[Kabar-Irian] News: August 1-4 2006
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August 1-4 2006
KABAR IRIAN NEWS
TOPICS
* West Papua Border Mission May/June 2006
* Reverend Yoman West Papua: public talk by Rev.Socratez Yoman
* West Papua Presentation To UN Econ. & Social Ccil.
* Indigenous Peoples & Conflict Prevention & Resol.
* Age-old rules govern tribal warfare
* Warring Papuan tribal leaders prepare for peace talks
* Papuan says Australia visa decision aimed at appeasing Indonesia
* Papuan asylum seeker says visa refusal was political
* Indonesia blamed for rights abuses
* Tribe holds ritual in step toward peace
* Papuans continue protesting trial
* Peace talks fail to halt Papua violence
* Three Freeport trespassers freed
* Papuan asylum seeker David Wainggai is set to receive a visa
* Papuan's freedom waits on Vanstone
* Papuan asylum detention overturned
* Coalition refugee tiff set to flare
* Jakarta 'no comment' on visa case
* Papuan could be 'last asylum seeker'
* Backbenchers yet to be convinced on offshore processing
* Papuan asylum seeker turnaround a lesson for Australian parliament, says
Senator
* Papuan refugees should get protection : Australian tribunal
* Indonesian court completes trials of March mine protestors
* Papuan refugee set for protection visa
* Refugee advocate says detention a waste of money
* Indonesia's Tangguh gas field to begin production in 2008
* Papua Guvernor (sic) to curb tribal clashes involving all elements
---
download the report at
http://freewestpapua.com/files/SITREP%20West%20Papua%20Border%20Mission%20MayJune%202006.pdf
*West Papua Border Mission May/June 2006
SECURITY ASSESSMENT & INTELLIGENCE PROFILE*
Executive Summary
Nick Chesterfield compiled this report as a result of fieldwork he
undertook from May 14 to 14 June 2006 on behalf of the Free West Papua
campaign in Australia. The work was funded by grassroots donations from
Australia.
For too long the security and human rights issues present along the
border of the Papua Niugini and West Papua have been ignored at the
strategic peril of countries in the region. In abandoning those who
fought so hard for our freedom in World War 2, we have missed out on a
genuine opportunity to stop displacement of our neighbours, and to
genuinely combat terrorism on our doorstep.
Currently a massive troop buildup is occurring on the border by the
Indonesian military, who have so far managed to resist genuine civilian
control within Indonesia. After the defensive killings of five security
personnel and agents provocateur in the demonstrations of March 15/16,
the Indonesian military and Police have conducted widespread reprisals
against students and the family members of all university students in
West Papua. The TNI's network of terror has spread furthermore deep
within Papua Niugini and has made its presence felt within isolated
communities along the border, who are living in fear of an imminent
invasion. Evidence was uncovered that a massive ground offensive is in
the final stages of planning, and there are questions that need to
answered publicly by many people in the region to prevent this from
happening.
This Security Assesment also revisits some of the military evidence
uncovered in "Terror-Razing the Forest: Guns,Corruption, Illegal
logging, JI & the Indonesian military in Papua Niugini" which was
release in January of this year and has caused quite a stir already. It
contains the following information:
(i)Documentation of situation if Siti Wainggai
This report present information that there has been an on-going program
carried out by the Indonesian authorities to capture Siti Wainggai in
Papua New Guinea and return her to Indonesia. Siti Wainggai is the
mother of child who travelled with her father to Australia with the 43
asylum seekers in January 2006. Siti Wainggai fled to Papua New Guinea
after being forced to make a statement by Indonesian authorities that
her child had been abducted by "its" father and taken to Australia
against her wishes.
The report presents information that is not safe for Siti Wainggai to
stay in Papua New Guinea. A scenario is presented for her to go to New
Zealand as a refugee.
(ii)Circumstances of students fleeing aftermath of demonstrations in
Jayapura of March 15/16 2006.
Results of interviews and information collected about the West Papuan
students who were seeking political asylum after the March 15 & 16 2006
demonstrations in Jayapura suggest that there are many hundreds of
students and other persons who have left Jayapura and have gone into
hiding because of concerns for their personal safety.
Interviews undertaken demonstrate that these persons have been subjected
to beatings, torture, retaliatory action and reprisal killings by
Indonesian authorities. The information presented demonstrates that
these persons face a real threat of persecution, imprisonment or death
in West Papuan from the Indonesian
authorities. Information is presented that parents or relatives of
these persons have also been subjected to reprisal and torture.
On the basis of the information presented these persons appear to be
political refugees who face real danger of persecution from Indonesia.
Information contained in the report presents an argument that these
persons may not be safe from Indonesian authorities while staying in
Papua New Guinea, and that international assistance is immediately
required.
(iii)Links between timber logging operations, Indonesian military and
Islamic militia
This report presents strong information about links between personnel of
the Indonesian military and commercial logging operations along the
north coast of Papua New Guinea. The report relies on information to
suggest that the commercial fish industry and timber logging operations
in Papua New Guinea are working with Indonesian military and armed
militias from Phillipines & Indonesia. Information is presented that
these armed personnel are providing security for the industry
operations. The nature and origin of these armed personnel suggests that
a strategic political role is be being played by these personnel.
It has been established that past and present members of Indonesian
military have interests in logging and resource exploitation. These
interests form a military industry complex, which has been ongoing in
Indonesia since the Suharto era. It seems plausible that these same
interests have extended into logging interests in Papua New Guinea.
Information presented by the author in the past argues this is the
case. Where this is proven, the military industrial complex which
includes Indonesia's TNI is entrenched in Papua New Guinea.
(iv)OPM attack on TNI camp in Border region
This report presents information about an attack by the OPM on an
Indonesian military camp on April 10 2006. It is reported that this
attack was supposed to assist the students fleeing persecution after the
March 15/16 2006 demonstration.
(v) Indonesian Troops and Militia in the northern border region
This presents details of very large deployments of Indonesian troops and
equipment along the northern border region with Papua New Guinea.
Information is presented about TNI installations including locations,
equipment, troop numbers & battalion identifications, which extend
through territory along the northern section of the Trans
Irian Highway to Wutung.
The report presents information that Islamist or Jihadist type militias
are currently active & training in the immediate region.
Information is presented that local people have been removed from the
area of military operations, face restricted movement and face an vastly
increased danger of attack.
(vi)General situation in northern coast of Papua New Guinea
The report details concern of PNG people in the border region for
incursion or attack by Indonesian troops into Papua New Guinea
territory. The reports suggest that Papua New Guinea Government has
little capacity or willingness to respond to an incursion.
The report details some information about the landowners in Saundan
province working to wrestle control of the logging operations from RH.
(vii)Additional Comment
Information presented in the report suggests that the corrupt nature of
the current PNG Government of Michael Somare is assisting Indonesian
territorial and business interests' in the region. This begs the
question of what happens if the government in Papua New Guinea stops
being compliant to timber & resource companies and their military
associates in Indonesia.
It seems credible that the Indonesian force along the border could be
used to secure strategic interests further inside Papua New Guinea if
the need arose.
The report of Kopassus and militia already in Papua New Guinea suggests
that this military control is already being established.
Small detachments of armed forces can be used to make local people
scared and powerless. Then the local people will be unable to act
against increased troop numbers and any increased Indonesian control
will face an already compliant population.
This report suggests a stealthy campaign by the TNI for territorial
control is already underway in PNG.
for comment:
Nick Chesterfield,
International Officer
Free West Papua Campaign Pacifica (Melb)
Osa-Tara-Lia (AUSTRALIA)
manukoreri@hush.ai SECURE if using HUSHMAIL
mob: +61 (0)409 268 978
---
West Papua: public talk by Rev.Socratez YomanWednesday, 2 August 2006,
12:33 pm
Press Release: Reverend Yoman West Papua: public talk by Rev.Socratez Yoman
Where: Wellington Central Baptist Church
46-48 Boulcott St, Wellington When: 5.30pm Monday 28 August 2006
Reverend Socratez Sofyan Yoman is the President of Communion of Baptist
Churches West Papua. In the last eight years,
Reverend Yoman has taken an increasingly high profile as a campaigner for
peace, justice and human rights in West Papua.
Since 2002, all West Papuan church leaders and leaders of all other
religions, people in government and the traditional
councils, and the entire population have declared West Papua to be a Land
of Peace. In particular, the churches and human
rights NGOs have campaigned consistently at many levels, local, national
and international, to preserve West Papua as a Land
of Peace, with the aim and hope of basic human rights, human dignity,
justice, peace and equality. Come hear Reverend Yoman
discuss the difficult task of creating a Land of Peace in the Pacific.
Background Reverend Yoman has briefed Australian, UK and European
parliamentarians as well as UN representatives about West
Papua. He has also given many international TV and radio interviews, and
is held in high esteem by major international peace
and justice NGOs. Reverend Yoman has written 5 books on West Papua:
including Orang Papua Bukan Separatis (Papuans Are Not
Separatists), Pintu Menuju Papua Merdeka (Gate to Free Papua), PEPERA 1969
DI PAPUA BARAT TIDAK DEMOKRATIS (Referendum 1969
in West Papua Was Not Democratic), MAKAR DAN OPM (Coup d’etat and Free
Papua Movement), GEREJA MEMBISU DAN TAK BERDAYA DALAM
SEJARAH KEKERSAN DAN PENINDASAN TERHADAP UMAT TUHAN DI PAPUA BARAT (The
Silence of The Churches in The History of Abuse and
Repression of People of West Papua).
Ends
---
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0608/S00021.htm
West Papua Presentation To UN Econ. & Social Ccil.
Wednesday, 2 August 2006, 9:01 am
Press Release:
MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release: Tuesday 1st August, 2006.
being presented by fPcN in the UN WGIP 2006, Geneva, tomorrow - watch the
website, from 2nd August for photos as we receive
them.
United Nations
Economic and Social Council
Working Group on Indigenous Populations
Twenty-fourth session
Geneva, 31st July - 4 th August 2006
Item (b) of the Agenda: Principal theme: “Utilization of indigenous
peoples’ lands by non-indigenous authorities, groups or
individuals for military purposes”
Dear Chairperson, Tribal & Indigenous Peoples, Secretariat, Government
representatives, ladies & Gentleman,
It is indeed a great pleasure and honour to be able to part in this very
important UN meeting for indigenous peoples. I send
warm greetings - from my own people, the Lani of the Central Highlands of
West Papua, and from the people of all 252 tribes
which together make up my country — WEST PAPUA. Allow me to use this
opportunity to speak on behalf of the tribal peoples in
West Papua. We are an occupied people. We have been suffering for a very
long time under an Indonesian military regime in
West Papua.
We the tribal peoples of West Papua once again ask you the United Nations
to help us to get back our lands and our political
freedom. We ask you to help us to exercise our right to self-determination.
First of all, I would like to state that the basic fundamental problem of
all the killings, human right abuses and sufferings
of the tribal peoples of West Papuans are rooted in the false 'Act of Free
Choice', which we call the ACT OF NO CHOICE. My
people in West Papua were never given a genuine chance to exercise their
rights to self-determination since the involvement
of the United Nations in West Papua in 1960s.
As you may already know, in 1969 the United Nations arrived with just a
few officials. The Indonesians decided we were too
primitive to cope with democracy so they hand picked a thousand men at gun
point and told them to vote. This is what the
United Nations representative, Fernando Ortiz-sanz, said in his report:
“West Papua carried out in months what experts said should take 5 years.
West Papuans did not have adequate information.
Indonesia did not accept one man, one vote.” Off the record he also said
that: “West Papua is a cancerous growth on the side
of the United Nations and it is my job to surgically remove it.” This was
very hurtful to us. Since, the time of the Act of
Free Choice the Indonesian government has made West Papua a military zone
and has been killing my people. The Indonesian
military has killed at least one hundred thousand of my people. This
number comes from Amnesty International. The human
rights violations in West Papua are still happening right now.
In the last ten years, most of Indonesia's military equipment has come
from the UK. Since the current Labour Government came
to power, the UK has delivered over £394 million worth of military
equipment to Indonesia, including 12 Tactical Armoured
Personnel Carriers and Hawk aircraft, which have been used in an internal
repression role in West Papua.
In 2001 and 2002, the UK issued over three-quarters of all EU arms export
licenses for Indonesia, with the value of these
export licenses responsible for over half the total financial value of EU
arms deals to Indonesia. In the last two years for
which figures are available – 2003 and 2004 - the UK has continued to
issue over half of all EU arms export licenses to
Indonesia. In these two years the UK, France and Germany have accounted
for 84% and 92% of the total financial value of EU
arms deals to Indonesia. These licenses, many of which are for weapons
which very often are used to breach human rights, and
are permitted even though they breach the human rights provision of the EU
Code of Conduct.
In August 2005 UK Tactical vehicles were sent to Jayapura in West Papua,
and were present at two demonstrations – one on 12th
August and one on 31st October. They were used to help enforce laws which
breach fundamental human rights.
The following is an Extract from US State Dept Annual Report on Indonesia
for 2005- quotes.
“Security forces continued to commit unlawful killings of rebels,
suspected rebels, and civilians in areas of separatist
activity, where most politically motivated extrajudicial killings also
occurred. There was evidence that the Indonesian Armed
Forces (TNI) considered anyone killed by its forces in conflict areas to
be an armed rebel. The government largely failed to
hold soldiers and police accountable for such killings and other serious
human rights abuses in Aceh and Papua.”- end quotes.
According to figures supplied by the US State Dept. the strength of the
territorial infantry battalions in West Papua has
more than trebled in the past two years. On the same State Dept figures
(almost certainly a conservative estimate), overall
troop numbers have increased by more than 50 per cent from 7,250 troops to
11,500 troops.
'Indonesia's systematic exploitation of West Papua's abundant natural
resources has been a major cause of tension and
conflict. Operations have involved the denial of land rights and severe
environmental degradation. Some of the worst human
rights violations have been committed against indigenous people in the
vicinity of major enterprises, such as the Freeport
copper and gold mine (part owned by Britain's Rio Tinto), which are given
corporate-funded ‘protection’ by the security
forces. It is feared that BP’s investment in a huge liquid natural gas
project, Tangguh, may attract similar problems.
Chairperson, to conclude;I would like to state that the United Nations
must take responsibility for the genocide in West
Papua; therefore, I call for attention from all the international
community who love humanity and peace in the world to look
at West Papuans problems and take steps to help my people in West Papua.
I call for the UN to intervene in West Papua by sending a peacekeeping
force and humanitarian workers to investigate what is
really happening in West Papua. This must be followed by the withdrawal of
Indonesian military (both organic and non organic)
without any conditions.
I would ask this Working Group to request the government's of the UK, EU
countries and USA to revise their current arms trade
arrangements with Indonesia, in light of the massive, ongoing and brutal
slaying of the indigenous peoples of West Papua.
I urge the United Nations to revisit this and provide an environment where
the native West Papuans have a real opportunity
for the self-determination, as described in THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN
RIGHTS, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as Adopted
and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution of 10 December 1948
-Paragraph C. THE RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION - No. 8.
Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial and Peoples,
General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December
1960.
I remind you that we the tribal peoples of West Papua have a right of
self-determination under international law.
Thank you Chair, Ladies and Gentlemen – Wa Wa Awa.
Benny WendaInternational Lobbyist for a Free West Papua
Chair of DeMMaK (The Koteka Tribal Assembly)
PO Box 656, Oxford OX3 3AP England UK
Mobile: +44 (0) 7791629782
Email: bwenda@infopapua.org
Web: http://www.infopapua.org
Presented by fPcN interCultural on behalf of Benny Wenda, DeMMak and the
252 tribes of West Papua
Watch the website: www.fPcN-global.org, from 2nd August for photos as we
receive them, shortly after to be followed up with
short films.
MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release: Tuesday 1st August, 2006.
---
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0608/S00020.htm
Indigenous Peoples & Conflict Prevention & Resol.
Wednesday, 2 August 2006, 9:00 am
Press Release:
MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release: Tuesday 1st August, 2006.
being presented by fPcN in the UN WGIP 2006, Geneva, tomorrow - watch the
website, from 2nd August for photos as we receive
them.
United Nations
Economic and Social Council
Working Group on Indigenous Populations
Twenty-fourth session
Geneva, 31st July - 4th August 2006
Item (c) of the Agenda: Indigenous peoples and conflict prevention and
resolution
Dear Chair, Tribal & Indigenous Peoples, Secretariat, Government
representatives, ladies & Gentleman,
At this meeting, I am speaking on behalf West Papuan Tribal peoples and
the indigenous Papuan students, submit our aspiration
for self-determination as our solution to conflict in West Papua. We know
the colonised tribal people of West Papua have
wanted and deserved an United Nations administrated Self-determination
since 1962 when the Republic of Indonesia signed an
agreement with the Kingdom of the Netherlands to transfer administration
without the people's consent, of the colony, West
New Guinea which we call West Papua.
We remind the United Nations that the UN General Assembly Resolution 2504
in November 1969 did not state whether the so
called 1969 'Act of Free Choice' complied with the United Nations Charter
articles 1, 73, 74, or with the United Nations
General Assembly Resolutions 1514 and 1541 of December 1960 of which the
Republic of Indonesia approved at that time.
We remind the United Nations and world that the indigenous people of West
Papua continue to demand their rightful self-
determination and the removal of the colonial military forces from West
Papua, from the United Nations and its members. We
call on the United Nations under UN Charter article 1 and 74 and under UN
General Assembly Resolutions 1514 and 1541 to help
the Republic of Indonesia to facilitate a true act of West Papuan
self-determination by "all adults, male and female, not
foreign nationals" and "in accordance with international practice" as was
stated in Article XVIII of the 1962 Agreement
between the Republic of Indonesia and Kingdom of the Netherlands, and in
which the United Nations had promised to help.
ADVERTISEMENT
We hope the United Nations and Republic of Indonesia will show good faith
and human respect for the traditional land owners
of West New Guinea by supporting self-determination without being reminded
of the many decades of human rights abuses, of
jihad training camps now established inside West Papua, of HIV/AIDS and
other medical illnesses introduced to the people of
West Papua, of forests felled for foreign wood markets or to make space
for a foreign population of farmers from over-
populated parts of Indonesia.
We remind the United Nations and the Republic of Indonesia that the large
military presence in West Papua can only increase
discrimination against West Papuan indigenous peoples by non-indigenous
domination in many sectors. Excessive Indonesian
military presence spreads human misery; murder, rapes, unlawful
persecution, arrest, abductions, disappearances and the lose
of parents and other family members by many children who then can not
continue their culture or schooling.
At the end of 1960, according to Dutch government data the West Papuan
population amounted to 800,000, more than the 600,000
people of their brothers and sisters in Papua New Guinea (PNG). But the
Indonesian statistics office in 2004 said the West
Papua indigenous people amounted to only 1.500.000 million, where as the
PNG indigenous population had grown to 6 million. We
fear that corrupt business interests have wanted to deny West Papuan self
determination until foreign nationals outnumber our
indigenous population, making us a minority in our own land.
In 1961 natural resources like copper & gold deposits which Freeport
admitted was near Timika was under regulation of the
elected West New Guinea parliament for the benefit, only, of the people of
West Papuan. But since transfer of colony to
Indonesian administration the Indonesian military has taken control over
natural resources in West Papua, this has resulted
in many illegal activities; illegal logging, illegal fishing, even illegal
prostitution is a project with full backing by
Indonesia military.
Our Recommendations:We call for self-determination with United Nations
assistance to restore our rights as tribal peoples; to
our lands, to political freedom, to economic and social prosperity. We
have these rights under Article 1 of the UN Charter,
General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, General
Assembly Resolution 1541, General Assembly resolution
2625, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the
International Covenant on Social, Cultural and
Economic Rights. The International Court of Justice also says that all
states must respect the right of self-determination.
We request the United Nations to revisit West Papua and provide an
environment where the native West Papuans have a real
opportunity for the self-determination, as described in THE INTERNATIONAL
HUMAN RIGHTS, Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, as Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution of 10
December 1948 -Paragraph C. THE RIGHT OF SELF-
DETERMINATION - No. 8. Declaration on the Granting of Independence to
Colonial and Peoples, General Assembly resolution 1514
(XV) of 14 December 1960.
We ask, this Working Group, to expeditiously ask the state of Indonesia
why it is preventing the UN representative on Human
Rights from entering West Papua.
Furthermore to stop the 1000's of deaths of innocent West Papuans, every
year the increasing sale of arms to an already mass
murdering military has to be halted. I ask all of you here, my brothers
and sisters to help us. If your country is selling
arms to Indonesia, please help us by getting them to stop.
I make this statement as a representative of West Papuan Tribal peoples
and especially on behalf of the students of West
Papua. We ask the United Nations to restore and recognise our rights as
tribal peoples with our own distinct cultures. We
especially ask for respect for our way of living as tribal peoples.
Thank You
Your Sincerely
Edyson Wenda
International Spokesman for Papua Student Alliance (AMP)
Presented by fPcN interCultural on behalf of Edyson Wenda and the
Association of West Papua Students, (AMP).
Watch the website: www.fPcN-global.org, from 2nd August for photos as we
receive them, shortly after to be followed up with
short films.
MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release: Tuesday 1st August, 2006.
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20060803.A05&irec=4
Age-old rules govern tribal warfare
Markus Makur, The Jakarta Post, Mimika
News of the deadly tribal clashes in Papua's Mimika regency shocked some
in other parts of the country, with reports of the
use of spears and bows and arrows an unsettling throwback to a bygone era.
But tribal warfare is still the accepted means to settle disputes for the
seven tribes living in the regency.
The latest clash, with 10 people killed and dozens injured in Kwamki Lama
village, Mimika Baru district, involved the Dani
and Damal tribes. It could, however, have been any of the groups, with the
playing out of the conflict following age-old
patterns of a burst of violence followed by negotiations.
Kwamki Lama village was established in 1978, with residents relocated from
Banti village in Tembagapura district by PT
Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of the huge U.S. gold and copper mining
company Freeport-McMoran, and the government.
Most people originally lived on the slopes of Mount Lorenz, including
members of the Amungme, Damal, Dani, Nduga and Moni,
Mee/Ekari tribes (the Kamoro tribe lives along the coastal areas of Mimika
regency). The population has reached about 20,000
today, with most families eking out a living from subsistence farming or
panning for gold from the Freeport mine's tailings.
Economic development and education are still lacking in the area.
Although the various tribes' members now live together in close proximity,
it's often an uneasy and potentially explosive
mix. They retain their individual dialects and customs, including tribal
warfare. Tribesmen continue to carry traditional
weapons to protect themselves against attacks by wild animals, and human
enemies.
Kwamki Lama elder Philiphus Wakerma said exact rules governed conflicts,
including that the battle zone must be limited to a
specific area.
"A tribal conflict usually ensues from friction between two tribes or when
a family member of a tribe abruptly dies," he told
The Jakarta Post. "The cause of death is later determined through the
traditional way of shooting an arrow in the air, and
whoever is touched by the arrow is suspected of being the killer."
A member of the victim's side would convey the signal for the start of the
war to the opposite group, he added, in accordance
with tradition. The campaign is led by a war chief, and the duration of
the hostilities is agreed upon by both sides.
Each tribesman is provided with bows and arrows, machetes and spears
before leaving for war.
Wakerma said the bodies of any people killed during the conflict must be
immediately cremated to prevent their restless souls
from haunting family members.
"The victim's camp later decides whether or not to continue the war and
demands compensation for the victim in the form of
prized livestock or money," he said.
"The standard rules also state that a war resumes when the number of
victims on either side is disproportionate, and that
children and women must not be harmed during a war."
Damal tribal chief Elminus Mom said the bow, arrows and machetes of a
fallen victim must not be burned because they were
considered tokens of respect.
Before a lasting peace can be achieved, each tribe must participate in the
Inambe Agi -- a ritual to dispense with hostility
and hatred -- after a cease-fire. The ceremony is usually held on the
field where the battles were fought. It must be carried
out before the stone-burning ritual, which is the peak of the effecting of
peace.
"The breaking of the bow line and arrow ritual is held on an open field by
both warring tribes' war commanders. The ceremony
marks the end of the tribal war, and signifies that the problems have been
resolved," Elminus said.
Hostilities end when the victim's family on the losing side receives
payment. "Compensation is usually in the form of prized
pigs or a certain amount of money agreed upon by both parties involved in
the war," he said.
Once all the requirements have been fulfilled, enmity is put aside and
traditional brotherhood returns.
The stone-burning ritual is later held on an open field, with a particular
number of pigs roasted and eaten based on the
agreement between the tribes.
---
http://abcasiapacific.com/news/stories/asiapacific_stories_1703141.htm
Warring Papuan tribal leaders prepare for peace talks
Tribal leaders from two groups fighting each other in Indonesia's Papua
province are preparing for peace talks.
The week-long conflict has left nine dead and scores injured.
Police say hostilities involving tribesmen shooting arrows and spears
broke out last week after a child drowned while under
the supervision of a relative from another tribe.
The battles were held in an open field in Kwamki Lama on the outskirts of
Timika, the main town in Mimika district.
A nurse on duty at Mimika's Mitra Keluarga hospital says 21 people were
admitted with various injuries.
The sides are now preparing a stone burning ceremony to prepare the way
for peace talks.
According to Papuan tradition, a death should be avenged by another death
or the killer's tribe must pay a fine of prized
pigs and hold a feast to seal peace.
ABC Asia Pacific TV / Radio Australia
---
http://abcasiapacific.com/news/stories/asiapacific_stories_1705404.htm
Papuan says Australia visa decision aimed at appeasing Indonesia
A Papuan asylum seeker whose visa refusal has been overturned by
Australia's Refugee Review Tribunal says he believes the
initial refusal was made on political grounds to appease Indonesia.
David Wainggai and 42 other Papuans arrived in Australia by boat in January.
They all sought asylum, claiming persecution by the Indonesian military in
Papua.
The rest of the group were granted temporary protection visas, in a move
that sparked a diplomatic row with Indonesia.
Mr Wainggai says he is happy with the decision to overturn the immigration
department's refusal to grant him protection.
ABC Asia Pacific TV / Radio Australia
---
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/papuan-asylum-seeker-says-visa-refusal-was-political/2006/08/02/1154198206325.html
Papuan asylum seeker says visa refusal was political
Andra Jackson
August 3, 2006
A PAPUAN asylum seeker whose visa refusal has been overturned says he
believes the refusal was made on political grounds to
appease Indonesia.
"It was like an international bargain," said David Wainggai, 28, the only
one of 43 Papuan asylum seekers not granted a
temporary protection visa in March.
Speaking from the Christmas Island detention centre where he has been held
since January 19, he said he was happy with the
Refugee Review Tribunal's decision overturning the Immigration
Department's refusal to grant him protection.
"Everyone has congratulated me. The news has spread very fast in this
place. Even the hospital knows," he said.
Mr Wainggai is confident he will get a visa, "even if she (Immigration
Minister Amanda Vanstone) refuses it, the minister has
to send the case back to the RRT and the RRT will just say the same thing
again.
"I can be patient for this last decision," he said. He hoped to come to
Melbourne, where 10 members of his family live.
Senator Vanstone will study the the tribunal's decision.
Mr Wainggai said his claim for protection was as strong as the other 42 ,
the only difference was that "maybe they
(Immigration) thought I can have a chance to live in Japan, but there was
no chance without a valid passport.
"When I heard my visa application was rejected, I was very afraid. I
thought they were bringing me back to Indonesia.
"That really scared me. I couldn't sleep for two weeks."
Mr Wainggai said he would have been in danger if he had been returned to
Papua.
"I always feel under threat in West Papua, and my aunt and uncle tell me
to watch out because my father is the founder of the
independence movement — Thomas Wainggai who died in in Indonesian custody."
Mr Wainggai said he had to hide his true identity and make out his uncle
had found him abandoned as a baby in the
undergrowth.
He said the boat carrying the 43 asylum seekers from the north of Papua in
January almost didn't make it, after he was taken
in custody by Indonesian police at the start of the journey.
The asylum seekers pulled in at the island of Sorong and attended church
but the islanders, suspecting the strangers might be
terrorists, called police.
The group fled but Mr Wainggai was caught and questioned for two hours.
"They took my identification papers. They even asked about the boat and
who built it," he said. Suspicion was averted when
"we said we came for a traditional festival".
---
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/indonesia-blamed-for-rights-abuses/2006/08/01/1154198139081.html
Indonesia blamed for rights abuses
Jewel Topsfield and Michelle Grattan, Canberra
August 2, 2006
PAPUA independence activist David Wainggai could be at risk of "serious
harm" from Indonesian military or security forces if
sent home, the Refugee Review Tribunal has warned.
The tribunal, which overturned a Government decision to deny protection to
Mr Wainggai, concluded that violence and human
rights abuses in Papua meant Mr Wainggai could come to the "adverse
attention of the Indonesian authorities".
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone yesterday refused to rule out an
appeal. The Indonesian Government played down the
finding. In Jakarta, a Foreign Affairs spokesman, Desra Percaya, said: "We
have moved beyond the issue. It is the matter for
Australia to resolve."
In a 24-page decision, seen by The Age, the tribunal rejected the
Government's assertion that Mr Wainggai, 29, could be sent
to Japan, where he held a temporary visa that expired in September.
The tribunal said he could be refused landing permission there and face "a
real chance" of being sent to Indonesia.
Mr Wainggai claimed he feared returning to Papua because of his political
profile, Papuan ethnicity and membership of a
particular social group comprising his family. "The tribunal accepts that
members of (his) family suffered various forms of
punishment over a protracted period under Indonesian rule."
Support for independence had led to the "incarceration of his father,
mother and cousin". His father was a high-profile
advocate of Papuan independence who died serving a 20-year prison term for
treason — "unfurling the flag of West Melanesia
and for expressing his pro-independence views".
The tribunal said Mr Wainggai feared the Indonesian military and security
forces "because the Indonesian authorities have a
history of violence and oppression of dissidents and in particular
supporters of the pro-independence movement.
"The Indonesian authorities will not accept or approve of (his)
pro-independence views or his behaviour," it said.
Despite Indonesia's claims that it does not abuse human rights in Papua,
the tribunal highlighted country information reports
indicating that "notwithstanding current Government policy statements on
obtaining peaceful resolutions of the Papuan
situation, human rights abuses by the Indonesian police and military
continue to occur in response to the pro-separatist
movement".
Recent reports indicated that someone flying the Papua Morning Star flag
"would have serious consequences if apprehended by
the Indonesian authorities", the tribunal said.
Mr Wainggai said in a statutory declaration that the Indonesians had
"poisoned my father because they don't like smart people
who tell the truth" and most Papuans knew of someone who'd been "killed
for raising our flag".
Senator Vanstone said she would read the tribunal finding before deciding
on an appeal. "The department's decision was that
the person had an entitlement to reside in another place (Japan) and, as
I've been advised, the Refugee Review Tribunal is
not satisfied with the ease with which that right could be taken up," she
said.
Mr Percaya said that a meeting between Prime Minister John Howard and
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had
determined that the two countries would look to the future.
Mr Wainggai arrived with 42 other Papuans, who were granted protection
visas in March, inflaming tensions with Indonesia and
leading to proposed laws — still not passed because of a backbench revolt
— in which Australia would process future
unauthorised boat arrivals on Nauru.
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060802.A05
Tribe holds ritual in step toward peace
National News - August 02, 2006
Markus Makur, The Jakarta Post, Timika
Relatives of one of the victims of a bloody weeklong tribal conflict in
Mimika regency, Papua, performed a ritual Tuesday to
prepare for the opening of peace negotiations.
The stone-burning ceremony led by the family of Leon Mom was attended by
Damal tribal leaders, including the chief. At least
10 have died and dozens of others have been injured in the clashes between
Damal and Dani tribe members.
Hostilities broke out last week after a child of the Dani tribe drowned
while under the supervision of a relative from the
Damal tribe. In traditional tribal disputes in Mimika, the family of the
victims holds the right to call a cessation to the
fighting.
Leon's family decided to end the fighting Monday.
"This constitutes the initial step toward peace negotiations with the
opponents," Elminus Mom, acting in his capacity as head
of the warring group and Damal chief, said during the ceremony at Kwamki
Lama village.
The second step, he said, would be a meeting between the family members
and all the tribe members, while the third was a
meeting between members of the victims' families from the two tribes, as
well as the war chiefs.
It would allow for the reaching of an agreement, including setting
compensation for the deaths incurred on both sides.
The final step in cementing peace would consist of the cutting of arrows
and bows' strings by the commanders of the tribes'
warring groups and the tribal chiefs to signify peace.
It is usually followed by a communal stone-burning ceremony attended by
members of the two tribes.
A sense of cooperation and harmony was evident Tuesday, with housewives of
the Damal tribe assisted by male tribe members
preparing stones and digging a hole to store three slaughtered pigs and
hundreds of chickens.
The meat was eaten at the ceremony amid singing and dancing.
Papua Police crime and detective unit chief Sr. Comr. Paulus Waterpauw,
accompanied by Mimika Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr.
Jantje Jimmy Tuilan, Mimika Military Command's Lt. Col. Gustav A and
Mimika Police Mobile Brigade Commander Comr. Abu Bakar
Tertusi, discussed the situation with Elminus and Damal tribal elder David
Wanikbo.
Waterpauw said their aspirations would be conveyed to representatives of
the Dani tribe and the government. He hoped there
would be no further actions that provoked a continuation of the conflict.
"We want cooperation and assistance from tribal leaders and war chiefs
toward a peace agreement which is badly needed to help
restore security," Waterpauw said.
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060802.H05
Papuans continue protesting trial
National News - August 02, 2006
Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Seven men charged with the 2002 murders of two American nationals and an
Indonesian in Papua province said Tuesday they would
rather die than stand trial in Jakarta.
The defendants insisted they should be tried in Timika, Papua, where the
killings took place.
"We don't want to be tried here. We refuse to be tried (in Jakarta) even
if we have to be shot dead," said defendant Rev.
Ishaq Onamawe, 54, after being forced to appear at the Central Jakarta
District Court.
The other six suspects are Antonius Wamang, 30, Agustinus Anggaibak, 23,
Yulianus Deikme, 26, Esau Onawame, 23, Hardi
Sugumol, 34, and Yairus Kiwak, 52.
They are charged with killing U.S. nationals Ricky Lynn Spier, 44, and
Edwin Leon Burgen, 71, and their Indonesian colleague,
FX Bambang Riwanto, during an armed attack near the PT Freeport Indonesia
gold and copper mine in Timika.
The suspects refused to answer questions posed to them during Tuesday's
trial.
Judge Andriani Nurdin decided to suspend the proceedings for 30 minutes at
the request of the suspects' lawyers, before
adjourning the trial until Aug. 8.
The suspects were not prepared to enter their pleas at the hearing, nor
were their lawyers from the Indonesian Legal Aid and
Human Rights Association (PBHI), who skipped the previous session at the
request of their clients.
"I don't know if the prosecutors made any change in the indictments when
they were read out at the last session because our
clients were unable to understand the contents of the indictments," chief
lawyer Johnson Panjaitan told the court. Only
Wamang and Ishaq speak Indonesian fluently.
At the beginning of the session Andriani pleaded with the suspects to sit
in front of her as defendants, but they remained
glued to their seats in the visitors' section.
The police officers who had forcibly brought them into the courtroom did
not move them to the defendants' chairs.
Andriani then ordered the defense lawyers to persuade them to move, but
still to no avail. The Papuans instead reiterated
their objection to being tried in Jakarta.
Police have said the seven suspects were all members of the Free Papua
Movement (OPM), but Johnson maintained they were "just
ordinary people".
Aloy Renwarin, a lawyer for Wamang, claimed earlier this year that his
client admitted he had fired 30 shots during the
attack on the vehicles carrying the Americans. But Wamang also implicated
the military in the attack, he was quoted by AFP as
saying.
The seven suspects were arrested in January in an operation involving the
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Wamang, the leader of the group, was allegedly an OPM commander. He was
indicted for the attack by a U.S. grand jury in 2004.
All seven men could face the death penalty if convicted.
Papua-based rights groups have alleged that the military ordered the
attack to ensure that Freeport would continue making
large cash payments to it for security in and around the mine.
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060801.A04
Peace talks fail to halt Papua violence
National News - August 01, 2006
Markus Makur, The Jakarta Post, Timika
Three houses belonging to a tribal chief in Mimika regency, Papua, were
burned down Monday, as the violence between the Dani
and Damal tribes continued despite ongoing peace talks.
Much of the violence has been focused in the area of Kwamki Lama, near the
giant PT Freeport Indonesia gold and copper mine.
Many residents in the area have locked up their homes and fled to the town
of Timika.
The razed homes belonged to the chief of the Dani tribe, Jefman Waker. No
one was injured in the attack.
Ten people have died and more than 200 have been wounded from the Dani and
Damal tribes since the violence began July 21.
According to most people here, the conflict began after the Dani tribe
blamed the Damal for the death of Nugi, the son of a
Dani village head. However, there have been reports that Nugi drowned in a
river. A Damal man was killed while attending
Nugi's funeral, escalating the violence.
Antara news agency reported that activity at the Kwamki Lama market has
resumed since peace talks between the two tribes
began Sunday. "The women are already operating at the market," Mimika
Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Jantje Jimmy Tuilan said.
Tuilan said he was still mediating between the tribes, who earlier
promised police to end the violence Monday.
He said the families of victims had accepted compensation offers from the
police and local authorities, who promised the
necessary rituals would be held for making peace.
The officer blamed Monday's violence on the chief of the Damal tribe,
Elminus Moom, who he said wanted to avenge the death of
a relative.
---
KI Admin note: Indonesian Language Media (Radar Timka) reported 5 other
arrests. These indiduals had in their possessions
books and VCD's relating to Jihad, Art of War etc.)
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060801.H10
Three Freeport trespassers freed
National News - August 01, 2006
JAKARTA: Police in Papua have released three men arrested last Thursday
for trespassing at the PT Freeport Indonesia mine in
Timika, Papua.
National Police spokesman Comr. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said Monday that
after being released, the men must report to local
police twice a week.
Police released the three men Saturday after finding no evidence of their
involvement in any banned organizations.
Local police, however, were still investigating whether they might have
connections to terrorist organizations, said Anton.
Police identified the three men as Nanang Setyawan and Baharudin, both
Freeport employees, and Muslim teacher Ayatullah
Kiflani.
The preliminary investigation determined that the latter was invited by
the two employees to deliver a speech on Thursday
afternoon, but they trespassed into a restricted area at the Freeport
compound, leading to their arrests. (JP/07)
---
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/indonesia-blamed-for-rights-abuses/2006/08/01/1154198139081.html
Papuan asylum seeker David Wainggai is set to receive a visa - and the
Howard Government has been tripped up by its own
cleverness, writes Michelle Grattan.
JUST as the Government thought it had relations with Indonesia back on an
even keel, some unfinished business has created new
waves that have to be ridden.
David Wainggai, 29, is the last of the group of asylum seekers who caused
a conflagration in relations between the two
countries, finally doused by John Howard's personal meeting with President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Unlike the other 42 in the group, Wainggai did not get a protection visa
first time round. He had a temporary Japanese visa,
so the Immigration Department claimed he could be pushed off to there.
But now Wainggai's case has been reviewed by the Refugee Review Tribunal,
which says he should get protection. It is possible
he could be refused entry to Japan, it says, and if he was there is a
prospect he could end up back in Indonesia. If he was
sent home to Papua, he would be at risk of "a real chance of serious
harm". He "could be persecuted by the Indonesian
security forces or military because of his political profile".
The Government must be rueing that Wainggai was not treated in the same
way as others and given a protection visa in the
first place. The difference between 42 and 43 visas would have been
minimal to the angry Indonesians.
Returning now in isolation, the case has the potential to stir new angst
in Indonesia. It could also reduce the already
limited chance the Federal Government has of getting through the special
legislation it has proposed to make sure any future
asylum seekers from Papua who reach the mainland are processed offshore.
The review tribunal's ruling has effectively highlighted the protections
existing when people are processed in Australia.
Offshore processing, despite some Government concessions, falls way second
best.
The immediate issue the Government faces is whether to appeal against the
Wainggai ruling to court. Immigration Minister
Amanda Vanstone won't be drawn.
If the Government does not appeal, Indonesians may conclude it is
accepting the harsh judgements about human rights in Papua
that come through the tribunal's findings. If it wants to appeal, it needs
to find a legal pretext, and would be taking a
very rare step. In Australia, this would be seen as pandering to the
Indonesians.
The Indonesians were informed by the Foreign Affairs Department on Monday
of the decision in an attempt to head off adverse
reaction from them. It was pointed out that this was an independent
tribunal and that the Government had no role in the
decision.
The Indonesian Government does not want the Wainggai case to inject fresh
tension into the relationship. "We have moved
beyond the issue," an Indonesian spokesman said in Jakarta. The question
is whether the issue will be taken up by the
Indonesian media and some of the nationalist politicians in Jakarta who
are always willing to score a point against
Australia.
The strength of the Australia-Indonesia rapprochement forged at the
Howard-Yudhoyono meeting in June will now be tested.
The Government wished to get through the border legislation before the
June meeting to show its bona fides to Indonesia. It
also wanted the bill passed as an active deterrent to future Papuan asylum
seekers.
Now it does not have the legislation and the Wainggai decision can only
encourage other Papuan separatists who both desire to
get away from Indonesia and are anxious to publicise the independence
movement.
Nothing has moved on the legislation in Federal Parliament's winter break.
Rebel backbenchers don't like the bill. Apart from
that, there are specific outstanding issues, including the processing
arrangements and whether those found to be refugees
would be guaranteed a place in Australia if another home could not be
found in reasonable time. This right to come to
Australia is the most vital issue. The Government leaves open this as a
"last resort", but does not want to be tied to
guarantees on time. Critics point out the Government's track record is to
leave people for excessively long times on Nauru,
causing mental trauma.
The Wainggai case is likely to put steel in the dissident backbenchers'
backbones. As one, Liberal senator Judith Troeth,
said yesterday: "This case demonstrates the present process is working."
If Howard cannot be sure of the numbers in the
Senate (where Troeth is considered the most crucial player, with National
Barnaby Joyce, Liberal Marise Payne and Family
First's Steve Fielding also uncertain numbers), he would be loath to take
a risk by putting the legislation to a vote. Even
in the house, where the odd MP could cross the floor without affecting the
result, he would not want to be embarrassed by any
of his own.
In a speech in Melbourne last night, Richard Woolcott, one-time ambassador
to Indonesia, argued that it was "imperative to
change perceptions of Australia in Indonesia and perceptions of Indonesia
in the wider Australian community".
Reflecting the realist school of foreign policy, Woolcott argued: "Just as
we do not allow our relations with China to be
dominated by legitimate concerns about Tibet, Taiwan and the mistreatment
of members of the Falun Gong sect, and just as we
should not have allowed our close alliance with the United States to draw
us into a costly, unnecessary, destructive and
distant war with Iraq, we must not allow our relations with Indonesia to
be held hostage to those who seek the unrealistic
goal of an independent West Papua."
Official diplomacy, Woolcott said, "must operate in the world as it is and
not in the world as it should be. There will
always be tensions between principle and morality, on the one hand, and on
the other, expediency and the constraints imposed
by existing realities."
In the Wainggai case, a strike for principle is causing a headache for
official diplomacy and local politics, and the eyes of
both the Indonesians and the rebel backbenchers are skinned to watch how
the Government handles it.
Michelle Grattan is political editor.
---
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19991205-2702,00.html
Papuan's freedom waits on Vanstone
Cath Hart
August 02, 2006
THE last of 43 Papuans whose bid for asylum triggered a row with Jakarta
will leave Christmas Island within weeks, unless
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone challenges his newly won protection
visa.
Senator Vanstone has 28 days to appeal against Monday's ruling by the
Refugee Review Tribunal to overturn an Immigration
Department decision not to give David Wainggai avisa.
The 29-year-old son of leading Papuan independence activists has spent
almost six months in detention on Christmas Island.
The 42 compatriots he landed with in a canoe near Weipa, on Cape York, in
January were given visas in March.
The move resulted in Jakarta recalling its ambassador from Canberra.
The department did not grant Mr Wainggai a visa on the grounds he held a
temporary visitor's visa to Japan, where his mother
was born.
Senator Vanstone said yesterday she had not decided whether to fight the
tribunal's decision to the Federal Court.
"I haven't even seen the decision, I've been told about it and the details
of it," she said.
"I think at least I should have a good look at it before I make any
further decision."
Senator Vanstone denied she was embarrassed the department's decision was
overturned by the tribunal.
"Where (the decisions) differ is that the department's decision was that
the person had an entitlement to reside in another
place," she said. "And as I've been advised, the Refugee Review Tribunal
is not satisfied with the ease with which that right
could be taken up."
Mr Wainggai will remain on Christmas Island while ASIO and the Australian
Federal Police conduct "health and character
checks", an Immigration spokesman said.
David Manne, lawyer for the Papuans, expected his client would be flown to
Melbourne within weeks. "There is no reason why he
shouldn't be granted a visa within the next few weeks," Mr Manne said.
"The Government could appeal the decision but it's
extremely rare for that to happen."
Mr Manne said Mr Wainggai's time on Christmas Island had "taken its toll".
"He's done it very hard, he has been profoundly distressed by the
experience. He has found the tyranny of distance and the
delay and dislocation from his community tremendously difficult," he said.
The experience had "brought up the nightmares of his past", including
memories of his father, who died in an Indonesian jail
after being charged with treason for raising a pro-independence flag.
Opposition immigration spokesman Tony Burke said Mr Wainggai would be the
last asylum-seeker able to appeal to the tribunal,
because of changes to migration law.
---
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/papuan-asylum-detention-overturned/2006/07/31/1154198078722.html
Papuan asylum detention overturned
By Michael Gordon
August 1, 2006
A FEDERAL Government decision to deny a Papuan asylum seeker refugee
status in Australia has been overturned by the independent Refugee
Review Tribunal.
In a judgement that is likely to reignite tension with Indonesia, the
tribunal ruled yesterday that David Wainggai, who has been detained on
Christmas island since January, was owed protection by Australia under
the terms of the refugee convention.
The judgement comes more than two months after the Immigration
Department denied Mr Wainggai refuge status on the grounds that he had
the right to live in Japan.
That decision came after lawyers acting for Mr Wainggai accused the
Government of blocking a decision on his refugee status claim in order
to "advance relations with Indonesia" and to deter other Papuans from
seeking asylum. The Government rejected the allegation.
A relieved Mr Wainggai said through his lawyer, David Manne, last night
that he was "incredibly happy that justice has finally been done".
Mr Manne said Mr Wainggai had found it increasingly difficult being
held in immigration detention on Christmas island and was starting to
relive the nightmares of his father, Thomas, who died in prison in
Jakarta eight years after being arrested during a flag-raising ceremony
in Papua.
"The priority now is to get David a visa so that he can rejoin the
other West Papuan refugees in Melbourne," Mr Manne said.
Mr Wainggai was among 43 Papuan asylum seekers who landed on Cape York
on January 17.
he other 42 asylum seekers were determined to be refugees and were
granted temporary protection visas on March 23.
Indonesian protests over the granting of these visas prompted the
Government to announce a tougher border protection policy under which
all future unauthorised boat arrivals would be processed on Nauru.
The new policy, which is being opposed by several Government MPs as
unnecessary and as lacking in compassion, is due to be debated when
Federal Parliament resumes next week.
Immigration Minister Senator Amanda Vanstone last night distanced the
Government from yesterday's decision, saying the tribunal was "a final
independent merits review body and I am unable to direct members in
their decision-making".
But while Senator Vanstone said decisions of the tribunal turned on
"individual circumstances and claims in each case", the decision is
likely to harden the resolve of MPs opposed to the new legislation.
Mr Manne said the written decision by the tribunal cited in great
detail "a catalogue of systemic human rights abuses being perpetuated
by Indonesia authorities against West Papuans".
This included a a report by the Yale Law School of April 2004 claiming
the available evidence "strongly suggested the Indonesia military had
engaged in widespread violence and extra-judicial killings and
subjected Papuan men and women to acts of torture, rape and sexual
violence".
According to Mr Manne, the report said human rights abuses had caused
the displacement of many Papuans from their homes and in many cases
constituted crimes against humanity under international law.
---
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/coalition-refugee-tiff-set-to-flare/2006/08/01/1154198137648.html
Coalition refugee tiff set to flare
Craig Skehan
August 2, 2006
THE successful appeal by the West Papuan David Wainggai against a refusal
to grant him asylum in Australia is set to
intensify discord within the Government over planned new laws requiring
all refugees arriving by boat to be detained offshore
and denied access to the Refugee Review Tribunal.
The office of the Immigration Minister, Amanda Vanstone, said yesterday
the Government would proceed with immigration law
changes in the parliamentary session that begins next week.
The Prime Minister, John Howard, foreshadowed in June a new review
mechanism for those denied asylum using decision makers
"primarily" drawn from among former Refugee Review Tribunal personnel. But
this measure has failed to appease Coalition
rebels.
A Liberal Party source last night predicted a "substantial debate" in the
joint parties room as early as Monday and
government officials said the legislation faces considerable resistance.
Indonesia's embassy did not comment directly on the decision, which paves
the way for Mr Wainggai to be released from
detention on Christmas Island and receive a temporary protection visa. But
there was an implied note of warning, with an
Indonesian embassy spokesman saying: "We will see how things develop
further."
Mr Wainggai was the only one of 43 Papuans who arrived in Australia in
January to have a bid for asylum refused.
---
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20001076-5001561,00.html
Jakarta 'no comment' on visa case
Cath Hart
August 03, 2006
THE decision to grant a protection visa to the last of 43 Papuans who
arrived in Australia by boat in January appears
unlikely to reignite diplomatic tensions with Jakarta.
Indonesian embassy officials said yesterday the country would not comment
on the decision and would focus on "serious issues"
in the relationship with Australia.
On Monday, the Refugee Review Tribunal ruled that David Wainggai, a Papuan
independence activist, should receive protection
from Australia. Mr Wainggai and 42 other Papuans arrived in Australian
waters in an outrigger canoe in January.
A diplomatic furore between Jakarta and Canberra erupted after Australia
issued 42 members of the group with protection
visas. Tensions peaked when Jakarta recalled its ambassador from Canberra.
Mr Wainggai's application for a protection visa was initially rejected
because he held a visitor's visa to Japan.
That ruling was overturned by the tribunal, but instead of sparking
another war of words, Jakarta has been decidedly quiet on
the decision.
Indonesian embassy spokesman Dino Kusnadi said yesterday Jakarta would
remain silent on the decision.
---
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,19984779-1702,00.html
Papuan could be 'last asylum seeker'
By Saffron Howden and Paul Carter
August 01, 2006 06:09pm
Article from: AAP
DAVID Wainggai may be the last asylum seeker to reach Australian shores by
boat and enjoy the benefits of its legal system,
Labor and refugee advocates said today.
The 29-year-old Papuan was today celebrating a Refugee Review Tribunal
(RRT) decision paving the way for him to be granted a
protection visa in Australia.
The tribunal set aside a decision by the immigration department to deny
him a temporary visa and ordered the minister to
reconsider the case.
Mr Wainggai, held in detention on Christmas Island since January when he
arrived on Cape York with 42 fellow Papuans, was
happy to be getting out, his lawyer said.
"He is happy that justice has finally been done, that he's been recognised
as a refugee," Refugee and Immigration Legal
Centre co-ordinator David Manne said.
But he warned that Mr Wainggai could be the last of such asylum seekers if
the Government's proposed new immigration
processing system is introduced.
The Government announced in April it wanted to send all asylum seekers who
reached Australia by sea for processing offshore,
regardless of whether they made it to the mainland.
But a group of around 10 Liberal backbenchers stalled the passage of the
laws through parliament in its last session.
The group opposed locking up families with children, the lack of access
for asylum seekers to legal services and appeals
processes, and the lack of a guarantee that people found to be genuine
refugees could settle in Australia.
Prime Minister John Howard offered to make minor changes to the plan,
including better conditions for women and children in
detention and oversight by the ombudsman, but the deadlock was not
resolved before parliament rose for its winter break.
Labor today said the backbenchers should hold strong.
"I hope that the events of today make no difference to them. So far
they've acted ... entirely on principle and entirely on
what they believe," Opposition immigration spokesman Tony Burke said.
If they relented, Mr Wainggai could be the last asylum seeker to arrive in
Australia by boat and enjoy the full benefits of
its justice system, he said.
"My concern is that the Government's determined that this will never
happen again," he said.
"The 43rd Papuan, the Government intends to make the last asylum seeker
who will have the protection of Australian law if
they come here by sea."
Mr Wainggai's lawyer agreed.
"Quite possibly ... people in David's situation wouldn't even be able to
access the Australian legal system in the way that
he has," Mr Manne said.
The son of a Papuan independence leader who died in an Indonesian jail, Mr
Wainggai is expected to be granted a protection
visa by the end of this week and be released into the community – most
likely Melbourne, where the other Papuans he travelled
with have settled.
The Government originally denied his application for a protection visa on
the grounds he could have applied to live in Japan,
where his mother was born.
The decision to grant the 42 other Papuans visas triggered outrage in
Indonesia and plunged relations between Canberra and
Jakarta to their lowest point since East Timor's independence in 1999.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone was matter-of-fact today about the
review tribunal's ruling on Mr Wainggai's case.
"The whole purpose of having a review process is so that your decisions
are checked and in some cases rechecked," she said.
But she refused to rule out appealing the RRT decision until she had read
the tribunal's report.
A spokesman for the minister said he expected the offshore processing
legislation to be debated when Parliament resumes next
week, but he could not specify a time.
---
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200608/s1703194.htm
Last Update: Tuesday, August 1, 2006. 6:19pm (AEST)
Backbenchers yet to be convinced on offshore processing
A week out from the resumption of Parliament, the Federal Government is
yet to secure a deal with dissident backbenchers
opposed to plans to introduce offshore processing for all asylum seekers
who arrive by boat.
Debate over offshore processing has been reignited by a finding from the
Refugee Review Tribunal, which overturned an
Immigration Department decision not to grant protection to a Papuan asylum
seeker.
A number of Coalition backbenchers are opposed to the plan to process boat
arrivals offshore.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone says the Government has tried to
accommodate their concerns.
"[We] literally bent over backwards to mirror what would be the case
offshore that is the case in Australia," Senator
Vanstone said.
Labor's Immigration spokesman Tony Burke says the dissident backbenchers
should hold firm.
"If they believe children should not be in detention they cannot support
this bill," he said.
Senator Vanstone says there have not been any recent negotiations on the
issue.
---
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=25792
Radio New Zealand International
The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific
Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa
Papuan asylum seeker turnaround a lesson for Australian parliament, says
Senator
Posted at 08:16 on 01 August, 2006 UTC
An Australian Senator says a decision by the Refugee Tribunal to overturn
a government decision to deny a Papuan asylum
seeker refugee status sends a message about the country’s Immigration laws.
The tribunal has ruled that David Wainggai, who has been detained on
Christmas island since January, is owed protection by
Australia under terms of the refugee convention.
Mr Wainggai was among 43 Papuan asylum seekers who landed in Queensland in
January, having fled Indonesia, claiming
persecution by the authorities.
The other 42 were granted temporary protection visas in March.
Greens senator Kerry Nettle says that had the new migration laws due to
come before the Senate been passed earlier then Mr
Wainggai’s case would have been different...
“He may never have been found to be a refugee even though now it’s
showing that he is a refugee and the first decision
was wrong. Somebody in his circumstances may well have been returned to
where they face persecution. To me it shows a lesson
that I hope other members of Australia’s parliament will listen to if
they’re being asked to vote on legislation that takles
away people’s right to appeal.”
---
http://www.antara.co.id/en/seenws/?id=17463
Papuan refugees should get protection : Australian tribunal
Sydney (ANTARA News) - The last of 43 Papuans, whose arrival in
Australia caused a diplomatic rift with Indonesia, should be granted a
protection visa, a refugee tribunal has ruled.
Australia's Immigration Department had turned down David Wainggai's
application for a visa after he arrived by boat with 42 other Papuan
asylum seekers in January.
The others were all granted protection, a move that infuriated Jakarta and
prompted the withdrawal of the Indonesian
ambassador.
But Australia decided that Wainggai, 29, the son of a Papuan independence
leader, was eligible for residence in Japan as his mother was born there
and he has remained in an immigration detention
centre on Christmas Island.
The Refugee Review Tribunal ruled late Monday that he was entitled to
protection and referred the case back to the immigration department.
A department spokesman said a decision on whether to grant him a
protection visa was likely within days.
"The department will conduct a further series of health and character
checks just to ensure that there has been no change in the information
originally provided when he was first interviewed," he was quoted by AFP
as saying.
Wainggai would be released from the detention centre on a bridging visa,
and then allowed to the mainland if the protection visa was granted, he
added.
Indonesia won sovereignty over Papua, formerly a Dutch colony, in 1969
after a referendum widely seen as a sham. Papuans have long accused
Indonesia's military of violating human rights in the
province.
Jakarta feared Australia was signalling its support for Papuan separatists
by granting them protection visas.
Indonesia has since returned its ambassador, after Prime Minister John
Howard proposed tightening Australia's immigration and asylum laws. (*)
COPYRIGHT © 2006 ANTARA
August 1, 2006
---
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=25867
Radio New Zealand International
The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific
Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa
Indonesian court completes trials of March mine protestors
Posted at 01:41 on 04 August, 2006 UTC
A court in Indonesia’s Papua province has jailed two men for 15 years each
for taking part in deadly protests in Jayapura
against the US-run Freeport mine.
Their lawyer says the district court found Ferdinandus Pakage and Luis
Gedi guilty of resisting police and using violence
which caused death.
The lawyer says the pair were the final defendants from a total of 23
Papuans, mostly students, who have been standing trial
in connection with the protest, which saw five security personnel and one
civilian killed.
He earlier defended 14 others who have been sentenced to five or six years
in jail.
He says he has lodged appeals in all of his 16 cases.
A separate group of seven suspects on trial for the alleged murder of an
air force officer at the protest are still awaiting
verdicts from the same court.
Criticis of Freeport-McMoran accuse the mine of not giving enough to the
people of Papua in return for the mine.
---
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Papuan-refugee-set-for-protection-visa/2006/08/01/1154198106901.html
Papuan refugee set for protection visa
August 1, 2006 - 8:44AM
David Wainggai may be the last asylum seeker to reach Australian shores by
boat and enjoy the benefits of its legal system,
Labor and refugee advocates fear.
The 29-year-old Papuan is celebrating a Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT)
decision paving the way for him to be granted a
protection visa in Australia.
The tribunal set aside a decision by the immigration department to deny
him a temporary visa and ordered the minister to
reconsider the case.
Mr Wainggai, held in detention on Christmas Island since January when he
arrived on Cape York with 42 fellow Papuans, was
happy to be getting out, his lawyer said.
"He is happy that justice has finally been done, that he's been recognised
as a refugee," Refugee and Immigration Legal
Centre coordinator David Manne told AAP.
But he warned that Mr Wainggai could be the last of such asylum seekers if
the government's proposed new immigration
processing system is introduced.
The government announced in April it wanted to send all asylum seekers who
reached Australia by sea for processing offshore,
regardless of whether they made it to the mainland.
But a group of around 10 Liberal backbenchers stalled the passage of the
laws through parliament in its last session.
The group opposed locking up families with children, the lack of access
for asylum seekers to legal services and appeals
processes, and the lack of a guarantee that people found to be genuine
refugees could settle in Australia.
Prime Minister John Howard offered to make minor changes to the plan,
including better conditions for women and children in
detention and oversight by the ombudsman, but the deadlock was not
resolved before parliament rose for its winter break.
Labor said the backbenchers should hold strong.
"I hope that the events of today make no difference to them. So far
they've acted ... entirely on principle and entirely on
what they believe," Opposition immigration spokesman Tony Burke said.
If they relented, Mr Wainggai could be the last asylum seeker to arrive in
Australia by boat and enjoy the full benefits of
its justice system, he said.
"My concern is that the government's determined that this will never
happen again," he said.
"The 43rd Papuan, the government intends to make the last asylum seeker
who will have the protection of Australian law if
they come here by sea."
Mr Wainggai's lawyer agreed.
"Quite possibly ... people in David's situation wouldn't even be able to
access the Australian legal system in the way that
he has," Mr Manne said.
The son of a Papuan independence leader who died in an Indonesian jail, Mr
Wainggai is expected to be granted a protection
visa by the end of this week and be released into the community - most
likely Melbourne, where the other Papuans he travelled
with have settled.
The government originally denied his application for a protection visa on
the grounds he could have applied to live in Japan,
where his mother was born.
The decision to grant the 42 other Papuans visas triggered outrage in
Indonesia and plunged relations between Canberra and
Jakarta to their lowest point since East Timor's independence in 1999.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone was matter-of-fact about the review
tribunal's ruling on Mr Wainggai's case.
"The whole purpose of having a review process is so that your decisions
are checked and in some cases rechecked," she said.
But she refused to rule out appealing the RRT decision until she had read
the tribunal's report.
A spokesman for the minister said he expected the offshore processing
legislation to be debated when parliament resumes next
week, but he could not specify a time.
© 2006 AAP
---
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2006/s1703838.htm
Refugee advocate says detention a waste of money
AM - Wednesday, 2 August , 2006 08:28:00
Reporter: Lynn Bell
ELIZABETH JACKSON: Refugee Advocate, Kay Bernard, says taxpayers have had
to pay more than half a million dollars, to keep
the 43rd Papuan asylum seeker, David Wainggai, in detention on Christmas
Island.
David Wainggai was recognised as a refugee by the Refugee Review Tribunal
on Monday, after he was initially refused a
protection visa by the Immigration Department.
The Tribunal concluded that David Wainggai does in fact satisfy the
criteria for a protection visa.
The Labor Opposition says the Government's whole approach to asylum
seekers is a huge waste of taxpayers dollars.
Lynn Bell reports.
LYNN BELL: Herman Wainggai has hailed the Refugee Review Tribunal's
decision to grant his cousin refugee status, as a win for
justice.
HERMAN WAINGGAI: It's a great decision, a just decision.
LYNN BELL: Herman Wainggai is one of the 43 Papuan asylum seekers who
arrived in Australia by boat on the 17th of January.
His cousin David Wainggai was the only one in the group to be refused a
protection visa.
Herman Wainggai says his cousin has spent many fearful months separated
from his family.
HERMAN WAINGGAI: Also me and my family, Wainggai family, my people, my
friends worry about his condition, because he lived
alone on Christmas Island.
LYNN BELL: David Wainggai is likely to spend a few more weeks on the Island.
There's now a 28-day appeal period, and the Immigration Minster Amanda
Vanstone, has not ruled out making an appeal.
Refugee advocate Kay Bernard from Western Australia, says the cost of
keeping David Wainggai on Christmas Island has been
prohibitive.
Figures detailed in the recent Senate Estimates hearings show the cost of
detaining someone at Christmas Island is about
$2,895 per day, far more than the $190 a day it costs to process someone
at Sydney's Villawood detention centre.
Kay Bernard says if you use the figures provided by the Immigration
Department you can do the sums and work out what it costs
to keep David Wainggai on Christmas Island for six months.
KAY BERNARD: I don't think there's anybody in Australia that realises that
the cost of the offshore detention policy has been
over half-a-million dollars for one man, when he could have been
accommodated on the mainland, here in Australia while his
matter was being processed, for $190 dollars a day.
LYNN BELL: Labor's Immigration Spokesman, Tony Burke, says the
Government's plan to process all asylum seekers who arrive by
boat on the Island of Nauru, will cost taxpayers even more.
TONY BURKE: Nauru, even when it's been empty has been averaging a cost of
about $4 million a month. And so the extra expense
that's been there so far with Christmas Island almost pales into
insignificance when you look at what the Government's
planning to do next.
LYNN BELL: The Federal Government set out its plan to toughen border
protection after a stand off with Indonesia, over the
granting of protection visas to the 42 Papuan asylum seekers.
The Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone, says there's still no agreement
with a group of Coalition MPs who have concerns
about the proposed legislation, despite the Government's offer of
concessions.
AMANDA VANSTONE: We've given a 90-day commitment for first decision, a
90-day commitment for independent review, satisfied
that the review will not be by DIMA offices but by people who work with
the Refugee Review Tribunal.
LYNN BELL: The Bill is set to come before the Parliament, when it resumes
for the spring session.
ELIZABETH JACKSON: Lynn Bell with that report.
---
http://english.people.com.cn/200608/01/eng20060801_288845.html
Indonesia's Tangguh gas field to begin production in 2008
The Tangguh gas field in Indonesia's eastern province of Papua is expected
to resume production and delivery by the end of
2008, following the Tuesday's signing of a 2.5 billion U.S. dollars loan,
a senior official said.
Tangguh has proven reserves of 14.4 trillion cubic feet of gas and
estimated total reserves of 23.7 trillion cubic feet which
have not been proven yet.
The loan comprises 1.2 billion dollars from the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation (JBIC), 350 million dollars from the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) and 1.07 billion dollars from a consortium of
seven international banks, including the Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd, Singapore-based BNP Paribas, Hong Kong- based
ING Bank NV Kong, Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd, Sumitomo
Mitsui Banking Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank.
Present in the signing ceremony were Energy and Mineral resources Minister
Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Oil and Gas Executive Body
(BP Migas) head Kardaya Warnika and provincial officials from West Papua.
"We are getting more confidence about the Tangguh project after the
signing," said Minister Purnomo.
The Tangguh project is estimated to cost 5.5 billion dollars.
The Tangguh field has secured gas supply orders amounting to 6. 9 million
tons a year, consisting of 2.6 million tons a year
from China's CNOOC, 0.6 million tons from South Korea's Posco and K- Power
and 3.7 million tons from Mexico's Sempra Energy
LNG Corp.
Source: Xinhua
---
http://www.antara.co.id/en/seenws/?id=17442
Papua Guvernor to curb tribal clashes involving all elements
Jayapura (ANTARA News) - Governor of Papua Barnabas Suebu is determined to
curb tribal clashes, which have frequently broken
out in the province by involving all elements like the Papuan People?s
Council (MRP) and the Papuan Legislative Assembly
(DPRD).
In striving to cope with tribal clashes, which are usually triggered by
trivial reasons, the Papuan provincial administration
will ask for the participation of various circles, especially traditional,
religious and cultural elements like MRP, Suebu
said here Monday.
Clashes between tribes have often occurred in Papua, especially in
mountainous areas, like the middle mountain rage in Timika
regency.
A bloody tribal clash that broke out at Kwamki Lama village, Timika
regency, left nine people dead and dozens injured.
It is the Papuan culture to use a tribal war in seeking solution to every
problem, and the fight will not end, and may even
expand to other tribes, till the warring tribes come to a balanced
position, according to the governor.
The provincial administration, together with various elements in the
province, will endeavor to persuade the inhabitants of
mountainous areas leave their custom that can no longer be tolerated
nowadays, he vowed. (*)
COPYRIGHT © 2006 ANTARA
August 1, 2006
---
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