latest West Papua Report for August 2014

Read here: http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/2014/1408wpap.htm

CONTENTS

This month's PERSPECTIVE takes the form of West Papua Advocacy Team's (WPAT) open letter to President-elect Joko "Jokowi" Widodo urging him to address fundamental problems in West Papua.
UPDATE notes that Widodo won substantial majorities in West Papua, but that many Papuans boycotted the election. A prominent Papuan activist fled West Papua to Australia following attempts to abduct her. The Asian Human Rights Commission called the President-elect's attention to outstanding human rights problems in West Papua and elsewhere. Leaders of the "Federal State of West Papua" were released after serving nearly three years in prison for their roles in the Third Papuan People's Congress. Planning is under way for a meeting of Papuan groups in Vanuatu. President-elect Widodo has criticized a deal with Freeport McMoRan signed by outgoing president Yudhoyono. West Papuan students staged coordinated protests in Java over the denial of Papuan rights, including the right to self-determination.Recent shootings have raised concerns over a possible "sweeping operation" as a retaliatory "collective punishment" response. The new Army Chief of Staff has a record of provocative statements which point to an intent to defame and persecute rights advocates.

CHRONICLE highlights a motion by the Green Party's Catherine Delahunty in the New Zealand Parliament concerning the absence of media freedom in West Papua. A new documentary reveals repression in West Papua. Amnesty International urged Widodo to address human rights abuses and security force impunity. A new article focuses on institutional racism in West Papua. Groups write urging Indonesia to implement the UN's Universal Periodic Review recommendations concerning West Papua.

Link to this issue: http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/2014/1408wpap.htm 
Back issues of West Papua Report

NZ Green MP Catherine Delahunty and Maire Leadbeater (West Papua Action Auckland)
 receive the John Rumbiak Human Rights Defenders Award,given annually
by the West Papua Advocacy Team. Photo by AWPA.

Santa Cruz massacre 21 years on

A day late, but we were busy distributing ETAN's media release on the Santa Cruz massacre anniversary.

Here is the link to ETAN's release: http://etan.org/news/2012/11scruz.htm and an excerpt:

"As the latest UN mission ends, promises of justice remain unfulfilled," said John M. Miller, National Coordinator of ETAN. "The UN should state clearly that there can be no impunity for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Indonesia's invasion and occupation of Timor-Leste from 1975-1999." 

"The East Timorese people can not fully overcome their past until they know the fate of the bodies of their relatives and friends," said Miller. "Impunity for decades of systematic Indonesian military and police atrocities prevents both countries from consolidating the rule of law as they transition from  military dictatorship do democracy." 

2012 commemoration of Santa Cruz massacre, Dili.
 Photo by Manuela Leong Pereira via Facebook

 ANTI (Timor-Leste National Alliance for an International Tribunal) and Amnesty International issued a joint statement. The groups concluded:

Together, ANTI and Amnesty International demand that the UN and the governments of Timor-Leste and Indonesia take responsibility to ensure justice for crimes against humanity and human rights violations which took place in Timor-Leste between 1975 and 1999. They must ensure that victims of the Santa Cruz massacre, and all those who suffered during the Indonesian occupation and in the context of the 1999 independence referendum, have access to justice, truth and reparation. Continued inaction will further entrench a culture of impunity, and leave a dark stain on the UN's record in Timor-Leste.

West Papua Report November 2012: Malign Neglect, Health, Women, Protests Attacked

Perspective: Genocide in West Papua by Malign Neglect
Update

• Indonesian Security Forces Attack Peaceful Political Rallies Across West Papua
• KontraS Says Scores of Violent Acts Have "Engulfed" West Papua
• Military Sweep Operations Again Force Flight of Civilians
• Indonesia Fails to Meet Basic Papuan Health Needs
• The Need to Empower Papuan Women
• Indonesia Seeks to Deny Obligations to Indigenous by Claiming They Don't Exist

Chronicle

• Tapol: "Britain and Indonesia: Too close for comfort?"
• Survival International Condemns UK Plans to Honor Yudhoyono
• CSW: Indonesia Must Address Human Rights Violations
• Amnesty International: End Police Violence against Demonstrators in Papua
• End Violence against Papuan Journalists

Demonstrators protest SBY's visit to London at 10 Downing Street. Photo via Facebook.

West Papua Report October 2012

Note: With this edition, West Papua Report has changed format: The Report leads with "Perspective," an opinion piece; followed by an "Update," a summary of some developments during the covered period; and a "Chronicle" which lists of statements, new resources, appeals and action alerts related to West Papua. Anyone interested in contributing a Perspective or responding to one should write to edmc@msn.com. The opinions expressed in Perspectives are the author's and not necessarily those of WPAT or ETAN.

Contents

Perspective: The New York Agreement: 1962-2012
Update

• US Apache Helicopters Seen as "A Means of Destruction for Papua"
• Papuan NGO's Collecting Donations for Political Prisoners Harassed by Police
• New Zealand Fund Divests from Freeport over Human Rights/Security Concerns
• All the Ingredients for Genocide: Is West Papua the Next East Timor?
• Papuan Prisoner of Conscience Filep Karma Returns to Abepura Prison from Jakarta Medical Treatment
• Calls Mount For SBY to Inaugurate Dialogue with Papuans

Chronicle

• Amnesty International Issues Urgent Action Appeal on Behalf of Olga Hamadi
• AHRC: Police Shoot Unarmed Civilian in Nabire, Papua
• ALRC and KontraS Denounce Government's Failure to Accept Key UPR Recommendations

West Papua Report for June 2012

West Papua Report

June 2012

Summary

The Indonesian Government's human rights record came under scrutiny at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva which convened a quadrennial review of Indonesia's progress on human rights protection. The focus on developments in West Papua was more intense than the last review with the denial of freedom of speech and the holding of political prisoners among the leading concerns. Indonesia promised to invite the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Speech though it was unclear if he would be allowed to visit West Papua. The U.S. State Department released its annual global review of human rights observance. The report gave significant attention to human rights violations in West Papua with some focus on the role of the security forces. As in the past, the State Department report ignored the Indonesian government's failure to provide minimally adequate health, education and other vital services to the Papuan people. Amnesty International also issued its annual report on human rights with a significant focus on rights issues in West Papua. A detailed study revealed the Indonesian government's failure to protect Papuans from unscrupulous land developers in West Papua. Demonstrators in Vanuatu targeted their government's warming relationship with Indonesia, particularly with Indonesian security forces.

Full report here

West Papua Report April 2012 - repressing dissent, oppose U.S. copter sale, soldiers not services

Read the April 2012 West Papua Report here 


Summary: 
An Indonesian court has sentenced five senior Papuans to three years imprisonment following their conviction on "treason" charges. They fell victim to the same undemocratic law employed against more than 90 Papuans and Malukans for their peaceful dissent in recent years. The five were charged for their central role in the October 16-19, 2011 "Third Papuan National Congress," a peaceful assertion of Papuans' right to self-determination that came under brutal assault by Indonesian security forces. In a statement, WPAT calls for an end to that law which was developed during Dutch colonial times, was employed by the dictator Suharto, and now has no place in a democratic Indonesia. 

Banners at protest in Jayapura. West Papua Media

Thousands of Papuans took to the streets in West Papua and elsewhere on the occasion of the visit to Indonesia of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The largely peaceful demonstrations called for a special referendum to at last allow Papuans a genuine act of self-determination. 


More than 90 international organizations have called on the U.S. Congress to block sale of Apache helicopters. They would significantly expand the capacity of Indonesian security forces to conduct "sweep operations" that have devastated rural Papuan villagers. 


A recent book and a commentary by a Papuan legislator have underscored the Indonesian governments persistent failure to bring essential services to rural Papuans. WPAT observes that for many rural Papuans the face of the Indonesian government is not that of a teacher, doctor or nurse but rather, that of a solider, policeman or intelligence agent.
 
Back issues of West Papua Report

Fax campaign for Indonesia political prisoner

Amnesty International has launched a "faxjam" calling for the release of Johan Teterissa, a teacher, serving 15 years in prison for taking part in a peaceful protest in Maluku, Indonesia. Teterissa (also spelled Teterisa) was arrested in June 2007 for his part in a peaceful protest during which the banned "Benang Raja: flag – a symbol of Maluku independence – was raised in front of Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. He was tortured by police and continues to suffer from internal injuries as a result.

More background on Tetrisa and other Indonesia political prisoners can be found here (PDF) from Human Rights Watch.


There are an estimated 90 prisoners of conscience in Indonesia.
Send your fax to Indonesia's Minister of Justice via Amnesty's website here


see also Beaten, tortured, and imprisoned after raising a flag by Josef Benedict, Indonesia Campaigner, Amnesty International

Shine a Light on Human Rights: Free Filep Karma Rally in DC, May 19

Shine a Light on Human Rights: Free Filep Karma Rally

Amnesty International USA

Thursday, May 19, 2011, 7:00-8:30pm

DuPont Circle National Park
Washington, DC NW (on red line metro)
At 8:00 pm, we will form a candle lit procession to the Indonesian embassy (2020 Massachusetts Ave. NW). A rally will call for the release of Filep Karma and all prisoners of conscience in Indonesia, while photos of activists holding solidarity flags are projected onto the embassy.

In May 1961, Amnesty International began its global campaign for individual freedoms and human dignity. In May 2005, an Indonesian court sentenced Filep Karma to 15 years in prison on charges of treason for raising the Papua flag in a peaceful ceremony. Join us at DuPont Circle, Washington, DC on Thursday, May 19 as we commemorate 50 years of Amnesty International's global human rights activism and toast to the freedom Filep Karma and all human rights defenders. The event will include speakers, musical performances and actions!

For more information please visit: www.amnestyusa.org/filep

Please RSVP to Emilia Gutierrez at egutierrez@aiusa.org or at 202-544-0200 ext. 8141

Send a postcard demanding freedom for Filep -

Get on the bus, train, metro - Protest in DC with Amnesty International at the Indonesia Embassy

On Friday April 15, 1:30 pm, join Amnesty International at a rally at the Indonesian Embassy (2020 Massachusetts Ave NW near Dupont Circle) to urge the government to release Filep Karma, West Papuan prisoner of conscience. The action at the Indonesian embassy is part of Amnety's Get on the Bus day long action. The rally will be to support of monthly rallies for Filep that take place at the embassy.

More information, a complete schedule and registration are here - http://amnesty133.org/bus/

On Friday, April 15, activists from high school, college and local Amnesty groups in the 6-states of the Mid-Atlantic region will converge on Washington, DC to demonstrate in support of human rights in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar/Burma, Zimbabwe, Chad, and Tibet. 

The Get on the Bus (GOTB) for human rights is a creation of Amnesty International USA Local Group 133 in Somerville, MA. For the past fifteen years, the members of Group 133 have organized 'buses' to New York City every April for an exciting day of activism and human rights! This will be the first time it will also take place in Washington, DC.

Get on the Bus, Train Subway, Cab... Protest Indonesia with Amnesty International

Get on the Bus, Train Subway, Cab... Protest Indonesia with Amnesty International

This Friday, April 8, Amnesty International will bring people from throughout New England to New York City protest various human rights violating governments in their annual Get on the Bus for Human Rights.

ETAN will be participating. For more information and to register, go here - http://j.mp/g28Ho8
ETAN's National Coordinator will part of the panel briefing those attending beginning at 11 am at The Great Hall at the The Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th Street, New York, NY 10003. Participants will march from there to raise human rights issues with various governments, including Indonesia.

Join the action on Indonesia from 3:35 - 4:10 p.m. at 1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (preferred rally location: 1st Ave & E 47th St) and will focus on seeking release of Filep Karma, advocate for the rights of Indonesia's Papuan population

Other countries highlighted are Chad, Sri Lanka and China - compete schedule is here - http://www.gotb.org/schedule-of-events.html

Get on the Bus for Human Rights (GOTB) is an annual day of human rights education and activism organized by Amnesty International USA Group 133 of Somerville, MA and a dedicated team of volunteer community organizers. It is now in its 16th year.

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This year there will also be a Get on the Bus to DC on April 15th, which will also focus on human rights in Indonesia (1:30 pm at the Embassy of Indonesia, 2020 Massachusetts Ave. NW near Dupont Circle), as well as Sri Lanka, Myanmar/Burma, Chad and Tibet   Check out their website!

Free Indonesia's Political Prisoners, Demonstrate in DC, December 1

December 1, 2010 12:30-1:30 PM

Amnesty International Raise your voices, Raise your flags Rally for Filep Free Indonesia's Political Prisoners Indonesian Embassy 2020 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington DC 1 block from Dupont Circle Metro Station Wednesday December 1 is the 6th anniversary of Filep Karma's arrest for peacefully raising a flag.  Join Amnesty International and ETAN in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Filep Karma and all prisoners of conscience in Indonesia!

Amnesty International USA issues statement opposing Kopassus training

Amnesty International USA has issued a statement opposing Kopassus training (PDF).

Amnesty advises that it would be counterproductive to United States and Indonesian interests to override existing prohibitions against support of Kopassus until the Indonesian government meets agreed-to obligations to legally resolve crimes committed by Kopassus members.  

The statement cites the Leahy Law, saying "Leahy provisions apply to the Indonesian military as a whole (TNI), as well as to other governments whose military has been complicit in serious human rights abuses."

Amnesty USA also calls for an independent investigation of "credible" charges that Kopassus and other officers were involved in poltical killings in Aceh in 2008

ETAN to President Ramos-Horta on justice, accountability & international tribuanl

ETAN has written to President Ramos-Horta in response to his recent remarks on justice and accountability for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the Indonesian occupation (1975-1999), and his attack on Amnesty International. It begins:

"We are writing to express our sadness and deep dismay on reading your speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 11, 2010. In your address, you refer to having been "unfairly criticized by some fringe elements in this amorphous international community” for decisions made by you and the Government of Timor-Leste concerning justice and accountability.

"While you did not mention Amnesty International by name, the target of your anger was clear as it directly followed a public dispute with them regarding your stance on an international tribunal. It is ironic that one whose heart is as forgiving as yours would issue such a strong attack on another Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Amnesty International has stood strongly for peace, and collaborated closely with you throughout the Indonesian occupation during the long campaign for human rights in Timor-Leste. To refer to them as “fringe” and accuse them of “regurgitating ready-made clichés or academic jargon on justice” is both disrespectful and engages in the same rhetorical excess you decry."

Read the full letter here.

The Timor-Leste National Alliance for an International Tribunal (ANTI - Aliansi Nasional Timor Leste Ba Tribunal Internasional) delivered their own letter the other day.

As citizens of this country, our feeling and desire for justice for serious crimes is not enough when our leaders become spokesmen to express views which don’t follow what we feel and work for. Our thirst for this justice draws its legitimate power from Article 160 of the Constitution of RDTL, that “…crimes against humanity of genocide or of war shall be liable to criminal proceedings with the national or international courts.” Therefore, we are sad and strongly lament when a leader of Timor-Leste makes a statement that the Timorese people don’t need an international tribunal for crimes against humanity and show ignorance of the fundamental principles of our democratic constitution which expresses the wishes of the common Timorese people.

Candles are lit at the Indonesian Embassy in Dili on September 6, 2009, the anniversary of the Suai Church massacre, where Maternus Bere was thought to be residing. Ramos-Horta told the Human Rights Commission that no Timorese had lit candles in protest of Bere's release. Photo by La'o Hamutuk.

Rally in DC to Free Prisoners of Conscience in West Papua

From Amnesty International Mid-Atlantic

Dear friends of Indonesia, East Timor, Freedom, and Human Rights,

Please come out for our first demonstration of the year to to secure the immediate and unconditional release of Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage, Amnesty International Prisoners of Conscience (POC) and the Mid-Atlantic Special Focus Case (SFC). .

Please come out on Thursday, January 21 from 12:30-!:30pm, and show your solidarity with Filep and Yusak who could spend the next decade or more in prison for the peaceful raising of a flag.  Join us in demanding the release of these two courageous human rights defenders! 

We will provide colorful flags, noisy chin-chins, and great chants and visuals.

Thursday, January 21, 2010, 12:30 – 1:30pm
Indonesian Embassy
2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC