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The
Newsletter of West Papua Action. July 1996. No. 1 |
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Contents |
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Donations
to develop the West Papua campaign are always welcome.
Money can be lodged to:
West Papua Action,
Bank of Ireland,
Portlaoise,
Co. Laoise,
Ireland.
A/C no. 59691993.
Sort Code: 90-18-88.
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Welcome
to West Papua News No. 1 |
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Welcome to the first edition of West Papua News. It is hoped
that this newsletter will give a picture of the ongoing situation
in West Papua, but that it will also be a forum for information
on the historical reasons why West Papua needs solidarity
and support. In providing this information and news, readers
may be prompted to take action, however small, towards freeing
up the situation in West Papua as its people move towards
independence. Also contained in this newsletter will be a
record of the activities of West Papua Action, a solidarity
and activist initiative founded this year to bring about political
change in the relationship between Indonesia and West Papua.
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West Papua Action was officially launched by Ms. Carmel
Budiardjo, who is the co-ordinating secretary of TAPOL,
the London-based Indonesia human rights campaign. The launch
occurred at AfrI's ( Action from Ireland ) fourth annual
St. Brigid's Conference in Kildare in January. Ms. Budiardjo
won the Right Livelihood Award in 1995, for her tireless
work and activism on behalf of the peoples of Indonesia,
Aceh, East Timor and West Papua. West Papua Action was honoured
to have such a distinguished guest to launch the work on
its way.
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Visit
of Ms. Carmel Budiardjo |
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Ms. Budiardjo drew a lot of interest for West Papua on her
visit to Ireland in January. On Friday, January 29th, she
spoke at O'Loughlin's Hotel in Portlaoise to a crowd of about
40 people ( which was a great turnout, given the icy conditions
and snow ). "Arrows Against the Wind", the video, was also
shown on this occasion. Mr. Peter Tesch did an interview from
his sickbed, which was later published in the Nationalist.
(Mr. Tesch's piece later appeared in the Australian West Papua
Association's newsletter.) The Leinster Express also covered
the visit.
On Saturday morning Carmel met with Mr. Alan Dukes, TD,
Chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign
Affairs, in Kildare, before proceeding to AfrI's conference
where she was a guest speaker. Carmel spoke of her work
and her background, and in particular about her time in
Indonesia in the 1960's, a time of great upheaval and brutality,
the period which saw the start of General Suharto's military
reign. She placed her prison memoirs "Surviving Indonesia's
Gulag" in the sacred space of AfrI's symbolic ritual. Carmel
then went on to speak of West Papua, saying she views the
dominant role of Freeport / RTZ backed up by the Indonesian
military as: "A twin evil: the army and the company".
The West Papua Action banner was then unfurled in a deeply
moving gesture of breaking the silence that had surrounded
this area of our world up to then. Carmel spent a productive
day on the following Monday in Dublin, giving interviews to
the Irish Times ( see May 21st issue ) and Fortnight magazine
(see March issue). She also recorded an interview with RTE's
News at One, which was broadcast the following day, and for
"CrossCurrents", which was aired on the subsequent Friday.
Whilst waiting in the News at One studio, she also managed
a live interview on Midland's Radio Three ( ! ). Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Joan Burton TD, received Ms. Budiardjo at Iveagh House.
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Joint
Oireachtas Committee Resolution |
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Mr. Pat Gallagher, TD, Chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas
Committee on Foreign Affairs Sub-committee on Development
Co-operation invited West Papua Action to make a presentation
at their January 30th meeting in Dublin. Out of this meeting
Mr. Gallagher and his team prepared a draft resolution on
West Papua to be presented to the full committee the following
day, which was adopted. A copy of this all-party committee
resolution is available from West Papua Action.
It "calls on the Government to request the United Nations
to investigate and act on the allegations of human rights
abuses and on the question of the validity of the 1969 "Act
of 'Free' Choice", and - further calls on the Government
to follow in the footsteps of the Washington-based federal
agency, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and to
urge the World Bank to withdraw insurance cover to Freeport/RTZ
Mining Company in West Papua which is currently provided
by the World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency."
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Visit
of Ms. Léonie Tanggahma |
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Ms. Léonie Tanggahma, who is a West Papuan based in the
Netherlands, and who works with West Papua People's Front
visited Ireland on Tuesday, May 8th to address a public
meeting in the Harcourt Hotel in Dublin. She met with journalists
from Fortnight magazine and from the Irish Times, and was
interviewed for RTE's Today at Five, as was Mark Doris.
She also met with the First Secretary in the Aisa Political
Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs, as well as
visiting Amnesty International, Comhlámh, and AfrI. Léonie
flew on to Aberdeen to continue a long run of speaking engagements
in Britain. The World Development Movement based in London
was instrumental in organising her speaking tour.
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Irish
MEPs for West Papua |
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A number of Irish MEPs have pledged support for the people
of West Papua in the past year. Mr. Pat the Cope O'Gallagher
has received a reply from Mr. Jacques Santer, President
of the European Commission voicing his concern for human
rights, and also promising to have West Papua investigated
by one of the Directorates General of the Commission. Ms.
Nuala Ahern of the Green Group has being working on an ongoing
basis, culminating in a strong Green Group showing in the
adoption of the first ever European Parliament resolution
on West Papua in March. Both Mr. Liam Hyland, TD, MEP, and
Ms. Patricia McKenna spoke about West Papua in the preceding
debate. Other MEPs who have expressed concern are: Ms. Mary
Banotti, Ms. Bernie Malone, Mr. Brian Crowley, and Mr. Jim
Fitzsimons, Mr. Alan Gillis, Mr. Mark Killilea.
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Freeport
/ Rio Tinto Gold and Copper |
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West Papua Action is promoting two ideas in relation to
the consumption of new gold and copper. This has two aims:
to get us all thiking of where mineral resources such as
gold and copper actually come from and the conditions under
which they are mined, and secondly, to have a positive impact
on those companies and governments responsible for the promotion
of socially-irresponsible mining. Our focus of thinking
and research is Freeport / RTZ in particular, and thus our
focus is on copper and gold. The huge Grasberg mine near
the south coast of West Papua is the world's biggest gold
mine and the second or third biggest open-cast copper mine.
In Freeport / RTZ parlance, it is a "slot-machine". For
the local indigenous people, the mine has had a devasting
effect on their lands and lifestyle, poisoning the rivers,
causing dislocation and the destruction of sacred territory.
Freeport McMoran / RTZ offer pitiful sums in compensation
for, in effect, stealing and polluting the local's natural
resources and land. The Amungme, the Komora, and the Dani
have had enough, and are fighting back. They need our support.
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Mr. Tom Beanal, of LEMASA, the Amungme Tribal Council has
brought Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold to the USA courts
to sue them for having "destroyed the rights and culture of
the Amungme and other indigenous people... resulting in the
purposeful, deliberate, contrived and planned demise of a
culture of indigenous people whose rights were never considered."
The case was filed in a US court because national remedies
in Indonesia have been exhausted due to the inadequacy of
the judicial system and the obvious conflict of interest between
the Indonesian government, which holds a ten per cent share
in Freeport's Indonesian subsidiary company Freeport Indonesia
( FIC ), and the defendant.
In the wake of riots which caused damage to Freeport / RTZ
installations causing if to close for a number of days, Mr.
Jim Bob Moffet flew in to meet local people. A follow-up meeting
was preceded by a huge military build-up in the area, and
a military raid on the local tribal council offices, in a
"show-of-force" effort to intimidate the local people. After
this 13 April meeting Freeport's PR machine churned out misleading
statements about a "deal" having been done between the company
and the local Amungme people.
The Amungme had not agreed to an "offer" dedicating 1 per
cent of its revenue over 10 years towards a local development
fund. Freeport were already spending these levels of money
in the area, so the offer was, in effect, no offer. The Amungme
issued a statement on 14 April saying the Freeport "offer"
"failed to address the roots of the problem".
Now Mr. Beanal is suing the company in a class action on behalf
of his people.
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Reconsider
buying new gold |
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The orgnaization, World Wide Film Expedition says: "Please
remember that for every ounce of gold up to 200 TONS of
natural mountain is crushed into piles of toxic pebbles!
About 75% of newly mined gold is for human adornment, 15%
of gold is hoarded as investment and only about 10% is used
for "necessary" industrial uses.
In the U.S. about 40% of new gold consumed is for high school
graduation rings. Tremendous pressure is on high school
students to buy these rings.
Gold companies and businesses are commonly invited to high
schools to address assemblies of seniors and to distribute
order forms.
Please use recycled gold. Old gold is good gold and there
are tons of old gold available. Remember, the choice is
ours: we can protect our remaining wild lands or we can
have shiny trinkets. Your consumer power can stop irresponsible
gold mining..."
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West
Papua Action Copper Campaign |
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As a gesture of solidarity, West Papua Action is asking readers
and supporters of West Papuan people's struggle to consider
investing copper coins in the work of the campaign. This can
be done as follows:
1. Collect copper coins in a container over a few months.
Pick up some small plastic coinage bags when you are at the
bank.
2. When you have say £2, £4 or £6 worth, bring along to the
bank and lodge to:
West Papua Action,
A/C No. 59691993,
Bank of Ireland,
Portlaoise branch;
Sort Code: 90-18-88.
Keep the lodgment slip and post to:
West Papua Action,
Copper Campaign,
c/o AfrI,
Grand Canal House,
Lower Rathmines Road,
Dublin 6.
Ireland.
Tel. 353 1 496 8595.
Fax. 353 1 4968592.
E-mail. wpaction@iol.ie
Include your name and address, and name of school or organization
if you collected the copper in a group. Please indicate if
you would like a receipt.
3. West Papua Action will report on the results and produce
a list of sponsors for the public every six months.
4. If you have ideas or can help out in any way, please contant
WPA. The Irish Central Bank in Dublin has informed WPA that
the majority of its 1p and 2p coins are the old ("dull" )
coins, which are 97% copper.
The new 1 and 2p are copper-plated. The 5, 10, 20, 50 and
£1 pieces contain over 70% copper.
Please note that West Papua Action is a campaign, not a
charity, and monies received go mainly towards paying for
administration, travel, speakers' expenses etc. Income and
expenditure records are available on request.
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Hostage
Crisis Ends in Tragedy |
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West Papua made world-wide news on and off over the past
six months, since January 8th, when 26 hostages were taken
by the Free Papua Movement ( OPM ).
It took the violation of personal freedom for the world
to begin to take notice of the OPM's struggle against the
might of their Indonesian colonisers.
Up to recently, 11 of the 26 were still in captivity. The
Indonesian army mounted a rescue attempt in May. 2 hostages
were killed. Various reports are coming in of how they died,
but going to press if appears that 2 Papuans who joined
the hostage-taking party late were responsible. The motives
and affiliation of the killers is not clear.
The Indonesian army of course made hay that Papuans had
been involved in the killings. A superficial view of the
situation could certainly give the impression that the Indonesian
military was good and glorious. Because of this the kidnapping
saga has been a major setback for the OPM.
However, the rightness of the West Papuans' struggle for
their rights remains inviolate 'behind the headlines', as
it were. Human rights abuses by the state continue ( one
report says that 43, 000 Papuans have been killed since
1977 ); that the 1969 Act of "Free" Choice is an unworthy
instrument for the United Nations to stand over stands up
to any free-thinking person's scrutiny; that Freeport /
RTZ are stealing and polluting the natural environment of
West Papuans, and that they are complicit in human rights
abuses by the state also stands up to rigorous investigation.
Thus West Papua's cry for international solidarity and support
remains as strong as ever.
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1969
Act of 'Free' Choice |
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West Papua is still, in effect, an undecolonized territory
of the Netherlands. The 1962 New York Agreement stipulated
that the West Papuan people be asked by way of referendum
whether they wanted to be part of Indonesia or not. 1, 025
people voted out of an estimated population of 800, 000.
The question of the incorporation of West Papua into Indonesia
has still to be resolved. This question is a matter for
the United Nations, who in 1969 side-stepped the issue.
The truth has a stubborn persistence.
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More
background on West Papua |
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An Australian team of diplomats which visited Timika, in
the vicinity of the Freeport/RTZ mine in West Papua in July
1995 not only discovered damning evidence of military atrocities
but also concluded that the indigenous people were clearly
unhappy being part of Indonesia.
"There is little evidence of deep-seated commitment among
indigenous people to the idea of "Indonesia". They continue
to perceive themselves as a group distinct from, and often
incompatible with, other Indonesians. This sentiment is
reciprocated and is reflected in the patronising character
of central government administration in the province and
occasionally in human rights abuses by the security forces."
The Australian delegation, led by Australia's ambassador
in Jakarta, Allan Taylor, had a three-day visit to the Freeport
copper mine at the end of July 1995. The confidential report
to the Foreign Minister Gareth Evans quoted above confirmed
allegations that Indonesian troops had massacred 11 unarmed
villagers on May 31st 1995. The report was leaked to the Sydney
Morning Herald ( 11 November ).
John Ondowame, an Amungme landowner clearly links the heavy
military presence in the area of the mine to the presence
of Freeport, Indonesia's largest single foreign investor:
"The heavy military presence is to protect the mine from the
Amungme people". The Freeport mine is situated on Amungme
tribal territory. According to reports in The Nation ( 31
July - 7 August, 1995 ), at least 115, 000 tonnes of untreated
tailings is dumped every day into the rivers Aghawon, Otomona
and Ajikwa which flow through the Tembagapura/Timika region
of West Papua. Only 3-4% of the mine's employees are local
Papuans. The Catholic Church of Jayapura in an August 1995
report confirmed that 37 people had been killed in the vicinity
of Timika, including 22 civilians. These 22 include the 11
unarmed people shot at prayer at Hoea on May 31st 1995, including
4 children aged 2 - 15 years. The Australian Council for Overseas
Aid ( ACFOA ), the semi-independent Indonesian National Human
Rights Commission ( Komnas HAM ), and the Australian government
delegation which visited the mining region in July 1995 have
confirmed that this 31st May 1995 massacre occurred.
The Amungme Tribal Council - Amung Ne Sorei - say "For us,
the Amungme people, the root cause of the human rights violations
is Freeport". The Catholic Church continually mentions that
Freeport containers and vehicles were used in the human rights
violations - indiscriminate killings, torture, and disappearances
- they document in their report.
Indigenous West Papuans who number between 800,000 and 1 million
are threatened with cultural and political annihilation as
the Indonesian government plans to resettle up to 3 million
people in its transmigration or "Go-East" programs.
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The Obliteration of a People
A number of copies of "West Papua: the Obliteration of a People",
published by TAPOL, is available from West Papua Action at
IR£6.00, incl. P&P, or from TAPOL.
TAPOL Bulletin
West Papua Action strongly recommends readers interested in
West Papua, and the Indonesian political and human rights
scene which directly and indirectly affects West Papua to
subscribe to TAPOL Bulletin. TAPOL and its publication are
strongly respected throughout the world for the quality of
its information and analysis.
TAPOL Bulletin costs stg£16 ( stg£8 unwaged ), institutions,
stg£22, for one year, and is available from:
TAPOL,
111 Northwood Road,
Thornton Heath,
Surrey CR7 8HW,
UK.
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West Papua Action
gratefully acknowledges the financial support of Trócaire.
The contents of this publication
are solely the responsibility of West Papua Action,
c/o AfrI,
Grand Canal House,
Lower Rathmines Road,
Dublin 6.
Ireland.
Tel. 353 1 496 8595.
Fax. 353 1 4968592.
E-mail. wpaction@iol.ie
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