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West Papuans arrested in Jayapura and Wamena
Australia West Papua Association (Sydney) Media Release - April 5, 2009
Up to fifteen people were arrested near Jayapura after police raided the office of the Papuan Customary Council and in Wamena three people including one junior high school student were arrested after participating in a rally.
In the Puncak Jaya district there have been a number of attacks on Indonesian security posts, military patrols and the killing of individuals in the district since the beginning of the year.
AWPA is concerned that the security forces will use the incidents in the Puncak Jaya regency and the rallies by civil society organizations as an excuse to crack down on those groups the term to be separatists.
AWPA has written to the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (letter below).
AWPA urges the Australian
Government to raise the deteriorating situation in West Papua with the
Indonesian President urging him to:
immediately release all
those West Papuans arrested for simply taking part in peaceful rallies
which is their democratic right
release all West Papuan
political prisoners as a sign of good faith to the West Papuan people
control the security forces
in West Papua, urging that the security forces halt their intimidation
of peaceful demonstrators as a way of avoiding further escalation of the
situation and avoiding possible bloodshed
dialogue with representatives
of the West Papuan people to try and solve the many issues of concern in
the territory.
For more information contact Joe Collins on 04077 857 97
Australia West Papua Association,
Sydney
PO Box 28, Spit Junction,
Sydney, Australia 2088
Ph/fax 61.2.99601698 email:
bunyip@bigpond.net.au
Letter to Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs
The Hon Stephen Smith MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Parliament House
Canberra
ACT 2600
5 April 2009
Dear Mr Smith,
I am writing to you on behalf of the Australia West Papua Association (Sydney), concerning the dangerously deteriorating situation in West Papua.
There have been a large number of rallies in West Papua during the past month with the latest one occurring on Friday the 3rd April in which thousands of West Papuans marched in the towns of Nabire and Wamena. The West Papuan people were calling for a boycott of the coming national election and for independence for West Papua. The rally was also in support of the launch of the group “International Lawyers for West Papua”.
There have been a number of arrests in Wamena where three people including one junior high school student were arrested after participating in a rally.
Up to fifteen people were also arrested in Waena approximately 15 km from Jayapura after police raided the office of the Papuan Customary Council. They also destroyed equipment during the raid. Those arrested are currently detained at the Jayapura police station where they have not been allowed access to lawyers.
Two other West Papuans were also arrested when they arrived in Jayapura from Manokwari. No charge was laid against them but they are been held in the Papua Police headquarters again without being given any access to lawyers.
In the Puncak Jaya district there have been a number of attacks on Indonesian security posts, military patrols and the killing of individuals in the district since the beginning of the year.
The Indonesian military have responded to these incidents by deploying more troops to the area. The Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Christian Zebua told Antara state news agency “that more soldiers would be deployed to secure areas prone to violence, particularly in Tingginambut in Puncak Jaya Regency”.
AWPA believes that it is
in the interests of the Indonesian military to provoke conflict in West
Papua and every incident cannot be blamed on the OPM. There are also militia
groups operating in West Papua and West Papuans have reported that a false
OPM has been created by the military to instigate incidents.
Prominent West Papuans including
a Papuan member of the Indonesian parliament, has called for a different
approach instead of the typical military response of more troops to the
area. In a report on Radio New Zealand International (30 March), the West
Papua religious leader and academic Father Neles Tebay said “the recent
spate of killings in Puncak Jaya regency highlight the urgent need for
dialogue between Indonesia and West Papuan representatives” and “that political
dimension should be settled. And that political dimension will not settle
through deploying more troops, through conducting military operations.”
AWPA is concerned that the security forces will use the incidents in the Puncak Jaya regency and the rallies by civil society organizations as an excuse to crack down on those groups the term to be separatists.
Amnesty International in
its recent report “Indonesia: Jailed for waving a flag: Prisoners of Conscience
in Maluku” (released March 200) has noted that
“the security police have
used Government Regulation No. 77/2007 on the use of regional flags as
grounds for arresting and detaining people who are only organizing or taking
part in peaceful flag-raising events” and “since the issuing of this government
regulation, Amnesty International has recorded a significant increase in
the number of people arrested and detained in Papua and Maluku for peacefully
expressing their political views”.
AWPA urges the Australian Government to raise the deteriorating situation in West Papua with the Indonesian President and urge him to
immediately release all those West Papuans arrested for simply taking part in peaceful rallies which is their democratic right
release all West Papuan political prisoners as a sign of good faith to the West Papuan people
control the security forces in West Papua, urging that the security forces halt their intimidation of peaceful demonstrators as a way of avoiding further escalation of the situation and avoiding possible bloodshed.
dialogue with representatives of the West Papuan people to try and solve the many issues of concern in the territory.
Yours sincerely
Joe Collins Secretary
AWPA (Sydney)
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