[Kabar-Irian] Irian News - 1/23/06 (Part 1 of 3)
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- Papua refugees flown to Christmas Island
- Boatpeople flown out for processing
- Papua Refugees Charge Indonesia with Genocide
- Indonesia rejects Papuan refugees' genocide claims as "rubbish"
- Two Papua children 'shot dead'
- 'Reprisal' attack leaves four dead
- Family blames commander for Papua shooting
- West Papua killing 'not linked' to boat people
- Jakarta warns on Papua refugees
- Jakarta warns Australia not to give Papuans asylum
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The Age (Melbourne)
Papua refugees flown to Christmas Island
January 19, 2006 - 12:19PM
The 43 Papuan asylum seekers found on Cape York are being flown to an
offshore detention facility on Christmas Island.
The group of 30 men, six women and seven children boarded an Air Force
Hercules aircraft at 7.30pm (AEDT) on Thursday, the immigration department
said in a statement.
Departmental spokeswoman Sandi Longan said the refugees were medically
examined in Weipa and cleared for travel.
"The men in the group will be accommodated at the Phosphate Hill Detention
Centre, while the women and children will be placed in staff housing," Ms
Longan said.
"The group was also accompanied by a RAAF medical team for the seven-hour
flight."
Ms Longan said departmental officials would interview the group, assessing
their claims for asylum, while on the island.
There have been calls for the department to grant bridging visas to the
group, allowing them to live in Australia while their cases are examined.
The refugees were found on Cape York Peninsula after they sailed to
Australia in an outrigger canoe.
-- © 2006 AAP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Australian
Boatpeople flown out for processing
Ian Gerard, Weipa
January 20, 2006
The West Papuans who travelled more than 400km in an outrigger canoe to
seek asylum in Australia were herded on to an RAAF Hercules last night and
flown to Christmas Island.
The group is expected to be detained while their refugee applications are
assessed.
Having spent the day in a makeshift detention centre at Weipa in far north
Queensland, the 43 boatpeople were escorted on to the plane by dozens of
soldiers and flown out of town about 7.20pm.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone yesterday rejected the demands of the
Australia West Papua Association and the International Commission of
Jurists that the 43 boatpeople be freed.
She said single men were likely to be held in detention while any claims
were assessed, although family groups should be able to be accommodated
elsewhere.
"We have always handled refugee claims ... on their merit individually,"
she said.
"We have never listened to individual lobby groups about what ought to be
done or people who, through the media, say what we will do."
The 43 independence activists, students and their families from the
Indonesian province of Papua yesterday spent their first full day in
Australia held captive inside a cramped masonry-block building on the
outskirts of the tiny mining town.
Police stood guard outside the modest building that held the detainees,
who were forced to drape a towel over their heads to shield their identity
each time they ventured outside to use the toilet.
Some of the group were taken to the nearby hospital for general health
checks and to be scanned for tuberculosis.
The boatpeople left the Papuan port town of Merauke on Friday in an
outrigger canoe and landed on Tuesday at Janey Creek, north of the Mapoon
Aboriginal community on western Cape York, without being detected.
The group are believed to have made a claim for political asylum on the
grounds they have been persecuted by the Indonesian Government.
Senator Vanstone said she did not know if the detainees would seek asylum.
The 36 adults and seven children are the third boatload of asylum-seekers
to land on the Australian mainland in the past four years.
The only glimpse of Australia the group got yesterday was during regular
toilet breaks.
However, each time a member of the group, including children, was required
to walk the 5m to the adjoining bathroom, they were escorted.
Cape York Uniting Church minister Michelle Cook said she offered to give
the children puzzles but police and immigration officials told her they
did not need assistance.
"We were just coming in to see whether they needed any support," she said.
"They have people in there doing prayers and I wanted them to know that if
they needed anything they could give me a call."
Members of the Weipa community dropped in teddy bears and toys for the
seven children who made the journey.
Mining company Comalco, which owns the tiny convention centre, supplied
lunches.
While tough penalties exist under commonwealth laws for anyone found to
have helped people enter Australia illegally, local supporters of the
asylum-seekers claimed yesterday they did not know of the pilgrimage until
the boat had left West Papua.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Voice of America (VOA)
Papua Refugees Charge Indonesia with Genocide
By Phil Mercer, Sydney
19 January 2006
Indonesia has denied claims by asylum-seekers in Australia that genocide
was taking place in the remote Indonesian province of Papua. The claim
came from a group of more than 40 Papuans who fled their homes by boat
last week, and then disappeared for several days before landing in
tropical northern Australia.
The group of 36 adults and seven children arrived from Papua on
Australia's rugged Cape York Peninsula Wednesday after more than four days
at sea. They were feared to have drowned, but were found by a government
helicopter crew near a remote Aboriginal community in the north. They have
been taken into custody by immigration officers.
The asylum-seekers boat carried a banner accusing Indonesia of committing
acts of terrorism and genocide in Papua, a region in the country's far
east that has been under Jakarta's control since 1969.
Refugee campaigner Pamela Curr says the asylum-seekers include a number of
prominent figures in the Papuan independence movement. "The first name on
the list is a man with his family whose uncle was jailed for 20 years for
flying the West Papuan flag," she said.
Thousands of Indonesia troops are stationed in the resource-rich province.
They have battled a low-level insurgency for many years, and have prompted
frequent accusations of human rights violations.
Human rights groups have claimed that at least 100 thousand people in
Papua have died in the fight against direct rule from Jakarta.
Indonesia has denied that human rights abuses have occurred in the
province. Jakarta has also denied that the asylum seekers will be in
danger if they are sent home.
Australian Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone says any application for
refugee status by the group will be handled in the normal way. "If they
are going to make an asylum claim, we'll hear the asylum claim. I'll just
make the point - Australia has an extremely good record," she said. "If
someone has a good case for asylum in Australia, Australia offers them
protection."
This is only the third boatload of asylum seekers to reach Australia since
tough new border control measures were introduced in 2001. The government
has also insisted that its policy of detaining most illegal immigrants in
camps has proved to be a powerful deterrent. Most applications are
processed within a few months, but some people have remained locked away
for several years.
Critics have insisted the policy, which has been watered down in recent
times, is inhumane.
Some delicate diplomacy could be needed in this case. If the group is
granted asylum by Australia, the authorities in Jakarta could take the
view that Canberra acknowledges that the allegations of abuse in Papua are
valid.
Australia's relations with its giant neighbor, tense for many years, have
improved markedly since the Asian tsunami a little more than a year ago.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indonesia rejects Papuan refugees' genocide claims as "rubbish"
Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Date: 20 Jan 2006
Jakarta, Jan 20, 2006 (AFP) - Indonesia on Friday strongly rejected claims
by dozens of refugees who fled eastern Papua for Australia this week that
the government was perpetrating genocide in their home province.
The 43 Papuans, who reportedly include prominent pro-independence
activists and their families, arrived on the northern coast of mainland
Australia on Wednesday aboard a large outrigger canoe in an apparent bid
for asylum.
The political nature of their flight from Indonesia was highlighted by a
banner strung on their canoe that accused Indonesia of genocide in West
Papua, a former Dutch colony that Indonesia took over in the 1960s.
Indonesia's presidential spokesman Dino Djalil dismissed the claims.
"It's all rubbish. There is no genocide whatsoever in Papua. No-one
believes that," he told AFP.
Djalil conceded there had been human rights "problems" in the past but
insisted that under the current government, security forces did not commit
violations.
"I'm not aware of any human rights incidents recently in Papua," he said.
"There are political problems, but the government is doing its best to
rectify the problems of the past," he said.
He was referring to ongoing discontent among Papuans over their share of
revenue from resource extraction in the province as well as a low-level
and sporadic separatist insurgency that has rumbled on for decades.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who came to power in October 2004,
wanted to tackle separatist sentiment, "address grievances and create
political stability" in Papua, by implementing a regional autonomy law,
Djalil said.
"I'm sure the Australians realise the sensitivities of the Indonesians on
this issue," he said, adding that if the situation was dealt with
sensitively, it would not disrupt relations between the two countries.
The incident comes as the neighbours negotiate a new security treaty that
is expected to include a pledge by Canberra not to interfere in provinces
like Papua.
Foreign ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin told AFP Thursday that Indonesia
was remaining open minded about the incident and wanted to "manage this
case well".
On Friday he said that the matter remained in Australian hands for now and
Indonesia was still waiting to be informed officially about the Papuans'
claims.
Indonesia won sovereignty over Papua, which was then called West Irian, in
1969 after the UN allowed an integration referendum with a public show of
hands by a few hundred hand-picked tribal leaders.
The vote was labelled a sham by critics.
-- mak/sb/jah AFP 200427 GMT 01 06
-- Copyright (c) 2006 Agence France-Presse
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Age (Melbourne)
Two Papua children 'shot dead'
By Andra Jackson and Mark Forbes, Denpasar
January 21, 2006
Two West Papua school children were shot dead yesterday by Indonesian
soldiers, according to a group representing Papuans.
Three other children were shot and injured in Paniai, the region from
which some of the asylum seekers who arrived in Australia this week fled,
said Jason MacLeod, a spokesman for the Australian West Papua Association.
One of the dead has been named as Moses Douw, aged 10, according to his
school's website.
Details of the shootings by Indonesian Battalion 753 were relayed to the
association by priests from the area.
The shootings occurred in the Papuan highlands at the village of Waghete,
a region where at least 10 of this week's 43 asylum seekers came from. The
group claims to be escaping persecution by Indonesian forces.
Dr Benny Giay, the chairman of the Indonesian human rights group ELSHAM,
said the attack appeared to be unprovoked
The dead include a relative of one of the 43 people who left
Indonesian-controlled West Papua by boat last Friday.
A relative of one of the children shot lives in Melbourne and was advised
by phone of the shooting last night, Mr MacLeod said.
He said the five were shot on their way to school with one dying at the
scene, and the other at the Enarotali health clinic. The injured have been
flown to a hospital at Timika, which is near the controversial Freeport
mine.
Greens senator Kerry Nettle last night said that the shootings were
"disgusting" and called for a Government investigation, saying "Minister
Downer must investigate, what on the face of it, appear to be reprisals
for the recent arrival of asylum seekers in Australia".
Prime Minister John Howard yesterday defended the decision to move the 43
Papuans, made up of political activists and their families, to Christmas
Island for processing, after they came ashore at Cape York on Wednesday.
The move was "entirely appropriate", he said. "Their position will be
assessed, they will be interviewed and they will be dealt with in
accordance with the law."
Indonesia warned that Australia's response to the Papuan arrivals could
jeopardise relations and risked sparking a flood of asylum seekers.
Indonesia's foreign affairs spokesman Yuri Thamrin said yesterday that
granting asylum to the Papuans could cause a backlash in Indonesia. "It
has strong potential to lead to disturb the existing constructive, close
relationship between the two countries," he said.
Mr Thamrin dismissed claims of human rights abuses in Papua.
An Indonesia official in Canberra said on Thursday that Indonesia expected
the asylum seekers to be returned but Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone
refuted this, saying their claims would be assessed on their merits.
The 36 adults and seven children landed on Cape York on Wednesday after
fleeing the troubled Indonesian province five days earlier in a 25-metre
outrigger canoe.
The men in the group are being held in the Christmas Island detention
centre and four families will stay in immigration housing on the island.
Locals who saw them arrive on Thursday night said they looked "scared and
subdued", West Australian refugee advocate Kaye Bernard said last night.
Senator Nettle said she was concerned that the Government had allowed
Indonesian officials access to the asylum seekers on Thursday. "I hope the
TNI (Indonesian military) is not engaging in reprisals against the West
Papuan population for seeking asylum in Australia," she said.
Mr MacLeod said Paniai had been the scene of Indonesian military activity
in the past two years, as documented in the recent Genocide in West Papua
Report prepared by the Centre For Peace and Conflict at Sydney University.
He said about 400 West Papuans had been killed in Paniai in the past two
years.
An Indonesia official in Canberra said on Thursday that Indonesia expected
the asylum seekers to be returned but Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone
refuted this, saying their claims would be assessed on their merits.
The 36 adults and seven children landed on Cape York on Wednesday after
fleeing the troubled Indonesian province five days earlier in a 25-metre
outrigger canoe.
The men in the group are being held in the Christmas Island detention
centre and four families will stay in immigration housing on the island.
Locals who saw them arrive on Thursday night said they looked "scared and
subdued", West Australian refugee advocate Kaye Bernard said last night.
Senator Nettle said she was concerned that the Government had allowed
Indonesian officials access to the asylum seekers on Thursday. "I hope the
TNI (Indonesian military) is not engaging in reprisals against the West
Papuan population for seeking asylum in Australia," she said.
Mr MacLeod said Paniai had been the scene of Indonesian military activity
in the past two years, as documented in the recent Genocide in West Papua
Report prepared by the Centre For Peace and Conflict at Sydney University.
He said about 400 West Papuans had been killed in Paniai in the past two
years.
-- With Tom Allard
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Australian News Network
'Reprisal' attack leaves four dead
From: AAP
January 21, 2006
Indonesian security forces shot dead four teenagers walking to school in
the troubled province of Papua, including a close relative of an activist
who fled to Australia this week, an Indonesian human rights group has
said.
Indonesian authorities say just one person was shot dead and two others
injured.
Benny Giay, chairman of the human rights group ELSHAM, told a Sydney
newspaper that the students, aged between 13 and 15, were ambushed on
their way to school yesterday in what appeared to be an unprovoked attack.
One of the teenagers, Moses Douw, 13, was said to be a close relative of
one of the 43 refugees who landed at Cape York on Wednesday in an
outrigger that featured a large sign claiming military oppression in
Papua.
Yesterday's attack took place at the village of Waghete, which is in a
region many of the asylum seekers came from.
A fifth student was injured in the attack and a man was badly beaten, Mr
Giay told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Greens Senator Kerry Nettle called for an investigation into the
shootings, which she said appeared to be a reprisal for the arrival of the
asylum seekers in Australia.
"It is particularly disgusting that it appears the five people shot were
school children," she told the Herald.
But Colonel Kertono Wangsadisastra said only one person was killed and
another two were injured.
He said the shooting occurred during a clash between police and security
forces and a group of more than 100 people outside a police station.
"The civilians got angry and started beating the police and soldiers. Then
the shooting occurred," he said.
West Papua National Association spokesman Nick Chesterfield also called
the shooting a reprisal attack.
"One of the young boys killed was a relative of someone with the same
name, who is on Christmas Island at the moment," he said last night.
"They embarrassed the government, and they have finally brought
international attention to the issue of West Papua."
The refugees have been sent to Christmas Island for processing by the
Australian government.
Democrats Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Natasha Stott Despoja said she was
disturbed by the reports.
"This latest violence highlights the ongoing human rights abuses in that
region."
She said the Howard government must play a role in ensuring the safety of
the asylum seekers and "those in West Papua fearing for their lives".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
January 22, 2006
Family blames commander for Papua shooting
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
Relatives of a Papuan protester killed by security authorities in Paniai
regency two days ago demanded on Saturday that Trikora Military Commander
Maj. Gen. George Toisutta be held responsible for the death, accusing his
soldiers of the shooting.
The body of the victim, identified as Mozes Douw, 15, had not been buried
as of Saturday because his relatives want Toisutta to be present at the
funeral, Paniai Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Anton Diance said.
The body is still at Enarotali military district command headquarters in
Paniai, Anton said. "Relatives and local residents do not want to bury the
body before the military commander comes," he said.
Unidentified security authorities opened fire on a group of protesters
outside a police station in Paniai on Friday, killing one person and
injuring two others.
Anton said the incident occurred when three people arrived at the Wagete
district police station to complain about an earlier refusal by the
station's chief to sign a form allowing them to ask for money from passing
motorists.
Anton said the crowd around the police station, located near the city's
military post, soon grew to about 100 people. He claimed members of the
crowd assaulted police officer Second Insp. Ronald Tumana, and that was
when the shooting occurred.
Anton said local police officers, accompanied by Enarotali military
district chief Col. Efri Triasunu, had already met with the victim's
family and local community leaders, but they insisted on meeting the
Trikora Military commander.
Efri said the shooting was still being investigated. "I will go to Wagete
to join the investigation to find who fired the shots and the motive
behind the shooting," he said.
Meanwhile, Toisutta said in Jayapura earlier Saturday if any of his
soldiers were involved in the shooting they would be punished. "I do not
tolerate any violations by my subordinates and the perpetrator will be put
through the legal process," he said.
Commenting on the demand by the victim's relatives that he attend the
burial, Toisutta said he was prepared to oblige. "If the weather is good I
will go, because that is one of my duties," he said.
Anton said the situation in Enarotali, the capital of Paniai regency, was
calm and residents just wanted the shooter to be punished.
Frietz Ramandey, a member of the Papuan Human Rights Commission, deplored
the incident.
"Weapons should be used by the state only to protect people, not to kill
them," he said.
In a related development, Australia has asked Indonesia to explain the
shooting, Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock said Saturday, but he
declined to speculate on whether the incident was linked to the flight of
dozens of asylum seekers from the restive region.
"We've asked our diplomatic representatives to obtain an appropriate
report (on the shootings) for us," Ruddock said in Sydney as quoted by AP.
The shooting occurred a day after 43 asylum seekers from the province,
including independence advocates and their families, reached Cape York in
northeastern Australia in a traditional outrigger boat and accused
Indonesia of genocide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Age (Melbourne)
West Papua killing 'not linked' to boat people
By Andra Jackson
January 23, 2006
The Indonesian embassy yesterday ruled out a link between the shooting of
a boy in West Papua on Friday and the arrival in Australia last week of 43
West Papuan asylum seekers.
A schoolboy, 10, who was believed to be a relative of one of the asylum
seekers was allegedly shot dead on Friday, prompting fears the killing was
a reprisal for the arrival of the asylum seekers.
But the second secretary of the Indonesian embassy in Canberra, Dino
Kusnadi, yesterday said there was no connection. "The incident is
criminally rather than politically motivated … a police investigation is
currently ongoing," he said.
"It does not have any relation to the arrival of 43 boat people in
Australia."
Mr Kusnadi said the Indonesian Government did not know the identity of the
43 West Papuans who arrived in Australia last week and were now being
processed on Christmas Island.
But it was claimed yesterday that Indonesian intelligence had started
questioning relatives left behind by the asylum seekers, increasing fears
of reprisals.
Nick Chesterfield, from the Australian West Papua Association, said a
pastor who is related to three of the asylum seekers was visited by
Kopassus intelligence officers and police in Paniai yesterday morning. At
least 10 of the asylum seekers were from the Paniai region.
The pastor, a former long-term political prisoner, was asked the
whereabouts of his sons.
Mr Chesterfield said he was told Indonesian officials had a list of
people's names who they believe were among those who fled and were
offering 50 million rupees ($A7100) to anyone prepared to confirm the
names.
-- With Jewel Topsfield
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BBC
Friday, 20 January 2006, 07:28 GMT
Jakarta warns on Papua refugees
Indonesia has said ties with Australia could be strained if Canberra
offers asylum to boat people claiming rights abuses in the province of
Papua.
A government spokesman said the move "could disturb bilateral relations".
He was speaking two days after 43 people from Indonesia's eastern Papua
province, including several children, reached northern Australia on a
canoe.
Papua has been home to an ongoing separatist struggle since Indonesia took
over in the 1960s.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin said on Friday that
Australia risked attracting a wave of boat people from Papua if it granted
asylum to the 43 people.
Mr Thamrin also said that accepting their claims of abuses "could
strengthen perceptions in Indonesia that there are parties in and around
(Australia) who support or express sympathy for separatism".
The Papuans - who reportedly include leading pro-independence activists -
arrived on Australia's northernmost Cape York Peninsula on Wednesday.
The group was reported to be carrying a banner that accused Indonesia of
genocide in Papua.
Indonesia gained sovereignty over Papua - a former Dutch colony - in 1969.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jakarta warns Australia not to give Papuans asylum
Fri Jan 20, 2006 1:24 PM IST
By Achmad Sukarsono
Jakarta (Reuters)
Australia's ties with Indonesia could suffer if Canberra grants asylum to
43 Papuans who fled the remote Indonesian province last week, Jakarta's
Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday.
Yuri Thamrin added that a critical report by an East Timor commission
seeking reparations for Indonesian military actions during Jakarta's
occupation of the territory was "impractical".
The 43 asylum seekers from troubled Papua province were found around
Australia's Cape York on Wednesday after sailing for five days in a
traditional outrigger with a banner accusing the Indonesian military of
conducting genocide in their homeland.
"This has the potential to disturb relations between the two countries
that have recently become very tight," Thamrin told a regular weekly news
conference.
"Once this asylum request is granted, it could spark a wave or influx of
more asylum seekers."
Thamrin said the group had been taken to Australia's Christmas Island.
"The new Indonesia is not a fertile ground for human rights abuses,
especially genocide," Thamrin said, referring to Indonesia's transition to
democracy after decades of authoritarian rule.
He said some groups in Indonesia were closely watching how Australia
handled the issue. He did not elaborate.
"Grey measures can strengthen perceptions inside Indonesia that among
neighbouring countries there are ones who support or at least sympathise
with the separatist movement," said Thamrin.
Australia has repeatedly said it considers Papua as legitimate Indonesian
territory.
Papuan independence activists have waged a campaign for more than 30 years
to break from Indonesia while a low-level armed rebellion has also
simmered. Human rights groups have accused the Indonesian military of
widespread abuses there.
Jakarta took over Papua from Dutch colonial rule in 1963. In 1969 its rule
was formalised in a United Nations-backed vote by community leaders which
was widely criticised as a sham.
East Timor
At the same news conference, Thamrin said a report by an East Timor
commission that accused Indonesia of using napalm and chemical weapons to
murder East Timorese during Jakarta's rule did not reflect current ties
between the two nations.
The Australian newspaper quoted extensively from the report, which it said
would soon be given to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. It has not been
officially released.
"Their recommendations are unreal and impractical," he said.
"Geopolitically, the two nations co-exist and will always co-exist and we
prefer to be forward-looking without neglecting the past. The approach of
reconciliation is what we have chosen and that has given us results."
East Timor President Xanana Gusmao planned to visit Indonesia soon, he
said. Gusmao is a former guerrilla leader who has stressed the need for
friendly ties despite the past.
The report recommends reparations by Indonesia and countries that backed
its military during 24 years of occupation, including Australia, Britain
and the United States.
Indonesia was accused of brutality from the time its forces invaded East
Timor in 1975 until Timorese voted to break from its rule in 1999. That
vote triggered a wave of violence by local militias backed by elements in
the Indonesian army.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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