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Open Letter From Indonesia Human Rights Committee: 41st Pacific Island Forum

Indonesia Human Rights Committee,

25 July, 2010

The Secretary General

Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat

Private Mail Bag

Suva, Fiji

2010 Pacific Island Forum

Dear Heads of States,

The Indonesia Human Rights Committee would like to wish you well for your forthcoming deliberations at the 41st Pacific Island Forum in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

We understand that the issue of West Papua will be on your agenda this year, and we know that you are all aware of the ongoing problems facing our Papuan neighbours.

WE SAY: Capturing the pan Melanesian spirit


‘…Vanuatu people and their elected representatives must be applauded for this unanimous and forceful stand that they have taken in support of people with whom they share their mythology and culture but have been unlucky enough to be caught in an unending whirlpool in the course of history’

Last month’s motion that was passed in the Vanuatu Parliament detailing Vanuatu’s position on West Papua is perhaps the most significant development in recent times as regards regional support for the long suffering territory’s cause and for openly and officially espousing its independence from Indonesia.

New West Papua Report: Get up, stand up: West Papua stands up for its rights

The latest report from the West Papua Project at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Sydney University, entitled Get up, stand up: West Papuans stand up for their rights. The report is a rebuttal of the International Crisis Group Report No. 188, Radicalisation and Dialogue in Papua, and an analysis of the recent events through which West Papuans have united against Special Autonomy and for a referendum on independence.Get up, stand up written by Dr. Jim Elmslie and Camellia Webb Gannon with Prof. Peter King and was launched on Wednesday July 6 at the University of Sydney.
Executive summary

This report begins with a response to ICG Report No. 188, Radicalisation and Dialogue in Papua, released in March 2010. It finds that the ICG report is flawed in declaring the KNPB (Komite Nasional Papua Barat –the West Papua National Committee) responsible
for several recent acts of violence in West Papua. These include: an attack on the police station in Abepura in April 2009; arson at the Cenderawasih University in Abepura in April 2009, and killings around the Freeport mine since June 2009 through to January 2010. The ICG’s evidence supporting these assertions is examined in detail and found to be insufficient.

The evidence the ICG relies upon includes selective quoting from Indonesian tabloid press reports, hearsay and discredited interrogation testimonies. A major omission of the ICG’s report is that its authors did not interview the person they identified as the main actor in these events, Victor Yeimo, to give him a chance to respond to the allegations made against him.

Thousands Of Papuans Rally Again For Referendum

At least 20,000 Papuans have reportedly marched towards from the MRP (Majelis Rakyat Papua – Papua People's Assembly) to the DPRP (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Papua – Papuan Provincial Legislature), rejecting the Special Autonomy granted by Indonesia in 2001 and demanding a referendum on West Papuan independence and an internationally-mediated dialogue with Jakarta. The rally, led by the Papua Democracy Forum, followed a rallyon June 17, when demonstrators and the Papua People’s Council (MRP) demanded the revocation of Papua’s special autonomy status, which was previously granted by the central government.
Reports from Jayapura say that the area is now being surrounded by Brimob troops and other security forces... Police giving warning by megaphone to all gathered to disperse at 6pm Jayapura time or full force will be used. Troops are fully armed. Imam Setiawan, Jayapura's police chief, told the BBC police are ready to disperse the protesters with force. He admits his officers could even use live ammunition but only as a last resort.

Watch this video

Jayapura: Indon police guarantee temporary safety for protest camp; Dispersal Fears easing

OTSUS GAGAL REFERENDUM ADALAH SOLUSI UNTUK PENYELESAIAN STATUS POLITIK PAPUA

Jayapura 08/7/2010, 11000 masa aksi yang diakomodir oleh mrp dalam aksi ini telah bergabung dari semua berbagai
elemen organ pergerakan di papua, turun jalan dari abepura jalan kaki hingga ke DPRP sambil berteriak otsus gagal referendum yes.

Demikian sebentara ketu DPRP Jhon Ibo tidak ada di tempat maka, 11000 masa akan duduk bermalam di kantor DPRP sampai sekarang ini juga masih duduk di DPRP dan hasil sidang paripurna DPRP belum menyaksikan kepada masyarakat papua saat ini. oleh karena itu, masa aksi tetap solit dan tidak akan pulang sebelum ketua DPRP menandatangani atau menyaksikan hasil sidang paripurna DPRP.

by media KNPB
Jayapura Papau.

Foreign Policy regarding West Papua

Foreign Policy regarding West Papua

Press Release : Vanuatu

A Motion on Foreign Policy regarding West Papua had been passed in the
Vanuatu Parliament.

Yesterday, on 19th of June 2010, during the Parliament Extra ordinary
sitting, the head of the Government, Hon. Prime Minister, Eduard Natape
MP, and the leader of the Opposition Hon. Maxime Carlot Korman MP
jointly sponsor a Motion in Parliament to declare Vanuatu’s Foreign
policy regarding West Papua. It was passed with bipartisan support to
become a Bill of Parliament. The initial move was made by Independent
Member for Port Vila, Hon. Ralph Regenvanu MP. During the 31st of May
ordinary session Hon. Regenvanu tabled a Petition on behalf of the
People of Vanuatu [Petition of the People of Vanuatu] calling for clear
foreign policy on West Papua. This is a significant development and
indeed a historic one. This “Wantok blong yumi” Bill will allow the
government to develop specific policies on how to support the
independence struggle of West Papua. The following proposals from the
Peoples’ Petition could become policy instruments of the Bill:

High rates of violence against women from Africa's indigenous Batwa community – new research

Africa’s indigenous Batwa women experience shocking levels of violence, with in some cases 100 percent of women saying they had faced an incident of violence, new research by Minority Rights Group International (MRG) shows. In a study conducted in Uganda, 100 percent of the women interviewed said they experienced violence and for the majority the violence was ongoing, a report by MRG titled Uncounted: the hidden lives of Batwa women, says. Of the women interviewed in Uganda for the research, 57 percent had been sexually abused at some time in their lives, with 46 percent having suffered marital rape. ’The Batwa are the first peoples of central Africa, but now they are forced to live on the margins of society, facing daily discrimination,’ said Mark Lattimer, Executive Director of MRG.

Autonomy isn’t independence

‘Indonesian democracy stops in papua’
Autonomy isn’t independence
Indonesian nationalists deny all ethnic and religious claims for separatism in the vast archipelago that makes up their country. But in Papua, people feel exploited, and threatened with cultural, and demographic, annihilation

by Philippe Pataud Celerier

Linus, from Papua, said: “It doesn’t matter who the leader is, the dice are loaded against us.” For him, as for many others, the re-election in July 2009 of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (known as SBY) as Indonesian president was no surprise. Linus and his friend Agus are from Jayapura, the provincial capital of Papua, the western part of the island of New Guinea (1). They are studying to be civil servants in the city of Surabaya in eastern Java.

Humanitarian crisis in West Papua highlands - urgent appeal

Dear Friend of West Papua.

It is with great sadness that I write to let you know about a humanitarian crisis that is developing in Puncak Jaya region of the West Papua highlands. Indonesian military have been launching sweeping operations for the past week in the Tingginambut district. Homes in three villages have been burnt, two people killed, one lady raped, and all livestock killed by Indonesian military.

Transmigration to West Papua World's Highest!

Jayapura, Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu SH, revealed that in recent years the flow of migrants coming into Papua Province continues to increase, even this increase is the highest in the world.

Barnabas Suebu SH statement was hurled at the Governor's office recently, addressing the DPRP and the current attitude of the opposition demonstration reanimation migration to West Papua. "What comes to Jayapura by statistical data is the population of five percent annually and five percent of this population increase is the highest in the world," explained the governor.