[Kabar-Irian] Irian News - Feb 1, 2006
Too much mail? Switch to the digest version. Info provided at the end of this
email.
To leave this list follow the instructions at the bottom of this email. As a
matter of policy we DO NOT handle requests except in emergencies.
- The West Papua Report – Jan 2006
- Separatism in Papua: Perceptions or misperceptions on Papuans
- Papua problem tests Yudhoyono’s role as peacemaker
- Papuan asylum seekers fear for families
- Papuans seek asylum after fleeing persecution
- 'Repeat of Timor' fear for West Papua
- Indonesia's prospective military chief promises to respect human rights
*****************************
The West Papua Report
January 2006
The following is the 23rdin a series of regular reports prepared by the
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights (CHR)-West Papua
Advocacy Team providing updates on developments in West Papua. The CHR has
monitored and reported on the human rights situation in West Papua since
1993 when Indonesian lawyer Bambang Widjojanto received the annual RFK
Human Rights Award.
For more information, please contact:
Emily Goldman, RFK Senior Program Officer – 1-800-558-1880
Edmund McWilliams, West Papua Advocacy Team Member – (703) 899-5285 and
(703) 237-3913
Summary/Contents
* Australians Reportedly Find Papuan Refugees' Claims of Torture Credible
* U.S. House Members Express Concern Over Refugees to Australian Prime
Minister
* Retaliation Feared In Shooting of Civilians After Refugees Flee West
Papua's Panai District
* Indonesian Authorities Detain Eight Papuans in August 2002 Attack Near
Timika
* Growing Pressure on U.S. Firm Freeport-McMoRan over its Relationship
with Indonesian Military
* Unarmed Villagers Fired on by Police in Paniai
*****
* Australians Reportedly Find Papuan Refugees' Claims of Torture Credible
A group of 43 Papuan asylum seekers, including seven children, landed in
the Port York area of Queensland, Australia on 17 January 2006. They
immediately appealed for human rights asylum and refugee status on the
basis of claims of extraordinary human rights abuses committed by the
Indonesian military in West Papua.
The Australian daily ‘The Age’ reported on 30 January 2006 that according
to a senior Australian immigration official, the refugees provided
"graphic and disturbing accounts of beatings and torture by the Indonesian
military." According to this account, an official told The Age that the
Papuans had a "very strong case" to be granted refugee status. The
official added that "some of what has come out of the interviews has been
absolutely heart-wrenching." The refugees gave accounts of "vicious
bashings while in prison and attacks on villages and livestock in
retaliation for the Papuans agitating for independence."
An earlier report in The Age on 29 January quoted an Australian official
involved in the refugee interviews as stating: "The claims they [the
refugees] are making are believable and tally with what Australian
intelligence knows about the political situation in the province. Getting
out of there is not easy."
The Age describes Australian intelligence officers and immigration
officials as particularly impressed by the detailed nature of the asylum
seekers' claims, including the account of their escape, which involved
making an outrigger canoe from a tree. An Australian source told The Age:
"This was a remarkable group of people. The boat was seven meters long . .
. and it took them four days in stormy weather. They are a committed
group."
*U.S. House Members Express Concern Over Refugees to Australian Prime
Minister
Ten members of the U.S. House of Representatives wrote a letter to
Australian Prime Minister Howard regarding the appeal of 43 Papuans for
refugee status in Australia. The Congressional letter noted that the
Papuans, who endured a harrowing five-day journey in open ocean, were
fleeing "unacceptable human rights abuse." The text of the 26 January 2006
letter follows:
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
We write to you in regards to the asylum appeals of the 43 Papuan men,
women, and children who arrived at Port York on January 17. These refugees
reached the Australian mainland after an extraordinarily dangerous
220-mile voyage in a small, open boat. We commend the Australian
government for its timely and successful efforts to assist these men,
women, and children after their harrowing journey; however, we strongly
feel that it is equally important that they now be accorded the full
rights and privileges which accrue to their refugee status.
Their decision to undertake the arduous ocean voyage during the monsoon
season could not have been taken lightly, and reveals the increasingly
desperate plight of Papuans facing unacceptable human rights abuse in
Papua, Indonesia. The U.S. State Department's most recent Human Rights
Report notes that in Papua, "security force members murdered, tortured,
raped, beat, and arbitrarily detained civilians . . ." and that the
Government of Indonesia "did not report any progress in prosecuting those
responsible for acts of torture" committed in Papua.
Facing continuing human rights abuse by Indonesian security forces, these
Papuans have risked everything in a flight to freedom. We hope that the
Government of Australia will reject public demands by the Indonesian
Government to return these refugees to the control of the very same
security forces from which they fled.
We respectfully appeal to the Government of Australia to carefully examine
these refugees' claims for asylum status and grant asylum to those that
meet the international and Australian standards.
Sincerely,
Patrick Kennedy (D - Rhode Island)
Eni Faleomavaega (D - American Samoa)
Tammy Baldwin (D- Wisconsin)
Sam Farr (D - California)
Chaka Fattah (D - Pennsylvania)
Raul Grijalva (D - Arizona)
Jim McGovern (D - Massachusetts)
Dennis Kucinich (D - Ohio)
Donald Payne (D - New Jersey)
Christopher Smith (R - New Jersey)
*Retaliation Feared In Shooting of Civilians After Refugees Flee West
Papua's Panai District
Indonesian troops fired on civilians in the Panai area on 20 January,
killing one youth and wounding two adults near Waghete in Panai District,
West Papua. The incident prompted concern that it was related to the
flight from Panai to Australia, days earlier, of 43 Papuans seeking human
rights asylum and refugee status (see item above). Reports indicate that
one of the Papuans shot was a close relative of one of the refugees.
Indonesian authorities claimed that the incident grew out of a
demonstration that had turned violent. Some local human rights advocates
denied this version. Indonesian and local Papuan human rights monitors
have launched investigations.
The Associated Press and other media reported that on 23 January over 200
Papuan demonstrators stormed the provincial Parliament in Jayapura, West
Papua to protest the shooting. The AP report quoted witnesses as saying
that demonstrators shouted, "Indonesian troops get out of West Papua!"
The Australian opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd expressed
concern that the arrival of the refugees might have been linked to the
shooting, stating, "It's important for Foreign Minister Alexander Downer,
as a matter of absolute priority, to establish who precisely has been
killed and were there any connections between these individuals and those
who
have sought asylum on Cape York."
* Indonesian Authorities Detain Eight Papuans in August 2002 Attack Near
Timika
Indonesian authorities have detained eight Papuans whom they allege were
involved in the 31 August 2002 attack on U.S. school teachers that left
two U.S. citizens and one Indonesian dead. Among those detained was
Antonius Wamang who was indicted by a U.S. grand jury in July 2004 in the
deadly attack. Among the seven others is one child who would have been 12
years of age at the time of the incident and a Catholic priest who had
facilitated the surrender of the group to FBI agents in Timika.
Reports from human rights advocates in Papua indicate that the group, plus
four others who were subsequently released, were lured to a meeting
organized by the FBI under false FBI assurances that the group would be
able to surrender to U.S. authorities and then be brought to the U.S. for
trial. Instead, the FBI reportedly turned the group over to a special
Indonesian security detachment known as "Team 88." That team, established
and equipped with U.S. funding, has been the target of recent charges of
human rights abuse by Indonesian NGOs, including warrant-less arrests.
There are well-substantiated accounts that once in Indonesian control,
some of the group were mistreated. The eight detainees were transported to
Jakarta via Jayapura where Papuans protested the transfer to Jakarta.
Wamang, according to his lawyer, has reiterated contentions made in the
past to international journalists and observers that Indonesian military
personnel assisted him by participating in the attack.
Human rights advocates have expressed concern that the Indonesian court
system, which has historically failed to render justice in many cases
involving the military, is highly unlikely to render an honest or just
verdict in this instance.
An account on 27 January 2006 in The New York Times reported that
according to an Indonesian investigator, "The police involved in the
investigation still believe the military was involved. . . . But this
involves relations between the two countries. It will be difficult for the
police to dare to say the military was involved."
* Growing Pressure on U.S. Firm Freeport-McMoRan over its Relationship
with Indonesian Military
A lengthy report in The New York Times on 26 December 2005 and an
editorial in that newspaper on 9 January 2006 detailed long-term hidden
payments by Freeport-McMoRan to the Indonesian military as well as the
ecological devastation caused by its mining operation.
Revelations about Freeport's payments to individual Indonesian military
officers, including some widely reported to have committed war crimes,
have prompted new government scrutiny in both the U.S. and Indonesia. In
the U.S., the Security and Exchange Commission and Justice Department have
received complaints from major Freeport shareholders who claim Freeport
made "false or misleading" statements about payments to the Indonesian
military. Ranking minority member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Senator Joseph Biden (D-Delaware), calling the payments "highly
irregular," also called for a Justice Department investigation. Earlier,
RFK Memorial West Papua Advocacy Team representatives made similar appeals
to officials in the State Department and the National Security Council,
noting possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
In Indonesia, senior officials in the Attorney General's Office, Defense
Ministry, and Environment Ministry have indicated investigations are, or
soon may be, underway.
* Unarmed Villagers Fired on by Police in Paniai
A gathering of approximately 20 unarmed villagers were fired on by police
in Waghete, Paniai on their way to the local police station recently.
Three people were repairing and setting up toll booths (with approval from
the village leader) on the only highway that runs from the coast to the
interior. Once completed the task, the three walked to the local police
station to submit a letter to the police from the village leader giving
the three permission to undertake the road project. A police officer,
upon receipt of the letter, tore it up and forced them to leave the
premises. They departed and walked to the market, where they told what
had transpired to approximately 17 other people who were present in the
market at the time. Upon hearing the story, all 20 began walking back to
the police station to peacefully protest the police action. Before they
got to the station, police and military opened fire on them. The villagers
tried to hide and run away but the shooting continued. One middle-school
boy was killed and two people are being treated in the hospital as a
result of bullet wounds to their backs. The incident occurred between the
market and the police station (a distance of approximately two blocks),
near the Wakei River.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Opinion
February 01, 2006
Separatism in Papua: Perceptions or misperceptions on Papuans
Benny YP Siahaan, Jakarta
On the surface, recent developments in Papua province look promising.
These could be best epitomized by the decision of the government to pass a
special autonomy law in 2001 and the establishment of Papuan's People's
Council (MRP) in 2005. It was expected that the decisions would cater to
the needs and concerns of Papuans and diminish separatist aspirations in
the province. Indeed, theoretically and empirically, autonomy has been
able to quash rebellions and separatism in various parts of the world.
However, despite the positive development, separatist aspirations in Papua
are not subsiding. Besides Aceh, separatism in Papua is considered one of
the most stubborn rebellions confronting the Indonesian government today.
Indeed, separatism in Papua has lingered on for more than four decades.
Why is the separatist issue in Papua so difficult to solve? Some argue
that it is because of Jakarta's policies toward the province. To some
extent, this argument is accurate. In many cases policies are based on the
perceptions (or misperceptions) of the policy makers, especially if those
policy makers have never even set their foot in the region concerned.
Benedict Anderson, in his highly acclaimed book Imagined Communities, says
that even President Sukarno, who fought fiercely for Papua for decades,
visited Papua only after he was 62 years old.
Nonetheless, here are some of the perceptions prevalent among the general
public, including policy makers, on Papua and its people:
First, Papuans are stupid and drunkards. This is the most common
perception. This perception in turn generates another assumption, as Neles
Tebay puts it, "the presumption of incompetence". Perhaps this explains
why not so many Papuans are given opportunities to hold key posts compared
to the people of the restive province of Aceh.
However, George Saa and Anike Bowaire, the Papuan gold medalists in the
Physics Olympiad for two consecutive years, should change this perception.
They could be just the tip of the iceberg. There could be many heavyweight
brains created in Papua if we were serious about educating its people.
Second, Papuans are primitive and ignorant barbarians. This perception
creates subsequent policies that Papua needs to be "civilized". The
perception has made Jakarta send agriculturalists to Papua to plant rice,
an alien food to Papuans.
It was a naive policy, or perhaps they did not know that the Papuans had
cultivated their land for thousands of years with their staple of sago or
corn. The starvation in Yahukimo regency in December 2005 may corroborate
the dangerous effects of that policy.
The subsequent logic of this perception is that many Papuans still hold on
to animism as a belief, resulting in the efforts to convert them to
mainstream religions. History tells us that the conflicts that claimed the
biggest number of lives were motivated by religion (John Stoessinger,
1999).
Third, Papua is no man's land. This perception has had two consequences.
First, according to John Rumbiak, Jakarta sees Papua as no more than its
El Dorado or Siberia, a remote frontier full of resources that need to be
exploited.
Second, it has become one of the primary destinations of state-sponsored
and spontaneous migrations. Many studies have shown that the
transmigration policy has had bad implications on social issues,
demographics and the Papuan economy.
Recent studies revealed that spontaneous migration posed the biggest
threat to Papuans particularly the so called BBM (Buginese, Butonese and
Makasarese) because of how they are perceived by the Papuans as aggressive
traders, ignorant of local culture and deceitful in dealing with the
natives (Gibbon, 2004; Bertrand 2004; Aditjondro, 2000). If the trend
continues, ethnic violence like that which occurred in Kalimantan between
the Dayak and the Madurese migrants might break out in Papua.
Fourth, the separatist movement in Papuan will receive more international
attention and support (particularly from the Western countries) than Aceh.
One of the reasons behind this perception is because Papuans are mainly
Christian. The exit of predominantly Catholic East Timor from Indonesia in
1999 seems to support this notion.
This opinion is further substantiated by recent developments such as the
support of the Black Caucus in the U.S. Congress in proposing the HR 2601
bill questioning the legitimacy of 1969 plebiscite, which eventually
failed, and a book written by Dutch scholar Pieter Drooglever on the same
issue.
However, if we look at the Aceh peace process, the success of this effort
is largely due to support of Western countries. In this regard, therefore,
we should not forget that in relations among countries, interest would
hold the highest priority.
So far the majority of UN member countries support Indonesia's territorial
integrity, including the U.S. Nonetheless, it would be wrong as well for
Indonesia to take for granted this international support. The breakaway of
East Timor, again, is a good example of how fluid positions of countries
are over Indonesia's territorial integrity.
Fifth, Papuans are a socially and politically homogeneous. From their
physical appearance, it is difficult to differentiate Papuans. Actually,
the Papuans consist of around 250 tribes with intelligible languages and
there is tight rivalry between them. Furthermore, the strife occurs also
between lowlanders and highlanders. They are also politically fragmented.
Thus, even Papuan intellectual and pro-independence activists like John
Rumbiak (2001), have been pessimistic and realized the danger of an
independent Papua. He imagined that after gaining independence Papua would
be like Africa -- tribal-strife and bloodshed would prevail.
Theoretically, this deep factionalism and lack of social cohesion could
partly explain why the Free Papuan Movement (OPM) separatist organization
has failed to regenerate like GAM. Thus, the government does not need to
negotiate a settlement like in the case of Aceh. The government needs only
to dissipate the separatist sentiment, which is the hardest task. One of
the ways is to set their perceptions right.
In this regard, the government has not erred. However, as asserted by
Keith Loveard, a journalist-cum-media consultant, it has just implemented
inappropriate policies that can be adjusted. Then it is the time for the
policy makers to correct their perceptions on Papua to be followed by a
change in policy.
Finally, what Papuans need from the central government is just
perseverance and consistent policies, particularly on the full
implementation of the special autonomy law. Full implementation of the law
will not only eliminate the separatist sentiment among Papuans, but also
weaken the efforts of certain groups and countries to separate Papua from
Indonesia.
-- The writer is an alumnus of Tsukuba University in Japan. The views
reflected herein are strictly personal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Financial Times (London)
Papua problem tests Yudhoyono’s role as peacemaker
By Shawn Donnan in Jakarta
Published: January 31 2006 01:21
Since his government last year brought about what looks like the end of
the separatist conflict in Indonesia’s tsunami-wracked Aceh province,
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has drawn effusive praise
internationally.
So impressed was Robert Wexler, US Democratic congressman, that he last
week nominated Mr Yudhoyono for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, calling the
former Suharto-era general a “campaigner for peace”.
But for Mr Yudhoyono to cement that reputation he has another long-running
separatist conflict to overcome. Emerging as an increasingly important
issue for his government – and its profile internationally – is how to
resolve the insurgency in the province of Papua, the remote and
resource-rich western half of New Guinea.
It is an issue analysts say is likely to be far more difficult to resolve
and far more prickly for Mr Yudhoyono’s government to tackle in a fiercely
nationalist Indonesia.
“It’s the single most sensitive issue on the political agenda,” says
Sidney Jones, the Jakarta-based south-east Asia project director for the
International Crisis Group, a think-tank.
Home to a BP-led natural gas project as well as the world’s largest gold
and copper mine, Papua’s future is also an economically sensitive issue
for an Indonesia still working to regain the confidence of investors
almost nine years after the Asian financial crisis.
One reason for the growing profile of the Papua conflict in recent months
is pressure on copper and gold producer Freeport-McMoRan over its
relationship with the Indonesian military, which it pays to provide
security around the Grasberg gold and copper mine.
In separate letters to the US attorney-general and the Securities and
Exchange Commission last week, New York city’s comptroller – the custodian
of $37m (€30.6m, £21m) in Freeport stock held by the city’s pension funds
– demanded investigations into the New Orleans company’s handling of its
relationship with the Indonesian military.
The requests were prompted by reports by Global Witness, a UK-based human
rights group, and The New York Times detailing Freeport payments to
individuals in the Indonesian security forces. Some argue such payments
may violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, although Freeport has
denied any wrongdoing.
Additionally, questions remain about the possible role of the Indonesian
military in an August 2002 ambush that left three teachers working for
Freeport – two Americans and an Indonesian – dead. Although Indonesian
authorities this month arrested eight Papuan suspects in connection with
the ambush, some people close to the case remain unconvinced.
The arrival in Australia this month of 43 Papuan boat people expected to
seek political asylum is also providing a potential test for post-East
Timor relations between Canberra and Jakarta, which are seeking to sign a
bilateral security pact this year.
Finding a solution to the Papuan conflict is likely to present Mr
Yudhoyono’s government with a far more complicated task than negotiating
peace in Aceh, analysts say.
Advisers to Mr Yudhoyono and analysts both say any resolution is unlikely
to come via internationally brokered negotiations but rather by a push for
the hearts and minds of disgruntled Papuans.
“The difficulty with Papua is there is not a negotiating partner,” says Ms
Jones. The separatist Free Papua Movement, she says, is “a small, divided,
organisation that controls no territory”, and associated political
movements are “much more diffuse” than their counterparts in Aceh.
International reservations about Indonesian rule in Papua, though still
muted, are greater than they ever were in regards to Aceh, which has been
part of Indonesia since its 1945 independence.
>From the time it seized control of what used to be called Irian Jaya in
1963, the legitimacy of Jakarta’s rule in Papua has come under question
internationally and a 1969 vote by a hand-picked group of leaders that led
to its formal annexation is widely regarded as a sham.
Indonesia also faces allegations of rights abuses in Papua, and access to
the region by journalists is restricted. In its 2004 Human Rights Report
(the most recent available), the US State Department said security forces
in Papua “murdered, tortured, raped, beat, and arbitrarily detained
civilians and members of separatist movements”, although “to a lesser
extent” than in Aceh.
And there are signs of burgeoning unrest and a resulting clampdown.
Reports of demonstrations in Jayapura, the Papuan capital, are increasing
in frequency as are reports of young men being arrested for hoisting the
outlawed “Morning Star” flag that symbolises Papuan independence.
But Papuan leaders are also growing more assertive. Rev Hofni Simbiak, a
member of the Papuan People’s Assembly, on which Mr Yudhoyono is hanging
many of his hopes, says: “The government’s efforts to solve all the
problems in Papua seem to be going nowhere.”
-- Additional reporting by Taufan Hidayat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sydney Morning Herald
Papuan asylum seekers fear for families
January 31, 2006 - 2:48PM
West Papuan asylum seekers on Christmas Island have told Greens senator
Kerry Nettle their families have been terrorised by Indonesian security
forces since their journey to Australia.
Some of the 43 West Papuans rang their families on Saturday to hear that
an Indonesian task force was in West Papua asking questions about their
asylum bid, Senator Nettle told journalists in Perth today.
"They heard about a task force of Indonesian security forces that had
travelled from Jakarta ... to ask questions about this group of asylum
seekers and their trip to Australia," Senator Nettle said.
"When they contacted their families on Saturday evening they heard from
their families that they were being terrorised, that's the word they used,
by Indonesian security forces that had come over from Jakarta."
The 36 men and seven children arrived on Cape York last week after a
five-day voyage from West Papua aboard a rickety boat.
All were transferred to the immigration processing facility on Christmas
Island.
-- AAP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PM/Radio Australia
Tuesday, 31 January , 2006 18:29:00
Papuans seek asylum after fleeing persecution
Reporter: Jeff Waters
MARK COLVIN: The 43 asylum seekers from the Indonesian province of Papua,
who arrived on Cape York two weeks ago, are now settling in to life on
remote Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.
The single men, who comprise about half the group, are being held in a
detention centre there. But the Government is allowing family groups to
live in houses and wander the island.
This freedom has allowed them to mix with Islanders and talk to the media.
The leader of the group, a student activist, says they're fleeing
persecution.
He spoke to our Jeff Waters, who has just returned from Christmas Island
with this report.
JEFF WATERS: Herman Wainggai has visited Australia before: to give a
speech about the plight of the indigenous people of his Indonesian
province.
He says they're being oppressed.
Because he fled with his young family, Mr Wainggai is allowed to live in a
house on Christmas Island, with no guards, and can talk freely.
HERMAN WAINGGAI: We are here because we are pressure under Indonesia
Government military. We are target from military of Indonesia to killing
us and then plenty people now in West Papua also they under pressure of
military Government of Indonesia.
JEFF WATERS: Herman Wainggai says it took six weeks for his group of 43 to
sail in an outrigger from the northern side of Papua province, around the
island and into the Gulf of Carpentaria, where they were lost for four
days in rough seas with no food or water.
HERMAN WAINGGAI: If we came to Australia, I know true in Australia
Government have to calling international community to look for what
happened in West Papua. We have to solve problem in West Papua, political
rights.
JEFF WATERS: His group isn't alone on Christmas Island. There's also a
family of seven West Timorese who say they fled inter-religious violence.
Mahmud Ridwan has two young children, so is now living in a house just
down the street from the Papuan families.
He says that, while detained in Darwin, his family was forced to meet
with, and be photographed by, Indonesian consular officials.
MAHMUD RIDWAN: Well, they being, since we arrived in Darwin, they've been
asking DIMIA for meet with us.
So we say "No, no, no," but then DIMIA just let the Indonesian Consulate
come into the room and see our face and having interview: "Where are you
from? What's your name?" So they got our name already.
And the next morning, they just wake up everybody in the morning and then
took out to the airport. They say, "You're going to fly away to
Indonesia."
But everybody's scared: crying, my wife, because we know we're going to be
in big trouble.
JEFF WATERS: A cross-party parliamentary committee was on Christmas Island
at the weekend and visited the asylum seekers.
One of the politicians who spoke with them was Queensland Nationals
Senator Barnaby Joyce, who says he's sympathetic, and that their claims of
religious as well as ethnic persecution should be taken into account.
BARNABY JOYCE: I think it should, if it's a reason that people are
persecuted. If people are persecuting people because of their religion,
then obviously that is an issue, especially when it's next door to us, the
proximity of this.
Religion, of course, is not an issue until someone persecutes you because
of it.
JEFF WATERS: Labor MP Warren Snowdon, a fairly regular visitor to
Christmas Island, says he can't understand why the Government has softened
its policy on detention, but is still building a massive new detention
centre on the far side of the island.
WARREN SNOWDON: How bizarre is this? We've had a change in policy. We had
this multimillion, multi-hundreds of millions worth of work being done out
here around a policy setting which was jail them.
Well, it's no longer the policy setting, so they've designed a facility
which is in part redundant for its purpose for which it was originally
designed.
JEFF WATERS: New South Wales Greens Senator Kerry Nettle was also on
Christmas Island this weekend, but not as part of the committee. She
travelled independently.
She's calling on the Australian Government to mediate between Jakarta and
the freedom movement in the province of Papua, so as to stop what she's
calling a slow genocide.
KERRY NETTLE: We have a strong and mature relationship with Indonesia.
That means we can agree on some things and we can not agree on other
things.
The Government has a choice in making a decision about these asylum
claims. Do they choose to stand up for human rights and for freedom? Or do
they want to stand with the Indonesian military and their repression in
killing of innocent civilians?
JEFF WATERS: Lawyers for both the asylum seekers and the Government are
continuing their interviews.
There's no indication how long that will take.
MARK COLVIN: Jeff Waters, who travelled to Christmas Island to file that
report.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CathNews.com
'Repeat of Timor' fear for West Papua
2 Feb 2006
The atrocities committed by Indonesia against East Timor will be repeated
in West Papua if the international community does not take action,
according to Sr Susan Connelly of the Mary MacKillop East Timor Institute.
"The same system and the same individuals are committing the same
atrocities in West Papua," she told the Catholic Weekly.
Sr Connolly was commenting on the arrival of more than 40 West Papuan
asylum-seekers on a beach in far north Queensland last month.
The group, now on Christmas Island, will be processed under Australian law.
"In East Timor one of the policies used was subjugating people," Sr Susan
said, "that is, changing the language of schools and commerce, changing
the culture of the people.
"This was done by moving thousands, particularly from Java, in a process
that could essentially be called 'Indonesianisation.'
The same policy is being used in West Papua, she said.
"A thousand people are being moved from Java into West Papua each week,"
Sr Susan said.
"The Muslim religion has overtaken Christianity as the new religion to the
extent that the West Papuans say they are becoming strangers in their own
country.
"West Papua is a hugely rich country, with their copper and gold mines,
and they are saying just what the Timorese did – they want our land, they
don't want our people."
A UN report from the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation
issued late last year documents the deaths of more than 180,000 East
Timorese at the hands of the Indonesian military during its 24 years of
occupation, Sr Susan said.
The report, based on research from 2003-2005 in the cities, towns and
villages of Papua, discusses the manipulation of local politics,
introduction of illegal arms and militia training and recruitment and the
rapid spread of prostitution and HIV/Aids.
Sr Susan urged the Australian Catholic Church and community to "take
responsibility to be informed".
"The Catholic Church is really good on human rights issues," she said.
"But when it gets into politics we often go running with our tails between
our legs."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indonesia's prospective military chief promises to respect human rights
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Jakarta, Indonesia (AP)
The Indonesian president's nominee for military chief pledged to lawmakers
Wednesday that he would stay out of politics and protect human rights.
Djoko Suyanto, nominated by President Susilo Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last
month, made the remarks during a legislative hearing to assess his
suitability for the job.
Most of the faction leaders in the parliament already have said said they
will support Suyanto, who currently heads the air force. Indonesia's
military played a key role in propping up the 32-year dictatorship of
Suharto, which ended in 1998.
Since then, the force has implemented reforms, but it still plays an
important behind-the-scenes role in political life. "The function of the
military is to defend the country," Suyanto said. "It does not have a
political function. We will continue to have internal reforms."
Suyanto also said he would keep working on ways to improve the human
rights record of the force. Local and international activists have accused
soldiers of abuses in Papua province and elsewhere.
If Suyanto is approved, he will replace Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, who has
been in the post for 3 1/2 years, reports the AP.
KABAR IRIAN ("Irian News") www.kabar-irian.com
NOTE: "All items are posted for their news/information content. They are
not necessarily the views of IRJA.org or subscribers. "
To join, leave or change options:
http://www.kabar-irian.com/mailman/listinfo/kabar-irian
or send an email to kabar-irian-request@kabar-irian.com and place in the
subject header SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE (Depending which it is you want to
do). Typing Help as a subject will give more info.