New statistics on the ethnic composition of Indonesia’s Papua region indicate that the indigenous West Papuans are not yet the minority there.
This is despite research following the 2010 national census which extrapolated that Papuans made up around 48 percent of the entire population as the growth of the non-Papuan population soared.
The Indonesian Statistics Office has recently produced an ethnic breakdown of the 40 regencies which make up the provinces of Papua and West Papua, based on the 2010 census.
The stats show that of Papua region’s total population of 3.6 million, around 66 percent is made up of Papuans.
But the percentage of Papuans as a proportion of the population has fallen catastrophically in some regions, particularly around urban centres.
The convenor of the West Papua project at the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney University, Jim Elmslie, said this pattern hadn’t really happened in the Highlands where Papuans still make up the vast majority.
“Even though there’s huge developments all across the country that will threaten them, and bring in more settlers and bring in development. And all of those things are drivers of conflict, both between the state – in the form of the police and the military – and Papuan nationalists; and also within areas where there are populations (of Papuans and non-Papuans) who are in effect competing for land.”
Dr Elmslie said it could be considered a positive for the indigenous Melanesians of this vast region that in the Highlands especially, they are “not on the verge of disappearing under the weight of inward migration”.
“Some people seem to feel that the general conflict in West Papua would disappear over time as the Papuan population became a minority. Well that’s obviously not going to happen. That is happening in the lowlands, but it’s not going to happen anytime soon in the Highlands.”
The regencies where the non-Papuan population is concentrated tend to be the centres of power and the richest areas where access to health and education services is best.
Furthermore, the population growth rate of non-Papuans in Papua region is significantly higher than that of Papuans, and based on this trend, the minoritisation of the Papuan population will continue.
Dr Elmslie’s new paper confirms that the proportion of Papuan people as a percentage of the entire population continues to decline, which his previous research since 2006 already found.
AWPA Sydney – Over 500 people were reportedly arrested from West Papua demonstrations in Indonesia. Photo: Supplied
The Jayapura demonstration was one of more than 14 rallies in Indonesian cities, calling for West Papuan rights to self-determination to be respected.
More than 500 people were reported to have been arrested for participating in the rallies.
While the vast majority were released later in the day, two arrested in the Papua provincial capital have been charged.
Demonstrators march in Timika in West Papua. Photo: Supplied
Hosea Yemo and Ismael Alua are reportedly members of the West Papua National Committee, (KNPB), the pro-independence representative group which organised some of the rallies.
Papua provincial police said the two were arrested after allegedly inciting sedition or treason against the state, and provoking other participants of the rally to commit treason.
A treason charge could lead to a jail term of up to 15 years in Indonesia.
Demonstrators in Timika, West Papua. Photo: Supplied
Police said that from the Jayapura demo, they also found 1kg of hashish at the KNPB’s premises, and confiscated a number of weapons from the crowd.
Law and order has been maintained in the cities and the situation was back to normal, according to police who said they avoided using excessive force in handling the demonstrations.
However, Jakarta-based human rights monitoring groups have condemned intimidation and violence by police officers in the Jayapura rally.
West Papuan photographic journalist Whens Tebay Photo: Tabloid Jubi
The Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy, and its local partner in Papua, Elsham Papua, said it condemned intimidation and violence by police officers against photographic journalist Whens Tebay during the rally.
Mr Tebay said police arrested, interrogated and hit him, later confiscated his camera and forced him to erase all photos taken during the rally.
By PMC Editor –By Margareth S. Aritonang in Jakarta
A nun observes photographs of victims of past human rights abuses in front of the State Palace in Jakarta during a weekly rally that is locally known as Kamisan. This rally was the 417th since 2007 and it demanded demanding the government resolve the cases. (Seto Wardhana )
After two years of running the country, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has still not fulfilled his campaign promise to address long-unresolved human rights abuse cases in Indonesia, a promise that is thought to have sealed his victory against his former contender Prabowo Subianto, who is implicated in the forced disappearances of pro-democracy activists in 1998.
“The government must fulfill its obligation to solve all cases of gross human rights violations that occurred in the past,” prominent human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said at a discussion yesterday.
“The President will forever owe us that promise unless he keeps his word.”
The unresolved cases that Jokowi promised to address consist of the 1989 Talangsari massacre, the forced disappearance of anti-Soeharto activists in 1997 and 1998, the Trisakti University shootings, the Semanggi I and Semanggi II student shootings in 1998 and 1999, the mysterious killing of alleged criminals in the 1980s, the anticommunist massacres of 1965 and various abuses that took place in Wasior and Wamena in Papua in 2001 and 2003, respectively.
Activist Al Araf from the Jakarta-based human rights watchdog Imparsial cited a lack of political will to prioritise human rights among Jokowi’s administration as a core reason behind the lagging attempts to address the issues during Jokowi’s two-year presidency.
As the world will commemorate International Human Rights Day today, Al Araf called for Jokowi and his subordinates to make the resolution of human rights abuse cases one of the government’s priority programs.
“Otherwise Jokowi’s regime will be no different to his predecessors,” he said.
An Indonesian soldier has been jailed for 20 years for the gruesome murders of a mother and her two children in West Papua.
The Jakarta Post reports 28-year-old Semuel Djitmau killed the trio with a cleaver as they walked to a village in Bintuni in August 2015. The children were aged just six and two.
He this week fronted a military tribunal which condemned his actions.
“What the defendant had done was ruthless and inhumane, violated human rights and was against the spirit of the military of protecting the people,” said presiding judge Lt. Col. James Vandersloot.
The tribunal said Djitmau had displayed no remorse.
The victims’ family had wanted the death penalty but the sentence was the maximum possible because the solider was charged with theft and murder rather than premeditated murder.
20-year-old student Obi Kogoya attacked by Indonesian police and militia on 15th July outside the boarding house Yogyakarta
Indonesian police and civilian reactionary groups stormed a boarding house for Papuan students in Yogyakarta on Friday. The State-Owned Papuan Dormotory at Kusumanegara Road, Kamasan I was besieged in the early morning of 15th July when mobile brigades (Brimob) of special forces officers forced their way through the back gate of the dormitory and caused extensive damage to student property. After entering the premises, they destroyed and sabotaged a number of motorcycles while other police surrounded the dormitory and blocked all access to the building. Students were forbidden from entering or moving about the premises, while Red Cross workers and local residents were restricted from providing relief for the students.
This action comes at a time when Papuan students in Yogyakarta had planned to stage a peaceful rally in support of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) bid to become a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG). The students also demanded West Papuan self-determination to be implemented by the Indonesian government as the best solution for resolving ongoing conflicts in the troubled province, and to demonstrate to the rest of the world a genuine regard for democratic principles.
The rally was organised by Persatuan Rakyat Untuk Pembebasan Papua Barat (People United for Free West Papua PRPPB)
Hundreds of Indonesian police ready to attack Papuan students boarding house on Friday 15th July 2016
An international spokesperson of the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP), Yely Wenda, witnessed the incident from inside the besieged building. Mr Wenda insisted that hundreds of police and armed civilians had arrived at the boarding house by 7 am and “that we were targeted and treated as though we were terrorists. There was absolutely no logic whatsoever for the Indonesian security forces to act the way they did. It was very embarrassing to see them act stupidly like this”
According to Wenda, police officers were sweeping several access points to the road leading toward Papua dormitory, and blocking and detaining any person entering or leaving the property. As many as fifteen students were arrested simply on account of their desire to enter their own property. One 20-year-old student was detained by the police on the street outside of the dormitory before being brutally tortured. The student, Obi Kogoya, had his jaw forcefully opened by police and militia, and is now in a critical condition at a local hospital.
In addition to the violence being perpetrated by police and militia, civilian groups conducted a demonstration attacking the Papuans’ message of independence. These groups were well-armed and protected by a throng of Indonesian security forces, and displayed a banner that stated their willingness to die in defending their “unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia”.
The President of the Papuan Students’ Association, Aris Yeimo, told BBC Indonesia that 60 to 70 students remain locked inside the building all day and unable to leave the premises. When asked why the dormitory was besieged by the police, Mr Yeimo insisted he had no idea why security forces acted in such an intimidating manner and that these kinds of confrontations are not uncommon. Incidents towards Papuans – such as this one – may occur as often as several times a month, everywhere Papuans live.
Hundreds of Indonesian police ready to attack Papuan students boarding house on Friday 15th July 2016
Police representatives have a clearer understanding about the justification for these kinds of actions. The Yogyakarta City Police Chief, Kombes Tommy Wibisono, asserts that pacification action such as this need to be carried out when demands for Papuan independence undermines national stability and promotes “social unrest”. However, Aris Yeimo insists that the current action against students has little to do with calls for Papuan independence, but rather because of the perceived threat they pose to the national integrity of the archipelago.
Veronica Koman from the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) in Jakarta has condemned the brutality of the police and demanded that security forces and their civilian paramilitary counterparts must not take the law into their own hands. This assertion applies not only to the current situation in Yogyakarta, but to other parts of the country as well.
Yely Wenda has appealed to Pacific Islands nations for moral support and to put pressure on Indonesia as an associate member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group to refrain from utilising these kinds of pressures on local Papuan students.
radionz.co.nz – Indonesia has strongly rejected statements about West Papua by Vanuatu and Solomon Islands at the UN Human Rights Council session last week.
Delegates of the two Pacific Islands’ countries accused Indonesia of failing to prevent ongoing human rights abuses against West Papuans.
But Indonesia’s delegate at the session, Michael Tene, said Vanuatu and Solomon Islands’ statements showed a lack of understanding of Papua.
He said they were politically motivated in support of separatist groups which incite public disorder and terrorist attacks against civilians and security personnel.
Indonesia as a democratic country is committed to promoting and protecting human rights, including by taking necessary steps to address the allegations of human rights violations and abuses in Papua. No one is perfect. We are always open to have dialogue on human rights issues, but we reject politicisation of these issues. We deplore the way Solomon Islands and Vanuatu have abused this council and the universal principles of the promotion and protection of human rights by supporting the cause of separatism.
Michael Tene from Indonesia’s Permanent Mission to the UN.
He has described Vanuatu and Solomon Islands as being far from perfect on protection of human rights.
He said the two countries still face serious human rights problems, have rampant corruption in all segments of society and government, human trafficking, mistreatment of children and daily abuse of women.
“It would be for the betterment of their populations if the governments of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu give attention and priority to seriously address their respective own domestic human rights shortcomings.”
Indonesia has strongly rejected statements about West Papua by Vanuatu and Solomon Islands at the UN Human Rights Council session last week.
Delegates of the two Pacific Islands’ countries accused Indonesia of failing to prevent ongoing human rights abuses against West Papuans.
But Indonesia’s delegate at the session, Michael Tene, said Vanuatu and Solomon Islands’ statements showed a lack of understanding of Papua.
He said they were politically motivated in support of separatist groups which incite public disorder and terrorist attacks against civilians and security personnel.
Indonesia as a democratic country is committed to promoting and protecting human rights, including by taking necessary steps to address the allegations of human rights violations and abuses in Papua. No one is perfect. We are always open to have dialogue on human rights issues, but we reject politicisation of these issues. We deplore the way Solomon Islands and Vanuatu have abused this council and the universal principles of the promotion and protection of human rights by supporting the cause of separatism.
Michael Tene from Indonesia’s Permanent Mission to the UN.
He has described Vanuatu and Solomon Islands as being far from perfect on protection of human rights.
He said the two countries still face serious human rights problems, have rampant corruption in all segments of society and government, human trafficking, mistreatment of children and daily abuse of women.
“It would be for the betterment of their populations if the governments of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu give attention and priority to seriously address their respective own domestic human rights shortcomings.”
Furthermore, Mustika Hanum, the third secretary at Indonesia’s Permanent Mission, expanded on her country’s concerns about domestic violence in Solomon Islands.
Solomon Islands’ diplomat in Geneva has told the UN Human Rights Council’s 32nd session about an eroding human rights situation in Indonesia’s Papua region.
West Papuan demonstrators tightly monitored by Indonesian police. Photo: Whens Tebay
Barrett Salato told the session that whilst his country welcomes increased attention on West Papua from Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo, violations of Papuans’ rights remain unresolved.
Mr Salato said his government received regular reports from Papua of arbitrary arrests, summary execution, torture, restriction of freedom of expression, assembly and association, committed mainly by Indonesian police.
After the session, he said it was important to raise the issue globally.
“It will give the international commmunity some awareness about what’s going on (in Papua),” he said.
“Not much information goes out to the international commmunity about what’s happening so we take it here to the right body of the UN to raise the voices of our fellow human beings that does not have a voice in the human rights council.”
He said what is occurring in Papua was a phenomenon connected with cultural fundamentalism and nationalism seen in other parts of the world.
“In each case, the superiority has triggered the process of dehumanization or delegitimizing of particular groups,” said Mr Kiai in his report.
Since April, a series of large demonstrations in West Papua in support of Papuan self-determination rights have resulted in an estimated four thousand Papuans being arrested. Photo: Tabloid Jubi
Barrett Salato pointed out to the Council session that on 2 May 2016 alone, over 2000 West Papuans were arrested for participating in peaceful demonstrations in several cities in Papua and eastern Indonesian cities.
“We would encourage the government of Indonesia to find peaceful and sustainable solution of the on-going conflict in West Papua through constructive engagement with the representatives of the West Papuans and respect their right as a people,” he said.
MSG focus on Papuan rights
Solomon Islands is currently occupying the chair of the Melanesian Spearhead Group. In this capacity it has been pushing for increased engagement with Indonesia’s government over the situation in West Papua.
The United Liberation Movement for West Papua was granted observer status at the MSG last year and is seeking full membership in the group, with a decision to be made at an upcoming MSG leaders summit in Honiara next month.
Solomons PM Manaseh Sogavare and leaders of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Photo: Facebook
Indonesia, which has associate member status in the MSG, has been opposed to greater representation within the group by the ULMWP.
Indonesia’s delegate at last week’s MSG Foreign Ministers meeting in Fiji was reportedly unhappy about having to sit alonside the Liberation Movement representative for discussions.
The MSG Foreign Ministers meeting concluded with agreement to establish a Committee of High Level Representatives of MSG members to facilitate constructive engagement between Jakarta and West Papuans as concernd parties on the issues of rights abuses against Papuans.
Jakarta establishes team to address Papuan rights abuses
Indonesia’s government has been making efforts to respond to the ongoing international concern about rights abuses in West Papua.
While the UN Human Rights Council was discussing Papua in Geneva, Jakarta has been pushing ahead with the establishment of a team tasked with addressing a number of cases of human rights abuses in Papua region.
Indonesia’s Co-ordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security, Luhut Pandjaitan. Photo: AFP
Mr Luhut told media the team would consist of the chairmen of both National and Provincial Human Rights Commissions and several human rights commissionaires.
But Papua’s Governor Lucas Enembe and various Papuan civil society figures have voiced concern that the team would not be independent and would be restricted in its scope.
Papua’s Governor Lucas Enembe (left) says human rights abuses in Papua should be resolved according to Papuan custom. Photo: RNZI/Koroi Hawkins
Jakarta is under increasing pressure to be transparent about its efforts in Papua.
According to Barrett Salato, the Solomons would continue to urge Jakarta to accept MSG and Pacific Islands Forum fact-finding missions to Papua, and open up Papua to international access.
“Journalists working on human rights are still prevented to have free and full access to do their work in West Papua,” he said.
“Our delegation is convinced that access of international community to West Papua, particularly to UN Special Procedure, will provide an opportunity to improve the human rights situation.”
Indonesian police have been accused of arresting more than 1,000 people at rallies in West Papua demanding an independence referendum.
Part of Indonesia’s easternmost Papua province on New Guinea island, West Papua is ethnically distinct from the rest of the country and was annexed by Indonesia in 1969. Many Papuans consider the takeover to have been an illegal land grab.
UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon has been presented with the West Papua Fact Finding Mission Report titled “We Will Lose Everything” by PIANGO’s executive director, Emele Duituturaga.
Duituturaga presented the report to Ban Ki Moon during day two of the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey. The report was received by the assistant Secretary General.
Duituturaga who captured the handing over in a photograph said she was privileged to have had a brief exchange with Ban at the end of the summit.
The handover comes after Duituturaga addressed the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) plenary on day one calling for United Nations intervention on human rights violations in West Papua.
“PIANGO strongly advocates human-rights based approaches and we commit to upholding norms that safeguard humanity, specifically in relation to speaking out on violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws,” she said.
“In the Pacific, we have our share of conflict induced humanitarian challenges. We applaud the closing of the Manus Refugee camp in Papua New Guinea, we are concerned about the conflicts at the Nauru detention centre and we call for UN intervention for human rights violations in West Papua.”
“As a leading civil society organisation, the Pacific Islands Association for Non-Governmental Organisations (PIANGO), representing NGOs in 21 Pacific Islands Countries and Territories, is committed to this Agenda for Humanity.”
“In the Pacific where 80% of our population are rural based, the first and the last response is always the local response and so we need to reinforce local leadership, strengthen community resilience and reprioritise localisation of aid.”
She said while governments remain the driver at the national level, community engagement is the lever.
“PIANGO is committed to facilitate effective coordination of local and national civil society organisations with the complimentary role of international NGOs.”
“We also expect our leaders to match the ambition of this agenda with national and regional strategies and accountability mechanisms for inclusive and participatory implementation, bringing all stakeholders together and at all levels – to include government, civil society, private sector, academics, parliamentarians, local authorities, faith communities and UN agencies.”
The summit which had 9000 participants from 173 states, including 55 heads of state, hundreds of private sector representatives and thousands of people from civil society and non-governmental organisations ended Wednesday.
Papua Merdeka News 