People’s Liberation Party slams activist’s arrest at Papuan independence demo

Partai Pembebasan Kecam Penangkapan Anggotanya Dalam Demo KNPB

Jakarta — The People’s Liberation Party (Partai Pembebesan Rakyat, PPR) has slammed the arrest of comrade Suryanta Ginting (a PPR member) by the Metro Jaya Regional Police when he was giving a solidarity speech during an action by the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) in front of the State Palace on Tuesday August 2.

The condemnation was conveyed by PPR spokesperson Budi Wardoyo in an SMS message. According to Wardoyo, the action in front of the Palace was held to support the international conference “West Papua – The Road to Freedom” being held today by International Lawyers for West Papua (ILWP) in London.

“The conference will be pushing for the Papua problem to be taken to the International Court, so that the Papua problem can be resolved through international standards and legal principles”, explained Yoyok, as Wardoyo is usually called.

Wardoyo said that the arrest of comrade Surya clearly indicates the lack of good faith on the part of the regime of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono in resolving the Papua problem democratically.

“We demand that comrade Surya be released immediately and the violence in Papua must be stopped along with the withdrawal of all non-organic military personnel from Papua, for the sake of creating a democratic dialog between Papua and Indonesia”, concluded Wardoyo.

On Tuesday August 2, around 100 protesters from the KNPB held a protest action in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta. In a press statement the KNPB gave its full support to the International Lawyers for West Papua conference in London and conveyed their highest appreciation to the international community that has joined in supporting the West Papua national independence struggle.

The KNPB also urged the Yudhoyono government to immediately withdraw all organic and non-organic military and police personnel from the territories of West Papua. (Imam)

[Translated by James Balowski.]