Hear Benny Wenda on W Papua, Feb 6 in NYC

Current issues in West Papua

ETAN invites you to join West Papuan leader Benny Wenda

Wednesday, February 6, 6:30 pm - 9 pm
339 Lafayette St., 3rd flr, New York, NY

(between Bleecker and Bond Streets)

SUBWAYS: Bleecker St. on 6 train; Broadway-Lafayette on B, D, F, M trains; Prince on R, N trains

contact: ETAN, etan@etan.org, 917-690-4391 

Benny Wenda campaigns for the self-determination of his people on a wide range of fronts. His village was bombed by Indonesia when he was a child and many of his family were killed. Later, he began to campaign peacefully to free his people. For this 'crime' he was arrested, tortured and threatened with death. Following his escape from custody while on trial, he gained political asylum in Britain, where he set up the Oxford-based Free West Papua Campaign in 2004 to spread awareness of human rights violations in West Papua and highlight the right of self-determination for its people.

He helped found the International Parliamentarians for West Papua and International Lawyers for West Papua. Benny travels tirelessly, meeting with political officials, journalists, others and giving talks at universities, local action groups and festivals, raising awareness about the plight of his people.

In 2011, the Indonesian Government issued an International Arrest Warrant for Benny through Interpol. This move was widely regarded as an attempt to silence him. Fair Trials International led an appeal to have the Red Notice removed so that he could once again travel freely. In August 2012, in a landmark case Interpol removed the Red Notice, after an investigation concluded that the Indonesian Government had abused the system in a politically motivated attempt to silence Benny.

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/335304036574279/

More on Benny Wenda

Read the West Papua Report

Response to Sidney Jones' argument to apply Indonesia's anti-terrorism law in West Papua

Excerpts from Ed McWilliams responds to Sidney Jones' argument to apply Indonesia's anti-terrorism law in West Papua

"In a December 5, 2012 lecture at Stanford University's International Policy Studies program (revised January 22, 2013), the respected Southeast Asia analyst Sidney Jones discussed the Indonesian government's unwillingness, thus far, to categorize the Papuan "ethno-nationalists/separatists" as "terrorists." 

...

Jones summarily credits recent violent acts in West Papua to the "ethno-nationalists and separatists." This is surprising insofar as Jones is a highly regarded observer of the Indonesian political scene with a deep human rights background. She knows, or should know, that the authors of violence in the Indonesian archipelago -- especially violence with complex motives -- are never so clear cut as her lecture implies. This is especially true of West Papua where police-military rivalries over access to resources and sources of extortion monies is well known. Jones should know also that military, police and intelligence agencies, have long played the role of provocateur, orchestrating acts of violence which advance agendas that are invariably obscure

....

Jones also fails to acknowledge the reality, widely noted in international and local human rights circles, that the Indonesian government has long sought to smear peaceful dissent in West Papua as "separatist." Jakarta, through the aegis of a corrupt court system and often criminal state security forces, has repeatedly employed the "separatist" label to arrest and prosecute or detain peaceful political dissenters, such as those who display the Papuan morning star flag. Courts regularly resort to charges of treason that date to the Dutch colonial era and widely used by the Suharto dictatorship to intimidate dissidents. Jones' call for Indonesia to define "separatism" as "terrorism" would deepen Jakarta's targeting of peaceful dissent and the intimidation of Papuans generally.  

...

Employing the "terrorist" label against "ethno-nationalist and separatist" groups and individuals in West Papua could have direct legal implications for international solidarity movements. In the U.S., groups or individuals who advocate on behalf of groups designated by the U.S. government as "terrorists" are subject to criminal prosecution. 

Indonesia's 'anti-terror" Detachment 88

Read in full here

September 2011 West Papua Report is out

Read the latest West Papua Report here

Summary: Twenty-six members of the U.S. House of Representatives appealed to Indonesian President Yudhoyono to release Papuan prisoner of conscience Filep Karma, noting concern that "your government meet its fundamental obligations to protect the rights of its people, as respect for human rights strengthens democracy." The bipartisan letter call Karma's case "an unfortunate echo of Indonesia's pre-democratic era." Amnesty International, meanwhile, appealed for the release of another Papuan, Melkianus Bleskadit, imprisoned for peaceful dissent. The Indonesian government granted a three month remission to the sentence of Papuan political prisoner Buchtar Tabuni on the occasion of Indonesian independence day, who was then released. The leak of secret Special Forces (Kopassus) documents reveal systematic Kopassus surveillance and intimidation targeting Papuans and even international personnel seeking to document human rights concerns in West Papua. The documents label prominent international leaders including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu and dozens of members of the U.S. Congress as supporters of "separatism" in West Papua. Human Rights Watch urged that in the wake of the documents revelations that the U.S. military cease all activities in cooperation with Indonesian military units in West Papua. Papuan leaders to convene a broad congress in October. Papuan leaders write U.S. Congress to call for peacekeepers. Church leaders and ordinary civilians have called for an end to Indonesian military intimidation in the Paniai District. The Indonesian military commander has ruled out negotiations with armed separatists in West Papua, indicating the extent to which the TNI calls the shots in West Papua. In an organizational statement WPAT has called for Papuans to be afforded the internationally recognized right to self-determination.

West Papua Report May 2011

now out West Papua Report May 2011

Summary

Thousands of Papuans, on May 2, began peaceful rallies demanding a referendum on West Papua's political future, an end to "Special Autonomy," and international intervention in to end decades of human rights abuse and injustice at the hands of the Indonesian government. The date coincides with Indonesian forced annexation of West Papua over four decades ago. Security personnel are out in force in many West Papua towns and cities and some arrests have already been reported. The annual U.S. Department of State report on human rights in Indonesia accurately and in some detail describes the extensive human rights violations in West Papua, correctly assigning blame for the abuse principally to Indonesian security forces. The report also notes that those perpetrating the abuse are largely unaccountable for their crimes. The report, as in the past, largely fails to address violations of cultural, economic and social rights. Indonesian security forces have run amok in Dogiyai district driving many from their homes following a violent protest by Papuans over the police killing of two unarmed Papuans. Papuans have urged the suspension of disbursement of special autonomy funds following findings by the Supreme Audit Agency that the funds intended to benefit Papuans have been embezzled. Yale University hosted a seminar to review of developments in and affecting West Papua. The Forestry Minister has pledged not to issue permits that would entail the destruction of pristine Papuan forests. The massive Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE) appears to be an exception to this policy.

West Papua Report Match 2011 - land grab, rights violations, paths to self-determination

Read the March West Papua Report here

Summary:

Newly obtained video footage reveals Indonesian security forces, including U.S. and Australian-backed Detachment 88 personnel, brutality in operations in West Papua's Central Highlands. Indonesian NGOs and prominent Papuans have faulted President Yudhoyono's newly announced approach to dialogue with Papuans with criticism of Jakarta's failure to end human rights violations and impunity by security forces as a basis for dialogue. Papuans criticized Jakarta's selection of a limited range of Papuans as dialogue partners and have urged a role for international mediators. A prominent West African leader has announced support for West Papua's self-determination. The chair of the Papuan Peoples Council (DAP) denounced the Indonesian government's policy of transmigration. The Asian Legal Resource Center has appealed to the UN Human Rights Council to address continued security force abuse of human rights in West Papua. A Papuan political prisoner who is gong blind as a result of an attack by a prison warder needs urgent care. A report from within West Papua details land grabs by the Indonesian military and "developers" which have targeted Papuans in the Sorong area.  Hamish McDonald considers Papuans' struggle for self-determination in the light of recent similar successful examples within the international community.

Preliminary transcript of Congressional hearing on West Papua

The preliminary transcript of the House of Representatives Asia subcommittee historic hearing on  Crimes Against Humanity: When Will Indonesia's Military Be Held Accountable for  Deliberate and Systematic Abuses in West Papua is available on ETAN's website.


The hearing was held on Wednesday, September 21, 2010 by the Asia, the Pacific and the Environment Subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.


Ed McWilliams was unable to attend but submitted a written statement.

photos by John M. Miller/ETAN

The hearing was chaired by Del. Eni Faleomavaega: