Buctar, Aksi Penangkapan Bagi Aktivis Papua adalah sebuah spirit baru untuk melakukan perlawanan yang lebih radikal

Buctar Tabuni Bersama Alm. Mako Tabuni

Jayapura Voice Baptist,--  Ketua Parlement nasional papua barat Bucthar Tabuni mengatakan, Apa yang di lakukan oleh TNI/POLRI dan densus 88 terhadap seluruh aktivis KNPB adalah sebuah spirit baru untuk melakukan perlawanan yang lebih radikal dan militan. hal di sampaikan melalui akun facebook" Buctar Tabuni 17/10.

Dia juga menulis," dilihat dari sisi manusia biasa adalah membawa sebuah ketakutan seumur hidup namun sebagai seorang pejuang adalah sebuah spirit baru untuk melakukan perlawanan yang lebih radikal dan militan. Untuk itu, di harapkan kepada semua aktivis KNPB jangan takut, jangan gentar, jangan lari dan jangan menyerah".

Dia menambahkan "Ingat! Kematian dalam membela kebenaran adalah kemuliaan bagi kita dan penjara adalah istana bagi kita."

Dalam akunnya di beri suatu penguatan atau spirit bagi anggota yang saat ini sedang dalam incaran kepolisian polda papua. ini kitipan yang di kirim akirim di akun facebook buctar tabuni.

"Apa yang di lakukan oleh TNI/POLRI dan densus 88 terhadap seluruh aktivis KNPB, jika kita lihat dari sisi manusia biasa adalah membawa sebuah ketakutan seumur hidup namun sebagai seorang pejuang adalah sebuah spirit baru untuk melakukan perlawanan yang lebih radikal dan militan. Untuk itu, di harapkan kepada semua aktivis KNPB jangan takut, jangan gentar, jangan lari dan jangan menyerah. Ingat! Kematian dalam membela kebenaran adalah kemuliaan bagi kita dan penjara adalah istana bagi kita. Tetap TEGAR dan berdiri KOKOH. Maju....dan LAWAN. Buctar Tabuni."

Hal ini sampaikan atas keprihatinan sebagai pimpinan aktivis yang belakangan aparat gabungan yang sedang melakukan pengejaran dan penangkapan terhadap aktivis papua. Buctar saat ini berada dalam penjara atas vonis Hakim8 bulan penjara dengan  tunduhan pengurusakan LP abepura di tahun 2010 silam". (tw)

Detachment 88 implicated in new activist crackdown

An Australian-funded police unit in West Papua has again been implicated in recent crackdowns on the region's independence movement.

Chaiman KNPB Victor Yeimo (Photo ABC)

The region has been the scene of violence and tension in 2012, with independence leaders arrested, beaten and killed, and police confronted by unruly and angry demonstrations.

In June, Indonesian soldiers went on a rampage in the highland's town of Wamena, a stronghold of the West Papua National Committee, which is known as KNPB.

Last weekend police were again targeting the area, raiding the homes and offices of KNPB members.

Eight people were arrested and witnesses, including KNPB leader Victor Yeimo, say once again the Australian-trained and funded police unit Detachment 88 was involved.

"When they arrest the KNPB brothers in Wamena, we saw Detachment 88 with one car, and another car with police, joined in by TNI (the Indonesian military)," Mr Yeimo said.

Indonesian police accuse those arrested of making bombs and claim to have found explosives during the raid.
This Video Report ABC--News,

 West Papua arrests highlight Australian Detachment 88 links 

Mr Yeimo rejects that and says his group is being framed as terrorists to justify Detachment 88's presence.

In West Papua, the Institute for Human Rights Advocacy, known as ELSHAM, has studied the arrests and suspects the explosives recovered by police were planted.

It is a view that is supported in Australia by advocates of the West Papuan cause.

"They don't have the capacity to gain the materials, so ELSHAM has actually said that the material was probably planted in the KNPB member houses where they found the explosives, and that's not an unusual thing for security forces to do," says Cammi Webb-Gannon, from the University of Sydney's West Papua project.

"I don't think KNPB has any reason to be making bombs because they believe in a peaceful approach to pursuing independence, they want a referendum on independence in West Papua."

Deadly crackdowns

Detachment 88, which is trained by Australia as part of counter-terrorism operations, has also been linked to a string of incidents in which Papuan independence leaders have been arrested and killed.

When 7.30 travelled to the province in August, the crackdown on the independence movement was already severe and had resulted in several deaths, including the killing of former KNPB leader Mako Tabuni.

Witnesses say he was shot in a street by Detachment 88.

Victor Yeimo succeeded Mr Tabuni as leader of the KNPB and since then, he says the crackdown has worsened as he takes the campaign public.

"We are the non-violent activists in West Papua," he says in a video sent to 7.30.

"We will fight for our right of freedom according to peaceful means in West Papua.

"We demand our right of self-determination, for referendum to be held in West Papua peacefully and democratically."

But the Indonesian authorities do not believe his claim of non-violence and they are pursuing KNPB like never before.

International observers say it is because the Indonesian government is threatened by the movement.

Cammi Webb-Gannon says the Papuan movement's international links could explain Indonesia's concern.

"First of all a lot of them are young, they're students, or have recently been students," she told 7.30.

"So they do have a lot of passion, a lot of fire, they have a popular support base, they work from a very grassroots perspective, and I think Indonesia is worried because they do have these international links."

New police chief

The weekend raids follow the appointment of a new police chief in Papua, Brigadier General Tito Karnavian.

His background as the former head of Detachment 88 generates serious unease among some Papuans despite his assurances of a new inclusive approach.

"They will be opposed to his former role as head of Densus (Detachment) 88, and as a police chief it doesn't seem to mesh with his new approach of working to win the hearts and minds of Papuans," Ms Webb-Gannon said.

7.30 put several questions to the Indonesian government about the latest situation in Papua but received no reply. Attempts to contact the new Papuan police chief were also unsuccessful.

As for Mr Yeimo, he is pushing for the release of the eight activists arrested on the weekend.

And with his supporters in Australia, he is pressuring the Australian Government to rethink its funding for Detachment 88.

"The Papuans will be pretty much living like prisoners in our own land, where our movement, what we do will be censored, will be followed, will be monitored," Mr Kareni said.

"There's no room for democracy at all."

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news

West Papua: Australian gov't backs Indonesian atrocities

 By Ash Pemberton -- http://www.greenleft.org.au/

Papuans mourn independence activist Mako Tabu

The Australian government's support for Indonesia's occupation of West Papua reached absurd levels on September 12. Labor and Coalition senators voted down a Senate condolence motion for late refugee advocate and Papuan solidarity activist Vikki Riley on the basis that it contained the words “West Papua”.

The Don't Say These Words? blog said on September 13 that Country Liberal Senator Nigel Scullion told the mover of the motion, John Madigan of the Democratic Labor Party, that he would support the motion if the words “West Papua” were removed.

Labor Senator Trish Crossin said: “The government will not be supporting this motion because of her involvement with West Papua, in that it is in conflict with our foreign policy.”

Like Australia's infamous support for Indonesia's genocidal occupation of East Timor for more than two decades, Labor and Coalition governments back Indonesia's occupation of West Papua ― and assist its brutal suppression of the movement for liberation.

Richard Di Natale of the Greens said he was “staggered” at the position of Labor and the Coalition in refusing to support the condolence motion. “On the basis of her advocacy for the people of West Papua, who are currently being slaughtered, [the Senate is] going to vote down a condolence motion. Where is the courage to stand up and say: ‘Well done. You deserve our respect’? It is appalling.”

Madigan refused to alter the motion after consulting with Riley’s partner, Jimmy Hatton. Only the Greens, Madigan and independent Nick Xenophon voted in favour.

In related news, the former head of Indonesia's brutal Detachment 88 anti-terrorism unit has been appointed police chief in Papua province, part of the occupied nation of West Papua.

The Australian-funded and trained Detachment 88 faced scrutiny last month over its alleged role in the murder of leading Papuan independence activist Mako Tabuni in June.

The appointment of Tito Karnavian, who led the unit from 2004 to 2011, sends a clear message that the Indonesian government intends to foist more repression on the long-suffering people of West Papua.

The Jakarta Post said on September 26 that Karnavian promised to look into unresolved human rights abuses. The seriousness of such investigations is under question, as Detachment 88, under Karnavian, is alleged to be culpable in some of the cases.

Detachment 88's involvement in Indonesia's long reign of terror in West Papua has risen in recent years. The unit was formed after an agreement between Australia and Indonesia in 2002, with Australia providing millions of dollars in funding and training, ostensibly to fight terrorism.

However the unit's involvement in politically motivated actions has raised little concern from the Australian government, which only raises limp diplomatic “concerns” while continuing to give millions.  

West Papua has been the site of ongoing human rights abuse since its takeover by Indonesia in 1963. The Indonesian government and military have maintained a situation of mass exploitation of the people and environment, robbing the area of its vast natural resources. This situation has meant most Papuans support independence from Indonesia.

Much of the area's wealth goes to Western and Indonesian corporations, leaving little for Papuans. The military and police are also known to run illegal businesses, particularly around the mining industry.

Straits Times said on September 20 that police were running a $100 million-a-year gold panning business in the waste from the Grasberg mine owned by Freeport McMoRan.

Security forces also launched a big operation last year, allegedly to increase control of gold panning in the Degeuwo River near a mine owned by Australian company West Wits. West Papua Media said last December that Detachment 88 were allegedly involved and that West Wits had allegedly lent its helicopters to security forces for the operation.

Meanwhile, West Papuan people suffer the worst standard of living in Indonesia.

Bintang Papua said on September 14 that many Papuans in remote areas had never received medical care because authorities had deemed it too hard to provide. Many people had no concept of what “medical personnel” were, such was the level of neglect.

The education system is also severely neglected. Lydia Freyani of the department of education (PAUDNI) told Theglobejournal.com on September 16 that up to 1.9 million Papuan people were illiterate out of a population of 2.6 million.

Australia and other Western countries also lend political support to Indonesia's human rights abuses by making excuses for the violence and supporting Indonesia's “territorial integrity” ahead of the right of West Papuans to choose independence.

Chairperson of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) Victor Yeimo said on September 9: “The lust of economic and political expansion of the states, without feeling of guilt, continues to increase the suffering of the West Papuans ... People of West Papua fully understand how colonialism and exploitation scenarios work in this modern century.

“Labelling and stigmatisation of indigenous people as terrorists, and then kill and take control of land and its natural resources are the ways that are always used by the colonial countries and capitalists.

“Australia, Britain, the U.S. and Indonesia are implementing those ways in West Papua. The peaceful resistance movement in West Papua is being silenced by the Indonesian military forces.”

However, activists in Britain have sought to break the official silence by issuing a ￡50,000 reward for anyone who carried out a citizen's arrest on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on his upcoming visit to Britain, the Jakarta Globe said on September 19.

“We believe he should face justice as thousands of people are being killed in West Papua,” spokesperson for the Free West Papua Campaign Alex Regent told Harian Detik.

Papuan Media Accuses Indonesian Intelligence Of ‘Fake Journalism'

Analysis By Nick Chesterfield

Papuan Protest Indenpendent

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (Pacific Scoop, July 3, 2012) – Indonesian Intelligence and military forces have been accused of pushing their own agendas in the Papuan press in an

open letter from Victor Mambor, head of the Jayapura branch of the Alliance for Independent Journalists (AJI), circulated in the West Papua region.

 

This letter comes at a time when the Indonesian-run colonial press in West Papua is coming under repeated attack from both Papuan and Indonesian religious and civil society figures, independent media and human rights organizations, for its unethical and blatantly false reportage of the recent upsurge in "unknown killings" in Papua, referred to as OTK (orang tidak ketahui or unknown persons, now referred to across Papua as Orang Terlatih Khusus or Specially Trained People).

Indonesian-owned media outlets in Papua have long been identified with Indonesian intelligence and propaganda activities, with many outlets being directly owned by military officers for profit, and almost all media outlets coming under the control (either willing or not) of Indonesian intelligence personnel.

West Papua Media wrote a detailed section in the Pacific Media Watch 2011

Pacific Media Freedom report published in Pacific Journalism Review and highlighted the issues faced with press freedom in West Papua.

 

This report details the tactics Indonesian occupation forces use to limit factual reportage in Papua, and to dissuade journalists from doing their job.

However, now the Indonesian colonial press is becoming even more blatant in pushing an agenda in step with the Indonesian military agenda.

This agenda is being keenly felt by members of the nonviolent civil resistance movement and Papuan civil society, particularly members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), who are being blamed for the OTK campaign despite no evidence being presented to prove the military assertions, with what little evidence present having been entirely fabricated by a police too terrified to point the finger at the real perpetrators of violence in Papua – their big brothers in the military.

Mako Tabuni

Spreading falsehood

This spreading of falsehood has reached a crescendo around the assassination of KNPB leader Mako Tabuni, who was gunned down in an execution on June 14 by Australian-trained Detachment 88 officers in Jayapura.

Justifying this criminal act, Indonesian police have variously claimed that they shot Mako in self defense, despite many witness claims that he was shot in the back while on the ground.

Indonesian police then fabricated evidence including placing a handgun on his body in the hospital, and loudly announcing that Mako was responsible with other KNPB members for the series of OTK shootings, including the shooting of a German tourist.

This is despite the unchallenged fact that all shootings were carried out with men in broad daylight who made no attempt to hide and nonchalantly drove away in the DS (police) plated Avanzas.

This was reported uncritically by many in the colonial Indonesian press in Papua, with ironically perhaps, the truth-telling in Indonesian metropolitan media coming from independent human rights journalists who went out on a limb by telling the story of the peaceful activist and freedom fighter whom they had all met and spent time with in his attempts to non-violently raise the issue of his peoples suffering under colonial genocidal policies.

Yet the shootings continue, even with the official suspect dead, with nary a comment coming from the colonial press, a situation that is a direct repetition of the assassination of Kelly Kwalik on December 16, 2010.

Kwalik was also blamed for the OTK shootings that have plagued the giant Freeport Grasberg gold and copper mine for many years, shootings widely blamed on a spat between Brimob police and the TNI for control of mine protection and illegal gold mining businesses.

Shootings continue

Again, despite the assassination of Kwalik (again by Detachment 88 officers), the shootings continue, and will continue as long as the Indonesian security forces use conflict as a way of guaranteeing their presence.

A presence with its only purpose being to exploit natural resources and make the generals’ money – at the heart of why Papuan people resist the colonization of their land.

The leader of the indigenous Papuan Kingmi church, the Reverend Benny Giay, was last week in Jakarta to brief international diplomats about the shootings and recent massive increases in state violence against Papuan people.

In his briefing, he said that when the government has claimed shootings are carried out by separatist groups, Papuans respond to those claims with their usual: "Oh itu lagu lama. The authorities are playing the old song."

As Mambor has outlined in his letter, Rev Giay made a series of formal complaints to the Indonesian Press Council and journalists’ associations about the alleged lack of integrity of Indonesian so-called journalists in Papua and of their non-factual scapegoating of ordinary Papuans for separatist and violent actions.

This seems to have already threatened powerful people, as a source close to Giay had told West Papua Media that he was physically threatened by a member of the security forces during his advocacy work in Jakarta.

But this behavior by intelligence services and their not-very-opaque "journalists" is causing many independent media to look at other tactics to regain their Papuan voices.

Just as Victor Mambor has done with his heartfelt letter, the independent Papuan citizen media outlet UMAGI News has taken a bold step in publicly naming a group of Indonesian reporters that it believes are paid intelligence officers under the command of the Cenderwasih military command.

Papuan journalists: ‘Stop terror on press reporters’

In an editorial, UmagiNews has argued that most Indonesians who serve in professional media in Papua do not carry out the tasks and functions of a journalist.

"Whether in print, electronic or online media, (journalists should) convey information what has happened, seen, heard, felt. To be independent means to report the events and facts in accordance with the voice of conscience without interference, coercion, and the intervention of other parties including the owners of the press," said the Umagi editorial.

"Accurate means truthful according to the objective circumstances when the event occurs; balanced means that all parties have equal opportunity to have their views heard; and to not act in bad faith means no deliberate and sole intent of the detriment of others. Yet according to KM, a Papuan independent journalist, most journalists who served in Papua have always worked closely with the military, which is a violation of the journalistic code of ethics."

Umagi News published the names of the following reporters whom it says it has gathered evidence that shows their active collaboration as informers and/or trained agents with civilian or military intelligence services.

Umagi claims its information has come from sources within both the security forces, and from a TNI document from the command of the XVII/Cenderawasih Military Region Taskforce 6 "datasheet of informants/agents", signed by one Ahmad Fikri Musmar (NRP inf Captain 11,970,044,410,576).

All suspects are ethnic Indonesians and non-Papuan. They and their media affiliations are named on the West Papuan Media websitehere.

West Papua Media has sought clarification from independent journalists and human rights sources in West Papua about the veracity of these names, and our sources have concurred with the accuracy of the names given in the Umagi report, though West Papua Media has not yet been able to see the document first hand.

However, this is not a new claim.

For example, On May 16, the TNI [Indonesian military] held a major meeting with Indonesian press representatives in Sorong, and encouraged soldiers and journalists to work together to ensure "balanced coverage of the affairs of the function and duties of the TNI… so that it can be beneficial for society."

The commander of the TNI in Sorong, Colonel Inf Wiharsa Eka, even exhorted all present to monitor events together, as "it runs the full atmosphere of intimate friendship, and even a means to know each other.

The journalists should exchange phone numbers, either with me or Danyon commander (Commander Batalyon)," said the colonel. With friends like these soldiers, how could an honest journalist possibly have any fears of reporting events factually in Papua?

Papuan people reclaiming their own media space is an inevitable next step in the struggle for self-determination. The building a free and robust credible independent media is the basis for any democratic society – and indeed this is the core mission of West Papua Media.

 But Indonesia’s deliberate manipulation of the truth and its corruption of the principles of journalism in West Papua, together with the ongoing and constant threats to brave professional and citizen journalists in Papua for telling the truth, are giving those committed to genuine journalism more impetus every day to give voice to the voiceless, and to help the voiceless roar in Papua.

Pacific Scoop Or Pidp.eastwestcenter.org
All editorial and news content produced under the principles of Creative Commons. Permission to republish with attribution may be obtained from the Pacific Media Centre - pmc@aut.ac.nz

West Papua: Did The East Timor Tragedy Teach Us Nothing?

By Jennifer Robinson (update)

Jennifer Robinson (photo Rt.com)

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (Pacific Scoop, June 25, 012) – As violence escalates in West Papua, one cannot help but recall East Timor and wonder how much worse it must get before Australia, New Zealand and the international community will act.

Tensions are at breaking point in the easternmost province of Indonesia after the police shooting of independence activist Mako Tabuni.

Human rights activists report Tabuni was unarmed when shot six times by the Australian-trained Detachment 88 forces. Tabuni was deputy chairman of the West Papua National Committee, an organization advocating independence and the right to self-determination under international law. Tabuni had also been campaigning for an investigation into a recent spate of military killings.

The shooting follows years of violence. At least 16 people have been killed in the past month, according to human rights groups, and hundreds of homes raided, with many burnt to the ground. Thousands are reported to be evacuating, seeking refuge in the forest or heading for refugee camps in Papua New Guinea. Credible reports of human rights violations by Indonesian security forces have emerged, including torture, excessive use of force and extrajudicial killings.

Yet Indonesia’s State Intelligence Agency chief, Lieutenant-General Marciano Norman, placed blame on the Free Papua Movement, "foreign agents" and local residents for the violence.

The President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, played down the events. As Indonesia obfuscates and Australia remains silent, West Papua bleeds.

While most Australians are proud of our role in ending 24 years of bloody Indonesian occupation in East Timor, we should not forget it came after a long history of accepting Indonesian assertions of sovereignty while ignoring human rights abuse on our doorstep.

Wide-eyed innocence

After East Timor, we cannot claim any wide-eyed innocence regarding West Papua.

Australia is now bidding for a place on the United Nations Security Council on the basis of our alleged "human rights-based foreign policy," highlighting our role in East Timor while trying to keep a lid on our history of inaction there.

The federal Attorney-General has refused freedom of information requests for the release of diplomatic cables dating to the 1970s – cables that a University of NSW professor, Clinton Fernandes, says will show Australian complicity in concealing the mass starvation of Timorese.

Are we now making the same mistakes with West Papua? Few are aware of Australian and UN involvement in West Papua 30 years before the intervention in East Timor.

Like East Timor, West Papua was annexed by Indonesia in circumstances that violated international law. Comparisons are made, and with good reason.

Both territories are made up of distinct minorities. Both are rich in natural resources. Both have struggled for self-determination. Like East Timor, West Papua had a UN vote for self-determination, only the outcome could not have been more different.

Sham vote

In 1999, East Timor got a proper vote and won independence (not before an estimated 200,000 Timorese had died). But in 1969, West Papua got a sham vote and became part of Indonesia.

Last month, East Timor celebrated 10 years of independence or, as the Timorese say, 10 years since the international community recognized their independence.

But an estimated 400,000 Papuans have now been killed after more than 40 years of Indonesian oppression and abuse.

This year, Indonesia faced international condemnation for the imprisonment of West Papuan leaders for peacefully calling for independence. When asked if Australia had raised concerns with Indonesia, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Bob Carr, responded by admitting that "before I could raise the subject…

The Indonesian Foreign Minister nominated that they have a clear responsibility to see that their sovereignty is upheld in respect of human rights standards," and Carr "was impressed by that."

In responses eerily similar to statements made by Gareth Evans about East Timor during Indonesian rule, Carr warned members of Parliament "against foolishly talking up" West Papuans’ right to self-determination because it "threatens the territorial integrity of Indonesia" and "would produce a reaction" towards Australia. It would be a foolish foreign affairs minister who did not learn from our mistakes in East Timor.

Australia should, at a minimum, reconsider military aid to Indonesia and call for them to allow media and international organizations access to West Papua to investigate abuses and facilitate peaceful dialogue.

East Timor should remind us of the hefty price of turning a blind eye to repression in the mistaken belief that it serves stability in our region. As a Deakin University academic, Scott Burchill, has long argued, it is not only "a dereliction of our ethical duty, it is politically short-sighted and usually results in blowback."

Jennifer Robinson is an Australian human rights lawyer in London. The article was first published in The Age. Pacific Scoop
All editorial and news content produced under the principles of Creative Commons. Permission to republish with attribution may be obtained from the Pacific Media Centre - pmc@aut.ac.nz

Comprehensive dialogue urgent for Papua

 Margareth S. Aritonang, The Jakarta Post

Papuan Aktivists (photo dok)

Jakarta, Voice Baptist,-- Activists and rights campaigners have called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to use his visit to Papua next month to initiate a dialogue with all members of the Papuan community to find a lasting solution to tension in the country’s easternmost province.

An activist with the Papuan Peace Network, Theo Hesegem, said the only way to end the violence in Papua was by holding a comprehensive dialogue with all stakeholders ranging from local businesspeople, local administrations, indigenous communities and members of rebel groups.

Theo added that it was high time for the government to embrace members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) in a dialogue for peace. 

“It is corruption that is destroying Papua, not the OPM, which has been condemned as a separatist organization. The central government has intentionally nurtured corrupt practices throughout the country, including in Papua, by not doing anything about it,” Theo said.

He said the OPM and other noted figures, including Theys Hiyo Eluay and Mako Tabuni, had struggled against corruption, which had caused injustice to the people of Papua.

Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) researcher Muridan Widjojo said the OPM had been used as a shield for the government’s incompetence in administering the province.

“The OPM has conveniently been used as a scapegoat for the government’s reluctance to uphold justice [in Papua]. This has only nurtured respect for the movement among Papuans, who view the OPM as a kind of messiah who will one day deliver them from injustice,” Muridan said.

Muridan also called on the government to work harder to end the cycle of violence in Papua or risk dealing with the growing popularity of the OPM.

“Papuans name their children after local rights heroes, such as Mako Tabuni or Theys Hiyo Eluay. It’s the way Papuans deal with all the discrimination and injustice they have suffered. Both of them died but their spirits live on,” Muridan said.

Theys was killed by members of the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) on Nov. 10, 2002. Mako, meanwhile, was killed in an ambush by police in June of this year.

Separately, Poengky Indarti of human rights watchdog Imparsial said that Yudhoyono, whose term is due to expire in 2014, was burdened with the task of overseeing the peace process in Papua.

“The President has publicly said that his government is open for dialogue to discuss development in Papua. I think this is the right time for him to do that because soon he will be preoccupied with the 2014 legislative and presidential elections involving his Democratic Party,” Poengky said over the weekend.

She said dialogue was now even more urgent, given the Indonesian government’s refusal to adopt recommendations to promote human rights in Papua, as suggested by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) at its quadrennial Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, Switzerland in May.

The UNHRC asked Indonesia to adopt several recommendations on Papua, including to end the impunity enjoyed by members of the security forces who commit human rights violations in the province; to release all Papuans who have been detained for publicly expressing their aspirations; and to ensure free access for foreign journalists to Papua and West Papua.

The government is due to raise special autonomy funding for Papua to Rp 4.3 trillion (US$450.5 million) next year from this year’s Rp 3.10 trillion, and to Rp 1.8 trillion for West Papua from this year’s Rp 1.33 trillion.

Photos News: Benny Wenda Give talk at the Amnesty Reading updating Human Rights situation in West Papua 2012

By: West Papua News (WPnews)

 

West Papua Human Rights Situation

Filep Karma is serving 15 years in prison for raising a flag. A prominent advocate for the rights of Indonesia's Papuan population, Filep was arrested in 2004 for taking part in a peaceful ceremonial raising of the Morning Star flag, a symbol of Papua.

Recently Detachment 88 setting up by Australia, America and British for untie terrorist Unit for counter terrorism in Indonesia. The untie terrorist unit mist use the fund to Killing West Papua Leader Mako abuni. 

 

Then arrested Buthat Tabuni without any evident what his crimes was, just because of the leading campaign West Papua Self Determination and independence he was in Jail.

West Papua outrage and the Australian connection

Papuan Protest Human Rigths

There was a grim reminder recently of Australia’s very negative role in the region with news of the actions of Indonesia’s Detachment 88. The “counter-terrorism” unit has been involved in a string of human rights abuses in West Papua and is suspected of the killing of separatist leader Mako Tabuni. Detachment 88 receives support from Australian forces including the Australian Federal Police. It also receives assistance from the US military.

The reports are a reminder of the aid given to Indonesia’s special Kopassus forces that had an appalling record of rape, torture and “disappearances” during East Timor’s long struggle for independence. Kopassus was given assistance from the Australian military and conducted annual, joint “counter-terrorism” exercises with the Special Air Services Regiment. The then Howard government reluctantly and belatedly withdrew its support for Indonesian occupation of East Timor.

The killing of Mr Tabuni has sparked widespread criticism of Indonesia’s heavy handed role in West Papua and the support its military receives from Australia. Tabuni headed the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB) which engages in non-violent campaigning for independence and a political solution to the conflict in the province. Detachment 88 is also deployed in the battle against the Free Papua Movement (OPM) which is conducting a militant struggle for independence. In December 2010 it killed OPM leader Kelly Kwalik.

But it is mounting evidence of brutality against peaceful protest and organisation that is reviving concerns about what is taking place in West Papua. Greens Senator Richard Di Natale is among those speaking out. “The fact that Australian dollars are training Indonesian military, particularly counter-terrorism operations that are contributing to human rights abuses in West Papua is a real concern to me,” he told ABC TV recently.

“There’s a very strong argument that we should be withdrawing our support of those operations immediately,” the Senator added. “If we’re in fact fuelling that conflict, the onus is on us to ensure that we stop doing that and we get much better accountability in terms of our relationship with the Indonesians.”

Senator Di Natale asked Foreign Minister Bob Carr to raise these issues with Indonesia’s foreign minister and to “make it very clear to his counterpart in Indonesia that what’s going on in the region is unacceptable.” Senator Carr has replied that he will seek a full airing of the issues but added that it was in Australia’s interests for Indonesia to have a formidable “anti-terrorism” capacity.  

Next article – Perth rally for Cuban Five - (CPA-News)

'Doa' Buchtar Dari Penjara Untuk Mako

Buctar Tabuni & Mako Tabuni (Photo Dok)

Jayapura Voice Baptis (16/9)--- Ketika Musa (Mako) Tabuni, Ketua I Komite Nasional Papua Barat (KNPB) di tembak mati, Ketua Umum Buctar Tabuni berada di dalam tahanan. Buctar tidak pernah menyaksikan mayat saudaranya hingga masuk ke liang kubur.

Sekalipun Buctar tidak hadir dan tak pernah melihat mayat kolega perjuangannya, namun doa Buctar menyertai Musa Tabuni. Melalui akun facebooknya, buchtar.tabuni@facebook.com, Buchtar menuliskan

doa buat kolega sekaligus saudaranya itu, Jumat 13/9.

"Sahabat karibku! Aku tahu Kau telah pergi untuk selamanya, tanpa seijin ALLAH yang berhak mencabut nyawamu, namun Aku pesan kepadamu. Jangan pernah, Kau ikut bawa pergi jiwa dan semangat perLAWANan kepada musuhmu yang adalah musuhku dan musuh kita bersama. 

Tinggalkanlah jiwa dan semangat perLAWANanmu bersama kami, supaya kami tetap dan terus berjuang untuk membebaskan masa depan negeri dan anak cucu kita, agar masa depan negeri dan anak cucu kita tidak boleh di jajah lagi. Seperti kita di jajah hari ini.

Sahabat karibku! Kepergianmu membuat jiwaku sakit, sedih dan tergetar marah. Andai saja kau pergi, lalu 1 tahun kemudian kau harus kembali untuk menemuiku, saat itu juga aku harus memukulmu sebagai tanda untuk melepaskan jiwa ragaku yang sedang sakit dan bergejolak ini. Namun karena kau telah pergi untuk selamanya di alam baka sana, maka yang harus ku lakukan adalah aku harus jatuh tersungkur di hadirat TUHAN YESUS, lalu memohon penghiburan jiwaku yang sedang bergejolak karena kepergianmu.

Sahabat karibku! Aku janji. Aku akan terus berjuang bersama Kebenaran KRISTUS buat pembebasan negeri dan masa depan anak cucu kita. Semoga ada waktu TUAHAN yang indah buat kemerdekaan bangsa kita, sebagai tanda pembalasan kepada musuhmu yang adalah musuhku dan musuh kita bersama. Dan saat itu juga kita akan katakan: Perjuangan melawan kolonial NKRI dari tanah perjanjian, Papua Barat telah selesai dan selamat jalan penjara tuaku NKRI.  

Editor: (Jubi/Mawel)

KNPB ask the police what their charges were against Mako Tabuni

Update 

Jayapura Bintang Papua, 06/09,-- At a time when the media is busily reporting about plans for a dialogue between Papua and Jakarta, following the visit to Papua by the Presidential Consultative Council under the leadership of Dr Albert Hasibuan, the KNPB - National Committee for West Papua, has responded by saying that there are issues that need to be discussed before any dialogue can take place.

'Our way to solve the Papuan problem is for a referendum to be held and for the Papuan people to have the freedom run their own affairs in a state of their own.,' said KNPB spokesperson, Wim R. Medlama, who spoke with two other activists alongside. He said people should not be spending too much time talking about the dialogue, because 'the support in favour of freedom is widespread, down to the very roots of Papuan society'.

Another issue that he spoke about was the accusations that had been levelled against the late Mako Tabuni. After the arrest of Danny Kogoya for alleged terrorism and the acts of violence that have been happening in the city of Jayapura, led the KNPB to ask a number of questions. The police were directing their allegations these acts of terror against the late Mako Tabuni.

'We call on the police to reveal who these people are who have been involved in the series of shootings, and we would like to hear the evidence about this. And now the same charges are being levelled against Danny Kogoya, so we would really like to know what facts the police have in relation to all this,' said Medlama.

He said that when Mako Tabuni was shot and killed, all the allegations about the shootings had been directed against the late Mako Tabuni, and then after the arrest of Danny Kogoya, all these allegations were directed against him. 'So what we want to know is what are the facts that have been discovered about all these shootings?'

The NKPB also said that the police should say what ammunition they had discovered at the office of Danny Koyoga. The KNPB accused the police of making this up so as to be able to close down the democratic space for activists in Papua.

The KNPB also called on the police to reveal the truth about the shooting of the German citizen in Base-G, and about the burning of vehicles and their drivers in the Waena cemetery.

Translated by Carmel Budiardjo

West Papua: End Australian complicity in genocide

Papuan Photo: uwip.org

The Socialist Alliance released the statement below on September 10.

The Socialist Alliance condemns the Australian government’s ongoing support for Indonesian security forces, particularly the Detachment 88 “counter-terrorism” unit implicated in human rights abuses in the occupied nation West Papua and elsewhere in Indonesia.

Detachment 88 has operated in West Papua for several years and has been implicated in killings, harassment and torture of Papuans as part of Indonesia’s efforts to repress the movement for independence.

The latest crackdown by security forces — which included the alleged involvement of Detachment 88 in the killing of West Papua National Committee (KNPB) leader Mako Tabuni — has finally gained much-deserved attention from the mainstream media and put pressure on the Australian government over its complicity in the repression.

Detachment 88 was formed after an agreement between Indonesia and the Australian government following the terrorist bombing in Bali in 2002. Australia has given tens of millions of dollars to pay for the unit’s equipment, training and facilities. The Australian Federal Police have also held special training seminars for the unit’s members.

The Australian government also has long-term links to the Kopassus special forces unit, notorious for its long history of human rights abuses throughout Indonesia, East Timor and West Papua.

As new KNPB leader Victor Yeimo told ABC TV's 7.30: “You [Australia] give money for Indonesia to kill people in West Papua. You are the perpetrators ... you are the actors of violence in West Papua.

“Australian government — also American government — they are actors of violence in West Papua because they fund them, they train them, and then with the gun they kill people. They kill us like animal.”

Australia has also provided political cover for successive Indonesian governments to maintain a regime of brutality in West Papua. Foreign minister Bob Carr’s comments on 7.30 on August 28 were typical of this — defending Indonesian officials as being “responsive” when Australian diplomats raised human rights concerns, despite human rights abuses continuing.

Western countries have long been complicit in Indonesia’s brutal treatment of West Papua. The harsh regime has helped facilitate the exploitation of the area’s riches in natural resources by Western and Indonesian companies. Papuans see little benefit from the pillaging of their land, and have the lowest standard of living in Indonesia.

The Socialist Alliance recognises West Papua’s status as an illegally colonised nation. It supports the independence movement’s campaign for freedom from oppression, including its calls for an internationally supervised referendum on independence.

The Socialist Alliance calls on the Australian government to cut all ties with the Indonesian security forces. It must pressure Indonesia to bring to justice those responsible for human rights abuses, including any responsible commanders and politicians.

Australia should pay reparations to the West Papuan people for any abuses committed by forces funded and trained by Australia.

The Socialist Alliance also calls on the Australian government to end its political support for Indonesia’s crimes and to recognise the right of the West Papuan people to exercise self-determination.

More: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/52206

Australia menekan Indonesia pada pembunuhan Aktivis Papua

Foreign Minister AU. Bob Carr (AFP)

Mako Tabuni (foto KNPB)

Canberra pada hari Rabu  menyerukan untuk penyelidikan Indonesia ke dalam pembunuhan seorang pemimpin kemerdekaan Papua tetapi tidak bisa mengatakan apakah Australia terlatih kontra-terorisme polisi terlibat dalam kematian.
Menteri Luar Negeri Bob Carr mengatakan para pejabat senior Australia menekan Indonesia pada kematian pada bulan Juni Mako Tabuni, pemimpin dalam perjuangan kemerdekaan Papua dari Jakarta diduga dibunuh oleh anti-ekstrimis skuad Indonesia.
Pendukung Tabuni mengatakan kepada media Australia dia ditembak mati oleh berpakaian petugas dari Detasemen 88, skuad kontra-terorisme yang dibentuk setelah bom Bali tahun 2002 dan sebagian dilatih dan didanai oleh Australia.
Carr mengatakan polisi Australia termasuk pelatihan HAM dalam pekerjaan mereka dengan polisi Indonesia, tetapi "kami tidak menjalankan pasukan kontra-terorisme " dan ada batas tanggung jawab Canberra untuk kegiatan mereka.
Dia tidak bisa memastikan apakah Densus 88 telah terlibat dalam kematian Mr.Tabuni, tetapi mengatakan beberapa tingkat atas representasi telah dibuat  Jakarta menyerukan harus penyelidikan "penuh dan terbuka" dalam penembakan itu.
"Kami pikir cara terbaik untuk mengklarifikasi situasi ini untuk penyelidikan," kata Carr ABC Television.
"Kami pikir itu akan berada dalam kepentingan Indonesia khususnya dan untuk kepentingan catatan hak asasi manusia mereka di provinsi Papua."
Carr menekankan bahwa Seruan datang "dalam konteks kita konsisten mengakui kedaulatan Indonesia atas Papua, dan pada saat yang sama menegaskan hak kami sebagai teman dan tetangga untuk mengangkat isu-isu hak asasi manusia".
"Bahkan ketika mereka sedang berhadapan dengan orang-orang yang mungkin telah menggunakan cara-cara kekerasan, yang dituduh menggunakan cara-cara kekerasan, posisi kuat kami dengan Indonesia adalah bahwa proses hukum harus terbuka dan bahwa orang yang dituduh melakukan berbagai pelanggaran harus ditangani dengan jatuh tempo proses, "katanya.
Carr mengatakan Presiden Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono dan Menteri Luar Negeri Marty Natalegawa telah "sangat responsif".
Polisi Australia  mengatakan hanya menyediakan dana untuk pasukan Indonesia untuk spesifik kontra-terorisme inisiatif, meskipun itu "berbakat" mobil, telekomunikasi dan peralatan komputer senilai Aus $ 314.500 (US $ 325.810) selama dua tahun.
"Polisi Federal Australia tidak menyadari, atau telah diberitahu, bahwa Densus 88 secara khusus menargetkan pemimpin kemerdekaan di Papua dan Papua Barat," katanya dalam sebuah pernyataan.

Australia presses Indonesia on Papua killing

Canberra called on Wednesday for an Indonesian inquiry into the killing of a Papuan independence leader but could not say whether Australian-trained counter-terrorism police were involved in the death.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said senior Australian officials had pressed Indonesia on the death in June of Mako Tabuni, a leader in Papua's fight for independence from Jakarta allegedly killed by Indonesia's anti-extremist squad.

Tabuni's supporters told Australian media he was gunned down by plain-clothes officers from Detachment 88, a counter-terrorism squad formed after the 2002 Bali bombings and partly trained and resourced by Australia.

Carr said Australian police included human rights training in their work with the Indonesian police but "we don't run the counter-terrorism forces" and there was a limit to Canberra's responsibility for their activities.

 Source: http://news.yahoo.com/australia-presses-indonesia-papua/

He could not confirm whether Detachment 88 had been involved in Tabuni's death but said several top-level representations had been made to Jakarta calling for a "full and open" investigation into the shooting.

"We think the best way of clarifying the situation is for an inquiry," Carr told ABC Television.

"We think it would be in the interest of Indonesia in particular and in the interest of their human rights record in the Papuan provinces."

Carr stressed that the calls came "in the context of us consistently recognising Indonesian sovereignty over Papua, and at the same time asserting our right as a friend and a neighbour to raise human rights issues".

"Even when they're dealing with people who may have used violent means, who are accused of using violent means, our strong position with Indonesia is that the legal process should be open and that the people accused of these offences should be treated with due process," he said.

Carr said Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa had been "very responsive".

Australian police said it only provided funding to the Indonesian forces for specific counter-terrorism initiatives, though it had "gifted" cars, telecoms and computer equipment worth Aus$314,500 (US$325,810) over two years.

"The Australian Federal Police is not aware, nor been informed, that Detachment 88 is specifically targeting independence leaders in Papua and West Papua," it said in a statement.

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Papuan Patience Worn Thin

by, John Mcbeth - Straits Times

Papuan

German biologist Pieter Helmut and his wife were walking up the beach after swimming near the Papua provincial capital of Jayapura when a bearded gunman suddenly got out of a van and opened fire.

Helmut, 54, had emergency surgery for life-threatening bullet wounds to the stomach and thigh. He was lucky to survive the May 29 attack, unusual even by Papuan standards.

He was among the victims of a spate of random shootings in and around Jayapura in May and June which left six people dead, including a 16-year-old student.

Indonesia's Papua province was once again in the headlines and back on the Cabinet agenda.

With government hardliners in the ascendency, there is now every sign that youthful Papuan militants, only loosely affiliated to the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM), have lost patience with the dialogue process and are taking the fight to urban areas.

"Everything suggests that there is going to be more trouble in Papua unless the government can produce a policy that will have an immediate and visible impact on how ordinary Papuans are treated," the International Crisis Group warned in a recent report. It said the recent violence has exposed the lack of a coherent government strategy to address the many dimensions of conflict in Papua, with well-meant programs falling victim to security imperatives or rent-seeking by police or soldiers in resource-rich areas.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seems to be playing both sides, telling Papuan leaders in private that he supports talks to resolve Papua's many problems, and then saying publicly that there is no need for talks at all, as he did in a major July speech.

At the same time, the Unit for the Accelerated Development of Papua and West Papua (UP4B), which was widely seen as laying the groundwork for a prospective dialogue when it was created last November, has now been told to stay away from politics.

UP4B head Bambang Darmono, a retired two-star general who played a crucial role in the 2005 Aceh peace process, told foreign journalists recently that his job was simply to "coordinate and facilitate" government development programs.

Papua's political leaders consider the territory's 2001 Special Autonomy Law to be a failure, not necessarily because it doesn't hit the right notes, but because it was hurriedly enacted without consultation with the Papuans.

Likewise the UP4B. Despite the need for vastly improved governance and an end to endemic corruption, the unit and other central government interventions are regarded as efforts by Jakarta to decentralize.

While Darmono agrees that the security situation "doesn't look comfortable," he and other senior officials fail to see the irony in their criticism of international news reports when foreign reporters are banned from Papua and have to rely on often biased accounts from both sides.

The sharp increase in bloodshed has not been confined to Jayapura. At least 16 civilians, including a village headman, and eight soldiers and policemen, have been killed across Papua and neighboring West Papua province over the past three months.

Two weeks after Helmut was wounded, patrolmen shot dead wanted activist Mako Tabuni, a member of the supposedly non-violent West Papua National Committee (KNPB), set up four years ago to campaign for a referendum on Papuan independence.

The KNPB was at the center of a row in early 2010 when Western and Papuan rights groups challenged an International Crisis Group report asserting that the committee was part of a growing "radicalization" of the Papua resistance movement.

Whether "radical" is the appropriate word or not, police claim to have telephone intercepts and forensic evidence showing that Mako, KNPB leader Buchtar Tabuni, Maluk Tabuni and three other suspects were responsible for the Jayapura shooting spree.

Police insist Mako was killed while trying to escape, but such is the level of mutual distrust, they will have a hard job convincing anyone of that. There have been far too many other cases with a similar disregard for Papuan lives.

Tabuni is a common name, but Mako and Buchtar were cousins and the KNPB is believed to have links to Goliat Tabuni, leader of one of the OPM's most active guerilla groups in the mountainous Puncak Raya region far to the west.

The violence is taking place in a political vacuum, with the Supreme Court hearing Papua governor Barnabas Suebu's claim that he is entitled to a third term and the Constitutional Court soon to rule on whether only indigenous Papuans can run for public office.

The government supports the view that candidates must be Melanesians. But for all of Papua's special autonomy status, that would set a troubling precedent, and ignores the fact that non-indigenous people now comprise half of Papua's population.

Some officials believe separatists are using the long delay in holding local elections to fuel communal tensions and create the impression of rising instability in a troubled territory.

President Yudhoyono bizarrely sought to play down the level of violence to journalists in early June, saying the prolonged low-intensity conflict could not compare with Afghanistan and Syria.

Complaining about what he called "cause and effect," he referred to a June 6 incident in the highland town of Wamena. Rioting soldiers killed one man and wounded 15 others after a soldier was stabbed to death for running his motorcycle over a boy
.
Yudhoyono said the OPM wants to provoke an over-reaction to attract global attention, a frank admission that security forces still lacked the discipline and training required in a such a highly charged environment.

Reprinted courtesy of The Straits Times (jakarta-globe)