Genocide of volkenmoord, na de Tweede Wereldoorlog ontstane term voor handelingen gepleegd met de bedoeling een nationale, etnische, godsdienstige of tot een bepaald ras behorende groep geheel of gedeeltelijk te vernietigen.
Genocide is op grond van het door de Verenigde Naties aanvaard Genocideverdrag (1948) een volkenrechtelijk delict. Volgens het verdrag kan genocide berecht worden door een internationaal hof of door een nationale rechtsmacht.
| 1. INTERNATIONALE RECHTSPRAAK |
Voor het Joegoslavië-tribunaal (1993) en het Rwanda-tribunaal (1994) zijn verschillende verdachten berecht op verdenking van genocide. In augustus 2001 bestempelde het Joegoslavië-tribunaal de etnische zuivering in Srebrenica, waar in 1995 meer dan 7000 Bosnische Moslims werden omgebracht, tot genocide, hetgeen in april 2004 in hoger beroep werd bevestigd.
De gebeurtenissen in Rwanda en de voormalige Joegoslavische deelrepublieken Bosnië en Kroatië vergrootten de interesse van de internationale gemeenschap voor een internationaal strafhof ter berechting van oorlogsmisdadigers en massamoordenaars. Het Internationaal Strafhof, dat op 1 juli 2002 officieel werd opgericht, heeft onder meer de bevoegdheid genocide te berechten.
| 2. NATIONALE RECHTSPRAAK | |||
| 2.1 België |
België kende als eerste land ter wereld een wet die vervolging van oorlogsmisdrijven, genocide en misdrijven tegen de menselijkheid mogelijk maakte, ongeacht het land waar het delict is gepleegd (universele rechtsmacht). Op grond van de zgn. genocidewet werden in 2001 door het Brusselse assisenhof vier Rwandezen veroordeeld voor hun aandeel in de volkenmoord die enkele jaren eerder in hun land had plaatsgevonden.
In 1999 werd het werkingsgebied van de wet uitgebreid om vervolging mogelijk te maken van personen die in het internationaal recht gewoonlijk diplomatieke onschendbaarheid (immuniteit) genieten zoals ministers. Met zijn uitspraak in de zaak-Yerodia van Congo tegen België verwiep het Internationaal Gerechtshof in Den Haag deze mogelijkheid echter.
De Brusselse kamer van inbeschuldigingstelling beperkte de toepassing van de genocidewet tot verdachten die zich op Belgisch grondgebied bevinden. Maar in febr. 2003 haalde het Hof van Cassatie een streep door deze uitspraak.
| 2.2 Nederland |
In 2003 werd de Nederlandse strafwetgeving aangepast door de Wet internationale misdrijven, die genocide, misdrijven tegen de menselijkheid, foltering en oorlogsmisdrijven strafbaar stelt, waar zij ook gepleegd zijn. Voorwaarde is dat de verdachte zich in Nederland bevindt. De wet vestigt dus voor deze misdrijven een ruime extraterritoriale jurisdictie voor de Nederlandse rechter, deels gebaseerd op het universaliteitsbeginsel. De aanleiding voor de wet was de verplichting voor alle deelnemende landen van het Internationaal Strafhof om misdaden tegen de menselijkheid als zodanig strafbaar te stellen.
In Nederland is het vrijwel onbekend gebleven dat er in onze voormalige kolonie, Nieuw Guinea, genocide heeft plaats gevonden. Bij volkerenmoord denken wij aan de joden vervolging in de 2e wereldoorlog en in 1994 aan de slachting in Rwanda tussen Hutu’s en Tutsi’s. Minder bekend hierbij is de genocide in Indonesië bij de z.g. communisten jacht in 1965.
Op veel kleinere schaal gebeurde dit in het voormalige Joegoslavië. Wij kennen de Screbenica affaire in 1995, waarbij ook Dutchbatters wellicht trauma’s hebben overgehouden. Ratko Mladiz is nu dan eindelijk gearresteerd en voor veel Dutchbatters zal het zijn alsof het gisteren is gebeurd.
Anno 2016 heeft het Internationaal Tribunaal levenslang tegen hem geëist, de zwaarst mogelijke straf!
West Papua is weer van een andere orde en grootte.
In West Papua hebben na de Indonesische machtsovername misselijkmakende wreedheden plaatsgevonden en is er sprake geweest van buitensporig veel geweld. Op de website werden sommige incidenten uitvoerig beschreven, ook om duidelijk te maken dat de wereld niet is wakker te schudden voor wat betreft de situatie in West Papua. Waarom West Papua aan Indonesië werd verkwanseld en waarom Indonesië ongestraft een inheems volk kon onderdrukken, kunt U lezen op deze website.
Logische stap zou onafhankelijkheid zijn geweest, want de andere helft van Nieuw Guinea, nu PNG is ook onafhankelijk!
Lees de website en onderstaande rapporten over wat er na de overdracht zoal gebeurde,
Een welkome aanvulling hierbij is het boek van Joop Verstraten:
Het gestolen huis: “De stille oorlog tegen de Papoea’s” en het boek van Henk Bartels:” Papua’s , een volk in de verdrukking” ( zie rubriek boeken)
Met wat voor intentie treedt dit militaire regiem in West Papua nu eigenlijk op? En waarom wordt er niet opgetreden? Zelfs de Nederlandse politiek houdt zich van de domme en men bestaat het om 5 oorlogsschepen te leveren zonder dat er kamervragen worden gesteld over de situatie in West Papua, dit terwijl er via verschillende organisaties, particulieren, brandbrieven richting Nederlandse regering zijn verstuurd.
Hoeveel geld vloeit er niet naar Indonesië? Waarom neemt de V.N geen maatregelen?
Hieraan denk ik aan V.N. toezicht, jawel, in al die jaren na de overdracht is er zoveel gebeurd, dat het tijd wordt dat de Papoea’s hun verhaal kwijt kunnen en ook kunnen worden gehoord.
Bij diplomatie kunnen best hardere voorwaarden worden gesteld en het is de hoogste tijd dat meer wordt ondernomen dan het gezegde: “Het heeft onze aandacht”.
Het Internationaal Strafhof Den Haag staat bekend als bakermat van internationaal recht en zou moeten dienen om alle mensen te helpen, een toekomst te bieden, om te kunnen leven in vrijheid, rechtvaardigheid en vrede.
Dit Strafhof houdt zich bezig met de vervolging van individuen voor oorlogsmisdaden, misdaden tegen de menselijkheid en genocide. Nederland betaalt zelfs de huur voor dit gebouw, 6 miljoen per jaar. Wat is het rendement hiervan, een enkeling is slechts berecht, terwijl er in verschillende landen genocide heeft plaatsgevonden, zelfs in West Papua, onze voormalige kolonie Nederlands Nieuw Guinea.
Bij genocide zouden meer burgers zich moeten afvragen: Wat gebeurt hier en wat doet men er aan?
De universiteit van Sydney zet nog een vraagteken bij het rapport: Genocide in West Papua?
Het rapport verhaalt echter ook over andere rapporten van mensenrechten organisaties, de Wereldraad van Kerken, Pax Christi, Cordaid, Justitia et Pax Nederland, etc.
Het tweede rapport is van Dominee Socratez Sofyan Yoman.
Lees ook onderstaande conclusie van Professor James Silk van de Amerikaanse Yale Universiteit:
‘Indonesië pleegde volkerenmoord in Papua’
NEW HAVEN (ANP) – Alles wijst erop dat Indonesië uit was op volkerenmoord in de afgelopen veertig jaren van bestuur over het gebied dat Nieuw-Guinea, vervolgens Irian-Barat, Irian-Jaya en tenslotte de provincie Papua werd of wordt genoemd. Onderzoekers van de Amerikaanse universiteit van Yale hebben dat in een woensdag gepubliceerd rapport gezet.
Zij hebben op verzoek van het Indonesische Mensenrechten-Netwerk de politiek van Jakarta in het gebied uitvoerig bestudeerd. Er zijn volgens hen “historische en hedendaagse bewijzen” die er sterk op wijzen dat de Indonesische regering uit is geweest op de vernietiging van de Papoea’s en zo in strijd handelde met de 55 jaar oude Conventie over de Preventie en Bestraffing van Genocide (Volkerenmoord).
Nederland deed in oktober 1962 onder Amerikaanse druk afstand van Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea dat, via de Verenigde Naties, in 1963 door Indonesië werd ingelijfd. Jakarta had het delfstofrijke land opgeëist, maar was kennelijk niet geïnteresseerd in de bevolking van het land.
De mensenrechtenschendingen werden er vooral sinds 1969 veelvuldig en gruwelijk. Ze gingen gepaard met de opzettelijke verwoesting van de bestaansmiddelen en de cultuur van de Papoea’s. Het totaalbeeld van de gruwelen wijst volgens de onderzoekers op een berekende politiek om de Papoea’s in dat gebied te vernietigen.
De leidster van het onderzoeksteam, Elizabeth Brundige, heeft voorts gewaarschuwd dat de repressie en mensenrechtenschendingen doorgaan en urgent internationale aandacht behoeven. Zonder internationale druk op Jakarta zullen die gewelddadige schendingen van de rechten van de Papoea’s in de provincie Papua niet afnemen, zo vreest ze.
De betrokken Yale-professor James Silk heeft erop gewezen dat Jakarta nu mensen naar Papua stuurt die in Oost-Timor voor misdaden tegen de menselijkheid worden vervolgd wegens hun rol bij het geweld in met name het jaar van de onafhankelijkheid van Oost-Timor, 1999.
Zo is volgens Silk net de voormalige politiechef van het toen nog Indonesische Oost-Timor, Timbul Silaen, tot politiechef in Papua benoemd. Een beruchte bendeleider in Oost-Timor, Eurico Guterres, is in Papua gearriveerd om er een militie te vormen.
Bron: Reformatorisch Dagblad, 11-12-2003
< Vorig >
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Genocide is een beladen woord en betekent volkerenmoord. Het gaat hier echter om de impact van het geheel der gebeurtenissen, wat voor schade dit aan het Papoea volk veroorzaakt. Lees onderstaand rapport:
The University of Sydney. Centre for Peace and Conflicts has released the “Genocide in West Papua” report detailing eyewitness accounts of Indonesian military involvement in rape, arson and torture in the province. A team of Australian researchers has accused the indonesian military of systematic violence against the indiginous population of the province of Papua. This interview produced by Elise Potaka was broadcast on radio 2SER FM .
In navolging van de amerikaanse Yale universiteit komt nu de CPACS, Universiteit van Sydney, met een uitgebreid rapport over de genocide in West Papua, de auteur is John Wing, Academicus. Lees het complete rapport in het Engels, voorzien van foto’s.
23 year old Peneas Lokmbere An elderly man killed by soldiers
A victim of security force brutality in Wunim village, January 2005
(foto ontbreekt hier op de site) Voor filmpjes, foto’s, zie Facebook: Gerard Thijssen
Genocide in West Papua?
Contents
Acknowledgements . iv
Executive Summary . v
The Authors v
Dedication to John Rumbiak v
1 The Role of the Indonesian Security Apparatus in Papua . 1
Historical background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
(i) Illegal logging – the Telapak/EIA report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
(ii) Other TNI business activity including infrastructure and construction works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
(iii) Destabilization – manipulation of local politics and orchestration of attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
blamed on pro-Papuan independence groups
(iv) Illegal arms, militia training and recruitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
(v) Prostitution and the spread of HIV/AIDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 A New Apartheid? . 11
3 The TNI Troop Buildup and Potential New Conflicts in Papua 13
4 The Demographic Transition 15
5 Human Rights Abuses . 19
6 Papuans Respond: the Customary Council timeline – and a warning to Jakarta 23
7 A New Paradigm for Jakarta, and International Pressure . 25
Further Reading 26
Appendices . 35
A) Transcripts of Interviews . 35
Simon Morin
Laskar Jihad infiltrator
Eyewitness to Puncak Jaya / Mulia refugee situation
A victim of Wasior human rights abuse case
Mama Yosepha Alomang
Ferdinanda Ibo Atipai
Reverend Herman Awom
Lena: HIV/AIDS Counsellor
Tom Beanal
B) Franciscans International on the situation of human rights in Papua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
C) Manokwari Declaration of Dewan Adat Papua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Genocide in West Papua?
Ackowledgements
This report would not have been possible without the inspiring bravery of the human rights and church
networks in Papua, and the many young political activists and investigators. They are ordinary men and
women who, for their own safety, will remain unidentified. They have taken their nation’s plight into the
international political mainstream and are the contemporary heroes of their people. Functioning without
any reliable financial or political backing, they are driven by an instinct for survival and dreams of eventual
justice for Papua. As in East Timor, their dangerous work often forces them to live a clandestine existence.
Disparaged by their own government and spurned by many others in Indonesia, living under constant
threat they risk their lives getting information to the international community and alerting the world to
the suffering which they and their families have undergone during the last five decades.
In particular Papua’s many heroic church leaders have served to unite their people in peaceful, nonviolent
struggle towards a better future. The support of South Africa’s Bishop Desmond Tutu has enriched
their spirit.
The International Commission of Jurists has long supported the cause of West Papua. The report has
benefited from the expertise of ICJ Australian section members, including Justice Elizabeth Evatt AO and
Elizabeth Biok, in international law and the UN system.
The Medical Association for Prevention of War has seen the need to take up Papua as an issue and remains
undeterred by criticism from Jakarta. The report owes much to the encouragement of one of MAPW’s
long term members, Dr Anne Noonan. Joe Collins and the various Australia West Papua Association
branches, and the many Papuan support groups around the world, work tirelessly to inform us about the
suffering of our near neighbours in Papua.
The ground-breaking research work by Dr Leslie Butt of the Victoria University of Technology and Dr
Nurlan Silitonga of the University of Sydney on the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Papua deserves praise. This new
catastrophe deserves far greater attention by decision makers, both within and outside Indonesia.
Two Indonesian academics deserve particular note. Dr George Aditjondro has done crucial research into
TNI’s business dealings and the gaharu trade/HIV link in Papua, while Dr Agus Sumule of the University of
Papua, Manokwari, has written extensively and with feeling on the rights of Papua’s indigenous people
over natural resources and the Special Autonomy issue.a
Growing numbers of parliamentarians internationally are prepared to face up to the realities in Papua and
we acknowledge their integrity. Foremost among them is Dr Bob Brown of the Greens who has been a
constant supporter of the Papuans in Australian public life over many years.
The international support for West Papua continues and is led by prominent UK and US groups, including
TAPOL, the Indonesian Human Rights Campaign, in Britain and The Robert Kennedy Memorial Centre in
Washington. Their indefatigable reporting has kept the world informed.
a The views of these two scholars have been personally presented and extensively discussed in the series of four
workshops held by the West Papua Project since 2000. For a report on the latest workshop see ‘Peace Building
and Development in Papua: Dialogue versus Violence’, Position Paper No 5, West Papua Project, November 2004
(download from the Project website)
Genocide in West Papua?
Executive Summary
The report details a series of concerns which, if not acted upon, may pose serious threats to the survival
of the indigenous people of the Indonesian province of Papua. It covers the threats posed by the
Indonesian military to the province’s stability, the recent increase in large scale military campaigns
which are decimating highland tribal communities, the HIV/AIDS explosion and persistent Papuan
underdevelopment in the face of a rapid and threatening demographic transition in which the Papuans
face becoming a minority in their own land.
The report is largely based on research conducted during 2003-2005 in the cities, towns and villages of Papua,
including Jayapura, Sorong, Timika, Merauke, Wamena, Mulia and Manokwari. The authors acknowledge the
unstinting interest and support of Stuart Rees and the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.
A “culture of impunity” exists in Indonesia which sees its highest manifestation currently in Papua and
Aceh. Military operations have led to thousands of deaths in Papua and continue to costs lives, yet the
Republic’s armed forces act as a law unto themselves with no real accountability for crimes against the
Papuan population. The report discusses a number of areas of Indonesian security forces involvement,
including: illegal logging and corrupt infrastructure and construction work; destabilization and
manipulation of local politics, and orchestration of attacks blamed on pro-Papuan independence groups;
the introduction of illegal arms and militia training and recruitment; and prostitution and the spread of
HIV/AIDS.
The report concludes with a number of urgent recommendations to the Indonesian and Australian
governments, the United Nations and other involved parties.
The Authors
John Wing has a Master of Arts Degree in Anthropology/Development Studies from the University of
Sydney, is a research fellow at CPACS in 2005 and coordinator of the West Papua Project. He has visited
West Papua four times in recent years, most recently in January-February 2005.
Email: johnwing71@hotmail.com
Peter King is a Research Associate in Government and International Relations at Sydney University and
founding convener of the West Papua Project. He is currently an affiliated fellow in the International
Institute for Asian Studies at Leiden University.
Email: peterk@econ.usyd.edu.au
Dedication to John Rumbiak
This report is dedicated to John Rumbiak–Papua’s leading human rights activist, and supervisor (in exile)
of ELSHAM Jayapura. John was instrumental in commissioning and planning the work. Tragically, he
suffered a stroke in New York during February 2005 from which he is still recovering.
vi
Genocide in West Papua?
During the 1969 ‘Act of Free Choice’, the Indonesian authorities placed under
detention any prominent West Papuans likely to protest. In June 1969 this group of
political detainees was held at General MacArthur’s old wartime headquarters near
Jayapura. (G. Alexander)
Genocide in West Papua?
1 The Role of the Indonesian Security Apparatus in Papua
Historical background
Under the terms of an agreement between the Dutch and Indonesian governments signed in New
York in 1962, Indonesia was obligated to hold a plebiscite on Papua’s future, an “Act of Free Choice”,
within six years of the transfer of power to Jakarta in 1963. Undertakings were given by the US and
Dutch governments, and the UN, of an accurate, democratic ascertainment of the true preference of the
population for integration or separation through a properly conducted plebiscite.
To ensure a successful outcome in the referendum, from 1963 onwards Indonesia worked assiduously to
remove any sense of Papuan identity from the community, banning the singing of the Papuan national
anthem, the raising of the Morning Star flag and all political assembly or activity, using “anti-subversion”
measures legislated in Presidential Decrees No. 8 and 11 of 1963. Widespread military operations were
conducted from 1965-69, and an AFP correspondent in Papua during 1969 noted: “Indonesian troops and
officials were waging a widespread campaign of intimidation to force the Act of Free Choice in favor of
the Republic.” During 1968-69 operations were conducted against the civilian population in the Arfak
mountains area and Enarotali involving aerial bombardment and the dropping of 500 paratroopers.
Two junior politicians and members of the West Irianese Provincial Assembly, Clemens Runaweri and
Willem Zongganau, crossed the border into the Australian administered territory of Papua and New
Guinea in May 1969 and asked the authorities to help them get to the UN. The men carried documents
proving Indonesian repression, explosive evidence which may have had a bearing on the Papuan question
being discussed in New York. They were not only refused help to travel, they were prevented from leaving
Manus Island. On a request from Adam Malik, the Indonesian Foreign Minister, the Australian, Dutch and
US governments conspired to deny travel documentation necessary for their international movement
between the period June-August 1969.
In the large towns, such as Jayapura, Manokwari and Merauke, violence against dissenters was witnessed
and reported in the media. The elections of representatives who would vote for integration were carefully
stage managed, with the Indonesian security and intelligence agencies maintaining tight control over
proceedings. President Suharto said in February that Papuans who voted against integration would be
guilty of “treason”. For the referendum the Indonesian Government chose 1,026 voters of a population of
815,906, who voted unanimously for integration.
Papua was henceforth declared a Military Operation Zone and freedom of movement was severely
restricted. Expressions of cultural identity, such as songs sung in local languages, were considered a
manifestation of a separatist movement and were punishable by torture and even death. Agitating for
just treatment in regard to the appropriation of traditional land and forests by companies based in Jakarta
has, over the intervening years, led to accusations of separatism, justifying military repression in the
See President John F. Kennedy’s letter to Dutch Prime Minister De Quay, April 2,1962.
See John Saltford, UNTEA and UNRWI: United Nations Involvement in West New Guinea During the 1960’s , PhD
Dissertation, University of Hull, 2000, Chapter 9 (available on Papuaweb)
See ‘Suharto warns Irian on poll’, Sydney Morning Herald, February 4, 1969.
Neles Tebay, ‘Human Rights in Papua: an Overview’ in Autonomy for Papua – Opportunity or Illusion? Conference papers
published by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the West-Papua-Network and Watch Indonesia, Jakarta, 2004, p 124
Genocide in West Papua?
name of development, national stability and security. John Rumbiak has observed that “all abuses in West
Papua were caused by military and police presence aimed at protecting mining firms, forest concessions
and timber estates exploiting natural resources.” Major operations were conducted in 1977, during the
period 1981-85 and again in 1996.
Regardless of a change in leadership in Jakarta following the fall of Suharto in 1998, human rights abuses
committed by the security forces persisted as Papuans showed greater boldness in testing the limits of
the new era of reformasi. The late nineties saw numerous peaceful demonstrations for dialogue and selfdetermination.
The response has been brutal repression and the deployment of thousands of new troops,
support for pro-Jakarta militias and incitement of conflict between Papuans and between Papuans and
non-Papuans. A plan was even drawn up to crack down on the separatist movement, in a “top secret”
document issued on 8 June 2000. The plan included the formation of militias, targeting human rights
defenders and “black operations” against independence leaders.
A “culture of impunity” exists in Indonesia which sees its highest manifestation currently in Papua and
Aceh. Military operations have led to thousands of deaths and continue to costs lives, yet the Republic’s
armed forces act as a law unto themselves with no real accountability for crimes against the Papuan
population.
While the period of the mid nineteen seventies is often referred to as the era of greatest suffering, as
Indonesia’s military used Papua for its combat training exercises while simultaneously conducting a
genocidal campaign in East Timor, the current situation is referred to as a “silent genocide”. Villages are
destroyed by TNI through arson, following “incidents” blamed on the OPM guerilla movement, but the
incidents themselves are staged and guerillas (if any) are manipulated by the TNI. Civilians are then forced
to take refuge in areas away from their food gardens, where they perish from malnutrition and exposure.
From the Baptist Church’s investigations during the first months of 2005, out of approximately 6,300
persons displaced in the Puncak Jaya operation which began in 2004 who have not been able to return to
their former villages, over sixty had succumbed to the elements while hundreds more were at serious risk
of disease and malnutrition, having being denied access to emergency aid.
For Papua, high rates of infant and maternal mortality, the uncontrolled spread of HIV/AIDS and military
operations against the community are accepted as the indigenous Papuans’ lot despite over forty years of
Indonesian governance in a “liberated” Papua. Researchers at Yale University’s Law School concluded in a
report released in November 2003 that the issue of genocide has become serious in Papua. Xenophobia
and racism have contributed to a sense of a lack of inclusion of Papuans within the Indonesian Republic, a
unitary state with an unaccomodated diversity of cultures, religions and races. As the health and security
of the population are supposed to be the responsibility of the government, Papuans can be forgiven for
thinking that the government’s policy towards Papua is one of ethnocide. It is the conclusion of this report
that the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) in Papua are the main source of suffering and instability in the province.
Military involvement is common in illegal and corrupt activity and manipulation of the local political and
security situation to justify and enhance further penetration of TNI and its Jakarta-based business cronies
into the decision making processes and administration of Papua. This section will discuss a number of
areas of Indonesian security forces involvement, including:
John Rumbiak , ‘Human Rights in Papua: Some Remarks’ in ibid, p 142
Neles Tebay in ibid, pp 123-132. See also Peter King, West Papua and Indonesia since Suharto: Independence,
Autonomy or Chaos? University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, 2004, pp 129-32
Sofyan Yoman, Systematic Genocide of the Peoples of West Papua under Special Autonomy, Jayapura, 14 May 2005
John Rumbiak in Autonomy for Papua, pp 142-4
Genocide in West Papua?
1. Illegal logging – a case study of the Telapak/EIA report
2. Other business activity, including infrastructure and construction works
3. Destabilization – manipulation of local politics and orchestration of attacks blamed on pro-Papuan
independence groups
4. Introduction of illegal arms, and militia training and recruitment
5. Prostitution and the spread of HIV/AIDS
i. Illegal activity in the forestry sector
Based on investigations into illegal logging conducted in Sorong, Manokwari and Jayapura in 2003-2005,
it is clear a pattern of military-sponsored or protected illegal operations has emerged in these areas as
well as in the Bintuni and Fak Fak areas. This has much to do with the laissez-faire attitude towards law of
Indonesian police and judicial authorities.
The main role of the security forces is that of paid protector acting on behalf of the mainly Malaysian,
Korean and Chinese companies involved in logging. They include most notably Kayu Lapis Plywood and
Rimbunan Hijau, both logging rare and protected merbau (kwila; intsia bejuga) timber. When grievances
are directed at the companies then security force intervention frequently follows and invariably involves
repressive measures against protesting tribesmen and women.
Logging companies sign agreements directly with tribal people who may allow them to log in certain
locations; however the same land may be claimed by a different tribe or clan. Conflict between Papuans
can then take place, leading to violent incidents. Acting on behalf of the company on the ground, the
security forces intervene, and injuries, imprisonment and deaths occur.
Payments agreed on are weighted in favor of the timber traders. The companies will be paid vastly more for
logs in Singapore and Malaysia than the local people receive. The companies say they do logging for income
generation and as a contribution to local development in the area, thereby working in the national interest.
However as regulations for issuing of permits are wide open to conflicting interpretation, disputes arise over
whether permits are obtained legally or against regulations, and abuses of the system occur.
This new road in the Baliem Valley near Wamena has had massive ecological and social impact.
Genocide in West Papua?
Payments are made through a mediator who will often organize town visits for local tribal leaders who are put up
in hotels and taken to bars where women and alcohol are provided. The leaders often return to their villages with
virtually nothing.
On 17 February, 2005 a major report based on a three year investigation into the trade in illegally sourced logs
in Papua was released by Indonesian based environmental organization Telapak and the UK- and US-based
Environmental Investigation Agency, who accused Indonesian military and government officials of running a
massive illegal operation. Described as the most egregious case of timber smuggling ever discovered, valued at
more than US$1 billion, the two non-governmental organizations said the case involved the smuggling of 300,000
cubic meters of timber per month from Papua to China.
Their report found that the operation was supported and managed by high-ranking Indonesian military (TNI) officers in
collusion with other government officials and law enforcers. Syndicates pay around $US 200,000 per shipment in bribes to
ensure the contraband logs are not intercepted in Indonesian waters. They are reportedly part of a group of international
criminal syndicates involved in the massive looting of merbau wood to supply increasing demands on China’s timber
processing industry. Merbau is one of the most valuable timber species in Southeast Asia, but Papuan communities only get
approximately $10 a cubic meter for chopping the trees down. The merbau is then sold for around $270 per cubic meter in
China where it is used for furniture and flooring.
“Papua has become the main illegal logging hotspot in Indonesia. This massive timber theft of Indonesia’s last
pristine forests has got to be stopped,” M. Yayat Afianto of Telapak stated during a news conference to release
the investigative report by the two groups in Jakarta. The report identified Sorong, Manokwari, Fak Fak, Nabire
and Serui regencies as the main illegal logging hotspots, from which huge numbers of logs are shipped to
the Chinese port of Zhangjiagang on the lower Yangtze and Shenzen Special Economic Zone adjoining Hong
Kong.
The EIA’s report showed the smuggling is still going on, even though Indonesia and China signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance in December 2002
designed to halt the purchase of illegal timber. The report’s three-year investigation, begun in 2002, revealed
the involvement of military personnel, customs officers and forestry officials. Several high-ranking military
officials were named. The report was widely reported in the Indonesian and international media. Excerpts from
the Jakarta Post’s summation of the report are included below.
‘The authorities have taken no action whatsoever against these officials, even though we have
reported them to the Ministry of Forestry, hoping that they would be tried. One of the officials we
reported to the police still runs his logging business openly in Papua, instead of being arrested,” said
Arbi Valentinus of Telapak. He was referring to a captain in the military police in Sorong who was in
March 2004 reported by a television station as running an illegal logging operation and selling the
wood to a Malaysian timber company.
Meanwhile, former Sorong Police Chief Faisal AN and five of his subordinates are on trial in Jayapura,
Papua, for their alleged roles in illegal logging in the province. The case surfaced after a Panamaflagged
vessel laden with 12,000 cubic meters of illegal logs was seized by the water police off Sorong
on 15 January 2002.
The report by the environmental investigators said each component of the syndicate played a
specifically defined role — from Jakarta-based bosses securing protection for shipment, to Malaysian
logging gangs, Singapore-based shippers arranging transport for the logs and Hong Kong-based
brokers selling huge quantities of merbau to companies in mainland China.
Aside from expecting the Indonesian and Chinese governments to take action to halt the smuggling,
The Last Frontier: Illegal Logging in Papua and China’s Massive Timber Theft,
Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Telapak, London and Jakarta, February 2005
Genocide in West Papua?
and in light of the fact that it involves several international syndicates, we urge that an international
response be formulated,” said Sam Lawson, a senior campaigner for EIA. The Indonesian Minister of
Forestry M.S. Ka’ban has said that 43 million hectares of Indonesian forests have been damaged or
destroyed over the last several decades due to illegal logging, with the average annual deforestation
rate estimated at more than 2.8 million hectares since 1998’.10
Companies based in Jakarta and Surabaya control the illegal logging operations on the ground in Papua.
Government officials create “legal” documents for vessels carrying smuggled timber which allow vessels to sail
through Indonesian waters.
See also:
Bisnis Gaharu dan Dampaknya Terhadap Kehidupan Orang Awyu dan Wiyagar di Distrik Assue, Kabupaten Mappi,
Papua Selatan, Sekretariat Keadilan dan Perdamaia, Keuskupan Agung Merauke, November, 2004
Pastor dan Mahasiswa Demo Tolak Bisnis Militer Berdampak Gonocide di Merauke, ELSHAM News Service,
November, 2004
ii. Security force involvement in business activity including infrastructure and
construction works
Interviews conducted in confidence with district government officials in Tolikara and Karubaga districts
and church representatives in Tiom and Wamena towns, Puncak Jaya regency, revealed that the
Indonesian military is involved in a variety of activities additional to its role in security. Soldiers can be
found driving vehicles for payment, marketing consumer goods and staffing small kiosks. Investigations
into larger projects show that military business interests are active in building projects such as dormitories
to house new army battalions and in road construction.
10 ‘NGOs accuse TNI, officials in biggest timber heist ever’, Jakarta Post, 18 February 2005
Mining and road construction have been devastating for the environment. Tailings from the Freeport
copper and gold mine have left the Ajikwa River biologically dead.
Genocide in West Papua?
The quality of such roads and structures is generally poor, leaving the local community doubly
disadvantaged. Shoddy workmanship combined with inferior materials and cutting of corners to
maximize profit produces poor results. The money generated from such projects goes back to the
military. Collusion between local government officials, companies and the military to get contracts for
construction projects is illegal, entrenched and involves active officers.
One name that has been provided by several sources in the highlands, including a district government
office holder, is John Bauna, a high ranking TNI officer serving in the largest town in the Papuan highlands,
Wamena. Bauna is behind the multi-story shopping store being constructed in Wamena, which will
become a magnet for consumerism.
It is an indication that the highlands are seen as a target area in the push to increase the number of new
migrant arrivals. While the migrants with better commercial savvy thrive in the new environment, either
through sheer hard work and tenacity or business connections, the indigenous Dani of the area are becoming
increasingly isolated and excluded from the new cash economy. This leads to a fear for the future, pervasive in
the community, over local capacity to cope with expenses for such basics as school education.
Migrants are seen as being of two types by the local Papuans. Firstly, those who come to Papua to make
a living and work hard to achieve prosperity are regarded as ‘good’ migrants, while ‘bad’ migrants are
those who tend to be impolite and who detest the local people they live amongst. They seek out business
opportunities which exploit the people and are comfortable making money illegally or immorally. Most of
the military fall in this category.
Theft and resale of relief aid earmarked for people suffering from natural disasters or military operations
is routinely committed by military personnel and civil servants. Examples include the Biak tsunami in 1996
and the Nabire earthquake in 2004. John Rumbiak, a native of Biak, has reported that in 1996 good quality
canvas tents donated by the US to be used as shelter for the victims of the Biak tsunami were replaced
with plastic sheeting. The tents were then sold by the TNI.11
iii. Destabilization – the manipulation of local politics and orchestration of
attacks blamed on pro-Papuan independence groups
According to an investigation contained in a report released by the Baptist Church of Papua in early 2005,
military operations such as that in Puncak Jaya during 2004-2005 are typically justified by reference to
incidents actually engineered by the TNI.12
The Baptist church reported that on 17 August 2004 the army special forces, Kopassus, provoked a conflict
situation in Monia village, Tingginambut. On 17 September, Kopassus troops killed the Reverend Elisa
Tabuni, a 40 year old male. He was found with his hands handcuffed together in a praying position. His
son, Weties Tabuni, also a pastor, fled with his hands handcuffed after seeing his father shot by Kopassus.
Weties was also shot and was wounded in the back of the head.
On 7 October, a militia group under the control of TNI/Kopassus, the Wonda Marunggen group, together
with Anton Tabuni, shot and killed a primary teacher named Kius Wenda.
On 13 October an unknown group shot six civilians in Puncak Jaya. It is still unclear whether the
11 John Rumbiak, Interview, 28 December 2004
12 Rev Sofyan Yoman, I Operasi Militer Puncak Jaya, Tanggal 17 Agustus s/d Desember 2004, Baptist Church of Papua,
January 2005
Genocide in West Papua?
information about the dead bodies is correct or not, because no family has yet said they’ve had a relative
killed. Subsequently six school buildings were burnt down by Kopassus. These were the schools at
Wonaluk, Yarumungun, Dondo, Yamo, Pagarugom, and Ambitmbit.
In addition, 371 homes of indigenous inhabitants were burnt down by Kopassus in Puncak Jaya. The
number of refugees still sheltering in the jungle as at the end of 2004 was 6393 and as of May 2005 these
refugees had not returned to the sites of their villages.13
To compound the hardship of the Lani tribes who were made refugees by this operation, all the pigs
owned by the community, valued as a form of currency when traded and an important food and source of
protein, were loaded onto trucks and sold by Indonesian soldiers.
The TNI is behind numerous incidents which result in military operations catastrophic for local
communities. These incidents are also used to justify the deployment of new troop reinforcements, which
in turn lead to greater human rights abuses, reaction from aggrieved Papuans, then further militarization.
A dangerous and destructive spiral is thus perpetuated.
In February 2005 the villages of Panaga, Bolobor and Wunin were scenes of destruction of property including
schools and houses. According to local government sources, Brimob mobile police and Kodam 10 troops
were responsible for the arson.14 Local people are becoming increasingly radicalized and also divided. Seven
hundred additional troops were recently deployed to thirteen new military posts in the central/western
highlands. A further 15,000 Kostrad troops are being deployed to Papua beginning this year.15
See also:
Laporan Kasus Wunin Berdarah: Hasi Perjalanan Chru DeMMak – AMP Indonesia di Wilayah Logoboma, Kaiga,
Bawi dan Wurineri Kec Wunin Kabupaten Tolikara, Jayawijaya, Papua Barat, Yogyakarta, February, 2005
iv. Militia training and recruitment and illegal arms – a local informant’s report
‘… here in Manokwari the TNI are building up and preparing militias, or what’s known as
Satgas Merah Putih. They have opened two bases in Manokwari, in areas where there a lot of
transmigrants and Muslims. One of them is in the area called SB7, the second is in Orang Sebari.
At the one in SB7, in the year 2000, there were weapons delivered by ship which were brought ashore
at Pasi Putih beach. A certain figure in Manokwari mobilised his men to transport these weapons. They
took the weapons to SB7, unloaded, and a local person saw that what was in the vehicle was guns. It’s
the same in Orang Sebari, Satgas Merah Putih is being trained, or militias. The evidence I have obtained
in the field is that people in both those places have discovered weapons.
But what makes me angry is that when people reported this to the authorities there was no follow
up, no attempt to confiscate the weapons. So I am convinced that the TNI is preparing militias
in these two places and that at some stage these militias will become a force used to attack the
community as happened in East Timor. We are very worried about this. Then what happened in
Orang Sebari – someone caught an Ambonese in the act of bringing in weapons for these people.
There were pistols which were 20 million rupiah each, rifles which were 15 million rupiah.
13 ibid
14 Tolikara government official (name withheld)
15 Jakarta Post, 19 March 2005.
Genocide in West Papua?
While there were negotiations going on someone reported this to the district police. They caught
the person involved and asked him to be processed by the police, but what they found when
they got there was the security forces said the matter should be left up to them and they would
follow it up. But to date there has been no further news concerning this case. When questioned,
the Ambonese person involved said that he had obtained the weapons from a timber trader
operating in Manokwari, a man of Malaysian nationality.
Boxes of bullets are being stored in workshops, in eating stalls and at the side of the road. What’s
the motive or reason for this? If we relate this to the militia and the Satgas Merah Puti which are
now being formed, if there is a conflict later on they will be able to get easy access to ammunition.
My hope is that the Australian government as a power in the Pacific will wholeheartedly help us and
heed the misery and suffering we are going through as a result of Indonesian imperialism. They may
say they are developing Papua but on the ground that’s not the reality. Development in Papua has
political elements. There’s no serious effort to develop the Papuan people. That’s our experience and
that’s why we’re disappointed with the government’s development policy in Papua.
The most important thing, what we really need, is for the Australian government and people,
who are our neighbours and who we know have power, to help us Melanesians, to free us. How
come the Australian government saved one Melanesian people, the East Timorese, but they aren’t
saving us? We very much hope for help, especially, as I said before, because of the weapons being
brought in and the militias being formed, which are a time bomb. At some time we Papuans are
going to start killing each other, because they are preparing Papuans to confront Papuans.’
See also:
Susunan Pengurus dan Struktur Organisasi Milisi front Islam (FPI) Pusat Periode 1998 – 2003
Kesaksian Seorang Aktivis Bersama Laskar Jihad
v. Prostitution, the spread of HIV/AIDS and the gaharu industry
From interviews conducted with staff of foundations in Jayapura and Merauke dealing with prostitution
and the spread of HIV, it is clear that there is security force involvement in prostitution at different levels.
In Merauke for example there are legal and illegal brothels operating in the town. Legal brothels are in
locations which are inconveniently located away from the town proper. They are more expensive
than their illegal counterparts, which are located nearer the town centre. The HIV testing protocols
are different too. Prostitutes at the illegal brothel undergo testing every six months whereas at the legal
brothel it is monthly.
‘Assue (pron. Ass-oo-ay) and Atsy (pron. Et-chee), in the Asmat/Mappi district are the towns which
are at the centre of the Gaharu industry. There are ten bars, as well as karaoke establishments.
A prostitution industry has developed. The commercial sex workers in Assue and Atsy, the
alcohol and various kinds of products, come from outside. They usually use passenger boats,
which can sail without being checked. The responsible authorities don’t have strict control or
oversight over these boats and their cargo. The commercial sex workers come through Agats and
through Timika. They also come from Merauke. They practice their activities without check by the
apparatus. Business activities, including the gambling business, are widespread.’
Catholic Church investigator, Merauke, January 20, 2005
Genocide in West Papua?
From interviews conducted in the preparation of this report it was discovered the locals especially look
for gaharu, a valuable incense-like substance gathered by local tribesmen for sale to local traders, then
exported to the Middle East. From investigations by a Catholic Church team it was discovered one local
got 240 million rupiah, which was then spent on alcohol, prostitutes and gambling.
‘Atsy is a metropolis in the jungle. There are many varieties of women, from Java, Makassar,
Manado – they come alone or are brought by an employer, the police or army. There is only one
doctor; other girls are spread out in the forests and jungles. They exchange sex for gaharu. They
destroy local people’s culture – it is easy money, but prices are now high in Atsy.
These practices have an impact on relations between husband and wife, parents and kids,
clan and clan, leading to fights, all starting from this business, looking for gaharu,. People hire
themselves out and bring problems back to their family. There are fights between father and son.
Education suffers while parents and teachers look for gaharu. Damage is done to the forest.
Class actions are planned; people will try to prosecute the local government over gambling and
prostitution.’
Indonesian lawyer, Merauke, 13 February 2005, (name withheld)
Among all Indonesian provinces Papua now has the highest proportion of people living with HIV/AIDS.
According to national parliamentarian Simon Morin, the virus is now in the highlands:
‘How to explain it to the people, in the villages, in the highlands, is a big problem. How to explain
to the people, for example, when we are talking about using condoms. What kind of thing is that?
Why do we have to use these condoms?
But it is also a hidden threat that will reveal itself maybe after five or ten years in the future. I’m
afraid that we will face problems like what’s happened in Africa…most of the people who are
infected in Papua with HIV/AIDS have contracted it through sexual intercourse, with partners, with
prostitutes, and many people don’t know how to protect themselves by using condoms. Some
church leaders say ‘those infected by HIV have acted against God’s law’. They don’t understand
that a woman who has stayed at home may be infected by her spouse, or a baby can be infected
by his or her mother. So to know how to protect themselves is a big problem for people.
Young West Papuan girls
are now being enslaved
sexually by the military
during their operations in
the remotest areas of West
Papua. TNI presence is
normally accompanied by
violence, heavy threats and
pressure in these areas.
10
Genocide in West Papua?
While many international organizations, like UNICEF, are now giving attention to Papua,
the problem is how to train people. How can the people be informed in ways that they can
understand? So we need to strengthen the organization and to equip them with the information
they need and tell them how to transfer this to the people, so that people can understand what
kind of threat they are facing.’16
See also:
Bisnis Gaharu dan Dampaknya Terhadap Kehidupan Orang Awyu dan Wiyagar di Distrik Assue, Kabupaten
Mappi, Papua Selatan, Sekretariat Keadilan dan Perdamaia, Keuskupan Agung Merauke, November 2004
Aditjondro, G., Dari Gaharu Ke Eksplosi HIV/AIDS Di Tanah Papua: Dampak Bisnis Tentara Di Negeri Bintang
Kejora
Komitmen Sentani, Dalam memerangi HIV/AIDS di Indonesia, January 2004, AusAID/ihpcp/Aksi Stop AIDS
Informasi AIDS Provinsi Papua, Dinas Kesehatan Provinsi Papua, per 31 Desember 2004
16 Simon Morin, Interview, Jakarta, 19 February 2005
A village of the Lani tribe, near Karubaga, 1991. The new road to this area is having a major demographic impact on
the previously isolated tribes, while health services remain poor.
11
Genocide in West Papua?
2 A New Apartheid?
Freedom of movement is being severely restricted in Papua. This restriction has been compared to the
system of apartheid in South Africa during the era before democratic elections and self-rule. Types of acts
of apartheid in West Papua include the following:
• Freedom of movement in many regions is very difficult due to arbitrary acts of the security
apparatus
• People have to have a surat jalan, or travel permit, when traveling to their home villages
• People are detained with no clear reason for unspecified periods, for months or even years, and
tried with no clear charges
• Papuans who are members of the military apparatus of the Republic of Indonesia will sometimes
not be given any arms to equip themselves to handle crowds, whereas those coming from Indonesia
will always be fully equipped with rifles, and/or pistols
• The Indonesian newcomers to Papua looking for jobs can easily get one, often within a week.
Meanwhile, Papuans have to wait for years to get one. This is a form of deliberate or “structural”
discrimination over the right to work
• Papuan churches and schools in the military-targeted or military operation areas always become
targets of vandalism and arson by the security apparatus
• The security apparatus uses terms of denigration that degrade the dignity of West Papuans, e.g.,
that Papuans are animals (e.g., monkeys). A clear example can be found in the Abepura case of
200017
• HIV/AIDS has never been seriously handled, even though the Province of Papua records the highest
number of victims in Indonesia. Especially in regions rich with gaharu, the military is involved as
pimps bringing in HIV/AIDS affected prostitutes from Java and other parts of Indonesia.
17 See Peter King, West Papua and Indonesia since Suharto, p 33
Arson has become a
common weapon of
terror against the Papuan
highland community. Clinics
and churches are common
targets of the military.
Wunin, January 2005.
12
Genocide in West Papua?
Young Lani tribesmen at a ceremonial church gathering in Wunin, filmed in the early 1990s. This region now has 13
military posts. TNI operations have created over 11,000 refugees during 2003-5.
13
Genocide in West Papua?
3 The TNI Troop Buildup and Potential New Conflicts in Papua
Potential Triggers of Conflict:
• Troop buildups. New deployments are being planned for 2005-2009, mainly for the PNG border
area, the highlands and large towns, starting with Sorong. This was announced on 18 March
2005, the day after the announcement of a new security treaty between Australia and Indonesia.
The Indonesian army plans to set up a new division of elite troops and station it in Papua. Army
spokesman Brig. Gen. Hotmagaradja Pandjaitan explained that this was the plan that would involve
the gradual deployment of up to 15,000 troops from the Army’s Strategic Reserve Command
(Kostrad) from 2005 through 2009. The first 5,000 troops will be recruited from Makassar in South
Sulawesi and deployed in Sorong. To bring the number up to a total of 15,000, TNI will also recruit
troops from military commands (Kodam) nationwide. According to Pandjaitan, the establishment
of the new division was in line with the Army’s guidelines on the development of its strength.
Pandjaitan said the deployment of more troops was also aimed at securing the border between
Indonesia and next-door neighbor Papua New Guinea.18 A dramatic escalation in troop strength
will be a major drain on the army’s budget. The importance of this issue for Australia and PNG may
be overlooked in light of the eagerness of Canberra and Jakarta to enter into a security agreement
whereby Australia will preclude itself from comment on Indonesia’s handling of the Papua question.
Being in a situation very different to other ethnic groups in Indonesia, Papuans need an approach to
development which accommodates traditional society and culture rather than being guided purely
by political/security concerns. The security approach is discredited, cannot solve Papuan problems
and only complicates and exacerbates the situation.
• Failure of Special Autonomy. According to the Chairman of the Dewan Adat Papua, Tom Beanal,
no noticeable change has taken place since the Yudhoyono government came to power in 2004. He
says Special Autonomy has given nothing, and symbols of Papuan nationalism, such as the Morning
Star flag and anthem (Hai Tanakuh Papua), which were promised in the Special Autonomy law of
2001, have been taken out.19 In addition the government’s proposal for an all-Papuan upper house
of the local parliament has greatly diluted the powers envisaged for it in 2001. Also it provides for
only 42 representatives in three categories: adat (tribal society), church and women. There may be
disaffection in some quarters, especially among West Papua’s 250 tribal groups, who will feel they
are inadequately represented by this MRP model.
• Deadline for revision of the Special Autonomy law. It has been mooted that the statement by
the Papuan Customary Council (Dewan Adat Papua) of 4 February 2005 (see Appendix C) giving
August 15 as a deadline for correcting the deficiencies of Special Autonomy, could lead to violence.
The state apparatus may become involved in the orchestrating of incidents in the period around the
deadline in an effort to demonstrate that the idea of Papuans having more control over their own
affairs and a cessation of military operations is unrealistic. There is a fear that this statement can be
used by certain groups, such as fake OPM operatives, to organize attacks on government buildings
because the deadline was not met. Military retribution is sure to follow. Efforts can be made by the
government to confuse the international community about where the Papuans themselves stand
on Papua’s autonomy and the future.
18 Tiarma Siboro, ‘ Army to station extra division in Papua’, Jakarta Post, 19 March 2005
19 Interview, 5 February 2005
14
Genocide in West Papua?
• Splitting Papua province. The Indonesian Constitutional Court ruled on 11 November 2004
that Law No. 45/1999 and the Presidential Instruction of January 2003 on the establishment of
Central and West Irian Jaya provinces violated the Constitution. At the same time it recognized the
existence of West Irian Jaya province since it had already established its own provincial legislature
and elected its members for the House of Representatives in Jakarata. Rev. Herman Awom, Deputy
Chairman of the Evangelical Church (GKI) in Papua, said the Papuan people were confused not only
by the Constitutional Court’s decision, but by the lack of commitment from Jakarta to implement
Special Autonomy and solve the prolonged issue of insincere and half-hearted decentralization.20
On this issue, Simon Morin has said:
if the province is divided into five, with many new kabupaten (districts), organizational
problems will be compounded. The whole budget will be required to operate the system,
making sure the system works, but there will be no money to support the development
of the people, to serve two million people. What we need is to empower the regions,
the local government, to train the people to know how to do their jobs more efficiently
and how to combat corruption. As for corruption …when they criticize Papua province,
I always say that ‘you cannot expect clean government officials. They come out from a
machine that is already corrupted!’ The Papuans say it is like a river. Unclean at the source
where it is muddy, then the whole river will be unclean. So this is what Yudhoyono is
saying, that he will combat corruption. When we combat corruption we have to create a
system, a bureaucracy, which we have to make clean.21
There are groups now active which are rallying in towns within the new province of West Irian
Jaya, especially Manokwari and Sorong, openly demonstrating in favour of the partition or against
it. It has been claimed the January 2005 visit to the US by a delegation paid for by Jakarta to
campaign for the new province’s recognition and against any review of the Act of Free Choice of
1969 has a strong relation to the military and its economic interests.
• Elections for governors and bupatis. The election of two governors and bupatis (heads of
kabupaten) in 19 districts in the second half of 2005 has the potential to be corrupted as military
groups compete for influence and even seek office. Furthering their business interests is the
motivation for many TNI members who are already involved in illegal business activity. In the
election of governors and bupatis their supporters may be involved in conflict. The government
and military will use any approach to create conflict – Wasior (see victim’s testimony in Appendix
A) and Puncak Jaya are examples – and undermine their competitors. Kopassus officers are
now heavily involved in the election of bupatis. Most Bupatis now use Kopassus or BIN as their
bodyguards, who accompany them everywhere.It was also reported to researchers for this
report that members of Kopassus came to a tribal leader in Mamberamo to seek his involvement
in mobilizing supporters. It is very possible for the military to create armed conflict before an
election, to close a region and to declare it a war zone – so that no-one can monitor the election.
• Human rights violations. Regulation 27 was issued in September 2004 for establishing a Truth
and Reconciliation Commission. It seems that President Yudohyono is trying to solve human rights
violations of the past in a reconciliatory atmosphere. But if no justice is served for the crimes in
Papua there could be a feeling of betrayal and profound disappointment, compounding the lack
of trust in Papua for Jakarta.
20 ‘Papua likely to seek referendum over MRP’, Jakarta Post , 7 December 2004
21 Interview, 19 February 2005
15
Genocide in West Papua?
4 The Demographic Transition
According to Dutch colonial records, the 1960s population of Papua numbered around 700,000. After
integration with Indonesia in 1969, an open door policy was declared and settlers from other provinces
flocked to Papua: the population tripled from the 1970s to 2000, from 700,000 to 2.2 million, of which 1.5
million were Papuan. In the 1970s, the Summer Institute of Linguistics inventory of local dialects noted
extinction of various local dialects (and hence speakers) as Papuans took up Indonesian but also due to
decimation of ethnic groups. Low swampland areas, home to nomadic Papuan food gatherers, have also
experienced a natural decrease in population.
Papuan population growth in regions on the outskirts of provincial and sub-district towns is less than
0.5% per year, and high infant mortality figures indicates a still-decreasing trend. According to the late
Dr Michael Rumbiak, the very slow growth means 150 years would be needed to double the Papuan
population, with infant mortality rates of 70 per 1,000. City rates are higher due to higher proportions of
migrants. Population growth of Papuans in isolated mountain villages, swamplands and city outskirts is
still zero. 22
According to Rumbiak, formerly a leading demographer at Papua’s Cenderawasih University,
development is aimed only at certain targeted regions, but it leads to impoverishment and
marginalization of Papuans. It’s lop-sided and not people-oriented. Rumbiak argued that the government
must assess if development has been beneficial or destructive.
Development programs that threaten local society need cancellation or revision. Studies are needed into
local social, cultural and geographical conditions, and how to increase population and improve quality of
life among the Papuans.
The National Family Planning program (Keluarga Berencana Nasional–KB) is considered by Papuans to be a
depopulation program. Papuans need their own population program to increase growth and improve life
quality. The KB program keeps Papuans in static growth, with the Papuan population increasing very slowly.
Papuan KB acceptor families have not improved their welfare and remain poor. The program is based on the
needs of densely populated areas in Java, Bali and Madura and is good for areas other than Papua. Michael
Rumbiak has recommended the KB program should increase numbers and quality of life for Papuans, with five
children per family a target and subsidies to support family economic and health needs. 23
Thai fishermen introduced and are continuing to bring in AIDS/HIV to Papua and should not be allowed
to work there, according to Papuan experts. Many Papuans are now infected by HIV/AIDS. In January
2002 Papua was ranked 2nd after Jakarta with 818 HIV/AIDS sufferers: 525 HIV and 293 AIDS cases – the top
districts being Merauke (327 cases), Timika (264 cases) and Jayapura (55 cases). In figures released at the
end of 2004 by the provincial government, the total number of HIV/AIDS cases was 1749, with Timika now
having 592 cases and Merauke 657. 24
The doubling of known cases in four years augurs badly for the parallel growth in undiagnosed cases. In
the case of Merauke and Timika, prostitution involving infected, mainly Javanese migrant, commercial sex
22 Michael Rumbiak, Dampak Pembangunan Terhadap Depopulasi Penduduk Asli Tanah Papua, Universitas
Cenderawasih, Jayapura, 2000
23 ibid
24 Informasi AIDS Provinsi Papua, Dinas Kesehatan Provinsi Papua, per 31 Desember 2004
16
Genocide in West Papua?
workers has accounted for the high rates. These women are often transported and sponsored by brothel
owners who are directly or indirectly linked to the security apparatus.
HIV/AIDS cases in Papua are on a sharp increase – this is a huge, hidden, slow and silent but sure threat.
There are certainly many hidden sufferers. The African experience is being repeated in Papua, with many
villages almost extinct. HIV/AIDS sufferers burden their families and the state. Stronger government
policies are needed to halt the HIV/AIDS spread. Community and church protests to send home Thai
fishermen have had no effect. The government could educate Papuan youths living on the coast to
replace Thai fishermen. A sustained, intensive, regular publicity program is needed on the dangers of HIV/
AIDS and how to prevent it. HIV/AIDS will impact severely on the population growth and productive lives
of Papuans.
Government policies for the mining sector ensures profits for the central government and investors/
corporations but impoverishes locals, despite the apparently generous provisions in the special autonomy
law for return of mining tax revenues to provincial authorities. Land-owning communities acting against
mining companies are chased and shot at by security forces because they are demanding their lost rights
to land, forest, and other resources whilst outsiders enrich themselves. Papuans protest against the
companies and their abuses, but the central government sees them as a national asset.
The migration program is a national government policy to develop the regions but it leads to a sharp
inequity between migrants and locals. Papuans are becoming a minority in their homeland, unable to
compete and being further stressed. Official transmigration programs and spontaneous migration alike
have led to a rapid increase of the non-Papuan population in Papua, outstripping the Papuans, especially
in district towns like Jayapura, which is immediately apparent in areas like shopping centres.
Michael Rumbiak’s findings indicate that transmigration programs have led to impoverishment of locals.
The local communities lost their traditional land rights, so where do the clans go? In transmigration
regions such as Arso in Jayapura district, for example, the 1970 local population numbered no more than
1,000. By 2000 the Arso population had reached around 20,000 and Papuans became a marginalised
minority. Transmigrants were more numerous and stronger, pushing Papuans into the barren hills.25
Transmigration has led to the loss of traditional lands and forests where once local tribes used to hunt and
gather food. There is no transfer of knowledge and technology to substitute for lost basic rights.
The government has taken no serious, sustained or expeditious measures to build and improve
community socio-economic and cultural conditions in Papua. Many Papuans are still of low education
or are illiterate but no concrete government efforts are made to improve education as a precondition of
participation and access to available opportunities. In the Special Autonomy (Otonomi Khusus–Otsus) era,
special policies are needed to provide free education from primary school to university for Papuans and
scholarships for the gifted.
Low health standards – chronic malaria, upper respiratory tract infections, dysentery – contribute to
a high rate of illness and death among Papuans. Local integrated health clinics are ineffective, underequipped
and lack trained staff. These clinics need to be upgraded to rural hospital status with trained
staff and sophisticated equipment. Free treatment is needed for Papuans – better health policies were in
place in the Dutch times.
Alcohol abuse is emerging as a serious health risk factor. Drunk men are very likely to engage in
sexually risky behavior. Research conducted in Merauke in January – February 2005 shows Papuan
men commonly have sexual relations with women who are infected. Michael Rumbiak believed
that this will inevitably lead to depopulation and extinction of Papuans in the villages unless radical
counter-measures are adopted.
25 Michael Rumbiak, Dampak Pembangunan
17
Genocide in West Papua?
The government must undertake preventative health measures. Spontaneous migrants to Papua should
bring a transfer letter from their area of origin and obtain permission to enter and stay in Papua from the
Papuan government and traditional community. They should be healthy and prove themselves free from
illnesses such as HIV/AIDS with a letter from a local health authority.
Migrants to Papua should have special skills and expertise as a development asset, not be a burden
and unable to create their own work fields while wresting job opportunities in public and private
sectors from Papuans. Migrants should have capital for investment in Papua. Papuans are presently
unable to compete; work opportunities and positions are controlled by non-Papuans, putting
Papuans in a weak position. There is an obvious need for local regulations to control the flow of
migrants. Currently, with transmigration largely discredited, migration is mainly spontaneous, and
completely unplanned and unregulated.
Map courtesy Norm Robinson, taken from West Papua, Follow the Morning Star Prowling Tiger Press.
18
Genocide in West Papua?
A traditional Lani family grouping in the highland village of Wunin. The impact of military operations in this area has created
a refugee crisis and led to scores of deaths, many from exposure and malnutrition, in 2004-5 as emergency aid is blocked.
19
Genocide in West Papua?
5 Human Rights Abuses
The human rights situation has continued to deteriorate over the last two years. Particularly destructive
have been the series of military operations which began in the Kiyawage area in 2003, then in the Puncak
Jaya region in 2004/05 and since January 2005 in the Tolikara regency. According to the results of an
investigation released by the Baptist Church of Papua in May 2005, military operations such as these have
been cynically engineered by the TNI.26
Apart from the operations making large numbers of people homeless and leading to scores of deaths, the
impacts have been exacerbated by poor delivery of aid to the refugee communities. Yet the siphoning off
of Special Autonomy funds to the military to conduct these same operations, money that was targeted to
help the communities through health and education projects, has made a tragic situation doubly evil.
Special Autonomy funds are used for military operations. According to information I obtained
in the field, the total amount is two and a half billion rupiah. The regional Government has
announced that there’s about 19 billion in funds that has been used for medicine and also for
food. But the fact is people are starving and dying in the jungle. Where’s the money going? 27
The Baptist church reported that on 17 August 2004 Kopassus engineered a tense situation in Monia
village, Tingginambut. On 17 September, Kopassus killed the Reverend Elisa Tabuni, a 40 year old male. He
was found with his hands handcuffed together in a praying position. His son, Weties Tabuni, also a pastor,
fled with his hands handcuffed after seeing his father shot by Kopassus. Weties was also shot and was
wounded in the back of the head. 28
On 7 October, a militia group under the TNI/Kopassus, the Wonda Marunggen group, with Anton Tabuni,
shot and killed a primary teacher named Kius Wenda. On 13 October an unknown group shot six civilians.
It is still unclear whether the information about the dead bodies is correct or not, because no family has
yet said they’ve had a relative killed. Subsequently six school buildings were burnt down by Kopassus.
These were the schools at Wonaluk, Yarumungun, Dondo, Yamo, Pagarugom, and Ambitmbit.
In addition, 371 homes of indigenous inhabitants have been burnt down by Kopassus. The number of
refugees still taking refuge in the jungle as at end of 2004 was 6393. To compound the hardship of the
Lani tribes who were made refugees by this operation, all the pigs owned by the community, valued as a
form of currency when traded and an important food and source of protein, were loaded onto trucks and
sold by Indonesian soldiers. The chickens were shot by the soldiers, the fences and gardens were smashed
and burnt.
In Monia, soldiers have occupied a church building of the Indonesian Gospel Church as a post or
living quarters for Indonesian soldiers carrying out the Puncak Jaya operation. A woman who wanted
to return to her village was stripped and raped so returned to the refugee camp, a case reported by
Baptist church officials.
26 Socratez Yoman, Systematic Genocide of the Peoples of West Papua under Special Autonomy, Jayapura, 14 May 2005
27 Socratez Yoman, SBS TV Dateline interview, 16 March 2005
28 Socratez Yoman, Systematic Genocide
20
Genocide in West Papua?
The TNI is behind numerous incidents which result in military operations, catastrophic to local
communities. These incidents are used to justify the deployment of new troop reinforcements, which in
turn lead to greater human rights abuses, reaction from aggrieved Papuans, then further militarization. A
dangerous and destructive spiral is thus perpetuated.
In February 2005 the villages of Panaga, Bolobor and Wunin have been the scenes of destruction of
property including schools and houses. According to local government sources Brimob and Kodam 10 are
responsible for the arson. Local people are becoming increasingly radicalized and divided. 700 additional
troops were recently deployed to thirteen new military posts in the central/western highlands. A further
15,000 Kostrad troops are being deployed to Papua beginning this year.29
Denial of human rights is also manifested through the government’s development policies, or lack
of them. In the area of economic, social and cultural rights, the Catholic Office for Justice and Peace
(Sekretariat Keadilan dan Perdamaian Keuskupan–SKP) in Jayapura pointed out in February 2005 that
Special Autonomy is not yet implemented at the grassroots level: “Special Autonomy that focuses on the
fulfillment of the rights to health and education is still far from the people’s hope. The health condition
of the people continues to deteriorate due to the lack of health facilities, medicine and health officers
to meet the peoples’ need. We found such facts in Raja Ampat, Teluk Bintuni, Mimika, Mappi, Merauke,
Boven Digul, Asmat, Nabire, Paniai, Puncak Jaya, Pegunungan Bintang and Jayawijaya”, SKP reported.30
SKP is an integral part of the ministry of the Catholic Church in the area of human
rights and peace-building. This office operates in five dioceses in Papua, including the
Archdiocese of Merauke, Diocese of Jayapura, Diocese Manokwari-Sorong, Diocese Agats-
Asmat and, the youngest, Diocese Timika. SKPs work very closely with any party that puts
major effort into building peace based on justice in Papua, including government officials,
NGOs, women’s groups, tribal leaders, students, political activists and others.
It is part of the SKP programme to provide an analysis of social-political development in Papua on a three
monthly basis, providing a map of the human rights situation and highlighting issues that need particular
attention. Their observation and analysis not only focus on political analysis as such but also on law
enforcement, women’s issues, children’s issues, the dynamics of indigenous people and problems in the
area of economic, social and cultural rights that have become major Papuan concerns.31
Together with ELSHAM (the Jayapura-based Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy) SKP is a
leading institutional defender of the human rights of the Papuans.
Flag raisings
The importance of the Morning Star flag to Papuan society cannot be underestimated, and as a symbol
of independence aspiration (Aspirasi M for Merdeka) it therefore remains feared, loathed and threatening
to the Indonesian establishment. On the first of December each year people in villages and towns across
Indonesia’s province of Papua meet in secret or sometimes open locations. To the Papuan people the
date has a deeply symbolic meaning. It was on December 1st in 1961 that the former colonial masters,
the Dutch, effectively committed themselves to independence for the territory, then known as West New
Guinea. The Morning Star was allowed to fly alongside the Dutch flag and the song, My Land of Papua,
was adopted as the national anthem.
29 ibid
30 ‘Make Papua a Land of Peace’, SKP Press Statement, Jayapura, 18 February, 2005
31 ibid
21
Genocide in West Papua?
In a diplomatic victory for the US at the United Nations, sovereignty over the territory was given not to the
Papuans but to the government of Indonesia which took power in 1963. In the intervening years at least
100,000 people have died under Indonesian control. Forty years later, the flying of the Morning Star flag
remains outlawed.
Beyond being a symbolic act of defiance, such demonstrations serve to alert the international community
to the plight of the Papuan people, for at stake here is their very survival. In December 2004, hundreds of
young Papuan students took part in a demonstration that has landed several of them in gaol and facing a
possible death penalty.
In May 2005, two of the organizers of the protest, Philep Karma and Yusak Pukage, were sentenced to 10
and 15 years respectively for their roles in organizing the demonstration. Yet footage of the event shows
that there was police cooperation and involvement in staging the event.
Expressions of Papuan nationalism or resistance to environmental exploitation are brutally put down.
You Indonesians can’t just come and shoot us…you’ll never find a peaceful ending in
heaven! You listen to what we say! Don’t come here with your law and your behaviour.
You’ve got your own country – stay there! We Papuans never had such things happen
here before! From Suharto to Megawati you have raped Papua’s riches, killing our people,
stealing from us like thieves. Rapists! You are raping us! You’ve done the lot and it’s
unaccounted for! All the help that people have given to Indonesia and all the things that
you have done to us here, don’t close your eyes! We all have our eyes and we can see! But
what we can see in your eyes is you have no love, no compassion- you don’t care about us!
You understand or not? Even though we are uneducated we never had these kinds of
things before! This is genocide! You are worse than anything I can describe with all the
things you’ve done – killing and raping! We had a peaceful life before you came!
Video recording, female Papuan protester, flag raising, Trikora field, Jayapura, 1 December 2004
While peaceful dialogue is frequently called for by Papuan groups, the TNI has shown no willingness to
forego security operations in order to achieve peace in the province, and the government of Indonesia
has blocked attempts from Papuans to come to any form of negotiated settlement or dialogue mediated
by a third party nation. Also, as noted above, TNI has repeatedly staged or provoked violent incidents
which have led to widespread human rights abuses.
The case of Yustinus Murib was widely reported. In April of 2003, a cache of weapons was allegedly stolen
by OPM members from a secure TNI storage facility. Subsequent investigations showed there had been
complicity in the “theft” by members of the local security forces; however a massive military operation
was launched to retrieve the missing 27 rifles which resulted in the displacement of thousands of Papuan
villagers from their homes in the areas where the alleged perpetrator, Yustinus Murib, was located. In an
investigation conducted in November 2003, the national human rights organization
Komnas HAM found that gross human rights violations had been committed. However, no follow up
action has been taken by the Attorney General’s Office.32
Murib seized an opportunity to appeal for a dialogue with Jakarta in late 2003 and pleaded for
international intervention in the ethnic cleansing taking place in the highlands. His appeal was broadcast
on Australian television (SBS Dateline, November 5 2004) and sent to the United Nations. But he was
brutally executed in a Kopassus raid on November 4 that left eleven dead.33 Petrus Tabuni, another OPM
32 West Papua: A short briefing paper on some of the major events/incidents that occurred in West Papua in 2003, AWPAWP
News, 6 February 2004
33 See Jakarta Post, 7 November 2003
22
Genocide in West Papua?
leader, also pleaded for international dialogue in 2003 in a televised address. His calls remain unanswered
and the whereabouts of his clan of several hundred men, women and children are unknown.
Additionally, human rights investigators remain threatened in doing the work they are employed to do.
ELSHAM, for example, despite being internationally recognized as Papua’s pre-eminent human rights
investigative body, still reports harassment and intimidation. A recent case occurred at the December
1 flag-raising in Jayapura, when a human rights defender was taken into custody and assaulted for
photographing the event.
See also:
Indonesia’s 1969 Takeover of West Papua Not by “Free Choice” The National Security Archive, George
Washington University, 2004 www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB128/index.htm
Koordinator Jaringan Human Right Defender (HRD) Papua Dipukul Oleh Polisi dari Polsek Abepura, ELSHAM
News Service, 1 December 2004
Laporan Tim Pencari Fakta, Peristiwa Kali Korimen- Kontuar – Lapangan Maskura Kimaam, Kecamatan
Kimaam, Kabupaten Merauke- Papua, TPF – Kimaam, 2002
Data Identifikasi Korban Insden Desember Di Merauke, Mulai Tanggal, 04 November, 02 Desember 2000
Kasus Wamena Tunjukkan Lemanyah Perlindugan HAM di Papua, Sinar Haripan,
June 23 & 24 2003
Kasus Puncak Jaya Murni Rekayasa Militer, Pdt. Socrates Sofyan Yoman, Elsham News Service, November
2004
Laporan Kasus Wunin Berdarah: Hasi Perjalanan Chru DeMMak – AMP Indonesia di Wilayah Logoboma, Kaiga,
Bawi dan Wurineri Kec Wunin Kabupaten Tolikara, Jayawijaya, Papua Barat, Yogyakarta, February 2005
Raising of the Morning Star
flag, a symbol sacred amongst
Papuans, is outlawed.
Petrus Tabuni inspects his troops.
His call for dialogue and international
support has been ignored.
23
Genocide in West Papua?
6 Papuans Respond: the Customary Council timeline
– and a warning to Jakarta
For the Papuans, identity and recognition of their
attachment to the land are fundamental to their
sense of self-worth. To have an identity yet not be
to able to express that identity remains a source of
frustration within the Papuan community. In the
Special Autonomy law’s existing form the question
of Papuan identity was not addressed.
Each year seven areas or divisions of Papua,
according to culture, are represented at the Dewan
Adat (Tribal Council) Congress. It was held in
Jayapura in 2002, in Biak in 2004, in Manokwari in
2005, and will be held in Fak Fak in 2006, Merauke in
2007, Wamena in 2008 and Paniai in 2009. The Tribal
Council represents 253 tribes.
Reference was made to genocide in the statement
by Dewan Adat in Manokwari in February 2005.
According to Beatus Tambaip of Foker, the Papuan NGO Cooperative Forum, the Dewan Adat cannot be
denied – it covers the seven geographical areas of Papua. Tambaip believes the Manokwari declaration
has provided a warning to the government ‘Look at us and take notice of us, we have power’.34 With a
history of repression the Papuans know how to strategize, he believes. They have learned from the past
that rebellion won’t work, though unexpected situations can develop.
Beatus Tambaip believes the central government must have good intentions to help Papua catch up. If
the goal is to help local people to prosper, the problem is that the local governments don’t know how to
manage programs or money, and there is no strategy to bring the money to the people and reduce social
problems.
To make the people free, provide good education and health – that is independence. The central
government needs a socio-cultural approach for Papuan development. Under the Autonomy Bill a lot
of money is given to the Papuan government but this money goes back to Jakarta or outside Papua, via
individual or institutional means. 35
34 Interview, 16 February 2005
35 ibid
The Traditional Council Congress held in Manokwari,
4 February 2005.
24
Genocide in West Papua?
25
Genocide in West Papua?
7 A New Paradigm for Jakarta, and International Pressure
Recommendations:
• Indonesia to immediately commence demilitarization of the Papuan highlands, ending military
campaigns and human rights abuses, which have included extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, arson,
destruction and theft of property.
• Indonesia to cancel plans to deploy 15,000 additional troops to Papua. Existing ‘organic’ troops
should be transferred from military security operations against civilians to civil projects aimed at
improving provincial infrastructure.
• An international agency (such as International Commission of Jurists or Transparency International)
to investigate the operation and funding of the Special Autonomy Law in Papua, including
allegations by the Baptist Church of Papua concerning misappropriation of Special Autonomy funds
by the TNI.
• An independent commission to inquire into the operation and funding of the Special Autonomy Law.
• UNHCR to request immediate access to the Papuan highlands to assess the humanitarian needs of
internally displaced persons who have been forced to flee their homes and villages as a result of TNI
operations, especially in the Puncak Jaya region.
• Indonesia to grant access to UN mechanisms and international parliamentary and human rights
delegations to report on the human rights situation in Papua.
• Indonesia to request international assistance in the investigation of crimes allegedly linked with proindependence
groups.
The Australian government can:
• provide assistance in many different ways to help indigenous Papuans, for example, AusAID
scholarships for undergraduate or post-graduate study
• deliver a program to cater to the basic needs of indigenous people, particularly in primary
education, vocational education and health. Such programs can be administered by church
institutions or an independent institution financially controlled by the Australian government.
Education may help solve the human resources problem in Papua, and change the Indonesian
government’s perspective
• request access for international election monitors in the forthcoming regional elections planned for
the second half of 2005
• improve local development through education and health projects. Local budgets are affected by
korupsi; education and health budgets have completely failed to meet the requirements of the Otsus
law, with money for these projects given out in other ways. Such holes in the delivery of financial
and humanitarian aid must be plugged
26
Genocide in West Papua?
• provide administrative training and expertise to the provincial and local governments in Papua
• give appropriate consideration to applications for refugee status from Papuans traumatized or
dislocated as a result of TNI operations
• resist pressure from Indonesia to “take sides”over the Papua question. International developments
in relation to Papua may, as in 1998/99, leave Australia isolated in its support for Indonesian policy.
Re-affirmations of support for “sovereignty” and “territorial integrity” can be interpreted in Jakarta
as implicit support for repressive tactics to maintain control over Papua. Canberra may be better
advised to remain at best, neutral, and let events on the international scene take their course. This
may include revision of Australia’s historical role in the conduct of the “Act of Free Choice” (see
Appendices)
• explore the possibilities of a review of the discredited “Act of Free Choice” of 1969 and an
acknowledgement of Australian duplicity in the detention of Clemens Runaweri and Wim
Zongganao on Manus Island during the crucial months of June – July 1969
• support efforts to pursue peaceful dialogue on Papua at the international level. This could be
undertaken at the Pacific Islands Forum in October 2005 and in the proposed revamped UN Human
Rights Commission.
Further Reading
Butt, Leslie, Preventing AIDS in Papua, University Cenderawasih, Jayapura 2002 (available on Papuaweb)
Chauvel, Richard, and Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, The Papua Conflict: Jakarta’s Perceptions and Policies, East-West
Centre, Washington 2004
Davies, Matthew N, Indonesian Security Response to Resurgent Papuan Separatism: An Open Source
Intelligence Case Study, , Working Paper No. 361, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National
University, Canberra 2001
Elmslie, Jim, Irian Jaya Under the Gun: Indonesian Economic Development Versus West Papuan Nationalism.
University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 2002
Singh, Bilver, The Indonesian Military Business Complex: Origins Course and Future, Working Paper No. 354 ,
Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, Canberra 2001
Annual Report, 2002, Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia, www.partnership.or.id
‘Dividing Papua: How not to do it’, 9 April 2003; Indonesia: Resources and Conflict in Papua’, Asia
Report N°39, 13 September 2002; and ‘Indonesia: Ending Repression in Irian Jaya’, 10 September 2001,
International Crisis Group (ICG), Brussels
Indonesian Human Rights Abuses in West Papua: Application of the Law of Genocide to the History of
Indonesian Control, Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic, Yale Law School, November 2003
Violence and Political Impasse in Papua, Human Rights Watch (HRW), July 2001
27
Genocide in West Papua?
Isai Imbir, 28 years old, died as a result of an assault
conducted by security forces in the Abepura student
hostels.
“Merdeka!” The organisers of this student
demonstration in Jayapura on December 1, 2004,
Philip Karma and Yusak Pukage, were sentenced to
15 and 10 years jail in May.
Abuses against peaceful demonstrators during the 1
December 2004 flag raising at Trikora field in Jayapura:
a montage produced by human rights monitors from
ELSHAM.
A woman shouts defiantly at police, “Don’t come here
with your law and behaviour. You’ve got your own
country – stay there! You have raped Papua’s riches,
killing our people, stealing from us like thieves. Rapists!”
Police listen to a woman berating them prior to moving
in to disperse the protest.
28
Genocide in West Papua?
Demographic disaster. Unrestricted migration from
Java and Sulawesi is threatening to make Papuans a
minority in their own land. Economic advancement
overwhelmingly favors the non-Papuan community.
Muslim migrants dominate the local economy. Sorong
is now a major disembarkation port from Java and
Sulawesi.
Daniel , a 24 year old student, was beaten by
security forces during a sweep of Jayapura university
dormitories in December 2000.
A wanted poster of Asia’s most notorious terrorists in the
lobby of a Merauke hotel.
A new mosque in Merauke on Papua’s southern coast
and bordering PNG. The Muslim population now
predominates in this and other large Papuan towns.
29
Genocide in West Papua?
John Rumbiak, the internationally respected human
rights defender, forced to flee his homeland after
receiving a series of death threats.
Elipanus , a 24 year old theology student, was severely
beaten up by police at his student boarding house in
Jayapura, 7 December 2000.
A 40 year old mother suffering from AIDS. Her husband
had visited prostitutes in a Jayapura brothel and had no
understanding of his illness.
Eight of the Javanese prostitutes filmed in February
2005 at this illegal brothel in Merauke were HIV positive.
Papua now has Indonesia’s highest rates of HIV
infection.
Young and poor, these Papuan customers at one of
Merauke’s illegal brothels remain ignorant of the threat
posed by HIV/AIDS.
30
Genocide in West Papua?
An elderly man killed by Indonesian soldiers in Wunin
village, January 2005.
Arson is a military routine in the Papuan highlands.
Wunin’s school was destroyed in February 2005.
Wunin’s only school, as filmed in the 1990s.
Victim of military operation in Mulia, early 2005.
Refugees, victims of the 2004-5 military operations in
the Papuan highlands, huddle in a clearing.
23 year old Peneas Lokmbere a victim of security force
brutality.
31
Genocide in West Papua?
Petrus Tabuni called for UN intervention, international
attention to the Papuan issue and peaceful dialogue in
late 2003.
Members of Petrus Tabuni’s OPM clan on parade.
Petrus Tabuni, a highland Free Papua Movement leader,
has led his followers for decades in their struggle for an
independent homeland.
Plans to deploy 15,000 additional troops into Papua
have raised tension and the fear level amongst the
indigenous community.
Jonny Karunggu, an 18 year old
student at Jayapura’s School
of Economics, died in police
custody December 7th, 2000.
32
Genocide in West Papua?
Tom Beanal, Chairman of Papua’s Traditional Council,
greeted by thousands at Manokwari’s 4 February 2005
rally.
In February 2005, Manokwari saw a display of
indigenous pride and Christian unity. Representatives of
Papua’s 250 tribes gathered to remember the arrival of
the first missionaries and to call for a better deal from
Jakarta.
Papua’s religious leaders gathered in Manokwari to
remember the coming of Ottow and Geisler, the first
German missionaries, 150 years ago.
Indonesian intelligence was pervasive at the
Manokwari celebrations in February 2005.
Thousands gathered in Manokwari, the birthplace
of New Guinea Christianity in 1855, to send Jakarta a
powerful message.
Daniel Ramar, 45 years old, who died in police custody
in Manokwari in 2002.
33
Genocide in West Papua?
Normally lively children appear lifeless and traumatized
in highland refugee settlements.
“Internally displaced persons”. A father and son who
fled their village in Puncak Jaya regency after Kopassus
troops destroyed hundreds of homes, January, 2005.
Tailings disaster. Environmental pollution caused by
the joint US/UK-owned Freeport copper and gold mine.
Polluted rivers have long been a source of anger for
indigenous Papuans.
This 18 year old girl was injured in a security force
crackdown in the student hostels of Abepura.
Acts of military barbarity can be horrifying. Easy access
to high-powered weaponry and undisciplined security
force members are a lethal combination.
34
Genocide in West Papua?
Wellem Manimwarba was critically injured by security
forces during a crackdown on alleged independence
supporters in the highlands.
Indonesian forces launched a deadly raid against
Murib’s followers on 5 November 2003, which left ten
dead.
Members of Yustinus Murib’s OPM “clan”, Kiyawage
village, October 2003.
Yustinus Murib appealing for dialogue with the
Indonesian president and the international community,
Kiyawage village. He was executed a few days later.
Atrocity on display. The corpse of OPM leader Yustinus
Murib displayed by Indonesian troops, 5 November
2003.
35
Genocide in West Papua?
Appendices
A) Interview Transcripts
Simon Morin, national parliamentarian
Laskar Jihad infiltrator
Eyewitness to Puncak Jaya / Mulia refugee situation
Victim of Wasior human rights abuses case
Mama Yosepha Alomang, founder of the group HAMAK, dedicated to human rights,
environmentalism, and traditional culture
Ferdinanda Ibo Atipai, Manokwari delegate to Kongres Papua 2000
The Reverend Herman Awom, Deputy Chairman of the Evangelical Church (GKI) in Papua
Lena, HIV counselor, Merauke
Tom Beanal, Chairman, Papuan Customary Council; Vice/Acting Chairman,
Papua Presidium Council
Simon Morin, Jakarta, 19 February, 2005
On the role of other countries in Papua’s development:
Papua needs a kind of design for how to develop the province. We need support
for how to improve the local government systems, so that they can work, and
how to implement the Special Autonomy Law, with its shortcomings. I think if
the government is serious, then they have to support the implementation of the
Special Autonomy Law. There are many substantive issues in the law that are not
yet implemented – how to improve education, how to improve health care, how
to improve the government, to improve the system, to control the implementation
of the law. So there are many things that must be done in the province, based on the special autonomy
law, and (until now), I think Jakarta needs to be more serious, [so] that we will build Papua to be more
democratic, more human, in the future.
Can Australia play a part in Papua’s development, for example by providing training in health, or
advising local governments?
Yes. That’s why I think Jakarta must be more open, to invite the support or advice of countries that have
more experience in developing areas like Papua. So Papua must be more open, not treated as an isolated
province, or treated as a dangerous province. If it’s like this, then why must Papua be a part of Indonesia
to face a fate like this? Jakarta must treat Papua as a normal Indonesian province. Jakarta must say ‘I
need support’, maybe from a country that has experience in how to improve local government, how
to empower local government; maybe the Dutch government, which knows how it designed the local
government in Papua in the past. Maybe they can come to Papua and share their experience of how they
developed the local government in this province, for example, or other countries.
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Genocide in West Papua?
I think if Jakarta has good intentions to develop Papua, it must make every effort that it can, to support
and to develop this province. Not leave it like it is, without clear policies and always changing its policies
on Papua.
And I think it is time to finish the heavy security approach in the province. They have to think about new
approaches that can give a chance to the Papuan people to develop themselves. Then, at last, at the
end of the day, the people of Papua can say ‘Jakarta trusts us to develop ourselves, assists us to develop
ourselves.’
I think this is the way we get a strong nation. We cannot build a strong nation using guns, putting guns
at the back of people. We must develop the people, to make them feel that they are a part of this nation,
to hear them say that, at a time of happiness, at a time of sorrow, we are always together as a big nation.
What happened in Aceh – everybody in the whole nation was united over this disaster, even though this
province suffered for a long time.
I think this is also a lesson for the Indonesian people, for this big nation, to think about provinces like
Papua. To end all those policies that created suffering of the people, they must come up with a new
concept that gives faith to the people that we have a bright future.
We cannot only accuse people: ‘You are separatists – we need military there’. I think this is an old
paradigm – we have to stop it. We must come up with a new paradigm.
Is Jakarta accepting your sentiments? Does Jakarta agree with you?
I have a high expectation of this new government. I hope that Bambang Yudhoyono, with a new
government, with a good education and people who will listen, will be a leader who will listen. I hope
that, even though we cannot change everything in one night. But to keep faith in Bambang Yudhoyono
and his new government, there must be changes. If not, then Papua is the part that legitimates the role
of the military. Then what for? I think the military also wants to sleep with their families. Or do other jobs
than to stay in the jungle far from their families. We must have a dream that one day the military will be
doing civic missions to develop the villages, working side by side with the people, to build the nation. So
their power must be channeled to doing development activities. We have to train military officials to have
new ideas.
We have to train the generals: if they have certain capabilities send them to good universities abroad, so
they have new ideas for how they can participate in developing this nation. That’s what Singapore has
done; they sent some military officials to Harvard University, to Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and other universities. They came back and they have new ideas. I think this is what the American military
also can think about. How to train good people in the military, to equip them with big ideas for how to
develop the people. We have already left the Cold War era. We are already facing a new era, even though
there are problems, but we hope the role of the military will also change.
On re-engagement of the US military with the Indonesian military:
This kind of cooperation between the two nations should include training to come up with new ideas,
not only training how to use military equipment. The sort of training related to how to be involved in
development because the military in Indonesia still has a strong position to influence the decisions of the
government. So in this kind of position we need changes – we have to educate to give a chance to the
high level officers, and the middle level also, to get education, not only military education, but civilian
education also, to equip them with new ideas.
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Genocide in West Papua?
Reconciliation – what does that mean to you?
We hope that reconciliation will be an important issue. There are conflicts that happen in certain parts
of Indonesia, including Papua. Maybe reconciliation is not only between people and people. Maybe
reconciliation is also between the military and the people. But I don’t know if we can come up with this
kind of idea, where the military says: ‘We had the wrong approach in the past, or our approach in the
past created many problems, or made you suffer. So let’s talk about what we can do together, to improve
what happened in the past. To heal the wounds caused by our old, past approach.’ But if we suggest it to
the military they will feel like, ‘Oh, I’m in the wrong position. It means that I have to come to the people
to say to them I did wrong things in the past.’ I think the military can say, ‘I did my job based on what the
government’s policies were.’
So I think the initiative must come from the central government, and we can start with dialogues and
based on these dialogues we can continue reconciliation. So dialogue is very important if we want to talk
about reconciliation. Reconciliation about what? Let us talk, so the people can say, ‘We were hurt by this
and this, and you never acknowledged what you have done.’
The government, in the stronger position, must be the partner that must first give his hand to the weaker
partner. And then let us sit together.
On the level of migration from other Indonesian provinces to Papua:
In Law 21 there is a paragraph which says the inflow of immigration must be controlled. For example,
if there are new jobs in Papua, and there are many people coming from other provinces, they are well
prepared; they arrive and they get the jobs. So it will create, if it is not controlled, unemployment. [As
migrants] from other provinces flow to Papua, and they take all the opportunities, then the Papuan
people are not prepared for that. There are no programs to prepare the people to compete. This is not
something that is under control. The government says ‘Indonesia is an open space for anybody, for any
Indonesian, if you want to go to Papua, or live in Aceh.’ That’s why we hope that through this law there
must be a kind of control, [otherwise] it will create a situation where Papuans are a minority in their own
lands. But if we talk about these issues, then the government will say,‘there’s no need to be afraid of being
a minority in this country, we have laws to protect you’.
But this is related to many aspects of the life of the Papuan, related to their land, related to them feeling
secure in their surroundings. For example, with the transmigration program, the government prepared
the best land for the transmigrants. Then the Papuan people have no land. So we must protect it for
future generations. There aren’t any government policies to protect the rights of the Papuan people, to
secure their future.
These are what I can call ‘hidden threats’ for the Papuan people. A part of Papua consists of highlands,
mountainous areas that cannot be used for agriculture. Then they lose that (good) land for the sake of
transmigration. So in the cities and towns they have to compete with migrants who are more prepared to
take over the opportunities. This is what we call a ‘silent takeover’ of all the possibilities to create a good
living.
People afraid of these ‘hidden threats’ – do they have an opportunity to express how they feel?
There are no kinds of studies related to what will happen in the future, if there is a kind of shift in the
composition of the population, related to the political aspirations of the people of Papua. One day
when they become the minority, and one wants to be a member of parliament, they will have lost that
opportunity, because it is based on who gets the biggest number of votes. So it’s related to politics, it’s
related to economics, it’s related to religion. Maybe they will lose their culture, they will lose their land,
everything.
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Genocide in West Papua?
A Laskar Jihad infiltrator
Interview, Jayapura, 11 February 2005
I met Haji Aham in Sorong, he arrived with Laskar Jihad troops from Babo archipelago and Seram. They
came here to do training at the Mujahadin mosque in Sorong, Boswesen village.Because I could speak
Javanese, I got to know Haji Aham. It happened that he was leader and was referred to as the Amir. He
organised all the Laskar Jihad troops, which were known as the liberation lascar (troops). They arrived on
board the Sinta.
Because I spoke good Javanese he invited me to go the mosque with them. I was called Jundi because
that’s what they call LJ members without rank. We were taught how to estimate the strength of the
religious communities in Sorong at places of worship, Christian and others. We were also taught to
observe where the Christian neighbourhoods were in Sorong. We did this monitoring in a number of
neighbourhoods in Sorong.
Haji Asan told me he had carried out the Laskar Jihad defence in Ambon and Maluku, after the religious
war there. He told me Christians in Maluku always insulted Muslims. It was Haji Asan’s responsibility, as a
Laskar Jihad member in that area, to defend Muslims who were being threatened. I asked him what his
task was in Sorong. He told me it was to educate and train new LJ members like myself, who as yet had no
rank, about the truth of Islam and Mohammed. The truth of Islam had to be realised so we had to wage
Jihad against those who wanted to destroy Islam, whether that be people or places of worship. If Muslims
wanted to build a mosque and others tried to stop them it was our responsibility.
Ranks: Imam is commander, who is in control of a number of provinces. Wali is in charge of a province,
known as an area commander. Qoit is a troop commander operating at the municipal level. Amir, then
Rois…the rank of the troops at village level.
We trained from 5 til 10 pm in the mosque. I learnt how I could overcome my worldly appetites. Muslims
shouldn’t be influenced by other religious communities. They told me the role of Laskar Jihad in
Sorong…to prevent disasters caused by other people.
Laskar Jihad carried out Akhbar activity in Manokwari in June. There was a meeting of Islamic youth from
each district. The organization…,Laskar Jihad, had various branches. The widest umbrella organization
was the Al Qaeda network. Haji Achmad once said in the Mujahadin mosque that all the activities of the LJ
network in Sorong were reported to Al Qaeda. He didn’t call it a network he just called it Al Qaeda.
I managed to steal a list of the names and addresses of Al Qaeda members spread across Indonesia.
In Ambon, it’s….In Balikpapan, its…in East Java, it’s … in central Jakarta it’s…, in Jayapura it’s …and in
Sorong it’s …These are Al Qaeda members in towns throughout Indonesia including Papua. (Names
withheld).
[The teachings] gave me a deeper understanding of liberation jihad, the war against animal appetites of
those who have no faith, and how to save other people who are threatened.
Mr Sajat, who was a member of the Liberation Laskar Jihad from Makassar, taught me how to be prepared
to die for the truth of Islam. The second thing is to defend truth with no self interest and you have to be
prepared to spread the teachings of Islam.
The sorts of activities Laskar Jihad were involved in in Sorong were firstly, intimidating and killing Papuans
who were involved in the OPM, and secondly, spreading rumours in various places, to create fear.
They spread rumours in a particular place so the inhabitants would become frightened. They spread
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Genocide in West Papua?
rumours concerning religious matters so as to spark religious conflict. Lastly, LJ members are obliged to
burn down churches. The work program mentioned by Mr Samsujar, the work that had to be carried out,
was the slaughter of Papuans, or the Papuan people. Those who did not follow rules were….
See also:
Kesaksian Seorang Aktivis Bersama Laskar Jihad
Eyewitness to Puncak Jaya / Mulia refugee situation
Interviews, Monia, 10 January 2005
(Audio–from recording): ‘Some have malaria, they are living on cliffs above the river, in tents. Some of
them are sick and the people there want to come here because they are traumatized.’ (Women crying)
‘This shouldn’t have happened. (Crying) It wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t come here.’ (Repeated).
Male eyewitness testimony in Mulia: ‘There are army posts in Monia, Guragenikime …and Remuli. They
(the military) should all withdraw. The people are frightened. If they leave, and it’s peaceful, then the
people will all go back to their usual places. They will come out of the jungle. They will come in by
themselves.
Right now, volunteers are coming here and giving us aid, but the government hasn’t given us anything.
What can we do? This is proof the government doesn’t care about us and the out side world will see. Why
is the government not concerned about the suffering? They say there is all this money available but we
haven’t seen any of it! Who is getting the money?
When the NGOs came, you gathered quickly. They came here on their own initiative to help us. They came
here with potatoes. This is the fact. It is dangerous if this situation is broadcast publicly internationally.
Everybody will know, in Papua and outside, internationally. The refugees have had to evacuate their
villages and came here to this district but they are suffering.”
Male volunteer. ‘This woman is a member of the provincial parliament. We came here to know what
happened and what is being done by the government and parliament for the refugees. After we return to
Jayapura, we will report to the parliament.’
‘We respect you. Now you have seen for yourself. No local parliament people have come here. They are
not concerned. For organizing this aid, bupatis said the church leaders say about food medicine aid and
assistance. We hear the rice aid from through the governor through the bupati is one thousand tonnes.
We hear about that but we did not receive it. We don’t know where it is.
You’ve seen all this for yourself. We are crying in our hearts, but God knows best.
The refugees arrived here … they left the place the incident occurred on 18th and 19th October and
arrived here on the 20th. Food arrived on the 20th and kept coming through November. But by 20th
December, we’d distributed it all, it was finished. From 21 December 2004 to now there’s been no rice or
foodstuffs in the camp.’
Male volunteer: ’Has anyone come to see you refugees?’
‘For some time after the incident, the district head did come here. But now he’s not visiting. He hasn’t
been monitoring the lack of food. No-one from parliament has been here. From the time the refugees
came in, no-one from the DPR has come here. We’ve been handling all the food that’s come in. Me and
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Genocide in West Papua?
Jason Wenda. And at the moment there’s no food, no aid. So from the 21st until now, the people haven’t
eaten. We want to go back, but because of the situation, we haven’t gone back. There might be rice here,
or in Wamena. We hear the governor has sent tons of rice, but it hasn’t arrived here.
They’re at the foot of the mountains and in the jungle and they haven’t gone back to their homes, over
6000. They are dying there because there’s no medicine, and it’s hard to get treatment.’
A victim of Wasior human rights abuse case
Interview, Manokwari, 6 February 2005
My involvement in the Wasior case is that, according to an operational document
issued by the police, I am on the wanted list and must be “disappeared”.
But I am still alive because of God’s protection. My older brother and I and some friends
were fighting in Wandama to defend the rights of our traditional society, which since
the Indonesian government entered Wandama, has had its rights violated by the
Indonesian government, which has continued until the present day.
So we tried to form a traditional organization, which we called the Wandama Traditional Community
Alliance. The aim is to protect and defend our traditional society, especially our culture. But the
government regarded our organisation as being a “separatist” group. So we were pursued and a number
of people, on the staff of the organisation were to be killed.
The government’s understanding of this Dewan Adat group was that it was a separatist group which
wanted to oppose the government. But if the government had looked at it in a better light they would
have seen the organisation was a voice of the people. Because the individuals who demand their rights
are sure to be threatened or tortured. In Wandama the government never respected the rights of the
community there. A number of investors who went into the area were all under government control.
Without taking into account the rights of the traditional community and it’s that prolonged history of
violations which resulted in the Wasior case.
The Wasior case was not really political, it was purely about people’s rights. Because people were
demanding that their rights be heeded. But that’s not what happened. Which meant that the people
were forced to act. The end result of this resistance was the slaughter of community members there.
As a lay person, I don’t really know what the truth of the matter is; were the people wrong or was it the
government? Whose fault was it that people who were demanding their rights became victims, some of
them were tortured, or even raped.
We the traditional community of Wandama are no longer able to bear this suffering. We don’t know when,
or who, will come to liberate us from this suffering.
We the people of Wandama refuse to accept special autonomy because so many of us have become
victims. We want independence now. We can’t stand living under Indonesia any longer. For us, Indonesia
is not a government, it is a colonizer. So we can’t stand living with Indonesia anymore. Because since
we’ve been under the Indonesians there’s been only suffering. We indigenous people are poor in our own
land. We don’t know if we’ll see any results or not; we don’t know if we are stupid or not. There are many
Papuan graduates and doctors but we are still poor in our own land. We hope the Dutch, US and UN won’t
turn a blind eye to the protracted suffering of the Papuan people.
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Genocide in West Papua?
Mama Yosepha Alomang
Interview, Jayapura, 14 February 2005
How should Papua be?
We should be treated as people abroad are, not be seen as thieves, threatened,
intimidated, chased. We should be treated as other humans, allowed to live in safety,
just like other people. That’s what I want for our lives, to be very peaceful, to solve the
problem [of Papua] peacefully.
Can you explain to us what you mean by ‘the problem’?
The problem for us Papuans who want independence is the Indonesians regard us as thieves, wanting to
steal people’s goods, but I say, we’re not thieves, we’ve got rights. Indonesia’s got rights – it’s already got
its independence: like white skinned people in the US, in Holland and other countries, they’ve already
got their independence. As for the independence of Papua…we should be able to sit together with the
Indonesians, the Dutch, the Americans and resolve the problem of Papuan independence.
We have our traditions, it isn’t killing; killing doesn’t resolve the problems. Why keep on killing people, don’t try
to keep on killing Papuan people and then try to pay money for compensation, pay and pay while still killing
Papuan people, swapping money and women. Indonesians keep on killing us; they think if they keep on paying
us things will be OK. After killing you pay. Money, money, money and keep on killing Papuan people.
So Indonesians try to solve the problem by exchanging women and food, buying us off with all kind of
things until Papua is finished. We don’t want Indonesia to own Papua’s wealth. Let’s not have Indonesians
solve our problems by having Indonesia buy us off.
It would be better if together we sit down and talk together to resolve it, with the church, the UN, the
Pope, the traditional society, the government, everybody to resolve this Papuan problem. Don’t let the
Americans and the Indonesians say, “We have solved it”, we have to be included. I’m talking about land,
about people being killed. We’ll talk, we have to resolve it peacefully.
We women have rights. Because Papua needs to be peaceful. There’s no other path – we have to solve it. We
don’t want killings. We don’t want any more problems with the police …we have to be able to resolve it.
As a woman, and winner of the Goldman environment prize, what hopes do you have for Papua and
its people?
As a woman, I didn’t go to school or receive an education. I’m a very simple person. But I see the world,
I see the church, NGOs and I know that I have got rights. Papuans and non-Papuans, my hope is that
everyone doesn’t face each other as enemies. For the development of Papua, I got the environment prize.
I’ve got my hopes for Papua. Papua should not be a land of killings, not a land where one person is an
enemy of another, people should see each other as humans and live in peace.
So my only goal is that people in the Land of Papua live in peace.
What are your hopes for Papua?
My hope as a woman [is for] the men who are struggling for the land of Papua, like Reverend Awom. Let’s
not have cases like Yustinus Murib, who came out of the jungle as a corpse..Let’s not have that happen to
Titus Murib, Kelly Kwalik, Thadeus Yogi, let’s not let the same things happen to them.
I very much regret as a woman who won a major award in 2002, that for years and years until 2005, in this
whole time, although it’s given me hopes, there is not peace in Papua yet. It used to be with bombs, but
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Genocide in West Papua?
now, with soft means, they try to buy us off, with women, through food, drink and so on.
With my dignity and self worth as a woman, I have had to use up all my hopes for these matters. I’ve got
hope that it will be used for these matters – these people will sit down with the police and the Dutch to
solve the problem, to have a dialogue. Don’t take it abroad – do it here in Papua.
My hope is that this problem can be resolved through dialogue; we have to solve the problem here in
Papua. My second hope is that we have to sit down with the army, the police…we have to sit down and
talk. Don’t let the Indonesian army and police do it. We have to sit down together. When do they want to
sit down with the government, church, and [groups like] ELSHAM, to resolve this problem?
We have a debt to the world. NGOs, ELSHAM, PDP, we are still burdened very much. My hope is in one
word – it has to be resolved. Colleagues or friends from the guerillas, friends from NGOs abroad, US,
Australia, Holland, Germany, they have to see us as independent again. When? Time is going by. I’m old…I
don’t want to die blind like Yogi, Awom, Abnam. All these people from the struggle have disappeared
from food and drink. So now for those who are left we have to be given time for dialogue.
How do you see the solution for the Papua case. Must it be done by Papuans themselves or the
international community?
My thought is it’s not possible that a small war can be resolved by Papua with Indonesia. This is a war
between countries. The problem has to be resolved by the world. The people of the world have to resolve
the problem. It’s a problem for everyone. We have to sit down together with people of the world. That’s
my only thought. [You] can’t do it just between Indonesia and Papua.
Ferdinanda Ibo Atipai
Interview, Manokwari, 7 February 2005
I come from Paniai but have lived about 40 years in Manokwari. When I went to school in 1961, we were entrusted to
raise the flag in Jayapura. In 1961 I was involved in the main raising of the Morning Star flag in
this province. Looking at the politics of Papua, it started with us students.
At the demonstration in 1962 I had a letter that said we reject Indonesia. I held a piece
of paper which said, ‘We sell Sukarno for 5 cents’. In 1969 I witnessed Pepera [the Act
of Free Choice], it was only about 200m away from where I lived in Manokwari, so we
know about the issue.
It was guarded strictly. We weren’t allowed to go inside, to witness Pepera. But we were able to follow it.
It was done with incredible force. They were trying to give letters to journalists, to Ortiz Sanz from the UN,
but they were taken away. Maybe killed, because we never saw them again.
After that the flags and everything we had, they took them away and massacred people. So we
weren’t able to keep anything, because if we had kept anything we would have been taken. We
would have been detained or raped, because women were raped. The husband would be taken and
the woman would be raped. That’s what we saw. Up to now, from 1969, we have been involved since
we were students to the present.
There was torture, intimidation, and women were being raped. In 1999 there was information so we
joined up in Jayapura to face President Habibie. It was called Team100. The killing was still going on and
we said we wanted to leave the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. At that time Habibie said he
would go back and think it over. Mr Habibie said to us to go home and think it over. Up until now, it’s been
thought over. We were happy with Gus Dur. We formed an organisation, the Solidarity Association of the
Women of Papua. I was appointed as the chairperson in Manokwari.
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Genocide in West Papua?
I participated in the Mubes [Musyawarh Besar—Grand Consultation] in [Jayapura in February] 2000–in the
Women’s Solidarity Organisation, and in a panel of all regencies. I was Deputy Chair for Manokwari. After
that I was elected for this aspiration to go to Jakarta for the district representative council to represent
Papua and now I’ve retired from Jakarta.
At the time of the second big congress [Congress Papua] in [May/June] 2000, we formed a big panel, of
which I was chair, and we have made progress.36 We are struggling as that is the true way to go, so in that
spirit we will progress. Until now we keep on struggling for it. The other day there was an election. I was
entrusted to sit in the local parliament. I am happy that I can put across our history like this. Still a lot of
people are being killed…
At one point there was a meeting with the Home Affairs Minister. We put that [history] across although
there were Papuan people who were against me. But I was elected, even though there were Papuans
who prohibited me… I put across the history, I called upon Holland, who knew the history as the former
colonial power. They handed us over to Indonesia and US, without the Papuans knowing it.
Also at the time of Pepera, that incorrect result: if they look at that they can see they deceived us, they didn’t
uphold the truth… The result was a lot of Papuans died. There are many widows, many orphans, many who
couldn’t go to school. This is the result of the untruth of the Dutch and of the UN implementing Pepera.
It was extraodinary, it’s not just people dying, but people have been suffering all their lives because of it.
So we are calling upon Holland and the UN to have a good look at this. We call upon those who treated
us in that way. Perhaps even they would need to say they did the wrong thing. America, if possible– they
have to say they were wrong in this matter. So it’s not just to Indonesia or a particular person they must
talk but to God: they must be responsible, in his eyes.
The other day [February 4] at the customary council meeting there were 11 points put forward. Countries
like Australia must be concerned and care about us; we actually have already heard that Australians won’t
just keep quiet, they are paying attention and we are very grateful. This is not yet finished. They’ll keep
helping and looking and with the 11 points it could be really good for Papua. If people don’t pay heed to
them the killings will be repeated. And I think Papuans will then be finished. But I am sure God will not
close his eyes to us, he will be watching us.
I’m in the DPD, Jakarta, but usually we work there a month then come back. They brought the Assue
case to us. The army took women who had HIV/AIDS and exchanged them for Gaharu. People there were
simple people. They wanted to destroy us. They took Gaharu in exchange for these women. The Church
brothers found out, but at night the army came and intimidated them.
They asked for the district head’s help, and this was put to the local government, down to villages.
Because apart from introducing HIV, it was their intention to kill. It got to the police and head of regional
parliament. We took it to Jakarta, but they handed it back to the provincial government to handle– that
they have to get rid of the individuals responsible. There is no one who can do this because it’s so remote,
so they can do what they want! They have to expel those in the security apparatus, [including] the district
police head. I went there to the district police head to struggle over this matter.
There was also a demonstration about the Puncak Jaya case. At the demonstration, they said it was OPM,
because taking goods is usually [done by] the army or apparatus which guards the carrying of goods…So
we called for a special team to be created, because we from the regional parliament went there. The root
cause was …it was engineered or manipulated with the apparatus so there were killings of two pastors….
36 Congress Papua 2000 elected the current leadership of the Papua Presidium Council [Presidium Dewan Papua—
PDP].
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Genocide in West Papua?
So what made us angry was they killed him [?] and said, ‘he’s just a shepherd’. But they were servants
of God! We took that case to Jakarta to be discussed, and we hoped that the [National] Human Rights
Commission would have a look at it, but until now it has not been finalized. We hope the Human Rights
Commission can act. We have to keep on talking about it, but big cases like Theys Eluay’s murder, until this
one, still have not been discussed. So what chance for a small one like this? Hopefully with the team that
was formed on the 10th January, we will try to resolve it, as well as Wamena and Wasior and so on.
A new issue I heard about was that there was an incident in January. In Kabupaten Mimika, the
government wants to create a new district on the top of the region of Timika. The person who owns it
demanded payment. The person who has that land is demanding payment loudly and so the apparatus
came along and killed that person, beat him to death, and others were beaten and taken away. This need
to be investigated by the Provincial Komnas HAM, established on 10 January this year.
So in my opinion, whenever they want to kill, they do it as they would to domestic animals. They just kill
whenever they want to. And we don’t know when next they will come along and kill us, anytime, if this matter
is not quickly dealt with. They’re not afraid of God. They don’t think that Papuans are God’s creatures.
So help is very much needed. For this issue, Australians, Papuans to see this issue because Australians feel sorry
for Papuans that we are also God’s creatures and we ask for help from anyone. From friendly countries which
are close to we Papuans.
Indonesia does not want us Papuans because they keep on killing us from day to day, so those of us who talk
about that, they chase us to intimidate us, up until today. So we are like domestic animals waiting for the time
to be killed. So the US and Holland are looking at us, and our neighbours, Australia, because we are in a very
different situation – East Timor, the international community, Europe, whoever, they have to help us.
Reverend Herman Awom
Interview, Jayapura, 15 February 2005
There is a way out….a peaceful way in accordance with the tradition of Papuan people, whether that be a
referendum [or not], and that is our hope. The Government of Holland has written about the wrongs…so
we have to look at it from each side. The US also has an interest in Papua, so if truth is on our side we will
have a referendum in accord with the wishes of the people of Papua, in accord with existing regulations.
My incarceration period…our experience was not the same as those detained in
1965 and during the 1980s. My detention was not so violent. We were not beaten,
we were not treated violently or roughly like those in the past. We knew that we
would win because what we had done was with the blessing of the President,
police, governor, so we were able to do all that, but what was interesting was the
application of the law towards the military authorities…
Hopes for the future of West Papua
Myself as leader of the synod of Papua, we see the future of Papua having good relations with Indonesia
and big countries. We look at the interests of the superpower countries which have such good relations
with Indonesia, even though the natural resources of Papua make people very dependent. The business
and economics make people dependent. We have hopes in [the book to be released by] Professor
Drooglever [in Holland] in March.
People say, ‘We will be independent, righting the mistakes of the past.’ [Others say] Indonesia is so
strong, it is not possible that they will release Papua, with all their military strength, with their lies and
manipulation, it is not possible. I think they will divide Papua into parts. Now there is a new God. In the
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Genocide in West Papua?
time of Suharto, God was called Pancasila. After Reformasi and East Timor became free, the Unitary State
of the Republic of Indonesia became God, which overtook everything…It’s a god which can finish off
anybody, so they won’t be able to follow East Timor.
God created us, [but] hundreds of thousands of Papuans have been massacred and our rights have been
taken by those from outside and the migrants from outside, so our hope is that there will be some sort
of divine intervention by God. Because from the point of military strength it’s impossible: the more we
struggle the more we will be finished off. It is my divine hope God will give us our liberation, our freedom.
In accordance with God’s method, our freedom will come as he sees fit. Papuans will be united and
moving towards a better future. Politically we have paid a heavy price. God will give it back but we don’t
know when.
Lena: HIV/Aids Counsellor
Interview, Merauke, 14 February 2005
[Her T shirt says: “Who’s afraid of HIV testing?”]
My name is Lena. I work for an NGO in Merauke as a counsellor with people who come for voluntary HIV
tests. I work in the prevention area, counseling of HIV/AIDS victims, including commercial sex workers,
localisasi prostitusi, outside the normal areas of prostitutes, including people from outside.
So far, to November 2004, there were 688 cases in Merauke regency. Papuans
make up 90% of the infected cases. As a proportion there are more Papuans
than arrivals from other places. It is being spread two ways, mostly through
sex. As a result of counselling, the reproductive health centre sees many clients
[and] 99% of their cases are from sexual relations.
Testing: We’ve been having a public awareness campaign for voluntary tests
for the target groups, especially sex workers and a few other groups. Where we
see their behaviour gives them a very big chance of being infected, we inform
them about testing, that it’s voluntary,
But it must be related to their human rights. We talk about spreading HIV, we ask what they know and
give alternatives for voluntary tests. We need informed consent and agreement, we see if they want to do
it voluntarily. We explain the benefits of tests, and damage or loss if they don’t do tests, the disadvantages
of not doing tests. If for instance, no testing is done, they won’t know. If they come from sex workers, we
tell them the work they are doing is risky work and how they get infected.
When we do the test there is a letter of agreement and consent they have to sign, after getting signed we
refer them for a test. A quick test. The sex worker test is the Elisa test, they come back to get results and
what is their reaction? For those who get a positive result, they have to go back to their family to accept
the reality. Of the 688 cases, about 630 cases have received counseling.
Causation: What we have been able to detect is clearly it arises because they don’t use condoms. It’s also
caused because a lot of clients come to them, but when only 2 or three come along, the sex workers fight
over them and then they won’t use condoms [to get the customer].. The prostitutes behind the hospital,
I deal with them every day, I know their conditions. Clients come who are drunk, and they beat them or
they are dragged into a room and don’t use a condom, then don’t pay. There are 8 workers at the brothel
who have HIV living their lives as sex workers.
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Genocide in West Papua?
Tom Beanal
Interview, Manokwari, 4 February 2005
The Traditional Council’s role is to speak out from the heart, on behalf of the Papuan people. But because
it is the Traditional Council, in the resolution they speak only about what they are facing today. But that is
the human spirit. The gathering today [of thousands of people at the Dewan Adat Papua in Manokwari]
is not as big as the gathering in Jayapura in 2000.[Kongres Papua Rakyat II—Second Papua People’s
Congress]
Can you describe the Dewan Adat, and what is its message for President
Yudhoyono?
Dewan Adat represents all the Papuans, indigenous to this land. The people who
have the rights to this land…the forests, the natural resources, and they believe God
created them here in this land.
The Dewan Adat feels they are still colonized by Indonesia, through Indonesian
development policies, and they ask Indonesia, ‘Is there another, better way for us? Or are you just
continuing to do things against us?’
What does the Dewan Adat want the government to do?
I dislike everything about this government. I want them to get out; it would be better for us if we were to
be left alone.
So is it the hope of the Dewan Adat that Indonesia will leave [Papua]?
That is our hope. But will Indonesia get out from this land, when they see all the natural resources? That is
something hard for them. But if they want to stay, they should build this land with their heart.
They have no rights to this land…they want this land, and they want us to be dead! They want our natural
resources. I can say this because it comes from our life experience.
One of Indonesia’s generals, Ali Moertopo, said so, in 1969, “I came here not for you, but for your land.”
And it is still happening. All Indonesian leaders have been the same.
Would Dewan Adat be happy if there was a clear effort from Indonesia to do more to help the Papuans?
Only if they did so with their heart…if not, it would be better if they gave Papuans the chance to develop
and build their land themselves.
Do you think it is possible for Dewan Adat and Yudhoyono to come to some agreement whereby
Indonesia and Papua can live and work together and still remain a part of Indonesia?
I want to say that in his first 100 days he (SBY) gave the MRP to Papua, but the MRP is not to develop
Papua, but to minimize our dignity. So I don’t see any way for us to cooperate. If he has heart, he will
give the MRP to me, as the representative of the Tribal Council. He’s just running the government, but he
would like to also run the business of the Traditional Council. So from the beginning I saw that Susilo was
not right. His relationship with the Tribal [Traditional] Council.
What is Dewan Adat’s position on Special Autonomy and do you think there can be an agreement
between Jakarta and the Papuans on Special Autonomy?
In Special Autonomy there is Adat (Traditional Council), Women and Church. After Cenderawasih
University designed Special Autonomy according to the wishes of the Papuans and sent it to Jakarta,
Jakarta replied according with what they wanted, not what the Papuans wanted. So I think Special
Autonomy is not good. So it would be good if they just gave us back the original design, as we wanted it.
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Genocide in West Papua?
I myself already refused Special Autonomy from the beginning, but the resolution passed today gave
six months from today. It’s a chance for the Indonesian government. We will see if they are honest or
just playing with us. If after nine months we know they are just playing with us we will sit together in a
national and international dialogue. That’s what we want.
Why are Papuans unhappy?
We are being colonized. We are not free people. As people who are being colonized, we feel unhappy.
We see our land, our forests, our natural resources, all have been taken by them, and it is hard for us. They
kill us in the jungle, but now they kill us in the towns. Then, they send HIV/AIDS virus to this land. By using
injections, when we get injections we get the HIV virus. And through the sandalwood [gaharu] trade.
So we can call this Genocide. In Geneva, I have told them that we are being killed, and I wanted the
ambassador to come here, and I told Susilo Bambang Yudohyono, but nothing happened…that makes us
unhappy.
Why do you think the international community does not care more about what is happening here, if
Genocide is taking place? Genocide is a strong term to use isn’t it?
I already told the UN, and Yale University had its own report charging genocide. If people kill with guns,
and others kill with injections, and in the highlands there are no teachers, no hospitals, or clinics…
children have no skills, no knowledge, that’s Genocide!
If Indonesia benefits so much from the resources of Papua, why do you think Indonesia doesn’t give
more back to Papua for health and education?
Indonesia is a poor country, poorer than us! When they come and look at this land, they will take
everything and not give it back to us. Corruption is the main problem because Indonesians, who are the
poorest, they want to eat everything and not share with us.
What was the main message from the Dewan Adat today?
We want to be the masters in our own land.
Was Dewan Adat critical of the TNI?
Of course, we criticize them but it seems like they have no brain.
What would you like to see the TNI do?
What I’d like to see is them draw back from this land.
You’d like to see Papua demilitarized?
That’s yes! I would say that if there was a national war here, it is right for them to come for that reason. But
there is no war in this land, so they should draw back, no reason for them to stay here.
What would you like the international community to do?
Help us to draw back Indonesia from this land. Because it is the responsibility of the international community.
Which countries do you think could help Papua?
Australia! It is our neighbour, and PNG. But they do nothing. Then the US, because it has a company here.
Then the British too has its company here. It should be Australia and PNG’s responsibility, who are our
neighbours. If we are being killed they should not just keep silent.
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Genocide in West Papua?
The UN must send a commission here to observe what is happening. For example, those who have been
arrested in Jayapura and Wamena, they were arrested at night and flown to other places without their
family’s knowledge.
A review of the Act of Free Choice is the responsibility of the international community and is compulsory.
All the problems stem from it.
There should be greater access to foreign media.
This case has been going on for 43 years. The international community has economic interests in
Indonesia. But Indonesia is the biggest Muslim country in the world. Maybe they don’t want to offend the
Indonesian government.
HIV entered Papua when I was a student and I represented the local people’s council. Thai fishermen
came here with HIV in ships…we told the governor of Irian Jaya. All the crew had HIV. They have been
months at sea, then they see the local prostitutes. The government ignored the case. I believe they
allowed the virus to spread deliberately.
Illegal logging…the first thing they do is those people in Jakarta make a map of the land, then they sell
the natural resources to…businessmen who come to Papua. The military is greatly involved …it is they
who are doing most of the logging. There are foreign countries like Malaysia involved! Korea and Thailand
as well.
Control over migration – they should not come. I don’t like them. If they come here, we should ask them
how much money they have. If they come just to steal our wealth, they should not come. The impact
of migration…we will be finished. All the black people. And all of the natural resources. We will protect
ourselves, but the military points their guns at us.
The long term forecast for the Papuans is not good.
What I want is BP and the British government should help us get our independence. Also the US. If they
are here and do nothing, then we cannot just blame the Indonesians for colonizing us. The British and
Americans are colonizing us too.
(Using rocks as visual metaphor) The Papuans are this small stone. Indonesia is this big stone. They are
on top of us. (Standing on the big stone). Then the British and Americans come and help the Indonesians
tread on us [colonize us].
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B) Franciscans International on the situation of human rights in Papua
HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: 61st session of the UN Commission on
Human Rights (UNCHR), Geneva. 12 March – 22 April 2005
Indonesia
Introduction
Franciscans International, a non-governmental organization in General Consultative Status with the
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), together with other NGOs in Special Consultative Status with
ECOSOC, including Catholic Institute for International Relations, Diakonie, Dominicans for Justice
and Peace, Forum Asia, Pax Christi International, Pax Romana, and the World Council of Churches, in
cooperation with the Central Missionary Board Netherlands, Cordaid, Geneva for Human Rights, ICCO,
Justitia et Pax Netherlands, Kerkinactie, Office for Justice and Peace Jayapura, Office for Justice and
Peace Merauke, Office for Justice and Peace Sorong, and United Evangelical Mission submit this written
communication to the Commission on Human Rights with regard to the human rights situation – in the
areas of both civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights – in the Province of Papua,
Indonesia. The content refers in particular to the last 12 months (January 2004-January 2005).
Civil and political rights
We acknowledge the progress made by the government in facilitating the Papuan people’s right to
participate in government and in free elections. Three consecutive elections, one round of parliamentary
and two rounds of presidential elections have been successfully held in free, fair and secure conditions.
We acknowledge also the fact that more Papuans have become legislators both at the district and
provincial levels. Nonetheless, we noted in Mimika, Jayawijaya, Manokwari and Nabire, the tendency
on the part of some candidates and political parties to use any means at their disposal to push the
Regional Election Commission (Komisi Pemilihan Umum Daerah/ KPUD) to secure their seats in the
district parliaments. Their lack of success does not exonerate their behaviour. This situation has not only
led to continuing political conflict in several districts but has also prevented the district and provincial
parliaments serving the people’s interests.
In other areas, we are deeply concerned at reports from our partners of the on-going practice of torture,
arbitrary arrest and detention and displacement reportedly committed by the security apparatus in
spite of the adoption by Indonesia during the 60th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights of
Resolutions no. 39 , 41 , 55 . The cases of extra-judicial killings reported in the villages of Mariedi, Bintuni
District where BP Tangguh Gas project is located, and in Mulia, District of Puncak Jaya also cause us deep
concern. In Mariedi, five people were shot dead by the police and two were injured and charged with
treason and membership of the Free Papua Movement (OPM). These people were in fact asking for fair
compensation for their land rights from the Djayanti timber company . In Mulia, the situation remains
unclear following the killing of a local priest, Elisa Tabuni, by the security forces that caused displacement,
fear and terror. The religious leaders have repeatedly urged the Provincial Parliament (DPRD) to
request the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM) to conduct a thorough
investigation but to date, no action has been taken.
Puncak Jaya exemplifies the gravity of the general situation. We must also emphasise that the human
rights situation in Western Wamena has not improved since the large-scale military operation conducted
two years ago.
In the last twelve months, the stigma of separatism is regularly imposed on individuals or institutions that
the security forces consider to be suspicious. The judicial system has proved its inability to convene fair
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Genocide in West Papua?
trials owing to the pervasive influence of the security apparatus. This was illustrated by the trials of the
suspects of the Wamena case and the Bolakme case where the court tried and sentenced the suspects to
the fullest extent possible, despite weak evidence and irregularities during the trial.
Human rights defenders in Papua are also under threat. The Institute for Human Rights and Advocacy
(ELSHAM), Aliansi Demokrasi Papua (ALDP) , TRITON Foundation and the Office for Justice and Peace
Sorong are among those who have been criminalised or arbitrarily arrested and detained due to their
work to protect and promote human rights in different parts of Papua.
From the many reported human rights cases, to date it is only the Abepura case of 2000 which has
been brought to the Permanent Human Rights Court in Makassar, having been pending for more
than three years in the Attorney General’s office. Whilst this is progress, it should be noted that the
Attorney General brought only two suspects to trial, whereas KOMNAS HAM had listed 25 suspects in its
investigation. Moreover, during the legal proceedings, the panel of judges dismissed the victims’ claim
for compensation arguing that such a claim is not regulated by Law 26/2000 of the Human Rights Court.
Therefore, despite Indonesian support to CHR Resolution 2004/33 , we are worried that this court runs
the risk of perpetuating what appears to be an unbreakable cycle of impunity in Indonesia. We base our
concerns upon the fact that ad hoc human rights tribunals (Tanjung Priok and Timor Leste) eventually
acquitted the key perpetrators. Without strong political will on the part of the new government, the
dossiers of Wasior (13 June 2001) and Wamena (4 April 2003) as the result of KOMNAS HAM investigation
which have been submitted to the Attorney General for prosecution seem likely to meet a similar fate.
Economic, social and cultural rights
While we acknowledge the progress made by the new democratically elected government in establishing
the branch office of Komnas HAM in Papua on 10 January 2005 and the Majelis Rakyat Papua in fulfilment
of the provisions of the Special Autonomy Law for Papua (Government Regulation 54/2004), the following
needs also to be borne in mind.
Despite the Constitutional Court Decision No. 018/PUU-I/2003 of 11 November 2004, the conflict of the
division of the province continues to exist since the Court annulled the legal basis of Western Irian Jaya
but at the same time recognised the existence of this particular province along with the Province of
Papua. This confusion around the implementation of the Special Autonomy Law remains unresolved
since the government regulation 54/2004 on the Papuan People’s Council (Majelis Rakyat Papua/MRP)
stipulates that the MRP, the provincial government and the provincial parliament have to solve the
problem in conjunction with the central government. . It does not appear that the central government
wants to deal with the problem.
In spite of the existence of the Special Autonomy Law, Papua remains ranked the second lowest
in the Indonesian Human Development Index of 2004. This is despite its Gross Regional Domestic
Product (GRDP) being ranked the third highest in Indonesia based upon income from the trading of
our rich natural resources . This situation is no different to the one Papua faced in 1999 prior to the
implementation of the Special Autonomy Law. Among 26 districts and 2 municipalities in Papua,
Jayawijaya ranks the lowest of all in terms of HDI index in Papua as well as in the whole of Indonesia. Our
partners report that the public service sector in Jayawijaya is collapsing: specialist doctors have left the
city; public servants, teachers, and local parliamentarians have been on strike in protest at unpaid wages;
and even the business community held a protest to draw attention to the unpaid debt of the district
government. In spite of mass protests in Wamena calling for justice and appropriate action to remedy the
declining situation, the government’s neglect has persisted.
Given the low rank of HDI, the 2004 UNDP report clearly identifies that available income is not adequately
invested in public services. Our partners are asking for explanations for this severe neglect. The
government admits that corruption is a major problem in Indonesia and it is part of the new government’s
commitment to combat corruption. However, action undertaken to investigate such allegations (for
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Genocide in West Papua?
example, corruption at the provincial level of Papua, in the Provincial Parliament of Papua and in the
District office of Jayawijaya) is slow in coming.
In relation to the revenues generated from natural resources, we note that the rights of indigenous
peoples to benefit from the income secured are often violated. Conflict between the indigenous
peoples and the business sector is perpetuated by the non-existence of a legal framework to protect
the indigenous people’s entitlements. In practice, while the business sector appeals to state law, the
indigenous peoples rely on customary law. This mismatch frequently leads to human rights violations.
Examples are cases in Mariedi-Bintuni (2004) and Assue-Mappi (2004) .
It is also common that the business development of these regions lead to the encouragement of prostitution
and growing cases of trafficking in human beings, especially women and children. This in turn feeds the rapid
spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Papua. A related social problem is the growth of alcoholism that in turn
significantly impacts on the number of cases of violence against women and children, as well as declining
standards of health in general. This situation remains neglected by the government.
We believe this to be a corrosive and degenerative process that is gradually but systematically destroying an
entire people. There is an urgent need for the government to put in place locally legal mechanisms, which
can guarantee the economic, social and cultural rights of Papuans. Signing and ratifying without delay the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, would be a welcome development in remedying this egregious situation. This would go
some way to beginning the implementation of the Special Autonomy Law 21 of 2001.
Promoting Peace
Our partners in Papua remain passionately committed to building Papua as ‘a land of peace – free from
violence, oppression and grief ’. They acknowledge statements made by the government and security
apparatus stating their willingness to participate in peace activities such as the commemoration day of
5 February . They are calling upon State bodies systematically to address the social injustices and human
rights violations of both civil and political as well as economic, social and cultural rights.
As non-governmental organizations with partners in Papua, we call upon the Commission on Human Rights:
1. To urge the Indonesian government to apply a rights-based approach to development in
implementing the Special Autonomy Law;
2. To urge the Indonesian government to protect and respect the rights of indigenous peoples in Papua;
3. To grant necessary support to the Indonesian government to promote peace and solve the conflict
with recourse to the mechanisms provided by the Special Autonomy Law;
4. To grant the necessary support to the Indonesian government to uphold the rule of law, so as to
combat both impunity and rampant corruption;
5. To urge the new democratically elected government to sign and ratify all key international human
rights treaties, especially the two international covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural rights and
Civil and Political rights;
6. To urge the Indonesian government to fully cooperate in the implementation of the Special
Procedures, by inviting and providing unrestricted access to places, individuals and communities
in Papua and all other parts of Indonesia to the thematic mechanisms, in particular to those that
have repeatedly requested invitations, but have so far not received permission to visit, including
the Special Rapporteur on torture, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights
defenders, and Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.
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Genocide in West Papua?
Appendix C: Manokwari Declaration of Dewan Adat Papua, 4 February 2005
Declaration of 3rd Papua Customary Authority Meeting, February 2005
Dewan Adat (Customary Council),
General Declaration,
Manokwari 4 February 2005
The struggle of the indigenous peoples of Papua to liberate themselves from injustice and oppression
is based primarily on the sincere wish of the indigenous people to become “master” in their own land as
has been discussed during the Third Papua Customary Authority Meeting that took place from the 31st
of January to the 4th of February 2005 and was attended by the Papua Customary Council Leadership
and all indigenous members from the whole of Papua.
The indigenous peoples of Papua are determined to struggle peacefully and democratically on the basis
of their identity, honour and their right to life.
With the guidance and help of the Almighty God and our Ancestors, we therefore declare:
1. That within the framework of the proper Indonesian authorities, Special Autonomy for the province
of Papua has been offered as the middle of the road to find a peaceful solution for the political
conflict in Papua Land and it has been adopted and campaigned by the government of the
Indonesian republic.
The Special Autonomy Law (SAL) as one of the solutions that had been bargained by the government
of Indonesia turns out to be no longer relevant. The lack of objective conditionalities in the planning
and execution of the SAL shows that:
a. The utilization of the funds derived from the Special Autonomy Law has no legal bases
(Perdasus / Perdasi – Provincial Regulations). In practice, the use of the funds is not
transparent, corruption is practiced and the funds do not serve the interests of the
indigenous peoples of Papua.
b. The division of Papua province into the provinces of West Irian Jaya, Central Irian Jaya and
East Irian Jaya violates the mechanisms and stages as stipulated and mandated in Article 76
of law No21/2001 on the Special Autonomy for Papua province and has resulted in conflicts
among the political elite in Papua, thereby undermining political stability, law and order in
Papua Land and resulting in casualties among the indigenous peoples of Papua.
c. The DPRP (Papua People’s Representative Council), required as replacement of the DPRD
Papua (Regional People’s Representative Council of Papua) [see Chapter I, Article 1 letter “ f “
and Article 6 of Law 21/2001] has not been installed.
d. Government Regulation No 54 /2004 regarding the establishment of Papua Consultative
Council [MRP] does not accommodate the interests of the indigenous peoples of Papua
because the procedure of composition has not been open and transparent and the
indigenous peoples of Papua, as the rightful subjects, have not been involved at all.
Another issue that is subject for criticism regarding the Governmental Regulation 54/2004
is the existence of clauses that clearly are discriminatory and ambivalent and violate the
independence of the MRP.
e. The recruitment of civil servants in Papua is discriminating and does not reflect the spirit
and enthusiasm of the Special Autonomy.
In connection with the above-mentioned points, the Papua Customary Authority has set a deadline
for the 15th of August 2005 for the government of Indonesia to implement the Special Autonomy Law
21/2001. After this date, the indigenous peoples of Papua through the Papua Customary Council will urge
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Genocide in West Papua?
the Papua Provincial Government and the Regional People’s Representative Council of Papua (DPRDPapua)
to return the Special Autonomy Law to the Central Government and urge an immediate national
and international dialogue seeking a comprehensive and thorough way-out regarding the recognition of
the basic rights of the indigenous peoples of Papua.
2. We urge the Government of Indonesia to immediately organize the election for the Heads of Province
and Districts/Cities in Papua to be conducted directly, free and fair; the mechanism for the election
for DPRD Papua Province is not in accordance with the enthusiasm for democracy that reflects the
political sovereignty of the people in Papua.
3. We declare Papua Land as Land of Peace so that its status will be upgraded to “Civil Land”, a land that
is peaceful and just.
4. We state that the island of Mansinam is the island of civilisation and the place from which the Word
of the Gospel was spread. It is therefore that the island of Mansinam be freed from all ideologies and
party interests.
5. We urge the Government of Indonesia and the overseas partners of the Evangelical Church to
generate and allocate funds to secure the rehabilitation and the protection of the existence of
Mansinam island.
6. The explosive increase in the number of inhabitants in Papua Land through the huge influx of
migrants, has made, because of several factors, the indigenous peoples of Papua a minority;
therefore the Third Papua Customary Authority Meeting urges the Government of Indonesia
(Province and Districts/Cities) to issue Regional Regulations that protect the existence of the
indigenous peoples of Papua in such a way that, among others, the number of newcomers entering
into Papua Land is restricted.
7. We declare that there is strong indication of a process of ethnic cleansing (genocide) in Papua Land
since the integration in 1969. Therefore the Third Papua Customary Authority Meeting urges the
Special Envoy of the Secretary- General of the United Nations on the subject of Genocide, to send a
Special Rapporteur to monitor and investigate the cases of human rights abuses in Papua Land.
8. We urge the Government of Indonesia, the Government of the Netherlands and the United Nations,
as a moral and human accountability, to clarify to the people of Papua the Histor y of the Papua
peoples, especially regarding the act of self-determination (Act of No Choice) in 1969, and to protect
the right to life for the people of Papua.
9. We urge the DPRD Papua Province and the DPRD Regency/City in Papua to discuss and decide upon
the importance of the clarification of the history of Papua so that the people in Papua will no longer
be stigmatised as separatists, be imprisoned, disappear and get murdered because they constantly
demand their political rights as a people in accordance with their own views regarding the political
history and the human rights in West Papua.
10. We urge the DPRD Papua Province to research and to decide upon a distributive code for the revenues
from the natural resources in Papua that are exploited on a large scale, in a proportional way that is
benefiting all indigenous communities in Papua.
11. We call on all members of the indigenous peoples of Papua to take their responsibility in the
execution of the programs of the Papua Customary Authority, to use the revenues of the natural
resources and to give financial support.
12. We call on all indigenous peoples of Papua to solve all issues in Papua Land in a way that is based on the
customs and traditions of Papua Indigenous Peoples and to refrain from excessive consultations with the
Central Government that may break up the unity among the Papuans through different actions.
Papua Customary Authority
Thom Beanal, Chairman
Leonard Imbiri, General Secretary
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Genocide in West Papua?
Papua Customary Authority
Members Region
Forkorus Yaboisembut, S.Pd Mamta
Genocide in West Papua
Systematic genocide
OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF WEST PAPUA
UNDER SPECIAL AUTONOMY
Rev. Socratez Sofyan Yoman
President of the Fellowship of Baptist Churches of West Papua
Jayapura, West Papua, 14 May 2005
I wish to take this opportunity to portray the suffering and misfortune of
the indigenous people of West Papua since the implementation of Special
Autonomy in West Papua.
Under Special Autonomy, the Indonesian government has the following aims and
commitments: First: To protect the basic rights and status of Papuans,
including their land rights. Second: To develop indigenous Papuans through
education, improvements in community health, and increased economic
prosperity.
Unfortunately, Special Autonomy has brought only great misfortune and is not
very different from the Act of Free Choice 1969 (PEPERA 1969). Special
Autonomy is PEPERA 1969 Volume II. Accordingly, killings and systematic
violence have increased significantly using the excuse of OPM membership and
separatism. Violence by the Indonesian military forces has increased. West
Papuan people have been pursued, detained, terrorised, intimidated,
imprisoned, tortured, raped, killed and disappeared. Below are some
examples.
I. INCIDENT AT NABIRE
On 17 January 2005, 3am, soldiers of Battalion 753 Nabire attacked,
captured, tortured, shot and even killed, civilians in Nabire.
The deceased:
Miron Wonda died on 17 January after his detention by members of Battalion
753 Nabire on 16 January 2005 at Kali Kimi, Lani village, Nabire. He had
been kicked and hit with boots, clubs, canes and rifle butts.
Names of persons seriously wounded
1. Tadius Usain (22/male). A soldier from Battalion 753 hit Tadius with a
wooden beam, iron chains and a rifle butt, and kicking him with military
boots. He was wounded on both his cheeks, his eyes were swollen and he could
not see well.
2. David Jigibalom (22/ male). He was hit with iron and wooden beams; some
wounds needed five stitches, his cheeks were swollen and there were wide
wounds on his head.
3 Robert Jigibalom (15/ male). He was hit with iron resulting in swollen
cheeks, eyes and lips and bleeding head wounds.
4. Dasmi Kogoya (19/male). He was hit with iron and wood, and kicked with
military boots. His right eyelid was painful and swollen, his spine was
injured so he could not stand normally.
5 Dailus Kogoya (17 /male). He was hit with iron and wood. His right eyelid
was cut and swollen and as a result of injury to his limbs, he could not
walk or be supported.
6 Menase Enumbi (15/male) After being hit with a wooden beam and being
kicked with military boots, his head wound required five stitches and his
eyes and both cheeks were swollen.
7 Mote Wonda (19 /male). His right eye was so swollen that he could not
see, some of his limbs were injured and he could not walk normally, as a
result of being hit with a wooden beam and iron chains, as well as being
kicked with military boots.
8 Aser Wonda (23 /male), Lebius Enumbi (19/male), Teles Kogoya (20/male),
Uringa Kogoya (25/male), Depius Kogoya (25 /male), and Kumpuk Wenda
(20/male). These persons suffered minor wounds as a result of being hit and
kicked by Indonesian soldiers.
9 Reverend Erok Kogoya (40 /male). Head of the Klasis Indonesian
Evangelical church (GIDI) in Nabire. His house was searched and he was
beaten and kicked, resulting in an injury to his right cheek.
Background to the Problem
On 16 January 2005 at 8pm Ibu Neni (Mrs Neni -a Javanese trader) arrived
unexpectedly to organise some social dancing at the home of Mr Rahman, her
younger brother. Ibu Neni called four young Papuan girls to help her to
organise the dancing. In order to organise the evening she went to borrow
some petrol lights from Kali Bobo, which was some distance from Kali Bumi
where the dance was being organised. At 10pm, after the dance had been going
for 30 minutes, two soldiers from Battalion 753 arrived, one in uniform, the
other in civilian clothes.
While the dance was in progress, a young Papuan male wearing camouflage
trousers was asked by the two soldiers to leave and change into normal
trousers. The young man agreed, left to change at his house, and returned to
dance. Then a young man named John Wonda came to dance, wearing torn shorts,
and was asked by a soldier to change into better trousers. He agreed, went
to change his pants and returned to participate in the dancing, While the
dance continued, Usman Mayoba came and sat close to where the soldier in
civilian dress was sitting. The soldier said to Usman “What do you want”?
and immediately hit Usman Mayoba. His friends who had come to participate in
the dancing could not accept the beating of Usman and attacked the two
soldiers.
While the fight was escalating, members of Company A Battalion 753 arrived
fully armed on motor bikes and in a TNI truck (Tentara National Indonesia –
Indonesian National Forces). The soldiers from the 753 Battalion forced
their entry into the homes of local people by breaking doors. The soldiers
frightened women and children who had been sleeping in their houses. The
women and children who had just been woken were threatened by the armed
soldiers.
The persons listed above as having been detained, tortured and beaten were
not associated with the dancing incident that night. They were arrested at
their homes, forced into a military truck, were tortured and beaten at the
office of Company A Battalion 753. They were taken back to their homes after
the torture and beating.
2. INCIDENT AT TOLIKARA
The event at Tolikara on 21 January 2005 was engineered by the Indonesian
military. Soldiers arrested 8 civilians. The names of the civilians arrested
and held at the District Police office, Jayawijaya regency are:
(1) Natan Wenda (16/male);
(2 Menis Wenda (20/ male);
(3 Yatimin Weya (22/ male);
(4 Beniyus Kogoya (21/ male);
(5 John Hiluka (18/ male);
(6 Salamin Weya ( 22/ male);
(7 Simele Gire (23/ male).
(8 Yohanes Hiluka (24/ male).
3. 10 APRIL 2005
The TNI and Brimob (Brigade Mobil ( Riot Troops) shot dead a civilian named
Tolinawimban Gire (59/ male). The TNI and Brimob also arrested 8 civilians
named:
(1) Ginggin Enumbi (52/ male),
(2) Yulemi Tabuni (18/ male),
(3) Utinus Telenggen (20/ male),
(4 Tekius Enumbi (19/ male),
(5 Digir Wonda (45/ male),
(6 Mukmende Telenggen (48/ male),
(7 Ekius Enumbi (19/ male), and
(8 Yerimon Wonerengga (19/ male).
INCIDENTS IN 2003 AND PAPUAN VICTIMS
On 4 April 2003, the military weapons store house at Wamena was broken
into.
Description and analysis of the location of the weapons store house
The KODIM 1702 (Komando Distrik Militer District Military Command)
weapons store at Jayawijaya is in the middle of the KODIM complex. The door
of the weapons store consists of 4 layers of doors, the front door being the
first one, then the second door, the third door and the fourth door. All of
them are made of iron, and they also have strong keys and were being guarded
by a guard named First Sergeant Ruben Lena who was shot dead. In front
there is a guardhouse. The KODIM complex is surrounded by an iron fence and
has 3 front doors. Each of these doors is guarded by the TNI. At the back
in the direction of Kali Uwe there is only 1 door which is closed every
night. In front of the KODIM complex there is a main road which goes from
the Town Centre to Sinakma. There are lamps lighting up the whole KODIM
1702 complex. However, at the time of the incident the electricity for the
whole of Wamena went out for several minutes and then came back on after the
drama of the removal of the weapons was over
From this analysis of the location and security of the weapons store, the
following question arises: could the highland people, with their limited
education and armed only with bows and arrows and other traditional weapons,
dare to enter the military headquarters, break into the weapons store and
shoot First Lieutenant Napitulu and First Sergeant Ruben Lena?
The aim of the incident was clear: to build up the 977 Battalion in
Jayawijaya District, kill Yustinus Murip and ten of his friends, and kill
and destroy the local people.
The offensive at Kuyawaqi 19 April 2003. The military operation resulted in
72 deaths.
The soldiers shot 11 people.
(1)Ketis Tabuni (25/male),
(2) Enggelek Tabuni (45/ male),
(3) Debanus Murip (28/male),
(4) Yukulele Morip (24/male),
(5) Esau Morip (35/male),
(6) Yuben Wenda (35/male),
(7) Kornelius Telenggen (25/male),
(8) Nendiwenus Murip (20/male),
(9) Abenus Telenggen (21/male),
(10) Arena Murip (25/female), her corpse was found stark naked without any
clothes,
(11) Yesaya Telenggen (27/male).
45 People died in a jungle refugee situation because of hunger and illness
(1)Ketinus Kiwo (2 months /male), (2) Norina Wenda (1year /female)
(3) Konius Kiwo (45 /male), (4) Tambunuk Tabuni (6 /male),
(5) Okwarit Tabuni (50/female), (6) Wogoraklek Wenda (50 /female),
(7) Iwan Kogoya (20 /male), (8) Manarinorak Tabuni (51/female),
(9) Delince Tabuni (12 /female), (10) Werimina Murip (8/ female),
(11) Turius Telenggen (3 /male), (12) Mapi Murip (3/ male),
(13) Yahya Kogoya (15 /male), (14) Tendi Tabuni (1 month /female),
(15) Kimanius Kogoya (3 months /female), (16) Silas Wenda (5 months
/female),
(17) Kogoyagwe ( 45 /female), (18) Lemanus Kogoya (14 /male),
(19) Lendina Murip (12 /female), (20) Roby Kogoya (7 months /male),
(21) Nggik Tabuni (45 /male), (22) Wororaklek Wenda (52 /female),
(23) Dekiton Wenda (12 /male), (24) Nelisina Kogoya (18 /female),
(25) Wagagerakmban Kiwo (52 /female), (26) Yali Tabuni (11 /female),
(27) Yambuni Tabuni (53 /female), (28) Wogoya Tabuni (50 /female),
(29) Yesaya Telenggen(39 /male), (30) Melenggen Telenggen (40 /male),
(31) Yohana Tabuni (1year /female), (32) Tagero Murip (55 /female),
(33) Zakarius Murip (35 /male), (34) Dipena Murip (10 /female),
(35) Usilena Murip (8 /female), (36) Pilena Murip (7 /female),
37) Arina Murip (17 tahun/female), (38) Werina Murip (18 /female),
(39) Domince Murip (5 /female), (40) Tunikengge Murip (50 /female),
(41) Iriana Murip (2 /female), (42) Komologwelingginik Murip(50 /female),
(43) Nagason Telenggen (18 /male), (44) Warugun Kogoya (50 /female),
(45) Yosemina Tabuni (39 /female).
15 people died of hunger and illness after returning to their villages.
(1) Asina Wenerengga (40 /female), (2) Alpi Telenggen (4 months/male),
(3) Kelemariak Tabuni (49 /male), (4) Berina Murip (7 months /female),
(5) Dina Murip ( 6 moths /female), (6) Yagit Tabuni (50 /male),
(7) Pipiwarak Tabuni (48 /male), (8) Galue Tabuni (50 /female),
(9) Narius Tabuni (22 /male), (10) Yawiyanugume Murip (53 /male),
(11) Arman Tabuni (4 /male), (12) Tamban Tabuni (7 /male),
(13) Nelisina Kogoya (18 /female), 14) Wagagerakmban Kiwo (50 /male),
(15) Yali Tabuni ( 3 male/male).
Soldiers burnt 23 church buildings, 8 Baptist church buildings, 9 Kernah
Evangelical church buildings, and 6 buildings of the Evangelical church of
Indonesia (GIDI)
School buildings . The primary school at Kuyawagi was burnt by Indonesian
soldiers and the primary school at Mume became a TNI post, and all seats and
desks were used as firewood and most of the school building was damaged. As
a result education in the Kuyawagi area is not progressing well.
Medical centres. Soldiers burnt the pharmacy centre, hospital, medical
clinic and pharmacy clinic belonging to the Baptist church, Kemah
Evangelical church (KINGMI) and the Evangelical Church of Indonesia (GIDI).
As a result there is a lack of medicine and heath services for the
community.
Soldiers burnt and destroyed 30 fences and gardens. As a result it is
difficult for the community to have sufficient food.
On 5 November 2003, Yustinus Murip and 9 friends were shot and killed by the
TNI in the village of Yaleka 5 kms from Wamena. Yustinus and his friends
were civilians (Baptist congregation members) but were labeled as members of
OPM by the military.
INCIDENTS IN 2004
Incident at Puncak Jaya on 17 August 2004
Special Unit Forces (Kopassus) who were stationed at Mulia heard of the
arrival of Goliat Tabuni in Guragi: his arrival and presence was used and
exaggerated by some Kopassus members. Following the news of his arrival on
17 August, members of Kopassus went to Guragi. When they arrived in Guragi
one Kopassus soldier was shot. The shooting occurred at approximately 9am
(WIT: Waktu Indonesian Timur Western Indonesian Time). At the same time
Indonesians were participating in the ceremonies for National Independence
Day.
After the shooting of the Kopassus soldier on 17 August until 13 September
2004, there was almost a month, 27 days, during which the military did not
act. Everything appeared peaceful and the people continued their lives as
usual.
On 14 September 2004, a troop of Kopassus Special Unit Forces returned to
Guragi with the aim of finding, catching and shooting Goliat Tabuni. The
Kopassus troops did not find Goliat. However, Kopassus met with Pastor Elisa
Tabuni and his son who is also a Pastor. The Kopassus Troops asked Elisa of
the whereabouts of Goliat Tabuni. Pastor Elisa answered that he did not
know about Goliat.
The Kopassus Forces arrested Pastor Elisa Tabuni and his son, and handcuffed
or tied the hands of the two pastors using striped belts. While they were
being taken away, Pastor Elisa and his son were asked by Kopassus about the
Commandment from 13th century Rome (From the Letter to the Romans in the Bible) which refers to the government as Gods representative. Pastor Elisa and his son did not respond as they could not speak Indonesian very well. When they did not respond, the Kopassus troops shot and killed Pastor Elisa Tabuni while his hands were tied. His son
managed to run away and save himself. (The pastors son is now a living
witness).
On the afternoon of 16 October 2004 at 1pm, a land and air operation was
launched against civilians in Puncak Jaya region with TNI helicopters firing
and bombing civilians who had gathered to eat together.
On 16 October 2004, at 9pm evening, the head of the parish of Yamo region,
Pastor Yason Kogoya was picked up by two members of Kopassus on the orders
of Enock Ibo, Local Secretary for the regency of Puncak Jaya. He was
interrogated in a closed room from 9.15pm until 11pm. A Kopassus member
showed him the rope, which had been used to tie Pastor Elisa Tabuni when he
was killed, and had been kept as evidence.
The following church buildings were deserted as the inhabitants fled into
the jungle to hide and save themselves: 1. Gereja Tanoba; 2. Gereja
Yogorini; 3. Gereja Monia; 4. Gereja Bigiragi; 5. Gereja Peragi; 6. Gereja
Yogonggum; 7. Gereja Yaromugum; 8. Gereja Pilia; 9. Gereja Wulindik; 10.
Gereja Gimanggen; 11. Gereja Tingginambut; 12. Gereja Toragi; 13. Pilipur;
14. Gereja Kalome; 15. Gereja Agape; 16. Gereja Yanenggawe; 17. Gereja
Kayogebut; 18. Gereja Pagarigom; 19. Gereja Yiogobak; 20. Gereja Yibinggame;
21. Gereja Ndondo; 22. Gereja Yamiruk.
Thirteen additional military posts have since been opened in the Puncak Jaya
regency
(1) Pos Kulurik (Ndondopaga),
(2) Pos Muliagambut,
(3) Pos Wuyuneri,
(4) Pos Kota Lama (Market complex),
(5 Pos Purulome,
(6 Pos Irimuli Pos Nalume (Guraginikime),
(7 Pos Monia (in the church building),
Three military posts between the Old Town and the regents office in
Pagelome and
Three military posts near the regents office.
Approximately 6,393 people fled and are still hiding in the jungle. We do
not know the exact number of people who have died from hunger and illness as
the area is still under the control of the military. Approximately 371 huts
(traditional houses) have been burnt and the indigenous people are still in
the jungle. As a result of this military operation, the local community in
Puncak Jaya has suffered greatly from hunger and illness. They are too
frightened to return. All their gardens and fences have been destroyed by
the military.
The church building belonging to the Evangelical Church of Indonesia (GIDI)
in Monia is being used as a residence by the military. The floor has been
damaged and the prayer building has become a place for resting and cooking.
On 21 October 2004, Socratez Sofyan Yoman visited Puncak Jaya and met the
following people:
Bupati (Regent) of Puncak Jaya, Eliezer Renmaur,
Deputy Head of the Parliament (DPR) for the Regency of Puncak Jaya, Elias
Tabuni,
Military District Commander for Nabire 1705, Letkol.Inf. Didit Pramudioto,
Commander of the Special Forces (Kopassus), Ltk. Inf. Yogi,
Commander of Intelligence for the Regional Military Command, Ltk Victor
Tobing,
Head of Police for Nabire, AKBP Taufik, and
Representative of the Papuan Regional Police, AKBP Yohanes Prapto.
The meeting was held at 11am at Mulia.
The stigma of separatism, OPM and rebellion:
These are terms used by Indonesians as justification to kill Papuans with
ease. The labels of separatist, rebel or OPM are rough, but effective
terms usually used by colonial, oppressive and domineering peoples. Other
less offensive terms or labels which are still insulting and deadly are
people-left-behind, stupid, poor, backward, cannibal, primitive,
and a drunk. The main aim behind the use of these terms is to destroy the
character, self-esteem, and status of the indigenous or native-born people.
Such terms disrupt and damage the indigenous peoples spirit for living. It
kills both their living and fighting spirits. They are also used to destroy
the foundation and strength of native-born peoples lifestyle. This silent
oppression forms an essential part of the genocide of the indigenous people.
The conflicts occurring in West Papua are engineered by the Indonesian
military theories of conflict. They provide a reason for the large military
presence in West Papua, with operational funds and military promotions.
Batallion 977 has been established in Wamena, Regency of Jayawijaya. KSAD,
Lieutenant General Djoko Santoso has said that in 2005 it will be
supplemented by three further battalions in West Papua.
The Transmigration Program is a national program supported by the World
Bank to bring Islamic people from outside Papua , especially from Java, to
West Papua. Dr. Richard Chauvel agrees, the demographic transformation of
society in Papua, with the great influx of Indonesia settlers, has
engendered a widespread feeling that Papuans have been dispossessed and
marginalized in their own land.
The militia and jihad fighters can not be separated from the Indonesian
military presence. The militias and jihad fighters have the same ideology;
that each enemy must be destroyed. So in West Papua the Islamic view is that
Christians are unbelievers and need to be annihilated. With an ideology very
close to that of the Indonesian military, the militias and jihad fighters
are certainly armed by the Indonesian military.
Alcohol is a form of silent killing. Generally, the introduction of alcohol
is protected and supported by the Indonesian military and police. Usually
the police arrest only the drunk Papuans, and imprison and ill-treat them.
But, the government and Indonesian police have not yet, in fact never will
arrest the persons selling the alcohol, never will close the places where
alcohol is sold, and never will close the factories producing alcohol.
HIV/AIDS (Silent killing) is occurring in West Papua with the trade of women
who are infected with HIV/AIDS. This is a means of depopulation, or
genocide, against the indigenous people of West Papua. In Mappi, Merauke the
military and police are bringing infected women into the community of
sandalwood gatherers. The women are bargained for against the value of the
sandalwood. There are almost 14,000 to15,000 known HIV/AIDS sufferers in
West Papua.
Special Autonomy is a national agreement, as well a political bargain
between the Papuan elite and Indonesia which is validated by the Indonesian
constitution, the agreement of the Indonesian Parliament and the support of
the World Bank. It aims to be a process for solving problems in West Papua
through education, health and the economy, along with protection of, and
respect for, the human rights and status of the indigenous people of West
Papua. But Special Autonomy has brought misfortune and is yet another source
of suffering for the West Papuan people continuing from the Act of Free
Choice1969 (PEPERA 1969). Nowhere is Special Autonomy being implemented
consistently, correctly, justly and fairly by local government development
programmes. Government Regulation No. 12003 covers the development of the
province of West Irian Jaya.
Special Autonomy funds have been used by the Indonesian military to kill
West Papuan people. An example was during the incident in Mulia, Puncak Jaya
on 14 September 2004, the military used Special Autonomy Funds totalling
2.5 billion Rp according to my research,
3 billion Rp according to the West Papuan Parliament, or
1.9 billion Rp according to the regional government report
to purchase food and medicines for the displaced people. These funds have
not assisted the displaced people and it is not known where the money has
gone.
The Papuan Parliament (MPR) represents the aims of the Indonesian
government, and is unrepresentative of the aims of the indigenous people
of West Papua. The oath of a Member of Parliament is based on loyalty to
Pancasila, the Indonesian Constitution and defense of the Unitary State of
the Republic of Indonesia. However, the indigenous people of Papua expect
that Papuan members of parliament should represent indigenous Papuans in
order to protect their human rights, status and lifestyle.
Racial and religious discrimination. The dialogue between Aceh and the
Indonesian government in Japan (2002/2003) and in Helsinki Finland (April
2005) shows clearly that the Indonesian government discriminates against
West Papuan people on racial and religious grounds. Aceh and West Papua has
the same Special Autonomy status. This status aims to be a path to ending
the problems of conflict in both Aceh and West Papua.
But the Indonesian people have given Aceh a special and wide-ranging
opportunity for dialogue through an international facilitator. At the same
time, the West Papuan people have asked for dialogue but have not received
an answer from the Indonesians. But as a response, the Indonesian government
has sent greater numbers of military forces to West Papuan land. It also
sends thousands of Javanese people to Papua.
Religious discrimination can be identified as Muslims can apply unwritten
(religious) law. This is proved by the freedom to worship Christians in
Indonesia are restricted in their worship and are restricted in building
places of worship. But in West Papua mosques are built everywhere, even in
places where there are no Muslims.
Exploitation of natural resources West Papua was incorporated into Indonesia
through Indonesian military strength with the aim of seizing the products of
West Papua land and annihilating the indigenous people. The Indonesian
military and police forces support and protect the removal of the soil
resources.
PT Freeport Indonesia is a large American business in Timika, Tembagapura,
West Papua. The presence of Freeport in Papua since 1967 (before Papua
officially became Indonesian territory) has certainly brought great misfortune to the
indigenous people of West Papua. Their land has been seized, their forests
cut down, their environment damaged, and their drinking water polluted. The
people have been threatened, arrested, disappeared, killed, raped, lost and
driven out by the Indonesian military who are paid by the giant American
company.
The BP Tangguh Natural Gas project in Bintuni Bay is English owned. It will
lead to a situation not far different from that of PT Freeport in
Tembagapura. The community s land will be seized, their forests will be cut
down, the natural environment, damaged, and water polluted. The people will
certainly be driven out, threatened, arrested, disappeared, killed, raped,
and lost by the Indonesian military and police. The workforce will be
gathered from Javanese people.
EXPANSION OF DISTRICTS AND PROVINCES IN PAPUA
The main aim of expanding the Districts and Provinces in West Papua is:
1. In the interests of security, that is the expansion of the military s
wings by building new Kodam, Batallion, Kodim, Koramil, Polda, Polres,
Polsek to control and destroy the indigenous Papuans.
2. Expanding employment opportunities with the allocation of Officials from
outside of Papua
3. Systematic efforts to destroy (genocide) the indigenous Papuans by
sending transmigrants and illegal immigrants using the reason that there are
not enough indigenous Papuans in the region of the expansion of new
Provinces (part of the long term Islamisation and Javanisation efforts in
Papua).
4 Systematic political efforts to play one side off against the other
(devide et impera) by isolating or grouping indigenous Papuans together so
that they will kill each other in their efforts to defend their own land and
regions.
The aim of the Conflict, and the Indonesian Military s Stigmatisation of OPM
and Separatists:
1. Justification for military presence in large numbers in Papua and in
order to expand the military by building military posts as has occurred in
Wamena, Batallion 977.
2. Systematic effort by the Indonesian government to destroy (genocide) the
indigenous Papuans with military operations using the reason that they are
OPM members and separatists.
3 Systematic efforts to provoke internal conflict between the indigenous
people of West Papua as an integral part of the politics of playing one side
off against the other (devide et impera) so that they kill each other.
4. Systematic effort by the Indonesian government using military force to
annihilate, and make the indigenous West Papuans ignorant and impoverished
by burning down the school buildings. The indigenous West Papuans will
constantly suffer from the loss of their safety, integrity, status,
identity, and human rights, for just two reasons, First, to preserve the
integrity of the United Republic of Indonesia, Second, to protect the
Natural Resources of Papua for political and economic interests.
5. Efforts to change and blur agendas for political dialogue with the
indigenous people of West Papua which relate to staightening out history,
such as the demands to review the 1969 Act of Free Choice in West Papua
which was unfair and undemocratic.
6. Efforts to terrorize and intimidate the indigenous West Papuans in order
that they have no freedom to speak about their nations future.
7. Getting projects for TNI/POLRI and Contractors so that they get Special
Autonomy funds under the auspices of rebuilding the district schools and
offices that were burnt down.
————————————————————————————–
Contact Address: Jl. Jeruk Nipis Kotaraja, Jayapura, West Papua.
Mobile: 08124888458 (West Papua), 0422782620 (Australia).
_________________________________________________________________
2.6.2011:
Om aan te tonen dat misdadige practijken gewoon doorgaan kunt U klikken op:
Video of the Indonesia military torturing My People In West Papua klik op het plaatje om de video opname te zien, voorzien van commentaar inhet Engels
Juist omdat er geen toezicht is kan men ongestoord doorgaan met de genocide!
Ja, het heeft wel aandacht, maar de realiteit is anders, het gaat gewoon door!!
30.06.2011: Van Indonesia Watch: Christoph Lenz: Hoe ontstaan massamoorden?
Christian Gerlach telt wereldwijd als een icoon van genocide en geweldsdelicten onderzoeker.
Zijn werk begint daar, waar de beschaving stopt: onteigening, internering, massavernietiging, moord, georganiseerde honger, vergassing, slavernij, verdrijving, gedwongen verhuizing, dwangarbeid.
Het heeft zijn kijk op de wereld veranderd.
Gerlach oefent kritiek uit op het concept van genocide, dat terugvoert naar de Poolse-Joodse jurist Raphael Lemkin.
Hij defenieert volkeren moord als vervolging of vernietiging van een ras, ethnisch, nationaal of religieuze omschreven groeperingen door een staat of een regiem.
De stelling van Christian Gerlach: Zo eenvoudig ligt het niet –
massageweld gaat bijna nooit alleen van een staat uit, vele andere groeperingen nemen daaraan deel en woekert voort. Het is nooit alleen maar rascistisch, ethnisch, nationaal of religieus gemotiveerd, maar een fenomeen met
veel oorzaken.
Om dit te bewijzen heeft Gerlach de gebeurtenissen in de 20e eeuw onderzocht, o.a. de bloedige vervolging van
communisten in Indonesië in 1965/66, het conflicht van Oost Pakistan/Bangladesh tussen 1971/1977 en het geweld
tegen de Armeniërs in 1915/1923, de Joden vervolging 1940/1945.
Via allerlei bronnen heeft Gerlach een overweldigend aantal feiten verzameld en die laten geen twijfel bestaan over
de complexiteit en samenhang van massageweld.
Heel indrukwekkend is zijn opstelling ten aanzien van de massamoorden in Indonesië, waarbij tussen Oktober 1965
en Januari 1966 ca. 1 miljoen mensen omkwamen. Generaal Suharto stuurde het leger aan dat leidde tot arrestaties, executies en hij geldt als verantwoordelijke voor betreffende slachting.
Ook regelde hij de propoganda machine tegen de communistische partij.
Ook andere groeperingen buiten het leger om namen hieraan deel en nergens was het erger dan op Bali, waar de invloed van het leger en staat toch gering was.
Hoe komt het dan tot zo’n dergelijke explosie?
Met bijna mathematische precisie laat Gerlach zien dat massa geweld zich ontwikkelt tot sociale en economische problemen. Oorzaken zijn armoede, honger, inflatie, mis oogsten, oorlogs ervaringen of de sociale ondergang van een bepaald deel van de bevolking.
Hoe meer ellende des te groter de samenhang van het geweld.
In Indonesië omvatte dat alle legale partijen, honderden verenigingen, moslims, landeigenaren, burocraten, vrouwenorganisaties, studenten, gingen samenwerken. Men hielp de militairen bij de moordpartijen of organiseerde
het zelf. Elke groep of persoon had zijn eigen redenen om aan het geweld deel te nemen. Sommigen wilden verhinderen dat men voor communist werd aangezien, andere namen de gelegenheid waar concurrenten uit te schakelen of vermoordden beambten om hun baantje in te pikken.
Studenten moordden om hun recht op Rock ’n roll en pop cultuur. Andere ging het om hebzucht, geld, huizen en land.
Het boek moet men af en toe even wegleggen, maar wil men het fenomeen massageweld begrijpen, moet men wel het boek lezen.
4.4.2012:
Please, everyone share this video as widely as possible.
This is incredibly distressing footage to watch but it is extremely important to gain support against the Indonesian military.
The TNI can’t hide from the truth anymore, they haven’t changed, they will continue killing until no Papuans are left.
It’s GENOCIDE.
New evidence of torture in West Papua
www.youtube.com
A shocking new video which shows Tunaliwor Kiwo, a West Papuan farmer being tortured,
