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4) Press release of wp students and forum setara on the deadly incident in papua-1 may 20135) Papuan children sent to Islamic schools in Jakarta
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4) press release of wp students and forum setara on the deadly incident in papua-1 may 2013
For immediate release
8 May 2013
West Papua Students in the ACT and Forum SeTARA condemn the deadly shootings of Papuans who marked the 50th anniversary of the transfer of administration[1] of West New Guinea (now Papua) from UNTEA to Indonesia on 1 May 1963
We, West Papua Students in the ACT and Forum SeTARA, condemn the brutal act of the Indonesian security services against the Papuan civilians who marked the 50th anniversary in the cities of Sorong, Biak, Timika and the Papua provincial capital of Jayapura.
Following the ban to mark the anniversary imposed by the Papua Chief of Police and endorsed by the Governor of Papua, the joint operation of the police and the Indonesian army deployed harsh measures to prevent any Papuans to exercise their constitutional rights to free speech and assembly. In Sorong on the eve of the commemoration, the joint operation shot dead two Papuans: Mr Abner Malagawak (22) and Mr Thomas Blesia (22). Three others were seriously injured and now are being treated in the local hospital in critical conditions: Ms Salomina Klaibin (42), who sadly died in the hospital on 6 May 2013, Mr Herman Lokmen (18), and Mr Andreas Safisa (24). Seven other people have been arrested and held in the local police custody.
In Jayapura, a similar joint patrol dispersed the people who gathered around the grave of the Papuan leader Theys Eluay by force. Nobody was reportedly injured but the shooting did spark fear and intensify anger among the locals towards the Indonesian authorities. In Biak, however, the police arrested and detained ten Papuan civilians because they raised the Papuan symbol, the Morning Star flag but the police has not laid charge against them. In Timika, the police arrested, detained and allegedly torture 15 people. Fortunately, the commemoration held in Nabire went peacefully.
These tragic incidents reminded us of the Papua situation 50 years ago. The Indonesian authorities committed similar acts of brutality to our forefathers and mothers whenever they expressed their dissension to the decision of transferring Papua from the Dutch to UNTEA and eventually to Indonesia under the 1962 New York Agreement. We acknowledge unresolved competing interpretations around these historical moments, including those of Papuans, the Indonesian government, historians and legal scholars. These different interpretations must be resolved through dialogues, not through violent measures. Therefore, we can conclude that after half a century Papuans freedom of expression and association remains unprotected despite the existing Indonesian human rights legislation and the international conventions in which Indonesia is a party.
Therefore, we appeal to the Indonesian authorities:
- To hold accountable all perpetrators and those who are responsible in the security sector policy of Papua, including the Papua Chief of Police, the Commander of the Army and the Governor of Papua;
- To demand public apologies from the Papua Chief of Police, the Commander of the Army and the Governor of Papua for their unconstitutional conduct in suppressing the civil and political rights of Papuans;
- To demand compensation and reparation for the victim families because of the the tragedy they suffer from the joint police and army operation;
- To request the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights to undertake a sub-poena investigation and to report its results to the public;
- To start peace negotiation with Papuans as represented by the Papuan Peace Negotiating Team;
- To invite the UN human rights mechanisms, international scholars and journalists to visit Papua to provide in-depth analyses. These will be made available to both the national and international audience.
While we overwhelmingly welcome the public statement expressed by the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Madame Pillay,[2] we appeal to the international community:
- To put pressure on the Yudhoyono government to hold all who were involved in the abuse accountable;
- To endorse peace negotiations as publicly already expressed by President Yudhoyono as the way to find a peaceful solution for the longest unresolved conflict in the Pacific as he already did with Aceh;
ENDS
Media contacts:
Ms Frederika Korain (+61-426598504)
Ms Sri Lestari Wahyuningroem (+61-404806184)
[1] Article XIV of the 1962 New York Agreement uses the term “full administration responsibility,” not the transfer of “sovereignty.”
Budi Hernawan
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Regulatory Institutions Network (RegNet)
ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
Australian National University
Canberra, ACT 0200
AUSTRALIA
Tel. +61-2-6125-7065
Fax. +61-2-6125-7789
Website: regnet.anu.edu.au
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