More Shooting On Road To Freeport's Indonesian Gold Mine; 3 Wounded
(AP) Three more people were wounded by gunfire Wednesday at the world's largest gold mine, the latest ambush targeting employees of U.S. conglomerate Freeport in Indonesia's underdeveloped Papua province.
It is the sixth attack by unidentified gunman on the Phoenix, Ariz.-based company in under two weeks, and marks the worst violence at Freeport since the 2002 killing of three schoolteachers, including two Americans.
The unrest _ which has killed two people and wounded dozens since the shootings began July 11 _ also comes as Indonesia recovers from twin suicide bombings in the capital, Jakarta, last Friday, that killed seven people and wounded dozens, including two Freeport executives.
Freeport said in a statement that several employees and their security detail were fired upon Wednesday while driving along the road where the previous shootings occurred to help a broken down vehicle. A mechanic and two policemen were shot, it said.
National police spokesman Nanan Sukarna said the attack was carried out by unidentified gunmen and that the three injuries were caused by shrapnel. The culprits escaped.
Two other policemen died Wednesday when their car flipped "while driving at high speed through a dangerous area" a few miles (kilometers) away, said local police chief Lt. Col. Godhelp Mansnembra.
Freeport, citing the police, said the incidents did not appear to be related.
Wednesday's attack comes a day after authorities said they rounded up 15 suspects allegedly behind the recent killings. Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson said Tuesday that six of them had been charged, including a man who apparently acknowledged being a sniper.
"We have been assured from the highest levels of government in Indonesia they are committed to provide safety for our people and for our operations," Adkerson said in a conference call detailing the company's latest earnings.
The violence is an unwelcome surprise for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is firmly on track to win a landslide victory that will put him in office until 2014, partly thanks to his good reputation in combating Islamist militancy.
The Antara state news agency initially reported that Wednesday's shooting targeted a convoy of 12 buses returning hundreds of employees who have been unable to return to work. The road targeted by the shootings links the Grasberg mining complex and the town of Timika, and has been declared off limits unless employees travel with security.
A PT Freeport spokesman in Indonesia, Mindo Pangaribuan, said early Wednesday that "secure transportations have been arranged to transport personnel and deliver supplies." The buses were turned back because of the gunfire, but Freeport said in its statement that no shots were fired at the bus convoy.
Papua is home to a four-decade-old, low-level insurgency against the government, and members of the Free Papua Movement _ who see Freeport as a symbol of outside rule _ were initially blamed by authorities for the latest violence.
However, some experts believe the shootings resulted from a rivalry between the police and military over multimillion-dollar illegal gold mining or protection businesses at the mine. Others blame criminal gangs.
It is difficult to get accurate information out of Papua, a remote and highly militarized area that is off limits to foreign journalists.
Freeport has been targeted with arson, roadside bombs and blockades since production began in the 1970s during the U.S.-backed Suharto dictatorship. It is also regularly the focus of protests by local residents who feel they are not benefiting from the depletion of Papua's natural resources.
The recent shootings that began earlier this month have killed an Australian mining expert and a contract security guard. More than a dozen others have also been hit by bullets.
Papua, a desperately poor mountain province, lies on the western half of New uinea island, some 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers) east of the capital, Jakarta. Formerly known as West Papua, the territory with a population of around 2.5 million was transferred from Dutch to Indonesian rule in the 1960s after a U.N. sponsored vote by community leaders that has been widely dismissed by academics as a sham.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/24/ap/asia/main5187761.shtml
Sunday 26 July 2009
West Papua: Indonesian impunity at Freeport mine
25 July 2009
The article below is abridged from a July 23 statement by the West Papua Advocacy Team.
Amid an ongoing shooting spree at the Freeport McMoRan mining concession in Timika, West Papua, four people have died, including an Australian Freeport employee.
Six separate ambushes have taken place since shootings began on July 11.
A race to find scapegoats appears underway. Indonesian authorities have arrested as many as 20 individuals.
Trusted sources informed the West Papua Advocacy Team that these detainees had been interrogated without the presence of their lawyers and at least one, an elderly man, was beaten by security personnel.
Even after these recent detentions, a convoy of 12 Freeport busses again came under attack by gunmen on July 22.
This is just the latest chapter in the Freeport story in West Papua — a saga of violence, human rights violations and internationally condemned environmental destruction.
For decades, in numerous well-documented cases, the Indonesian security forces and Freeport’s own security personnel, have intimidated and repressed local Papuans through extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, and other forms of violence and terror.
Indonesian security forces have long exploited the weakness of the Indonesian judicial system to avoid prosecution for criminal activity. Nowhere is this more true than in West Papua, where the culture of repression lives on beyond former dictator Suharto's 32-year rule, which ended formally in 1998.
The principal victims have been ordinary Papuans, notably those living in the area of the Freeport mine. Indonesian officials and the international community must act to ensure that the people of West Papua are not victimised yet again.
Initial Indonesian police reports suggest that those responsible for the recent attacks were “expert” shooters using weapons commonly found in military and police arsenals. Similar statements were made in 2002, when one Indonesian and two US schoolteachers were killed on the same road.
Ballistic evidence and eye-witness testimony pointed to an Indonesian military role in that ambush, but the Bush administration and Indonesian officials, including recently re-elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, orchestrated a cover-up.
Recent history raises grave concerns about finding the truth about this latest incident.
The military has joined the investigation into the latest attacks, making it likely the investigation will again fail to explore evidence pointing to the Indonesian military.
Indonesia and those who lobby for its interests boast of its democratic progress.
This latest incident offers a test of that progress: the investigation of this incident must be transparent; the media and independent human rights investigators should be given access to West Papua and specifically the Freeport Concession; and security forces that have long operated with impunity must be held accountable if evidence emerges implicating them.
In the wake of this tragedy, the Papuan people must not again be subjected to retaliatory military or police action in the form of “sweeps” targeting innocent villagers in the area.
The US government and the international community must reject a military takeover of the investigation, as well as efforts to stonewall independent investigators as happened in 2002.
The US should monitor developments closely to ensure Indonesian forces do not use US equipment in retaliatory “sweep” operations targeting innocent Papuan civilians as in the past.
The Obama administration should focus renewed attention on the still-open FBI investigation into the 2002 killings, following up on published accounts of military involvement in those murders.
From: International News, Green Left Weekly issue #804 29 July 2009.
http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/804/41390
The article below is abridged from a July 23 statement by the West Papua Advocacy Team.
Amid an ongoing shooting spree at the Freeport McMoRan mining concession in Timika, West Papua, four people have died, including an Australian Freeport employee.
Six separate ambushes have taken place since shootings began on July 11.
A race to find scapegoats appears underway. Indonesian authorities have arrested as many as 20 individuals.
Trusted sources informed the West Papua Advocacy Team that these detainees had been interrogated without the presence of their lawyers and at least one, an elderly man, was beaten by security personnel.
Even after these recent detentions, a convoy of 12 Freeport busses again came under attack by gunmen on July 22.
This is just the latest chapter in the Freeport story in West Papua — a saga of violence, human rights violations and internationally condemned environmental destruction.
For decades, in numerous well-documented cases, the Indonesian security forces and Freeport’s own security personnel, have intimidated and repressed local Papuans through extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, and other forms of violence and terror.
Indonesian security forces have long exploited the weakness of the Indonesian judicial system to avoid prosecution for criminal activity. Nowhere is this more true than in West Papua, where the culture of repression lives on beyond former dictator Suharto's 32-year rule, which ended formally in 1998.
The principal victims have been ordinary Papuans, notably those living in the area of the Freeport mine. Indonesian officials and the international community must act to ensure that the people of West Papua are not victimised yet again.
Initial Indonesian police reports suggest that those responsible for the recent attacks were “expert” shooters using weapons commonly found in military and police arsenals. Similar statements were made in 2002, when one Indonesian and two US schoolteachers were killed on the same road.
Ballistic evidence and eye-witness testimony pointed to an Indonesian military role in that ambush, but the Bush administration and Indonesian officials, including recently re-elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, orchestrated a cover-up.
Recent history raises grave concerns about finding the truth about this latest incident.
The military has joined the investigation into the latest attacks, making it likely the investigation will again fail to explore evidence pointing to the Indonesian military.
Indonesia and those who lobby for its interests boast of its democratic progress.
This latest incident offers a test of that progress: the investigation of this incident must be transparent; the media and independent human rights investigators should be given access to West Papua and specifically the Freeport Concession; and security forces that have long operated with impunity must be held accountable if evidence emerges implicating them.
In the wake of this tragedy, the Papuan people must not again be subjected to retaliatory military or police action in the form of “sweeps” targeting innocent villagers in the area.
The US government and the international community must reject a military takeover of the investigation, as well as efforts to stonewall independent investigators as happened in 2002.
The US should monitor developments closely to ensure Indonesian forces do not use US equipment in retaliatory “sweep” operations targeting innocent Papuan civilians as in the past.
The Obama administration should focus renewed attention on the still-open FBI investigation into the 2002 killings, following up on published accounts of military involvement in those murders.
From: International News, Green Left Weekly issue #804 29 July 2009.
http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/804/41390
Papuans Face Charges For Peaceful Demonstration
Sunday, 26 July 2009, 3:45 pm
Press Release: West Papua Media Alerts
15 Papuans Face Serious Charges For Peaceful Demonstration 24 July 2009
The trial of fifteen Papuans, facing the charge of makar, was resumed yesterday in Nabire District Court. The accused, all men, are mostly students and farmers associated with the West Papua National Committee, an organisation that seeks independence from Indonesia.
The men were arrested on 6 April, after attending a pre-election rally and have been charged under Article 106 of the Criminal Code which carries a maximum penalty of twenty years for treason or subversion (makar).
Many Papuans are now serving heavy sentences after being found guilty of makar, simply for raising the Morning Star flag. Among them are Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage, now serving sentences of fifteen and ten years respectively for raising a Morning Star flag in 2004. Earlier this month, Filep Karma was hospitalised after suffering respiratory problems.
The trial of the fifteen has been dogged since it commenced on 18 June by disputes between the judges and the defence team. Last week, the judges dismissed the defence counsel's complaint that the arrests did not conform with legal procedures. The lawyers also said that the men had not been given access to legal representation nor had they been given police documents relating to the charges until they appeared in court. Nor had those among the fifteen who do not speak Indonesian be given interpreters when questioned by the police.
TAPOL believes that criminalising the fifteen men who have been engaged in legitimate and peaceful activities is a violation of their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Carmel Budiardjo of TAPOL said: 'There is no justification to charge these men with makar, which could result in their being sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. The charges should be dropped and the men released.'
TAPOL also draws attention to other Papuans who have been arrested since October 2009 and faced with the charge of makar. Among them is Buchtar Tabuni who was arrested in December last year for organising a demonstration on 16 October that was held to welcome the launch in London of International Parliamentarians for West Papua. Initially charged with makar, Buchtar was sentenced to three years on 3 July for provocation, after the judge decided to drop the charge of makar.
The trial of another Papuan, Seby Sambom who was arrested along with Buchtar Tabuni, is still in progress. He too is being charged with makar. Earlier this week, TAPOL received a message from Seby, stressing the need for international support. His message which was headed 'Please Protect Us!', called among other things for Freedom from Torture and Maltreatment and Freedom to Fight for Human Rights and Against Discrimination.
Earlier this week, the Indonesian Government pushed for the establishment of a regional Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights at a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers, thus establishing its reputation as an advocate for rights codified in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
However, despite there good intentions, Papuans are being criminalised for peaceful acts in support of freedom of expression. In 2007, a presidential regulation, PP No, 77, was enacted, making it a criminal offence for the Morning Star flag and the local flag in Maluku to be unfurled.
According to TAPOL, such contradictory actions suggest that while seeking to impress the international community regarding its commitment to upholding basic human rights, the Indonesian judicial system is subjecting Indonesian citizens in Papua to heavy-handed treatment in violation of international covenants that have won the support of the government. Moreover, Indonesia secured a seat in the UN Human Rights Council in 2006, further enhancing its international reputation.
TAPOL calls for an end to continuing violations of basic human rights in Papua. The Indonesian Government should make it crystal clear that these violations must stop. It also calls for the revocation of PP 77/2007. 'If Indonesia wants to be accepted worldwide as a country that respects basic human rights, it should stop levelling charges of makar against people involved in peaceful acts of expression in Papua, Maluku or anywhere else,' said Carmel Budiardjo of TAPOL.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0907/S00438.htm
Press Release: West Papua Media Alerts
15 Papuans Face Serious Charges For Peaceful Demonstration 24 July 2009
The trial of fifteen Papuans, facing the charge of makar, was resumed yesterday in Nabire District Court. The accused, all men, are mostly students and farmers associated with the West Papua National Committee, an organisation that seeks independence from Indonesia.
The men were arrested on 6 April, after attending a pre-election rally and have been charged under Article 106 of the Criminal Code which carries a maximum penalty of twenty years for treason or subversion (makar).
Many Papuans are now serving heavy sentences after being found guilty of makar, simply for raising the Morning Star flag. Among them are Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage, now serving sentences of fifteen and ten years respectively for raising a Morning Star flag in 2004. Earlier this month, Filep Karma was hospitalised after suffering respiratory problems.
The trial of the fifteen has been dogged since it commenced on 18 June by disputes between the judges and the defence team. Last week, the judges dismissed the defence counsel's complaint that the arrests did not conform with legal procedures. The lawyers also said that the men had not been given access to legal representation nor had they been given police documents relating to the charges until they appeared in court. Nor had those among the fifteen who do not speak Indonesian be given interpreters when questioned by the police.
TAPOL believes that criminalising the fifteen men who have been engaged in legitimate and peaceful activities is a violation of their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Carmel Budiardjo of TAPOL said: 'There is no justification to charge these men with makar, which could result in their being sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. The charges should be dropped and the men released.'
TAPOL also draws attention to other Papuans who have been arrested since October 2009 and faced with the charge of makar. Among them is Buchtar Tabuni who was arrested in December last year for organising a demonstration on 16 October that was held to welcome the launch in London of International Parliamentarians for West Papua. Initially charged with makar, Buchtar was sentenced to three years on 3 July for provocation, after the judge decided to drop the charge of makar.
The trial of another Papuan, Seby Sambom who was arrested along with Buchtar Tabuni, is still in progress. He too is being charged with makar. Earlier this week, TAPOL received a message from Seby, stressing the need for international support. His message which was headed 'Please Protect Us!', called among other things for Freedom from Torture and Maltreatment and Freedom to Fight for Human Rights and Against Discrimination.
Earlier this week, the Indonesian Government pushed for the establishment of a regional Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights at a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers, thus establishing its reputation as an advocate for rights codified in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
However, despite there good intentions, Papuans are being criminalised for peaceful acts in support of freedom of expression. In 2007, a presidential regulation, PP No, 77, was enacted, making it a criminal offence for the Morning Star flag and the local flag in Maluku to be unfurled.
According to TAPOL, such contradictory actions suggest that while seeking to impress the international community regarding its commitment to upholding basic human rights, the Indonesian judicial system is subjecting Indonesian citizens in Papua to heavy-handed treatment in violation of international covenants that have won the support of the government. Moreover, Indonesia secured a seat in the UN Human Rights Council in 2006, further enhancing its international reputation.
TAPOL calls for an end to continuing violations of basic human rights in Papua. The Indonesian Government should make it crystal clear that these violations must stop. It also calls for the revocation of PP 77/2007. 'If Indonesia wants to be accepted worldwide as a country that respects basic human rights, it should stop levelling charges of makar against people involved in peaceful acts of expression in Papua, Maluku or anywhere else,' said Carmel Budiardjo of TAPOL.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0907/S00438.htm
Saturday 25 July 2009
CHRONOLOGY OF THE ARREST OF 9 CIVILIANS AND AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION TO REVEAL THE ACTOR OF THE SHOOTING INCIDENT AT MILE 58 TEMBAGAPURA TIMIKA
By Markus Haluk
A recent shooting incident; Drew Nicholas Grant, an Australian national who worked for PT Freeport, was shot dead by unknown people at Mile-52 on Saturday (July 11 at 5.00am). Drew was with Mr Lucan Jhon Biggs (driver) and Maju Pandjaitan in a Toyota land Cruiser (reg.no: 01-2578). They were on their way from Tembagapura to Timika.
Following the incident, several personnel of mobile brigade from Amole 2 were shot on the 12 to 13 July 2009. These incidents attracted lots of attention from various leaders of Indonesian state institutions, NGOs, Churches within the country and overseas. Secretary of the ministry for security and political affairs, high ranking officials from Indonesian military and state police headquarters, for instance, have visited (Timika) West Papua. After the visit, 700 organic and non-organic personnel from Indonesian military and state police were sent to the area to begin the joint military and police sweeping operations at the PT Freeport Indonesia area.
The Indonesian military and police sweeping operation, however, did not take place at the PT Freeport Indonesia area but at Timika town and the target of the operation was the ordinary civilians. In a brutal sweeping operation , the Indonesian military and police arrested 7 civilians in the middle of Timika town.
The arrest took place at 15:00 on July 20, 2009. These civilians were just ordinary people who were doing their daily activities in Timika town. Their names are as follows:
No. Name Age Tribe of origin
01. Piter Beanal 70 years Amungme Head of tribe
02. Janes Uanman 68 years Amungme Community leader
03. Tomi Beanal 20 years Amunme Youth
04. Eltinus Beanal 19 years Amungme Youth
05. Simon Jawame 38 years Amungme Father of a family
06. Domininggus Beanal 25 years Amungme Youth
07. Jaring beanal 16 years Amungme Child
08. Samuel Toffly 29 years Key Youth
09. Petrus Kanisius Luther 40 years Tanimbar Father of a family
Eyewitness informed us that the military sweeping operations were conducted on the streets, public places and inside family homes.
Besides, the Indonesian security brutally destroyed Demianus Beanal’s house. Demianus who worked for PT Freeport Indonesia lived at Jln Paulus Magal, RT. 04 Kwamki Baru. Many other civilians were beaten, kicked and tortured by the Indonesian military. They used the weapon handles to beat the civilians.
The brutal sweeping operation and arrests of the civilians caused fear and traumatic experience. Many people who had experienced similar brutality in the past now have fled and escaped to the jungles.
The Indonesian military and police sweeping operation did not respect the Amungsa people’s human dignity and it was conducted unlawfully (not according to the Indonesian law). We regret that the operation was not conducted professionally. We believe that by using the violent approach, the Indonesian security forces will not be able to reveal the actor behind the shooting of the Australian worker. In addition, the security forces have made a propaganda to change the public opinions of the conflict by arresting, terrorising, and intimidating innocent civilians. This repeats the same shooting incident at Mile 62-63 Tembagapura Timika in 2002 that caused the arrest of ordinary civilians such as Revd. Isak Ondowame and others.
In order to avoid the propaganda and to reveal the actor who shot Mr Drew Grant (38) and others, and to avoid the arrest of civilians in Timika West Papua, we propose the following recommendations:
1. We urge the Australian government to immediately send Australian Federal Police to do a depth investigation of the shooting of Mr Drew grant. This investigation is conducted independently from the Indonesian state police investigation.
2. We urge the Indonesian state police especially the regional police in Papua to conduct the investigation professionally and avoid destroying people’s houses and arresting the civilians.
3. We urge the regional police of Papua to immediately release 9 civilians who are in Timika Police custody. Their arrests can worsen the security situation in Timika.
4. We urge the security forces to stop terrorising and arresting civilians in Timika West Papua.
5. We urge the National Commission on human rights to form an independent team consisting of other independent organisations to investigate the shooting incident.
6. We urge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to stop sending troops to Timika West Papua and to promote a respectful and peaceful approach in handling the issue.
7. In order to maintain West Papua as a land of peace, we ask that the Amungsa-Timika people and all the Papuans in West Papua to keep calm and not be easily provoked.
End of the chr
onology of the arrest and some proposed solutions. Thank you for your attention and good cooperation.
Jayapura, 21 July 2009
A recent shooting incident; Drew Nicholas Grant, an Australian national who worked for PT Freeport, was shot dead by unknown people at Mile-52 on Saturday (July 11 at 5.00am). Drew was with Mr Lucan Jhon Biggs (driver) and Maju Pandjaitan in a Toyota land Cruiser (reg.no: 01-2578). They were on their way from Tembagapura to Timika.
Following the incident, several personnel of mobile brigade from Amole 2 were shot on the 12 to 13 July 2009. These incidents attracted lots of attention from various leaders of Indonesian state institutions, NGOs, Churches within the country and overseas. Secretary of the ministry for security and political affairs, high ranking officials from Indonesian military and state police headquarters, for instance, have visited (Timika) West Papua. After the visit, 700 organic and non-organic personnel from Indonesian military and state police were sent to the area to begin the joint military and police sweeping operations at the PT Freeport Indonesia area.
The Indonesian military and police sweeping operation, however, did not take place at the PT Freeport Indonesia area but at Timika town and the target of the operation was the ordinary civilians. In a brutal sweeping operation , the Indonesian military and police arrested 7 civilians in the middle of Timika town.
The arrest took place at 15:00 on July 20, 2009. These civilians were just ordinary people who were doing their daily activities in Timika town. Their names are as follows:
No. Name Age Tribe of origin
01. Piter Beanal 70 years Amungme Head of tribe
02. Janes Uanman 68 years Amungme Community leader
03. Tomi Beanal 20 years Amunme Youth
04. Eltinus Beanal 19 years Amungme Youth
05. Simon Jawame 38 years Amungme Father of a family
06. Domininggus Beanal 25 years Amungme Youth
07. Jaring beanal 16 years Amungme Child
08. Samuel Toffly 29 years Key Youth
09. Petrus Kanisius Luther 40 years Tanimbar Father of a family
Eyewitness informed us that the military sweeping operations were conducted on the streets, public places and inside family homes.
Besides, the Indonesian security brutally destroyed Demianus Beanal’s house. Demianus who worked for PT Freeport Indonesia lived at Jln Paulus Magal, RT. 04 Kwamki Baru. Many other civilians were beaten, kicked and tortured by the Indonesian military. They used the weapon handles to beat the civilians.
The brutal sweeping operation and arrests of the civilians caused fear and traumatic experience. Many people who had experienced similar brutality in the past now have fled and escaped to the jungles.
The Indonesian military and police sweeping operation did not respect the Amungsa people’s human dignity and it was conducted unlawfully (not according to the Indonesian law). We regret that the operation was not conducted professionally. We believe that by using the violent approach, the Indonesian security forces will not be able to reveal the actor behind the shooting of the Australian worker. In addition, the security forces have made a propaganda to change the public opinions of the conflict by arresting, terrorising, and intimidating innocent civilians. This repeats the same shooting incident at Mile 62-63 Tembagapura Timika in 2002 that caused the arrest of ordinary civilians such as Revd. Isak Ondowame and others.
In order to avoid the propaganda and to reveal the actor who shot Mr Drew Grant (38) and others, and to avoid the arrest of civilians in Timika West Papua, we propose the following recommendations:
1. We urge the Australian government to immediately send Australian Federal Police to do a depth investigation of the shooting of Mr Drew grant. This investigation is conducted independently from the Indonesian state police investigation.
2. We urge the Indonesian state police especially the regional police in Papua to conduct the investigation professionally and avoid destroying people’s houses and arresting the civilians.
3. We urge the regional police of Papua to immediately release 9 civilians who are in Timika Police custody. Their arrests can worsen the security situation in Timika.
4. We urge the security forces to stop terrorising and arresting civilians in Timika West Papua.
5. We urge the National Commission on human rights to form an independent team consisting of other independent organisations to investigate the shooting incident.
6. We urge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to stop sending troops to Timika West Papua and to promote a respectful and peaceful approach in handling the issue.
7. In order to maintain West Papua as a land of peace, we ask that the Amungsa-Timika people and all the Papuans in West Papua to keep calm and not be easily provoked.
End of the chr
onology of the arrest and some proposed solutions. Thank you for your attention and good cooperation.
Jayapura, 21 July 2009
CHRONOLOGY OF THE ARREST OF 9 CIVILIANS AND AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION TO REVEAL THE ACTOR OF THE SHOOTING INCIDENT AT MILE 58 TEMBAGAPURA TIMIKA
By Markus Haluk
A recent shooting incident; Drew Nicholas Grant, an Australian national who worked for PT Freeport, was shot dead by unknown people at Mile-52 on Saturday (July 11 at 5.00am). Drew was with Mr Lucan Jhon Biggs (driver) and Maju Pandjaitan in a Toyota land Cruiser (reg.no: 01-2578). They were on their way from Tembagapura to Timika.
Following the incident, several personnel of mobile brigade from Amole 2 were shot on the 12 to 13 July 2009. These incidents attracted lots of attention from various leaders of Indonesian state institutions, NGOs, Churches within the country and overseas. Secretary of the ministry for security and political affairs, high ranking officials from Indonesian military and state police headquarters, for instance, have visited (Timika) West Papua. After the visit, 700 organic and non-organic personnel from Indonesian military and state police were sent to the area to begin the joint military and police sweeping operations at the PT Freeport Indonesia area.
The Indonesian military and police sweeping operation, however, did not take place at the PT Freeport Indonesia area but at Timika town and the target of the operation was the ordinary civilians. In a brutal sweeping operation , the Indonesian military and police arrested 7 civilians in the middle of Timika town.
The arrest took place at 15:00 on July 20, 2009. These civilians were just ordinary people who were doing their daily activities in Timika town. Their names are as follows:
No. Name Age Tribe of origin
01. Piter Beanal 70 years Amungme Head of tribe
02. Janes Uanman 68 years Amungme Community leader
03. Tomi Beanal 20 years Amunme Youth
04. Eltinus Beanal 19 years Amungme Youth
05. Simon Jawame 38 years Amungme Father of a family
06. Domininggus Beanal 25 years Amungme Youth
07. Jaring beanal 16 years Amungme Child
08. Samuel Toffly 29 years Key Youth
09. Petrus Kanisius Luther 40 years Tanimbar Father of a family
Eyewitness informed us that the military sweeping operations were conducted on the streets, public places and inside family homes.
Besides, the Indonesian security brutally destroyed Demianus Beanal’s house. Demianus who worked for PT Freeport Indonesia lived at Jln Paulus Magal, RT. 04 Kwamki Baru. Many other civilians were beaten, kicked and tortured by the Indonesian military. They used the weapon handles to beat the civilians.
The brutal sweeping operation and arrests of the civilians caused fear and traumatic experience. Many people who had experienced similar brutality in the past now have fled and escaped to the jungles.
The Indonesian military and police sweeping operation did not respect the Amungsa people’s human dignity and it was conducted unlawfully (not according to the Indonesian law). We regret that the operation was not conducted professionally. We believe that by using the violent approach, the Indonesian security forces will not be able to reveal the actor behind the shooting of the Australian worker. In addition, the security forces have made a propaganda to change the public opinions of the conflict by arresting, terrorising, and intimidating innocent civilians. This repeats the same shooting incident at Mile 62-63 Tembagapura Timika in 2002 that caused the arrest of ordinary civilians such as Revd. Isak Ondowame and others.
In order to avoid the propaganda and to reveal the actor who shot Mr Drew Grant (38) and others, and to avoid the arrest of civilians in Timika West Papua, we propose the following recommendations:
1. We urge the Australian government to immediately send Australian Federal Police to do a depth investigation of the shooting of Mr Drew grant. This investigation is conducted independently from the Indonesian state police investigation.
2. We urge the Indonesian state police especially the regional police in Papua to conduct the investigation professionally and avoid destroying people’s houses and arresting the civilians.
3. We urge the regional police of Papua to immediately release 9 civilians who are in Timika Police custody. Their arrests can worsen the security situation in Timika.
4. We urge the security forces to stop terrorising and arresting civilians in Timika West Papua.
5. We urge the National Commission on human rights to form an independent team consisting of other independent organisations to investigate the shooting incident.
6. We urge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to stop sending troops to Timika West Papua and to promote a respectful and peaceful approach in handling the issue.
7. In order to maintain West Papua as a land of peace, we ask that the Amungsa-Timika people and all the Papuans in West Papua to keep calm and not be easily provoked.
End of the chr
onology of the arrest and some proposed solutions. Thank you for your attention and good cooperation.
Jayapura, 21 July 2009
A recent shooting incident; Drew Nicholas Grant, an Australian national who worked for PT Freeport, was shot dead by unknown people at Mile-52 on Saturday (July 11 at 5.00am). Drew was with Mr Lucan Jhon Biggs (driver) and Maju Pandjaitan in a Toyota land Cruiser (reg.no: 01-2578). They were on their way from Tembagapura to Timika.
Following the incident, several personnel of mobile brigade from Amole 2 were shot on the 12 to 13 July 2009. These incidents attracted lots of attention from various leaders of Indonesian state institutions, NGOs, Churches within the country and overseas. Secretary of the ministry for security and political affairs, high ranking officials from Indonesian military and state police headquarters, for instance, have visited (Timika) West Papua. After the visit, 700 organic and non-organic personnel from Indonesian military and state police were sent to the area to begin the joint military and police sweeping operations at the PT Freeport Indonesia area.
The Indonesian military and police sweeping operation, however, did not take place at the PT Freeport Indonesia area but at Timika town and the target of the operation was the ordinary civilians. In a brutal sweeping operation , the Indonesian military and police arrested 7 civilians in the middle of Timika town.
The arrest took place at 15:00 on July 20, 2009. These civilians were just ordinary people who were doing their daily activities in Timika town. Their names are as follows:
No. Name Age Tribe of origin
01. Piter Beanal 70 years Amungme Head of tribe
02. Janes Uanman 68 years Amungme Community leader
03. Tomi Beanal 20 years Amunme Youth
04. Eltinus Beanal 19 years Amungme Youth
05. Simon Jawame 38 years Amungme Father of a family
06. Domininggus Beanal 25 years Amungme Youth
07. Jaring beanal 16 years Amungme Child
08. Samuel Toffly 29 years Key Youth
09. Petrus Kanisius Luther 40 years Tanimbar Father of a family
Eyewitness informed us that the military sweeping operations were conducted on the streets, public places and inside family homes.
Besides, the Indonesian security brutally destroyed Demianus Beanal’s house. Demianus who worked for PT Freeport Indonesia lived at Jln Paulus Magal, RT. 04 Kwamki Baru. Many other civilians were beaten, kicked and tortured by the Indonesian military. They used the weapon handles to beat the civilians.
The brutal sweeping operation and arrests of the civilians caused fear and traumatic experience. Many people who had experienced similar brutality in the past now have fled and escaped to the jungles.
The Indonesian military and police sweeping operation did not respect the Amungsa people’s human dignity and it was conducted unlawfully (not according to the Indonesian law). We regret that the operation was not conducted professionally. We believe that by using the violent approach, the Indonesian security forces will not be able to reveal the actor behind the shooting of the Australian worker. In addition, the security forces have made a propaganda to change the public opinions of the conflict by arresting, terrorising, and intimidating innocent civilians. This repeats the same shooting incident at Mile 62-63 Tembagapura Timika in 2002 that caused the arrest of ordinary civilians such as Revd. Isak Ondowame and others.
In order to avoid the propaganda and to reveal the actor who shot Mr Drew Grant (38) and others, and to avoid the arrest of civilians in Timika West Papua, we propose the following recommendations:
1. We urge the Australian government to immediately send Australian Federal Police to do a depth investigation of the shooting of Mr Drew grant. This investigation is conducted independently from the Indonesian state police investigation.
2. We urge the Indonesian state police especially the regional police in Papua to conduct the investigation professionally and avoid destroying people’s houses and arresting the civilians.
3. We urge the regional police of Papua to immediately release 9 civilians who are in Timika Police custody. Their arrests can worsen the security situation in Timika.
4. We urge the security forces to stop terrorising and arresting civilians in Timika West Papua.
5. We urge the National Commission on human rights to form an independent team consisting of other independent organisations to investigate the shooting incident.
6. We urge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to stop sending troops to Timika West Papua and to promote a respectful and peaceful approach in handling the issue.
7. In order to maintain West Papua as a land of peace, we ask that the Amungsa-Timika people and all the Papuans in West Papua to keep calm and not be easily provoked.
End of the chr
onology of the arrest and some proposed solutions. Thank you for your attention and good cooperation.
Jayapura, 21 July 2009
Friday 24 July 2009
Papuans act to protect forests and fight climate change
Saturday, July 25, 2009 3:33 Adianto P. Simamora ,
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta
A coalition of green activists launched an action plan Thursday to tackle the severe threat of rampant deforestation in Papua.
The coalition, which includes Greenpeace, Papua NGO Network (Foker), Papua People's Assembly (MRP) and the Samdhana Institute, announced the establishment of working groups to formulate forest management policy and the financing steps needed to protect Papua's forests, indigenous forest-dependant peoples and biodiversity, as well as to fight climate change.
"The only way to save Papua's forests, people and biodiversity and to fight global climate change is to take global action immediately. This means industrialized nations must find at least US$40 billion per year to protect the world's rapidly diminishing forests and make deep emissions cuts at home," Yuyun Indradi, a Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest campaigner, said in a statement.
Head of the Papua forestry agency, Marthen Kayoi, said Papua's forests, home to the world’s richest biodiversity, sustained 70 percent of the population, but they still lived below the poverty line.
"At least 20 percent of Papua's 40 million hectares of forest have already gone. Urgent action needs to be taken to protect the remaining forest and to safeguard the rights of the indigenous peoples who depend on them.
"Forest solutions in Papua New Guinea can also be used in Papua so we are very keen to work and scale up the eco-forestry activity here as well. This could be considered as an early-action effort to protect Papua's forest,” PNG eco-forestry activist and Greenpeace's forest campaigner, Sam Moko, said.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/07/23/papuans-act-protect-forests-and-fight-climate-change.html
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta
A coalition of green activists launched an action plan Thursday to tackle the severe threat of rampant deforestation in Papua.
The coalition, which includes Greenpeace, Papua NGO Network (Foker), Papua People's Assembly (MRP) and the Samdhana Institute, announced the establishment of working groups to formulate forest management policy and the financing steps needed to protect Papua's forests, indigenous forest-dependant peoples and biodiversity, as well as to fight climate change.
"The only way to save Papua's forests, people and biodiversity and to fight global climate change is to take global action immediately. This means industrialized nations must find at least US$40 billion per year to protect the world's rapidly diminishing forests and make deep emissions cuts at home," Yuyun Indradi, a Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest campaigner, said in a statement.
Head of the Papua forestry agency, Marthen Kayoi, said Papua's forests, home to the world’s richest biodiversity, sustained 70 percent of the population, but they still lived below the poverty line.
"At least 20 percent of Papua's 40 million hectares of forest have already gone. Urgent action needs to be taken to protect the remaining forest and to safeguard the rights of the indigenous peoples who depend on them.
"Forest solutions in Papua New Guinea can also be used in Papua so we are very keen to work and scale up the eco-forestry activity here as well. This could be considered as an early-action effort to protect Papua's forest,” PNG eco-forestry activist and Greenpeace's forest campaigner, Sam Moko, said.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/07/23/papuans-act-protect-forests-and-fight-climate-change.html
Q+A-Attacks at Papua mine: what is the impact on Freeport?
JAKARTA, July 24 (Reuters) - A series of shootings this month near Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc's (FCX.N) massive Grasberg mine in Indonesia has raised concerns over the possible impact on the mine's operations.
Grasberg has the world's largest recoverable reserves of copper, accounting for nearly 40 percent of Freeport's total copper reserves of 93 billion pounds, and the largest gold reserves.
Freeport said the shootings have not affected production.
Papuan police said on Friday that two people had been killed in shooting-related incidents this month: Australian technical expert Drew Grant and an unnamed security guard. At least 10 people were wounded, including seven police.
Here are some questions and answers about the situation:
WHAT'S BEHIND THESE ATTACKS?
Probably money.
With its vast natural resources -- copper, gold, timber -- Papua has long been regarded as a honeypot, and Freeport is Indonesia's top tax contributor, paying $1.2 billion in royalties and other taxes in 2008.
For years, Indonesia's military ran various business interests on the side to supplement their low pay, and were particularly active in resource-rich Papua and Aceh.
The Indonesian government is responsible for providing security arrangements for the Grasberg mine, deploying about 1,850 government security personnel. Freeport Indonesia, the local unit, contributed $8 million last year in support costs, covering food, housing, fuel, and other allowances.
Analysts say the recent outbreaks of violence are most likely due to conflicts between the police and the military over these security arrangements and related business ventures.
The attacks may be intended to force the government or Freeport to increase security, or to pay more to those providing it, or increase the presence of one faction over another.
They could also be related to who has access to tailings from the mine or illegal mining in the area, as these may provide an additional source of income.
Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono told reporters that "criminal groups" could be responsible because they want to carry out gold panning in the area, earning as much as $3,500 a month from such activities, a very high sum by Indonesian standards.
The West Papua Advocacy Team, a rights group, said a fight between the military and the mobile police brigade, Brimob, could be the reason for the attacks.
"Brimob is pretty much running the illegal gold mining, access to the tailings. That has been a constant source of irritation because Freeport is trying to get the military to shut down the tailings. So perhaps Brimob is concerned about that," said spokesman Edmund McWilliams.
IS THERE ANY RELATION TO THE FREE PAPUA MOVEMENT (OPM)
Few analysts believe these attacks have anything to do with the OPM, which has waged a low-level insurgency for decades and which is generally thought to be poorly armed.
The attackers in the recent shootings appeared to use weapons similar to those used by the military, although they could have been stolen from the military.
"Typically, if they are going to stage attacks, OPM don't stick around to attack again and again. And some of the people who have been detained are not Papuans; the notion that you have non-Papuans in the OPM doesn't make sense," McWilliams said.
In 2002, two American teachers and their Indonesian companion were killed in an ambush outside the Freeport installation. A Papuan separatist received a life sentence and six others were handed shorter jail terms, but the incident also sparked suspicions the Indonesian military were involved.
WHAT IMPACT HAS THIS HAD ON FREEPORT'S MINE?
So far, Freeport says it has not affected production.
Freeport said on its website it expects its Indonesian unit to sell 1.3 billion pounds of copper and 2.2 million ounces of gold this year, up from 1.1 billion pounds of copper and 1.2 million ounces of gold in 2008.
In the first six months of 2009, Freeport Indonesia produced 807 million recoverable pounds of copper, surging from 422 million pounds in the same period last year.
Foreign reporters require special permission to visit Papua and it is difficult to obtain accurate information about what is happening on the ground.
However, so far, all the attacks have taken place on a winding stretch of road between the area where some of the mine workers live and the mine itself.
Vehicles travelling along this route are exposed: they have to drive slowly, which means they are vulnerable to snipers in the surrounding countryside.
Freeport has been taking its workers up in convoys, protected by guards, but on one occasion when the convoy came under fire, they had to turn back. If the attacks remain low-level, it is unlikely this would have much impact on the mine's operations.
Most of the mine workers and key staff live on-site up at the mine.
COULD IT GET WORSE AND HIT OPERATIONS AT THE MINE?
If many more people are killed, Freeport may have to stop transporting workers along this route, in which case it could potentially affect staffing at the mine and impact production
Alternatively, mine-workers may become so concerned about their safety that they refuse to travel this route.
Freeport employs about 21,053 workers and contractors in Papua, one of the poorest parts of the Indonesian archipelago, so there are strong economic reasons why workers may be prepared to take the risk.
CAN THE SECURITY THREAT BE CONTAINED?
On a conference call with Wall Street analysts this week, Freeport's chief executive officer, Richard Adkerson, said six people had been charged with murder in the killing of the Australian worker. [ID:nN21367229]
Human rights organisations have raised concerns that those detained may not be the real perpetrators but could be convenient scapegoats as the authorities rush to solve the problem.
"A race to find scapegoats appears under way," the U.S-based West Papua Advocacy Team said in a statement. (Reporting by Sunanda Creagh and Fitri Wulandari; Writing by Sara Webb and Ed Davies; Editing by Michael Urquhart
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSJAK20475620090724
Grasberg has the world's largest recoverable reserves of copper, accounting for nearly 40 percent of Freeport's total copper reserves of 93 billion pounds, and the largest gold reserves.
Freeport said the shootings have not affected production.
Papuan police said on Friday that two people had been killed in shooting-related incidents this month: Australian technical expert Drew Grant and an unnamed security guard. At least 10 people were wounded, including seven police.
Here are some questions and answers about the situation:
WHAT'S BEHIND THESE ATTACKS?
Probably money.
With its vast natural resources -- copper, gold, timber -- Papua has long been regarded as a honeypot, and Freeport is Indonesia's top tax contributor, paying $1.2 billion in royalties and other taxes in 2008.
For years, Indonesia's military ran various business interests on the side to supplement their low pay, and were particularly active in resource-rich Papua and Aceh.
The Indonesian government is responsible for providing security arrangements for the Grasberg mine, deploying about 1,850 government security personnel. Freeport Indonesia, the local unit, contributed $8 million last year in support costs, covering food, housing, fuel, and other allowances.
Analysts say the recent outbreaks of violence are most likely due to conflicts between the police and the military over these security arrangements and related business ventures.
The attacks may be intended to force the government or Freeport to increase security, or to pay more to those providing it, or increase the presence of one faction over another.
They could also be related to who has access to tailings from the mine or illegal mining in the area, as these may provide an additional source of income.
Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono told reporters that "criminal groups" could be responsible because they want to carry out gold panning in the area, earning as much as $3,500 a month from such activities, a very high sum by Indonesian standards.
The West Papua Advocacy Team, a rights group, said a fight between the military and the mobile police brigade, Brimob, could be the reason for the attacks.
"Brimob is pretty much running the illegal gold mining, access to the tailings. That has been a constant source of irritation because Freeport is trying to get the military to shut down the tailings. So perhaps Brimob is concerned about that," said spokesman Edmund McWilliams.
IS THERE ANY RELATION TO THE FREE PAPUA MOVEMENT (OPM)
Few analysts believe these attacks have anything to do with the OPM, which has waged a low-level insurgency for decades and which is generally thought to be poorly armed.
The attackers in the recent shootings appeared to use weapons similar to those used by the military, although they could have been stolen from the military.
"Typically, if they are going to stage attacks, OPM don't stick around to attack again and again. And some of the people who have been detained are not Papuans; the notion that you have non-Papuans in the OPM doesn't make sense," McWilliams said.
In 2002, two American teachers and their Indonesian companion were killed in an ambush outside the Freeport installation. A Papuan separatist received a life sentence and six others were handed shorter jail terms, but the incident also sparked suspicions the Indonesian military were involved.
WHAT IMPACT HAS THIS HAD ON FREEPORT'S MINE?
So far, Freeport says it has not affected production.
Freeport said on its website it expects its Indonesian unit to sell 1.3 billion pounds of copper and 2.2 million ounces of gold this year, up from 1.1 billion pounds of copper and 1.2 million ounces of gold in 2008.
In the first six months of 2009, Freeport Indonesia produced 807 million recoverable pounds of copper, surging from 422 million pounds in the same period last year.
Foreign reporters require special permission to visit Papua and it is difficult to obtain accurate information about what is happening on the ground.
However, so far, all the attacks have taken place on a winding stretch of road between the area where some of the mine workers live and the mine itself.
Vehicles travelling along this route are exposed: they have to drive slowly, which means they are vulnerable to snipers in the surrounding countryside.
Freeport has been taking its workers up in convoys, protected by guards, but on one occasion when the convoy came under fire, they had to turn back. If the attacks remain low-level, it is unlikely this would have much impact on the mine's operations.
Most of the mine workers and key staff live on-site up at the mine.
COULD IT GET WORSE AND HIT OPERATIONS AT THE MINE?
If many more people are killed, Freeport may have to stop transporting workers along this route, in which case it could potentially affect staffing at the mine and impact production
Alternatively, mine-workers may become so concerned about their safety that they refuse to travel this route.
Freeport employs about 21,053 workers and contractors in Papua, one of the poorest parts of the Indonesian archipelago, so there are strong economic reasons why workers may be prepared to take the risk.
CAN THE SECURITY THREAT BE CONTAINED?
On a conference call with Wall Street analysts this week, Freeport's chief executive officer, Richard Adkerson, said six people had been charged with murder in the killing of the Australian worker. [ID:nN21367229]
Human rights organisations have raised concerns that those detained may not be the real perpetrators but could be convenient scapegoats as the authorities rush to solve the problem.
"A race to find scapegoats appears under way," the U.S-based West Papua Advocacy Team said in a statement. (Reporting by Sunanda Creagh and Fitri Wulandari; Writing by Sara Webb and Ed Davies; Editing by Michael Urquhart
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSJAK20475620090724
More shootings reported at Papua mine
Updated at 4:09pm on 24 July 2009
Confusion remains over how many people have been killed and wounded near the Grasberg mine in the Timika area in Papua.
There are reports that more shootings have taken place targetting employees of a US mining company, Freeport.
Gunmen ambushed a convoy of Freeport vehicles on the sole road from the coast to the mine, killing at least two people.
A series of ambushes killed three people on the same road earlier this month.
Radio New Zealand International reports there is widespread concern over the police investigation, which now also involves the Indonesian military who are considered by some as suspects in the attacks.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/07/24/1245bc798b77
Copyright © 2009 Radio New Zealand
Confusion remains over how many people have been killed and wounded near the Grasberg mine in the Timika area in Papua.
There are reports that more shootings have taken place targetting employees of a US mining company, Freeport.
Gunmen ambushed a convoy of Freeport vehicles on the sole road from the coast to the mine, killing at least two people.
A series of ambushes killed three people on the same road earlier this month.
Radio New Zealand International reports there is widespread concern over the police investigation, which now also involves the Indonesian military who are considered by some as suspects in the attacks.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/07/24/1245bc798b77
Copyright © 2009 Radio New Zealand
Papua Assembly Urges Open Probe of Freeport Mine Shootings
July 24, 2009
Christian Motte
The Papuan People’s Assembly, a body representing the cultural and social rights of Papuans, on Friday urged the police to find those responsible for a recent series of armed attacks at the massive Freeport gold and copper mine in Timika.
Frans Wosprakrik, the deputy chief of the assembly, also known as the MRP, asked that the culprits be found quickly, and pledged that the assembly would support the investigation as long as it was open and fair. He also said that calls demanding the closure of PT Freeport Indonesia’s mining operations there by some communities and nongovernmental organizations were unwarranted.
“We can look at the problem and find the solutions to it,” Wosprakrik said. “It might be that people’s rights were neglected, which needs to be addressed.”
He said those behind the Timika shootings likely had grievances against the mining company’s operations in the area, speculating that the attacks were carried out by people who felt personally disgruntled by Freeport.
“If there is dissatisfaction, it must be revealed, solved and ended,” he said.
Bery Nahdian Forqan, the executive director of leading environmental watchdog Walhi, is among those calling on Freeport to end its activities in Papua. He has argued that unless this was done, the level of violence would continue to increase.
“The best way to solve the problem is to stop the source of the problem, which is Freeport,” he said.
Rights group Imparsial said in a press release that the attacks in Timika had to have been planned and conducted by trained assailants, with experience in handling weapons and the expertise to evade tight security.
Arkilaus Arnesius Baho, the chairman of the National League for the Struggle of the People of West Papua, said that the primary motivation behind the violence in Timika was likely the perceived injustice among ethnic Papuans surrounding the exploitation of the province’s natural resources.
http://thejakartaglobe.com/news/papua-assembly-urges-open-probe-of-freeport-mine-shootings/320131
Christian Motte
The Papuan People’s Assembly, a body representing the cultural and social rights of Papuans, on Friday urged the police to find those responsible for a recent series of armed attacks at the massive Freeport gold and copper mine in Timika.
Frans Wosprakrik, the deputy chief of the assembly, also known as the MRP, asked that the culprits be found quickly, and pledged that the assembly would support the investigation as long as it was open and fair. He also said that calls demanding the closure of PT Freeport Indonesia’s mining operations there by some communities and nongovernmental organizations were unwarranted.
“We can look at the problem and find the solutions to it,” Wosprakrik said. “It might be that people’s rights were neglected, which needs to be addressed.”
He said those behind the Timika shootings likely had grievances against the mining company’s operations in the area, speculating that the attacks were carried out by people who felt personally disgruntled by Freeport.
“If there is dissatisfaction, it must be revealed, solved and ended,” he said.
Bery Nahdian Forqan, the executive director of leading environmental watchdog Walhi, is among those calling on Freeport to end its activities in Papua. He has argued that unless this was done, the level of violence would continue to increase.
“The best way to solve the problem is to stop the source of the problem, which is Freeport,” he said.
Rights group Imparsial said in a press release that the attacks in Timika had to have been planned and conducted by trained assailants, with experience in handling weapons and the expertise to evade tight security.
Arkilaus Arnesius Baho, the chairman of the National League for the Struggle of the People of West Papua, said that the primary motivation behind the violence in Timika was likely the perceived injustice among ethnic Papuans surrounding the exploitation of the province’s natural resources.
http://thejakartaglobe.com/news/papua-assembly-urges-open-probe-of-freeport-mine-shootings/320131
Concern over violence following Timika attacks
Posted at 23:06 on 23 July, 2009 UTC
The West Papua Advocacy Team has voiced concern over the impact of police sweep operations in Timika following the attacks.
The Team’s Ed McWilliams says according to their sources on the ground, at least twenty local Papuans have been detained and interrogated by police without access to lawyers, with reports that an elderly detainee has been badly beaten.
Mr McWilliams says they’re troubled that the investigation process may deny justice both for the victims of the shootings and the local Papuans.
“One of the other concerns is that we’re concerned that, as in the past, a consequence of all this violence will be even greater violence metted out against the Papuan civillians in the vicinity with sweep operations taking place nominally against the OPM (separatist movement) but in effect dealing with civillians in the villages and so on.”
News Content © Radio New Zealand International
PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand
The West Papua Advocacy Team has voiced concern over the impact of police sweep operations in Timika following the attacks.
The Team’s Ed McWilliams says according to their sources on the ground, at least twenty local Papuans have been detained and interrogated by police without access to lawyers, with reports that an elderly detainee has been badly beaten.
Mr McWilliams says they’re troubled that the investigation process may deny justice both for the victims of the shootings and the local Papuans.
“One of the other concerns is that we’re concerned that, as in the past, a consequence of all this violence will be even greater violence metted out against the Papuan civillians in the vicinity with sweep operations taking place nominally against the OPM (separatist movement) but in effect dealing with civillians in the villages and so on.”
News Content © Radio New Zealand International
PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand
Thursday 23 July 2009
Treason Trial for 15 Suspects Begins in Papua’s Nabire
July 23, 2009
Christian Motte
Jayapura. The trial of 15 people accused of treason just days before April’s legislative elections began on Thursday in Papua’s Nabire District Court.
The group was arrested on April 6 during preparations for a rally in support of an organization called the International Lawyers for West Papua in the United States. Four of the five witnesses presented on Thursday were Nabire Police officers.
The defendants’ lawyers, Gustaf Kawer and Ari Maturbongs, said after Thursday’s hearing that the prosecutor’s office would need to present better evidence in order to make a case that treason had been committed.
Kawer said Thursday’s testimony from the witnesses had painted a picture of actions “far from treason or rebellion.”
On April 3, a peaceful rally was held by the West Papua National Committee. Five of the 15 on trial attended. On April 5, the 15 men now on trial allegedly met with others at a cabin in Nabire to plan another peaceful rally, which was to be held the next day. Participants at the gathering reportedly prepared banners for the demonstration.
The rally was aimed at voicing opposition to Papua’s status as a special autonomous region, and also at denouncing the legislative elections to be held on April 9.
The rally was also meant to mark the launch of the so-called International Parliament for West Papua (IPWP).
On the day of the planned rally, Nabire Police raided the cabin, firing their guns and arresting suspects as the group prepared for the demonstration.
New York-based Human Rights Watch has since renewed its call for the Indonesian government to revoke laws that criminalize free expression.
“Papua officials should stop using the criminal law for political purposes,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“Now is the time for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to live up to his words and show Papuans he is serious about promoting tolerance of different political views.”
http://thejakartaglobe.com/news/treason-trial-for-15-suspects-begins-in-papuas-nabire/319906
Christian Motte
Jayapura. The trial of 15 people accused of treason just days before April’s legislative elections began on Thursday in Papua’s Nabire District Court.
The group was arrested on April 6 during preparations for a rally in support of an organization called the International Lawyers for West Papua in the United States. Four of the five witnesses presented on Thursday were Nabire Police officers.
The defendants’ lawyers, Gustaf Kawer and Ari Maturbongs, said after Thursday’s hearing that the prosecutor’s office would need to present better evidence in order to make a case that treason had been committed.
Kawer said Thursday’s testimony from the witnesses had painted a picture of actions “far from treason or rebellion.”
On April 3, a peaceful rally was held by the West Papua National Committee. Five of the 15 on trial attended. On April 5, the 15 men now on trial allegedly met with others at a cabin in Nabire to plan another peaceful rally, which was to be held the next day. Participants at the gathering reportedly prepared banners for the demonstration.
The rally was aimed at voicing opposition to Papua’s status as a special autonomous region, and also at denouncing the legislative elections to be held on April 9.
The rally was also meant to mark the launch of the so-called International Parliament for West Papua (IPWP).
On the day of the planned rally, Nabire Police raided the cabin, firing their guns and arresting suspects as the group prepared for the demonstration.
New York-based Human Rights Watch has since renewed its call for the Indonesian government to revoke laws that criminalize free expression.
“Papua officials should stop using the criminal law for political purposes,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“Now is the time for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to live up to his words and show Papuans he is serious about promoting tolerance of different political views.”
http://thejakartaglobe.com/news/treason-trial-for-15-suspects-begins-in-papuas-nabire/319906
Inside The Papuan Resistance
(From THE FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW)
By Bertil Lintner The Indonesian presidential election on July 8 seems likely to give Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono another five years in office. He is ahead of other candidates in opinion polls, and his Democratic Party emerged as the country's largest in the parliamentary elections in April. A high degree of normality and stability has returned to Indonesia after years of political and social turmoil. Only a decade ago, many feared that Indonesia would break up along ethnic lines and become a "Southeast Asian Yugoslavia."
In the end, only East Timor went its own way. But that was a special case, according to the official line from Jakarta and also foreign governments. When Indonesia was proclaimed an independent state in 1945, it laid claims to all the territories of the former Dutch East Indies, which did not include the then-Portuguese colony on the eastern half of Timor island. It was invaded in 1975 and formally annexed by Indonesia the following year -- a move that was not recognized by the international community. East Timor remained on the United Nations' international list of territories that still had to be decolonized, which made it possible for the world body to intervene in 1998 and supervise a referendum on independence in 1999. East Timor became a fully independent republic in 2002.
Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra had a far more complicated, internal insurgency. But, in August 2005, an accord was reached between the Indonesian government and the previously separatist Free Aceh Movement, or Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, ending decades of strife in that troubled territory by granting it autonomy. Less powerful centrifugal forces as well as sectarian violence in other parts of Sumatra, in the South Moluccas, or Maluku, Borneo and elsewhere, appear to have faded away.
Only one major separatist issue remains a thorn in President Yudhoyono's side: the long-simmering conflict in the western Indonesian part of the island of New Guinea. Since 2003, the area has been divided into two provinces -- Papua and West Papua, but referred to by the resistance only as "West Papua" -- and is almost constantly rocked by antigovernment protests, and the hoisting of the "Morning Star" independence flag, which is a crime in Indonesia.
In the most recent incident, demonstrators and security forces clashed in Nabire on April 6, just a few days before Indonesia's parliamentary election. According to the Australia-based NGO Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights, nine people were shot by security forces and at least one policeman was injured by traditional arrows fired by the protesters. In April 2008, several hundred demonstrators took to the streets of Jayapura, the capital of the province of Papua and previously of the entire Indonesian-held New Guinea. And in January this year, hundreds of protesters, some armed with machetes and other crude weapons, besieged a police station in the coastal Papuan town of Timika after hearing that a man had been shot during a fight between off-duty officers and local tribesmen. The police opened fire wounding at least four people.
The Indonesian English-language daily Jakarta Globe reported in its January 28 issue: "The [Indonesian] National Human Rights Commission has been monitoring the Timika police because of numerous cases of officers as well as military personnel allegedly shooting civilians, many of which remain unresolved. Last year, a 40-year-old man was shot and killed while attending a festival said to have been linked to the outlawed Free Papua Movement." The report continued: "Pro-independence sentiment in Papua has increased in recent years, fueled in part by discontent that profits from its natural resources are being siphoned out of the province with the assistance of the central government. U.S.-based Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold Co. operates mines in Papua."
Also in January this year, 11 West Papuans were found guilty of subversion and sentenced to three and three-and-a-half year prison sentences. In March last year, they had taken part in a demonstration in the town of Manokwari, where the Morning Star flag had been displayed. According to a report from the Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights: "The panel of judges led by Elsa Mutiara Napitupulu said that the men had posed a threat to the integrity of the Indonesian state in seeking the separation of West Papua. The judgment said that there had been an increase in separatist activities in the recent past throughout the whole of West Papua which were being organized from abroad."
In today's world, that is not far-fetched. The Free Papua Movement, Organisasi Papua Merdeka, maintains an office in Stockholm, Sweden, from where they are in regular e-mail contact with activists in the territory, halfway around the globe. And for the exiled leaders of the anti-Indonesian movement in West Papua, there is only one way forward for their struggle: total independence. They reject a negotiated autonomy deal, similar to what GAM has achieved for Aceh. "Autonomy is not a lasting solution," Ruben Maury from the OPM office in Sweden said. "The people want independence, not autonomy. We've already made up our minds."
What the people of Indonesian New Guinea actually want is impossible to ascertain -- but the OPM did indeed unilaterally declare independence on July 1, 1971. Yet while international rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have expressed concern over human-rights abuses in the area, the OPM's plea for independence has found few sympathizers among foreign governments. The only exceptions are small Pacific island states such as Vanuatu -- where the OPM maintains another liaison office -- and Nauru. No major powers, it seems, wants to see the dismemberment of Indonesia's sprawling archipelago, which many thought possible after former strongman Suharto fell in 1998 and liberal decentralization measures were passed. The buck stopped at East Timor.
But West Papua is still a borderline case. When the Dutch finally left Indonesia in 1949 -- four years after the declaration of independence -- they held on to their western half of New Guinea. They argued that the territory was culturally different from the rest of the old colony and, if ceded to Indonesia, the Papuans would be exploited by the more politically and economically sophisticated Javanese. The new Indonesian nation, however, saw it differently. One of the catch phrases of independence leader Sukarno was of Indonesian sovereignty "from Sabang to Merauke," from Sabang on a small island off the northwestern tip of Sumatra to the town on Merauke in southeastern Papua, i.e., the entire length and breadth of the former Dutch East Indies.
The Dutch initially ignored such sovereignty slogans and throughout the 1950s initiated several moves to make their part of New Guinea an independent state. Basic education was improved, a naval academy was opened, Papuans began to serve in the military as well as civil services and local elections were held in December 1961. The territory even adopted its own national anthem and flag with the white Morning Star, symbolizing the hope for a new day era.
All this happened at a time when Southeast Asia was in deep turmoil. Communist movements were strong throughout the region and especially in Indonesia, where it was a powerful and legal political party. The United States warned the Netherlands against trying to defend its New Guinean possession if Jakarta attempted to use force to extend its writ to Merauke. "We're victims of Cold War politics," says Daniel Kafiar, who, together with Mr. Maury, heads the OPM's Stockholm office. "No one ever asked us what we wanted. It all happened above our heads."
Among the many documents Mr. Kafiar carries in his briefcase is a copy of a secret letter from former U.S. President John F. Kennedy to then Dutch Prime Minister J E de Quay dated April 2, 1962. In that document, Kennedy warned that "this could be a war in which neither the Netherlands nor the West could win in any real sense. Whatever the outcome of particular military encounters, the entire free world position in Asia would be seriously damaged. Only the communists would benefit from such a conflict." The document continues: "If the Indonesian Army were committed to all-out war against the Netherlands, the moderate elements within the Army and the country would be quickly eliminated, leaving a clear field for communist intervention. If Indonesia were to succumb to communism in these circumstances, the whole non-communist position in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaya would be in grave peril, and as you know these are areas in which we in the United States have heavy commitments and burdens."
The Netherlands gave in and, on Aug. 15, 1962, signed an agreement in New York with Indonesia according to which the United Nations would assume temporary control over the territory. It would then be transferred to Indonesia -- but on the condition that the Papuans would have the right to decide their own future. On May 1, 1963, Indonesia took full charge of the territory and first renamed it West Irian and later Irian Jaya. In mid-1969, the promised "referendum" was eventually held, but The Act of Free Choice, as it was called, was open only to 1,025 handpicked delegates, which predictably all voted in favor of integration with Indonesia. On Nov. 19, 1969, the U.N. General Assembly accepted the results and Western countries turned a deaf ear to local protests over the dubious circumstances of the vote.
By 1965, the OPM had already been established along with an armed wing, the National Liberation Army, or OPM-TPN, and hit-and-run attacks were launched in the highlands. Mr. Maury joined the OPM in 1970, abandoning his family and a job as a pharmacist in Jayapura. He had been sent to study in the Netherlands in the 1950s as part of preparations for independence from the then Dutch colony. A better-educated middle class, it was thought, was needed to run an independent state and Mr. Maury was one of the well-schooled candidates.
In 1962, he and five other Papuans were invited to visit Indonesia, where they met President Sukarno and other state leaders. But the Papuans made no promises to Jakarta: "We told them we were on a study tour," Mr. Maury says. "They sent beautiful girls to our hotel rooms, but I didn't give in to the temptation, or to their suggestion that we should join Indonesia."
Mr. Maury spent eight years in the jungles and highlands of West Papua before he and some of his ill-equipped followers crossed into independent Papua New Guinea in 1978. But the newly independent state did not want to antagonize its powerful Indonesian neighbor, and promptly arrested the OPM fighters. In 1979, they were all released and four of them were accepted as political refugees in Sweden. Among them was Jacob Prai, one of the founders of the OPM, and John Otto Ondawame, who now represents the movement in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Mr. Kafiar arrived in Sweden a year later and the OPM established an information office in Stockholm.
They are not the only Third World revolutionary movement to have sought sanctuary in Sweden. Hasan di Tiro, the leader of the Acehnese independence movement who was able to return to Indonesia following the 2005 accords, also arrived there in the 1970s, as did representatives of the Muslim separatists in Southern Thailand and cadre from the insurgent Communist New People's Army in the Philippines. Later, even members of Peru's radical Maoist Shining Path movement took refuge in Sweden. They were all drawn by Sweden's then liberal refugee policy and it was difficult for Swedish authorities to check the background of some of the less attractive armed groups' members. That has helped fuel a popular backlash against political-asylum seekers there, which, in recent years, has led to electoral gains by anti-immigrant groups.
But as Sweden's welcome cools, the Papuans may fare better than others. Although they look as foreign as other refugees, there is plenty of interest in New Guinea in Sweden. This is largely thanks to a Swedish aristocrat and explorer, Sten Bergman, who in the 1950s spent several years in western New Guinea. His best-selling book, "My Father is a Cannibal," has been translated into several languages, and helped preserve a somewhat romantic image of life in territory's remote villages. Bergman was indeed "adopted" by a village chief who once had eaten human flesh and was dressed in little more than a penis-sheath.
For their part, the OPM delegates do not wish to capitalize on this romanticized past, but rather are trying to reach out to governments all over the world to promote their cause. In 1987, Mr. Kafiar went to Vanuatu where he met Walter Lini, the country's first prime minister. At the time, Lini and Vanuatu provided some support for the Kanak indigenous independent movement in French-held New Caledonia and was then the only country in the region to support East Timor's quest for independence.
Mr. Kafiar remained in Vanuatu for two years before returning to Sweden, and the Vanuatu office has been taken over by Mr. Ondawame and Andy Ayamiseba, who the Stockholm-based representatives see as closet moles for Indonesia. That's in part a reflection of the deep-seated factionalism within the OPM, which is bidding to forge a unified state from an area with hundreds of different languages and clans, many of which have historically been at war with each other.
In comparison, the Aceh movement was fairly unified and many feel the OPM would find it difficult to establish a coherent sense of nationhood among the Papuans. They just need look across the border into Papua New Guinea, which many observers consider a nearly failed state with rampant crime, murder rates among the world's highest, and severe environmental degradation driven by an economy almost entirely dependent on the export of raw natural resources. Still, the OPM's Stockholm representatives see separation from Indonesia as just the first step; the next would be a union with Papua New Guinea. "Historically, our ties have been with Oceania. Our connections have always been eastwards, not westwards," Mr. Kafiar says. "The border between western and eastern New Guinea was drawn up in Europe in the late 19th century, with a pen and a ruler," he asserts. "It's a straight line. People have relatives on both side of the frontier."
But before independence or unification with New Guinea could happen -- if that ever materialized -- the western half would have to deal with fundamental demographic changes that have taken place over the past few decades. Between 1975 and 1995, a government-sponsored migration program resettled tens of thousands of people, mainly from Java, in Irian Jaya. In addition, many people from other, more densely populated parts of Indonesia moved to the territory, attracted by business opportunities and the search for new lands to cultivate. In a July 2007 document titled "West Papuan Churches' Deepest Concern and Appeal to the International Community," local church leaders stated: "The current composition of the West Papuan population is 30% native and 70% migrants. The native West Papuans have been marginalized in all aspects of life."
Even if exaggerated, the statement reflects the new demographic composition and cause for potential conflicts in Papuan society. The native Papuans are mostly Animist or Christian, while the new migrants are predominantly Muslim. Groups of Islamic extremists are also known to have visited the territory, leading to fears that the kind of sectarian fighting that tore apart the Maluku islands from 2000 to 2002 could one day erupt in Papua and West Papua. The delicate demographic and religious balance in Indonesia's two easternmost provinces is perhaps the reason why outside powers seem to prefer a continuation of the status quo rather than advocate the OPM's separation from Indonesia. The Papuans may be victims of Cold War politics, as Mr. Maury and Mr. Kafiar argue, but two generations later the situation has become more ethnically complicated.
As such, unrest in the area is likely to continue, even if the OPM these days lacks the forces to resist Indonesia's mighty military. However, recent demonstrations in Manokwari, Jayapura and elsewhere could serve as warnings for more conflict and resistance to come in one of Indonesia's most remote and strife-torn provinces. The OPM's armed struggle in the highlands has been succeeded by a civil movement in urban areas, and that could be even more difficult for the central authorities to contain than jungle guerrilla warfare. After decades of mismanagement and dubious policies, President Yudhoyono, if re-elected, may be forced to take a fresh look at the Papuan issue -- because it is not likely to go away like other, more easily solvable ethnic conflicts in the Indonesian archipelago.
---
Mr. Lintner is a journalist based in Thailand.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090717-713841.html
By Bertil Lintner The Indonesian presidential election on July 8 seems likely to give Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono another five years in office. He is ahead of other candidates in opinion polls, and his Democratic Party emerged as the country's largest in the parliamentary elections in April. A high degree of normality and stability has returned to Indonesia after years of political and social turmoil. Only a decade ago, many feared that Indonesia would break up along ethnic lines and become a "Southeast Asian Yugoslavia."
In the end, only East Timor went its own way. But that was a special case, according to the official line from Jakarta and also foreign governments. When Indonesia was proclaimed an independent state in 1945, it laid claims to all the territories of the former Dutch East Indies, which did not include the then-Portuguese colony on the eastern half of Timor island. It was invaded in 1975 and formally annexed by Indonesia the following year -- a move that was not recognized by the international community. East Timor remained on the United Nations' international list of territories that still had to be decolonized, which made it possible for the world body to intervene in 1998 and supervise a referendum on independence in 1999. East Timor became a fully independent republic in 2002.
Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra had a far more complicated, internal insurgency. But, in August 2005, an accord was reached between the Indonesian government and the previously separatist Free Aceh Movement, or Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, ending decades of strife in that troubled territory by granting it autonomy. Less powerful centrifugal forces as well as sectarian violence in other parts of Sumatra, in the South Moluccas, or Maluku, Borneo and elsewhere, appear to have faded away.
Only one major separatist issue remains a thorn in President Yudhoyono's side: the long-simmering conflict in the western Indonesian part of the island of New Guinea. Since 2003, the area has been divided into two provinces -- Papua and West Papua, but referred to by the resistance only as "West Papua" -- and is almost constantly rocked by antigovernment protests, and the hoisting of the "Morning Star" independence flag, which is a crime in Indonesia.
In the most recent incident, demonstrators and security forces clashed in Nabire on April 6, just a few days before Indonesia's parliamentary election. According to the Australia-based NGO Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights, nine people were shot by security forces and at least one policeman was injured by traditional arrows fired by the protesters. In April 2008, several hundred demonstrators took to the streets of Jayapura, the capital of the province of Papua and previously of the entire Indonesian-held New Guinea. And in January this year, hundreds of protesters, some armed with machetes and other crude weapons, besieged a police station in the coastal Papuan town of Timika after hearing that a man had been shot during a fight between off-duty officers and local tribesmen. The police opened fire wounding at least four people.
The Indonesian English-language daily Jakarta Globe reported in its January 28 issue: "The [Indonesian] National Human Rights Commission has been monitoring the Timika police because of numerous cases of officers as well as military personnel allegedly shooting civilians, many of which remain unresolved. Last year, a 40-year-old man was shot and killed while attending a festival said to have been linked to the outlawed Free Papua Movement." The report continued: "Pro-independence sentiment in Papua has increased in recent years, fueled in part by discontent that profits from its natural resources are being siphoned out of the province with the assistance of the central government. U.S.-based Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold Co. operates mines in Papua."
Also in January this year, 11 West Papuans were found guilty of subversion and sentenced to three and three-and-a-half year prison sentences. In March last year, they had taken part in a demonstration in the town of Manokwari, where the Morning Star flag had been displayed. According to a report from the Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights: "The panel of judges led by Elsa Mutiara Napitupulu said that the men had posed a threat to the integrity of the Indonesian state in seeking the separation of West Papua. The judgment said that there had been an increase in separatist activities in the recent past throughout the whole of West Papua which were being organized from abroad."
In today's world, that is not far-fetched. The Free Papua Movement, Organisasi Papua Merdeka, maintains an office in Stockholm, Sweden, from where they are in regular e-mail contact with activists in the territory, halfway around the globe. And for the exiled leaders of the anti-Indonesian movement in West Papua, there is only one way forward for their struggle: total independence. They reject a negotiated autonomy deal, similar to what GAM has achieved for Aceh. "Autonomy is not a lasting solution," Ruben Maury from the OPM office in Sweden said. "The people want independence, not autonomy. We've already made up our minds."
What the people of Indonesian New Guinea actually want is impossible to ascertain -- but the OPM did indeed unilaterally declare independence on July 1, 1971. Yet while international rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have expressed concern over human-rights abuses in the area, the OPM's plea for independence has found few sympathizers among foreign governments. The only exceptions are small Pacific island states such as Vanuatu -- where the OPM maintains another liaison office -- and Nauru. No major powers, it seems, wants to see the dismemberment of Indonesia's sprawling archipelago, which many thought possible after former strongman Suharto fell in 1998 and liberal decentralization measures were passed. The buck stopped at East Timor.
But West Papua is still a borderline case. When the Dutch finally left Indonesia in 1949 -- four years after the declaration of independence -- they held on to their western half of New Guinea. They argued that the territory was culturally different from the rest of the old colony and, if ceded to Indonesia, the Papuans would be exploited by the more politically and economically sophisticated Javanese. The new Indonesian nation, however, saw it differently. One of the catch phrases of independence leader Sukarno was of Indonesian sovereignty "from Sabang to Merauke," from Sabang on a small island off the northwestern tip of Sumatra to the town on Merauke in southeastern Papua, i.e., the entire length and breadth of the former Dutch East Indies.
The Dutch initially ignored such sovereignty slogans and throughout the 1950s initiated several moves to make their part of New Guinea an independent state. Basic education was improved, a naval academy was opened, Papuans began to serve in the military as well as civil services and local elections were held in December 1961. The territory even adopted its own national anthem and flag with the white Morning Star, symbolizing the hope for a new day era.
All this happened at a time when Southeast Asia was in deep turmoil. Communist movements were strong throughout the region and especially in Indonesia, where it was a powerful and legal political party. The United States warned the Netherlands against trying to defend its New Guinean possession if Jakarta attempted to use force to extend its writ to Merauke. "We're victims of Cold War politics," says Daniel Kafiar, who, together with Mr. Maury, heads the OPM's Stockholm office. "No one ever asked us what we wanted. It all happened above our heads."
Among the many documents Mr. Kafiar carries in his briefcase is a copy of a secret letter from former U.S. President John F. Kennedy to then Dutch Prime Minister J E de Quay dated April 2, 1962. In that document, Kennedy warned that "this could be a war in which neither the Netherlands nor the West could win in any real sense. Whatever the outcome of particular military encounters, the entire free world position in Asia would be seriously damaged. Only the communists would benefit from such a conflict." The document continues: "If the Indonesian Army were committed to all-out war against the Netherlands, the moderate elements within the Army and the country would be quickly eliminated, leaving a clear field for communist intervention. If Indonesia were to succumb to communism in these circumstances, the whole non-communist position in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaya would be in grave peril, and as you know these are areas in which we in the United States have heavy commitments and burdens."
The Netherlands gave in and, on Aug. 15, 1962, signed an agreement in New York with Indonesia according to which the United Nations would assume temporary control over the territory. It would then be transferred to Indonesia -- but on the condition that the Papuans would have the right to decide their own future. On May 1, 1963, Indonesia took full charge of the territory and first renamed it West Irian and later Irian Jaya. In mid-1969, the promised "referendum" was eventually held, but The Act of Free Choice, as it was called, was open only to 1,025 handpicked delegates, which predictably all voted in favor of integration with Indonesia. On Nov. 19, 1969, the U.N. General Assembly accepted the results and Western countries turned a deaf ear to local protests over the dubious circumstances of the vote.
By 1965, the OPM had already been established along with an armed wing, the National Liberation Army, or OPM-TPN, and hit-and-run attacks were launched in the highlands. Mr. Maury joined the OPM in 1970, abandoning his family and a job as a pharmacist in Jayapura. He had been sent to study in the Netherlands in the 1950s as part of preparations for independence from the then Dutch colony. A better-educated middle class, it was thought, was needed to run an independent state and Mr. Maury was one of the well-schooled candidates.
In 1962, he and five other Papuans were invited to visit Indonesia, where they met President Sukarno and other state leaders. But the Papuans made no promises to Jakarta: "We told them we were on a study tour," Mr. Maury says. "They sent beautiful girls to our hotel rooms, but I didn't give in to the temptation, or to their suggestion that we should join Indonesia."
Mr. Maury spent eight years in the jungles and highlands of West Papua before he and some of his ill-equipped followers crossed into independent Papua New Guinea in 1978. But the newly independent state did not want to antagonize its powerful Indonesian neighbor, and promptly arrested the OPM fighters. In 1979, they were all released and four of them were accepted as political refugees in Sweden. Among them was Jacob Prai, one of the founders of the OPM, and John Otto Ondawame, who now represents the movement in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Mr. Kafiar arrived in Sweden a year later and the OPM established an information office in Stockholm.
They are not the only Third World revolutionary movement to have sought sanctuary in Sweden. Hasan di Tiro, the leader of the Acehnese independence movement who was able to return to Indonesia following the 2005 accords, also arrived there in the 1970s, as did representatives of the Muslim separatists in Southern Thailand and cadre from the insurgent Communist New People's Army in the Philippines. Later, even members of Peru's radical Maoist Shining Path movement took refuge in Sweden. They were all drawn by Sweden's then liberal refugee policy and it was difficult for Swedish authorities to check the background of some of the less attractive armed groups' members. That has helped fuel a popular backlash against political-asylum seekers there, which, in recent years, has led to electoral gains by anti-immigrant groups.
But as Sweden's welcome cools, the Papuans may fare better than others. Although they look as foreign as other refugees, there is plenty of interest in New Guinea in Sweden. This is largely thanks to a Swedish aristocrat and explorer, Sten Bergman, who in the 1950s spent several years in western New Guinea. His best-selling book, "My Father is a Cannibal," has been translated into several languages, and helped preserve a somewhat romantic image of life in territory's remote villages. Bergman was indeed "adopted" by a village chief who once had eaten human flesh and was dressed in little more than a penis-sheath.
For their part, the OPM delegates do not wish to capitalize on this romanticized past, but rather are trying to reach out to governments all over the world to promote their cause. In 1987, Mr. Kafiar went to Vanuatu where he met Walter Lini, the country's first prime minister. At the time, Lini and Vanuatu provided some support for the Kanak indigenous independent movement in French-held New Caledonia and was then the only country in the region to support East Timor's quest for independence.
Mr. Kafiar remained in Vanuatu for two years before returning to Sweden, and the Vanuatu office has been taken over by Mr. Ondawame and Andy Ayamiseba, who the Stockholm-based representatives see as closet moles for Indonesia. That's in part a reflection of the deep-seated factionalism within the OPM, which is bidding to forge a unified state from an area with hundreds of different languages and clans, many of which have historically been at war with each other.
In comparison, the Aceh movement was fairly unified and many feel the OPM would find it difficult to establish a coherent sense of nationhood among the Papuans. They just need look across the border into Papua New Guinea, which many observers consider a nearly failed state with rampant crime, murder rates among the world's highest, and severe environmental degradation driven by an economy almost entirely dependent on the export of raw natural resources. Still, the OPM's Stockholm representatives see separation from Indonesia as just the first step; the next would be a union with Papua New Guinea. "Historically, our ties have been with Oceania. Our connections have always been eastwards, not westwards," Mr. Kafiar says. "The border between western and eastern New Guinea was drawn up in Europe in the late 19th century, with a pen and a ruler," he asserts. "It's a straight line. People have relatives on both side of the frontier."
But before independence or unification with New Guinea could happen -- if that ever materialized -- the western half would have to deal with fundamental demographic changes that have taken place over the past few decades. Between 1975 and 1995, a government-sponsored migration program resettled tens of thousands of people, mainly from Java, in Irian Jaya. In addition, many people from other, more densely populated parts of Indonesia moved to the territory, attracted by business opportunities and the search for new lands to cultivate. In a July 2007 document titled "West Papuan Churches' Deepest Concern and Appeal to the International Community," local church leaders stated: "The current composition of the West Papuan population is 30% native and 70% migrants. The native West Papuans have been marginalized in all aspects of life."
Even if exaggerated, the statement reflects the new demographic composition and cause for potential conflicts in Papuan society. The native Papuans are mostly Animist or Christian, while the new migrants are predominantly Muslim. Groups of Islamic extremists are also known to have visited the territory, leading to fears that the kind of sectarian fighting that tore apart the Maluku islands from 2000 to 2002 could one day erupt in Papua and West Papua. The delicate demographic and religious balance in Indonesia's two easternmost provinces is perhaps the reason why outside powers seem to prefer a continuation of the status quo rather than advocate the OPM's separation from Indonesia. The Papuans may be victims of Cold War politics, as Mr. Maury and Mr. Kafiar argue, but two generations later the situation has become more ethnically complicated.
As such, unrest in the area is likely to continue, even if the OPM these days lacks the forces to resist Indonesia's mighty military. However, recent demonstrations in Manokwari, Jayapura and elsewhere could serve as warnings for more conflict and resistance to come in one of Indonesia's most remote and strife-torn provinces. The OPM's armed struggle in the highlands has been succeeded by a civil movement in urban areas, and that could be even more difficult for the central authorities to contain than jungle guerrilla warfare. After decades of mismanagement and dubious policies, President Yudhoyono, if re-elected, may be forced to take a fresh look at the Papuan issue -- because it is not likely to go away like other, more easily solvable ethnic conflicts in the Indonesian archipelago.
---
Mr. Lintner is a journalist based in Thailand.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090717-713841.html
Wednesday 22 July 2009
Arrests Of West Papuans By Anti Terrorist Police
Wednesday, 22 July 2009, 1:32 pm
Press Release: West Papua Media Alerts
Arrests Of West Papuans By Anti Terrorist Police Over Freeport Attacks
Information has been received from a variety of sources that at 1500 local time on Monday June 20, two platoons of Detasment 88 anti-terrorist troops have raided the village of Wowor, New Mimika. Seven (7) West Papuan people were arrested allegedly in connection with the series of attacks on Freeport personnel since July . Unconfirmed witness reports have also been received of excessive force used by the elite troops before, during and after the arrests. Human RIghts monitors have grave concerns for the safety of these people, and information has indicated that these arrests may have been arbitrary.
The detainees were then taken to the PolRes Regional police headquarters in Timika for interrogations. Human Rights monitors have grave concerns for the humane and fair treatment of the detainees, access to legal representation, and respect for the legal process, and call on the Indonesian Police to immediately allow independent human rights monitors to have full access to ensure detainees are not mistreated. Recent reports released by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have detailed widespread and institutionalised torture and ill-treatment of West Papuan political prisoners by members of the Indonesian Security Forces, including cases by Detachment 88 members and police at Timika.
Name place of Birth DOB/Age Tribe Religion address Employment
Eltinus Beanal Tsinga 9 may 86 Amugme, Tani Protestant Beana Gom Pura Copper District.
Simon Beanal Tsinga 29 July 76/ 33 Amugme Protestant New Complex Yahamak Timika.
Samuel Toffy age 29 Protestan Jl. C heatubun back Wowor Timika. Amugme Community Cooperatives
Amun Yawane 35 Amugme banti 1 tembagapura employees of PT. Redparth
Domininggus beanal 13 June 91 AMugme Christian behind Kwamki Polsek
Peter Kanisius Luther 10 Oct 69 Tanimbar Protestant Christian Gold Miner
Tommy Beanal Tsinga 8 June 84 Protestant Christians tembagapura employees. M.H
Given the significant doubts cast internationally on the Indonesian Government's version of events surrounding the shooting of Australian mine worker Drew Grant, it is crucial for the detainees not to be subjected to inhuman treatment and torture. Significant concerns are present that the arrest of these West Papuan villagers will be used to scapegoat West Papuans for the responsibility over the Freeport attacks. The Indonesian Defence minister even has conceded the Free Papua Movement is unlikely to be responsible, and has indicated both the military and the police are responsible, and even went as far a suggesting that Australia itself was behind the attacks.
The Indonesian security forces cannot be trusted to investigate themselves, especially considering their involvement in local illicit activities. Full international and independent human rights investigation is required immediately on the ground in Timika, and the Indonesian Government must immediately reverse the ban on foreign journalists reporting this crucial issue.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0907/S00340.htm
Press Release: West Papua Media Alerts
Arrests Of West Papuans By Anti Terrorist Police Over Freeport Attacks
Information has been received from a variety of sources that at 1500 local time on Monday June 20, two platoons of Detasment 88 anti-terrorist troops have raided the village of Wowor, New Mimika. Seven (7) West Papuan people were arrested allegedly in connection with the series of attacks on Freeport personnel since July . Unconfirmed witness reports have also been received of excessive force used by the elite troops before, during and after the arrests. Human RIghts monitors have grave concerns for the safety of these people, and information has indicated that these arrests may have been arbitrary.
The detainees were then taken to the PolRes Regional police headquarters in Timika for interrogations. Human Rights monitors have grave concerns for the humane and fair treatment of the detainees, access to legal representation, and respect for the legal process, and call on the Indonesian Police to immediately allow independent human rights monitors to have full access to ensure detainees are not mistreated. Recent reports released by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have detailed widespread and institutionalised torture and ill-treatment of West Papuan political prisoners by members of the Indonesian Security Forces, including cases by Detachment 88 members and police at Timika.
Name place of Birth DOB/Age Tribe Religion address Employment
Eltinus Beanal Tsinga 9 may 86 Amugme, Tani Protestant Beana Gom Pura Copper District.
Simon Beanal Tsinga 29 July 76/ 33 Amugme Protestant New Complex Yahamak Timika.
Samuel Toffy age 29 Protestan Jl. C heatubun back Wowor Timika. Amugme Community Cooperatives
Amun Yawane 35 Amugme banti 1 tembagapura employees of PT. Redparth
Domininggus beanal 13 June 91 AMugme Christian behind Kwamki Polsek
Peter Kanisius Luther 10 Oct 69 Tanimbar Protestant Christian Gold Miner
Tommy Beanal Tsinga 8 June 84 Protestant Christians tembagapura employees. M.H
Given the significant doubts cast internationally on the Indonesian Government's version of events surrounding the shooting of Australian mine worker Drew Grant, it is crucial for the detainees not to be subjected to inhuman treatment and torture. Significant concerns are present that the arrest of these West Papuan villagers will be used to scapegoat West Papuans for the responsibility over the Freeport attacks. The Indonesian Defence minister even has conceded the Free Papua Movement is unlikely to be responsible, and has indicated both the military and the police are responsible, and even went as far a suggesting that Australia itself was behind the attacks.
The Indonesian security forces cannot be trusted to investigate themselves, especially considering their involvement in local illicit activities. Full international and independent human rights investigation is required immediately on the ground in Timika, and the Indonesian Government must immediately reverse the ban on foreign journalists reporting this crucial issue.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0907/S00340.htm
Indonesia: Free Papuan Activists
Revoke Laws Criminalizing Free Expression
July 21, 2009
(New York) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia should demonstrate his stated support for differing political viewpoints by dropping politically motivated criminal charges against activists from Papua province and ordering their release, Human Rights Watch said today.
On July 23, 2009, a court in Nabire, Papua will resume the trial of 16 Papuans, mostly students and farmers associated with the West Papua National Committee, a political organization that seeks Papua's independence from Indonesia. They were arrested on April 6 in connection with a pre-election rally in Nabire and were charged under the criminal code with treason or rebellion (makar). Two Papuan student activists, Buchtar Tabuni and Seby Sembom, have also been imprisoned for their activities. Human Rights Watch renewed its call for the Indonesian government to remove archaic legal provisions that criminalize peaceful freedom of expression.
"Papua officials should stop using the criminal law for political purposes," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Now is the time for Yudhoyono to live up to his words and show Papuans he is serious about promoting tolerance of different political views."
At 3:30 a.m. on April 6, in an effort to stop the rally, police attacked and burned a camp site where students and farmers who planned to protest had gathered. In the melee that ensued, students threw stones and vandalized a police vehicle. Protesters tried to storm trucks carrying heavily armed Mobile Brigade officers, who responded with gunfire. Further enraged, the demonstrators began pelting police with projectiles and firing arrows.
Dozens of demonstrators were wounded by the gunfire, four of them seriously, including a 10-year-old boy. One policeman was wounded by an arrow. There has been no investigation into the acts of violence, and no specific charges relating to the violence have been brought against anyone, including members of the police. The 16 people detained that day have been held in custody since their arrest.
One of the 16, Monica Zonggonau, a 45-year-old housewife, was not even present at the demonstration, but had a symbol of Papuan independence, the outlawed Morning Star flag, stitched to her bag. Her lawyer said that the police arrested Zonggonau in a market near the demonstration and beat her with a rifle butt and a shoe. The police failed to provide any medical assistance to Zonggonau, who still suffers headaches as a result of the beatings, the lawyer said.
On July 14, the judge denied the defense counsel's request to dismiss legal proceedings against the 16 on various grounds, including that the arrests did not conform with legal procedures, that police did not give them access to legal representation or to interpreters (the defendants do not speak Indonesian Malay) when they were questioned in custody, and that neither the defendants nor their lawyers received the police documents relating to the charges until they appeared at court. The trial is to resume on July 23. One of the defense lawyers told Human Rights Watch he was only allowed to meet his clients when the trial began on June 18.
"Acts of violence should be investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice, but simply charging activists with treason doesn't address these issues," said Pearson. "There are serious concerns that the Papuan activists have not had sufficient access to legal representation and that the trial does not meet international fair-trial standards."
There is a long history of suppression of peaceful activism in Papua. The offense of treason or rebellion is often invoked against persons alleged to have shown support for the armed separatist group, Organisasi Papuan Merdeka (Free Papua Organization or OPM) (http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2007/02/20/protest-and-punishment ). The government has made wide use of this vague "catch-all" offense, which contains extremely broad language and is punishable by up to life imprisonment, rather than prosecuting specific offenses, such as weapons possession, kidnapping, or murder.
The current trial follows a June 17 verdict by a Jayapura court in Papua sentencing student leader Buchtar Tabuni to three years of imprisonment on charges of inciting hatred (haatzai artikelen) against Indonesia. Tabuni helped organize a 2,000-strong rally on October 16, 2008, in Jayapura celebrating the establishment of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua in London, and delivered political speeches at two rallies on the campus of Cenderawasih University in Abepura. State prosecutors showed the Abepura court Tabuni's banners with political messages: "Referendum Yes, Special Autonomy No;" "We want International dialogue;" and "The UN Invasion of West Papua. We Want Peace." Prosecutors also charged that Tabuni produced Morning Star flags during the rallies.
Another student leader and colleague to Tabuni, Seby Sembom, is on trial in an Abepura court on the same charges related to the October 16 rally. Police arrested Sembom on December 17, 2008 in Sentani after Sembom held a news conference calling on the Indonesian police to release Tabuni.
Past President Abdurrahman Wahid once called the Morning Star flag a cultural symbol, and in 1999 and 2000 allowed the flag to be flown on the condition that it was raised alongside and lower than the Indonesian flag. Under the 2001 Papuan Special Autonomy Law, symbols of Papuan identity such as a flag or song are permitted, but Article 6 of Government Regulation 77/2007, prohibits the display of the Morning Star flag in Papua, the South Maluku Republic flag in Ambon, and the Crescent Moon flag in Aceh.
In a 2005 speech, Yudhoyono said he would solve Papuan problems "peacefully, fairly and with dignity," and in 2006 he said he would use "persuasion and dialogue" rather than violence in dealing with Papuan activists. In March 2009 at the London School of Economics, Yudhoyono said Indonesia is "not just a democracy by name - we are a vibrant democracy ... a functioning democracy that has maintained our brand of moderation and tolerance."
However, Yudhoyono's administration has intensified suppression of peaceful political activism in Papua. His government has stepped up the use of "hatred sowing" articles interpreting peaceful acts of protest and flag-raising as "showing hatred" toward government officials, state institutions, religious symbols, and state symbols - particularly in Papua and the Moluccas where there are separatist movements. More than 170 people are currently in jail throughout Indonesia for trying to exercise freedom of expression, 43 of them in Papua.
The internationally protected rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are codified in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia ratified in 2006. That same year, Indonesia secured membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council. This week at the Association of South East Asian Nations ministerial meeting in Phuket, Thailand, the Indonesian government pushed for the establishment of a regional Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. These are signs that Indonesia wants to be accepted as a rights-respecting member of the international community.
"If Indonesia really wants to be regarded as a rights-respecting nation, it should stop criminalizing peaceful acts of expression," said Pearson.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/07/21/indonesia-free-papuan-activists
July 21, 2009
(New York) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia should demonstrate his stated support for differing political viewpoints by dropping politically motivated criminal charges against activists from Papua province and ordering their release, Human Rights Watch said today.
On July 23, 2009, a court in Nabire, Papua will resume the trial of 16 Papuans, mostly students and farmers associated with the West Papua National Committee, a political organization that seeks Papua's independence from Indonesia. They were arrested on April 6 in connection with a pre-election rally in Nabire and were charged under the criminal code with treason or rebellion (makar). Two Papuan student activists, Buchtar Tabuni and Seby Sembom, have also been imprisoned for their activities. Human Rights Watch renewed its call for the Indonesian government to remove archaic legal provisions that criminalize peaceful freedom of expression.
"Papua officials should stop using the criminal law for political purposes," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Now is the time for Yudhoyono to live up to his words and show Papuans he is serious about promoting tolerance of different political views."
At 3:30 a.m. on April 6, in an effort to stop the rally, police attacked and burned a camp site where students and farmers who planned to protest had gathered. In the melee that ensued, students threw stones and vandalized a police vehicle. Protesters tried to storm trucks carrying heavily armed Mobile Brigade officers, who responded with gunfire. Further enraged, the demonstrators began pelting police with projectiles and firing arrows.
Dozens of demonstrators were wounded by the gunfire, four of them seriously, including a 10-year-old boy. One policeman was wounded by an arrow. There has been no investigation into the acts of violence, and no specific charges relating to the violence have been brought against anyone, including members of the police. The 16 people detained that day have been held in custody since their arrest.
One of the 16, Monica Zonggonau, a 45-year-old housewife, was not even present at the demonstration, but had a symbol of Papuan independence, the outlawed Morning Star flag, stitched to her bag. Her lawyer said that the police arrested Zonggonau in a market near the demonstration and beat her with a rifle butt and a shoe. The police failed to provide any medical assistance to Zonggonau, who still suffers headaches as a result of the beatings, the lawyer said.
On July 14, the judge denied the defense counsel's request to dismiss legal proceedings against the 16 on various grounds, including that the arrests did not conform with legal procedures, that police did not give them access to legal representation or to interpreters (the defendants do not speak Indonesian Malay) when they were questioned in custody, and that neither the defendants nor their lawyers received the police documents relating to the charges until they appeared at court. The trial is to resume on July 23. One of the defense lawyers told Human Rights Watch he was only allowed to meet his clients when the trial began on June 18.
"Acts of violence should be investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice, but simply charging activists with treason doesn't address these issues," said Pearson. "There are serious concerns that the Papuan activists have not had sufficient access to legal representation and that the trial does not meet international fair-trial standards."
There is a long history of suppression of peaceful activism in Papua. The offense of treason or rebellion is often invoked against persons alleged to have shown support for the armed separatist group, Organisasi Papuan Merdeka (Free Papua Organization or OPM) (http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2007/02/20/protest-and-punishment ). The government has made wide use of this vague "catch-all" offense, which contains extremely broad language and is punishable by up to life imprisonment, rather than prosecuting specific offenses, such as weapons possession, kidnapping, or murder.
The current trial follows a June 17 verdict by a Jayapura court in Papua sentencing student leader Buchtar Tabuni to three years of imprisonment on charges of inciting hatred (haatzai artikelen) against Indonesia. Tabuni helped organize a 2,000-strong rally on October 16, 2008, in Jayapura celebrating the establishment of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua in London, and delivered political speeches at two rallies on the campus of Cenderawasih University in Abepura. State prosecutors showed the Abepura court Tabuni's banners with political messages: "Referendum Yes, Special Autonomy No;" "We want International dialogue;" and "The UN Invasion of West Papua. We Want Peace." Prosecutors also charged that Tabuni produced Morning Star flags during the rallies.
Another student leader and colleague to Tabuni, Seby Sembom, is on trial in an Abepura court on the same charges related to the October 16 rally. Police arrested Sembom on December 17, 2008 in Sentani after Sembom held a news conference calling on the Indonesian police to release Tabuni.
Past President Abdurrahman Wahid once called the Morning Star flag a cultural symbol, and in 1999 and 2000 allowed the flag to be flown on the condition that it was raised alongside and lower than the Indonesian flag. Under the 2001 Papuan Special Autonomy Law, symbols of Papuan identity such as a flag or song are permitted, but Article 6 of Government Regulation 77/2007, prohibits the display of the Morning Star flag in Papua, the South Maluku Republic flag in Ambon, and the Crescent Moon flag in Aceh.
In a 2005 speech, Yudhoyono said he would solve Papuan problems "peacefully, fairly and with dignity," and in 2006 he said he would use "persuasion and dialogue" rather than violence in dealing with Papuan activists. In March 2009 at the London School of Economics, Yudhoyono said Indonesia is "not just a democracy by name - we are a vibrant democracy ... a functioning democracy that has maintained our brand of moderation and tolerance."
However, Yudhoyono's administration has intensified suppression of peaceful political activism in Papua. His government has stepped up the use of "hatred sowing" articles interpreting peaceful acts of protest and flag-raising as "showing hatred" toward government officials, state institutions, religious symbols, and state symbols - particularly in Papua and the Moluccas where there are separatist movements. More than 170 people are currently in jail throughout Indonesia for trying to exercise freedom of expression, 43 of them in Papua.
The internationally protected rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are codified in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia ratified in 2006. That same year, Indonesia secured membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council. This week at the Association of South East Asian Nations ministerial meeting in Phuket, Thailand, the Indonesian government pushed for the establishment of a regional Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. These are signs that Indonesia wants to be accepted as a rights-respecting member of the international community.
"If Indonesia really wants to be regarded as a rights-respecting nation, it should stop criminalizing peaceful acts of expression," said Pearson.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/07/21/indonesia-free-papuan-activists
Suspects probed in Papua killings
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8162312.stm
Wednesday, 22 July 2009 04:53 UK
BBC News Channel.
Security is tight at the US-owned gold and copper mine in Papua
Indonesia has detained 17 suspects in the killings near the Freeport gold and copper mine in the Indonesian province of Papua.
A top Freeport executive told colleagues in a conference call that six people had been charged.
The 17 are suspected of involvement in ambushes near the largely American-owned Grasberg mine earlier this month, which left three people dead.
At least 12 other people, mostly police, were wounded in the attacks.
Papua has long been the scene of largely peaceful activism for independence from Indonesia, which took control of the area in a disputed 1969 vote.
The recent ambushes killed Australian Drew Grant, an Indonesian security guard and a policeman.
They have variously been blamed on separatists or on security forces who analysts say may be pressing for more payments or perks from the wealthy mine.
The Grasberg mining complex is operated by the US conglomerate Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold.
Suspicions
"We are still questioning (the suspects) intensively to determine their role in the three (fatal) shooting incidents," said Papua Police Chief Bagus Ekodanto.
On Monday, police found bullets and food stored along the road leading to the Freeport mine and suspect the cache could have been intended for another attack, Mr Ekodanto said.
In a conference call with analysts, the company's CEO, Richard Adkerson, said he knew of 15 arrests, including one man he said apparently acknowledged being a sniper in the attacks.
He said six people had been charged.
A military spokesman said, "no members of the military were among the 17 people detained by police." While the military insist separatists were behind the attacks, the police have said there is no evidence to support this claim.
Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono has even suggested the involvement of foreign countries that have an "interest in destabilising Freeport".
The shootings were the worst violence at Freeport since the killing of three schoolteachers, including two Americans, in August 2002 that sparked widespread protests by locals who feel they are not benefiting from the depletion of Papua's natural resources.
Foreign journalists are prohibited from visiting the highly militarised province of about 2.5 million people.
Wednesday, 22 July 2009 04:53 UK
BBC News Channel.
Security is tight at the US-owned gold and copper mine in Papua
Indonesia has detained 17 suspects in the killings near the Freeport gold and copper mine in the Indonesian province of Papua.
A top Freeport executive told colleagues in a conference call that six people had been charged.
The 17 are suspected of involvement in ambushes near the largely American-owned Grasberg mine earlier this month, which left three people dead.
At least 12 other people, mostly police, were wounded in the attacks.
Papua has long been the scene of largely peaceful activism for independence from Indonesia, which took control of the area in a disputed 1969 vote.
The recent ambushes killed Australian Drew Grant, an Indonesian security guard and a policeman.
They have variously been blamed on separatists or on security forces who analysts say may be pressing for more payments or perks from the wealthy mine.
The Grasberg mining complex is operated by the US conglomerate Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold.
Suspicions
"We are still questioning (the suspects) intensively to determine their role in the three (fatal) shooting incidents," said Papua Police Chief Bagus Ekodanto.
On Monday, police found bullets and food stored along the road leading to the Freeport mine and suspect the cache could have been intended for another attack, Mr Ekodanto said.
In a conference call with analysts, the company's CEO, Richard Adkerson, said he knew of 15 arrests, including one man he said apparently acknowledged being a sniper in the attacks.
He said six people had been charged.
A military spokesman said, "no members of the military were among the 17 people detained by police." While the military insist separatists were behind the attacks, the police have said there is no evidence to support this claim.
Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono has even suggested the involvement of foreign countries that have an "interest in destabilising Freeport".
The shootings were the worst violence at Freeport since the killing of three schoolteachers, including two Americans, in August 2002 that sparked widespread protests by locals who feel they are not benefiting from the depletion of Papua's natural resources.
Foreign journalists are prohibited from visiting the highly militarised province of about 2.5 million people.
Two Shot in Latest Freeport Attack in Papua
July 22, 2009
Christian Motte & Farouk Arnaz
Another convoy of PT Freeport Indonesia vehicles came under attack in Papua on Wednesday, leaving a Timika Police officer and a local Freeport employee with gunshot wounds at the same place as an Australian was shot and killed in a similar ambush near the Grasberg mining complex on July 11.
The latest attack brings the number of people injured to 13, most of them police officers, since apparently well-trained and organized attackers used what is believed to be military weaponry to kill Drew Nicholas Grant, a 29-year-old project manager at Freeport.
A police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officer believed to be responding to the first ambush on July 11 was also killed or fell to his death down a ravine in a bid to escape an attack.
The total number of dead and injured does not include a second incident on Wednesday, in which Brimob Second Brig. Ismail Todohu was killed and two soldiers, one local Freeport employee and another Brimob officer were injured in what police are tentatively labeling a car accident, but which occurred just six miles from the scene of Wednesday’s ambush.
Brig. Gen. Sulistyo Ishak, a National Police spokesman, confirmed the latest casualties on the notorious road linking the mine and Timika, which occurred despite the arrests of 15 ethnic Papuans in relation to what police said were a number of attacks, including the fatal incidents.
He said the latest attack involved an ambush on a convoy of 18 Freeport buses at Mile 51 on the outskirts of the world’s largest gold mine. The two casualties from the attack have received medical attention.
“They have been shot and are being treated at Kuala Kencana medical clinic,” he told reporters, without providing further details.
In relation to the car accident, Sulistyo denied speculation that sabotage was involved.
“I do not know about it. Let’s wait for our officers to conduct investigations into both incidents,” he said.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. AY Nasution, the head of the XVII District Level Military Command (Kodam) in Papua, denied that the members of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) were implicated in any of the attacks, particularly the military-style ambushes outside the mine.
“None of our members are involved, including deserters or former soldiers,” Nasution said during a news conference in Timika conducted with Papua Chief Insp. Gen. Bagus Ekodanto.
He also rejected allegations that a member of the Special Forces (Kopassus) was arrested in relation to the killing of Grant at Mile 51.
“It’s not true,” he said.
When asked about the bullets used in the attacks, Nasution said they were manufactured by state-owned military equipment manufacturer PT Pindad.
Bagus said that 15 suspects — not 17 suspects as reported earlier — were arrested at Mile 27.
Most of 15 suspects were secured by members of the Amungme tribe, who live in Freeport area. Despite the fact that one of them was a Freeport employee, he will still be questioned by police, Bagus said.
The 15 were identified as Domingus Beanal, 24; Tommy Beanal, 25; Yani Sarin Beanal, 18; Eltinus Beanal, 26; Yonas Uwamang, 65); Viktor Beanal, 30; Simon Beanal, 30; Petrus Kanisius Taturdas, 34; Samuel Totti, 25; Amom Yawame, 30; Yoseph Sikora, 20; Matius Agustinus Yeristono, 24; Bernadus Natipe, 23; Yustinus Boaka, 21; and Andel Kiwak.
Papua is home to a four-decade, low-level insurgency. Members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) — who see Freeport as a symbol of outside rule — were initially blamed by authorities for the latest violence in the province.
Some analysts, however, believe the shootings stem from a rivalry between the police and the military over multimillion-dollar illegal gold mining or protection contracts for the mine.
http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/one-injured-in-latest-freeport-attack-in-papua/319485
Questions over Papua police probe of Freeport killings
Posted at 07:27 on 22 July, 2009 UTC
Fourteen local Papuans have been arrested over the series of deadly ambushes near the Freeport mine last weekend.
At least several of them are believed to be members of the Amungme tribe whose lands were expropriated by the Indonesian government to make way for the Freeport operations.
However speculation continues that groups linked to the military have been behind the attacks, the first of which are believed to have involved military-issue weaponry.
But while the military has pointed the finger at separatist rebels fighting for independence from Jakarta, police have so far said there is no indication that is the case.
The arrests happened on Tuesday, a day before the latest round of shootings on Freeport employees in their vehicles which local media say left another two people dead.
Meanwhile, Papua Police Chief Inspector Bagus Ekodanto has told local media that despite intensive questioning, those arrested have yet to admit to being part of any particular group.
The Australia-based Papua human rights activist Nick Chesterfield says "intensive questioning" is a euphemism for inhumane treatment and torture and says he’s concerned about the arbitrary nature of the arrests.
“There’s questions on are the governments involved again padding their own personnel on the ground at the moment, and if torture is part of getting the answers police want, not what is the truth. but the question of course is, if they have arrested the people who are allegedly behind the Freeport shootings, how come the shootings are still happening?”
Nick Chesterfield
News Content © Radio New Zealand International
PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand
Fourteen local Papuans have been arrested over the series of deadly ambushes near the Freeport mine last weekend.
At least several of them are believed to be members of the Amungme tribe whose lands were expropriated by the Indonesian government to make way for the Freeport operations.
However speculation continues that groups linked to the military have been behind the attacks, the first of which are believed to have involved military-issue weaponry.
But while the military has pointed the finger at separatist rebels fighting for independence from Jakarta, police have so far said there is no indication that is the case.
The arrests happened on Tuesday, a day before the latest round of shootings on Freeport employees in their vehicles which local media say left another two people dead.
Meanwhile, Papua Police Chief Inspector Bagus Ekodanto has told local media that despite intensive questioning, those arrested have yet to admit to being part of any particular group.
The Australia-based Papua human rights activist Nick Chesterfield says "intensive questioning" is a euphemism for inhumane treatment and torture and says he’s concerned about the arbitrary nature of the arrests.
“There’s questions on are the governments involved again padding their own personnel on the ground at the moment, and if torture is part of getting the answers police want, not what is the truth. but the question of course is, if they have arrested the people who are allegedly behind the Freeport shootings, how come the shootings are still happening?”
Nick Chesterfield
News Content © Radio New Zealand International
PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand
Two killed in mine ambush
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/two-killed-in-mine-ambush-20090722-dtn8.html
July 23, 2009 .
JAKARTA: Gunmen fired on a convoy of 12 buses carrying employees of the US mining company Freeport in Papua, killing two people in the latest attack at the world's biggest goldmine.
Indonesia's state news agency, Antara, said two were killed in yesterday's attack. It did not identify the victims or say whether they were shot.
Fourteen people were arrested on Tuesday over a series of deadly ambushes near the Freeport gold and copper mine last weekend.
Six were questioned about the ambushes that killed an Australian, Drew Grant, 29, and two Indonesians.
After yesterday's attack, injured officers were taken to a clinic. Two bodybags were later removed.
July 23, 2009 .
JAKARTA: Gunmen fired on a convoy of 12 buses carrying employees of the US mining company Freeport in Papua, killing two people in the latest attack at the world's biggest goldmine.
Indonesia's state news agency, Antara, said two were killed in yesterday's attack. It did not identify the victims or say whether they were shot.
Fourteen people were arrested on Tuesday over a series of deadly ambushes near the Freeport gold and copper mine last weekend.
Six were questioned about the ambushes that killed an Australian, Drew Grant, 29, and two Indonesians.
After yesterday's attack, injured officers were taken to a clinic. Two bodybags were later removed.
More shooting on road to Freeport's Papua mine
By NINIEK KARMINI (AP) – 8 hours ago
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Gunmen fired Wednesday at vehicles operated by U.S. mining company Freeport in Indonesia's impoverished Papua province, injuring two guards and a policeman in the latest attack on the world's largest gold mine, police said.
A few miles (kilometers) away on the same road leading to the mine, a policeman died and an officer and two soldiers were injured in a car accident, national police spokesman Nanan Sukarna said.
There were conflicting reports about the number of dead and injured in the two incidents. Initial reports from witnesses said two people were killed in the shooting, but officials could not confirm those accounts.
Freeport said in a statement that three people sustained "minor injuries" after their vehicle was shot at, but it did not identify them or say if they were in Freeport cars.
Sukarna said the unknown assailants escaped into the jungle. He said three people were hit by shrapnel.
Sukarna said one policeman died in the car accident, but local police chief Lt. Col. Godhelp Mansnembra said two police officers died when their car flipped "while driving at high speed through a dangerous area" a few miles (kilometers) away.
The incidents came a day after authorities said they had rounded up 15 suspects allegedly involved in the killing or wounding of at least a dozen people in shootings since July 11, including the death of a 29-year-old Australian Freeport employee and a policeman.
Earlier, the Antara state news agency reported that Wednesday's shooting targeted a convoy of 12 buses carrying hundreds of employees who have been unable to return to work because of the recent violence. It said the buses were turned back.
But Freeport said in its statement that no shots were fired at the bus convoy.
An Associated Press reporter was told by a policeman that several injured officers were taken to a local clinic, one of them in critical condition. He said two body bags were later removed. The policeman declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Arizona-based Freeport has been targeted with arson, roadside bombs and blockades since production began in the 1970s during the U.S.-backed Suharto dictatorship.
Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson said Tuesday that six of the 15 arrested people had been charged, including a man who apparently acknowledged being a sniper.
"We have been assured from the highest levels of government in Indonesia they are committed to provide safety for our people and for our operations," Adkerson said in a conference call detailing the company's latest earnings.
Freeport staff were ordered to stop traveling on the road to the mine last week, and hundreds have been unable to return to work.
A PT Freeport spokesman in Indonesia, Mindo Pangaribuan, said early Wednesday that "secure transportations have been arranged to transport personnel and deliver supplies."
Papua is home to a four-decade-old, low-level insurgency against the government, and members of the Free Papua Movement — who see Freeport as a symbol of outside rule — were initially blamed by authorities for the latest violence.
Some analysts, however, believe the shootings resulted from a rivalry between the police and military over multimillion-dollar illegal gold mining or protection businesses at the mine. Others blame criminal gangs.
The shootings were the worst violence at Freeport since the killing of three schoolteachers, including two Americans, in August 2002 that sparked widespread protests by local residents who feel they are not benefiting from the depletion of Papua's natural resources.
Freeport employs about 20,000 people in Papua, where it has extracted billions of dollars worth of gold and copper and still has some of the largest reserves in the world. Freeport is one of the top taxpayers to the Indonesian government, which is also a minority stake holder.
Papua, a desperately poor mountain province, lies on the western half of New Guinea island, some 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers) east of the capital, Jakarta.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jsEYSPoTLRSz3BXp8sCFNA7mE8gwD99JGKCG0
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Gunmen fired Wednesday at vehicles operated by U.S. mining company Freeport in Indonesia's impoverished Papua province, injuring two guards and a policeman in the latest attack on the world's largest gold mine, police said.
A few miles (kilometers) away on the same road leading to the mine, a policeman died and an officer and two soldiers were injured in a car accident, national police spokesman Nanan Sukarna said.
There were conflicting reports about the number of dead and injured in the two incidents. Initial reports from witnesses said two people were killed in the shooting, but officials could not confirm those accounts.
Freeport said in a statement that three people sustained "minor injuries" after their vehicle was shot at, but it did not identify them or say if they were in Freeport cars.
Sukarna said the unknown assailants escaped into the jungle. He said three people were hit by shrapnel.
Sukarna said one policeman died in the car accident, but local police chief Lt. Col. Godhelp Mansnembra said two police officers died when their car flipped "while driving at high speed through a dangerous area" a few miles (kilometers) away.
The incidents came a day after authorities said they had rounded up 15 suspects allegedly involved in the killing or wounding of at least a dozen people in shootings since July 11, including the death of a 29-year-old Australian Freeport employee and a policeman.
Earlier, the Antara state news agency reported that Wednesday's shooting targeted a convoy of 12 buses carrying hundreds of employees who have been unable to return to work because of the recent violence. It said the buses were turned back.
But Freeport said in its statement that no shots were fired at the bus convoy.
An Associated Press reporter was told by a policeman that several injured officers were taken to a local clinic, one of them in critical condition. He said two body bags were later removed. The policeman declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Arizona-based Freeport has been targeted with arson, roadside bombs and blockades since production began in the 1970s during the U.S.-backed Suharto dictatorship.
Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson said Tuesday that six of the 15 arrested people had been charged, including a man who apparently acknowledged being a sniper.
"We have been assured from the highest levels of government in Indonesia they are committed to provide safety for our people and for our operations," Adkerson said in a conference call detailing the company's latest earnings.
Freeport staff were ordered to stop traveling on the road to the mine last week, and hundreds have been unable to return to work.
A PT Freeport spokesman in Indonesia, Mindo Pangaribuan, said early Wednesday that "secure transportations have been arranged to transport personnel and deliver supplies."
Papua is home to a four-decade-old, low-level insurgency against the government, and members of the Free Papua Movement — who see Freeport as a symbol of outside rule — were initially blamed by authorities for the latest violence.
Some analysts, however, believe the shootings resulted from a rivalry between the police and military over multimillion-dollar illegal gold mining or protection businesses at the mine. Others blame criminal gangs.
The shootings were the worst violence at Freeport since the killing of three schoolteachers, including two Americans, in August 2002 that sparked widespread protests by local residents who feel they are not benefiting from the depletion of Papua's natural resources.
Freeport employs about 20,000 people in Papua, where it has extracted billions of dollars worth of gold and copper and still has some of the largest reserves in the world. Freeport is one of the top taxpayers to the Indonesian government, which is also a minority stake holder.
Papua, a desperately poor mountain province, lies on the western half of New Guinea island, some 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers) east of the capital, Jakarta.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jsEYSPoTLRSz3BXp8sCFNA7mE8gwD99JGKCG0
Tuesday 21 July 2009
Bombings reboot Indonesia’s vicious political circle
by Damien Kingsbury
Just two weeks ago, observers were congratulating Indonesia for a presidential election that was seen to consolidate that country’s process of democratisation. Following almost five years of gradually improving economic performance, an anti-corruption campaign, gradual reform of the armed forces and general peace and stability, it seemed like Indonesia had left behind its all too troubled past.
Now, following Friday’s suicide bombings in Jakarta and a spate of shootings in West Papua leaving dead four Australians among the total, and claims of political intrigue, Indonesia again appears to be on the edge of political turmoil.
On the surface, the bombing of the Marriott and Ritz Carlton Hotels in Jakarta and the shooting near the Freeport mine in West Papua appear easily explained. The Islamist terrorist organisation Jema’ah Islamiyah (JI) has been widely blamed for the Jakarta attack, and Indonesian authorities were quick to blame the Freeport shootings on the separatist Free Papua Organisation (OPM).
Following a series of bombings between 2002 and 2005, JI was seriously weakened by a counter-terrorist crack-down. Many of the organisation’s militants were jailed or killed and an ideological and strategic dispute tore at the unity of the organisation.
A majority of JI members decided that the bombing campaign had been counter-productive, mostly killing Muslim Indonesians and alienating local support. However, a minority faction, including JI master bomb-maker Noordin Mohamad Top, military leader Zulkarnaen, bomb-maker Dulmatin and recruiter Umar Patek, remained committed to the bombing campaign.
This faction is known as Tanzim Qaedat al-Jihad (Jihad Base Organisation) and can now be said to constitute a new terrorist organisation. The Tanzim group believes that bombings remain an effective method of chasing Westerners out of Indonesia, as well as forcing devout Muslims to choose sides in what they see as a war over Islamic ideology.
A third, unexploded bomb found in one of the two bombed hotels, the J.W. Marriott, replicated bombs used in previous attacks coordinated by Noordin Top, as well as bombs found in a recent raid on his Central Java hideout.
Despite the bombings reflecting JI/Tanzim methods, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono claimed the attacks were in response to his recent re-election. In this, perhaps Yudhoyono was reminded of efforts in 2001 to destabilise the then already inconsistent presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid, for whom Yudhoyono was a senior minister.
Yudhoyono’s comment drew quick criticism from defeated presidential hopeful Megawati Sukarnoputri’s running mate, son-in-law of late dictator Suharto, retired General Prabowo Subianto.
Prabowo was drummed out of the army following charges of murder, torture and abduction of pro-democracy activists in 1998. As commander of Indonesia’s special forces (Kopassus), Prabowo earned a reputation not only for brutality but was also known to have links with militant Islamist organisations. Similarly, Prabowo retains strong links to the army in West Papua.
The little evidence — a few bullet casings — that has been gathered from the Freeport attack which killed Australian Drew Grant has shown the attackers used military issue rifles, firing from two positions. Earlier claims that the Free Papua Organisation was responsible are now in tatters, with even Indonesian Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono saying he did not believe the OPM was responsible.
Disturbingly, three people were killed in quick succession in separate incidents near the Freeport mine, with 12 more wounded, including five police officers. These attacks follow the army being removed from security duty near the mine.
Being removed from security duty, the army has lost access to an important source of unofficial income, about which local commanders are angry. This then points to a confrontation between sections of the army and President Yudhoyono over continuing military reform.
Yudhoyono’s claim that the Jakarta bombings were intended to destabilise the post-election environment add a further degree of uncertainty to Indonesia’s political climate. The link between army intelligence and Islamist extremists dates back to the 1970s and JI’s forerunner organisation, Komando Jihad. Yudhoyono and his intelligence advisers are familiar with this connection.
It will, however, be some time before it is proven who orchestrated the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton bombings, and who was behind the recent shootings of 15 people near West Papua’s Freeport mine. Like many past disturbances in Indonesia, it may be these attacks reflect multiple or overlapping agendas.
What is not in doubt, however, is that Indonesia’s recent record of peace and stability has been seriously damaged. Beyond the short term impact on tourism, this will also have the longer term effect of raising questions over Indonesia as a safe place for foreign investment.
Indonesia needs this foreign investment to move into net positive economic growth, to be able to address the structural issues that underlie the country’s propensity to slide into such chaos.
In this, the West Papua shootings and the Jakarta bombings have re-booted Indonesia’s vicious circle, re-affirming Foreign Policy magazine’s ‘Failed State Index’ listing of Indonesia as being ‘in danger’.
Associate Professor Damien Kingsbury is with the School of International and Political Studies at Deakin University. His books include, among others, ‘The Politics of Indonesia 3rd Ed’, ‘Power Politics and the Indonesian Military’, and ‘Violence in Between: security issues in archipelagic South-East Asia‘.
http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/07/20/bombings-reboot-indonesia%E2%80%99s-vicious-political-circle/
Just two weeks ago, observers were congratulating Indonesia for a presidential election that was seen to consolidate that country’s process of democratisation. Following almost five years of gradually improving economic performance, an anti-corruption campaign, gradual reform of the armed forces and general peace and stability, it seemed like Indonesia had left behind its all too troubled past.
Now, following Friday’s suicide bombings in Jakarta and a spate of shootings in West Papua leaving dead four Australians among the total, and claims of political intrigue, Indonesia again appears to be on the edge of political turmoil.
On the surface, the bombing of the Marriott and Ritz Carlton Hotels in Jakarta and the shooting near the Freeport mine in West Papua appear easily explained. The Islamist terrorist organisation Jema’ah Islamiyah (JI) has been widely blamed for the Jakarta attack, and Indonesian authorities were quick to blame the Freeport shootings on the separatist Free Papua Organisation (OPM).
Following a series of bombings between 2002 and 2005, JI was seriously weakened by a counter-terrorist crack-down. Many of the organisation’s militants were jailed or killed and an ideological and strategic dispute tore at the unity of the organisation.
A majority of JI members decided that the bombing campaign had been counter-productive, mostly killing Muslim Indonesians and alienating local support. However, a minority faction, including JI master bomb-maker Noordin Mohamad Top, military leader Zulkarnaen, bomb-maker Dulmatin and recruiter Umar Patek, remained committed to the bombing campaign.
This faction is known as Tanzim Qaedat al-Jihad (Jihad Base Organisation) and can now be said to constitute a new terrorist organisation. The Tanzim group believes that bombings remain an effective method of chasing Westerners out of Indonesia, as well as forcing devout Muslims to choose sides in what they see as a war over Islamic ideology.
A third, unexploded bomb found in one of the two bombed hotels, the J.W. Marriott, replicated bombs used in previous attacks coordinated by Noordin Top, as well as bombs found in a recent raid on his Central Java hideout.
Despite the bombings reflecting JI/Tanzim methods, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono claimed the attacks were in response to his recent re-election. In this, perhaps Yudhoyono was reminded of efforts in 2001 to destabilise the then already inconsistent presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid, for whom Yudhoyono was a senior minister.
Yudhoyono’s comment drew quick criticism from defeated presidential hopeful Megawati Sukarnoputri’s running mate, son-in-law of late dictator Suharto, retired General Prabowo Subianto.
Prabowo was drummed out of the army following charges of murder, torture and abduction of pro-democracy activists in 1998. As commander of Indonesia’s special forces (Kopassus), Prabowo earned a reputation not only for brutality but was also known to have links with militant Islamist organisations. Similarly, Prabowo retains strong links to the army in West Papua.
The little evidence — a few bullet casings — that has been gathered from the Freeport attack which killed Australian Drew Grant has shown the attackers used military issue rifles, firing from two positions. Earlier claims that the Free Papua Organisation was responsible are now in tatters, with even Indonesian Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono saying he did not believe the OPM was responsible.
Disturbingly, three people were killed in quick succession in separate incidents near the Freeport mine, with 12 more wounded, including five police officers. These attacks follow the army being removed from security duty near the mine.
Being removed from security duty, the army has lost access to an important source of unofficial income, about which local commanders are angry. This then points to a confrontation between sections of the army and President Yudhoyono over continuing military reform.
Yudhoyono’s claim that the Jakarta bombings were intended to destabilise the post-election environment add a further degree of uncertainty to Indonesia’s political climate. The link between army intelligence and Islamist extremists dates back to the 1970s and JI’s forerunner organisation, Komando Jihad. Yudhoyono and his intelligence advisers are familiar with this connection.
It will, however, be some time before it is proven who orchestrated the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton bombings, and who was behind the recent shootings of 15 people near West Papua’s Freeport mine. Like many past disturbances in Indonesia, it may be these attacks reflect multiple or overlapping agendas.
What is not in doubt, however, is that Indonesia’s recent record of peace and stability has been seriously damaged. Beyond the short term impact on tourism, this will also have the longer term effect of raising questions over Indonesia as a safe place for foreign investment.
Indonesia needs this foreign investment to move into net positive economic growth, to be able to address the structural issues that underlie the country’s propensity to slide into such chaos.
In this, the West Papua shootings and the Jakarta bombings have re-booted Indonesia’s vicious circle, re-affirming Foreign Policy magazine’s ‘Failed State Index’ listing of Indonesia as being ‘in danger’.
Associate Professor Damien Kingsbury is with the School of International and Political Studies at Deakin University. His books include, among others, ‘The Politics of Indonesia 3rd Ed’, ‘Power Politics and the Indonesian Military’, and ‘Violence in Between: security issues in archipelagic South-East Asia‘.
http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/07/20/bombings-reboot-indonesia%E2%80%99s-vicious-political-circle/
Freeport CEO says 6 charged in Indonesia killing
NEW YORK, July 21 (Reuters) - Six people have been charged with murder in the killing of an Australian worker near Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc's (FCX.N) vast Grasberg gold mine in Indonesia, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday.
"One of them has admitted to being the sniper," CEO Richard Adkerson told Wall Street analysts during a conference call on the company's second-quarter results.
Before discussing the results, he gave an update on "the events in Indonesia," saying 15 people had been arrested by police in the province of Papua following a series of shootings near Grasberg, the world's largest gold mine. Six of them were charged with murder, he said, citing police and Freeport officials in Indonesia.
Adkerson assured investors that production at the pit had not been affected despite blockades of roads, isolated shootings and acts of vandalism.
"We have been assured by the highest levels of the Indonesian government that they are committed to providing security," Adkerson said.
Adkerson also said "two senior (Freeport) people" attending a breakfast meeting at a Jakarta hotel were injured in last week's suicide bombings that killed nine people at two hotels. He did not name the two or give other details. They are recovering.
Adkerson praised Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was re-elected in a landslide election earlier this month. "He ran on a platform of anti-terrorism and is pro-business."
Gunmen have carried out a series of attacks on a road leading to the mine in the past 10 days, killing an Australian technical expert working for Freeport, a guard employed at the mine and a policeman, as well as wounding seven police officers.
The mine, about 3,400 km (2,100 miles) east of Indonesia's capital of Jakarta, has been a frequent source of friction over its environmental impact, the share of revenues going to Papuans and the legality of payments to Indonesian security forces who help guard the site.
Secessionists have waged a low-level insurgency for decades in Papua, but the Indonesian military and police keep a tight rein on the area and have far more firepower. They have been accused by rights groups of abuses. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2136722920090721
"One of them has admitted to being the sniper," CEO Richard Adkerson told Wall Street analysts during a conference call on the company's second-quarter results.
Before discussing the results, he gave an update on "the events in Indonesia," saying 15 people had been arrested by police in the province of Papua following a series of shootings near Grasberg, the world's largest gold mine. Six of them were charged with murder, he said, citing police and Freeport officials in Indonesia.
Adkerson assured investors that production at the pit had not been affected despite blockades of roads, isolated shootings and acts of vandalism.
"We have been assured by the highest levels of the Indonesian government that they are committed to providing security," Adkerson said.
Adkerson also said "two senior (Freeport) people" attending a breakfast meeting at a Jakarta hotel were injured in last week's suicide bombings that killed nine people at two hotels. He did not name the two or give other details. They are recovering.
Adkerson praised Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was re-elected in a landslide election earlier this month. "He ran on a platform of anti-terrorism and is pro-business."
Gunmen have carried out a series of attacks on a road leading to the mine in the past 10 days, killing an Australian technical expert working for Freeport, a guard employed at the mine and a policeman, as well as wounding seven police officers.
The mine, about 3,400 km (2,100 miles) east of Indonesia's capital of Jakarta, has been a frequent source of friction over its environmental impact, the share of revenues going to Papuans and the legality of payments to Indonesian security forces who help guard the site.
Secessionists have waged a low-level insurgency for decades in Papua, but the Indonesian military and police keep a tight rein on the area and have far more firepower. They have been accused by rights groups of abuses. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2136722920090721
Papua police make arrests after Freeport shootings
Posted at 03:34 on 21 July, 2009 UTC
Indonesian police have arrested three yet-to-be-identified men believed to belong to an armed gang responsible for security disturbances in the Freeport mine’s concession area in Papua province.
The gang is believed to be responsible for three fatal shootings which saw an Australian man, a local policeman and a guard killed in the Freeport area this month.
The Antara news agency says the arrests were made during security operations in Timika.
Earlier, the police said the perpetrators of the shootings were well-trained gunmen.
News Content © Radio New Zealand International
PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand
Indonesian police have arrested three yet-to-be-identified men believed to belong to an armed gang responsible for security disturbances in the Freeport mine’s concession area in Papua province.
The gang is believed to be responsible for three fatal shootings which saw an Australian man, a local policeman and a guard killed in the Freeport area this month.
The Antara news agency says the arrests were made during security operations in Timika.
Earlier, the police said the perpetrators of the shootings were well-trained gunmen.
News Content © Radio New Zealand International
PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand
17 arrested in connection with Freeport mine shootings in West Papua
UPDATE 3.45pm: POLICE have arrested 17 people near a massive gold mine where Melbourne man Drew Grant died in a hail of bullets.
As a private funeral was held for the Australian miner in Brighton in Melbourne’s southeast today, a police official has been quoted by Associated Press as saying 17 suspects had been held in connection with the attack at the world’s biggest gold mine.
West Papua police chief Bagus Ekodanto told the agency the suspects were questioned in relation over the ambushes last week at Freeport's operations.
Mr Ekodanto said the suspects had been arrested on Monday not far from the mine.
At least 15 people, mostly police officers, were killed or wounded in attacks over a five-day period from July 11.
Grant, 29, of Melbourne, worked for the US-based mining giant Freeport McMoRan.
He was shot as he travelled in a car with four others, including another Australian, on a road between Tembagapura and Timika early on Saturday.
It is understood Mr Grant was heading with colleagues for a golf game.
A mate has told of the terrifying attack at a West Papua gold mine.
Lukan Biggs was driving the car when rebels opened fire.
Police said Mr Grant, who became a father nine weeks ago, was shot five times in the neck and chest from about 25m.
Mr Biggs has told friends the rebels opened fire without warning on Saturday.
"He (Mr Biggs) is pretty shaken up," a friend said.
"I know he is physically OK, but he was very worried. He just wants to sort things out over there with the police and everything."
An armed clash yesterday near the same spot left one security guard dead and five injured.
Mr Ekodanto has previously said rebels using military-issue weapons planned the ambush that killed Mr Grant, a project manager at Freeport, reputed to be the world's biggest gold mine.
Indonesian authorities have denied suggestions military or police officials may have been involved in the attacks.
"The shooting was planned," he said. "(It's) clear they were using weapons belonging to the police or the military."
Mr Grant's Melbourne family were in shock yesterday. He had only been back in Indonesia for a week after visiting his nine-week-old daughter.
He was a doting father to baby Ella and a devoted husband to Lauren, his brother Nick said, adding that Drew loved his job.
"Everyone's just in shock because it's so sudden. I don't think they've comprehended yet what's actually happened."
Mr Biggs is an electrician at Freeport. A popular cricketer who once played for Templeton in the Ringwood league, he has been working at the US-owned mine for five years.
He was driving to a golf club on Saturday with his Indonesian wife and three others when ambushed. Only Mr Grant was struck by bullets.
Two Australian Federal Police officers have joined 40 Indonesian police and forensic specialists investigating the ambush.
Freeport has been a source of friction, with locals angered at the outflow of profits to foreign investors, while they remain poor.
The mine has been targeted by arson, roadside bombs and blockades in the poor and remote mountain region since the ‘70s.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25814541-663,00.html
As a private funeral was held for the Australian miner in Brighton in Melbourne’s southeast today, a police official has been quoted by Associated Press as saying 17 suspects had been held in connection with the attack at the world’s biggest gold mine.
West Papua police chief Bagus Ekodanto told the agency the suspects were questioned in relation over the ambushes last week at Freeport's operations.
Mr Ekodanto said the suspects had been arrested on Monday not far from the mine.
At least 15 people, mostly police officers, were killed or wounded in attacks over a five-day period from July 11.
Grant, 29, of Melbourne, worked for the US-based mining giant Freeport McMoRan.
He was shot as he travelled in a car with four others, including another Australian, on a road between Tembagapura and Timika early on Saturday.
It is understood Mr Grant was heading with colleagues for a golf game.
A mate has told of the terrifying attack at a West Papua gold mine.
Lukan Biggs was driving the car when rebels opened fire.
Police said Mr Grant, who became a father nine weeks ago, was shot five times in the neck and chest from about 25m.
Mr Biggs has told friends the rebels opened fire without warning on Saturday.
"He (Mr Biggs) is pretty shaken up," a friend said.
"I know he is physically OK, but he was very worried. He just wants to sort things out over there with the police and everything."
An armed clash yesterday near the same spot left one security guard dead and five injured.
Mr Ekodanto has previously said rebels using military-issue weapons planned the ambush that killed Mr Grant, a project manager at Freeport, reputed to be the world's biggest gold mine.
Indonesian authorities have denied suggestions military or police officials may have been involved in the attacks.
"The shooting was planned," he said. "(It's) clear they were using weapons belonging to the police or the military."
Mr Grant's Melbourne family were in shock yesterday. He had only been back in Indonesia for a week after visiting his nine-week-old daughter.
He was a doting father to baby Ella and a devoted husband to Lauren, his brother Nick said, adding that Drew loved his job.
"Everyone's just in shock because it's so sudden. I don't think they've comprehended yet what's actually happened."
Mr Biggs is an electrician at Freeport. A popular cricketer who once played for Templeton in the Ringwood league, he has been working at the US-owned mine for five years.
He was driving to a golf club on Saturday with his Indonesian wife and three others when ambushed. Only Mr Grant was struck by bullets.
Two Australian Federal Police officers have joined 40 Indonesian police and forensic specialists investigating the ambush.
Freeport has been a source of friction, with locals angered at the outflow of profits to foreign investors, while they remain poor.
The mine has been targeted by arson, roadside bombs and blockades in the poor and remote mountain region since the ‘70s.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25814541-663,00.html
Fifteen arrested over Indonesian Papua attack: police
(AFP) – 5 hours ago
TIMIKA, Indonesia — Fifteen people have been arrested over a series of deadly ambushes near a giant Freeport gold and copper mine in Indonesia's Papua province, police said Tuesday.
Six of them were being investigated on weekend ambushes which killed an Australian mine technician Drew Grant, 29, and two Indonesians, provincial police chief Bagus Ekodanto told AFP.
"We are investigating them on their involvement in any of the shootings," he added.
Eight other detainees included the alleged gunman who opened fire on the security convoy on July 12, killing a Freeport security guard, Ekodanto said earlier. A policeman who escaped the ambush was found dead in a ravine the following day.
"We arrested eight people... one carried out the shooting and the other carried ammunition," he added.
"We are still investigating the other six."
Police have also retrieved hundreds of bullets, which were made for rifles and revolvers, from the scene.
Ekodanto refused to name the suspects or say whether they belonged to the separatist Free Papua Movement.
The attack was one of several military-style ambushes on Freeport and police vehicles on the road between Timika town and the Grasberg mine which killed three people earlier this month.
A day earlier gunmen had ambushed a Freeport vehicle on the same road, killing an Australian project manager at Grasberg, which is owned by the local subsidiary of US company Freeport McMoRan.
Ekodanto said police were not "yet" linking the two attacks on July 11 and 12, although they took place within a short distance from each other on the same road leading to the mine.
Military chief General Djoko Santoso has blamed separatist rebels for all of the attacks, but police have said there is no indication that is the case.
Senior officials have said ex-soldiers or police could have been involved as part of a dispute over control of access to lucrative illegal mining operations using tailings from Grasberg.
Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono has even suggested the involvement of foreign countries that have an "interest in destabilising Freeport".
The Grasberg mine sits on the world's largest gold and copper reserves and is a lightning rod for discontent over rule from Jakarta, which took control of the eastern Papua region in 1969 in a UN-backed vote widely seen as rigged.
Papua is the scene of a long-running separatist insurgency by poorly armed local guerrillas who have reportedly denied killing the Australian.
Indonesia refuses to allow journalists and foreign aid agencies free access to the resource-rich area, citing fears they will "agitate" over issues
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j23P0P9cvNgqlqJz8gGWGLSNYtgg
TIMIKA, Indonesia — Fifteen people have been arrested over a series of deadly ambushes near a giant Freeport gold and copper mine in Indonesia's Papua province, police said Tuesday.
Six of them were being investigated on weekend ambushes which killed an Australian mine technician Drew Grant, 29, and two Indonesians, provincial police chief Bagus Ekodanto told AFP.
"We are investigating them on their involvement in any of the shootings," he added.
Eight other detainees included the alleged gunman who opened fire on the security convoy on July 12, killing a Freeport security guard, Ekodanto said earlier. A policeman who escaped the ambush was found dead in a ravine the following day.
"We arrested eight people... one carried out the shooting and the other carried ammunition," he added.
"We are still investigating the other six."
Police have also retrieved hundreds of bullets, which were made for rifles and revolvers, from the scene.
Ekodanto refused to name the suspects or say whether they belonged to the separatist Free Papua Movement.
The attack was one of several military-style ambushes on Freeport and police vehicles on the road between Timika town and the Grasberg mine which killed three people earlier this month.
A day earlier gunmen had ambushed a Freeport vehicle on the same road, killing an Australian project manager at Grasberg, which is owned by the local subsidiary of US company Freeport McMoRan.
Ekodanto said police were not "yet" linking the two attacks on July 11 and 12, although they took place within a short distance from each other on the same road leading to the mine.
Military chief General Djoko Santoso has blamed separatist rebels for all of the attacks, but police have said there is no indication that is the case.
Senior officials have said ex-soldiers or police could have been involved as part of a dispute over control of access to lucrative illegal mining operations using tailings from Grasberg.
Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono has even suggested the involvement of foreign countries that have an "interest in destabilising Freeport".
The Grasberg mine sits on the world's largest gold and copper reserves and is a lightning rod for discontent over rule from Jakarta, which took control of the eastern Papua region in 1969 in a UN-backed vote widely seen as rigged.
Papua is the scene of a long-running separatist insurgency by poorly armed local guerrillas who have reportedly denied killing the Australian.
Indonesia refuses to allow journalists and foreign aid agencies free access to the resource-rich area, citing fears they will "agitate" over issues
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j23P0P9cvNgqlqJz8gGWGLSNYtgg
Arrests over Papua mine attacks
Police in the Indonesian province of Papua have arrested 17 people in connection with a series of deadly shootings at the world's largest gold mine.
Bagus Ekodanto, the provincial police chief, said the suspects were arrested on Monday near the Grasberg mine, which is operated by Freeport, a US company.
He gave no further details of the identity of those arrested or where they had been captured.
At least 15 people, most of them police officers, have been killed or injured in ambushes along the road to the mine.
In one attack a 29-year-old Australian miner was shot and killed.
"We are still questioning (the suspects) intensively to determine their role in the three (fatal) shooting incidents, " Ekodanto told the Associated Press.
A four decade old, low-level insurgency against the government has been raging in Papua, and members of the Free Papua Movement - who see Freeport as a symbol of outside rule - were initially blamed by authorities for the latest violence.
Rivalry
But some analysts believe the shootings resulted from rivalry between the police and military over multimillion dollar illegal gold mining or protection businesses at the mine.
Others have blamed criminal gangs.
"We are pleased that apparent progress has been made in identifying the perpetrators,'' Freeport said in a statement.
"We are continuing to work with the police and other governmental authorities to ensure that our operation is secure.''
The shootings were the worst violence at Freeport since the killing of three school teachers, including two Americans, in August 2002.
Papua, a desperately poor mountain province, lies some 3,400km east of the capital, Jakarta. Many local residents complain that they are not benefiting from the depletion of the region's natural resources.
Foreign journalists are prohibited from visiting the highly militarised province of around 2.5 million people.
Source:http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/07/200972184754750793.html
Monday 20 July 2009
Australia’s Foreign Minister to leave Papua probe up to Indonesia
Posted at 03:28 on 20 July, 2009 UTC
The Australian foreign minister says he’s leaving it up to Indonesian authorities to decide whether to take up his country’s offer for more assistance to investigate the deadly shootings in Papua.
Five shooting incidents last week between the town of Timika and the Grasberg mine left three people dead including an Australian employee of multi-national mining giant Freeport McMoran.
Indonesia’s military has joined the large scale investigation into the attacks launched by police, despite elements of the security forces being widely suspected of having a hand in the killings.
At a joint media conference in Jakarta with his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirajuda, Mr Smith was asked if he had concerns about human rights abuses in Papua in response to the killings.
In his reply, the Minister refused to speculate on the police investigation.
Mr Smith said that Canberra respects the territorial sovereignty and integrity of Indonesia over Papua.
He has commended the commitment of Indonesia’s government to supporting autonomy and human rights in Papua.
News Content © Radio New Zealand International
PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand
The Australian foreign minister says he’s leaving it up to Indonesian authorities to decide whether to take up his country’s offer for more assistance to investigate the deadly shootings in Papua.
Five shooting incidents last week between the town of Timika and the Grasberg mine left three people dead including an Australian employee of multi-national mining giant Freeport McMoran.
Indonesia’s military has joined the large scale investigation into the attacks launched by police, despite elements of the security forces being widely suspected of having a hand in the killings.
At a joint media conference in Jakarta with his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirajuda, Mr Smith was asked if he had concerns about human rights abuses in Papua in response to the killings.
In his reply, the Minister refused to speculate on the police investigation.
Mr Smith said that Canberra respects the territorial sovereignty and integrity of Indonesia over Papua.
He has commended the commitment of Indonesia’s government to supporting autonomy and human rights in Papua.
News Content © Radio New Zealand International
PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand
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