Indonesia: Independent Investigation Needed Into Papua Violence

Title	Indonesia: Independent Investigation Needed Into Papua Violence
Publisher	Human Rights Watch
Country	Indonesia
Publication Date	28 October 2011
Cite as	Human Rights Watch, Indonesia: Independent Investigation Needed Into Papua Violence, 28 October 2011, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4eb253d42.html [accessed 20 December 2011]
Disclaimer	This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher.

Here: UNHCR Publisher

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should immediately establish an independent investigation into the deaths of at least three protesters and the ongoing violence in Papua, Human Rights Watch said today.

On October 19, 2011, Indonesian police and the army fired warning shots to disperse approximately 1,000 Papuans gathered for a peaceful pro-independence demonstration in the Papua provincial capital, Jayapura, after one of the leaders read out the 1961 Papua Declaration of Independence. In an ensuing crackdown by the security forces on the demonstrators, at least three people were killed and dozens were injured. Witnesses said several had gunshot wounds.

‘Many Deaths’ During Ongoing Military Siege in Papua: Allegations

An international nongovernmental organization campaigning to highlight human rights abuses in Indonesia, has called for international intervention “after receiving highly distressing accounts of indiscriminate and brutal military raids” in West Papua.

Maire Leadbeater of the Indonesia Human Rights Committee said reports from West Papua indicated that thousands of villagers in Paniai are undergoing a “military siege involving horrendous destruction and violence.”
Source:http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/
“Homes have been torched and villages razed, while helicopters are said to be strafing the villages. There are reports of  deaths, forcible evacuations and the displacement of thousands of people,” Leadbeater said.

Activists Press for Justice In Attacks on Journalists

Chrestella Tan & Banjir Ambarita

It has been just over a year since Ridwan Salamun, a cameraman for Sun TV, was hacked to death while covering an intervillage clash in Tual district, Maluku, on Aug. 21, 2010.

Since then, the three men charged with his murder have been acquitted after a court ruled that they had acted in self-defense. His widow, Saodah, has mounted an appeal with the Supreme Court.

On Dec. 17 last year, the badly bruised body of Alfrets Mirulewan, editor of the Maluku newspaper Pelangi Weekly, was found on a beach on Kisar Island. After initially writing off his death as an accident, police later charged four men with his murder. A ruling in their trial is expected in the coming weeks.

Both cases gripped the nation’s attention as they highlighted the threats that journalists continue to face — and the apparent impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of violence against reporters. However, the cases now seem to have faded from the national conscience.

LSM Berkomunikasi Dengan Organisasi Pers

sSikapi Kasus Oral Seks dan Percobaan Pembunuhan Terhadap Seorang Wartawan

Sebagai organisasi yang salah satu tugasnya adalah melakukan advokasi terhadap korban kekerasan oleh aparat pemerintah, Komnas HAM dan Foker LSM Papua akhirnya bersuara untuk mendorong penyelesaian kasusnya dengan baik oleh aparat yang berwenang. 

Laporan Ahmad Jainuri, Bintang Papua

Situasi dialog antara Foker LSM dan Perwakilan Komnas HAM Papua dengan Organisasi Pers dan sejumlah awak media, baik local maupun nasional.

Dan sebagai salah satu upayanya mendorong penyelesaian kasus yang cukup menarik perhatian dari berbagai kalangan tersebut, Kamis (18/3) Perwakilan Komnas HAM Papua, Subkoordinasi Mediasi dan Foker LSM Papua menggelar jumpa pers, dengan dihadiri pengurus PWI (Persatuan Wartawan Indonesia) dan pengurus AJI (Aliansi Jurnalisme Indonesia).  Dalam pernyataan bersama antara Perwakilan Komnas HAM Papua dan Foker LSM Papua yang dibacakan dalam jumpa pers di ruang pertemuan Foker LSM Papua, bahwa kasus kekerasan seksual terhadap tahanan perempuan yang terjadi sejak akhir 2010 dan baru terungkap pada Maret 2011, merupakan bentuk kongkrit dari perampasan terhadap hak perempuan yang bersangkutan (korban).
“Yang sesungguhnya dijamin dan dilindungi dalam

Wartawan Papua Demo Tolak Kekerasan Terhadap Jurnalis

[JAYAPURA] Sebanyak 50 wartawan turun ke jalan, Jumat (11/3/2011) siang di Taman Imbi Jayapura. Mereka mendesak supaya segera hentikan kekerasan terhadap wartawan di Papua.

Aksi ini dilakukan menyusul penikaman yang dialami kontributor Vivanews, Banjir Ambaraita (35) oleh orang tidak dikenal, Kamis (3/3/2011) pagi sekitar pukul 02.15  WIT. Penikaman itu terjadi di dekat Gapura Kantor Wailikota Jayapura ketika pulang ke rumahnya di Dok VIII Bawah. Saat melewati Gapura itu ia dipepet oleh motor. Hingga saat ini, pelakunya belum ditangkap.

Papua-based Journalist Stabbed

Banjir is a news contributor for Jakarta-based media VIVAnews and The Jakarta Globe.

VIVAnews - A Papua-based journalist, Banjir Ambarita, was stabbed on his chest and belly by an unidentified person on Thursday, March 3, at around 1 am local time. Banjir is a news contributor for Jakarta-based online media VIVAnews and news daily The Jakarta Globe.

Head of Jayapura Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Viktor Mambor said in a statement that prior to the violent attempt, a motorbike approached as he was driving his motorbike before Jayapura Mayoral building.on the way home.