Human rights NGOs in Papua may seek international action

Bintang Papua, 14 June 2011

Human rights NGOs in Papua may seek international action about violations in Papua

On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Wasior incident, which was described by Komnas HAM - the National Human Rights Commission - as a gross violation of basic human rights, two leading human rights organisations in West Papua, BUK - United for Truth - and KontraS-Papua - Commission for the Disappeared and the Victims of Violence, held a press conference in Jayapura.

They said that there has been a failure to show any serious concern about the violation of basic human rights in Papua. In view of this, they said that they now intend to bring these cases up before an international mechanism. 'There has as yet been no international move to take action on these cases, but we intend to raise these issues by waging a campaign in the hope that this will bring pressure to bear on the Indonesian government to resolve these cases,' said Selpius Bobii, the BUK co-ordinator. who was accompanied as the press conference by the co-ordinator of KontraS-Papua, Olga Hamadi.

He also said that they would make formal approaches by letter to a number of government institutions as well as NGOs.

'Immediately after this press conference, we will be sending letters to Komnas HAM, to the attorney-general's office, to Amnesty International , to the media in Papua as well as to NGOs in Germany and elsewhere.'

The organisations felt that such action was now called for as a way of exerting pressure so as to ensure that these cases are recognised as gross human rights violations and are brought before a court of law.

'It seems that it is necessary to bring pressure to bear on the various NGOs and on the government to persuade them to be more serious about resolving a number of human rights cases in Papua,' they said.

According to data that has been collected by BUK, these cases resulted in the deaths of six people at the time of the incidents, while seven others died subsequently as a result being subjected to torture. Seven people are reported to have disappeared, while no fewer than 305 others were subjected to sweeping operations known as 'Tuntas Matoa'.

'There has also been discrimination against the families of the victims because their parents have been branded as separatists. This is apparent from the way that /respect /funds have been distributed, bearing in mind the fact that the families have been treated differently than others in the community.'

With regard to the human rights violations that have been perpetrated in Papua at the hands of members of the Indonesian army (TNI) and the Indonesian police (POLRI), in all these cases, it has been virtually impossible to bring them before a court of law. 'In the case of those incidents that were actually taken to court, nothing was done to side with the victims; the perpetrators were protected with the argument that whatever had been done was in the interest of the security of the state. An example of this was the Abepura case where those who were found guilty are no longer behind bars.

The Wasior incident occurred on 13 June 2001. It was triggered when a person demanded compensation for the theft of his traditional land rights but this failed to solicit any response. On the contrary, the people concerned were accused of disrupting security and were arrested, tortured, and in many cases killed or made to disappear.

'Cases that have been identified by Komnas HAM as gross violations of human rights have reached a stalemate.after disputes between Komnas HAM and the attorney-general's office, with the latter using formalistic excuses.

They went on to say that the Wasior case as well as the Wamena case (the fatal shooting of Opinus Tabuni in August 2010) had been acknowledged by Komnas HAM as gross violations of human rights but it had been virtually impossible to deal with such cases because the administrations of the provinces of Papua and West Papua which came into being following the special autonomy law (OTSUS) had also failed to respond.

In view of all this, the representative of BUK made the following demands:

1. The president of Indonesia should immediately resolve the Wasior and Wamena cases and in doing so recognise the fact that Papuans are citizens of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, NKRI which means that their standing and dignity within the state is in keeping with the values of the Papuan people as citizens of Indonesia.

2. The attorney-general's office should end its machinations with regard to the Wasior and Wamena cases and co-ordinate with other state institutions so as stop their activities which have resulted in reinforcing the cycle of impunity.

3. The administration of the province of Papua, along with the DPRP, Komnas HAM-Papua and the MRP (Majelis Rakyat Papua ) should act together as quickly as possible to ensure that the Wasior and Wamena incidents are brought before a human rights court in the Land of Papua.

4. A Papuan Human Rights court should be set up immediately.

5. If the government fails to deal seriously with the Wasior and Wamena cases, we as representives of all the victims of human rights violations in the Land of Papua will bring these matters before an international court of law.

ENDS

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