Indonesian police and army units have conducted heavily armed
security sweeps across Jayapura ahead of mass demonstrations to
commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Indonesia’s annexation of West
Papua.
Thousands of members of civil society organisations are today
converging on Jayapura, West Papua, to hold the demonstrations, however,
reports from West Papua Media stringers on the ground in Jayapura have
documented a series of brutal raids to prevent public participation in
the planned rallies.
Led by a coalition of pro-independence networks including activists
from the National Federated Republic of West Papua (NFRPB) and the West
Papua National Committee (KNPB), the demonstrations are intended to
“show a peaceful expression of continued and universal opposition to
Indonesia’s colonial violence against indigenous West Papuans,” and
continue to call for self-determination for Papua’s people, a basic
human right now denied by Indonesia with the May 1 50-year anniversary
of Papua’s annexation, according to organisers from the NFRPB.
Organisers have also called for rolling and widespread strikes,
particularly amongst Papuan members of the Indonesian civil service, and
for Papuan university and high school student to join the rallies and
use May 1 as a “public holiday for West Papuan people’s future”.
The raids began at 0300 (3am local time) on April 30, after the new
Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe endorsed a decision by Chief of the
(Indonesian) Papua Police, the Australian-trained former head of the
notorious counter-terror unit Detachment 88, Inspector General Tito
Karnavian, to criminalise all public gatherings for May 1. Karnavian
made significant public statements in both Indonesian and Papuan press
saying that he will not tolerate dissent to be publicly expressed today,
despite this ban being a breach of the of freedoms of expression and
association guaranteed under the Indonesian Constitution.
Police have announced to Jayapura residents and rally organisers,
that if demonstrations occur, Police will first attempt to use
persuasion to disperse the approach of rally participants, and if rally
participants ignored persuasion, then they would use force and “destroy”
any gatherings.
Organisers have reported that on top of the extra thousand heavily
armed police announced by Karnavian, hundreds of heavily armed plain
clothes special forces police and soldiers have arrived in the city,
with most moving around on motorbikes. In addition, hundreds of
soldiers from the Indonesian Army (TNI) were yesterday witnessed riding
on motorbikes whilst in full battle kit in a clear show of force and
intimidation against Papuan civilians.
Several student dormitories housing rally delegates from various
centres across Papua were raided by heavily armed police on April 30,
allegedly including Australian-trained members of the counter-terror
Detachment 88 attached to the Jayapura ResKrim (Criminal Investigation
Branch), as part of a sweep to capture key organiser and West Papua
National Authority Manokwari Governor Markus Yenu. In one raid, police
from ResKrim detained for 15 hours an elderly former political prisoner
named Alfred Kapisa (72), beat, interrogated and subjected him to
violence, because according to human rights sources, he was found with a
rally flyer on his kitchen table and was suspected of being involved as
an organiser.
A raid on the Manokwari student dormitory at 1442 local time, where
Yenu was present with the Manokwari rally delegations, ended with police
left empty-handed after the students told the police that the
delegation were the student’s official guests.
After Yenu and the Manokwari delegation moved to the Mamberamo
dormitory, the Abepura police chief allegedly pressured the Chairman of
the GKI (Indonesian Christian Church) Synod Alberth Yocku to issue an
eviction demand for delegates to vacate the dormitories, managed by the
GKI. A platoon and several carloads of heavily armed Police then
arrived in the courtyard of the dormitories, and gave the delegates an
hour to vacate, upon threat of arrest. The GKI had often come under
criticism from Papuan civil society, churches and even Papuan
politicians in the Indonesian parliament as being no more than a puppet
of Jakarta.
Meanwhile, Indonesian civil society organisation National Papua
Solidarity (NAPAS) has condemned the Papuan police decision to ban
public dissent, saying in a statement that the ban “represents a
reactive, paranoid and discriminative approach of the Indonesian
government that limits the exercise of the civil and political rights of
Papuans.”
“Furthermore, the decision would undermine the existing processes and
initiatives to find a peaceful solution for Papua conflicts,” NAPAS
coordinator Zely Ariane said in the statement.
“The ban to commemorate the 50th anniversary event illustrates the
Indonesian government position that aims to monopolies the
interpretation of Papuan history for the sake of the state, not for
Papuans,” Ariane said.
“When both the Governor of Papua and the Chief of Police of Papua
deliberately ban any activities of Papuans to commemorate this historic
moment, history repeats itself. Papuan’s rights of free speech of free
speech and freedom of movement and of assembly were not protected and
guaranteed then and now. Therefore, we question both the local
authorities in Papua and the national authorities of Indonesia whether
they treat Papuans as citizens or just inhabitants,” said Ariane.
Credible sources in Jayapura have reported to West Papua Media
that members of the military and police are very wary of KNPB
involvement in the 50 year anniversary demonstrations, after these
sources spoke with Kopassus officers posing as ojek (motorbike taxi)
drivers. Indonesian security forces have long blamed KNPB members for
major acts of violence including “unknown persons” (OTK) shootings,
though no credible evidence has ever been proven.
However, organisers have reported to West Papua Media that
consolidation and planning meetings for today’s commemorations were held
between all participant components of Papuan civil resistance, and
successfully developed an understanding for joint action, highlighting
the goals of Negotiations, Referendum and Recognition as three points of
an agreed campaign pathway agenda. Additionally, all components have
reaffirmed their commitment to peaceful actions and non-violence as a
strategy for all civil resistance mobilisation.
Activists are pressing on with their plans to hold rallies and
commemorate today’s anniversary. Whilst activists are expecting a
violent police response, they are prepared with a diversity of civil
resistance and non-violence tactics to maximise the strategic backfire
on Indonesian security forces.
Reports from the ground in Jayapura have detailed fears of a major
escalation in repression by security forces. Currently over a thousand
police have illegally set up a camp on the Papuan land that is the
gravesite of Indonesian assassinated Papuan independence hero Theys
Eluay. Human rights sources have expressed concern that this military
occupation of one of Papua’s most important sacred site for
self-determination and freedom expression is a deliberate provocation by
the military to create outrage and potential violence in public
gatherings today.
Elsewhere in Papua, unconfirmed reports have emerged from Sorong that
a May 1 rally being held there has already been forcefully broken up by
police. Human rights sources have reported that two civilians, Tomas
Blesia and Abner Malagawak were shot dead, and Salomina Klaibin and
Herman Lokden were wounded by security force gunfire, reportedly as
people gathered peacefully for the rally. Conflicting reports have
claimed that the victims were members of the West Papua National
Liberation Army (TPN), but West Papua Media has not been able to independently verify this claim.
More updates will appear on West Papua Media throughout the
day, and urgent breaking news will be available on our Twitter feed
@westpapuamedia.
Note: Journalists needing comment or contact numbers for speakers
inside Papua are encouraged to call the West Papua Editorial team on
+61401222177. This contact is bilingual in English and Bahasa
Indonesia. The Coordinating Editor can be reached intermittently
throughout the day on +61450079106, but not for immediate comment.
Source: West Papua Media
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