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On This Page:

Yudhohono condemned for failing to stop military operation

Elsham appeal over central highlands military operation

Another fine mess in Papua

Court ruling perpetuates conflict in Papua

Susilo gives Christmas 'gifts' to Papua, Munir's family

British Government admits West Papua 'coerced' into joining Indonesia

Call for investigation into crackdown in Puncak Jaya, West Papua

Come to An Cliabhán's new CD launch party on Nov 27th!

West Papua Action AGM Nov 27th

Indonesia Puts Travel Ban on Journalists (Nov 11)

Anti-military demonstration in West Papua (October 30)

Papua, Integrity and Susilo's Presidency (October 26)

Prospects for peace in Papua (October 21)

West Papuans welcome Vanuatu call at UN General Assembly (Sept 28)

Activist warns of West Papua 'time bomb' (Sept 29)

Tapol Statement: Another General Takes Charge (Sept 28)

UN sowed seeds of doubt about its own legitimacy in West Papua (Sept 18)

War crimes suspect to lead probe into U.S. deaths in Papua (Sept 11)

Irish company to supply Indonesia with military equipment (Sept 3)

Declassified documents show US support for West Papua take-over (July 9)

Vanuatu offers to hold peace talks (30 June)

US Senators call for UN Special Rep. on Papua and Aceh (28 June)

Vale Julian Nunaki, Sampari

Stan McWilliams completes Triathlon for West Papua Action

Helena McCanney completes Women's Mini Marathon for West Papua Action

Launch of West Papua Action Network USA

Preview and Review of Land of the Morning Star in Irish media

TDs help Papuans inch towards freedom

West Papua Documentary to be shown on RTE Network 2, 25 April

West Papua Update, Workshop, Sat. 24 April

Kennedy congratulates TDs for challenging sham vote in West Papua (26 March)

TDs call on UN to review its role on West Papua (Irish Times, 26 March)

Dáil deputies urge UN to review role in takeover of West Papua (Irish Examiner, 25 March)

MAJORITY OF TDS CHALLENGE SHAM VOTE IN WEST PAPUA (25 March)

STATEMENT BY ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU, SOUTH AFRICA (23 February)

Yale Law School finds evidence of Genocide in West Papua

>>> Globalisation and Genocide in West Papua, Human Rights Symposium with George Monbiot, Carmel Budiardjo and John Rumbiak: Download Transcript Here >>>

Yudhohono condemned for failing to stop military operation

Press Conference Announcement - December 23, 2004

Today, an unprecedented coalition of church groups, non-government
organizations, tribal councils, women and student groups held a Press
Conference in Jayapura, the capital of Indonesia's Papua province at 10.00am
local time, (12.00 Eastern Standard Time) to condemn Indonesian President
Yudhoyono for failing to stop the on-going military operation in the
highlands area of Puncak Jaya, West Papua.

The Press Conference today announced: the Christmas visit of President
Yudhoyono to West Papua will not proceed. "In such a situation of grave
humanitarian crisis, with thousands of our people suffering and at serious
risk, SBY's visit for Christmas is like him coming to dance on our graves",
said Rev. Socrates Sofyan Yoman, President of the Papuan Baptist Church.

Despite appeals from the West Papuan people to stop the military operation,
through demonstrations, recommendations from the Papuan Parliament and press
statements, there is no sign the government has made any move to stop the
operation. Mr Yudhoyono is scheduled to visit West Papua on the 26th of
December to celebrate Christmas.

On December 21st the coalition made an appeal to the international community
to urge their governments to press the Indonesian government over the Puncak
Jaya operation.

Facts
The situation in Puncak Jaya is deteriorating
More than 6000 highland tribal people have been displaced in the military
operation
The deaths of 23 civilians from starvation and exposure, mainly children and
babies, have been verified in early December
Crops, livestock, homes, churches and clinics have been destroyed
The area remains closed to church officials, medical staff, aid workers,
independent observers and the media. No independent investigation has been
conducted
No relief has been delivered - the refugees remain without help, shelter and
food

FOR further information PLEASE CONTACT:
IN ENGLISH 1. Denny YOMAKI (Secretary of ELSHAM, West Papuan Institute for
Human Rights Study and Advocacy ), Phn: +62-(0)81344119442
2. Dr. Benny GIAY (Bible Church Camp Papua), Phn: +62-(0)815-86237462
3. John RUMBIAK, Coordinator of International Advocacy for ELSHAM in Sydney,
Australia, Phn: +61-(0)424572475
IN INDONESIAN
1. Sofyan YOMAN (President of West Papua Baptist Church) Phn:
+62-(0)812-4888458,
2. Lipius Biniluk, Chairman of the Christian Evangelical Church Indonesia in
West Papua, Phn. +62-(0)81344062678,
3. Aloysius RENWARIN (Chairman
of ELSHAM), Phn: +62-(0)816-4336370 or +62-(0)967-581520

An Appeal to the International Community over the devastating Puncak Jaya Operation and Wider Destabilizing Political Developments in West Papua

Elsham News Service, 21 December 2004

Solution to Papuan military operation a test for new Indonesian President Yudhoyono's leadership

Indonesia's new President must end the current military operation underway in Papua province through peaceful dialogue or risk allowing the region to become increasingly unstable and torn by civil conflict.

The Deterioting Military Operation in Puncak Jaya

Despite President Yudhoyono having expressed a willingness to find a sustainable solution to the four decade long conflict in West Papua, since August a military operation in the highlands area of Puncak Jaya has led to the displacement of up to more than six thousand indigenous tribe members and the deaths of at least twenty three, mainly children and babies, from starvation.

Having been forced from their villages by the Indonesian military, the Papuan refugees have been denied access to food and medicine and have had their villages, livestock and food gardens destroyed. According to Reverend Sofyan Yomans of the Papuan Baptist church, the villagers ?are too frightened to return to their homes, fearing they will be accused of being separatists or supporters of the OPM, and killed?. (OPM stands for Organisasi Papua Merdeka, or Free Papua Movement.)

The Puncak Jaya operation is seen as a test case for Yudhoyono?s fledgling leadership. The atmosphere in Papua is increasingly desperate as peace advocates and church groups warn of an impending East Timor-like scenario if urgent action is not taken to defuse the situation.

The highlands area has become a militarized zone where access is denied. Church officials previously allowed freedom of movement have now effectively been barred from offering aid and solace to their congregations, which have been dispersed over the last four months. Journalists have also been barred.

A similar military campaign during 2003 was investigated last November by the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM). Soldiers from Kopassus were found to have committed gross human rights abuses and crimes against humanity.

Meanwhile, it has been reported by church sources on the ground that several attacks on police officers in the Puncak Jaya area have been orchestrated, not by OPM, but by Kopassus operatives who have infiltrated the OPM. The officers shot have all been native Papuans, but new attacks, for instance, at the time of the President's visit to Papua this week, may provide a trigger for a rapid escalation of the fighting.

Wider Destabilising Political Developments in West Papua

West Papua is home to the US world's largest gold and copper mine, operated by PT. Freeport Indonesia, while British energy giant BP plans to start the construction of the Tangguh liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility next year, and the Australian BHP Billiton is hoping to go ahead with an open cut nickel mine.

Increasing militarization, coupled with human rights abuses and unmet demands for independence, have turned Indonesia's easternmost province into a "time bomb waiting to go off" that could drag Australia and the rest of South Pacific into its wreckage.

Locals are losing patience with Jakarta after moderate independence leader Theys Eluay was assassinated in November 2001 and efforts to establish a "zone of peace" throughout the province by humans rights workers failed.

An extra 25,000 troops have been poured into the mineral and timber-rich province since 2000, and more than a million migrants have moved into the province from elsewhere in Indonesia, rapidly closing the gap on the 1.5 million native Papuans.

And over the last year reports have filtered out from the coastal town of Sorong that shipments of guns have been arriving and are being distributed to local people and to militia members recruited by the notorious Eurico Gutterres. Gutterres was accused of committing crimes against humanity following the bloodbath after the 1999 East Timor referendum.

Australia and neighbouring countries would be affected if wide-scale violence broke out and refugees began fleeing over the border to Papua New Guinea. A "failed state" crisis in Papua could also threaten security in the wider Pacific region.

Unless President Yudhoyono takes decisive steps this week, Papuan anger may spill over in what is already a very dangerous situation. His visit to Papua for Christmas on this coming 26 December is a clear opportunity for him to show his strength and commitment to bring the military under control in Puncak Jaya.

International Solidarity Movement for West Papuan, world church institutions and human rights groups as well as sympathisers around the world are called on to act urgently and telephone, email or write to their governments and members of Parliament, urging President Yudhoyono to:

· halt the Puncak Jaya operation, remove the military from the area and allow it to be reopened to humanitarian groups.
· allow proper independent investigations into the recent spate of killings
to be undertaken
· allow urgently needed food, medical supplies and shelter to be provided for the displaced refugees, who should be allowed to return to the sites of their villages without fear of reprisal
· allow the Indonesian Human Rights Commission to investigate the military?s excesses
· restore some sense of certainty and just treatment to the lives of the indigenous Papuan Christian community by introducing an appropriate set of concrete policies, including a withdrawal of the massive troop presence in Papua, dismantling the militias and dropping a decree that has divided the province into three.

Implementation of the above will be an excellent way for President Yudhoyono to solidify his position at the start of his presidency and gain the respect of the international community. It can also provide an urgently needed space in which Papuans can move forward on the crucial issue of dialogue. Governments are asked to "support and encourage" President Yudhoyono to establish the "necessary pre-conditions" for peaceful DIALOGUE.

This appeal has been issued on December 21, 2004 in West Papua by A Coalition of West Papuan Church, Human Rights and Students Organizations and Tribal Councils:

1. West Papuan Baptist Church in Jayapura
2. Christian Evangelical Church (GKI) in the Land of Papua in Jayapura
3. Catholic Diocese of Jayapura
4. Christian Evangelical Church Indonesia (GIDI) in West Papua
5. Secretariat for Justice and Peace, Catholic Diocese of Jayapura
6. West Papuan Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham) in Jayapura
7. Foundation for Human Rights and Against Violence (YAHAMAK) in Timika
8. West Papua Tribal Council in Jayapura
9. Papua Presidium Council in Jayapura
10. Bureau of Human Rights and Justice, Bible Camp Church of West Papua (GKII), in Jayapura
11. Association of Jayawijaya Women in Wamena
12. Solidarity of Papuan Women in Jayapura
13. Association of West Papuan Political Prisoners in Jayapura
14. West Papuan People's Front Against Militarism in Jayapura
15. West Papuan Front for the Oppressed People
16. West Papuan Solidarity Committee in Jayapura
17. Association of West Papuan Highlands Stundents in Jayapura
18. Association of Catholic Students in Jayapura
19. Association of Biak Students in Jayapura
20. Triton Foundation in Sorong
21. Legal Aid and Human Rights Papua in Sorong
22. Echo Foundation Papua Raja Ampat in Sorong
23. Justice and Peace for Sorong and Manokwari, Catholic Diocese of Sorong
24. Centre of Malamoi Tribal Council in Sorong
25. Malamoi Tribal Council Della Village, Kab.Sorong
26. Knasaimos Tribal Council, South Sorong Regency
27. Traditional Council, South Sorong Regency
28. Association of Moi Students in Indonesia, Sorong
29. Perdu Foudnation in Manokwari
30. YALHIMO Foundation in Manokwari
31. LP3BH Foundation in Manokwari
32. Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) in Jayapura

FOR further information PLEASE CONTACT:

IN ENGLISH
1. Dr. Benny GIAY (Bible Church Camp Papua), Phn: +62-(0)815-86237462
2. Denny YOMAKI (Secretary of ELSHAM), Phn: +62-(0)81344119442; E-mail: elshamnewsservice@jayapura.wasantara.net.id
3. John RUMBIAK, Coordinator of International Advocacy for ELSHAM in Sydney, Australia, Phn: +61-(0)424572475; Email: john_rumbiak@hotmail.com

IN INDONESIAN
1. Sofyan YOMAN (President of West Papua Baptist Church) Phn: +62-(0)812-4888458
2. Aloysius RENWARIN (Chairman of West Papuan Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy - ELSHAM), Phn: +62-(0)816-4336370 or +62-(0)967-581520; E-mail: elshamnewsservice@jayapura.wasantara.net.id
3. Rev. Lipius Biniluk, Chairman of the Christian Evangelical Church Indonesia in West Papua, Phn. +62-(0)81344062678

Another fine mess in Papua

The Jakarta Post.com. Editorial. November 18, 2004

The Constitutional Court could not have come up with a worse decision when it ruled that the carving of Papua into three provinces was illegitimate while also recognizing the presence of the new West Irian Jaya province as a fact of life. This ruling is sowing more confusion into an already confused state of affairs in Papua. The source of this latest controversy is a January 2003 instruction by then President Megawati Soekarnoputri to establish three new provinces out of Papua as mandated in a 1999 law enacted during the administration of President B.J. Habibie. But this law, according to the Constitutional Court, was effectively annulled when Megawati enacted in November 2001 the special autonomy law for Papua. The court deemed her instruction for the creation of West Irian Jaya, Central Irian Jaya and Eastern Irian Jaya provinces as equally invalid. But the court said it also recognized the presence of the West Irian Jaya province because the regional apparatus -- an administration, and an elected legislative council and the region's elected representatives to the People's Legislative Assembly in Jakarta -- had been created. The court ruling, however, puts a stop to the creation of the other two new provinces. Going by the Constitutional Court ruling, we are now left with two provinces in the western half of the New Guinea Island: West Irian Jaya covering the Bird's Head region of the island, and Papua, covering the eastern and heartland of the Papua territory.

Also going by the court ruling, West Irian Jaya is considered an illegitimate province. Here is a province that was conceived by Habibie and born into this world, with some inducement, during Megawati's presidency. It is now left to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to raise this illegitimate child. Such an awkward status is bound to haunt the province in years to come. The court ruling has also left many unanswered questions. What happens to the special autonomy law which treats Papua as one single province? Would the Papuan People's Council, whose creation is mandated under the special autonomy law, have the authority to speak on behalf of West Irian Jaya too? Or, God forbid, would the Papuan people have to negotiate all over again to secure a new legislation for its special autonomy status? Time will tell how Papua and West Irian Jaya will emerge out of this huge mess. But this episode confirms what many Papuans believe or have long suspected: that Jakarta is bent on interfering in the affairs of Papua, even as it promises to give greater autonomy to this backward but resource-rich province. The status of Papua as a special autonomous region today is only in name.

This is a problem that could have been prevented had Megawati heeded appeals from Papuans in 2003 to stop the process of establishing the West Irian Jaya province. The fact that she went ahead with this "divide-and-conquer policy" suggests some hidden agenda on her part, or on the part of parties behind the move. Papuans will now turn to President Susilo to resolve this issue in the best possible way. In the October presidential election Papuans overwhelmingly voted for him instead of Megawati. He owes them that much. Let's hope he will not disappoint them.

Court ruling perpetuates conflict in Papua

Jakarta Post.com November 18, 2004
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post

The decision by the Constitutional Court on the judicial review of Law No. 45/1999 in Jakarta on Thursday surprised many, including those opposed to and those who support the controversial formation of West Irian Jaya province. Accompanied by Papua governor Jaap Solossa, Papua Legislative Council Chairman John Ibo who filed a request for the judicial review, expressed disappointment with the verdict, saying the decision with its strong political overtones did not provide a solution to the core issue in the country's easternmost province.

Acting governor of West Irian Jaya Octavianus Brahm Atururi and officials from the home and defense ministries and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) seemed pleased by the decision that acknowledges the existence of the new province. However it is unclear whether the new province will enjoy the special autonomy status as Papua does under Law No. 21/2001. The Court buried Law No. 45/1999 -- on the formation of West and Central Irian Jaya Provinces and that of several new regencies, including Paniai, Puncak Jaya and Mimika -- because its enforcement was not in line with Law No. 21/2001. The two laws were not in conflict with the Amended 1945 Constitution but their enforcement raised serious implications in the field. Eight of nine judges were of the same legal opinion that West Irian Jaya and the new regencies under it remained valid, although Law No. 45/1999 was no longer effective. They argue that the special autonomy law took effect after the new province and regencies were formed, and no state institutions have annulled the law.

The judges argue that the new province and regencies should be accepted because they have their own administration and legislatures and representatives in the House of Representatives who were elected in the April legislative election. The Constitutional Court's ruling, which is final and binding, has left legal and political uncertainty for both Papua and West Irian Jaya. West Irian Jaya and the new regencies were accepted although they have no legal basis. Like other provinces, regencies and/or mayoralties, the new province and regencies formed under the already annulled law, need new laws as the legal basis for their formation and a valid administration in the future. In addition, many legal experts are baffled by the court's argument that Law No. 45/1999 remained effective in spite of Law No. 21/2001 as long as no relevant authorities had declared the former law ineffective. Judge Maruarar Siahaan in his dissenting opinion argues that West Irian Jaya's existence should be declared invalid because Law No. 45/1999 is in conflict with the 2001 Papua special autonomy law, and the new province's formation was mandated by a controversial presidential instruction in 2003, two years after the special autonomy law took effect. Law No. 45/1999 automatically became ineffective regardless of whether or not it was declared ineffective, he argues.

The court verdict needs a political decision on the new province's status. If the new province of West Irian Jaya will also enjoy special autonomy like Papua, it has to be mandated in a special autonomy law. As a consequence it would also have the right to share the special autonomy funds and to establish its own highest law-making body similar to Papua's Peoples Assembly (MRP). The local assembly is assigned to elect a governor and design development policy in the province. With its decision, which is irreversible, the Constitutional Court has apparently tried to provide a win-win political solution for all conflicting sides in Papua and Jakarta, but it has not only failed to solve the prolonged issue, but will even worsen the situation there. John Ibo, in filing the judicial review request, noted Jakarta's reluctance to fully implement the special autonomy law, which has been given by the People's Consultative Assembly and through national consensus as the main framework to seek a comprehensive solution to the Papua issue.

The Assembly agreed to give special autonomy to Papua and Aceh in 1999 amid the strong demand for a self-determination ballot in the two provinces following the stepping-down of former president Soeharto and the beginning of the reform era. He said the Papuan people lost confidence again in Jakarta when president Megawati Soekarnoputri declined to approve the draft regulation on the establishment of the MRP and to fully disburse the special autonomy funds in the first two years of the implementation of autonomy. According to Law No. 21/2001, the MRP will play an important role in designing development policy and approving the appointment of high-ranking officials in the province. The central government later turned down the draft regulation as it was feared it would pave the way for the province's separation from Indonesia. Papuan people and local government officials have strongly rejected this concern as invalid, saying the law clearly stipulates that Papua is part of Indonesian territory.

The presidential instruction issued by Megawati, was issued with strong support from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Indonesian Military and the BIN which were believed to have their own interests in the planned formation of the two new provinces. Certain high-ranking officials at the home ministry have allegedly gained financial advantage from the establishment of new administrations in the new province and regencies while the Indonesian Military and BIN have maintained their security businesses with the presence of two giant mining companies in Manokwari and Timika respectively. The formation of new provinces was also expected to help security authorities to control separatist activities in the region. The Constitutional Court has planted a time bomb in the region that could explode if the majority of tribal people opposing the formation of the new province are dissatisfied with the provincial administration's performance. The new province's establishment, however, has won political support from migrants from Java, Sulawesi and Maluku. Besides, the Court decision also raises new problems for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government which has expressed its commitment to fully implement special autonomy and review the controversial presidential instruction as recently promised by the President himself to the Papuans. (The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post. He can be reached at ridwan@thejakartapost.com)

Susilo gives Christmas 'gifts' to Papua, Munir's family

Jakarta Post.com December 24, 2004

Ahead of Christmas and New Year's Eve, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has given two precious gifts to Papuans and the family of the late rights campaigner, Munir. He signed on Wednesday night presidential regulations on the establishment of the long-awaited Papua People's Assembly and an independent team to probe Munir's death. Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said in Surabaya on Thursday that the President's signing of the two regulations showed his commitment to implementing the 2001 special autonomy law for Papua as well as to
uncovering the mystery behind Munir's death. The regulations were signed just two days before Susilo is scheduled to visit the easternmost province. "When visiting Papua (on Friday), the President can face the people by saying that his (presidential campaign) promise, to implement fully special autonomy for Papua, has been fulfilled," Andi was quoted by Antara as saying. He added that the government would complete the establishment of the people's assembly in the next two months.

The issue of the people's assembly has come to the fore in recent years, particularly after the central government, then under president Megawati Soekarnoputri, divided Papua into three provinces: Papua, Central Papua and West Papua -- based on a 1999 law. Papuans considered the partition of Papua into three provinces as illegal as there was no people's assembly to consult with. And yet, the central government went ahead with the plan. Papuans then brought the case to the Constitutional Court, which later annulled the 1999 law on the partition of Papua -- as it was against the 2001 autonomy law -- but recognized the existence of West Papua province. Papuans have apparently interpreted that any government decision on Papua must involve or at least consult the people's assembly, but the central government sees it differently.

For the central government, the people's assembly is no more than just a cultural representation of Papuans -- after all their members are not elected. Andi warned that the people's assembly should not be seen as a "super-body" but as an institution that would contribute to the development of Papua by adopting local values. "That needs to be understood by Papuan people," Andi said. On the Munir case, Andi said, the President was serious in his efforts to help reveal the identity/identities of those responsible for the death of the noted rights campaigner and punish them accordingly. Munir, the founder of both the Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), died of arsenic poisoning aboard a Garuda flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam on Sept. 7. "The President will do whatever he can to solve this case," Andi said.He said that the team would not impinge upon the police's ongoing investigation but would strengthen it. When asked about its members, Andi said the members would include names suggested during a meeting with representatives of Munir's family and Imparsial.

"It can be said that the names of the team members are in accordance with our previous talks, with additional members representing the government, such as those from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General's Office," Andi said. Earlier, the police and activists, close friends and family members of the late Munir had agreed to form an independent investigative team to assist the police investigation into Munir's death. The activists and Munir's family had even submitted a list of suggested members to the police. But none of the names have been made public.

British Government admits West Papua 'coerced' into joining Indonesia

Oxford Papuan Rights Campaign 14th December 2004

PRESS RELEASE

Until yesterday, no major country has ever admitted that that the people of West Papua were forced into Indonesia against their will. Yesterday (13.12.04) at Foreign Office Questions in the House of Lords something very significant happened which may one day be seen as a milestone on the long road to peace in Papua. West Papuans are welcoming what they see as a helpful and important step forward taken by the British Government in the search for a peaceful and just resolution to the West Papua conflict. Baroness Symons, Foreign Office Minister and spokesperson for the Government on foreign affairs in the House of Lords, replied to a question from the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Richard Harries, a long time friend of the Papuan people. Baroness Symons fully agreed with the Bishop's analysis of what had happened in 1969 when Suharto's Indonesia went through the motions of consulting the Papuan people about their choice for the future - independence or Indonesia: "He[ the Bishop] is right to say that there were 1,000 handpicked representatives and that they were largely coerced into declaring for inclusion in Indonesia."

For over 35 years, the people of West Papua have been trying to tell the rest of the World that they want independence from Indonesia. In fact, they have been saying that they never wanted to be part of Indonesia in the first place ... and if in 1969 they had had a proper chance to exercise their right to self-determination they would have been able to tell the World just that. Until now the Papuans' voice has been ignored. In the world of realpolitik, it has been all too easy for big powers to ignore a mere million Melanesians. Thankfully now here in Britain, the tide appears to be changing.

Next year, the West Papuans' eastern neighbours in Papua New Guinea will be celebrating the 30th Anniversary of their independence from Britain and Australia. However, on the western side of the straight line colonial border which arbitrarily divides the Melanesian people of New Guinea into two halves, the West Papuans have nothing to celebrate. Their lot in the 'accident of history' is not to celebrate but to commemorate --- to try to keep alive the memory of over 100,000 of their sons, daughters, mothers and fathers who have been killed since the Indonesian military arrived to occupy their land in 1963.

The Papuans trusted that when their former colonial rulers, the Dutch, promised that they would be allowed a one-person, one vote referendum to choose between independence or Indonesia, that would be exactly what they would get, especially as the promise was supported by the USA and guaranteed by the United Nations. Ever since 1969 the Papuans have been telling anyone who'll listen that the cruelly-named "Act of Free Choice" which was supposed to fulfill their promise of a democratic referendum, was anything but free. In fact, 1,025 handpicked Papuans were forced at gun-point to "vote" 100% for incorporation into Suharto's Indonesia, with the UN and the rest of the World looking on … but doing nothing. In her reply to the Bishop of Oxford, Baroness Symons went on to say: "The question is what should happen now."

The Papuans of course have the same question. Their answer is to find a way forward towards peace, not through confrontation with Indonesia, but through peaceful all-inclusive dialogue between Papuan leaders and the Indonesian Government, supported along the way by the international community. Papuans are pleading that violence must never again be seen as the way to settle the dispute. (Tragically, violence seems to be the Indonesian military's method of choice at this very moment in the Puncak Jaya region of the Papuan highlands.) Just like the Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine conflicts, West Papua desperately needs a genuine internationally sponsored peace process … in which the British Government could play a prominent and very constructive role. Perhaps in years to come, 13th December 2004 will be remembered by future generations of West Papuans as a significant date in their history … in a West Papua at peace and in which the Papuan people have something to celebrate at last.END
For more information and links to West Papuan spokespeople, please contact: Richard Samuelson, Oxford Papuan Rights Campaign.Tel : + 44 (0)1865 241200

TAPOL calls for investigation into crackdown in Puncak Jaya, West Papua

Tapol Statement

December 1, 2004

On 23 November, the leaders of four church organisations in West Papua
issued a statement drawing attention to serious human rights violations in
the Central Highlands - Puncak Jaya - in August and September this year.
Information reaching us suggests that military operations were undertaken
in this remote area in August, involving the infamous Kopassus special
operations command. As a result, thousands of villagers - according to one
source as many as 15,000 people - fled their homes. The conditions in which
they have been living since leaving their homes have reportedly led to
widespread disease and a number of deaths. It is reported that as many as
fifteen people may already have died from lack of sustenance and lack of
medicine to treat the sick.

When a villager by the name of Goliat Tahuni attempted to pay a visit to
his relatives in Monia in the district of Tingginambut on 17 August, he was
physically attacked and forced to abandon his attempt to visit the area.

During the course of continuing military operations in the area, a church
minister, The Reverend Elisa Tahuni, was shot dead on 14 September amid
claims that he was a member of the armed resistance, the OPM. It is more
than likely that the killing of Rev Tahuni was intended to provoke anger
among his congregants, providing the armed forces with the pretext to step
up their military operations. Over the recent period, several church
ministers have been targetted.

The leaders of the four churches condemned the fact that the authorities
have obstructed efforts to investigate these events by failing to providing
the necessary funds for an investigation team to visit the area, to
investigate the activities of military forces and assess the extent of
human rights violations during the past four months.

To make matters worse, the governor of the province, J. Salossa, issued an
order on 23 September, barring foreign journalists from visiting West Papua
'for security reasons'. Although it was subsequently stated that foreign
journalists were at liberty to apply for permission to visit the region, a
recent request by two journalists was turned down.

To further inflame anger among the population, the governor issued an order
earlier this week banning any attempts to organise events, such as raising
the Morning Star flag, on 1 December to commemorate the independence
declaration made in 1961. This was the occasion, while West Papua was still
a Dutch colony, when Papuan leaders made a unilateral declaration of
independence, an occasion that has been regularly marked each year as a
symbolic expression of the aspirations of the people of West Papua.

TAPOL herewith calls for the creation of an independent investigation team
to be set up by Komnas HAM, the National Human Rights Commission, including
trusted representatives from civil society in West Papua to investigate the
killing of The Rev. Elisa Tahuni and other reported deaths. The team should
also be authorised to investigate the current situation in Puncak Jaya, in
particular to investigate the circumstances that led to thousands of
villages leaving their homes, with a view to making it possible for them to
return home.

TAPOL calls on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to order an immediate
halt to military operations in Puncak Jaya and to enable a humanitarian
team to visit the region in order to assess conditions of the villagers and
provide for the necessary sustenance for their recovery and enable them to
return home to their villages.

CD for West Papua to be launched in Dublin

CD for sale at Euro10.00 (Terms negotiable for West Papua groups for re-sale/bulk orders) via wpaction(a)iol.ie or +353 (0)1 860 3431 or by via PayPal by clicking here:

 

Where: The Cobblestone, Smithfield
When: 9pm, Saturday, 27th November
What: Launch party of CD for West Papua Action

An CD of contemporary, traditional Irish, blues, French, Spanish, Breton, and English folk mostly recorded live at An Cliabhán Folk Club, will be launched at the Cobblestone, Smithfield at 9.00pm on Saturday 27th November. An exciting mix of up-and-coming and more established talent - playing, the CD will make an excellent Christmas gift! The 15-track CD costs €10. All proceeds go to West Papua Action. To order copies, email wpaction@iol.ie or telephone 01 860 3431.

Featured artists will play at the launch night. All welcome!

Contributors:

1. Dermot Byrne - O Reilly
2. Graham Watson and Dave Murphy - The Demon Lover
3. Caroline Moreau with Oleg Ponomarev, Fintan
Gilligan and Drajan Derek - La Foule
4. Gwenn Frin, Olivier Longuet and Brian Fleming -
Ridee Six Temps
5. Rosa de los Reyes - Todo es de Color
6. Peter Browne, Shane McGowan and John Joe Kelly -
The Hill 60 Reels
7. Colm O Snodaigh - An Ghealach ar mo Thoir
8. Eamonn de Barra, Mick Broderick and Neil Lyons -
The Peelers Jacket, Flood on the Road to Glenties, The
Callan Lassies
9. Jean-Philippe - La Vie en Rose
10. Sean Molloy - Deep Rain
11. Liam O Donohoe and Chanda Rule with Peter Browne,
Daragh O Laoire and Conor Murray - Lord Don't Let Me
Fail
12. Claire and Emer Hanley and Alan Hughes - The Road
Trip Set
13. Joe Brennan - Sanctuary
14. Alison O Donnell - The Blackcap
15. Desmond Cahalan, Eoin Dillon and Frank Tate

West Papua Action AGM

West Papua Action's Annual General Meeting will take place in Dublin from 2.00pm to 5pm on Saturday 27th November in the Central Hotel, Exchequer Street, Dublin 1. All members and intending members welcome! Tel. 01 860 3431.

Indonesia Puts Travel Ban on Journalists

Washington Post

Thursday, November 11, 2004; Page A38
Ellen Nakashima and Noor Huda Ismail

Jakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 10 -- The Indonesian government has quietly imposed a
ban on foreign journalists traveling to provinces it fears could be at risk of
breaking away, as well as to several other areas that have been conflict zones
in the past, officials said.

The new policy, never announced, was agreed upon on Sept. 23 by a committee of
police, military, intelligence, immigration and other officials because
of "unstable" security conditions, said Irzani Ratni, a Foreign Ministry
official on the panel.

The restrictions apply to Papua and Aceh, two far-flung provinces that are home
to separatist rebels, Foreign Ministry officials said. Also subject to
restrictions are the provinces of Maluku and North Maluku and the towns of
Sampit, Poso and Palu.

The policy apparently conflicts with a pledge of openness by the newly
inaugurated president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. On Sept. 20, Yudhoyono won the
country's first direct presidential election and promised to pursue democratic
reforms.

The restrictions were imposed during the transition between administrations,
and Yudhoyono and other senior officials, including the government security
minister, apparently were unaware of the change, officials said. Irzani said
the restrictions were temporary but could not say when they would be lifted.

No foreign reporters have been given access to the banned areas since
September, officials said.

Irzani said officials were concerned about the "possible infiltration of
foreigners" into conflict zones. "Sometimes journalists come disguised as
humanitarian workers, but in fact they talk to activists who would not hesitate
to sell out their own country," she said.

Anti-military demonstration in West Papua

Tempo Interactive - October 30, 2004

Cunding Levi and Lita Oetomo, Jayapura - Thousands of demonstrators from the Papua People's Anti-Militarism Front (Front Rakyat Papua Anti Militerisme, FRPAM) led by Jefrison A. Pagawak demonstrated again on Friday October 29. This time, the public demonstration which was joined by students from the mountain areas of Central Papua was held on the grounds of the offices of the Papuan governor in the provincial capital of Jayapura a day after a demonstration was held at the offices of the Papuan provincial parliament, also in Jayapura.

The demonstrators wanted to meet with the governor, J.P. Solossa, to ask him to immediately dismiss Elieser Renmaur, the regent of Puncak Jaya, from his post. This is because according to the commander of the Trikora/XVII military command, Major-General Nurdin Zainal, who they met with at the provincial parliament on Thursday October 28, it was the regent who had asked the TNI (armed forces) to deploy
troops in the Puncak Jaya regency. They said that presence of large number of troops in the area would result in [more] civilian casualties.

The Trikora military commander said this request was made in a letter he received from the Puncak Jaya regent which had been endorsed by the local council. "We also want the Mulia case to be investigated as quickly as possible and the formation of an independent team to investigate the affair", said Pagawak who is the chairperson of FRPAM.

As a result of the lateness of the Papua provincial council in meeting with the demonstrators they became emotional and it was apparent that the situation was becoming heated and slightly out of control. As a consequence, scores of security personnel from the local police formed a barrier at the entrance to the governor's offices and appeared to be at a high state of readiness. In the end however, one of the demonstrators was able to reduce the level of tension and calm was restored after the deputy-governor Constant Karma and the chairperson of the provincial parliament John Ibo met with them. During the meeting Ibo agreed to form an independent team to investigate the Mulia case which resulted in the death of a number of civilians, one of which was a priest named Elisa Tabuni. He also agreed to follow up the protesters' demands that regent of Puncak Jaya be removed from his post.

Karma said that for the record they would study and reexamine the letter requesting the deployment of troops which was referred to earlier by the demonstrators. "We are therefore planning that on Tuesday November 2 all council members will hold a meeting to discuss the issue of what happened in Mulia in the Puncak Jaya regency", said Karma before the crowd who were visibly wet because of a heavy downpour.

After listening to the statements by Ibo and Karma the demonstrators held prayers and agreed to return peacefully to their homes.

A day before the demonstrators met with Zainal at in the offices of the provincial parliament. Coming out of the meeting which lasted several hours, was an agreement to form an independent investigative team to uncover the truth behind the Mulia case.

Led by Pagawak, the demonstrators on Thursday came in larger numbers than on Wednesday October 27 and arrived at the provincial parliament at exactly 11am. Also present among the demonstrators was a public figure and intellectual from the central mountains, Father Socrates Sofyan Yoman.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Papua, Integrity and Susilo's Presidency

Agus Sumule, Manokwari, Papua

The Jakarta Post
October 26, 2004

Opinion

The downfall of former president Soeharto on May 21, 1998, undoubtedly fueled
the widespread revival of free speech among the people -- including Papuans
-- in determining their own future. And as the reform movement, or reformasi,
swept across the archipelago, it revealed itself in Papua with the indigenous
people of the province demanding merdeka -- or simply "M" among locals --
meaning separation from Indonesia.

Many reasons lie behind this demand, but they can basically be grouped into
three main categories.

First of all are those factors related to human rights violations. Issues
included under this category are extrajudicial executions, disappearances,
torture and arbitrary detention of civilians, as well as disrespect of the
government and the private sector for the indigenous people's customary
rights to natural resources.

Second, are factors related to Papua's political history. Many Papuans
believe that they have not been given a fair chance to determine their own
future.

They claim that the New York Agreement drawn up in 1962 under the auspices of
the United Nations to end the dispute between Indonesia and the Dutch over
Netherlands New Guinea -- the former name for Papua -- was done without
consulting the Papuan people and without their consent.

Third, are factors related to the unfair distribution of wealth and social
services. Papua is one of the most wealthy provinces of Indonesia due to its
natural resources: minerals, oil and gas, forest products and fish. Yet,
these resources are continually tapped for the benefit of others. Furthermore, the
Papuans' efforts to claim their rights have met repeatedly with stern
military/police actions.

Fourth, at the micro level is the economic discrepancy that has already
caused social jealousy and is manifested in the marginalization of the
indigenous people in their positions and role in the modern economy.

As a result, many indigenous Papuans came to believe that 35 years was long
enough a time to measure Indonesia's seriousness in improving the Papuan
people's welfare through equal treatment.

Facing the increasing demand for a self-determination ballot or an
independence referendum, the People's Consultative Assembly, the highest
law-making body in the country, reached a consensus to give Papua the authority to deal with its own affairs under special autonomy, stipulated in Assembly Decree No.
4/1999.

Despite their skepticism, the Papuan people accepted the special autonomy as
a means to resolve the issue.

In its implementation, however, Jakarta again deceived the Papuan people with
its reluctance to fully enforce Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for
Papua, a new legislation endorsed by the government and the House of
Representatives.

Fearing that special autonomy would be used as a political vehicle to promote
Papuan independence, former president Megawati Soekarnoputri delayed the
establishment of the Papuan Consultative Assembly (MRP) and the issuance of
necessary government regulations to enforce the law. Worse, Megawati issued
the controversial Presidential Instruction No. 1/2003 to enforce Law No.
45/1999 on the division of Papua into three provinces for security, political and
economical interests.

The Papuan people knew that then-chief security minister Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono disagreed with Jakarta's betrayal of the national consensus on
Papua. Consequently, the majority of Papuans voted for Susilo-Kalla in the
presidential election upon the single hope that he would implement the Special Autonomy Law on Papua and resolve the issue.

The question remains as to why the Papuans preferred a retired army general
than Megawati, even though many of them had suffered under the heavy military
presence in the province since 1963. Furthermore, how should Susilo and his
administration respond to their trust and mandate?

Susilo was viewed by many Papuans as the only other minister in Megawati's
Cabinet besides foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda who was consistent in
maintaining that special autonomy was the solution to the Papua issue.

Obviously, Papuans gave their mandate to Susilo for one reason: he was
perceived as the leader most likely to keep the government's promises under
the Special Autonomy Law on Papua.

He thus has no option but to fulfill this promise during his presidency.

First, it is imperative that Susilo immediately pledge his intention to
implement special autonomy in Papua fully, and use the law as the basis for
his policies on the province.

Second, Susilo needs to set up a capable institution to assist him in
managing the complex problems of Papua. This institution should be manned by
individuals he trusts -- and equally important, these individuals must also
be accepted by Papuans.

Third, a government regulation on the MRP should be issued within the first
100 days of the Susilo administration. The draft regulation was submitted in
July 2002 by the provincial legislature and should have been approved by
August of that year, as stipulated in Article 72 of the Special Autonomy Law on
Papua.

Fourth, the controversial Presidential Instruction should be reviewed. Even
without a specific presidential instruction, the division of Papua into three
provinces will eventually take place as anticipated in Article 76 of the
Special Autonomy Law.

As such, the Susilo administration needs to issue the regulation on MRP, and
the province will be divided into three as stipulated.

Supremacy of law should be the key principle of the Susilo administration in
dealing with the division of Papua. The so-called "political reality" of
Western Papua province, created by a mere presidential instruction, should
be dealt with by using the Special Autonomy Law.

Fifth, the government must engage in a series of constructive dialog with
different circles in Papuan society.

Finally, it is crucial that the government and the Papuan people begin
preparations for a new era under a fully implemented special autonomy.

It is no exaggeration to say that special autonomy is the only remaining
option for Indonesia to maintain Papua, peacefully and constitutionally, as
an integral part of the country. If the Papuan people's trust erodes further
due to

the inconsistency and inability of the new administration -- including the
local government -- to deliver the promises made under the Special Autonomy
Law, the national integrity inclusive of Papua will come under tremendous threat.

If the Susilo administration is serious about the implementation of special
autonomy in Papua, and the Papuan government and people fulfill their
responsibilities, we will witness a significant improvement in the
socio-political situation in Papua from 2004 to 2009. On the other hand, if special
autonomy fails to be applied during Susilo's term, Indonesia's nightmare of losing Papua will very likely come true.

The writer is a researcher at Cenderawasih University in Manokwari, Papua,
and is a member of the Task Force for Papua's Special Autonomy. He can be reached at agussumule(a)yahoo.com.

Prospects for peace in Papua

Jakarta post.com October 21, 2004

Paul Barber, London

It is not yet clear whether the election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as
president of Indonesia is a positive development for West Papua and whether
he will bring peace and stability to the restive territory any closer.

The signals are ambiguous and we simply do not know what policies the new
president will pursue when in office.

Susilo was the preferred candidate of many Papuans. He was regarded as the
more competent and wiser leader who in the past has supported dialogue as a
means of resolving the West Papua conflict and made encouraging statements
about reforming the military.

However, his attraction may have been more a reflection of Megawati's
inadequacies than his own merits. Megawati was a largely ineffectual leader,
an ultra-nationalist who relied on military solutions to political problems
and left West Papua in a state of chaos through her attempt to divide the
territory into three provinces in contravention of a law on special
autonomy.

On the other hand, Susilo is a military man who retains a team of retired
military officers from the Soeharto era as advisers. His reformist
credentials are questionable given his support for the military's
territorial command structure, which provides it with a means of control and
political influence at the provincial and local level. This is highly
significant in the context of Indonesia's current devolution of power from
Jakarta to the regions.

It should also be remembered that Susilo, while an apparent supporter of
dialogue, did little to resolve the West Papua conflict when in the
influential position of security minister under presidents Wahid and
Megawati, despite some early progress under Wahid.

Furthermore, although his hand may have been forced by hard-line military
leaders, Susilo was the government minister responsible for declaring and
coordinating martial law in Aceh in 2003/2004.

Unfortunately, policy debate on West Papua and Aceh was notable by its
absence from the election campaign so we are none the wiser about what
approach Susilo might adopt.

One point that needs to be made very strongly is that although the
Indonesian national elections were proclaimed as peaceful, free and fair,
West Papua and Aceh continue to suffer from huge democratic deficits. Local
political parties are forbidden and people are still thrown into jail for
exercising their right to express their support for self-determination and
independence.

There can be no meaningful progress towards democracy as long as human
rights remain unprotected, the rule of law does not function properly and
military personnel enjoy impunity for gross violations.

One of Susilo's first tasks should be to attempt the peaceful resolution of
the West Papua conflict. At all times he should ensure that human rights and
an understanding of the specific grievances of the West Papuan people remain
at the center of his policy making. He should concentrate on three key
issues.

Firstly, the political status of West Papua. He must resolve the crisis
caused by Megawati's divisive three-way split policy and her failure to
establish a Papuan People's Assembly as required by the special autonomy
law. He must also remember that special autonomy falls far short of the
self-determination desired by the overwhelming majority of Papuans since the
fraudulent 'Act of Free Choice' in 1969.

His response should be to institute a process of peaceful dialogue with West
Papuan representatives to consider all options for the future of the
territory.

Secondly, he must address the need for demilitarization of West Papua. The
continuing military operations in West Papua and the activities of
pro-Jakarta militias are inimical to the peaceful resolution of the conflict
and the establishment of democracy. He should end all military operations,
start a process of demilitarization and halt all militia activities. He
should also respect the proposal of the West Papuan people for West Papua to
be made a 'Land of Peace'.

The recent announcement that the military would lose its role in protecting
vital assets, such as the Freeport mine and BP Tangguh project, was
encouraging. Susilo should ensure that this decision is implemented without
delay.

Thirdly, he must take immediate steps to improve the human rights situation.
He should press for credible investigations and prosecutions, according to
international standards, of all serious crimes committed in West Papua since
its occupation by Indonesia in 1963.

In particular he should respond to the findings of the National Commission
on Human Rights that gross violations were committed in Wasior in 2001 and
Wamena in 2003. He should press the Attorney General to complete his own
inquiry into these incidents without delay and prosecute those responsible,
including those with command responsibility.

He should note the persistent and credible allegations of military
involvement in the killing of an Indonesian and two Americans near the
Freeport mine in August 2002 and he should ensure that the police are able
to complete their current follow-up investigation without obstruction and
harassment.

Finally, he should respond positively to requests for UN human rights
rapporteurs and monitors to visit West Papua and ensure that human rights
defenders are not subject to threats and intimidation and that they are
freely able to carry out their vital work.

The writer is a researcher for the London-based TAPOL, the Indonesia Human
Rights Campaign. He can be reached at plovers@gn.apc.org.

West Papuans welcome Vanuatu call at UN General Assembly

Photo: Barak Sope (right), Otto Ondawame (left) at the
United Nations General Assembly Session, New York.

West Papuan People's Representative Office

P.O. Box 1571, Port Vila, Republic of Vanuatu, Ph: +678 27831, Mb: +678 46406/ 42601, E-mail: morningstar@vanuatu.com.vu, amole@wp.minihub.org

Press Release. 28th Sepetember 2004.

Vanuatu Declared War against Indonesia: Old Issue Becomes New.

Today, Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Barak Sope Tame MAATAMATE of Vanuatu called on the UN to take moral and political responsibility for its past mistake on the issue of West Papua. He reaffirmed that to bring lasting peace and security in West Papua, the issue of self-determination and independence of the people of West Papua and review of the conduct of the UN in relation to the Act of "Free Choice" in 1969 must be given central attention in any new UN reform program. He added the "the UN cannot continue to turn a blind eye to its own past failures. It is morally, politically and legally wrong to do so" According to Sope, the UN must take a collective responsibility to end these silent and systematic human rights abuses and genocide.

In his powerful address at the 59th Session of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York on 28th September, Mr. Sope said:

"The United Nations must be consistent in its decisions for the recognition and respect of the fundamental rights to self-determination for the people of West Papua. The truth surrounding the so called Act of Free Choice must be exposed to the Melanesian sisters and brothers of West Papua, and to the rest of the international community; the saddest of all is the UN General Assembly Resolution 2504 on West Papua in 1969. How can the UN continue to ignore the cries of over three million people demanding justice?"

This unfortunate situation has been a direct political consequence of the denial of the rights of self-determination and independence of the people of West Papua - during the Cold War in 1960s where the United Nations was directly implicated. Mr Sope underlined the importance of respect for and recognition of the rights of West Papua in accordance with the UN's own charters and principles. In his view, the UN must take responsibility to restore its own image and bring a lasting peace to West Papua. The delegation of Vanuatu, therefore, urged the UN to undertake the following:

a). The establishment of a Special Commission of Enquiry to review the UN's conduct in relation to the 1969 Act
b). The UN to send a fact-finding mission to examine the situation in West Papua
c). The re-inscription of West Papua on the List of Non -Self-Governing Territories

In the eyes of the West Papuans, this address is a diplomatic success defeating Indonesian cheap propaganda. Such victory can be measured from those immediate expressions given by more than one hundred delegates today that are members of the United Nations representing various regional origins.

The head of the Vanuatu delegation also criticized the UN for not pro-actively addressing global issues including the issue of West Papua and called for a new reform program within the UN system in order to serve the interests of member states on an equal basis. It becomes apparent that the UN today is only preserving the interests of certain groups of the member states. At the same time Mr. Sope attacked Jakarta for the illegal occupation of West Papua and systematic human rights abuses and urged Indonesia to respect and recognise the rights of fellow Melanesians to determine their own future. For Vanuatu, it has become clear that the presence of Indonesia in West Papua is baseless for political, historical, cultural and ethnical reasons. Basically, Indonesia is nothing to do with his fellow Melanesians. Further more, Mr. Sope also accused the Government of the Dutch for the lack of political commitment to sponsor the issue of West Papua and urged Den Haag to take some responsibility in resolving the unfortunate situation of West Papua in a peaceful and transparent manner.

The chief delegate from West Papua, Dr. Otto Ondawame, expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the people and Government of Vanuatu for their long standing commitment and support given the just struggle in West Papua, and the inclusion of Papuans in the Vanuatu official delegation in particular to attend this meeting at the UN, allowing the old forgotten issue of West Papua to be heard at the UN once again, becoming a new issue that required an immediate solution.

Further information, please contact: Dr. Otto Ondawame, International Spokesperson of the OPM 678-42601 or Octo Mote 1 203 503055 or email him: awulkeweng@yahoo.com
e-mail: awulkeweng@yahoo.com, morningstar@vanuatu.com.vu

Activist warns of West Papua 'time bomb'

Sydney Morning Herald, September 29, 2004

Unless West Papua is granted independence from Indonesia, a time bomb will
go off affecting Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand, according to a
West Papuan activist.

John Rumbiak fears West Papuans will be embroiled in a bloody war if
independence is not granted.

Rumbiak, 42, has been sued by the Indonesian government, received death
threats and been under surveillance. He has even had to flee his country in
fear for his life.

To help publicise the atrocities West Papuans are facing - he says more than
100,000 have been killed by the Indonesian military since the 1960s -
Rumbiak started a New Zealand-wide speaking tour this week.

Rumbiak, chairman of West Papua human rights organisation Elsham, said the
New Zealand government should put pressure on Indonesia to grant
independence to his country.

He told of Indonesian soldiers constantly walking around the country's
villages, independence supporters receiving death threats on a regular basis
and soldiers increasing tension between the native West Papuans and migrant
Indonesians by spreading rumours.

"If this situation is allowed to go on, a time bomb will go off and Papua
New Guinea (on the other side of the island), Australia and New Zealand will
be affected," Mr Rumbiak said.

While he is forced to live in the United States to preserve his life,
Rumbiak says his desire to help his people overcomes his fear.

"You do get scared but what keeps me going is you've got to believe in the
truth."

Mr Rumbiak is in New Zealand for a month.

ANOTHER GENERAL TAKES CHARGE

TAPOL statement
28 September 2004

It is a bitter irony that the first direct presidential election to be held
in Indonesia has resulted in another general taking power.

Although the official results will not be made public until 5 October, it
is already clear that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won comprehensively against
Megawati Sukarnoputri. The reasons are not difficult to fathom. Although
she had the advantage of being the incumbent, Megawati was a huge
disappointment as president and was surrounded by unsavoury characters, not
least her husband, Taufiq Kiemas, a man renowned for corruption and
double-dealing. Yudhoyono on the other hand was able to present himself as
a clean and incorruptible politician whose demeanour in the run-up to the
election on 20 September won plaudits from commentators and the press.
There was no civilian politician to match him.

The 2004 presidential election established a new tradition. By and large,
voters did not cast their votes in accordance with political party
affiliation; they voted according to personal preferences. The decision by
Akbar Tanjung, the leader of GOLKAR, along with the leaders of other
parties from the Suharto era, to back Megawati's presidential bid, failed
to secure her election. This is likely to lead to a major overhaul in the
leaderships of GOLKAR and the PDI-P, Megawati's party.

However, the presidential election shows clearly that the military continue
to play a very significant role in political affairs in Indonesia. In the
first round held in July, five teams competed to become president and vice
president and of the ten contestants, five were from the military. As none
of the contestants broke through the fifty per cent threshold, a re-run was
held on 20 September.

While Yudhoyono succeeded in projecting the image of a democrat and has
frequently spoken of the need for the reform of the armed forces, his
military career reveals him as a man with a strong sense of dedication to
the military's role in society.

When he first joined the army, his idol was Sarwo Edhie whom he once
extolled as 'the epitome of a true soldier'. Sarwo Edhie was one of the
most ruthless officers to serve under Suharto. He was largely responsible
for the massacre of hundreds of thousands of communist suspects in
1965-1966, and later played a leading role in crushing Papuan resistance in
the run-up to the Act of Free Choice in 1969. Yudhoyono subsequently
married Sarwo Edhie's daughter.

Yudhoyono has served twice in Kostrad, the Strategic Army Command, first as
commander of an airborne battalion and later as commander of one of its
infantry battalions. He did two tours of duty in East Timor under
Indonesian occupation, was commander of the Yogyakarta military command and
served for a period in the UN peace-keeping force in Bosnia.

In the mid-1990s, he was chief of staff of the Jakarta military command, a
position that he occupied when troops under his command took part in an
assault on 27 July 1996 on the headquarters in Jakarta of the PDI (the
previous name of the PDI-P), the party chaired by Megawati. The attack
resulted in a number of fatalities yet the incident has never been
investigated and no one has been called to account. As always, the military
have been safeguarded from any accountability because of the impunity they
continue to enjoy.

After retiring from the army with the rank of lieutenant-general in 2000,
Yudhoyono became Minister-Coordinator for Politics and Security in the
government of Abdurrahman Wahid. This appointment was criticised by several
human rights organisations; Hendardi, director of the human rights
organisation, PBHI, warned that it would jeopardise attempts to investigate
the role of the army and of Yudhoyono in the 27 July 1996 attack. Hendardi
was also critical of the presence of a military officer as a top-ranking
member of Wahid's government. Even so, Yudhoyono subsequently held the same
position in the government of Megawati, after Wahid resigned, facing the
threat of impeachment.

Yudhoyono surrounded himself with a number of retired military officers in
the kitchen cabinet which assisted him in his presidential bid. They include:

¨ Major-General Sudi Silalahi, an assistant to the commander of the Jakarta
garrison in 1998, who allegedly helped provoke riots and the burning of
shops and businesses while troops looked, just before Suharto's downfall.
In 2000, when he was military commander in East Java, he allowed thousands
of members of an extremist Muslim group, Laskar Jihad, to travel from
Surabaya to Ambon to join clashes between Muslims and Christians
¨ former defence minister under Suharto, General Edy Sudradjat
¨ Suharto-era Minister for State Empowerment Lieutenant-General T.B.
Silalahi, closely associated with the business tycoon Tomy Winata who has
successfully brought defamation charges against several journalists
¨ former intelligence chief under Suharto, Major-General Syamsir Siregar
¨ Admiral Widodo who was commander in chief of the armed forces and
Minister-Coordinator for Political and Security Affairs
¨ former chief of staff of the armed forces for social-political affairs
Lieutenant-General Moch Ma'ruf.

These men could well be appointed to key cabinet positions, such as heading
the interior or defence ministries.

One of the most controversial bills awaiting adoption is the armed forces
bill which, as presently drafted, will give the military special powers in
conditions of an emergency. Under such circumstances, men like these with
experience in both military and civilian posts, could reverse the advances
towards democracy that have been achieved since the fall of Suharto.

While Yudhoyono has often spoken of the need for the reform of the armed
forces, nothing has come of these intentions although he has had plenty of
opportunity as a senior member in two post-Suharto cabinets to put his
words into action.

Although Yudhoyono has announced that his government will take action to
combat widespread corruption and attempt to reverse the country's economic
decline, it remains to be seen whether he can achieve these objectives.

The key issues on which his presidency will be tested are:

· Resolving the conflict in Aceh by peaceful means, through the resumption
of peace talks with GAM, the Free Aceh Movement, and ending the current
military operations there.
· Reversing the decision to split West Papua into three provinces which has
provoked widespread criticism from Papuans, and agreeing to enter into
dialogue with Papuan representatives on a range of issues, including the
future political status of West Papua.
· A thorough overhaul of the draft law on the armed forces, in particular
reversing the provision that allows serving officers to hold positions in
national and local administrations.

· Announcing a firm commitment to uphold basic human rights, in particular
freedom of the press and freedom of expression, and seeking a reversal of a
court decision to sentence the editor of Tempo to a one-year prison term on
a charge of defamation.
· Announcing a firm commitment to overhaul and cleanse the judiciary, and
announcing a commitment to the rule of law and the ending of impunity.

[TAPOL is the Indonesia Human Rights Camaign, based in London]

UN sowed seeds of doubt about its own legitimacy in West Papua

The second round of voting in Indonesia's presidential election on Monday prompts some old questions about government by consensus and the effectiveness of the UN.

WorldView, Irish Times, Saturday, 18 September 2004

John D'Arcy May

Now the pretext that the war in Iraq was a war on terror has worn thin, and the US President and the Australian Prime Minister face elections in which their manipulation of intelligence to justify the war is an issue, it is worth focusing on two much larger questions that were obscured at the time by political hype.

They are the future of democracy and the role of the United Nations.

The misguided project of force-feeding western-style democracy to a nation which is little more than a colonial cobbling together of Kurds, Sunnis and Shias should make us reflect on how serious we in the west are about democracy.

The contempt for the UN by the present US administration at the height of the crisis showed just how fragile and - let's face it - unconvincing the UN is as the guarantor of world peace.

Turning the clock back 40 years, we find precisely the same issues at stake in one of the most shameful chapters of international diplomacy, the Indonesian takeover of the territory now known as West Papua (previously West Irian, then Irian Jaya, and now Papua in Indonesian terminology).

To recapitulate a story that has been told in this newspaper before but cannot be repeated often enough: on being liberated from the Japanese in 1945, Indonesia was determined to win its independence from the Dutch, whose Netherlands East Indies had stretched from the easternmost tip of Sumatra to the western half of the island of New Guinea.

Sukarno whipped up support for a move to "liberate" West Irian, if necessary by force. As the Dutch were unwilling to fight a war to retain their distant possession and the Americans were nervous of Sukarno's nationalism and communist sympathies, they exerted pressure on the Dutch to reach a settlement known as the New York Agreement in 1962, and the Australians, who had favoured the Dutch, caved in.

According to this agreement, Indonesia was to entrust West Irian's preparations for self- determination to the first ever UN-mandated administration, the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA).

As is now well known, thanks to researchers such as John Saltford and a retired US Foreign Service officer, Edmund McWilliams, the Indonesians did everything in their power to obstruct this body and the UN representative, Ortiz Sanz, as they went about setting up a so-called Act of Free Choice at a time when most observers agreed that more than 90 per cent of West Papuans would choose independence from Indonesia in a free vote.

Far from being politically illiterate, the West Papuans had held elections in 1961 which returned pro-independence candidates to 22 out of 28 seats in their assembly, and despite internal conflicts and splits their Free Papua Movement has offered increasingly desperate resistance ever since.

It was at this time that the name West Papua and the distinctive Morning Star flag were adopted, and since then various bodies seeking conciliation between ethnic and religious groups and dialogue with the Indonesians have been created.

One of the most recent is the Papua Presidium Council, whose leader, Theys Eluay, was murdered by the military in November 2001. It is here that our twin concerns, democracy and the UN, come into play.

In 1969, under the pretext of doing things the Indonesian way, by "consultation" (musjawarah) rather than a genuine plebiscite, the Indonesians were allowed by the US and UN to coerce 1,022 arbitrarily chosen Papuan tribal leaders into giving consent, under threat of death, to the annexation of a territory which constitutes 20 per cent of the Indonesian land mass and had a population of 800,000 at the time.

The UN's own observers and Ortiz Sanz portrayed this procedure as a whitewash and a farce, and Papuan representatives were prevented from passing through the Australian Territory of Papua and New Guinea to make their case at the UN.

But political expediency dictated western acquiescence in this blatant denial of the most fundamental rights of a people.

The Indonesians had already removed all available infrastructure and even food supplies to Java.

The army was ravaging the territory, and concessions had been granted to huge mining interests such as Freeport McMoRan, which began operations in 1967, its mines protected by the Indonesian army and police from the reprisals of the dispossessed Amungme and Kamoro people.

The democracies had looked the other way while a travesty of democracy was carried out with their consent, and the UN had failed its first test as an international arbiter of human rights.

The most disturbing aspect of all is the reason given for the betrayal: the West Papuans simply didn't count, neither the estimated 100,000 killed in direct resistance, nor the 200,000 more thought to have died from malnutrition and disease.

In accordance with the Indonesian policy of transmigrasi, over the next 40 years the territory was swamped by 773,000 immigrants - mainly rice growing Muslims - from the densely populated islands of Java, Madura, Bali and Lombok, to whom some one million hectares of land were eventually ceded.

More recently, transmigration has been intensified, with an estimated 5,000 arrivals a week, mostly young Muslim males.

Among these it is thought that some 10,000 members of militant Islamist groups such as Laskar Jihad and Jemaah Islamiya, as well as the pro-Jakarta Satgas Merah Putih (Red and White Militias), have been infiltrated.

This has happened with the connivance of the Indonesian army to foment inter-ethnic rivalries and Muslim-Christian tensions, thereby creating situations of conflict in which the army can show how indispensable it is to the economic prosperity and territorial integrity of Indonesia.

Despite all this, West Papua is still a long way from being included in the UN's list of territories awaiting decolonisation, and in March 2002 West Papua Action in Ireland initiated an international campaign urging the UN to review the 1969 Act of Free Choice.

Whereas the Portuguese never renounced their claim to East Timor, the Dutch washed their hands of the West Papuans in 1962 and paved the way for UN acknowledgment of Indonesia's dubious claims to sovereignty.

In doing so the UN sowed the seeds of doubt about its own legitimacy, just as the democracies betrayed their own principles by condoning Sukarno's "guided democracy" and Suharto's "new order", which was little more than a military fiefdom. No wonder neither the Dutch nor the Americans nor the Indonesians appreciate having these old issues reopened.

John D'Arcy May is associate professor of interfaith dialogue at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin

© The Irish Times

(Source Vanguard Response Systems; issued Sept. 3, 2004)

OTTAWA --- Vanguard Response Systems Inc. (Vanguard) of Ottawa, Canada
announced today that it has received $4.4M in orders for its Defender
robot, manufactured at its facility in Kentree, Ireland, to provide the
Malaysian and Indonesian armies with advanced Explosive Ordnance Disposal
(EOD) disposal capability.

The company also received an order for $1.2M in EOD tools for security
forces in Finland and has been selected by the United Arab Emirates to
provide EOD vehicles worth $1M. Total value of the contract awards is
$6.2M (all amounts in Canadian dollars).

"This is reflective of the continued sales momentum we expect as we head
into fiscal 2005, which begins October 1st," said David Luxton, Vanguard
President and CEO. "The visibility on sales already contracted in for
fiscal 2005, plus the quality of likely sales in the pipeline, gives us a
high level of confidence in our expectations for growth in revenue and
earnings."

War crimes suspect to lead probe into U.S. deaths in Papua

September 11, 2004 3:12am
AP Online

JAKARTA, Indonesia - An Indonesian general indicted for war crimes in East
Timor has been appointed to lead a probe into the shooting deaths of two
American schoolteachers at a gold mine in Papua province two years ago,
news reports said Saturday.

Police Brig. Gen. Timbul Silaen will lead a 25-member team that will follow
up on an FBI investigation into the ambush on Aug. 31, 2002, in which two
Americans and an Indonesian died, according to The Jakarta Post newspaper.

Eleven other people - including eight Americans - were injured in the
ambush. The victims worked at the Timika international school located near
a huge copper and gold mine operated by New Orleans-based Freeport McMoRan Co.

Despite initial reports that soldiers guarding the mine were responsible,
the subsequent FBI investigation named a Papuan man identified as Anthonius
Wamang as the shooter.

But Indonesian human rights groups have accused U.S. Attorney-General John
Ashcroft of withholding evidence of the military's involvement to enable
the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to pursue its policy of
improving ties with the world's largest Muslim nation.

Ashcroft claimed that Wamang belonged to the Free Papua Movement, a small,
mainly Christian separatist group which he labeled a terrorist organization.

The Bush administration is pressing Congress to repeal legislation banning
cooperation with the Indonesian military until the Timika case is resolved.

Silaen, now a top police commander in Papua, was last year indicted by U.N.
prosecutors in East Timor for alleged crimes against humanity during that
territory's bloody break with Indonesia after a U.N.-organized independence
referendum in 1999.

At the time, Silaen was in charge of the Indonesian police in the
territory. He and other top Indonesian officers were charged with
perpetrating a systematic attack against the civilian population, which
included murder, forced disappearance, persecution and deportation. At
least 1,500 East Timorese perished during and after the plebiscite.

But Indonesian authorities have refused to extradite any of the indicted
individuals to East Timor. A hastily convened Jakarta tribunal cleared
Silaen and 15 other senior military and police officers of any wrongdoing.
Several of the men - including Silaen - have since received promotions and
been posted to other regions seeking independence from Jakarta.

National Security Archive Update, July 9, 2004

Indonesia's 1969 Takeover of West Papua Not by "Free Choice"

Document Release Marks 35th Anniversary
of Controversial Vote and Annexation

Secret Files Show U.S. Support for Indonesia,
Human Rights Abuses by Indonesian Military

For more information:
Brad Simpson: 208-241-2617
simpbrad@isu.edu

http://www.nsarchive.org

Washington D.C., July 9, 2004 - "You should tell [Suharto] that we
understand the problems they face in West Irian," national security adviser
Henry Kissinger wrote President Nixon on the eve of Nixon's July 1969 visit
to Indonesia according to previously secret documents posted today by the
National Security Archive. The presidential trip coincided with Indonesia's
holding of the "Act of Free Choice" voting by which it legitimized its
annexation of the territory of West Irian (now known as West Papua).

Marking the 35th anniversary of the "Act of Free Choice" and in the midst
of Indonesia's first direct presidential elections, the National Security
Archive posted formerly secret documents detailing U.S. support for
Indonesia's controversial 1969 takeover of the West Papua.

These documents were recently declassified by the State Department and the
Richard Nixon Presidential Materials collection at the National Archives
and Records Administration (NARA). This briefing book is the first
publication of the National Security Archive's Indonesia documentation
project, which is seeking the release of thousands of secret U.S. documents
concerning U.S. policy toward Indonesia and East Timor from 1965-1999. The
project aims to assist efforts to document and seek accountability for more
than three decades of human rights abuses committed during the rule of
Indonesian President Suharto (1965-1998).

Among the revelations in these formerly secret documents:

* Agreement among U.S. and other Western officials that "Indonesia could
not win an open election" and that the vast majority of West Irian's
inhabitants favored independence.

* U.S. officials attempted to convince the United Nations representative
for the "Act of Free Choice," Bolivian diplomat Ortiz Sanz, that
independence for West Irian was "inconceivable."

* U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Frank Galbraith warned that Indonesian
military operations and abuses in West Irian, resulting in the deaths of
possibly hundreds of civilians "had stimulated fears and rumours of
intended genocide among the Irianese."

http://www.nsarchive.org
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB128/index.htm

AFP, June 30 2004

VANUATU TO HOST WEST PAPUA PEACE TALKS

By Ben Bohane in Port Vila

The Vanuatu government is to host peace talks between representatives from
the West Papuan independence movement and the Indonesian government.

The talks will be held in the capital Port Vila between July 26-28,
following national elections in both countries.

Vanuatu's Foreign Minister Moana Kalosil confirmed the initiative in an
interview with AFP and said he was now organizing a venue with appropriate
security for both delegations.

"When there has been conflict in our own communities we bring the two
parties to the "nakamal" (village meeting house) to drink kava and resolve the
issue.

Since the West Papuans are our Melanesian brothers we wanted to offer to
facilitate face-to-face talks between them and the Indonesian government in
aneutral environment".

The Vanuatu initiative represents the first time a Pacific island nation has
offered to broker peace talks in an international conflict and has taken
regional governments by surprise. Observers say it is a tacit admission that
the 40 year struggle for independence in West Papua is no longer simply a
domestic issue for Indonesia as it has long claimed, but one that now
requires international mediation.

A similar offer by the New Zealand government last year, after successfully
brokering a ceasefire that has brought peace to Bougainville, was rebuffed
by Jakarta.

Vanuatu's Foreign Minister Kalosil said Indonesia had agreed to the Vanuatu
initiative when he met the Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr Hassan Nur
Wirajuda in Shanghai in April this year. Then Kalosil went to Jakarta for a meeting
with President Megawati.

"Apart from agreeing to peace talks, the Indonesians have offered to
increase trade between our two countries, speed up Immigration procedures and offer technical assistance".

When he met the Indonesian TNI Commander General Sutarto, Kalosil said the
Commander had also offered to provide Indonesian troops to Vanuatu "if we
had more problems within our police force" - a reference to a mini coupe that
took place within the Vanuatu police force in 2002 which later triggered a tense
standoff between Vanuatu's police force and the paramilitary Vanuatu Mobile
Force (VMF). The standoff was resolved peacefully in a kastom ceremony
involving kava, pigs and traditional woven mats.

It is not the first time Indonesia has offered troops to Pacific nations ;
in 1990 the Indonesian Defence Minister Benny Murdani offered troops to PNG to
help crush the Bougainville independence movement. Early last year it made
the same offer to the Solomon Islands government to try to end the 4 year civil
war there. Sources within the Solomon Islands Prime Minister's department
claimed it was this offer from Indonesia which finally prompted Australia to
mount its armed intervention in the Solomons last year, with its Pacific
allies.

Vanuatu's relative stability compared to its other Pacific neighbours
suggests any outside intervention is unnecessary in the forceable future.

Although known as a South Pacific holiday destination and tax haven, Vanuatu
has, since independence in 1980, maintained a strong and sometimes maverick
foreign policy. There has long been political bi-partisan support for a
number of regional independence movements in East Timor, West Papua, Kanaky (New Caledonia) and Tahiti.

Vanuatu's founding father, Father Walter Lini, was the only Pacific leader
to join the Non-Aligned Movement during the cold war.

In September last year, Vanuatu's Deputy Prime Minister and then Foreign
Minister Serge Vohor had a meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in
New York on behalf of the West Papuans. Annan is believed to be sympathetic to
the issue since, in 1969, Annan was a young diplomat in the Ghanese delegation
to the UN which voted against the UN supervised "Act of Free Choice" held in
West Papua, then Dutch New Guinea.

At the time, Ghana was leader of the so-called "Brazzaville Group" of 15
African nations which voted against results of the Act of Free Choice on the
basis that it was not one man one vote. The controversial Act of Free Choice
saw 1025 hand-picked and intimidated West Papuans vote for integration with
Indonesia, on behalf of a population of 800,000. It has since been
discredited by several high ranking UN personnel who supervised it.

Sources inside the Vanuatu Foreign Ministry said Vanuatu wanted to offer
Indonesia a chance to sit down with the West Papuan delegates for meaningful
discussions before considering an offer made by the UN Secretary General to
launch an internal UN inquiry into the validity of the 1969 Act of Free
Choice.

The OPM (Free West Papua movement) international spokesman Dr John Otto
Ondawame has welcomed the Vanuatu initiative saying the West Papuans will
use the talks to press for a total withdrawal of Indonesian troops from the
province and localization of police forces there. Church groups and NGOs
claim 100,000 Papuans have perished under 40 years of Indonesian rule there.

"We are also demanding the UN acknowledge the mistake it made in 1969 and to
hold a real Act of Free Choice within the next three years" said Dr
Ondawame.

US Senators call for UN Special Rep. on Papua and Aceh

United States Senate
WASHINGTON, DC 20510

June 28, 2004

Honorable Kofi Annan
Secretary General
United Nations
New York, New York 10017

Dear Mr. Secretary General:

We are writing to urge you to appoint a United Nations Special Representative to Indonesia to monitor and report on the situations in Aceh and Papua. This Special Representative would also make recommendations regarding steps the UN Security Council and General Assembly might undertake to end the troubling and deadly conflicts that continue to engulf these regions.

In Aceh, the year-long period of martial law that ended in May with the imposition of a "civil emergency" has had an extraordinary human cost. While it is impossible to verify the precise number of extra-judicial incarcerations and killings, accounts suggest that more than 2000 people have been killed in the past year, the majority of whom have been civilians. Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights' (Komnas HAM) ad-hoc team for Aceh recently reported on the "attacks against unarmed civilians, including victims who were murdered, tortured, sexually abused or raped, or others who the court had not yet proved were rebels." The report also cited kidnapping, child abuse, arson, and robbery. The Komnas HAM team alleged that most violations were committed by the Indonesian security forces, including both high level political and military authorities, though some deaths have been attributed to the rebel Free Aceh Movement. The conflict has also generated massive refugee flows across international borders, with thousands of others displaced internally. Although martial law has formally ended, the massive troop presence in Aceh continues, as do most of the restrictions imposed under martial law.

The Indonesian government and security forces have effectively shut off Aceh from the rest of the world, severely restricting the activities of Indonesian and international humanitarian and human rights organizations. Many non-governmental organization workers and activists have been forced into hiding. International media have been effectively barred from entering the province and the Indonesian press has been intimidated. In an affront to the United Nations itself, Indonesian authorities forced the UN to curtail its humanitarian activities in Aceh for several months in 2003. While the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross are now allowed to operate there, significant constraints remain imposed on internal travel and contact with the civilian population.

In Papua, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention have long documented human rights violations. Recently, the Indonesian military's creation of militia has exacerbated tensions between indigenous Papuans and migrants. A military campaign in the Central Highlands has led to an inestimable number of civilian deaths and significant population displacement. The fate of those hiding in the Papuan forests remains unknown, as military authorities have prohibited provision of humanitarian assistance. Human rights organizations have endured intimidation and threats by government security forces operating with impunity.

Human rights violations in Papua have instigated a refugee flow across international borders. Dialogue between the Indonesian national government and Papuan local leaders has recently broken down, as demonstrated by Jakarta's ultimately deadly attempt to divide the province into smaller provinces against the will of the people.

The international community has remained too quiet for too long regarding the conflicts in Aceh and Papua. The scale of human rights violations in these two Indonesian provinces warrants special international attention. Therefore, we urge you to appoint a Special Representative to Indonesia to monitor and report on the situations in Aceh and Papua. We look forward to hearing from you regarding these concerns.

Sincerely,

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ)
Senator Chris Dodd (CT)
Senator Patrick J. Leahy (VT)
Senator Ron Wyden (OR)
Senator Russell D. Feingold (WI)
Senator Deborah Ann Stabenow (MI)
Richard J. Durbin (IL)
Senator Jon S. Corzine
Senator Herb Kohl (WI)
Senator Barbara Boxer (CA)
Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD)
Senator Carl Levin (MI)
Senator Byron L. Dorgan (ND)
Senator Patty Murray (WA).
Senator Jeff Bingaman (NM)
Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (MD)
Senator Jack Reed (RI)
Senator Daniel K. Akaka (HI)
Senator Edward M. Kennedy (MA)

cc: James B. Cunningham, Acting U.S. Representative to the United Nations

Vale Julian Nunaki, Sampari

Friends,

a sad message from the Netherlands:

uncle Julian Nunaki from the Papuan dance troop Sampari has passed away.

Uncle Julian brought great smiles and raised spirits with his glow of health and happiness when he danced and sang at the 'One Big Tribe' freedom gig for West Papua - Maynooth, Ireland, March 2003. He was an inspiration and a joy.

May he return to add force to the Morning Star.

Messages can be sent to family, friends and supporters through Bia of Sampari at stichtingsampari@hotmail.com.

See below for message:

peace to all, Papua and Planet Merdeka!!!

Ruairi

======================================================

Dear friends of Sampari,

Hereby I want to lett you know that after a performance of Sampari in
Brussel uncle Julian Nunaki was feeling unwell and passed away in
Brussel on the second of June 2004.

The funeral will be held on wednesday 9 june in Nieuwegein, Holland at
12 o'clock in the 'Dorpskerk' Nedereindseweg 3. There will be time to say
goodbye and at 13.00 the churchceremony will begin. Afterwards uncle
Julian will be brought to his grave at the graveyard 'Noorderveld'
Structuurbaan 1 in Nieuwegein(Holland).

In name of Sampari,

Bea Carels, chairwoman

Stan McWilliams completes Triathlon for West Papua Action

Congratulations to Stan McWilliams (pictured), who has completed the Liam Ball Triathlon in Derry- a 1200m swim, 8km run and 32km cycle - in a time of 2 hours and 25 minutes! Well done to Stan, who has also raised €1100 for the campaign and awareness of West Papua. (updated Oct 5 2004)

Message from Stan McWilliams Triathlon 29th May 2004
raising funds and awareness for West Papua Action

Hello,

I will be taking part in the 2004 Liam Ball Triathlon in Derry on the 29th May - my first! This is a 1200m swim, 8km run and 32km cycle. While this is primarily a personal challenge I would like to raise some awareness and funds for a cause that I have supported since I visited West Papua in 1978. At that time I was shocked by the situation there having just spent two and a half years working in the Solomon Islands, also in Melanesia. West Papua Action is a Dublin group which supports West Papuans in their efforts to have a free election there.

West Papua, a former Dutch colony, just north of Australia, was taken over by Indonesia in 1963. At least 100,000 people have been killed since the takeover. Rape, torture, extra-judicial killings, curbs on freedom of assembly, on free access to the media and international observers and even researchers continue to the present. In 1969 just 1,022 people out of a population of nearly one million were rounded up by the Indonesian military to declare their loyalty to the Indonesian state. The "Act of Free Choice" - the Papuans call it the "Act of No Choice" - was what took place instead of proper independence referendum, something that West Papuans are still demanding. Five times the size of Ireland, West Papua contains one of the last great surviving tracts of unspoiled rainforest. It contains vast reserves of natural resources including oil and metals. See http://westpapuaaction.buz.org

Due to the efforts of West Papua Action in Ireland, 88 TDs from all political parties recently, individually signed a letter to the UN Secretary General calling on him to initiate a review of the UN's actions in the Indonesian take-over of West Papua. Worldwide the pressure is growing for change in West Papua.

Thanks for your support.

Stan McWilliams, Colpey, Muff, Co Donegal. Tel 07493 84107

Helena McCanney completes Women's Mini Marathon for West Papua Action

Congratulations to Helena McCanney (pictured) who completed the Women's Mini Marathon on 7th June with ladies from her work. She collected €434 sponsorship for West Papua Action and also used the opportunity to spread the word about West Papua. Well done Helena!

Launch of West Papua Action Network USA

Speaking tour May 13th-28th
US Involvement in the History of West Papua and the Human Rights Situation Today

May 13, 2004 - Today marks the launch of the West Papua Action Network
(WPAN), a grass-roots advocacy group formed by U.S. citizens. The leading
Papuan human-rights defender John Rumbiak, of the Institute for Human Rights
Study and Advocacy (ELSHAM), will be speaking in ten cities across the
Western U.S. during the WPAN inaugural events. Patsy Spier, an American
schoolteacher who survived an ambush at the gold mine of Freeport McMoRan in
2002, will be joining Mr. Rumbiak for part of the speaking tour. WPAN has
been founded to stop human rights abuses and genocide in West Papua, the
Indonesian-occupied half of New Guinea. The aim of this network is to
educate policy makers about the history of U.S. involvement in the region.
This speaking tour is co-sponsored by the East Timor Action Network (ETAN).

John Rumbiak is briefly stopping in the U.S. on an international tour.
"Forty years ago," says Mr. Rumbiak, "Papuans became victims of Cold War
politics. In 1962, the U.S. government helped broker the transfer of West
Papua from the Netherlands to Indonesia. Denying Papuans the right to
self-determination is the fundamental source of conflict in the region.
About 100,000 Papuans have lost their lives at the hands of Indonesians.
Economic and political interests have made the world community turn a blind
eye to these on-going systemic abuses. Today Americans are standing up. They
are asking their leaders to help bring an end to the violence in West
Papua." Recently Mr. Rumbiak visited Ireland where a majority of national
parliamentarians have requested that the United Nations conduct a formal
review of the 1969 "Act of Free Choice." During this sham referendum 1,022
Papuans were hand picked by the military to unanimously proclaim their
desire to be part of Indonesia.

Patsy Spier is one of the eight American, and three Indonesian, survivors of
an ambush that took place in West Papua on August 31, 2002. Rick Spier,
Patsy's husband, was killed in the attack along with two other teachers. She
says, "I knew I had to do something about the evil that happened on that
mountain. My role became clear when the Indonesian National Police reported
that the Indonesian military (TNI) were apparently behind the ambush, and
then the TNI exonerated themselves of any involvement." Patsy's fight for
justice is an inspiration to all Americans. Military aid to Indonesia under
the IMET program has been blocked until the TNI fully cooperates with a U.S.
investigation into the attack.

The WPAN is forming local chapters throughout the U.S. Harold Green, the
WPAN Contact Person for Los Angeles and Director of the Pan-African
Coalition for the Liberation of West Papua, says, "People of African descent
are usually surprised to find out that the black people of West Papua have
suffered in much the same way as we have, through slavery and colonialism.
The world's last vestige of direct colonial rule is in West Papua." In June
WPAN members will head to Washington D.C. to meet with their representatives
in Congress.

For more information on the West Papua Action Network: wpan@redwire.us

To interview John Rumbiak or Patsy Spier call the WPAN Contact Person
nearest you:
May 13-15: Seattle (206-543-9606 )
May 17: Berkeley (510-540-0945)
May 18: Palo Alto (650-326-8837)
May 19: Santa Cruz (831-227-4347)
May 20: Watsonville (831-254-4527)
May 21: Santa Barbara (805-965-5938)
May 23-24: Los Angeles (323-291-4114)
May 25: Phoenix (480-965-0477)
May 26: Tucson (520-731-0572)
May 28: Telluride (970-728-4123)

****

Preview and Review of Land of the Morning Star in Irish media

[Cuttings follow. West Papua and the film were also featured on RTE 1 national radio, Today with Pat Kenny, on Friday, April 23]

Irish Times Magazine
Saturday, April 24, 2004
TV World

LARGELY FORGOTTEN - WEST PAPUA
Vast rainforests, snow-capped peaks, tropical seas and hundreds of thousands of murdered inhabitants. This is the story of West Papua which, like East Timor, has suffered terror at the hands of its most recent invaders, the Indonesian military. Since they took control in the 1960s and renamed it Irian Jaya, West Papua and its people have been largely forgotten. Land of the Morning Star by Australian film-maker Mark Worth, tells the epic tale of this beleaguered nation through eyewitness accounts and rare archival film. It is a sweeping saga of a nation of abundant natural resources (the world's largest goldmine, for example) which falls prey to colonial ambitions, cold war sellouts and fervent Indonesian nationalism.

The film's debut European screening on Network 2's Frame 2 slot (Sunday, 8pm) is timely and appropriate, given that a majority of TDs are calling on the UN to review its role in Indonesia's takeover of the territory, thanks to the Dublin-based campaign by West Papua Action. For Mark Worth, the documentary may have cost him his life. He died in West Papua in suspicious circumstances, a few days before Land of the Morning Star's Australian première in February.

IVA POCOCK

++++

Sunday Independent
April 25, 2004
If You Do One Thing This Week

LEARN OF the Land of the Morning Star
A new TV documentary tells how West Papua was invaded by Indonesian military who have since committed huge human rights abuses, killing at least 100,000 people. The film's director, Mark Worth, died in suspicious circumstances in West Papua a few days before the film's Australian premiere in February. (Network 2. tonight, 8pm)

++++

Irish Times
Saturday, May 1, 2004
TV Review
Shane Hegarty

As part of Network 2's interesting Frame 2 series, Land of the Morning Star was a bracing documentary about Papua, formerly Irian Jaya, formerly West Irian, formerly West Papua, formerly Netherlands New Guinea. Countries do not change their names simply to stave off boredom.

This beautiful place has been a plaything of empires. The Dutch had it first, and there is footage from 1926 showing their scientists measuring the head size of tribesmen in order to judge just how primitive they might be. The Japanese overran it during the second World War before the Allies arrived as welcomed liberators. Tribes that had never seen outsiders watched as men dropped from the sky. A witness recalled: "Wow! You couldn't see the sky ... Americans."

The Dutch came back and were preparing to hand over independence, even though Indonesia - transforming itself from colony to empire - coveted the land. However, JFK saw newsreel footage of Khrushchev nestling into the chest of the Indonesian president like a newborn searching for a breast. Wanting influence, he persuaded the Dutch to hand Papua to Indonesia. It remains there, kicking and screaming under its boot.

A few years ago, under a new regime, political exiles were invited back. A national congress was allowed. Spectacularly adorned tribesmen, sporting penis gourds that reached to the forehead, walked from the highlands to the coastal capital to have their say. The congress voted for independence and anointed Chief Theys Eluay as leader: "Our Martin Luther King. Our Gandhi, Our Aung San Suu Ki."

But he has since been assassinated. Seven soldiers were found guilty and sentenced only to between two and three and a half years in prison.

Film-maker Mark Worth died earlier this year, shortly after making this documentary. The family says it was pneumonia that got him, although there are some who insist that it was the Indonesians. Whatever the truth, Land of the Morning Star was a powerful reminder of how a struggle between people on the second-largest island on the planet and the government of its fifth most populous country can go almost unnoticed on this side of the world.

tvreview@irish-times.ie

****

Pictured: Viktor Kaisiepo (holding letters from TDs), John Rumbiak, Fiona O'Malley TD, Barry Andrews TD, Julie ?, Maire F. Hoctor TD, Fred Korwa, Grace Roembiak, John Ondawame, outside Dail (Irish Parliament), 25 March 2004.

The Irish Times
Life Features
Monday, April 26, 2004

TDs help Papuans inch towards freedom

West Papua's elders were 'intimidated or bribed' into joining Indonesia. Iva Pocock reports on the campaign for independence

Five West Papuans visited Dublin recently to celebrate a small but significant step forward in the long campaign for their nation's freedom. Since the 1960s these Melanesian people have suffered terror under their most recent colonisers, the Indonesian military. Conservative estimates put the number of deaths at 100,000, although the atrocities in Indonesia's 26th province may amount to genocide, according to Yale Law School.

West Papuans say their misery began with a UN-assisted vote in 1969 in which 1,022 elders were bribed and intimidated into supporting the territory's assimilation into Indonesia. The elders, who were deemed to represent all one million West Papuans, voted unanimously in what is now known as the Act of No Choice. A UN official who oversaw the event has since described it as a whitewash, but at the time it was passed over by the UN general assembly, under pressure from a US administration bent on ensuring Indonesia did not sway towards communism.

Afterwards West Papua fell off the international agenda, subsumed into the world's largest secular Muslim state and renamed Irian Jaya. West Papuans' calls for justice were ignored. Unlike East Timor, which was always supported by Portugal after Indonesia's takeover, they were abandoned by the Netherlands, their former European coloniser.

But now the winds are changing as international awareness of the country's fate grows. Campaign groups in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Europe are building popular support for a UN review of its role in the 1969 vote as a first step in addressing the region's human-rights violations.

A majority of Irish TDs from all political parties has just endorsed the campaign, to the delight of visiting West Papuans. "Irish politicians can be proud that they are taking a lead in Europe on this issue, and we hope this will act as a catalyst to mobilise support internationally for the neglected cause of the West Papuan people," John Rumbiak, a West Papuan human-rights activist, told TDs during his visit to Dublin. "The denial of the right to self-determination is the root cause of systematic human-rights violations in my country."

Fine Gael's foreign-affairs spokesman, Gay Mitchell, says the review process is a perfectly legitimate action for West Papuans to campaign for. "There was no one person one vote. Very simply, the secretary general of the UN should call for all of this to be reviewed."

Fiona O'Malley, the Progressive Democrats TD, says the story of West Papua struck her more than many of the issues she is contacted about. She hadn't previously heard of West Papua, but once she looked into its circumstances she decided to support the campaign. It is important to highlight instances where people are denied democracy, she says. "Others depend on parliamentarians to become advocates for justice in their own countries."

The visiting West Papuans also met the Labour Party's foreign-affairs spokesman, Michael D. Higgins, and John Gormley of the Green Party, as well as Fianna Fáil TDs.

Seán Fleming, a constituency and party colleague of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, believes the West Papuans have a good case. "I'm not going to pretend I'm any expert on this; I've heard what they have to say and want to support them." He has asked the Minister to take up the issue.

So far Cowen hasn't formally called on the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, to instigate a review of the 1969 vote. The Department of Foreign Affairs is concerned that a UN review "might prejudice ongoing efforts to initiate a meaningful dialogue with the Indonesian government and would not contribute to the improvement of the current situation of the Papuan people".

As president of the EU's external- relations council, the Minister met his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirajuda, in Co Kildare last week. West Papua was one of many issues discussed, according to a spokeswoman for the department. Cowen reportedly underlined the importance of Indonesia fulfilling its international human-rights obligations. With its EU partners, the Republic supports a balanced way forward, with more control of the land and resources for the Papuan population, says the spokeswoman.

So officially West Papua's takeover by Indonesia remains above board, according to the Government, but the declaration by 88 TDs that the event was a rubber-stamped sham gives new hope to West Papuans, said Viktor Kaisiepo, a West Papua representative, outside the Dáil.

"In our journey for justice we have found in your members of parliament an affirmative action of partnership, and therefore I would like to say thank you in my own language: kasumasa na."

For further information see www.westpapuaaction.buz.org

© The Irish Times

West Papua Documentary to be shown on RTE Network 2, 25 April

Title: Land of the Morning Star
Channel: RTE Network 2
Date & Time: Sunday 25 April, 8:00pm
Writer/ Director: Mark Worth
Narrator: Rachel Griffiths

"Land of the Morning Star" tells the compelling story of West Papua, which, like East Timor, was invaded by the Indonesian military, who have committed massive human rights abuses there. It is estimated that at least 100,000 people have been killed since the occupation.

"Through eyewitness accounts and rare archival film, this fascinating documentary paints a picture that is intimate in detail but epic in scope. It is a sweeping saga of colonial ambitions, cold war sellouts and fervent nationalism, which highlights the role of players such as Australia and the UN at crucial points."

The film's director, Mark Worth, died in suspicious circumstances in West Papua a few days before the film's Australian premiere in February. This is the first time the documentary has been shown in the UK or Ireland.

West Papua Update, Sat. 24th April

11.00-12.30, Sat. 24th April Cultivate, 15-19 Essex Street West, Temple Bar, Dublin 8

Free Workshop.

All welcome!

Organised by West Papua Action http://westpapuaction.buz.org Tel. 860 3431 as part of Convergence Festival: www.sustainable.ie Tel. 674 5773

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

26 MARCH 2004

Kennedy congratulates TDs for challenging sham vote in West Papua

US Member of Congress Patrick J. Kennedy has sent a message of congratulations to Irish TDs for challenging a sham vote which rubber-stamped the take-over of West Papua by Indonesia in 1969.

Each of the 88 TDs - from all political parties - have individually signed a letter to the UN Secretary General calling on him to initiate a review of the UN's actions in the Indonesian take-over of West Papua.

In a letter to West Papua Action, Representative Kennedy, thanks the organization for their "invitation to come to Ireland to join a multi-partisan majority of Ireland’s national legislative body, the Dáil, in announcing and celebrating their call on the United Nations Secretary General to review the UN’s conduct in relation to the "Act of ‘Free’ Choice" in West Papua 1968-69."

He continues: "I continue to be disturbed by the process through which West Papua was incorporated into the Republic of Indonesia. In particular, I have noted the overwhelming evidence that suggests that the "Act of ‘Free’ Choice" was neither free nor fair. That just 1,022 individuals out of a population of nearly a million Papuans were permitted to participate in the Act speaks volumes."

He adds: "I also continue to be disturbed by ongoing reports of systematic human rights violations at the hands of the Indonesian military in West Papua."

He notes a recent Yale Law School’s which states that there is evidence and argument to "support the conclusion that the Indonesian government has acted with the necessary intent to find that it has perpetrated genocide against the people of West Papua."

Kennedy concludes: "Congratulations to my parliamentary counterparts in Ireland for supporting this important initiative."

Notes for Editors: (1) In 1969, while the world looked away, a grave injustice was committed against the West Papuan people. West Papua was actually promised independence from the Dutch, the former colonial power (by 1st December 1970). But this was cruelly snatched away in a Cold War sell-out dressed up as a democratic plebiscite called the "Act of Free Choice". This spurious Act was contaminated by force and violence. Just 1,022 West Papuans out of a population of one million were allowed to vote. Not surprisingly, this handpicked group unanimously "agreed" that West Papua would become the 26th province of Indonesia. A senior UN official in charge at the time, Chakravarthy Narasimhan, has since called the process a "whitewash". An estimated 100,000 West Papuans have died since the Indonesian military take-over.

(2) A full list of supporting TDs is available at http://westpapuaaction.buz.org/unreview A TD is an Irish Member of Parliament (MP)

Contact: Mark Doris, Coordinator: Tel. 01 860 3431 or Mob. 087 2969742

ENDS

The Irish Times

World News

Friday, 26 March, 2004

TDs call on UN to review its role on West Papua

Joe Humphreys

Government and Opposition parties have joined forces in calling for the United Nations to review its role in the disputed take-over of West Papua by Indonesia more than 30 years ago.

Some 88 TDs, representing all political parties in the Dáil, have signed a letter to the UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, criticizing the international body for overseeing a "sham" election in 1969.

The politicians said the so-called "Act of Free Choice", in which 1,022 Papuans - hand-picked by the Indonesian government - voted for integration rather than independence, "remains a source of unrest in the territory to this day, as underscored by ongoing human rights abuses … and the estimated deaths of 100,000 people since the take-over."

The Irish initiative was welcomed by leading West Papuan activist Mr John Rumbiak, who, on a visit to Dublin yesterday, said: "Irish politicians can be proud that they are taking a lead in Europe on this issue, and we hope this will act as a catalyst to mobilize support internationally for the neglected cause of the West Papuan people."

Mr Mark Doris, co-ordinator of West Papua Action, said it hoped the Government would endorse the cross-party initiative, and help to end West Papua's isolation.

Irish Examiner
25/03/04
Dáil deputies urge UN to review role in takeover of West Papua
By Cormac O'Keeffe

[The Dáil is the Irish Parliament. TD means "Teachta Dála" and is the equivalent of an MP or Member of Parliament.]

A majority of Dáil deputies have called on the United Nations to review its
controversial role in the disputed takeover of West Papua.

Ireland is thought to be the first country in Europe where a majority of
elected representatives have made such a move.

Some 88 TDs from all parties signed a letter asking the UN to review the so-
called "Act of Free Choice", which rubber-stamped Indonesia's control of the
territory in 1969.

The signatories include Minister of State Tim O'Malley and former Foreign
Affairs Minster of State Liz O'Donnell.

Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen's Fianna Fáil running mates in
Laois/Offaly, John Maloney TD and Sean Fleming TD, and the constituency's Fine
Gael TD Olwyn Enright also signed.

The letter campaign organised by West Papua Action Ireland comes as a senior
West Papuan delegation visits Ireland today.

"It is highly significant that the Dáil is the first democratic parliament to
support this call for a review of the UN's role," said Mark Doris of West Papua
Action Ireland (WPAI).

"It is a huge step forward for West Papuans who have been left out in the cold
by the international community for over 40 years."

In 1969, an "Act of Free Choice" was conducted among 1,022 West Papuans hand-
picked by Indonesia out of a population of one million.

They voted unanimously in favour of incorporating West Papua, a former Dutch
colony, with Indonesia, a decision controversially accepted by the UN.

Mr Doris said it was conservatively estimated that 100,000 people had died
directly as a result of Indonesian rule in West Papua.

He said a report compiled by Yale University Law School last December found
evidence that the Indonesian military was culpable of genocide in West Papua.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Government was
concerned that such a review might prejudice any efforts to initiate dialogue
with the Indonesian government and would not improve the condition of the
Papuan people.

She said the Government was monitoring the situation in West Papua and urged
the Indonesian authorities to respect the rights and interests of the people
there.

She added that the department felt that a solution could only be found through
dialogue and negotiation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

25 MARCH 2004

MAJORITY OF TDS CHALLENGE SHAM VOTE IN WEST PAPUA

A majority of TDs today challenge the sham take-over of West Papua - the first majority to so do in Europe.

The story of West Papua is one of independence cruelly snatched away at the last hour.

Each of the 88 TDs - from all political parties - have individually signed a letter to the UN Secretary General calling on him to initiate a review of the UN's actions in the Indonesian take-over of West Papua. This is one significant step to righting this injustice.

"Irish politicians can be proud that they are taking a lead in Europe on this issue, and we hope this will act as a catalyst to mobilise support internationally for the neglected cause of the West Papuan people. The denial of the right to self-determination is the root cause of systematic human rights violations in my country," said leading West Papuan activist John Rumbiak today.

"We would like to thank our Irish brothers and sisters who are standing with us today. Maybe this is the beginning of the end of our isolation. I call upon the Government of Ireland to call upon the UN Secretary General to review the UN's role in the Act of Free Choice, 1969" added Dr. John Ondawame, West Papuan spokesman.

"Today Ireland has made history, and I am very happy to be here to witness it," proclaimed Viktor Kaisiepo.

West Papua Action Coordinator Mark Doris concluded: "We look forward to close cooperation with the Government to build on this political breakthrough."

An estimated 100,000 West Papuans have died since the Indonesian military take-over.

Notes for Editors: (1) In 1969, while the world looked away, a grave injustice was committed against the West Papuan people. West Papua was actually promised independence from the Dutch, the former colonial power (by 1st December 1970). But this was cruelly snatched away in a Cold War sell-out dressed up as a democratic plebiscite called the "Act of Free Choice". This spurious Act was contaminated by force and violence. Just 1,022 West Papuans out of a population of one million were allowed to vote. Not surprisingly, this handpicked group unanimously "agreed" that West Papua would become the 26th province of Indonesia. A senior UN official in charge at the time, Chakravarthy Narasimhan, has since called the process a "whitewash".

(2) A full list of supporting TDs is available at http://westpapuaaction.buz.org/unreview

(3) The West Papuan delegation:
John Rumbiak - West Papua's Leading Human Rights Advocate, Els-ham;
Viktor Kaisiepo - European Spokesperson, Papua Presidium Council (PDP);
Dr. John Otto Ondawame - West Papua People's Representative Office;
Mr. Fred Korwa - West Papuan activist in exile;
Grace Roembiak - PaVo (Papua People's Office, the Netherlands).

Contact: Mark Doris, Coordinator: Tel. 01 860 3431 or Mob. 087 2969742

ENDS

 

STATEMENT BY ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU, SOUTH AFRICA

For many years the people of South Africa suffered under the yoke of oppression and apartheid. Many people continue to suffer brutal oppression, where their fundamental dignity as human beings is denied. One such people is the people of West Papua.

The people of West Papua have been denied their basic human rights, including their right to self-determination. Their cry for justice and freedom has fallen largely on deaf ears.

An estimated 100,000 people have died in West Papua since Indonesia took control of the territory in 1963.

It is with deep concern I have learned about the United Nations’ role in the take-over of West Papua by Indonesia, and in the now-discredited “Act of ‘Free’ Choice” of 1969. Instead of a proper referendum, where every adult male and female had the opportunity to vote by secret ballot on whether or not they wished to be part of Indonesia, just over 1,000 people were hand-picked and coerced into declaring for Indonesia in public in a climate of fear and repression.

The UN had just 16 observers to this Act for a country the size of Spain. The then Secretary-General’s Representative reported on the conduct of the Act to the UN General Assembly in 1969, which noted his report on 19 November of that year.

One of the senior UN officials at the time, Chakravarthy Narasimhan, has since called the process a “whitewash”.

A strong United Nations will be capable of, among other things, acknowledging and correcting its mistakes.

I would like to add my voice to growing international calls for the UN Secretary General to instigate a review of the UN’s conduct in relation to the now-discredited “Act of ‘Free’ Choice”.

I will keep the people of West Papua in my prayers, and I would like to extend my best wishes and moral support to them in their hour of need.

23 FEBRUARY 2004

ENDS

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New Paper by Yale Law School Researchers
Confirms Crimes Against Humanity by Indonesia in West Papua;
Finds Strong Evidence of Genocide Against Indigenous Papuans

10 December 2003

Yale Law School Genocide Report (Download Here)

Pattern of Violent Repression Likely to Continue Without
Significant International Pressure

New Haven, CT, December 10, 2003 - Yale Law School's Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic today released the results of an examination of human rights conditions in West Papua, the Indonesian-controlled western half of the island of New Guinea. The paper, entitled Indonesian Human Rights Abuses in West Papua: Application of the Law of Genocide to the History of Indonesian Control, which was prepared at the request of the Indonesia Human Rights Network, considers the policies and practices of the Indonesian government and military in West Papua during the four decades that the Republic of Indonesia has exercised sovereignty over the territory. Based on an extensive review of primary and secondary factual sources, as well as consultation with Papuan, Indonesian, and international experts, the paper analyzes whether the definition of genocide under international law can be applied to Indonesian conduct in West Papua during this period.

The paper concludes that the historical and contemporary evidence "strongly suggests that the Indonesian government has committed proscribed acts with the intent to destroy the West Papuans . . . in violation of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide."

In its concluding overview of conditions in West Papua, the Yale Law School research team states:

"Since the so-called [1969 UN-supervised] Act of Free Choice, the West Papuan people have suffered persistent and horrible abuses at the hands of the Indonesian government. The Indonesian military and security forces have engaged in widespread violence and extrajudicial killings in West Papua. They have subjected Papuan men and women to acts of torture, disappearance, rape, and sexual violence, thus causing serious bodily and mental harm. Systematic resource exploitation, the destruction of Papuan resources and crops, compulsory (and often uncompensated) labor, transmigration schemes, and forced relocation have caused pervasive environmental harm to the region, undermined traditional subsistence practices, and led to widespread disease, malnutrition, and death among West Papuans. Such acts, taken as a whole, appear to constitute the imposition of conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the West Papuans. Many of these acts, individually and collectively, clearly constitute crimes against humanity under international law."

Citing the Indonesian government's "callous disregard for-and, at times, an intentional and specific malevolence toward-the basic human rights and dignity of the people of West Papua," the paper finds:

"Although no single act or set of acts can be said to have constituted genocide, per se, and although the required intent cannot be as readily inferred as it was in the cases of the Holocaust or the Rwandan genocide, there can be little doubt that the Indonesian government has engaged in a systematic pattern of acts that has resulted in harm to-and indeed the destruction of-a substantial part of the indigenous population of West Papua. The inevitability of this result was readily obvious, and the government has taken no active measures to contravene. According to current understanding of the Genocide Convention, including its interpretation in the jurisprudence of the ad hoc international criminal tribunals, such a pattern of actions and inactions-of acts and omissions-supports the conclusion that the Indonesian government has acted with the necessary intent to find that it has perpetrated genocide against the people of West Papua."

The Lowenstein Clinic's paper highlights the urgent need for heightened international attention to the grave human rights situation in West Papua. "As our paper goes to press, violence, civil unrest, and grievous abuses of human rights continue to affect the lives of West Papuan civilians," said the Lowenstein Clinic team's student leader, Elizabeth Brundige. "The United States and other governments meeting in Jakarta this week for the annual Consultative Group on Indonesia should insist that the Indonesian government take immediate action to address the human rights crisis in Papua. Recent developments suggest that without significant international pressure, the pattern of violent repression in West Papua is likely to continue."

Lowenstein Clinic director, Professor James Silk, said that the report's release, which coincides with Human Rights Day, is particularly timely in light of recent events in West Papua. "Just this month, the Indonesian government appointed former East Timor police chief Timbul Silaen to the post of police commander for Papua, and East Timor militia leader Eurico Guterres arrived in Papua to form a militia group. Both men have been indicted for crimes against humanity by East Timor's Special Panel for Serious Crimes for their leadership roles in the deadly and widespread violence unleashed against civilians by Indonesian security forces and their militia proxies during the 1999 U.N.-sponsored referendum. These actions threaten to further destabilize Papua and to escalate violence against civilians to levels similar to the current military campaign in Aceh and the 1999 killings, forced displacement, and destruction in East Timor."

A full text of the 76-page paper is available online at: http://www.law.yale.edu/outside/html/Public_Affairs/426/westpapuahrights.pdf

The Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic is a Yale Law School course that gives students practical experience in human rights advocacy, involving them in the range of activities in which lawyers engage to promote respect for human rights; and contributes to current efforts to protect human rights through high-quality assistance to appropriate organizations and individual clients. The Clinic undertakes numerous litigation and research projects on behalf of human rights organizations and individual victims of human rights abuse; it has provided briefs for the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and many courts in the United States.

Yale Law School
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAMS
Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights
Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic and Project
Paul W. Kahn, Director o James J. Silk, Executive Director

Contacts: Elizabeth Brundige
(email lizbr@aya.yale.edu to arrange phone contact)
Jim Silk 203-432-1729

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