Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
PO Box 28, Spit Junction, NSW 2088
Summary
of events in West Papua for June 2013
Upcoming event. The Biak massacre- A citizens
tribunal
The 15th
anniversary of the Biak massacre is approaching on the 6 July.
A citizens
tribunal about the massacre is being held in Sydney. Full details at
http://www.biak-tribunal.org For those who can attend a chance to catch
up with members of the west Papuan community and their supporters.
Melanesian Spearhead Group –West Papua
The Melanesian
Spearhead Group (MSG) held
it Summit in Noumea, New
Caledonia (Kanaky) 13-21 June. Although it was disappointing that the issue of
membership for West Papua at the MSG was deferred, (The WPNCL applied to the
MSG for full membership), a number of decisions by the leaders of the MSG in
relation to West Papua are to be welcomed.
From MSG Communiqué
Application
for Membership
20. Leaders noted that a roadmap in relation to the application
by West Papua National Council for Liberation (WPNCL) for membership should be
based on clear and achievable timelines. Leaders acknowledged that the human
rights violations need to be highlighted and noted that to progress the WPNCL’s
application, it was important to continually engage with Indonesia. Leaders
agreed to establish a process of dialogue and consultation with Indonesia.
Leaders noted and welcomed the invitation from Indonesia to invite a Foreign
Ministers’ Mission to be led by Fiji and that confirmation on the timing of the
Mission was being awaited. The outcomes of the WPNCL’s application would be
subject to the report of the FMM mission.
Decisions
21. Leaders:
(i) endorsed that
the MSG fully supports the inalienable rights of the people of West Papua
towards self-determination as provided for under the preamble of the MSG
constitution;
(ii) endorsed
that
the concerns of the MSG regarding the human rights violations and other forms
of atrocities relating to the West Papuan people be raised with the Government
of Indonesia bilaterally and as a Group;
(iii) noted the
application received from the WPNCL to be a member of the MSG and that the
application will be reviewed after the submission of the Ministerial Mission’s
report; and
(iv) approved
the
Roadmap as recommended by the FMM which included:
a) that the MSG send a Ministerial Mission at the FMM level to
be led by Fiji’s Foreign Minister to Jakarta and then to West Papua in 2013 and
accept the
invitation
of the Government of Indonesia;
b) the Ministerial Mission to present its report to the Leaders
at the earliest
opportunity
within the next six months;
c) the WPNCL to be officially informed of the MSG Leaders’
decision regarding
its
application; and
d) the Mission would be part of a process in determining
WPNCL’s membership
application.
The Prime
Minister of Vanuatu, The RT. Hon Moana
Carcasses Kalosil in a
statement said “Mr. Chairman, we
are aware of the concerns of West Papuans, who long for a day when they as
Melanesians, could achieve self-determination. But also Dear Colleague Leaders
and friends, we are aware of the human rights violations and atrocities being
committed against West Papuans in their motherland. And so therefore, I join
the many voices of peace loving citizens around the world, across all
continents and oceans, to call for an end to the abuse of human rights. We urge
that any continuation of abuse of human rights should be immediately brought to
the attention of the international community. Full statement at
A statement from the WPNCL regarding the MSG decision on West Papua at
There was a lot
of coverage in the media in the region (before and during) the MSG Summit in relation
to West Papua. In West Papua a number of
rallies were called in support of West Papuan membership at the MSG. In Abepura on the 10 June The security forces
broke up a rally which was called by the KNPB and three activists were arrested. The
former chairman of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), Buchtar Tabuni was
arrested on the 12 June and later released but not before he was
beaten up by the police. AWPA media release/letter re rally at http://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/media-release-letter-to-aust-dept-of.html
The PNG Prime
Minister did not attend the MSG Summit as he was on a state visit to Indonesia. http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/89410/indonesia-png-agree-to-increase-cooperation
Bob Carr attacks
supporters of West Papuan self-determination
Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr has
accused people who advocate self-determination rights for West Papuans of
misleading the indigenous people of Indonesia’s Papua region. Carr made the comment during a Senate Foreign
Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee hearing on his government’s
response to ongoing human rights abuses in West Papua.
Video of Senator Richard Di Natale questioning Foreign
Minister Bob Carr about allegations of ongoing human rights abuses in West
Papua.
New reports
Human Rights and Peace for Papua, the international coalition for
Papua (ICP) of faith-based and civil society organisations is publishing its
third report on the human rights situation in Papua together with Franciscans
International. The 2013 report has now been released and is available for
download at www.humanrightspapua.org. The
report covers cases of violations of civil, political, economic, social,
cultural as well as indigenous peoples' rights. It was prepared by a group of
human rights organisations based in Papua, Jakarta and abroad and covers events
between October 2011 and March 2013.
To mark
the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Asian Legal Resource
Centre (ALRC) released an advance version of its special report on practice of
torture in Indonesia today. The report titled: "A facade of justice for
torture victims in Indonesia", is the first special report focused on
the issue of torture to be published in Article 2 June edition. The
report examines actual torture cases, give analyses and comments on the
operation of mechanism for remedy and legal redress for torture victims. http://www.humanrights.asia/news/press-releases/AHRC-PRL-012-2013
In brief
Papua
Political Prisoners Decline SBY’s Clemency Offer
“The do not want [clemency] because they seek Papua’s
freedom, not individual freedom,” Markus Haluk, a Papua human rights activist,
told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday. “The political prisoners will remain as long
as the Indonesia government refuses to free Papua.”
Freeport Mine attacked
The Freeport
Mining Facility was attacked by up to 70 people on the 16 June. The Jakarta
Globe reported that dozens of people vandalized Freeport facilities and looted
ore concentrate at the copper and gold giant’s mining district in Mimika,
Papua. Witnesses said that around 70 people came to the mining area, looting
and vandalizing cars and a security post. http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/freeport-mining-facility-attacked/
A RNZI report
raised the possibility that the reason for the attack was because people were
starving as a result of not having any work.
RNZI 17 June 2013
Hundreds of residents attacked and burned down a
police station in Indonesia’s Papua province following a rumor that a police
officer had beaten a drunk resident. A Papua Police spokesman says two officers
attempting to disperse the mob in Oksibil on Sunday suffered head injuries
after being pelted with stones He says locals heard a rumor that a local had
been beaten by an officer but he adds the officer had being trying to arrest
the drunken man who resisted and then fought with the officer. Armed with
traditional weapons, the villagers then attacked the police station and set it
ablaze. The mob also damaged two police cars and 25 motorcycles. High ranking
police officers and reinforcements have arrived in Oksibil following the arson
attack.
In July 2007, the same police station was damaged
by angry residents following the death of a civil servant, who had been taken
into custody for drunk and disorderly behavior.
OPM Admits Shooting TNI Member in Papua
Two people
were killed in a shooting incident on the 25 June. The victims were a TNI
infantry lieutenant named Wayan Sukarta and a civilian named Tomo. "The
shooting was done my members under my command," Tabuni said as reported by
the West Papua National Liberation Army media. In the report, Tabuni also said
that the civilian they killed--reported by local media as a taxi driver--was actually
a military intelligence of the TNI 753. A third civilian died
after jumping into a ravine while trying to escape the ambush. http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2013/06/28/055491816/OPM-Admits-Shooting-TNI-Member-in-Papua
Pramono
Gets His Democrats Blue Jacket
Retired army
general Pramono Edhie Wibowo has officially joined the Democratic Party, party
officials have confirmed, opening the door to him becoming the ailing party’s
presidential candidate next year.
The Democratic
Party’s executive chairman, Cooperatives Minister Syarief Hasan, said on
Saturday that Pramono joined the party “shortly after his retirement.” Pramono,
Syarief said, is now one of the party’s advisory board members.
There has been
speculation President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who chairs the party and is
married to Pramono’s sister Ani, has been grooming Pramono as his successor.
Yudhoyono has insisted that no members of his immediate family will seek the
presidency in 2014, but conspicuously glossed over any mention of Pramono.
The death of Jofrey
Korwa in the Netherlands
Endie van Binsbergen
reported on the death of Jofrey Korwa in the Netherlands.
Here in The Netherlands we mourn about Jofrey Korwa (32), son of
Eddy Korwa from Biak, who fled his country in 1964 for obvious reasons. Jofrey Korwa was a flamboyant activist, a
dedicated campaigner, a beautiful person and a warrior with a heart of gold. He
also knew how to be a bridge between Papua and Timor. He was still young, but
we could all see him grow into a promising new leader of the young movement
TiPaCo, the Timor Papua Connection.
In Solidarity Endie van Binsbergen
WWF maps out Asmat customary areas
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, June 29 2013,
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia is currently
collecting data and mapping out significant areas for the Asmat people in
Papua. The results will be submitted as part of material used for the drafting
of Asmat regency’s spatial planning bylaw. The important areas that have been
identified so far are hunting locations, a sago (Papuan staple food item)
village, access to clean water, ancestral resting places, ancestral sites and
other locations that are considered sacred, which only allow for restricted
access. The Asmat people still live traditionally in a way in which everything
is connected to their ancestors.
Opinion pieces/press release/reports etc.
Melanesian Spearhead Group Communique
Reply from
DFAT to AWPA letter
http://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/reply-from-dfat-to-awpa-letter.html
WHAT INDONESIA’S RISE MEANS
FOR AUSTRALIA
MSG
to send mission to Jakarta and West Papua
West Papua prepares to welcome the
Freedom Flotilla
http://freedomflotillawestpapua.org
Anti-apartheid leader dedicates award to the people
of West Papua
Article by Dr Jason MacLeod,
University of Queensland
Dying
from Hunger in the World’s Rice Barn as PT Medco depletes Kampung
Zanegi’s Forest
http://pacific.scoop.co.nz/2013/06/joy-and-disappointment-after-msgs-west-papua-decision/
Corruption Hurts Nation’s Poorest
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