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Foreign media ban in West Papua continues to obstruct press freedom

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has written to the Indonesian Government demanding the removal of the ban on foreign media in West Papua immediately. The IFJ is concerned over the stance taken by Indonesian Minister of Defence, Juwono Sudarsono, claiming the ban on all foreign media, churches and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is required for fear their presence in West Papua would "encourage Papuans to campaign on issues of human rights". The ban has prevented any foreign journalist from having official access to the region in the past eighteen months, severely restricting the media's ability to tell the West Papua story. There is also the concern that the foreign media ban is a direct attempt to conceal human rights abuses from the world. IFJ/IFEX media release, 17 February 2006.

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/72301/

(Added: Wed Mar 01 2006   Hits: 110)

Papua: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Correcting false assumptions about West Papua and the Papuan independence movement can lead to better policies on the part of Indonesia and the international community. It is not true that non-Papuan Indonesians are in control. Nor is it true that troops are pouring into the territory, although there have been increases in recent years. Allegations of genocide by security forces are not well-founded, but serious human rights abuses have taken place. Improving military accountability and transferring security to locally-recruited police could help. However the most useful assistance the international community can provide to Papua is development aid to strengthen local institutions and deliver basic services. (International Crisis Group, 5September 2006)

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4364

(Added: Thu Sep 07 2006   Hits: 81)

The Diary of Online Papua Mouthpiece (Do-OPM)

The Diary of Online Papua Mouthpiece (Do-OPM) presents the First First-Hand News and Information, directly from West Papua jungles, without filtrations, or modifications or editing from the CEB. The Do-OPM presents the real voice of the Papuan people, in Papuan versions and in varieties of languages such as English, Indonesian, Lani and others. The Do-OPM is not only a news online, but also a Diary where you can find records of most of events in West Papua, particularly since 1 January 2001. However, we also try to record previous events as we can.

http://www.melanesianews.org/DoOPM/

(Added: Thu Aug 21 2003   Modified: Mon Dec 05 2005   Hits: 207)

The Papua Conflict: Jakarta's Perceptions and Policies (pdf)

East-West Centre, 2004. By Richard Chauvel and Ikrar Nusa Bhakti. Abstract: "Without Irian Jaya [Papua], Indonesia is not complete to become the national territory of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia." In recalling this statement of President Sukarno, her father, Megawati Sukarnoputri gave voice to the essence of the nationalists' conception of Papua's place in Indonesia and its importance. Indonesia today confronts renewed Papuan demands for independence nearly three decades after Jakarta thought it had liberated the Papuans from the yoke of Dutch colonialism. Indonesia's sovereignty in Papua has been contested for much of the period since Indonesia proclaimed its independence-challenged initially by the Netherlands and since 1961 by various groups within Papuan society. This study argues that even though Indonesia has been able to sustain its authority in Papua since its diplomatic victory over the Netherlands in 1962, this authority is fragile. The fragility of Jakarta's authority and the lack of Papuan consent for Indonesian rule are both the cart and the horse of the reliance on force to sustain central control. After examining the policies of special autonomy and the partition of Papua into three provinces, the authors pose the question: If Jakarta is determined to keep Papua part of the Indonesia nation-based on the consent of the Papuan people-what changes in the governance of Papua are necessary to bring this about?

http://www.eastwestcenter.org/res-rp-publicationdetails.asp?pub_ID=1458

(Added: Mon Jul 12 2004   Modified: Mon Dec 05 2005   Hits: 243)

The Secret War Against The Defenceless People Of West Papua

By John Pilger. "Indonesia's brutal occupation of West Papua, a vast, resource-rich province - stolen from its people, like East Timor - is one of the great secrets of our time. Recently, the Australian minister of "communications", Senator Helen Coonan, failed to place it on the map of her own region, as if it did not exist. An estimated 100,000 Papuans, or 10 per cent of the population, have been killed by the Indonesian military. This is a fraction of the true figure, according to refugees." March 10, 2006.

http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2006-03/10pilger.cfm

(Added: Mon Mar 13 2006   Modified: Thu Jun 22 2006   Hits: 106)

"One shot dead, hundreds arrested and beaten by security at Australian-owned mine in North Maluku"

A peaceful protest by communities members in North Maluku at the PT Nusa Halmahera Minerals ended in tragedy, as Brimob shot and killed one, and arrested hundreds and subjected them to further police brutality. [MS Word Format]

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press245.htm

(Added: Wed Feb 04 2004   Modified: Tue Nov 14 2006   Hits: 147)

Acheh Papua Maluku Human Rights Online

The mission of Acheh Papua Maluku Human Rights Online (APMHRO) is to campaign for human rights in Acheh, West Papua and Maluku and promote a politically, democratically acceptable solution to the conflicts. Here you can join the Urgent Action mailing list or click on the Urgent Appeals to take action.

http://www.ahro.info/

(Added: Thu Jul 13 2006   Hits: 277)

Act of Free Choice: The Papuans of Western New Guinea and the limitations of the right to self determination

The 1969 Act of Free Choice, intended to be an act of self-determination by the people of Indonesian-occupied West Papua, was doomed to failure from the outset suggests a Dutch government-commissioned report conducted by the Institute of Dutch History in the Hague. The author, the eminent Dutch historian Professor Pieter Drooglever, was tasked by the Dutch government in 2000, following a request from the Dutch parliament, to conduct historical research into the events surrounding the Act of Free Choice. 15 November 2005.

http://tapol.gn.apc.org/reports/droogleverengsum.htm

(Added: Tue Jan 24 2006   Hits: 157)

An Interview with John Rumbiak: People of West Papua oppressed by U.S. firm, Indonesian military

By Asad Ismi, Taken from The CCPA Monitor, May 2003 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. John Rumbiak works with the West Papua Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (ELSHAM) based in Jayapura, the capital of West Papua province in Indonesia.

http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/articles/article375.html

(Added: Thu Sep 30 2004   Modified: Mon Dec 05 2005   Hits: 198)

Archbishop Tutu Calls on UN to Act on West Papua

By ENS-WPNews Feb 24, 2004. "For many years the people of South Africa suffered under the yoke of oppression and apartheid. Many people continue to suffer brutal oppression, where their fundamental dignity as human beings is denied. One such people is the people of West Papua. The people of West Papua have been denied their basic human rights, including their right to self-determination. Their cry for justice and freedom has fallen largely on deaf ears."

http://www.westpapuanews.com/articles/publish/article_470.shtml

(Added: Wed Jan 12 2005   Modified: Mon Dec 05 2005   Hits: 116)

Australian Government accused of blood on its hands over Papuan Asylum Seekers

Reports from West Papua detail that the Indonesian military are engaging in reprisal killing in response to 43 Papuans seeking asylum in Australia. Five people have been shot by the Indonesian military, two dead, with one of the killed teenagers being a relative of one of the asylum seekers. The survivors of what was described as an unprovoked attack, are in a critical condition. Nick Chesterfield, spokesman for the West Papua National Authority, said "It shows clearly what the Indonesian government is going to do to these people if they are returned. They embarrassed the government, and they have finally brought international attention to the issue of West Papua." Friday, Jan 20, 2006.

http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/01/1796748.php

(Added: Tue Jan 24 2006   Hits: 113)

Below a Mountain of Wealth, a River of Waste

An exasperating New York Times key feature investigation on West Papua's Freeport Mine. Published in December 2005, the article is already found on dozens of locations on the internet, and perhaps it's a study that will break the stranglehold on a situation that's both environmentally unsustainable, politically corrupt and an abhorrence in terms of human rights and ecological responsibility. By Jane Perlez and Raymond Bonner, The New York Times, Tuesday December 27, 2005. (From Project SafeCom Inc.)

http://www.safecom.org.au/freeport.htm

(Added: Tue Jan 24 2006   Modified: Thu Jun 22 2006   Hits: 236)

Dividing Papua: How Not To Do It

9 April 2003 ICG Indonesia Briefing A Presidential Instruction issued in Jakarta on 27 January 2003 to divide Papua, now one province, into three undercuts a special autonomy law passed by the parliament in November 2001 and has done more to create tension and turmoil in Papua than any government action in years. The official reason given for dividing Papua was to bring government closer to the people and facilitate economic development. However, the real reason is almost certainly to weaken the Papuan independence movement. Dividing the province could also help President Megawati's PDIP party and weaken its main rival, Golkar, in the lead up to the 2004 elections. There is little chance that the decree will be revoked. The best that can be hoped for is that the government will delay implementation and work on a broader consensus.

http://www.crisisweb.org/projects/showreport.cfm?reportid=941

(Added: Thu Apr 10 2003   Modified: Mon Dec 05 2005   Hits: 135)

Free West Papua Campaign

The forgotten land of West Papua is occupied by Indonesia, against the will of its people. Thousands of Papuans are being killed by the Indonesian military, and the vast rainforest is being destroyed by corporate greed. West Papuans have been resisting this onslaught & struggling for their freedom for over 40 years. The Free West Papua Campaign exists to support their struggle. This site gives you background information about West Papua, as well as updated news and campaigns.

http://www.freewestpapua.org/

(Added: Fri Feb 10 2006   Hits: 137)

Free West Papua Collective

West Papua is on Australia's doorstep. The Indonesian authority keeps the Papuan peoples under control through shocking human rights violations while foreign companies exploit their sacred lands causing massive environmental destruction. This site will help you become aware of and active on West Papua - a paradise betrayed. This website is maintained by the Melbourne-based solidarity group Free West Papua Collective (FWPC). FWPC was formed during 2001 to raise awreness about West Papua and carry out strategic actions to contribute towards peace in the territory.

http://www.freewestpapua.com

(Added: Mon Jul 12 2004   Modified: Thu Sep 07 2006   Hits: 176)

Front Line Indonesia: Murders Death Threat and Other Forms of Intimidation of Human Rights Defenders, 1998-2002 (PDF)

Front Line & IMPARSIAL: The Indonesian Human Rights Watch. This report offers a broad outline of the political and historical context of human rights violations and the work of human rights defenders. Its primary focus rests on the cases of abuse, arbitrary arrest, torture, disappearance, murder and other forms of intimidation perpetrated against human rights defenders in Indonesia. The report is not exhaustive but gives a picture of a pattern of intimidation of human rights defenders. Three regions have been singled out for special consideration: the capital, Jakarta, in the lead up to and following the 21 May 1998 resignation of president Soeharto as well as Aceh and West Papua, which are home to Indonesia s longest and bloodiest separatist movements. Just as human rights violations have escalated in these regions, so too have crimes against human rights defenders.

http://www.xs4all.nl/%7Eendi/imparsial/Frontline.pdf

(Added: Fri Feb 04 2005   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 308)

Globalization, Rights and Poverty

(Laksamana.Net) October 28, 2003 07:34 AM, John Rumbiak, Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (ELSHAM), Papua, Indonesia. Full text of a speech presented by Papuan human rights activist John Rumbiak to Columbia University's Center for the Study of Human Rights on October 23.

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Country/westpapua2.htm

(Added: Thu Oct 30 2003   Modified: Mon Sep 04 2006   Hits: 413)

Harsh Reality in West Papua (pdf)

By Curt Gabrielson, Institute of Current World Affairs (the Crane-Rogers Foundation) November 1, 2002. Jakarta, Indonesia-My partner Pamela and I spent three weeks in West Papua during the month of October. We visited the north-coast capital, Jayapura, the central-highland town of Wamena, and the small town of Timika on the south coast near the enormous Freeport gold and copper mines. We visited many grassroots groups and talked to dozens of people. We found that West Papuans are living under the heavy heel of the same military forces that ravaged East Timor. They fear for their lives as they work under the shadow of oblique intimidation and unexplained deaths. They are desperate for peace and self- determination.

http://www.kabar-irian.com/pipermail/kabar-irian/2003-March/000158.html

(Added: Mon Mar 17 2003   Modified: Thu Feb 01 2007   Hits: 161)

Indonesia Human Rights Committee New Zealand (IHRC)

IHRC is an Auckland-based solidarity organisation which aims to build links between people of New Zealand and Indonesia by distributing information and by organising activities such as letter writing and petition campaigns, meetings, film showings and tours of visiting activists.

http://ihrc.revolt.org/

(Added: Thu Jul 13 2006   Hits: 90)

Indonesia intrigue spills over to U.S.

By Kari Huus, MSNBC, May 21 - Lost in the shuffle between the war in Afghanistan, and the start of the war in Iraq was this news story: Two American teachers and a local colleague were gunned down in an Indonesian jungle. From the start, it was apparent that it was not a random act of violence. But the case, which entangles an American gold mining company, guerrillas fighting for the independence of Papua and the Indonesian military remains officially unsolved. Its implications still resonate on Capitol Hill, raising questions about Indonesia policy and the war on terrorism.

http://www.kabar-irian.com/pipermail/kabar-irian/2003-May/000227.html

(Added: Mon May 26 2003   Modified: Thu Jan 11 2007   Hits: 151)

Indonesia shelves Papua division after deadly clashes

(Utusan Online) JAKARTA Aug 27 - The Indonesian government on Wednesday decided to shelve plans to split easternmost Papua province into three after three days of street clashes involving supporters and opponents of the move left three people dead. ``Based on political and administrative considerations, the division of Papua province ... has been put off and (Papua) will be kept in the status quo,'' top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told a press conference.

http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2003&dt=0828&pub=Utusan_Express&sec=World&pg=wo_08.htm

(Added: Fri Aug 29 2003   Modified: Mon Dec 05 2005   Hits: 367)

Indonesia: Communal Tensions In Papua

This report by the International Crisis Group explores emerging tensions between Christian and Muslim communities within Indonesian controlled Papua.

http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/asia/indonesia/154_indonesia_communal_tensions_in_papua.pdf

(Added: Mon Jun 23 2008   Hits: 35)

Indonesia: Ending Repression in Irian Jaya

International Crisis Group (ICG) 20 Sept 2001. pdf format. Indonesian policy in Irian Jaya is at a critical point. Since August 2000 the government has been able to restore its authority in the province by closing in the political space that had developed after the fall of President Soeharto. The government has curtailed open demands for independence and the mobilisation of popular support for this objective. However, the methods used represent a return to those employed by President Soeharto -- relying principally on the government's near monopoly of military power. The effect of this has been to compound the political problems posed by Papuan demands for independence.

http://www.crisisweb.org/projects/showreport.cfm?reportid=414

(Added: Fri Nov 15 2002   Modified: Wed Jul 12 2006   Hits: 148)

Indonesia: Impunity and human rights violations in Papua

(2002) Amnesty International's report Impunity and human rights violations in Papua documents grave human rights violations in the province of Papua and the way in which failure to investigate and bring to justice perpetrators of violations is perpetuating this situation.

http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa210152002

(Added: Fri Nov 15 2002   Modified: Fri Jan 19 2007   Hits: 269)

Indonesia: Resources and Conflict in Papua

International Crisis Group, 13 September 2002: There is a direct correlation between injustice in the management of natural resources and the strength of pro-independence sentiment in Papua and little hope for the autonomy option unless Indonesia ends the abusive practices associated with resource exploitation. The behaviour of the security forces is another vital factor in easing or exacerbating the conflict. Many Papuans believe that the involvement of the army special forces, Kopassus, in the death of independence leader Theys Eluay in November 2001 was part of a broader strategy to foment unrest in order to justify a crackdown on dissent. Some interpret the recent killings of employees of the Freeport mine in the same light, despite Indonesian government assertions that pro-independence guerrillas were responsible. In both cases, independent and credible investigations are critical.

http://www.crisisweb.org/projects/showreport.cfm?reportid=774

(Added: Thu Sep 19 2002   Modified: Mon Dec 05 2005   Hits: 147)

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