[Kabar-Irian] News: June 29 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.
June 17-22 2006
KABAR IRIAN NEWS
TOPICS
* Foreign country always focus spotlight on Papua
* Clams may hold climate key
* What's wrong in Papua
* The older we get, the more we suspect Indonesia: poll
* Howard back from Asian visit
* RI to deport 2 U.S. citizens over visa violations
* CIVIL RIGHTS OF ABEPURA 16 MARCH 2006 SUSPECTS THREATENED
* Nun identifies key to understanding West Papua tension
----
Foreign country always focus spotlight on Papua
*Jakarta (ANTARA News)* - Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said state
and local community leaders in Papua needed to build the capacity of
civilians in the leadership in Papua because foreign countries had
continued to focus an intense spotlight on the province.
"As an isolated part of a developing country, Papua will continue to
become the focus of spotlight of foreign countries. It can be in the
form of physical presence or voices in parliament or of the government
such as in Australia and the United States," the defense minister said.
He made the remarks after holding a teleconference with Papua`s
community leaders and regional government officials of Biak and Nabire
districts here on Wednesday.
Juwono said that foreign intervention into other countries` affairs took
place not only in Papua but also in other isolated regions of developing
nations such as in Brazil and Mexico.
He said that the government needed to use human approaches to handle
problems coming to the surface in Papua.
The minister said there was no fault for security officers to adopt
stern measures in handling problems in Papua but they should do it
proportionally through persuasive approaches.
"Persuasive approaches based on the local culture are better than the
repressive ones," he added.
He said that the homogenous cultures and customs should not become a
reason of constraint for security officers in their efforts to create
security stability in the province.
The defense minister said Papua still needed the presence of security
officers to maintain stability in the region.
But civilians must also increase their capacity building so that
security officers would not take too much leading role in overcoming a
problem that was emerging, he said.
"This is because each time a problem surfaces, it is security officers,
particularly the military, who always suffer from criticism. Therefore,
the central and local governments as well as security officers should
jointly maintain security for the wider interest of the state," the
defense minister added. (*)
Jun 28 18:16
Copyright © 2006 ANTARA
---
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19616387-29277,00.html
Clams may hold climate key
From: AAP
By Rosemary Desmond
June 28, 2006
FOSSILISED giant clams and coral may show for the first time how droughts
have become more
frequent, a researcher said today.
The fossils, found in Papua New Guinea, have provided a snapshot of the
earth's climate
about 400,000 years ago, says Bridget Ayling, a PhD scholar in environment
and geochemistry
at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra.
Ms Ayling said the specimens could be the first to show what the earth's
climate was like
during the geological period.
They were examined under a device called a mass spectrometer which
analyses their chemical
elements and isotopes.
One giant clam, measuring about half a metre across, lived for about 35
years some time
between 380,000 and 420,000 years ago.
Its chemical elements were influenced by climate and salinity and showed
this period between
ice ages experienced a lot fewer of the El Nino events, which bring dry
conditions to
eastern Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
“It's pretty exciting because we just don't know what the climate was like
back then,” Ms
Ayling said.
“Anything we can get from that period is so valuable for everyone today
because they can
figure out what is going to happen with our climate now – if it is out of
control or going
into a big ice age again, and how much the sea is going to rise.
“To the best of my knowledge, our detailed record of climate seasonality
may be a global
first for this time interval.”
The clams and corals were discovered in a village at an altitude of 1200m
on PNG's Huon
Peninsula, where living coral reefs were rapidly uplifted by geological
movements and
preserved above the ocean, Ms Ayling said.
The findings of her previous research into ancient coral fossils, from a
more recent
interglacial period around 330,000 years ago, will be published soon in
the science journal
Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
---
http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/whats-wrong-in-papua/2006/06/28/1151174267429.html
What's wrong in Papua
Kenneth Davidson
June 29, 2006
Page 1 of 2 | Single page
THE chief criticism of John Howard's decision to reinstitute the Pacific
Solution to deal
with the threat of hundreds of Papuans fleeing military persecution and
economic
dispossession is that, in his desperation for a friendly personal
relationship with
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, he is dealing with the symptoms of the
problem, not the
substance.
Surely the first question should be to determine what is causing the
problem, not how
Australia deflects the problem by buying space for refugee gulags in
failing South Pacific
states.
A large part of the answer can be found in an excellent report,
Environmental Impacts of
Freeport-Rio Tinto's Copper and Gold Mining Operation in Papua, published
in May by the
Indonesian non-government organisation WALHI, or Indonesian Forum for
Environment. The
report, so germane to the crisis now tearing the Coalition apart and
consuming a huge amount
of media attention, has received virtually no attention.
It is a story of corruption and environmental damage on a massive scale
that are
impoverishing the Papuan people who, when they protest about their
dispossession, are put
down by an Indonesian military paid by the company (with a substantial
Australian interest
via Rio Tinto) for protection.
It is the richest copper and gold mine in the world, extracting fabulous
riches for its
owners, managers and shareholders. Rio Tinto's profits from the mine alone
in 2005 amounted
to $330 million. The mine is Indonesia's biggest taxpayer, paying Jakarta
$1.6 billion in
2005, but only a small fraction of this money reaches the Papuan
provincial and local
governments.
Millions more is syphoned off by the Indonesian military and officers who,
in common with
the military throughout Indonesia, are expected to be responsible
for raising 70 per cent of their operating budgets.
Despite the wealth produced by Freeport and other extractive operations
throughout Papua,
the province is the poorest and most environmentally degraded in Indonesia.
According to WALHI, "millions of hectares of unique rainforest have
disappeared from legal
and illegal logging operations and palm oil plantations in West Papua.
Large numbers of
indigenous Papuans have been displaced by the granting of timber
concessions on their land,
without compensation. Logging has contributed to increased flooding and
forest fires … while
the loss of farm and crop lands left thousands facing starvation".
"Mining in Papua is particularly associated with environmental and human
rights abuse of the
worst kind, and has contributed to West Papua's ranking as the most
polluted province in
Indonesia," WALHI said.
Page 2 of 2
THE chief criticism of John Howard's decision to reinstitute the Pacific
Solution to deal
with the threat of hundreds of Papuans fleeing military persecution and
economic
dispossession is that, in his desperation for a friendly personal
relationship with
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, he is dealing with the symptoms of the
problem, not the
substance.
Surely the first question should be to determine what is causing the
problem, not how
Australia deflects the problem by buying space for refugee gulags in
failing South Pacific
states.
A large part of the answer can be found in an excellent report,
Environmental Impacts of
Freeport-Rio Tinto's Copper and Gold Mining Operation in Papua, published
in May by the
Indonesian non-government organisation WALHI, or Indonesian Forum for
Environment. The
report, so germane to the crisis now tearing the Coalition apart and
consuming a huge amount
of media attention, has received virtually no attention.
It is a story of corruption and environmental damage on a massive scale
that are
impoverishing the Papuan people who, when they protest about their
dispossession, are put
down by an Indonesian military paid by the company (with a substantial
Australian interest
via Rio Tinto) for protection.
It is the richest copper and gold mine in the world, extracting fabulous
riches for its
owners, managers and shareholders. Rio Tinto's profits from the mine alone
in 2005 amounted
to $330 million. The mine is Indonesia's biggest taxpayer, paying Jakarta
$1.6 billion in
2005, but only a small fraction of this money reaches the Papuan
provincial and local
governments.
Millions more is syphoned off by the Indonesian military and officers who,
in common with
the military throughout Indonesia, are expected to be responsible
for raising 70 per cent of their operating budgets.
Despite the wealth produced by Freeport and other extractive operations
throughout Papua,
the province is the poorest and most environmentally degraded in Indonesia.
According to WALHI, "millions of hectares of unique rainforest have
disappeared from legal
and illegal logging operations and palm oil plantations in West Papua.
Large numbers of
indigenous Papuans have been displaced by the granting of timber
concessions on their land,
without compensation. Logging has contributed to increased flooding and
forest fires … while
the loss of farm and crop lands left thousands facing starvation".
"Mining in Papua is particularly associated with environmental and human
rights abuse of the
worst kind, and has contributed to West Papua's ranking as the most
polluted province in
Indonesia," WALHI said.
A key finding of the report is that Freeport-Rio Tinto has failed to
comply with government
orders to amend its dangerous waste management practices despite years of
official findings
that the company is in breach of environmental regulations. Nor has it
made public any
independent external audits since 1999, breaching its environmental permit
requirements.
The report states that "the environmental destruction which surrounds PT
Freeport Indonesia
reflects a neglect for the law in the name of economy and because of
political pressure,
proof of the invulnerability of corporate power".
Injustice, environmental vandalism and moral turpitude on this scale
cannot withstand public
scrutiny. Unless the implicit genocide policy is reversed, global outrage
will lead to
Papuan independence irrespective of the preferences of the Australian
pro-Indonesia lobby.
Both Yudhoyono and Howard know that announcements that Australia
recognises Indonesia's
claims to Papua must be seen against a background of public opinion, which
is already
overwhelmingly sympathetic to the plight of the Papuans. This was shown by
a recent Newspoll
that found 76 per cent of the respondents agreed with the proposition that
"the people of
West Papua should have the right to self-determination … including the
option of
independence".
The recent history of Australia's official and popular attitude towards
the independence of
East Timor shows that in a democracy, public opinion based on perceptions
of fairness and
justice will eventually displace official policies based on Realpolitik.
The film showing
the Santa Cruz massacre of peaceful demonstrators by the Indonesian
military in 1991 was the
beginning of the end of Indonesia's occupation of East Timor.
Australia has nothing to gain from a flood of Papuan refugees attempting
to escape political
persecution by trying to reach Australia even if they can be successfully
diverted to Nauru
and other failed states that are prepared to take on Australian
responsibilities in return
for money, or, for that matter, from Papuan independence.
Above all, Australia must not become an agent for corruption throughout
the region for a
policy primed for failure. It is in both Australia's and Indonesia's
long-term interests to
make Papua a place fit for human beings who can be reconciled with
Jakarta. But this means
getting the military under control and getting Freeport-Rio Tinto to face its
responsibilities. This means supporting Yudhoyono and other progressive
democratic forces in
Indonesia who are trying to rein in the military as well as using
Australian leverage over
Rio Tinto.
Kenneth davidson is a senior columnist.
Email: kdavidson@theage.com.au
---
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/the-older-we-get-the-more-we-suspect-indonesia-poll/2006
/06/28/1151174269506.html
The older we get, the more we suspect Indonesia: poll
June 29, 2006
SUSPICION towards Indonesia strengthens with age, according to a poll that
finds the young
are twice as likely as the elderly to hold a positive view.
While 62 per cent of 18- to 29-year-olds are positive about Indonesia, and
only 16 per cent
are negative, the over-60s are 29 per cent positive and 50 per cent
negative. Overall, 58
per cent of Australians surveyed believed the Howard Government should
stand up to Indonesia
more often, and 31 per cent believe Canberra's stance is strong enough.
Most antagonistic are NSW men in their 40s, two-thirds wanting a tougher
Australian stand.
The telephone poll of 500 people for the public affairs firm Hawker
Britton was conducted
last week and followed Indonesian anger at Canberra's granting in March of
temporary
protection visas to 42 asylum seekers from the Indonesian province of Papua.
Although positive and negative attitudes towards Indonesia were equal
overall, about 40 per
cent, 83 per cent regarded the relationship as important.
This compares with 90 per cent for the relationship with Britain, and 92
per cent for China
and the United States.
---
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19625339-1702,00.html
Howard back from Asian visit
June 29, 2006
PRIME Minister John Howard returns to Australia today after a whirlwind
tour of Indonesia
and China.
Mr Howard has spent the past two days in Shenzhen, southern China, where
he held official
talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Discussions focused on negotiations for a free trade agreement between the
two countries,
China's move to a free-market economy, and concerns over North Korea's
planned test launch
of a long range ballistic missile.
Mr Howard also attended the opening of a $5 billion liquefied natural gas
terminal at the
Chinese port of Dapeng.
The terminal has been built to handle a 25-year, $25 billion contract to
export gas from
Australia's north-western shelf to southern China.
China is Australia's second largest trade partner after Japan, with
Australian exports
quadrupling over the past decade.
If the proposed free trade pact goes ahead, it will be China's first with
a developed
economy.
Mr Howard also returns having smoothed relations with Indonesia after
damaging rows over
Papuan refugees and the release of Abu Bakar Bashir, jailed for giving
blessing to the first
Bali bombings.
Mr Howard expressed to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Australians' anger at
Bashir's release and urged Indonesia to keep tabs on him.
Mr Howard reiterated Australia's support for Indonesian sovereignty over
Papua and defended
his government's failure to pass controversial changes to migration law.
The prime minister will arrive back in Australia with the industrial
relations battle in
full swing.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets yesterday to protest
against the
government's controversial new workplace laws.
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillgen.asp?fileid=20060628120816&irec=3
RI to deport 2 U.S. citizens over visa violations
JAKARTA (AP): Indonesia plans to deport two U.S. citizens after they were
caught attending a
meeting with separatist sympathizers in the country's eastern Papua
province, an immigration
official said Wednesday.
Two men, who were traveling on tourist visas, were detained on Monday at a
meeting of the
Papuan Tribal Council in the region's capital. The council peacefully
campaigns for the
province to become an independent country.
"We plan to deport them soon," immigration office spokesman Muhammad Indra
said. "We are
going to call U.S. embassy officials to let them know of the plan."
Authorities have released no details about the two men's identities or
what they were doing
at the meeting. But an immigration official on Tuesday said that attending
the talks was a
clear violation of the terms of their tourist visa.
Independence activists and a small band of poorly armed rebels have waged
a more than
30-year campaign for a separate state of Papua, which is one of
Indonesia's poorest regions
despite abundant supplies of gas, timber, gold and copper. Jakarta is very
sensitive about foreign support for Papuan separatists. East Timor broke
away in 1999 following a determined campaign by exiles and international
activists. (**)
---
BACKGROUND
Urgent Action [Translated by TAPOL]
Office for Justice and Peace
Diocese of Jayapura
12 June 2006
CIVIL RIGHTS OF ABEPURA 16 MARCH 2006 SUSPECTS THREATENED
We wish to draw your attention to the situation of Papuans who are being
held as suspects because of their involvement in a demonstration on
15-16 March 2006 outside Cendrawasih University campus which called for
the closure of Freeport Indonesia. We wish to focus in particular on the
detainees being held at POLDA (Jayapura Regional Police) and the trial
of the suspects now underway at Jayapura district court. We should
explain also that the sixteen detainees whose cases are now being heard
at the Jayapura district court were moved from the POLDA detention
centre where they had been held for three months to the Abepura Prison
on 6 June 2006, Jayapura.
Altogether 23 people were arrested, interrogated and detained by Papua
POLDA in connection with the 16 March Abepura 2006 case. Most are
students from various colleges in Jayapura. Since 17 May 2006, sixteen
have been on trial at Jayapura district court while the other six are
still being held at POLDA and are being interrogated by the police.
I. Situation of Detainees in POLDA Papua
On 30 May 2006, the Justice and Peace Secretariat (SKP) of the Jayapura
Diocese, Justice & Peace of the GKI Synod in Papua and the Justice and
Peace Bureau of Indonesia the GKII (Kemah Injili Church in Papua)
visited the detainees in POLDA Papua detention centre. Although members
of POLDA kept a close watch all the time, we were able to hold
conversations in private with Selvius Bobii, Eko Berotabui (son of the
Chair of the GKI Synod in Papua) as well as another prisoner named
Nelson Rumbiak regarding their conditions, including food and drink,
clothing, sleeping arrangements, security, legal counsel and whether
they were able to receive visits from their parents. We took them
supplies of food and drink, bread and oranges wrapped in a black plastic
bag which was examined on a number of occasions by two young police
officers who were on guard in the visitors' area, the place where the
detainees were allowed to meet their
visitors which is about 3x3 metres in size. We were able to convince the
guards that our bags only contained food and nothing else. Each group
of visitors was allowed to meet only two detainees. Apart from security
considerations this was because the visiting area is very small indeed.
There were wounds on the pale faces of the detainees around their
temples and eyebrows which they said they had sustained during a number
of police interrogation sessions which went on for many days.
The conditions of the detainees were as follows, according to
explanations from the three detainees:
First: Selvius and the two other detainees said they had no complaints
about the food. "We would like better food but we realise that we are
detainees in Indonesia, so it's not a problem. Sometimes we get bored
with the food but we eat it anyway." They also said, and the police
guards confirmed, that they are given food only twice a day, in
themorning and in the evening. Because of the lack of cells at POLDA,
there are several detainees in each cell. They can only take a bath and
wash their clothes once a day at five pm.
Second: Selvius said: "We were heavily tortured during the first few
months as they tried to get information about the network and about who
was behind the PEPERA [abbreviation in Indonesian for Act of Free
Choice] Group. The head of Criminal Investigation, Paulus Waterpauw,
once threatened to shoot me by aiming his gun at my mouth. 'I was put
under pressure and threatened to disclose persons who were part of a
network with PEPERA or were partners with PEPERA in the struggle. I said
there was no such thing. So I was placed in solitary confinement and not
allowed to meet anyone for a month.'
Third: With regard to the legal counsel appointed by POLDA Papua to
accompany the three men in court, they said: "We don't know these
lawyers because from the day we were arrested until 30 May 2006, they
have never visited us in detention to advise us on how to respond to the
charges by the prosecutor or how to behave in court. We are completely
in the dark when we are in court. I myself was confused on the first
day in court. We regret the fact that these lawyers have never come to
see us or done anything in the performance of their duties. We would
have hoped that the lawyers would at the very least come and visit us
and explain the procedure to us and how to behave the court. When we
were being interrogated, we were not accompanied by a lawyer. As a
result, some of the detainees felt afraid and simply admitted that they
were involved in the events on 16 March 2006 whereas in fact they were
not."
Selvius Bobii also spoke about another detainee named Jefri Pawika who
had been ill for a long time as a result of being maltreated while at
POLDA, yet nothing was done either by POLDA, the lawyers or the
prosecutor to make arrangements for him to be properly treated. He has
shown signs of a mental disorder and it is feared that he could go mad
if nothing is done quickly to treat his medical condition. 'Although he
is ill, we were forced
to bring him to the hearing so that the judge, the prosecutor and the
general public could see his condition.' According to a report about the
hearing on 17 May 2006, Jefri Pakawi fainted in court because he had
an empty stomach and he had not been given anything to eat since the
previous evening.
Selvius and Nelson also confirmed that they had been maltreated by the
police on Wednesday 24 May 2006 in the detention centre at the Jayapura
court for almost two hours before the hearing started. They were
maltreated in order to get them to confess in court that they were
involved in the murder of four members of the police force and a member
of the air force during the demonstration on 16 March 2006.
When we asked whether they had been visited by their parents, the three
detainees said that most of the parents were too afraid and didn't dare
to come to the POLDA detention centre.
II. The hearing of the sixteen accused at the Jayapura District Court
Five hearings in the trial of the sixteen accused have been held so far
before a panel of judges chaired by Morris Ginting SH, sitting with A
Lakoni SH and Denny D. Sumardi SH. The charges are briefly as follows:
1. Selvius Bobii is charged with inciting others to use violence
(Article 160 of the Criminal Code).
2. Nelson Rumbiak is charged with aggravated theft (Article 365)
for stealing two canisters that had been used by Brimob for tear gas to
break up the action before the conflict occurred, which had been found
by the accused at the site of the incident.
3. Othen Dapyal , Elkana Lokobal, Musa Asso, Moses Lobokal, Mon
Jefri
Obaja Pawika and Mathias Mihel Dimara are charged with using violence
against other persons (Article 170).
4. Ferdinando Pakage and Luis Gedi are charged jointly with
resisting members of the security forces in the performance of their
duties, resulting in loss of life of a security force member (Article
212 relating to 214, para 2).
5. Marcus Kayame, Patrisius Aronggear, Thomas Ukago, Perius Waker,
Elyas Tameka and Bensiur Mirin jointly used violence to resist members
of the security forces in the performance of their duties (Articles 218
and 214, para 1).
The trial of the sixteen is likely to end in July 2006, with a final
verdict being adopted by the court.
While the hearings were in progress, the following important incidents
occurred:
1. During the second hearing on 24 May 2006 at which the charges of the
prosecutor were read out, the accused were maltreated by members of the
police force for two hours before the hearing began at the POLDA
detention centre, according to what they later told us. They were kicked
with army boots, struck on the head and body with rifle butts and rubber
truncheons. This was done in an attempt to force the accused to confess
that they had indeed committed the offences for which they were being
accused by the prosecutor. Because some of the accused rejected the
charges in court, they were maltreated in the same way after leaving
the courtroom as they were loaded onto a police truck to return them to
the Jayapura POLDA detention centre.
2. During the questioning of witnesses, most of whom were members of the
police still on active service at police resort command (MALPOLPESTA)
Jayapura, the judges frequently put questions and gave the answers,
forcing the witnesses to make statements detrimental to the accused,
even though they had said that they did not know the accused and knew
nothing about actions for which the accused were being charged. For
example, when a witness said he did not know the accused, Judge Lakoni
reprimanded him, saying: 'You are a member of the security forces, so
you should speak clearly, or do you want to be punished? You must be
loyal to your oath and not bring shame on you unit.' At another hearing,
a judge said the following: 'Another time when there is a demo, you
should carry sharp weapons so that, should the situation become chaotic
and you find yourself under pressure, you can shoot the demonstrators on
the spot, and if anyone dies, that won't be a violation of human
rights.' Such statements were greeted with cheers by the police
attending the hearing, both in the courtroom and outside.
3. Members of the security forces frequently used terror against the
accused and their lawyers when they submitted complaints or disavowals
of the charges made by the prosecution and statements made by witnesses
by banging the courtroom door, vilifying them with abusive language or
throwing stones at them outside the courtroom during the meal recess.
4. The judges frequently cut short questions put to witnesses by
lawyers when they were trying to get clear statements or failed to give
them the opportunity to ask questions. For instance, when a witness was
hesitating about admitting that he knew the accused, he was forced to
say he did under pressure from the judge. And when a lawyer wanted to
put the same question as the judge had asked in order to get a clear
answer from the witness, the
judge prevented the lawyer from proceeding, saying that it was not
necessary to ask the same question as had been asked by the judge.
5.Although the hearings were open to the public, members of the public
were afraid to attend because everyone going to the hearings was asked
by policemen on guard at the entrance to show their identity cards, the
details of which were recorded by the police.
6. While the hearings were in progress, the courtyard outside the
courthouse was filled with members of the Jayapura police force
(Polresta) and members of the Papua POLDA Brimob, some of whom were
fully armed. There were also members in mufti who were known to be
intelligence agents from the police as well as from the army. The
entrance to the courthouse was always protected by two rows of barbed
wire.
7. At three of the hearings, the police stationed two panzers, one
water cannon and five police trucks in a state of readiness outside the
courthouse.
8. It should be pointed out that the accused, all of whom were native
Papuans, experienced severe mental terror during the hearings. The
judges on the panel, the majority of the prosecutors and most of the
police guarding the courthouse were non-Papuans. Nor did the accused
have Papuan lawyers. Based on the experience of similar cases in Papua,
it is clear that the non-Papuan law enforcement officers have no
understanding of the feelings, the life style and habits of the accused,
with the result that it was very difficult for them to understand the
decisions taken by the court.
Bearing in mind the above facts, our conclusions as follows:
The judges failed to understand the basic principle of 'innocent until
proved guilty' because of the way they posed questions putting pressures
on the witnesses and forcing the accused to confess to having
perpetrated the criminal acts of which they were charged, despite the
fact that most of the witnesses did not know the accused and did not
understand what role they had played at the place where the action
occurred.
All the hearings held so far give the impression that the judges and
prosecutors have not upheld the basic principle of fair, honest, just
and non-discriminative trials. The accused have been treated as if they
were guilty of the crimes before the process of hearing testimony in
court had been completed. Such a situation could easily result in the
judges passing verdicts against the accused for actions even though they
had not perpetrated the crimes of which they were accused, or passing
verdicts far harsher than the facts of the case would warrant.
The fact that the hearings were always heavily guarded by uniformed and
fully-armed security forces created an atmosphere of terror and fear for
the accused in giving true evidence to the court and can also undermine
the independence of the judges and prosecutors in handling the case
fairly and properly.
In view of all the above, we call upon everyone to send letters to the
police authorities and to the court urging them to handle the case in
the following way:
To uphold the law, basic human rights, truth and justice at all stages
while handling the 16 March 2006 case, during police interrogations as
well as at the court hearings.
Not to treat the legal process as if it were an act of vengeance for the
members of police force who died in the performance of their duties on
16 March 2006 but as an effort to ascertain the truth behind the
conflict that occurred during the course of the demonstration. It should
be borne in mind that things were thrown by demonstrators after forceful
efforts had been taken by the security forces to break up the
demonstration during which tear gas had been used and shots had been
fired.
The laws and regulations in force in the Republic of Indonesia should
not be used to criminalise movements by civil society to criticise the
development models being used by the government which fail to answer the
basic needs of the Papuan people and worsen the human rights situation
in the Land of Papua.
Please write to the following (APMHRO letter below)
Panel of Judges for the 16 March 2006 case at Jayapura District Court,
(Morris Ginting SH, A Lakoni SH, and Denny D Sumardi SH)
Jl Raya Abepura, Kode Pos 223, Abepura, Jayapura - Papua
Phone: +62 967 581157
Fax: +62 967 581014
Prosecutor for the 16 March 2006 Case
Jayapura Attorney-General's Office, Jayapura,
Jl Dr Sam Ratulangi No 45, Jayapura 99225 - Papua
Phone: +62 967 533328
Fax: +62 967 532640
Papua Police (POLDA)
Jl Sam Ratulangi No 8, Jayapura 99225 - Papua,
Phone +62 967 533861
Fax: +62 967 533936
Or +62 967 531717
Many thanks for your attention and support. May PEACE and JUSTICE
result
from these efforts.
Jayapura 12 June 2006
Br Budi Hermawan ofm
Director, Peace and Justice Secretariat, Jayapura Diocese
---
http://www.cathnews.com/news/604/70.php
ACU. ACU
Nun identifies key to understanding West Papua tension
Josephite nun Susan Connelly said there is a real connection between what
had happened in
East Timor and what is happening in Papua today.
Sr Connelly, one of the most prominent Australian voices on East Timor,
told the ABC's
Religion Report that the East Timor Government's new report on Reception,
Truth and
Reconciliation, is "a good place to start" to understand the situation in
Papua.
"I must say it reads very, very sad reading," she said of the report. "But
... apart from my
sorrow for the Timorese, the connection between that and what is happening
in West Papua
just stood up and shouted at me."
She said when reports coming out of Papua are put side by side with the
East Timor report a
pattern of human rights abuses by the Indonesian authorities emerges
through the "pages and
pages of evidence".
"You could put either the words 'East Timor' or 'West Papua' in where the
noun goes (in
these reports) and the violations of human dignity would remain the same.
Torture,
disappearance, detention, rape, starvation," she said.
She said the East Timor reports reveal that hundreds of human rights
abusers remain free and
some Indonesian military figures have even been promoted, such as
Major-General Mahidin
Simbolon.
"(The) Major-General ... was charged by UN Prosecutors with crimes against
humanity, and he
was sent to West Papua as a military commander. I mean, it's bizarre," she
said.
Sr Connelly, who was recently named on the Indonesian government's list of
Australian
enemies it says are working for Papuan independence, said that ending
human rights abuses in
Indonesia is Australia's and the international community's responsibility.
"It's our responsibility, it's the countries that were responsible for
selling military arms
to Indonesia, knowing full well where they were being used," she said.
Sr Connelly said that she hopes the churches will not be so slow to react
to the situation
in Papua as it did to the human rights abuses in East Timor.
"We're real good at saying things from the Gospel, oh yes, whatever you do
to the least of
my brothers, you do to me," she said. "Let's put our money where our mouth
is, let's put our
religion where our mouth is."
The East Timor report is available for download on the Commission for
Reception, Truth and
Reconciliation in East Timor website (www.easttimor-reconciliation.org).
Meanwhile Herman Wainggai and his community of forty West Papuan asylum
seekers will play a
central role in the Good Friday celebrations at St Ignatius Church,
Richmond tomorrow.
Nine members of the group have already been housed in support housing in
Richmond by St
Ignatius Parish, and a further group of four will take up residence in a
third house after
Easter.
Herman Wainggai will speak to what is expected to be a crowded Good Friday
congregation
about the story of their journey from West Papua and the trauma which they
escaped from in
order to seek asylum in Australia.
The West Papuan community will be welcomed at the commencement of the
service and following
the short address by Herman Wainggai later in the service they will sing a
traditional song
from the Highlands Region.
Parish Priest, Fr Peter Norden, says that the Richmond Catholic Parish is
pleased to welcome
the West Papuans into their community and to their Good Friday Service:
“The story of Good Friday is one of persecution and oppression, and the
story of the West
Papuans fits comfortably into the service of the day” he explained.
“Jesus was arrested, tortured under interrogation, and condemned as an
outcast by the
authorities of his day, and there are many parallels with the experiences
and the journey to
Australia of this group of West Papuans”.
---
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.