeport's beginnings in West Papua are particularly shady. The first contract was signed with Indonesian President Suharto in 1957, before Indonesia had even gained control of West Papua. Former US National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger having visited Indonesia the day before the invasion of West Papua, now sits on the board of the company, In the week leading up to the events at the congress, separate protests had been held near the Grasberg mine. While these protests were isolated, the incidents share the same underlying roots and grievances. "We're being exploited by Indonesia and these international companies," said one protest leader. Their main demand was a rise in wages. Each miner receives only $1.50 per hour, from a company that is the biggest taxpayer to the Indonesian government and has such high profits that the strikes cost the company over $30m every day. While the Indonesian government and international companies make vast profits from natural resources on the island, the local Papuans live in abject poverty. The United Nations Development Programme says about 35 per cent of West Papua’s population lives below the poverty line, contrasting with the Indonesian national average of about 13 per cent. Neocolonialist ventures In 1969, Indonesia organised a 'sham' vote that kept them in power in West Papua [EPA] According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, secondary school enrollment in Papua is only 60 per cent compared with a national average of 91 per cent. And as more companies come to the islanders, bringing non-Papuans, the situation is not expected to improve. According to Jago Wadley, senior forest campaigner for the Environmental Investigation Agency, if the fast rate of resource extraction continues, Papua will "lose millions of hectares of forests and be stripped of valuable resources without the benefits of value-adding industries to create wealth and jobs locally". Instead, only foreign companies, Jakarta and a small group of Papuan elites will benefit. Wadley adds that the rising interest in Papua’s resources "will see an influx of millions of migrants from other parts of Indonesia, likely limiting indigenous Papuans to a tiny minority in their own land". Some commentators, he notes, see the rapid development as "politically ideological in its aims" and an "effective foil to calls for independence". While some Papuans have become pacified over the years, it is clear there is growing dissent from within West Papua. Few are willing to stand by and watch Indonesia continue to exploit their land, and violently repress their desperate pleas for independence. The violence, which took place in congress, is likely to further ignite hatred towards Jakarta and many are expecting the situation to get more tense in coming weeks. The international community has done little to help or even highlight the West Papuan struggle for independence. Human rights groups estimate that over 400,000 Papuans have been killed since Indonesia began its quest to colonise the nation. Despite the plight of Papuan people, few around the world are aware of the how they have suffered over the years. Like the international community recognised Indonesia's wrongful occupation of East Timor, it also needs to recognise the illegal occupation of West Papua. The international community must pressure the Indonesian government to listen to the voices of the independence movement, and the Papuan activists' repeated calls for dialogue with Jakarta, which have been ignored. Having been denied the right to democratically vote for the future of their country in 1969, the Papuan people deserve a referendum free of pressure and harassment. Jakarta needs to immediately allow human rights groups into the country to monitor abuses taking place, almost daily. It is clear that the Papuan people will not back down. Despite the violent attack on congress, thousands of Papuans rallied on October 31 demanding an investigation into human rights abuses committed at the congress. Shadowed by hundreds of Indonesian security forces, the protesters defiantly called for the release of all political prisoners. The question remains on many West Papuan minds, why can Indonesia get away with shooting unarmed people, but other governments cannot. The international community also must ask themselves the same question. The pleas of the Papuan people were ignored in 1969, and with growing tensions, cannot be ignored again. "The difference between us and the Middle East," Jacob says, "is that we’re not fighting a dictator. We’re fighting invading neocolonialists who have stolen our land." "If the international community doesn’t help us, West Papuan people will slowly perish while fighting for the independence we deserve." William Lloyd George is a freelance correspondent reporting on under reported stories around the globe. Follow him on Twitter. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

West Papua's cry for help

West Papuans have been rising up against neocolonial Indonesia - which took control of the country in 1962. Last Modified: 08 Nov 2011 14:38 inShare14 Email Print Share Feedback

"We might be small and poorly equipped... but we will continue to fight to win back our land," resident says [EPA] While the international community is fixated on events taking place across the Middle East, they are turning a blind eye to desperate cries for help by the Papuan people. Seeing Indonesian rule of their land as illegal, countless West Papuans across the island are growing increasingly frustrated with the status quo. As video of Gaddafi's dead body haunted TV screens across the world, images of beaten and murdered Papuans boomed around social media in the Asia-Pacific. Their crime: to peacefully raise their national flag and declare independence. The meeting was supposed to be peaceful. Thousands of Papuan leaders from across the country descended on the region's largest city, Jayapura, to attend a national congress. Then, after the Papuan leaders installed a national government, the peace was broken. Having waited on the fringes of the congress, the signal was given, and hundreds of heavily armed police stormed the compound. It is reported that the attendees had been peacefully dancing for an hour when the crackdown took place. While the Indonesian police say only warning shots were fired, several bodies have been found with bullet wounds. More than five people are believed have been killed - local human rights groups say 17 - some are still missing, hundreds arrested, and countless people wounded and in hiding. The government was quick to blame the incident on "separatists". Jayapura's Chief of  Police, Imam Setiawan said they had no choice but to crackdown on the congress, as an act of treason had been committed. Despite the mortalities and suffering, he showed no remorse for what had happened. "Whoever supports separatism or subversion activity, I will do the same as yesterday. I’ll finish them," said Setiawan. "So, if there is anyone supporting such movements, I’m ready to die and finish them. This is my duty." While the government calls their declaration for independence an act of treason, those inside West Papua see it as part of a struggle to reclaim their land. "Whoever supports separatism or subversion activity... I'll finish them." - Imam Setiawan, Jayapura's Chief of Police Although Indonesia officially gained independence in 1949, the Dutch government kept control over West Papua until 1961. Eager to get his hands on the resource rich region, Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, made repeated attempts through the United Nations to gain ownership. Frustrated with a lack of progress, Indonesia deployed tens of thousands of armed troops to take the western half of New Guinea Island, by force. The Kennedy administration, keen to avoid confrontation and the loss of another Asian country to communism, brokered the New York Agreement between the Dutch and Jakarta in 1962. The agreement transferred control of the colony to Indonesia on the condition it committed to hold a referendum on independence, to be called the ‘Act of Free Choice’. In 1969, 1,025 handpicked Papuans - out of a population of over one million - were chosen for the vote. These ‘representatives’ unanimously elected for West Papua to remain within Indonesian sovereignty. Amid allegations of threats to voters, a British Foreign and Commonwealth Office briefing that year found "the process of consultation did not allow a genuinely free choice to be made", while the US Ambassador to Indonesia said, "95 per cent of indigenous Papuans wanted to have freedom". Across West Papua, the Act was seen as a complete sham, fuelling protests and inspiring parts of the population to take up arms. The Indonesian military launched widespread campaigns to quell dissent. Thousands of refugees fled the country and members of the resistance set up armed groups deep in the jungle - where they remain today still fighting for independence. A teary-eyed general In February this year, I travelled undercover to West Papua. Foreign journalists are restricted from working freely there, so I had to evade detection by the authorities. Relying on networks of the independence movement, I was whisked into a boat and taken deep into the jungle to meet General Richard Youweni, one of the longest running commanders in the rebel army. Flanked by tribal soldiers in traditional attire, the teary-eyed general told me how he was an engineering student in Jayapura when the conflict began. Hearing what was happening to his people, he quickly returned. "I could not just stand by and let Indonesia take our land," Youweni told me seemingly haunted by the memory. "They do not care about our people or our land, they just want to take our resources." The same grievances were reiterated by the rest of the commanders. Many cried at the memories of Papuan people being tortured or killed by the Indonesian army. Many West Papuans see Indonesia as a neocolonialist power that is only interested in the country's resources [EPA] The rebels are fractured, poorly armed, and lack international support, but their dedication to their land and people is evident. One of the commanders, Freddie Laboi, makes sure I know this. "We might be small and poorly equipped," he says with a cheeky grin. "But we will continue to fight to win back our land, which is rightfully ours." The day I came out of the jungle, thousands of protesters had gathered outside a government building to protest against the continued rule by Indonesia. In recent months, the protest leaders, inspired by events remaking the Arab world, are launching protests on an almost weekly basis. The following day, I met with the student protesters on the outskirts of Jayapura. They were hiding from the security forces, fearing arrest for their organisation of the protests, the day before. One by one they took it in to turns, telling me about their dreams of liberating West Papua. Explaining how poverty levels are high, and they believe Jakarta's only interest in their land is resource extraction. They said they did not want international companies to continue destroying their land. "They have no right to be here, they did not ask for our permission," said the student's spokesman who is currently behind bars in Jayapura for organising the congress on October 19. "It is destroying our land and does not help the people". The Grasberg Mine has been criticised by environmental groups worldwide - and by Indonesia’s own environment ministers - for the severe damage caused by its waste deposits. The Norwegian government went as far as divesting around US $1bn of shares in Rio Tinto, citing concerns over environmental damage from the mine. Other concerns lie in Freeport-McMoRan-Rio Tinto paying the Indonesian military millions of dollars every year to protect the mine, which have been accused of committing human rights abuses against Papuan villagers. Freeport's beginnings in West Papua are particularly shady. The first contract was signed with Indonesian President Suharto in 1957, before Indonesia had even gained control of West Papua. Former US National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger having visited Indonesia the day before the invasion of West Papua, now sits on the board of the company, In the week leading up to the events at the congress, separate protests had been held near the Grasberg mine. While these protests were isolated, the incidents share the same underlying roots and grievances. "We're being exploited by Indonesia and these international companies," said one protest leader. Their main demand was a rise in wages. Each miner receives only $1.50 per hour, from a company that is the biggest taxpayer to the Indonesian government and has such high profits that the strikes cost the company over $30m every day. While the Indonesian government and international companies make vast profits from natural resources on the island, the local Papuans live in abject poverty. The United Nations Development Programme says about 35 per cent of West Papua’s population lives below the poverty line, contrasting with the Indonesian national average of about 13 per cent. Neocolonialist ventures In 1969, Indonesia organised a 'sham' vote that kept them in power in West Papua [EPA] According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, secondary school enrollment in Papua is only 60 per cent compared with a national average of 91 per cent. And as more companies come to the islanders, bringing non-Papuans, the situation is not expected to improve. According to Jago Wadley, senior forest campaigner for the Environmental Investigation Agency, if the fast rate of resource extraction continues, Papua will "lose millions of hectares of forests and be stripped of valuable resources without the benefits of value-adding industries to create wealth and jobs locally". Instead, only foreign companies, Jakarta and a small group of Papuan elites will benefit. Wadley adds that the rising interest in Papua’s resources "will see an influx of millions of migrants from other parts of Indonesia, likely limiting indigenous Papuans to a tiny minority in their own land". Some commentators, he notes, see the rapid development as "politically ideological in its aims" and an "effective foil to calls for independence". While some Papuans have become pacified over the years, it is clear there is growing dissent from within West Papua. Few are willing to stand by and watch Indonesia continue to exploit their land, and violently repress their desperate pleas for independence. The violence, which took place in congress, is likely to further ignite hatred towards Jakarta and many are expecting the situation to get more tense in coming weeks. The international community has done little to help or even highlight the West Papuan struggle for independence. Human rights groups estimate that over 400,000 Papuans have been killed since Indonesia began its quest to colonise the nation. Despite the plight of Papuan people, few around the world are aware of the how they have suffered over the years. Like the international community recognised Indonesia's wrongful occupation of East Timor, it also needs to recognise the illegal occupation of West Papua. The international community must pressure the Indonesian government to listen to the voices of the independence movement, and the Papuan activists' repeated calls for dialogue with Jakarta, which have been ignored. Having been denied the right to democratically vote for the future of their country in 1969, the Papuan people deserve a referendum free of pressure and harassment. Jakarta needs to immediately allow human rights groups into the country to monitor abuses taking place, almost daily. It is clear that the Papuan people will not back down. Despite the violent attack on congress, thousands of Papuans rallied on October 31 demanding an investigation into human rights abuses committed at the congress. Shadowed by hundreds of Indonesian security forces, the protesters defiantly called for the release of all political prisoners. The question remains on many West Papuan minds, why can Indonesia get away with shooting unarmed people, but other governments cannot. The international community also must ask themselves the same question. The pleas of the Papuan people were ignored in 1969, and with growing tensions, cannot be ignored again. "The difference between us and the Middle East," Jacob says, "is that we’re not fighting a dictator. We’re fighting invading neocolonialists who have stolen our land." "If the international community doesn’t help us, West Papuan people will slowly perish while fighting for the independence we deserve." William Lloyd George is a freelance correspondent reporting on under reported stories around the globe. Follow him on Twitter. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

Australian-funded soldiers policing West Papuan activists

By James Balowski, in Jakarta

The killing of a leading pro-independence activist in West Papua during a raid reportedly led by members of the Australian-funded and -trained counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88 (Densus 88) raises serious questions about how Australian workers’ tax money is being used in Indonesia.

West Papua National Committee (KNPB) deputy chairperson Mako Tabuni was shot dead near the provincial capital Jayapura on June 14, causing rioting and a security crackdown. Police claimed Tabuni resisted arrest and was shot trying to escape.

Eyewitness accounts and an investigation by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) cast serious doubts on the police version of events. Kontras executive coordinator Haris Azhar said that, according to its findings, three cars approached Tabuni and fired at him directly, in an incident bearing all the hallmarks of a police hit.

According to the independent Australian-based West Papua Media (WPM), Tabuni was shot by police as they stormed an area outside student dormitories at the Cenderawasih University. WPM said that it confirmed independently that the Densus 88 troops were in command of the raid. Tabuni was campaigning for an investigation into a spate of mysterious shootings in May and June that left at least 16 dead. Police subsequently accused Tabuni and the KNPB of being behind the violence.

Waning threat

Densus 88 was created in 2003, supposedly in response to the 2002 Bali bombings. It is equipped and trained in large part by the US and Australia, which provide training in communications interception, close combat, forensic sciences, surveillance and intelligence gathering and analysis. It has a facility at the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation, set up in 2004 with almost $40 million of Australian funding. According to the centre’s website, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) still run most of the seminars. Densus 88 also benefits from $16 million in annual funding allocated to the AFP to combat terrorism in South-East Asia. It has around 400 members attached to its command in Jakarta and hundreds more in the country’s 33 provinces.

The threat of major terrorist attacks in Indonesia began to wane after the second Bali bombing in 2005, only minor incidents occurring, such as the bombing of a market in Central Sulawesi and ambushes of law enforcers in Maluku. It was not until 2009 that Indonesia suffered another major attack, when two suicide bombs were detonated at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta.

Following the death of major terrorism suspects Noordin M. Top in 2009 and Dulmatin in 2010, and with figures such as Jemaah Islamiyah spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir behind bars, Densus 88 stepped up its engagement in non-terrorism issues. According to Jakarta Globe journalist Nivell Rayda — who has been investigating Densus 88 — there has been a marked shift toward policing “separatism” instead of terrorism.

“Detachment 88 being somewhat of an elite unit, being funded and trained by foreign countries ... they just lay dormant — their resources, their equipment and their tactical abilities, and investigation techniques just lying dormant for years”, Rayda told the Australian independent magazine New Matilda on March 5.

“In 2009 we had another major attack, but since then we’ve arrested nearly all the major players and terrorism suspects ... there haven’t really been any major terrorism events taking shape, and ... the pattern seems to repeat itself: Detachment 88 has been engaging once more in non-terrorism issues, including separatism”, he said.

Widespread abuses

Unlike West Papua, where foreign journalists are restricted from reporting freely and humanitarian organisations such as the International Red Cross were ordered out in 2009, Densus 88’s operations in the Maluku islands of eastern Indonesia have come under close scrutiny.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International have reported widespread and institutionalised torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners by Densus 88 there, where a pro-independence movement has existed since 1950.

A report by HRW in June 2010, based on more than 50 interviews with political prisoners between December 2008 and May 2010, detailed the arrest and prosecution of activists for peacefully raising banned symbols, such as the Papuan Morning Star and the South Maluku independence flag. The report described the treatment of activists during their detention, especially by Densus 88 in the Maluku capital of Ambon, noting that allegations of torture by Densus 88 have been consistent and detailed.

In August 2010, Amnesty warned that activists arrested by Densus 88 in Ambon ahead of a planned protest during a visit by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono were at serious risk of torture. Amnesty noted that in June 2007, 22 activists in Maluku were arrested by Densus 88 and beaten, forced to crawl on their stomachs over hot asphalt, whipped with an electric cable and had billiard balls forced into their mouths in an attempt to force them to confess.

In 2008 the US quietly instituted a training ban on Densus 88 members involved in the 2007 abuses in Maluku. A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Jakarta, Paul Belmont, said the ban remained in place and had been extended to new members of the unit associated with the abuses in August 2010. “We have been critical of alleged human rights abuses against separatists, in particular in Papua and Maluku”, Belmont told the Sydney Morning Herald in September 2010.

While the Australian government said it was “aware and concerned”, an embassy official denied that it was investigating the allegations. “An embassy officer visited Maluku recently as part of a regular program of provincial visits”, a spokesperson told the Globe in September 2010. “In that context, publicly available reports of allegations against the Maluku unit were raised with local government officials and NGOs. Any investigation is a matter for Indonesian authorities.”

West Papua

Indonesian officials have neither denied nor confirmed Densus 88’s involvement in Tabuni’s killing, and have made conflicting statements about the unit’s operations in West Papua. On June 16 Tempo Interactivequoted a senior official as saying the unit would be sent to reinforce military and police in Papua.

Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) said this would worsen the conflict. “Due to the escalating tension in Papua, there are some efforts now by some elites in the national police to intensify the role of Densus 88 in the land of Cenderawasih [West Papua]”, IPW chairperson Neta S. Pane told the Globe on June 16.

The national police denied Densus 88 would be sent to Papua. “Densus will be deployed if terrorism occurred there”, national police spokesperson Saud Usman Nasution — who is a former Densus 88 chief — told the June 20 Jakarta Post. This contradicts an earlier statement by Nasution to the Globe confirming that Densus 88 officers were already in Papua and justifying their presence.

Media reports suggest that the unit has been operating in Papua since 2009. According to the Globe, in 2009 Densus 88 was involved in the arrest of 15 people in connection with a series of attacks in the vicinity of the Freeport Indonesia gold and copper mine in Timika, which left three dead and dozens injured, including Australian national Drew Grant, killed in an ambush on July 11, 2009.

The following day, assailants opened fire on vehicles at the mine carrying security officers. National police spokesperson Brigadier General Sulistyo Ishak confirmed there had been an exchange of fire, saying police had deployed reinforcements. “After the incident, our counter-terror unit, Densus 88, engaged in a skirmish with an unknown number of gunmen”, Ishak told the state news agency Antara. National police chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri told the Jakarta Post that 60 additional personnel — including Densus 88 officers — had been sent to Papua.

Densus 88’s presence in Papua was confirmed by the Herald in a June 2010 interview with Brigadier General Tito Karnavian, the former commander of Densus 88 and planned replacement of the current Papua police chief. Karnavian said that the unit had a legitimate role in countering separatism and would remain in Papua, pointing to the killing of Grant as evidence that separatists were using “tactics of terror”. “Any group using violence against civilians must be seen as a terrorist group. It’s not just Islamic groups”, he told the Herald.

Densus 88 members were sent to Papua in August last year after four people died in Nafri, near Jayapura, in an ambush by alleged armed separatists. “We have dispatched crime scene investigators and Densus 88 officers to Nafri to help Papua police hunt for the perpetrators”, police spokesperson Inspector General Anton Bachrul Alam told the Globe in August 2011.

According to witnesses and a video posted on the WPM website, Densus 88 also took part in an attack on the Third Papuan People’s Congress in Abepura on October 19 last year, in which at least six people were killed, scores wounded and around 300 arrested.

In November 2011, Densus 88 officers reportedly raided homes in Paniai regency during a stand-off with armed separatists. “The police officers in Paniai were different from Brimob [paramilitary police], although police say they were Brimob”, Paniai priest Oktovianus Pekei told the Globe on March 5. “These officers wore ski masks and heavy combat gear and helmets. They also carried sophisticated weaponry and state-of-the art equipment.”

In August it was reported that Densus 88 joined the local police in Nafri to investigate the shooting of a public minivan. The Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy said 15 people were arrested — including two under-age-girls — after the police stormed the Horas Skyline village, kicking, beating and threatening local residents with pointed guns. All but two suspects were later released for lack of evidence.

‘Not up to our standard’

Coinciding with the release in October 2010 of a graphic video showing two Papuans being tortured by Indonesian soldiers, the head of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Dennis Richardson, admitted that the conduct of Indonesia’s security agencies was sometimes “not up to our standard”. Richardson said Canberra would continue to cooperate with the agencies because of the overriding objective of protecting Australian lives amid a continuing terrorist threat in Indonesia.

“In working with Indonesian agencies you can get tension between the responsibility you think you owe to your own citizens ... and the conduct of some Indonesian agencies that are not up to our standard”, he told the Herald. “We make representations we think we should and condemn human rights abuses.”

A former head of ASIO, Richardson made the comment at a Senate hearing on being asked about alleged abuses of activists in Maluku. When asked whether Australia, like the US, had banned cooperation with Densus 88 members who served in Ambon, Richardson said they had not.

Reiterating Canberra’s recognition of Indonesian sovereignty over West Papua, Australian embassy spokesperson Ray Marcelo said that Australia does not support Densus 88’s involvement in non-terrorism activities. “The sole focus of Australian engagement with Densus 88 is in combating terrorism”, he told theGlobe on March 5. “Australia does not provide any support to Densus 88 or any other unit in relation to any activities directed at combating separatist groups.”

[For the latest news and information on Indonesia and West Papua, visit the Asia Pacific Solidarity Network website at www.asia-pacific-solidarity.net/.]

Direct Action — August 14, 2012

Australia moves on offshore asylum centers

Australia aims to be have asylum seeker processing centers up and running in Nauru and Papua New Guinea within a month.

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Published: Aug. 15, 2012 at 6:30 AM

CANBERRA, Australia, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Australia aims to have asylum seeker processing centers available for use in Nauru and Papua New Guinea within a month.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard made the announcement in anticipation of the Lower House passing amendments to the Immigration Act this week that would allow the creation of the offshore processing centers, a report by The Age newspaper said.
The proposed changes would allow the transfer of asylum seekers in centers, including the main one on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, around 1,600 miles from the western Australian city of Perth.
Australia also would be allowed, under the proposed changes, to hold asylum seekers indefinitely while identification and refugee status us being established, The Age reported.
"Subject to what those reconnaissance teams find, it would be possible for the Defense Force to facilitate the construction of temporary facilities in both locations," Gillard said. "That means within a month, we would hope to see people being processed in Nauru and PNG."
The move would mark the return of Australian immigration officials to the two countries, which previously had centers operated by Australia.
Nauru, in the South Pacific, has a population of just more than 9,000 and is under the protection of Australia, although it has been independent since 1968. The almost circular island is noted for its phosphate mines, now exhausted.
From 2001-08, Nauru accepted aid from Australian in exchange for housing a refugee center.
PNG, with a population of fewer than 7 million, lies off the northern tip of Australia and has had close relations with Australia, which governed it until independence in 1975.
PNG's rugged, jungle-covered Manus Island off its northern coast covers 800 square miles and has a population of 43,000, a 2002 census indicated. Its Australian-operated asylum center ran from 2001-04.
Gillard's announcement of a return to the islands is the latest twist in the decade-long problem of what to with thousands of Asian and Middle Eastern asylum seekers arriving by boats.
Many arrive from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Iraq and often have paid thousands of dollars to people smugglers for the dangerous passage often in unseaworthy vessels.
But Gillard defended her get-tough policy, saying it levels the playing field for all asylum seekers, The New Age report said.
Gillard couldn't say how long arrivals who are given refugee status might wait under the policy for a visa. However, they should have ''no advantage'' over asylum seekers waiting in other countries, the New Age report said.
Keeping refugees waiting for a visa was ''fundamental" to the propositions in the recent Houston report -- "you don't get an advantage because you've got on a boat."
Among the recommendations in the report by former defense chief Angus Houston is reopening of offshore processing centers in Nauru and PNG and no fast-tracking of asylum seekers simply because they arrive by boat.
The report also recommended that Australia's humanitarian refugee intake be increased from 13,750 to 20,000 a year.
Around 1,800 arrived by boats last month, the government said.
The government is in talks with Nauru and PNG about the setting up the centers.
However, a report by Radio Australia said there is concern by some PNG politicians about re-establishing a center.
Powes Parkop, the governor of PNG's National Capital District, said the country's laws shouldn't be overlooked just to cooperate with a close neighbor.
Parkop said in principle he isn't against PNG having a center.
"My understanding is that these asylum-seekers will be going to a center where they'll be under guard, locked up and detained like processing centers in Australia," Parkop said. "That isn't legal here because it's against our constitution."
He said it's the culture of PNG to give refugees more freedom.
"When the West Papuans (illegal immigrants from Indonesia) come to PNG, we put them in refugee camps, where they're free to go fishing and gardening and fend for themselves, while we process them," he said.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2012/08/15/Australia-moves-on-offshore-asylum-centers/UPI-77801345026600/#ixzz23gfDwvJm

West Papua: Independence leader on trial in new crackdown

Sunday, August 12, 2012

By Ash Pemberton

West Papuan independence leader Buchtar Tabuni has been put on trial as part of Indonesia's crackdown on the independence movement.

Tabuni, a leader of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), was arrested in June for allegedly organising “anarchic” protests calling on the government to properly investigate a wave of random shootings blamed on independence activists.

The protests were peaceful until attacked by police and ended with several activists dead and others injured.

The wave of violence is widely believed to be the work of those aligned with the government and military. The shootings began in May, just days after the Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council heavily criticised Indonesia's actions in West Papua, and are seen as an attempt to discredit the independence movement, particularly the KNPB.

Leading KNPB member Mako Tabuni was assassinated by security forces in June and later blamed for the shootings. The claims have little credibility, particularly as the KNPB has no history of violence.

Theo Hesegem of the Law Enforcement and Human Rights Advocacy Network told Asian Human Rights Commission News on July 31: “Problems were deliberately designed in Papua so people from outside will not come to Papua and just stop by in Jakarta.

“Problems were created so people would think, 'there are too many problems in Papua so we should not go there', 'Papua is not safe', 'it is inconvenient to go to Papua' etc.

“I have heard that actually there was a team formed by the German parliamentarians who would come to Papua but due to security reasons, they could not come.”

Indonesia's human rights abuses in West Papua have gained more international criticism in the past few years. Despite the increasing pressure, Indonesia has stuck to its long-used tactic of repressing Papuans and then blaming its victims for its brutality.

KNPB spokesperson Wim Metlama criticised the ongoing harassment of KNPB members, including the attempted arrest of new chairperson Victor Yeimo, Jubi said on August 8.

All independence activists are under threat of persecution. One example was former political prisoner Yusak Pakage, who was arrested at Tabuni's hearing on July 23. Jubi said that day that Pakage had allegedly reacted angrily to the court proceedings and kicked a spittoon, the contents of which splashed the pants of an official next to him.

When the official complained, police searched Pakage and arrested him for having a pocket knife. Bintang Papua said that day that Pakage could face five years jail for threatening someone else's security.

Pakage was released from jail last year after being arrested in 2004 for raising the West Papuan “Morning Star” flag in support of independence from Indonesia. He had recently been involved with the Papuan Street Parliament campaign for proper health treatment for political prisoners, Jubi said on July 19.

The wave of shootings has put the biased reporting of much of the Papuan media in the spotlight. Media outlets linked to Indonesian colonisers had uncritically reported the police and military claims that the KNPB were responsible for the shootings.

The media has not changed its story despite the fact that the shootings have continued after the death of the supposed mastermind, Mako Tabuni.

Church leader Benny Giay told Jubi on July 26 that journalists in West Papua were misinforming the public in the same way as journalists in apartheid South Africa did regarding the anti-apartheid struggle.

West Papua Media said on June 30: “Indonesian-owned media outlets in Papua have long been identified with Indonesian intelligence and propaganda activities, with many outlets being directly owned by military officers for profit, and almost all media outlets coming under the control (either willing or not) of Indonesian intelligence personnel.”

Concerns have also been raised about journalists working as informers for the military. Bintang Papua said on July 17 that 11 journalists in West Papua were suspected of passing information to the military, prompting concerns from the Jayapura branch of the Alliance of Independent Journalists.

Umaginews.com released a list of names of alleged informers in June, citing information from sources within security forces and a military document.

In a further crackdown, police and mobile brigade troops attacked a protest in Serui on August 9, West Papua Media Alerts said on Facebook. Several people were beaten, shot or arrested and homes were burned, said the Federal Republic of West Papua organisation.

However, in a sign of growing scrutiny of Indonesia's treatment of Papuans, exiled independence campaigner Benny Wenda was removed from Interpol's “red notice” list. Interpol ruled the case was
“predominantly political in nature”, NBC News said on August 7.

Wenda has lived in Britain for nine years as a political refugee. The red notice meant Wenda could not travel for fear of extradition to Indonesia.

West Papua was colonised by Indonesia in 1961, and its people have been kept in poverty despite the vast wealth of natural resources of the region. The independence movement is largely motivated by Indonesia's unwillingness to allow basic social justice and democracy in the region.

The role of Western corporations and Indonesian elites in plundering this wealth is the key reason why the situation in West Papua is mostly ignored around the world.