At 5.30 in the morning of July 6, 1998, in
Biak, an island off the north coast of West
Papua, Indonesian troops opened fire on peaceful
Papuan demonstrators.
Between 500 and 1,000 Papuans had gathered
from July 2 to July 6 after having raised
the "Morning Star" flag on top of a 35 metre
water-tower. The "Morning Star" flag is a
symbol of West Papuans' determination to become
independent from Indonesia.
Dozens of bodies were washed ashore shortly
after the Biak massacre. Claims at the time
by the Indonesian authorities that the bodies
were victims of a tidal-wave disaster in neighbouring
Papua Guinea have been dismissed: the tsunami
happened on July 17, eight days after the
bodies were washed ashore. A local human rights
spokesperson, Johanes Bonay asked: "Do Papua
New Guineans wear Golkar or Indonesian student
group T-shirts" referring to the fact that
one body was clad in the uniform of an Indonesian
high school association and another in the
t-shirt of an Indonesian political party.
Calls by the leading West Papuan human rights
organisation, ELS-HAM, and the three main
churches in West Papua for an independent,
international investigation have still not
been answered. |
West Papua Action held a Vigil in Dublin
to commemorate the Biak massacre on
Saturday July 1, 2000 at the entrance
to St. Stephen's Green.
Music was provided by Pádhraic Ó Láimhín
(uilleann pipes) and speeches given
by Tom Hyland and Dr. John May.
There was also a visual element to the
vigil with a Replica of Biak water-tower
where Indonesian troops opened fire
on unarmed West Papuans .
PRESS COVERAGE:
The Irish Times printed a notice of
the commemoration of the Biak massacre
on Friday June 30, and also printed
two notices on Sat. July 1, 2000 - one
on its Home News pages, and one in the
World News section.
National television channel TV3 covered
the event on its 5.30pm main news programme
with footage of the commemoration.
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Human
Rights Watch: Human Rights Actions and
Pro-Independance Actions In Irian Jaya
December 1998
An Extremely
Detailed Report From Human Rights Watch
detailing the events leading up to the
massacre, the events on the day and
the injustices carried out in the aftermath.
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Witness
to a Bloodbath
Lindsay Murdoch
Sydney Morning Herald, November 14,
1998
A Detailed
Report From The Herald's Correspondent
in Jakarta
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Biak
massacre verified
Lindsay Murdoch
Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday, July
13, 1999
A follow
up Report From The Herald's Correspondent
in Jakarta
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Probe
sought over corpses |
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Probe
sought over corpses
Vaudine England
South China Morning Post Tuesday, July
13, 1999
A brief Report
outlining the claims of a massacre a
year after the event.
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