[Kabar-Irian] Irian News - Feb 6, 2006 (Part 1 of 2)
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.
- "Lost world" found in Indonesian jungle
- Indonesia to maintain ban on foreign media in Papua: Juwono
- Famine in Yahukimo
- Weather shift leads to Papua deaths: Govt
- Dozens reported dead in dysentery outbreak in Papua
- Most locals reject Papua split: MRP
- Indonesian envoy warns Australia over Papua asylum seekers
- RI Questions A’lia Good Will in Papuans Asylum Seekers
- Papua asylum seekers 'tortured'
- Indonesia ups ante on Papuans
- Papuans tortured, Jakarta admits
- Prove Papuans fled in terror: Jakarta
- West Papuans 'must escape killing'
*****************************
"Lost world" found in Indonesian jungle
Tue Feb 7, 2006 12:11 AM GMT
By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
Oslo (Reuters)
Scientists said on Tuesday they had found a "Lost World" in an Indonesian
mountain jungle, home to dozens of exotic new species of birds,
butterflies, frogs and plants.
"It's as close to the Garden of Eden as you're going to find on Earth,"
said Bruce Beehler, co-leader of the U.S., Indonesian, and Australian
expedition to part of the cloud-shrouded Foja mountains in the west of New
Guinea.
Indigenous peoples living near the Foja range, which rises to 2,200
metres, said they did not venture into the trackless area of 3,000 sq km
-- roughly the size of Luxembourg or the U.S. state of Rhode Island.
The team of 25 scientists rode helicopters to boggy clearings in the
pristine zone.
"We just scratched the surface," Beehler told Reuters. "Anyone who goes
there will come back with a mystery."
The expedition found a new type of honeyeater bird with a bright orange
patch on its face, known only to local people and the first new bird
species documented on the island in over 60 years. They also found more
than 20 new species of frog, four new species of butterfly and plants
including five new palms.
And they took the first photographs of "Berlepsch's six-wired bird of
paradise", which appears in 19th century collections but whose home had
previously been unknown.
The bird is named after six fine feathers about 4 inches long on the head
of the male which can be raised and shaken in courtship displays.
Bird, Bower, Berries
The expedition also took the first photographs of a Golden-fronted
bowerbird in front of a bower made of sticks, while he was hanging up blue
forest berries to attract females.
It found a rare tree kangaroo, previously unsighted in Indonesia. Beehler
said the naturalists reckoned that there was likely to be a new species of
kangaroo living higher altitudes.
The scientists visited in the wet season, which limited the numbers of
flying insects. "Any expedition visiting in the dry season would probably
discover many more butterflies," he said.
Beehler, who works at Conservation International in Washington, said the
area was probably the largest pristine tropical forest in Asia. Animals
there were unafraid of humans.
"I suspect there are some areas like this in Africa, and am sure that
there are similar places in South America," he said.
Around the world, pristine areas are under increasing threat from
expanding human settlements and pollution. A U.N. meeting in Brazil in
March will seek ways to slow the currently accelerating rate of
extinctions.
Beehler said the Indonesian government was doing the right thing by
keeping the area off limits to most visitors -- including loggers and
mineral prospectors.
The scientists cut two trails about 4 km long, leaving vast tracts still
to be explored.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Latest News
2/6/2006 7:07:08 PM
Indonesia to maintain ban on foreign media in Papua: Juwono
Jakarta (AFP)
Indonesia will maintain a ban on foreign media reporting from its
easternmost province of Papua to prevent an escalation of tension in the
restive region, Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said Monday.
The ban has been in place since 2003 in Papua, where a low-level guerrilla
war has been simmering since Indonesia assumed control of the former Dutch
territory in the 1960s.
"We feel that Indonesian unity and cohesion would be threatened by foreign
'intrusion and concern'," Juwono told a press conference attended by
foreign correspondents.
"There is a balance between international concern and sovereignty that we
want to strengthen very peacefully," he said.
Juwono said reporters traveling to the jungle-clad province could heighten
tensions between ethnic Papuans and migrants from outside Papua who make
up a significant proportion of the province's population.
Reporters could be "used as a platform" by Papuans to publicize the
alleged abuses, he added.
Juwono admitted that some cases of killing, rapes and abuses by some
soldiers had occurred but said Jakarta was working hard to minimize
violations.
A sporadic, low-level separatist insurgency has rumbled on in Papua for
decades, with international rights groups and activists saying the
military has committed widespread human rights abuses against Papua's
indigenous population.
Separatists proclaimed the state of West Papua on Dec. 1, 1961, but
Indonesia took control of the mountainous, jungle-clad territory from
Dutch colonizers the following year. It was formally annexed in 1969.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yakkum Emergency Unit
Date: 03 Feb 2006
Famine in Yahukimo
Yahukimo regency is located on Papua province which is a new regency with
39 district with 90 villages. According to the 2004 data the population
amount is 116.598 persons. Famine in Yahokimo happened in at least 16 of
its 39 districts. The climate is wet tropic where 90 percent of its area
is forest, with the density of 6 people per kilometer square, the local
government had the difficulties to reach for the area because of its
topography.
It is not clear what the main cause of the hunger is, but there are some
possible causes that were predicted by both Yahokimo people it self and
the people.
1. The continuous rain for almost 7 months made hipere does not grow its
edible root only produce thick leaves.
2. It was a forest coconut harvest time and the people go to the forest
for almost 1-2 months and neglected their garden, because the harvest time
only occurs once a year. Even though forest coconut reap cost a lot of
time and come at small result, but since the people thought that after
eating forest coconut, their body will be fresh and healthy, they still go
to reap the coconuts. The coconut taste sweet and contains a lot of
vitamins which could not obtained from hipere and limited other
vegetables.
3. The cultivation system was arranged by the tribe head, but because the
new government was still occupied with the election of the legislative
members and district government which every tribe heads go for members
from their own tribe to be elected. Then the tribe heads were busy
campaigning in Wamena even if they had to walk for days to Wamena.
4. With the new set of government almost every district built their own
field and the people became workers, the church also made their own field
with voluntary works from its members, so the gardens were neglected.
5. The regency government constructed office buildings that caused a lot
of people neglected their garden.
6. When the people started to plant hipere, 4-5 months later (in hot area)
or 8-9 months later (in cold area)
Learning from the above with political business and neglecting their
gardens, the society learned a lesson, at the moment the tribe heads had
started to organize their people to arrange their cultivation pattern as
usual, and in another 3-4 months hipere could be consumed again, meanwhile
they still ate the remaining roots and vegetables.
In January 25, 2006, YEU brought logistics aid to the area of famine. YEU
plans to undergo a service in two districts, Lolat district with 4
villages and 10.000 person population and Nepsa district, with 2 villages.
The assistance that will be provided is in forms of food and medicines.
Assistance in food is in forms of hipere (some kind of staples), corn
seeds, soya beans seeds and cookies.
- Hipere: 25 kg x 34 bags = 850 kg
- Corn seed: 25 kg
- Soya Beans seed: 30 kg
- Cookies: 60 kg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
February 04, 2006
Weather shift leads to Papua deaths: Govt
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
The recent deaths of dozens of residents in Ilaga district, Puncak Jaya
regency in Papua, were not caused by an epidemic disease as was reported
earlier, but stemmed from the shift in temperature, which hit a low of 5
Celsius, an official proclaimed on Friday.
Head of the Puncak Jaya Information and Communications office, Hendrik
Bilangla, told The Jakarta Post that the residents had actually been
suffering from flu and cold symptoms, many of whom developed pneumonia
because they had been "eating rotten food crops".
Seblum Karubaba, chairman of Kemah Injil Church Synod, said in Jayapura on
Thursday that a dysentery outbreak had killed dozens of local residents of
Ilaga and Gome districts in Puncak Jaya.
Hendrik said that based on the outcome of the regent's recent visits to
Ilaga and Gome, weather changes had occurred at the foot of Mount Cartenz,
where the two districts are located.
The change in weather is an annual cycle, when the ice melts and hail forms.
"The temperature was as low as 5 Celsius -- unlike during normal
conditions when the temperature is around 20 degrees Celsius -- and it was
also sending down lots of hail. Many residents, especially infants and the
elderly were suffering from flu and cold symptoms which became a serious
respiratory infection," said Hendrik.
Hail can affect crops, such as tubers, making them rot. However, they were
still being eaten so they just got sicker, he stated, while adding that
his data indicated that up to 30 people had died unnaturally in recent
weeks in the area.
"So, this is not an 'epidemic' but an 'illness' caused by the change in
weather. Those who are weak and their resistance low, will eventually
die," Hendrick theorized.
The Puncak Jaya regental administration had dispatched a medical team from
the local health office with the assistance of foreign missionaries to
give them medical treatment and educate people about hygiene.
The administration has distributed relief in the form of rice and infant
food through church organizations.
Due to its yearly cycle, the administration has allocated Rp 5 billion
(US$526,315) from the provincial budget annually to mitigate such acute
crises, Hendrik added.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
February 03, 2006
Dozens reported dead in dysentery outbreak in Papua
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
A dysentery outbreak has killed dozens of local residents in the remote
Papuan regency of Puncak Jaya in the past two months, a reverend said
Thursday.
"Dozens are reported to have died in the outbreak between December and
January after coming down with dysentery," Seblum Karubaba, chairman of
Kemah Injil Church Synod, told The Jakarta in Jayapura.
Coordinator of the Papua Health Crisis Center Paminto Widodo, however,
said he had not received any information or exact data about Seblum's
claims.
"We will soon deploy representatives to the site, even though it is
difficult to reach the area. But now there is a doctor -- Dr. Mery -- who
has been stationed at Mulia public hospital in Puncak Jaya," he said.
Seblum said he received the information about the deaths from the chairman
of Ilaga Barat parish Rev. Martinus Magai and spiritual adviser Daniel
Lalong.
"Three days ago, on Dec. 31, they came to meet me to report their
activities at their parish and at the same time revealed more about the
disease outbreak," he said.
"A retreat for women scheduled for Jan. 8 to Jan. 11 was postponed until
next April because the participants were in mourning for the dead."
He said the men told him that up to five people died in one kampong in a
day, spreading fear in nearby Ilaga Barat and Ilaga Timur parishes.
"Incessant rainfall for days led to the outbreak, where local residents
frequently had bloody diarrhea before they died," Seblum said.
He added he would send a letter of complaint to the regional authorities
about their negligence in not handling the outbreak.
He said the reported deaths showed the government was not serious in
giving adequate services to residents in remote areas. "The public's money
has not been properly utilized to empower them," he said.
Paminto explained he knew nothing of the incident.
"No extraordinary incident was reported. One or two deaths in one day is
still unexceptional. But we'll await accurate data from our health
officials," he said.
Ilaga district is accessible in 45 minutes by Cessna or Twin Otter
airplanes from Wamena, but it takes only 25 minutes from Mulia.
Puncak Jaya Regent Elieser Renmaur and health officials are currently
visiting Ilaga district to ascertain the extent of the outbreak.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
February 02, 2006
Most locals reject Papua split: MRP
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Papua People's Council (MRP) is stepping up its opposition to
Jakarta's policy to split Papua, saying a recent survey found most people
object to the plan.
MRP chairman Agus Alue Alua said The council had conducted a survey to
find out what people's views were on the controversial policy to set up
the new West Irian Jaya province.
According to the 2001 law on special autonomy for Papua, any division of
the territory requires the approval of the MRP, the provincial legislature
and the governor.
In a telephone interview with The Jakarta Post last week, Agus said that
MRP officials conducted a series of public meetings throughout West Papua.
The large majority of respondents, made up of people from women's groups,
the church, tribal assemblies and non-governmental organizations, all
expressed their strong opposition to the plan, he said.
Neither had any of the respondents ever been involved in the
decision-making process, he said.
"Most respondents, in the provincial capital of Manokwari and in all the
regencies, reject the new province. They said the province was established
by Jakarta with the support of a few local politicians who would gain
politically and economically from it," Agus said.
He knew of only between 10 and 20 government officials who supported the
creation of the new province.
"The Papuan people don't see any urgency to form a new province. They want
the government to prioritize other important issues, such as (resolving)
human rights abuses, the widening gap between indigenous people and
migrants and rampant corruption among local officials," he said.
Papuans want to directly elect a governor for the whole province to
replace JP Solossa, who died of heart attack last month, he said.
Following up last November's meeting with Papuan leaders to set up the
MRP, Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Jan. 9 asked the MRP, the provincial
legislature and the governor to vote for the creation of West Irian Jaya
by mid-May.
In November's meeting, Jakarta and some Papuan leaders agreed to sign a
government regulation in lieu of law, or Perpu, which would provide a
legal basis for the establishment of the new province.
The Perpu has provoked widespread protest in Papua and is yet to be enforced.
The central government insists that the split is necessary to better
manage the large territory. However, its critics say the policy goes
against the special autonomy law and is unconstitutional. In an odd
decision, the Constitutional Court agreed with the critics in November
2004, but ruled the creation of West Irian Jaya should go ahead anyway.
Papuan political observer Frans Maniagassi and Cendrawasih University
social scientist Agus Sumule in Manokwari said Jakarta should consider the
results of the MRP's public consultation.
They said Papuans would be more likely to press ahead with demands for a
self-determination referendum if Jakarta continued to insist on dividing
the province.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indonesian envoy warns Australia over Papua asylum seekers
Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Sydney, Feb 3, 2006
Indonesia's ambassador to Australia warned Friday that relations between
the two neighbors would be affected if Canberra grants political asylum to
43 boat-people from the troubled Indonesian province of Papua.
The Papuans, who included pro-independence activists and their families,
arrived in northern Australia last month after a five-day voyage in an
outrigger canoe and were later taken to an immigration detention camp on
Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.
A spokesman for the group has told Australian media they fear they will be
killed if returned to Papua, where a sporadic and low-level separatist
insurgency has been going on for decades.
Australian Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said on Thursday that the
group's asylum request would be considered.
But Indonesia's ambassador, Teuku Mohammad Hamzah Thayeb, said the group
had nothing to fear from Indonesian authorities.
Asked in an interview on Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio if
granting asylum to the group would strain Australia-Indonesia relations,
Thayeb said: "I would hope it will not, but it certainly would have an
effect.
"That's why we have to manage this together and find a solution."
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has also guaranteed the
group's safety should they return, he said.
Papuans and human rights groups have accused Indonesian authorities of
widespread abuses in the province, a former Dutch colony that Indonesia
took over in the 1960s.
-- dm/jah AFP 022324 GMT 02 06
-- Copyright (c) 2006 Agence France-Presse
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Antara
Feb 03 19:09
RI Questions A’lia Good Will in Papuans Asylum Seekers
Jakarta (Antara News) - Indonesia has questioned Australia’s good will in
managing issue on 43 Papuans seeking asylum to the country, as Jakarta saw
peculiarity in the process to set the Papuans status.
A spokesman of Foreign Affairs Ministry, Yuri O Thamrin said here, Friday,
the status as illegal imigrants for the 43 Papuans is not fit with
Australia’s regulation to get visa.
"We feel something strange here. The main problem is that they (the
Papuans) are illegal immigrants but visa for them are being considered and
furthermore (Canberra) will consider the asylum status," Yuri said.
Yuri reiterated Indonesia’s demand for Australia to refer to the UN
Convention in 1951 on Refugees before it took the decision on the Papuans
status.
Under the convention, those who could get political asylum have strong
backgrounds that they are threatened to get legal sentences because of
differences in political view, race or religion.
"I have coordinated with Papua police chief, that the 43 Papuans are not
included in the wanted list," Yuri said.
Indonesia has also asked Australia to give full consular access --in
accordance to Vienna Convention in 1963-- to the 43 Papuans although most
of them said they did not want to use the access.
"It is our right as a state to get consular access guaranteed. Because the
consular access has nothing to do with individual request. Consular access
is the state’s right, it is not related with individual willingness or
unwillingness," he noted.
Currently, 40 of the Papuans were detained in Christmas Island but they
are allowed to stay with local residents in the island.
Three other Papuans are in Perth for health check.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BBC
Friday, 3 February 2006, 09:25 GMT
Papua asylum seekers 'tortured'
A senator from Australia's governing coalition has said a group of
refugees from Indonesia's Papua province appear to have a genuine asylum
claim.
Barnaby Joyce, who met the group at an Australian offshore immigration
centre, said they recounted how they had been jailed and tortured and
relatives shot.
The 43 Papuans arrived in Australia by boat in January.
Indonesia's ambassador to Australia has warned that granting them asylum
could strain relations between the countries.
"It certainly would have an effect. That's why we have to manage this
together and find a solution," Teuku Mohammad Hamzah Thayeb told
Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio on Friday.
Mr Joyce, from the National Party, said he only had the Papuan group's
word that they had faced rights abuses, but he had no reason to doubt
them.
"There is documented cases of members within their families being shot.
There's certainly on the record experiences of them being jailed and
tortured, so I think they seem they would be under... risk if they went
back ," he told ABC.
Mr Joyce said one of the reasons for their treatment could be their
religion. Christians, as this group are, have clashed repeatedly with
Muslim migrants from elsewhere in Indonesia.
Mr Joyce is known to have strong Christian beliefs.
Diplomatic strain
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said the group had not yet officially
applied for refugee status, but would be given "a fair hearing" if they
filed an asylum claim.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin has said that Australia
risks attracting a wave of boat people from Papua if it granted asylum to
the group.
Mr Thamrin has 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 reportedly include leading pro-independence activists from Papua.
Indonesia gained sovereignty over Papua - a former Dutch colony - in 1969.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Age (Melbourne)
Indonesia ups ante on Papuans
By Tom Allard
February 4, 2006
Indonesia has stepped up its campaign for Australia to return 43 Papuan
asylum seekers, with its new ambassador warning that relations will be
strained if they are granted refugee status.
As Australia and Indonesia negotiate a new security treaty, the tensions
over the arrival of the asylum seekers has been highlighted by a concerted
effort at the highest levels of the Indonesian Government.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono telephoned Prime Minister
John Howard last week to offer his personal guarantee that the asylum
seekers would not be harmed. Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda
also made personal representations to Australia's ambassador in Jakarta,
Bill Farmer.
The issue is also believed to have been discussed with high-ranking
Indonesian military officials.
Yesterday Indonesia's ambassador to Australia, Hamzah Thayeb, offered his
promise for the safety of the Papuan boat people, but also a warning that
ties could be harmed.
Asked if the relationship could be hurt if the Australian Government
granted the Papuans asylum, Mr Thayeb said: "I hope it will not, but it
certainly would have an effect … that's why we have to manage this
together and find a solution."
He urged the group to begin a dialogue with Indonesian authorities and the
Papuan People's Council about their grievances, something they could only
do if they returned home.
The leader of the asylum seekers, Herman Wainggai, said this week that the
Indonesian military was treating indigenous Papuans like animals.
Mr Thayeb rejected that assessment. "We have changed fundamentally within
ourselves," he told the ABC yesterday.
Indonesia offered Papua special autonomy in 2001 in an effort to quell
unrest from the Melanesian population of the resource-rich province.
However, Mr Wainggai has described autonomy as a sham, and there have been
numerous reports of the Indonesian military murdering and raping people
and destroying villages since autonomy came into force.
Papua was controversially incorporated into Indonesia after a vote in 1969
overseen by the United Nations. However, only 1025 people hand-picked by
the Indonesian authorities were allowed to vote.
Reinforcing the dubious nature of the poll, the voters gave 100 per cent
approval to become part of Indonesia.
Australian parliamentarians who met the asylum seekers on Christmas
Island, where they are being assessed by officials from the Department of
Immigration, believe they have legitimate claims to be refugees.
That support extends across the political spectrum, with National Party
senator Barnaby Joyce yesterday voicing his sympathies and saying he
believed the Papuans, who landed on Cape York Peninsula in far north
Queensland, last month.
"From my naive position, prima facie, they seem like they have a genuine
claim," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Age (Melbourne)
Papuans tortured, Jakarta admits
By Mark Forbes, Jakarta
February 7, 2006
Some Indonesian soldiers had raped and tortured Papuans, Defence Minister
Juwono Sudarsono has conceded, but he claimed the Australian Government
had been "persuaded" that a boatload of 43 Papuan asylum seekers should be
returned.
Mr Sudarsono said Indonesian leaders had "persuaded the Prime Minister of
Australia that they should be returned to us as soon as possible, that
there will be no repression or reprisal against these citizens of
Indonesia".
"But it's very difficult because once it's in the hands of the immigration
officers in Australia, the law must operate on the ground there," he said.
Claims of systematic human rights abuses to repress independence
sentiments in the province were unfair, he said.
"I grant that there have been incidents of some brutality and torture and
rape involving some of our troops, but there has been a tendency to
blanket all of this into a notion that all of these efforts are systematic
and institutional."
The Papuan asylum seekers, who include pro-independence activists and
their families, arrived in northern Australia last month after a five-day
voyage in an outrigger canoe. They said they had been persecuted in Papua
and would be killed if they returned.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said the group had no
legitimate claim to be refugees. He warned that relations with Australia
would be disrupted if the Papuans were granted asylum.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has phoned Prime Minister
John Howard to guarantee that the asylum seekers would not be harmed and
urged their speedy return.
Australian Immigration officials have determined that the Papuans
potentially have genuine refugee claims and are continuing to process
their cases. Mr Sudarsono also said last month's fatal shooting of a
15-year-old boy related to one of the asylum seekers was an accident, the
result of crossfire between police and soldiers after a local dispute. "It
was not a deliberate exercise in military repression," he said.
Human rights groups claimed the shooting occurred in reprisal for the
asylum attempt, which antagonised military leaders in the province. Mr
Sudarsono said international journalists would continue to be barred from
Papua. But the row would not hamper moves for closer defence ties.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Herald Sun
Prove Papuans fled in terror: Jakarta
06feb06
Indonesia yesterday challenged Australia to prove that 43 boat people from
troubled Papua province seeking asylum from Canberra are really fleeing
persecution.
"It lays on the Australian Government to prove that they are really being
persecuted," said Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Hasan Wirayuda.
"The ball is in the Australians' court."
The Papuans, who included pro-independence activists and their families,
arrived in northern Australia last month after a five-day voyage in an
outrigger canoe.
They said they feared death if returned to Papua, where a sporadic and
low-level separatist insurgency has been going on for decades.
The group was taken to an immigration detention camp on Christmas Island
in the Indian Ocean.
Mr Wirayuda said Indonesia had already stated that the asylum seekers were
not being persecuted in Papua and were not being sought by the
authorities. Police had guaranteed they would not be harmed should they
return home.
If Canberra decided to accord them asylum, Mr Wirayuda said, "Australia
should have the conviction, beyond reasonable doubt, that they are people
who are being persecuted because of their political or religious belief or
their race.
"We do not want our relations with Australia, which have already developed
well, to be disturbed by this problem."
Papuans and human rights groups have accused Indonesian authorities of
widespread abuses in the remote province, a former Dutch colony that
Indonesia took over in the 1960s.
Indonesia won sovereignty over Papua, then called West Irian, in 1969
after the United Nations allowed an integration referendum with a public
show of hands by a few hundred hand-picked tribal leaders. Critics
labelled the vote a sham.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Australian
West Papuans 'must escape killing'
Greg Roberts
February 06, 2006
The number of people crossing illegally from the Indonesian province of
West Papua into Australia may be much greater than was thought.
"All the time there are Papuans coming over in the small boats to the
Torres Strait islands," said Evrardus Kaise, a refugee from the
strife-torn province who works as a meatworker in Ipswich, west of
Brisbane.
"People have to get away from the killing and everything else by the
Indonesians."
The arrival of 43 Papuan asylum-seekers in a boat on Cape York Peninsula
two weeks ago has unsettled relations between Canberra and Jakarta, with
John Howard rejecting demands from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono for their immediate return.
The Prime Minister has told Dr Yudhoyono that applications for refugee
status from the Papuans, who are in the Christmas Island detention centre,
will be processed in accordance with Australian laws and Australia's
international treaty obligations.
Mr Kaise said it was not unusual for Papuans to cross the Indonesia-Papua
New Guinea border before crossing to Australia, as he had done.
He fled his village, near Merauke in West Papua, in 1987 to a refugee camp
in PNG. He then took a boat to Australia's Saibai Island, just a few
kilometres from the southern PNG coast.
"The Indonesian military is torturing our people," Mr Kaise said. "They
robbed us of our land, they stole our country. They still do these
things."
Mr Kaise worked as a cray fisherman in the Torres Strait before being
granted permanent residency in 1995. "I would be dead if I stayed there. I
hope the Government will be kind to the ones who are here now."
Saibai Island Council chairman Jensen Warusam said because Australia's
treaty with PNG allowed the movement of PNG nationals through Torres
Strait waters, it was difficult to identify West Papuans. "They can come
over the border and we do not always know about it," Mr Warusam said.
"We have a lot of sympathy for these Papuans. They are our fellow
Melanesians."
The Immigration Department said 25 officers were deployed to deter illegal
immigrants in the Torres Strait.
"Someone from West Papua is treated the same as an unauthorised person
from any other country," a department spokesman said.
On Christmas Island, the 43 asylum-seekers have been interviewed and the
initial screening process has been completed.
A decision on their fate is expected later this month.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.