Indonesia denies it has any indigenous peoples

The government of Indonesia has responded to UN recommendations to recognise the rights of its indigenous peoples by claiming that none live in Indonesia. In fact, Indonesia is home to an estimated 50-70 million indigenous and tribal people.

In a response to the United Nations Periodic Review, a four–year human rights check-up for all countries, Indonesia said this month, "The Government of Indonesia supports the promotion and protection of indigenous people worldwide… Indonesia, however, does not recognise the application of the indigenous peoples concept… in the country".

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The UN’s report recommended that Indonesia should consider ratifying ILO Convention 169, the only international law for indigenous and tribal peoples. It also recommended that Indonesia should secure the rights of indigenous peoples, especially to their traditional lands, territories and resources. Indonesia’s denial of the existence of indigenous peoples within its borders was in response to this.

Survival International, the NGO which campaigns for the rights of tribal people, believes that Indonesia treats its indigenous and tribal people, especially in West Papua, worse than any other country in the world. In West Papua killings, torture and rape of tribal people are commonplace – the figure of 100,000 people killed since 1963 is believed to be a conservative estimate.

The denial of the very existence of indigenous peoples in Indonesia is symptomatic of the government’s total disregard for their rights.

Indonesia’s President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, will travel to the UK for a State visit on October 31st.
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US State Department urges proper investigation into Papua shootings

The US State Department has condemned recent violence in Indonesia’s Papua region and urged Jakarta to investigate allegations of excessive force by the security forces.

The State Department says it wants to see full and transparent investigations into a recent string of shootings in Papua, most of which have been blamed by police on "unidentified gunmen".

The Huffington Post reports that at least 19 people have been killed in Papua over the last month.
In the killing of the Papuan leader Mako Tabuni last month in Jayapura, police say an officer was forced to shoot him when he resisted arrest.

His death came shortly after he publicly called for police to properly investigate recent shootings.
The US State Department says that limitations on access to Papua for foreign governments, NGOs and journalists only feeds suspicion in the international community about government actions in the region.
It has encouraged Indonesia to take this into consideration when reviewing travel requests.

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Impartial: President Responsible Protect People in Papua

JAYAPURA-action series of mysterious killings continue to occur in Papua, along with the casualties of innocent people also continue to fall. Impartial observer NGO Human Rights calling for the president is responsible for the safety of the people in Papua.

"The actions of a mysterious murder, which took the lives of innocent victims should be immediately discontinued. The President is responsible for the protection and safety of the lives of people in Papua, "said Executive Director Imparsial Poengki Indartis, via short message, Monday, June 11.

 According to him, the President should immediately intervene with memangggil security-related staff. "SBY should immediately call the Police, Armed Forces Commander, Ka-BIN and Minister of Home Affairs, along with officials from the Acting Governor of Papua, police chief and military commander. 

There is a definitive indication of the governor's absence makes oversight of uncontrolled movement of troops in Papua. Situations like this can not be tolerated, "he said. The President also had to prepare the Jakarta-Papua dialogue to find out the real issues and find solutions Papua.

"Impartial SBY urged to immediately prepare the Jakarta-Papua dialogue, in order to unravel the tangled threads of the problems in Papua," he said. Impartial suspect the situation in Papua lately there are also links to the Governor General Election process is ongoing. 

"We expect these actions were all pre-conditions before the election, considering similar action is also used to take place in Aceh ahead of the election. This old toy interest groups that exploit vulnerabilities in the Jakarta area for their greater interest in 2014, "he explained

Source: Bintang Papua