N: Papualaiset haluavat itsenäisyyttä ja vapautta

[Pasi Fist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... m-in-papua

'An earthquake': racism, rage and rising calls for freedom in Papua

At a pivotal moment in the region’s struggle for self-determination, there is seething anger as well as hope

At the base of the verdant mountains of Sentani, where dense, tropical jungle overlooks a sprawling teal lake, worshippers stream into church, men in suits and ties and sandals or batik shirts, women with colourful woven bags strung from their foreheads and slung over their backs.

Grey clouds hang low over the house of worship, a wood and tin shed with concrete floors and large open windows that let in the thick humid air.

Almost two weeks after a series of violent protests hit Indonesia’s easternmost territory, touching off the worst unrest in more than a decade, the pews in the majority Christian province are full and the parishioners are angry.

The ring of evangelical hymns gives way to the rousing words of Rev Benny Giay, one of Papua’s staunchest supporters of self-determination. His fury is palpable.

“They called us animals!” he rails from the pulpit as women in the pews before him click their tongues in . “Now there are anti-racist protests all over. It is like an earthquake!”

Ignited by malicious racial slurs two weeks ago, the protests in West Papua have spread and intensified, with thousands taking to the streets in a series of rolling and in some cases violent demonstrations.

On Thursday angry demonstrators torched parliament and police buildings in Jayapura. Police fired tear gas and six hundred extra paramilitary troops have been deployed to the city. At least six people have been killed as the volatile situation, unfolding in a region for decades roiled by separatist conflict, escalates daily.

The Guardian travelled to West Papua, obtaining rare access to the province’s leading pro-independence figures at a pivotal moment for the province. On the ground there was seething anger and resentment, but also hope that the rage on the streets will transform into real momentum for independence.

“The protests are a spontaneous action against racism,” says Victor Yeimo, from the West Papua National Committee, which advocates a non-violent struggle to achieve self-determination. “But what people want is freedom.”


Victor Yeimo, from the West Papua National Committee.

‘A new time has come’

West Papua occupies the western half of New Guinea island, Indonesia’s most remote and least developed territory, almost the size of Spain. Lying more than 4,000km from the Indonesian capital Jakarta is home to some of the largest tracts of rainforest after the Amazon, and a bounty of gold, copper, timber and natural gas.

But the region is riven by deep divisions. The protests that began in early August were sparked by a viral video that showed Indonesian military officers taunting Papuan students in the Javanese city of Surabaya, calling them “monkeys”, “pigs” and “dogs”.



They have since spread to almost 30 cities inside and outside West Papua. There, demonstrators have flown the banned Morning Star flag, a symbol of Papuan independence, and held signs reading: “Papua merdeka, itu yang monyet inginkan,” – “Free Papua, this is what the monkeys want.”

After a market and government building were torched, the government in Jakarta sent more than 1,000 security personnel into the already heavily militarised province, sparking fears the protests would be put down with force.

But they have continued, spreading to Jayapura and the remote highlands, where thousands of Papuans in traditional dress carrying sticks, bows and arrows rallied to express their indignation.

Amid the unrest, key figures in the independence movement have seized on the momentum.

Describing the situation as a “crisis of history”, Giay urged parishioners in church to educate their children so they could “become like Moses”, leading their people out of slavery.

“It’s like a new time has come and we have to reposition ourselves,” Giay told the Guardian after the sermon, as churchgoers walked back up the mountain, well-thumbed Bibles in hand.

‘We have never had a choice’

For indigenous Papuans, the demonstrations that began as a fight against racism have ignited decades of anger that date back to colonialism.

While Indonesia and its resource-rich spice islands were granted independence from the Netherlands in 1949, West Papua, then known as West Irian, remained under Dutch control until Indonesian troops parachuted in to “liberate” it in 1962. By August that year the territory was temporarily bought under Indonesian control.

In 1969, the controversial Act of Free Choice, a vote to enable the inhabitants of West Irian to determine their own future, was held. Many Papuans claim it was conducted under duress. Of a population of 800,000 people, some 1,022 Papuans, reportedly hand-picked by Jakarta and kept under military supervision, unanimously voted for integration.

Despite concerns over the process, the United Nations noted the results in Resolution No. 2504, without explicitly endorsing them.


People flee as the local market is seen burning during a protest in Fakfak, Papua province, on 21 August.

In the minds of West Papua’s pro-independence leaders the sense of disenfranchisement that characterised the Act of Free Choice has lingered in the Papuan psyche, fuelling a sense of injustice and perpetuating an independence movement that refuses to go away.

‘Papuans want freedom’

Across the Papuan capital, Jayapura, storefronts are adorned with red and white, the colours of the Indonesian flag, decorations from Indonesian independence day celebrations on 17 August. But deep-seated nationalism is hard to find.

“Indonesian nationalism is only a symbol in Papua, a symbol that is forced upon us,” scoffs Victor Yeimo, “How can we say we are part of Indonesia when we have never had a choice?”

Filep Karma, a prominent independence figure who spent eleven years in jail for flying the banned Morning Star flag, sits on the balcony of his Jayapura home, wearing a camel safari suit, and an East Timorese flag on his cap. The independence symbols, he says, are “his motivations”.

“Sometimes in town the military threatens me and says ‘take off that pin’,” he says of his Morning Star flag badge, “I tell them, ‘shoot me first, then you can take it off,” he says with a laugh.

For years Karma says he has warned the Indonesian government about its racism problem, an issue that many Papuans know all to well.


Prominent independence figure Filep Karma.

As a student in Java, Karma recalls a female friend who was a good singer cracking a joke in front of their friends. If they ever married, she jibed, “all the monkeys [Papuans] would know how to sing”.

“It hit me in the heart,” says Karma, from the balcony of his Jayapura home. “In church we would say we were brothers, so how could anyone say that?”

In Indonesia the general view of Papuans, he says, is “people with black skin, curly hair, and hairy bodies” who are “stupid, stinky and criminal”. Encountering it on a daily basis, he added, “gets to you psychologically”.

Around Jayapura, banners have been strung up calling for people to reject all forms of racism, but other ethnic divisions are plainly visible.

At the Jayapura Mall, almost all patrons and salespeople are noticeably non-Papuan. The indigenous Papuans can be found clustered outside in the heat, selling betel nut and woven bags on the pavement.

Papua is a land rich in natural resources, but the indigenous population complain they have not benefited enough from their natural wealth – across the country Papua has the highest rates of illiteracy and HIV.

President Joko Widodo, or “Jokowi”, has worked hard to develop Papua, regularly visiting and initiating new infrastructure projects. But there have been bitter disappointments too.

In 2014 Jokowi promised to solve egregious cases of human rights abuses, but critics say nothing has changed and for many Papuans, getting justice is more important than a new bridge or road.

“The government needs a humanitarian approach, not a military one if they want to win the hearts of Papuans,” remarked Marinus Yaung, a lecturer in international relations Cendrawasih University in Jayapura.

On the ground the issue of a referendum on self-determination is a sensitive one to for Papuans, who worry there could be repercussions for what they say.

At a traditional market one woman answered carefully. “Papuans are happy with Jokowi,” she said, “But it should be our right to choose.”

One local journalist who asked not to be named told the Guardian: “If you ask Papuans if they want freedom, they do.”

Even as the anger in Papua boils over, analysts say it is hard to see how much could change without significant international pressure and support – something that has been lacking for decades and shows little sign of materialising now.

To Jakarta’s elite, which vehemently maintains Papua is a legitimate and non-negotiable part of Indonesia, independence for West Papua remains a fanciful suggestion.On Thursday, chief security minister Wiranto said the government would not entertain any demand for an independence vote, according to Kompas.com.

“Demands for referendum I think must not be mentioned. Why? Because the unity of the Republic of Indonesia is final,” Wiranto said.

Karma is used to Jakarta’s intransigence and is realistic about Papuan dreams of independence:“Papua belongs to them, but in our minds it is ours.”

[Pasi Fist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... ds-emerges

West Papua student 'shot by militias' as video of soldiers firing on crowds emerges

Three students believed shot in dormitories on Sunday, as video emerges of last week’s clashes in which soldiers fire on peaceful protests



Three West Papuan students have reportedly been shot in their dormitories by militia groups amid growing tensions in the region, as disturbing footage emerged of Indonesian soldiers firing on peaceful demonstrators during clashes last week in which protesters say six died.

The Papuan students were attacked in a dormitory in Abepura district, Jayapura, by police-backed armed militias on Sunday. One student was killed by a bullet wound to the chest. The students were reportedly attacked as they tried to defend themselves from vigilantes from a pro-Jakarta group calling itself Masyarakat Nusantara (Archipelago Community).

Papuan protesters allege non-Papuan vigilante groups are being encouraged by police and military to attack Papuans during what has been more than a fortnight of protests over racial discrimination and abuse as well as calls for independence from Indonesia.

Despite an internet blackout across Papua and West Papua, footage has emerged showing soldiers firing at a crowd of demonstrators outside a government office in Deiyai last week: some of the demonstrators are standing with their hands in the air, as soldiers move in.

Protesters say six people were killed in the confrontation, and more than a dozen injured, after a police opened fire on a peaceful demonstration that had occupied the regent’s office in the middle of Deiyai city.

Victor Yeimo from the West Papua National Committee said: “They [went] inside peacefully, but suddenly, without any provocation police opened fire into the mass of demonstrators. Then … people attacked with bow and arrow.”

Photos have emerged of the body of one Indonesian soldier killed in the clash last Wednesday, his body pierced with arrows.

Papua police spokesperson Commander Anton Ampang has disputed the death count, saying one protester was killed, and that security forces opened fire only after being attacked. “Around 1,000 people armed with arrows, spears and machetes joined the protesters and started to dance the Waita dance [a traditional war dance] and threw rocks at the security forces,” Anton said in a statement.

Military personnel in a car were attacked, he said.

[Mr Darcy]

[ana-conda]

Fakfak

[Hans Normaali]

Lähteeköhän kohta papualaiset niinku lapualaiset 1918 ajamaan vainolaisen pois tai en tiiä.

[Ajattelija]

Indonesian metodit tuntien en odota kauheen kivaa loppua tälle. Jos kunnolla yltyy niin ruumiita tulee, se on sit vaan kysymys kuinka paljon...

[ana-conda]

Lähteeköhän kohta papualaiset niinku lapualaiset 1918 ajamaan vainolaisen pois tai en tiiä.

Papuan liike määrää.

[Pasi Fist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... hts-lawyer

Outcry as Indonesia seeks to arrest renowned West Papua rights lawyer

Veronica Koman faces charges after being accused of spreading ‘fake news’ and inciting unrest


Indonesian lawyer Veronica Koman has been accused of fomenting unrest in West Papua.

Indonesian police have named human rights lawyer and well-known West Papua advocate Veronica Koman as a suspect in the spreading of “fake news”, accusing her of provoking widespread unrest in Indonesia’s easternmost provinces.

In a move slammed by Amnesty International Indonesia, the human rights lawyer faces charges under the country’s controversial electronic information and transactions law, and faces up to six years in jail if found guilty.

Police specifically mentioned Koman’s posts about an incident in Surabaya in mid-August where military and nationalist militia were captured on video calling Papuan students “monkeys” and “dogs”.

East Java police said the lawyer had provoked and inflamed anti-racist riots that have swept across West Papua in recent weeks, and accused of her spreading fake news and provocative material.

Indonesian police say they have also contacted Interpol to seek assistance in locating the Indonesian lawyer, who they believe is abroad.

Indonesia’s National Commission of Human Rights slammed the move, saying Koman had attempted only to provide “necessary information from a different point of view”.

Usman Hamid, the executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, said the move was deeply misguided. “The root of the real problem is the act of racism by some members of the TNI [Indonesian army] and the excessive use of force by the police in the student dormitory in Surabaya,” Usman told tirto.id.

Since unrest has flared across West Papua – divided into the two Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua – in some cases erupting in violent and fatal clashes, Koman has proved a critical source of information, regularly updating her Twitter account with photos and videos that have provided a rare insight into the realities on the ground.

It comes at a time when internet access has been cut for more than two weeks in the remote area, which is restricted to foreign journalists.

Meanwhile in Geneva, Michelle Bachelet, the UN high commissioner for human rights, who until now has been blocked from the visiting West Papua, said on Wednesday that she was concerned about escalating violence.

“There should be no place for such violence in a democratic and diverse Indonesia, and I encourage the authorities to engage in dialogue with the people of Papua and West Papua on their aspirations and concerns, as well as to restore internet services and refrain from any excessive use of force,” she said, “Blanket internet shutdowns are likely to contravene freedom of expression and limiting communications may exacerbate tensions”.

[Ananaskääpiö]

En usko tästäkään tulevan mitään. Tai ruumiskasoja toki mahdollisesti.

[Pasi Fist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... tic-arrest

West Papuan leader taken into custody in dramatic arrest

Activists say Buchtar Tabuni, seen as a mastermind of recent protests, was forcibly taken into custody by armed troops


A protester in Fakfak carries the banned Papuan flag, as details emerge of violence against civilians in the Indonesian province.

A West Papuan independence group has accused the Indonesian police of “abducting” a leading West Papuan activist in a dramatic arrest on Monday.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua, whose exiled leader is Benny Wenda, said in a statement that a joint strike force of Indonesian police and military surrounded the home of the high-profile activist Buchtar Tabuni early on Monday morning.

The group claims several shots were fired and four armed troops surrounded Tabuni before he was taken into custody, with no prior notice or summons.

A national police spokesperson, Dedi Prasetyo, confirmed Tabuni’s arrest for suspected treason, telling the Guardian the Papuan regional police had handled the arrest in the context of “ensuring security and order in Jayapura and Papua in general”.

Tabuni, who is a key member of the West Papuan leadership along with Wenda, is seen as a mastermind of protests that have spread across West Papua and other provinces in recent weeks.


Footage appears to show Indonesian troops firing at demonstrators in West Papua

Meanwhile, allegations of brutal violence continue to emerge from the strife-torn region in the wake of the protests.

Footage allegedly from a rally in Fakfak on 21 August appears to show Indonesian special forces soldiers, in uniform but walking among militia members, firing live rounds across a body of water at independence demonstrators on the other side.

And the death toll from a separate clash between West Papuan independence demonstrators and Indonesian military has risen to eight, a priest who was a witness to the shooting has told the Guardian.

Father Santon Tekege from the diocese of Timika Papua said the protesters had gathered at the regency office in Deiyai, in Papua province, on 28 August.

Video footage obtained by the Guardian shows soldiers opening fire at demonstrators, walking towards protesters, some of whom are standing with their hands up.

Initially, the death toll was reported as six, but this had since risen to eight, with 39 people injured, Tekege said. He said security forces fired teargas canisters and “thousands of bullets” towards the protesters.

Tekege said UN intervention was needed to bring peace to West Papua and asked “international parties to support West Papua independence”.

The Deiyai deputy regent has confirmed the death count at eight, the Jakarta Post reported. But police have disputed the toll, saying only one protester was killed, along with one soldier, and that security forces opened fire only after being attacked.

On Thursday morning Indonesian police confirmed they had also arrested Steven Itlay, a leader of civil society group the National Committee for West Papua, for his role in the protests.

Itlay was arrested at Cenderawasih University in Jayapura on Wednesday afternoon with two others, who the Guardian understands are members of the same group.

Indonesian police have named dozens of people, mostly protesters, as suspects after more than three weeks of protests across Papua, West Papua and other Indonesian provinces. Many of them are being interrogated without lawyers, Emanuel Gobay, the director of the Papua Legal Aid Institute, told the Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The protests were sparked by the racist abuse and arrest of Papuan students in Surabaya, on the island of Java, but have morphed into a broader political demand for a referendum on independence. A long-running independence movement has existed since Indonesia forcibly took control of the provinces in the 1960s.

The exiled leader Benny Wenda told the Guardian the deteriorating situation in West Papua required United Nations intervention.

“Indonesia is sending 6,000 troops on military exercises to West Papua. There is no war going on, this is peaceful demonstrators against a huge military. My people are in danger. We need to act now before it is too late.”


Indonesian paratroopers conduct military exercises over Papua

In a show of force, and perhaps an indication of a willingness to escalate military action if protests continue, the Indonesian military conducted exercises at Sentani and Wamena airfields in Papua. Footage from Jayapura showed dozens of paratroopers parachuting from the back of an airforce plane, part of a Quick Reaction Strike Force exercise.

Indonesia’s defence force chief, Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, said the exercises were held annually at different locations across Indonesia, and this year was organised for Papua. “The jump drills ran smoothly and safely,” he said.

Indonesia’s ministry of public works and public housing has dedicated IDR100bn (US$7m) for rebuilding state offices destroyed by protesters during protests in Jayapura in Papua on 29 August.

[Pasi Fist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... west-papua

At least 20 killed and 70 injured in day of violence in West Papua

Deaths occurred in two separate incidents in the restive Indonesian province, with activists claiming police opened fire on students


Indonesian security forces open fire at student rally in West Papua – video

Graphic photos of the bloodied victims of what appear to be gunshot wounds have emerged after another day of violence in West Papua, which has seen at least 20 people killed and 70 injured.

Four people were killed, including a military officer, and several others injured when Indonesian security forces opened fire on students following a protest about racism at a university in Jayapura on Monday.

In a separate incident in the city of Wamena, at least 16 civilians were killed and 65 injured during a riot that activists say was sparked by a teacher calling a high school student a “monkey”.


Activists claim violent and deadly attacks by Indonesian security forces in Wamena, West Papua.

Hundreds of students had gathered at Cenderawasih University early on Monday morning but were ordered by the authorities to disperse. Two witnesses said the students were on their way home and had just disembarked from several buses and trucks, when the clash erupted in Waena sub-district.

“Suddenly the police started to run fast towards the mass of students and I could see they were shooting at them. Shots were fired into the air and towards the students and the police also fired tear gas,” said one eyewitness, Martin, who asked to use his first name only for security reasons.


Smoke rise from a burning building after a violent rally in Wamena, Papua Province.

“I don’t know why the police started to fire,” he said. “The students were noisy, yelling ‘oop oop’, but that is normal. I am not sure what happened, maybe the security forces panicked.”

In one video, believed to be taken as the incident occurred, dozens of gunshots can be heard.

“The police fired at the students as they ran and allowed non-Papuans who held sharp weapons to intimidate indigenous Papuans,” said a second witness, Markus, who also asked to use his first name only. Students were rounded up by authorities and detained in police trucks, according to witnesses.


Papuans are detained by Indonesian authorities in Jayapura, West Papua.

Papua military spokesman Eko Daryanto said a mob of angry students attacked a soldier and several police officers with machetes and rocks, forcing security forces to respond with gunfire, killing three civilians. The soldier died on the way to a hospital. At least five police officers were in critical condition.

There were also casualties in the city of Wamena, after a protest reportedly sparked by a racist comment about a West Papuan high school student led to a riot in which Indonesian government buildings were burnt down. Activists claim the protest began and as an angry but peaceful march before police and military opened fire.


A burnt car that was allegedly torched by protesters, sits on the road after a violent rally in Wamena, Papua Province, Indonesia.

The Guardian has seen photos that activists say are of victims of the violence in Wamena with what appear to be gunshot wounds. Videos from the scene show buildings up in flames, with towering clouds of smoke.

More than 1,000 university students have returned to West Papua in recent weeks amid ongoing unrest sparked by an incident in Surabaya when police and military-aligned militia allegedly taunted West Papuan students with racist slurs.

The surge in anger over racism, which West Papuans say they have long endured, has culminated in renewed and widespread calls for independence from Indonesia.

[Naantalin seksuaalimaagikko]

Lähteeköhän kohta papualaiset niinku lapualaiset 1918 ajamaan vainolaisen pois tai en tiiä.

Papuan liike määrää.

[Ananaskääpiö]

Jakarta vois kyl vähän miettiä miten tällasia juttuja hoitaa ja katella vaikka mallia historiasta ja länsimaista. Jos tuolta nyt jotain luonnonvaroja haluaa niin kyllä ne saa joltain korruptoituneelta papualaispomolta hoideltua ja varmaan paljon helpommalla ja halvemmalla. Tokihan tossa on Kiinaa ja Austaraliaa, jotka saattavat tunkea sormiaan peliin, mutta joku tämmönen Itä-Timoria iisimpikin kansanmurha-light ei sekään näytä hyvältä.

[Peukaloisen retket]

Free Papua

[Liskomies]

Onko islamofobia tai länsimaiden imperialismi jo mainittu?