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Am 4. Juni (2012) fand in Jayapura eine Demonstration statt, die von Polizeikräften gewaltsam beendet wurde. Nach Informationen, die uns vorliegen, wurde ein Demonstrant getötet, zwei z.T. schwer verletzt und 43 Personen festgenommen.
Die Polizei setzte gepanzerte Fahrzeuge und Tränengas ein. Die Organisation KNPB (Nationales Komitee für West-Papua) hatte zu der Demonstration aufgerufen.
Man wollte auf kürzlich geschehene Übergriffe der Sicherheitskräfte aufmerksam machen.

Am Dienstag, dem 29. Mai, wurde ein deutscher Tourist, Herr Dietmar Pieper, von Unbekannten in Papua angeschossen und schwer verletzt. Seine Lebensgefährtin war Zeugin des Anschlages.
Sie berichtete, dass unbekannte Männer sich dem Paar genähert hätten, als es sich vormittags am öffentlichen Badestrand Base G aufhielt. Ohne irgend eine Motivation habe einer der Männer plötzlich auf Dietmar Pieper geschossen. Die Angreifer seien dann mit Autos davongefahren.

Eine weit verbreitete Meinung unter Papuas macht die indonesischen Sicherheitskräfte bzw. den Geheimdienst für den Anschlag verantwortlich. Ausländer sollten von Besuchen in Papua abgeschreckt werden. Gleichzeitig solle Papua als „gefährliche Region“ dargestellt und damit die Präsenz von immer mehr Sicherheitskräften gerechtfertigt werden.
Zum andern wollten die Demonstranten auf einen Zwischenfall im Hinterland von Nabire aufmerksam machen: Am 15. Mai (2012) wurden ein Papua von Sicherheitskräften erschossen und vier z.T. schwer verletzt. Pastor Dr. Neles Tebay, der Koordinator des Friedensnetzwerks Papua, nennt in einer Presseerklärung vom 5. Juni 2012 17 Zwischenfälle in diesem Jahr, bei denen Sicherheitskräfte auf Papua geschossen haben.
Er fordert dringend einen Dialog zwischen indonesischer Regierung und Vertretern der Papua.
Die Opfer des Zwischenfalls vom 4. Juni sind Yesa Mirin (25), aus dem Regierungsbezirk Yahukimo, Fanuel Taplo (29), aus dem Regierungsbezirk Pegunungan Bintang und Esan Sobolim (23, Student) aus dem Regierungsbezirk Yahukimo. Dem Namen nach ist Sobolim ein Yali. Yesa Mirin wurde getötet, die beiden Verletzten werden im Krankenhaus Yowari in Sentani behandelt. (sz)

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AHRC – KontraS (The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence), SETARA Institute, AHRC (Asian Human Rights Commission), ICTJ (International Center for Transitional Justice, PGI (Indonesian Church Fellowship) and PI (Protection International) welcome the recommendation of the UPR (Universal Periodical Review) session released on May 25, 2012.

The UPR Session has released a number of recommendations in regards to human rights enforcement that we see as important and must be followed up by the Indonesian Government in the next four years. It is recorded that a total of 74 member countries participated in the session that was held on 23rd of May 2102 and made reviews on Indonesia’s national report on human rights.
27 out of them were members of the UN Human Rights Council, with 47 other members coming from observer countries. It is also noted that ASEAN member states also participated in reviewing the human rights condition in Indonesia. Regarding the recommendation adopted by the UPR 2nd Cycle’s Working Group, we see this document as adequately comprehensive to measure the commitment of the Government of Indonesia in enforcing many issues relating to human rights. Within this statement, we therefore, would like to highlight several issues that are of our utmost concern and have been previously submitted and included in our civil society report before the UPR session began.

First, the recommendation mostly emphasizes a few agendas that have been enshrined in the National Action Plan 2011-2014 relating to the progress of ratification of international human rights instruments that is currently stalled.
To name a few, the ratification of Rome Statute ICC and OPCAT has been included within the previous period of the National Action Plan (2004-2011) and as well in the previous UPR Session. However, up until the second cycle of the UPR session, both instruments still face a hindrance in reaching a significant progress which eventually should them to be included in the next National Action Plan (2011-2014). Furthermore, in this recommendation, a statement is also written to demand the ratification of the Convention on Enforced Disappearances (CED).

Second, another emphasis was put on the recommendation to guarantee the cessation of torture, strongly related to the amendment process of the Criminal Code which remains unresolved.
Torture as a form of crime was mentioned many times in the 2nd Cycle of the UPR session, particularly to be included within the Criminal Code amendment that is in line with the Convention against Torture, which has been ratified by the Government of Indonesia. The recommendation to amend the Criminal Code has also appeared a few times before in the 1st Cycle of the UPR Session (2004-2011). Moreover, the 2012 UPR session also recommends the existence of trainings for security forces and law enforcement officials and to bring the perpetrators to civil court, not the military court (particularly if the perpetrator comes from a military background).

Third, concern on the condition of freedom of religion and belief was mentioned many times by countries in the UPR Session 2012. In regards to that, the recommendation issued by the session specifically addresses the issue of freedom of religion and belief relating to the implementation and protection of religious minority groups in Indonesia such as Ahmadiyah, Baha’i, Syiah, and Christians. The recommendations also put an emphasis on the duty of the Indonesian government to repeal/amend several laws and regulations that are direct or indirectly discriminating certain religious groups and are seen as not in line with the Indonesian constitution and international human rights standards.

Fourth, on the subject of protection of human rights defenders, UPR 2012 recommends the government of Indonesia to provide a secure environment for the human rights defenders to support their work, including the guarantee to conduct independent investigation, and also to guarantee the protection of human rights defenders from acts of violence and partiality in legal processes.

Fifth, on the issue of Papua, the UPR’s recommendation mostly links the issue of freedom of expression, especially expression in terms of political issues. This emphasis to guarantee freedom of expression in Indonesia includes the guarantee of freedom of opinion by ending the implementation of Criminal Code article 106 and article 110. The situation in Papua, which is still far from access of international journalists, was also brought to the table in the UPR session. The recommendation thus demands free access for international and local journalists to enter Papua and West Papua. The recommendation also puts a stress on the climate of impunity and the series of human rights violations that are still happening in Papua and therefore, must be ended soon.

Sixth, fighting impunity was one of the general recommendations in a series of issues that were underlined by the UPR Session 2012. In this case, to fight impunity in Indonesia must be strengthened with the presence of laws and regulations and impartiality in its implementation.

Seventh, security sector reform also became a specific recommendation that was believed as vital as an effort to increase respect to human rights values and the rule of law through educational and institutional reform.

Based on the above mentioned recommendations, we assess that this period’s recommendation is more concrete than the recommendation released 4 years ago, and we see that this recommendation acts as a challenge for the government of Indonesia in the next 4 years in the enforcement of human rights. Thus, we urge the Government of Indonesia to objectify these recommendations into concrete derivatives, so that the development and success of each recommendation can be measured within a specific time frame as a form of progress for the next UPR session.
Concretely, we request the President to promptly call a number of high rank officials from related institutions with the issues mentioned above: such as the Head of the Supreme Court, Chief of National Police, the Attorney General, Minister of Justice and Human Rights and Head of the National Human Rights Commission to ensure that the efforts to implement protection of human rights are conducted in a serious manner. Most importantly, we as representative from the civil societies without doubt, are willing to become partners in the process of fulfilment of human rights.

KontraS, SETARA Institute, AHRC, ICTJ, PGI and PI

Read this statement online

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Bis heute würden Papua Opfer von Folter, politischen Morden, willkürlichen Verhaftungen und Einschränkungen ihres Rechtes auf freie Meinungsäußerung. Papua, die sich kritisch gegenüber der Regierung oder dem Vorgehen der Sicherheitskräfte äußern, würden oft des Separatismus beschuldigt und so Zielscheibe von Militär und Polizei. Matheus Adadikam kritisierte darüber hinaus, dass immer öfter Menschen ihres Landes enteignet würden. Das bedrohe die Existenz vieler Papua. Umwandlung von Wald in Plantagenland, die Vergabe von Bergbaukonzessionen und anhaltende Migration von anderen indonesischen Volksgruppen in das Gebiet verdrängten an vielen Orten die Papua mehr und mehr aus ihren angestammten Siedlungsgebieten.

Dialog gefordert
Für Novel Matindas lässt es die indonesische Regierung bis heute an politischem Willen zur Umsetzung der 2001 beschlossenen Sonderautonomie fehlen. Folter und Mord bedrohten das Leben von Menschenrechtsverteidigern in Papua. Hunderte Papua seien in den letzten Jahren getötet worden. Der Kirchenrat hat den indonesischen Präsidenten Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) dazu aufgerufen, in einen Dialog mit den Papua einzutreten und die militärischen Operationen in Papua unverzüglich einzustellen. In einem Gespräch mit Kirchenvertretern hat der Präsident zugesagt, dies zu tun. Bis heute fehlten jedoch eindeutige Signale, die eine Umsetzung dieser Zusage belegen würden, so Matindas.

Hoffnung auf Gesprächsbereitschaft
Veranstalter der Diskussion in Genf war unter anderem das internationale Faith Based Network on West Papua (FBN), dem die Vereinte Evangelische Mission (VEM) und das deutsche West Papua Netzwerk (WPN) angehören. Dr. Jochen Motte, Mitglied des Vorstandes der Vereinten Evangelischen Mission und Vertreter der VEM im FBN, äußerte die Hoffnung, dass die indonesische Regierung sich der Kritik der indonesischen Kirchenvertreter und anderer Menschenrechtsverteidiger stellt, entschieden Maßnahmen zur Beendigung von Menschenrechtsverletzungen und Straflosigkeit ergreift und alle Militäroperationen in Papua beendet als Voraussetzung für den Beginn eines wirklichen Dialogs mit den Papua.

Jochen Motte, VEM

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Bis heute würden Papua Opfer von Folter, politischen Morden, willkürlichen Verhaftungen und Einschränkungen ihres Rechtes auf freie Meinungsäußerung. Papua, die sich kritisch gegenüber der Regierung oder dem Vorgehen der Sicherheitskräfte äußern, würden oft des Separatismus beschuldigt und so Zielscheibe von Militär und Polizei. Matheus Adadikam kritisierte darüber hinaus, dass immer öfter Menschen ihres Landes enteignet würden. Das bedrohe die Existenz vieler Papua. Umwandlung von Wald in Plantagenland, die Vergabe von Bergbaukonzessionen und anhaltende Migration von anderen indonesischen Volksgruppen in das Gebiet verdrängten an vielen Orten die Papua mehr und mehr aus ihren angestammten Siedlungsgebieten.

Dialog gefordert
Für Novel Matindas lässt es die indonesische Regierung bis heute an politischem Willen zur Umsetzung der 2001 beschlossenen Sonderautonomie fehlen. Folter und Mord bedrohten das Leben von Menschenrechtsverteidigern in Papua. Hunderte Papua seien in den letzten Jahren getötet worden. Der Kirchenrat hat den indonesischen Präsidenten Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) dazu aufgerufen, in einen Dialog mit den Papua einzutreten und die militärischen Operationen in Papua unverzüglich einzustellen. In einem Gespräch mit Kirchenvertretern hat der Präsident zugesagt, dies zu tun. Bis heute fehlten jedoch eindeutige Signale, die eine Umsetzung dieser Zusage belegen würden, so Matindas.

Hoffnung auf Gesprächsbereitschaft
Veranstalter der Diskussion in Genf war unter anderem das internationale Faith Based Network on West Papua (FBN), dem die Vereinte Evangelische Mission (VEM) und das deutsche West Papua Netzwerk (WPN) angehören. Dr. Jochen Motte, Mitglied des Vorstandes der Vereinten Evangelischen Mission und Vertreter der VEM im FBN, äußerte die Hoffnung, dass die indonesische Regierung sich der Kritik der indonesischen Kirchenvertreter und anderer Menschenrechtsverteidiger stellt, entschieden Maßnahmen zur Beendigung von Menschenrechtsverletzungen und Straflosigkeit ergreift und alle Militäroperationen in Papua beendet als Voraussetzung für den Beginn eines wirklichen Dialogs mit den Papua.

Jochen Motte, VEM

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Amnesty International welcomes the acknowledgement by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that security forces have committed human rights violations in the region of Papua.
The President said further that he wants an end to repressive actions by the military and police in Papua. In turning his words into action, the President should ensure that all investigations into human rights violations by security forces are conducted in a thorough, independent and impartial manner. This should include the investigation and prosecution of past human rights violations.
Suspects should be prosecuted in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness and victims should be granted reparations. In a 16 February meeting with diplomats at the Foreign Ministry, the President acknowledged that both police and military personnel had committed human rights violations and that these cases would be legally processed and perpetrators penalized.
According to media reports, he stated that military trials would be held for military officers suspected of committing violations. He also stressed that the military and police in Papua were there to maintain security and were not part of a military operation. Amnesty International welcomes this positive step by the President in publically recognizing the ongoing violations in Papua and the need to take decisive action to hold perpetrators to account. Credible reports of human rights violations committed by the security forces continue to emerge in the provinces of Papua and West Papua, including torture and other ill-treatment, unnecessary and excessive use of force and firearms and possible unlawful killings. Investigations into reports of police abuses are rare and only few perpetrators have been brought to justice.
Most recently in October 2011, police and military violently dispersed a peaceful gathering in Papua which left at least three people dead and dozens injured. An investigation by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) found a range of human rights violations allegedly committed by the Indonesian security forces, including opening fire on participants and beating and kicking them. While a number of internal disciplinary hearings were held, the officers were only given administrative penalties.
Amnesty International is not aware of any criminal investigation into the deaths of the three people, or the ill-treatment of participants of the gathering. Most human rights violations committed by police officers never reach civilian courts, but are dealt with through in-house disciplinary hearings. Amnesty International is also concerned by the President’s statement that military officers charged with human rights-related offences would be tried in military courts. Human rights organizations have highlighted the lack of independence and impartiality of these trials and that military officers suspected of such offences are often charged with disciplinary rather than criminal offences.
Three soldiers who were caught on camera burning and kicking Papuan villagers were sentenced to prison terms of between eight and 10 months by a military court in Papua in January 2011. The video was widely circulated via YouTube. The victims were too frightened to testify in person due to the lack of adequate safety guarantees.
The Indonesian authorities must revise the Law on Military Tribunals (Law No. 31/1997) so that military officers suspected of human rights violations can be investigated and tried in an independent civilian judicial system and victims and witnesses provided with adequate protection. Amnesty International believes that the lack of independent and impartial monitoring of the human rights situation in Papua contributes to the climate of impunity there.
The Indonesian authorities should allow international observers, non-governmental organizations and journalists unrestricted and ongoing access to the provinces of Papua and West Papua.

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WPAT / ETAN This is the 93rd in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN).
Back issues are posted online at http://www.etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm
Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com. If you wish to receive the report via e-mail, send a note to etan@etan.org.

Summary: Indonesian security forces, including the U.S. and Australian supported Detachment 88, conducted „sweeping operations“ in the Paniai area of West Papua that destroyed churches, homes and public buildings, and forced hundreds of civilians from their homes. The Indonesia´s National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) urged the Police Commander to remove forces from the region, echoing civil society leaders in Paniai. Jakarta´s failure to provided basic health services to Papuans has led to a high rate of death among mothers at child birth according to a recent report. An unconfirmed report claims that President Yudhoyono has committed to withdraw non-organic troops from West Papua and to suspend the operations of a special unit proposed to address fundamental Jakarta-Papua problems. The cost in human life for Papuans of Jakarta´s decades of neglect of the Papuan population is well documented. Amnesty International met with a senior official in Jakarta to press for release of political prisoners, particularly in West Papua and Maluku. The three-month old strike by workers at the Freeport McMoRan mines appears to be headed toward resolution.

Contents:

– Brutal „Sweeping Operation“ Continues to Displace Civilians in Paniai

– Indonesian Human Rights Commission Calls for Withdrawal of Security Forces from Paniai

– Inadequate Health Care Responsible for High Rate of Death of Mothers at Child Birth

– President Yudhoyono Reportedly Offers Pledge to Withdraw Non-Organic Troops from West Papua

– Amnesty International Appeals for Political Prisoners Release

– Freeport Strike Grinds Toward Resolution

Brutal „Sweeping Operation“ Continues to Displace Civilians in Paniai
Despite efforts by the Indonesian government and its security forces to block all monitoring of developments in the Paniai region of West Papua, courageous journalists, human rights advocates and others have been able to report on the ongoing tragedy there. Since the first days of December, Indonesian security forces, including the U.S.-trained and funded Detachment 88, Brimob elements, and units of the Indonesian military, have been conducting a massive „sweeping“ campaign, purportedly targeting local leaders of the pro-independence Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM). Hundreds and in all probability thousands of villagers have been driven from their homes due to the violence unleashed by government forces which has destroyed churches, homes, and public buildings.
An early December report carried in the Jakarta Post revealed the dimensions of the human tragedy now unfolding: About 500 inhabitants of Dagouto village in Paniai Regency, Papua, have opted to leave their homes and seek refuge following the deployment of 150 Mobile Brigade officers to their area, Paniai tribe council chief John Gobai said Wednesday. „Our people have become refugees at Uwatawogi Hall in Enarotali, Paniai, for several weeks. They are now afraid they may not be able to celebrate Christmas at home,“ John told reporters at the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). John, along with four other Paniai people, was at the commission to complain about the presence of police officers in the area, which they said „exacerbated the security situation.“
The National Police has increased its numbers of personnel in the regency following several deadly shootings, reportedly claiming the lives of eight traditional miners working on the Degeuwo River, near Dagouto, last month.

Indonesian Human Rights Commission Calls for Withdrawal of Security Forces from Paniai
On December 17, Jubi reported that the Indonesian Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) called on the Indonesian Chief of Police to immediately withdraw all Brimob troops (the militarized police) from the West Papua district of Paniai and to refrain from sending any additional personnel there. The request came in the wake of widespread reports (see above) of brutal security force sweeping operations that had targeted civilians. The deputy head of Komnas HAM, M. Ridha Saleh, wrote the chief of police in response to a formal complaint made by the chairman of the Regional Traditional Council (DAD) in Paniai.
The letter cited two recent incidents involving members of the police force: A shooting near the copper-and-gold mine in Degheuwo which led to the death of a civilian. And the situation following the dispatch of 150 additional Brimob troops who arrived in Enarotali on November 11-14, 2011 The letter called for the removal of a Brimob post set up in the midst of several kampungs and for a police investigation into the death of Mateus Tenouye.
The letter noted that only a Brimob withdrawal could enable Paniai to return to their daily lives which have been badly disrupted by security operations by Brimob and other Indonesian security personnel. (WPAT Note: There are consistent reports of the involvement of Detachment 88, Kopassus, and other TNI personnel in the sweeping operations. Neither the U.S. nor Australian governments have made any comment regarding their support for an organization that in this instance, and in numerous previous incidents, has resorted to brutality in dealing with peaceful non-combatants.)
The Komnas HAM appeal concluded with a call for dialogue among all parties.

Inadequate Health Care Responsible for High Rate of Death of Mothers at Child Birth
The Jakarta Post reports that maternal deaths in West Papua remain high. Victor Nugraha, an official with the Papuan Health Agency, speaking to media in Manokwari, said that the rate of deaths in 2011 would be at least as high as in 2010. Real figures, he added, were difficult to ascertain because many cases of death during child birth are not recorded due to the shortage of medical personnel to maintain records.
According to the official the main causes of maternal death were hemorrhage, post-pregnancy infections, and hypertension. Anemia due to iron deficiency can lead to hemorrhaging. Beside low iron levels due to poor nutrition, anemia can also be caused by malaria, which is common in West Papua. The official also explained that late pregnancy checks and poor surgery facilities for caesarean sections in clinics also contribute to maternal deaths. This report echoes a far more detailed study conducted in the Kebar Valley of West Papua in 2008 (see Health care in the Bird´s Head Peninsula.
Its conclusions are stark: Out of 708 pregnancies 4.7% led to miscarriage and 1.4% of the children were born dead. Out of 665 child births, where the baby was born alive, 213 baby´s and children eventually died. This is an infant mortality rate of 32.0%. This means that almost 1 out of 3 children dies before its fifth birthday. 57.3% of the died children (213) were younger than 1 year old. 27.7% is between the age of 1 to 5 when it dies. Most baby´s and toddlers (32.9%) died of fever or malaria. Fever in combination with coughing (probably pneumonia) causes a mortality rate of 13.9%. Diarrhea, icterus, prematures and pulmonary affections like tuberculosis, pneumonia and bronchitis also occur, but in smaller numbers. In 12.7% of the dead infants the cause of death was unknown, according to the mother. 94.4% of the pregnant women give birth at home, whether or not with the presence of a traditional midwife . 14 children were born twins; 3 are still alive. WPAT Comment: Inadequate health services are common throughout those areas of West Papua where the majority of Papuans live. Services are better, sometimes substantially so, in towns where the majority of the non-Papuan, government-assisted migrants live.
Totally inadequate health services, along with government failure to provide education or employment opportunities, in majority Papuan populated areas have inevitably contributed to lower birth rates for West Papuans and greater deaths among Papuan children under the age of five. This decades-old policy of neglect of Papuans constitutes one of the bases of charges of genocide leveled against the Indonesian government.

Report of Major Jakarta Pledge on Demilitarization of West Papua
West Papua Media Alerts on December 18 reported that President Yudhoyono made a commitment to Papuan Church leaders in a December 16 meeting to withdraw non-organic troops from West Papua. He reportedly said that he would suspend the activities of the special Unit to Accelerate the Development of Papua and West Papua (UP4B) which was to have addressed fundamental issues in the Jakarta-Papua relationship.
Key Papuan leaders in attendance included: Chair of the Papua GKI Synod, Yemima Kret; Chair of the Baptist Church of Papua, Socrates Sofyan Yoman; Chair of the Kingmi Synod, Benny Giay; Martin Luther Wanma and Rika Korain. Upon hearing an appeal for an end to the troop presence the President reportedly asked the Police Chief and Commander of the TNI to stop the violence.
According to Rev. Benny Giay, the President commanded the Chief of Police and the Armed Forces (TNI) „to stop the violence in Paniai, at least during the month of Christmas.“ However, Pastor Gomar Gultom, also at the meeting, told the media that the President did not mention a specific deadline for withdrawal of non-organic troops.
With regards to efforts to launch a Jakarta-Papua dialogue, Gultom said the two sides have not yet decided on the dialogue format or issues to be discussed. Religious leaders are scheduled to meet again in mid-January 2012 to formulate the program in more detail. Gultom added that President SBY spoke about the UP4B led by Lt. Gen. ( ret) Bambang Darmono.
The Religious leaders said that UP4B was formed unilaterally, without hearing the aspirations of the Papuan people. „There is a meeting point agreed upon last night. All points will be evaluated together, and UP4B will be stopped until results of the joint evaluation are available,“ he said. WPAT Comment: There is no evidence as of early January that any of the undertakings reportedly set forth by President Yudhoyono have in fact come to pass. Fighting in Paniai continues and there has been no announcement of a suspension of the operation of UP4B.

Amnesty International Appeals for Political Prisoners Release
On December 6, Amnesty International officials met with Indonesia´s Coordinating Minister for Law, Politics and Security, Djoko Suyanto to urge the Indonesian Government free political prisoners incarcerated for peacefully expressing their views. Amnesty urged the government „to integrate human rights in their efforts to address the situation in Papua.“
The Amnesty International presentation focused on at least 90 people who are in prison in West Papua and Maluku for peaceful pro-independence activities, including Filep Karma, a Papuan independence leader currently serving a 15-year sentence in Abepura, Papua. Filep´s case has received special attention by the human rights group.
The meeting took place less than one month following the brutal assault on the Papuan Third National Congress during which peaceful Papuan dissenters were beaten and killed and many were arrested, only to join the growing ranks of Papuan political prisoners. Amnesty argued that „the Indonesian government should free all those who are detained in Papua and Maluku for peacefully expressing their views, including through raising or waving the prohibited pro-independence flags, and distinguish between peaceful and violent political activists.“ Amnesty pointed out that although the government had the duty and the right to maintain public order, its actions restricting freedom of expression and peaceful assembly had violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia has ratified. Amnesty stressed the need to set up a human rights court and a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate cases of human rights violations since Indonesia annexed Papua in the 1960s.
According to the Jakarta Globe, Minister Djoko Suyanto at the meeting expressed the government´s commitment to ensure accountability for human rights abuses committed by security forces.

Freeport Strike Grinds Toward Resolution
In early December worker representatives and the Freeport McMoRan corporation reached a tentative deal whereby workers would return to their job sites, thus ending a crippling strike which left the world´s largest copper and gold operation at a standstill since workers began striking the massive West Papua mine site in September.
The Indonesian government was losing $8 million worth of taxes, royalties and dividends each day the strike continued. As of late December, workers had not yet resumed work owing to unresolved issues outside the framework of the new contract. Principal among these is the workers insistence that their leaders not be sanctioned either by Freeport McMoRan, which had talked of firing them, or the police, who have threatened to arrest them for „subversion.“
The status of a number of contract workers were also at issue. Workers have also insisted on security measures that will preclude additional violence by unidentified elements thought possibly to have ties to the authorities. The workers achieved significant concessions in their over three months long strike. The key provisions of the new contract is an agreement by Freeport McMoRan to a pay rise of 40 percent over two years. The current pay is $2-$3 an hour. The union had demanded an hourly rate of $7.50. Back issues

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Recent events in Papua – the violence at the Freeport-Rio Tinto mine, the brutal clamp-down against freedom of expression in Abepura – show that Papuans continue to face extreme forms of exploitation and human rights violations.
Meanwhile the steady advance of large-scale investment projects continues to marginalise and impoverish Papuans, village by village. Gold, copper, gas, palm oil, and timber are prized more highly, it seems, by the business and political elites than are the communities whose livelihoods depend on this region’s rich natural resources.
But Papuans are continuing to demand their right to determine their own futures and the right to own, manage and benefit from their lands and resources.
These communities and the civil society movements supporting them are calling for more resources and a greater effort to strengthen their position. So that they can better resist, village by village, the destructive side of the ‘development’ imposed from outside.

Please read more.

by DTE

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The meeting was initiated by the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (Persekutuan Gereja-gereja di Indonesia) whose board members also took part in the meeting: Rev. Andreas Yewangoe (chairman), Rev. Gomar Gultom (secretary general) and Rev. Phil Erari (deputy chairman). The church leaders handed over a seven-page letter to President Yudhoyono, asking the Indonesian government to have a dialogue with the people of Papua.
They also asked Yudhoyono stopping the Matoa Operation in Paniai, Papua, which had caused 14 dead and some burned villages on Dec. 12. Other recommendations included retrieving non-organic troops from Papua, releasing Papuan political prisoners and annulling the Government Regulation No. 77/2007 which bans the Morning Star flag. They also declared that the 2001 Special Autonomy in Papua had failed. They questioned the establishment of the Unit to Accelerate the Development of Papua and West Papua provinces (UP4B) without the participation of the Papuans, calling such a move “non democratic.”
Benny Giay told me Saturday that the meeting was taking place for more than two hours. “It really hurt me when knowing our church members were attacked, their villages being burned, while we’re here in Jakarta.” Giay came from the village Onago on Lake Tigi in Paniai, near Edadu, where the Indonesian military and police have been organizing a joint military operation since Dec. 13. They also told President Yudhoyono that most native Papuans have suffered from Indonesian rule since Indonesia took over New Guinea in 1962. Violence created much suffering on the people.
They said most Papuans aspired to be separated from Indonesia. In front of his guests, Yudhoyono immediately asked Indonesian police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo to stop the Matoa Operation. He also mentioned that U.S. President Barack Obama and State Secretary Hillary Clinton had raised the issues of human rights violations in Papua. Yudhoyono welcomed such a dialogue but he reminded his guests that as president he has to keep the territorial integrity of Indonesia.
He promised to enforce the law in Papua and to stop human rights abuses. Yudhoyono promised to have another dialogue with the four reverends in the third week of January. The meeting began at 9pm and ended at 11.30pm at Yudhoyono’s private library. Gomar Gultom organized a press conference at the office of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia Saturday morning. Both Yoman and Giay are under the Indonesian military watch list.
An Indonesian military document leaked in August 2011 revealed that Kopassus agents were closely monitoring Giay and Yoman. Another leaked letter dated April 30, 2011, from the Indonesian military commander in Papua, Maj. Gen. Erfi Triassunu, to the provincial governor, Barnabas Suebu, also shows a military interference in civil society in Papua. The letter accuses Rev. Benny Giay’s Kingmi Gospel Tabernacle Church of trying to build an exclusive organization based on Papuan ethnicity, which Major General Triassunu viewed as a potential separatist movement, and suggests having the military mediate a conflict between the Kingmi Church (Gereja Kemah Injil or Kingmi Church) and the Indonesian Gospel Tabernacle Church (Gereja Kemah Injil Indonesia or GKII).
The letter also urges that if deliberations cannot resolve the conflict, “immediate action” should be taken. Since the letter came to light, Major General Triassunu has publicly apologized for accusing the church of being a separatist organization, claiming a faction of the church had asked for assistance from the military. Giay told me that Yudhoyono was surprised when seeing the photo of a dying Papuan activist Wayan Wayeni on the letter.
They told him that Imam Setiawan, the Indonesian police officer who led the attack against Yawan Wayeni on Serui Island, in August 2009, was later promoted to be the police chief of Jayapura. In his new position, Setiawan used excessive forces when cracking down the Papuan Congress in October 2011 and arrested around 300 Papuans.
But Setiawan got another promotion despite a written warning for his abusive behavior. He’s now the deputy director of traffic in Papua.

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The workers’ union settled for a 40 percent wage increase over two years, as well as additional housing and other benefits. The workers will also receive wages lost during the strike in the guise of a one-time three month “signing bonus.” Prior to the strike, which began on September 15, workers at Grasburg were the lowest paid at any Freeport facility. The company also has mines in the U.S., South America and the Congo. (A two-month strike at Freeport’s Cerro Verde mine in Peru was suspended at the end of November pending government mediation.)
Juli Parorrongan, a spokesperson for the union, said that pre-strike monthly wages range from $361 to $605 a month. He expressed dissatisfaction with the agreement to the Jakarta Post: However, we decided to agree on the increase because we have to consider the humanitarian aspect, given that the striking workers have not been paid by Freeport for the last three months.
We were forced to agree to end the strike, but this is not the end of our struggle. Workers had blockaded roads in the area at key points and were accused of cutting the pipeline which carries mining concentrate to the port from where it is loaded and shipped for processing. By the end of the strike, the mine was operating at 5 percent of capacity. Two striking worker was killed and others were injured on October 10 when police opened fire at a large demonstration in Timika, the town near the mine.
Attacks by unknown gunmen on a vehicle carrying police and Freeport personnel led to more deaths and injury to two others. Such attacks along the road to the mine are a relatively common occurrence, and it is not clear if the latest ones were related to the strike. These assaults against security and Freeport personnel are believed to result from conflicts among police, military and Freeport security personnel feuding over the spoils from extortion targeting Freeport, as well as conflict over freelance gold-mining efforts by local people.
While these attacks are often blamed on poorly armed guerrillas fighting for independence, local police recently said that the shooters were “well trained.” The strike by 8,000 employees at the controversial open pit mine halted production costing the Indonesian government $8 million per day in taxes, royalties and dividends, which helped to broker an end to the strike. In the U.S., Occupy Phoenix, the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, the IWW and United Steelworkers (USW) demonstrated in support of the strikers at Freeport’s Phoenix, Arizona headquarters in late October.
The USW, which represents workers at Freeport’s Chino mine in New Mexico, urged the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate reports that the company was making illegal payments to the police in West Papua. In a letter to Justice’s Criminal Division, the union wrote: The Indonesian police have recently been quoted in the Indonesian media admitting that they accepted millions of dollars from PT Freeport Indonesia to provide security for the miner’s operations in Papua, Indonesia, and the National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo referred to the payments as “lunch money” paid in addition to state allocated security funding, stating “It was operational funding given directly to the police personnel to help them make ends meet.”
Human rights groups estimated that the payments raised salaries of the police near the mine between a quarter and one half. The payments are illegal under Indonesia law, where official corruption is a major problem. They are illegal in the U.S. if not reported. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act also “bans companies from paying foreign officials to do or omit to do an act in violation of his or her lawful duty,” the union wrote. It called the payments bribes: intended to persuade the personnel to act in defense of Freeport-McMoRan’s interests even when those interests conflict with the police and military personnel’s lawful duty to protect Indonesian people…
Five years ago, the company was investigated for payments allegedly made to the Indonesian military The company reported $1.6 million in payments in 2008 to provide a “monthly allowance” to police and soldiers for security at the mine. In addition to its labor strike, Freeport faces challenges on a number of other fronts. The Grasburg mine has been an unmitigated environmental disaster. The disposal of millions of tons of tailings and other mine waste has decimated forests and destroyed an entire river system. Local inhabitants have been marginalized by an influx of outsiders.
The company’s human rights and environmental practices have long been criticized by major institutional investors. Norway’s government pension fund, divested its Freeport holdings in February 2006. In 2008, it divested from Rio Tinto, a minority owner of the mine. The deep scars from the mining operation can be seen from space. Last year, the about 90 Amungme tribe members, who live near the mining complex, filed a lawsuit arguing that Freeport had seized their lands illegally.
According to the Jakarta Globe, they are “seeking $32.5 billion in material and non-material damages for the alleged illegal acquisition of its ancestral land” in an Indonesian court. Despite its poor labor, environmental and human rights record, Freeport sometimes receives high marks from those who monitor “corporate socially responsibility.” Recently, Corporate Responsibility Magazine had named Freeport as the U.S.’s 24th-best corporate citizen. “How is this possible?” askedDavid Webster, an assistant professor of International Studies at the University of Regina in Canada. “Well, the survey’s methodology seems to pay no heed to human rights performance. Only human rights rhetoric matters.”
Unsurprisingly, the Freeport mine is a lightening rod for the pro-independence movement in Papua. The company gained its mining permits in 1967, as Indonesia­with U.S. backing­was undermining West Papuan aspirations for self-determination. (While West Papua and Indonesia share a Dutch colonial heritage, West Papua was not included in Indonesia on independence.) At the time, Indonesia was administering the territory under a U.N. mandate brokered by the U.S. in preparation for an act of self-determination (which was a farce when it finally took place two years later).
Under these circumstances, many West Papuans view the granting of mining rights by the Suharto dictatorship as illegal and the outflow of mining profits as theft that has left indigenous Papuans impoverished. These grievances have fueled broad sentiment for greater control over these and other resources, and Timika is a hot bed of pro-independence sentiment. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has staunchly defended Freeport since it first arrived in West Papua.
In Jakarta, the U.S. embassy: has conspired with Freeport management to defeat legal challenges as well as media and Congressional inquiries into human rights violations and other illegal acts carried out by security forces under Freeport pay and direction. In 2002, it conspired with Freeport and with the Indonesian government to limit and delay an investigation of an attack that cost the lives of three teachers, including two from the U.S. The Freeport strike brought renewed attention to the company and to West Papua. It came at a time of increasing unrest and repression in West Papua over its political status.
The strike also came at a time of increasing labor unrestthroughout Indonesia. In mid-November, Occupy Jakarta’s general assembly adopted a resolution on Papua. Key points are withdrawal of security forces from the region and an end to violence to against Papuans. It called for Freeport to be brought to “justice for human rights violations, environmental damage and violence towards workers,” and putting the future of the Freeport mine in the hands of its workers and local people.

John M. Miller is National Coordinator of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, which co-publishes the monthly West Papua Report. http://wagingnonviolence.org/2011/12/strike-at-freeport-settled-even-as-mines-scars-linger/ Website: http://www.etan.org

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