WPRA Express Deep Condolences for Families and Friends of Churches Bombings in Surabaya

From the Central Headquarters of the West Papua Revolutionary Army (WPRA), Lt Gen. WPRA Amunggut Tabi, on behalf of Gen. TRWP Mathias Wenda

Expresses Deep Condolences to Families, Friends and Relatives Killed by Inhuman Bombers in colonial town of Surabaya, Indonesia.

Strongly Condemns Indonesian Terrorists as Barbaric and non-human, as being nurtured and kept grow in Indonesia by various state-agencies and majority Moslem populations of Indonesia. Using the name of God for kiling other human created by God when they are worshiping God is barbaric uncivilised act.

Every human beings today in the world that watch this barbaric, inhuman, uncivilised acts of terror in the name of religion and God should understand that Indonesia is keeping terrorists, Indonesia is nurturing terrorists, Indonesia is allowing terrorists grow well.

Only when foreign funds and guns are supplied then they will act as if they are against terrorists, but on many occasions they have been spotted running training together with the Indonesian Special Armed Forces, polices forces as well as with other militia groups that operate in all political parties in Indonesia that generally labelled as “Satgas” (Task Force).

When there is no mor funds and training from abroad, then they allow the terrorists to bomb. This kind of behaviour is also inhuman, uncivilized because it costs lives of innocent civilians, mothers and children.

The West Papua Revolutionary Army (WPRA), even though fighting against the might of Indonesia State-Terrorism, never carry out suicide bombings, bombings in churches, mosques or other worshiping places, and always avoid casualties on children and women. Indonesian terrorists are just like their State-Terrorists, they kill priests and evangelists, Christians in West Papua, bomb villages and burn churches. The world never know these stories are real. We know it from our daily experiences. And this week, the world knows it because of the bombing in churches.

The world should not allow Indonesia to become powerful in South East Asia and South Pacific Region, across small countries in Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, as they will spread the spirit and energy of terror, murder, killing in barbaric and uncivilized way across our Melanesian, Polynesian and Micronesian brothers and sisters.

All Pacific Island countries should not expect Indonesia to end its violations of human rights in West Papua. It should not think of bringing a peace settlement. Islamic Jihadists, Islam Terrorists are strongly involved in fighting against Free West Papua Campaigns.

ISIS training camps are situated in some areas across the border between West Papua and Papua New Guinea. Only blind people will not notice this.

Issued in : WPRA Central HW

On date: 14 May 2018

signed

Amunggut Tabi, Lt.Gen.WPRA
BRN: A.DF 018676

May 14, 2018 0

Journalist Faces Defamation Probe for Comparing Indonesia’s Treatment of West Papua with Myanmar’s Rohingya

Indonesian police in East Java are investigating a veteran journalist for comparing former President Megawati Sukarnoputri to Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi in a Facebook post.

On September 3, 2017, journalist and documentary filmmaker Dandhy Dwi Laksono wrote on Facebook that Megawati and Suu Kyi are alike in many ways, noting that both are former opposition leaders who now head the ruling parties in their respective countries. Dandhy added that if Myanmar’s government is being criticized for its treatment of ethnic Rohingya, the Indonesian government should similarly be held liable for suppressing the independence movement on the Indonesian island of West Papua.

He further compared Suu Kyi’s silence on the persecution of the Rohingya to Megawati’s role as party leader of the government, which has recently intensified the crackdown on West Papuan independence activists.

Rohingya people born and living in Myanmar are not recognized as citizens by the Myanmar government. In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya civilians have been displaced from their homes due to clearing operations of the Myanmar military in response to attacks by a pro-Rohingya insurgent group in northwest Myanmar. Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees, who are mostly Muslim, are crossing into Bangladesh to escape the fighting.

West Papua is a province of Indonesia with a vocal independence movement that has called for the creation of a separate state since the 1960s. Human rights groups have documented many cases of abuse committed by Indonesian state forces against activists, journalists, and other individuals suspected of supporting the independence movement.

Dandhy posted his comments on Facebook following a big rally was organized by Muslim groups in Indonesia, condemning the Myanmar government for its treatment of Rohingya refugees.

The youth arm of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) filed a defamation complaint against Dandhy on September 6:

On the whole, (Dandhy’s) opinion was clearly intended to take advantage of the Rohingya incidents in Myanmar in order to insult and spread hatred of Megawati Soekarnoputri as the chairwoman of PDI-P and Joko Widodo as the president who is backed by PDI-P.

He is now under investigation by the police cyber crime unit. If he is prosecuted for and convicted of defamation, Dandhy could face up to four years in prison.

Reacting to the complaint, Dandhy wrote that it is a minor issue compared to the injustices suffered by Papuan activists and Rohingya refugees.

The complaint is the latest case of how the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law is being used to silence dissent in the country.

According to Indonesian digital rights group SAFEnet, at least 35 activists have been charged with online defamation since its enactment in 2008. Aside from Dandhy’s case, the group has documented six defamation charges involving activists and journalists in 2017.

Activists were quick to launch a campaign expressing support to Dandhy. They asserted that Dandhy was simply expressing an opinion which should be considered legitimate criticism and not a criminal act.

SAFEnet is encouraging Indonesian netizens to submit reports and testimonies about how the ITE Law is being abused to silence activists like Dandhy and suppress online free speech in general.

Instead of preventing the public from commenting on Megawati, a local investigative portal suggested that Dandhy’s case could in fact trigger greater interest in the former president’s legacy as a leader, including some of the issues that led to her defeat in the polls.

Souce: www.globalvoices.org

September 15, 2017 0

Indonesia arrests over 100 Papuans in Sorong

RadioANZ

More than 100 indigenous activists were arrested by Indonesian police at the weekend in the West Papua city of Sorong.

The police took in 106 activists from the West Papua National Committee, or KNPB, for their involvement in an inauguration of its local governing body last week.

The KNPB is a pro-independence West Papuan political organisation with a wide following throughout Indonesia’s Papua region.

Indonesian police at a demonstration in the Papuan region. Photo: Supplied/ Whens Tebay

he inauguration of the KNPB’s Sorong governing structure included a mass worship celebration and drew Papuans from areas such as Tambrau, Ayamaru and South Sorong.

Tabloid Jubi quotes a KNPB Sorong spokesman Aud Augustine as saying Indonesian police, combined with Indonesian military, forcibly disbanded their peaceful event.

Mr Augustine said that in making the arrests, police breached the Papuans’ basic democratic rights.

The KNPB is one of the organisations represented in the United Liberation Movement for West Papua which has been lobbying for greater international representation for Papuans since last year.

Widespread demonstrations across Papuan cities in support of the Liberation Movement during May and June resulted in mass arrests in some cases.

Indonesian police have warned they will not tolerate activities that promote separatism.

November 21, 2016 0

Indonesian police under fire over arrest of Papuan students, racial abuse

jefry wenda ucn 680wide — Jefry Wenda, coordinator of a Papuan students group covering Java and Bali … the Papuan students in Yogyakarta have been left traumatised by police behavior. Image: Ryan Dagur/UCA

July 21, 2016, By Ryan Dagur in in Jakarta

Indonesian Church officials and activists have accused police in Yogyakarta of racism and using excessive force after six Papuan students were arrested for singing Papuan songs in their college dormitory.

“Police officers must be fair. They must protect Papuan people too,” Father Paulus Christian Siswantoko, executive secretary of the Indonesian bishops’ Commission for Justice, Peace and Pastoral for Migrant-Itinerant People, said.

“The government has the task to protect all citizens and disregard their ethnic background,” he said.

Police say they surrounded the dormitory belonging to Yogyakarta’s College of Community Development on July 15 to prevent a number of Papuan students from attending a banned rally organised by the People’s Union for West Papua Freedom.

The rally was aimed at supporting a bid by the Papuan nationalist group, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

The group is an intergovernmental organisation comprising Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, as well as the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front, a political party from New Caledonia. The ULMWP currently has observer status.

The Papuan students said they initially planned to hold the rally in the city center, but decided instead to sing some Papauan songs at the dormitory after organisers failed to obtain a rally permit from local police.

Tear gas

Police allegedly used tear gas on the students before arresting them.

During the arrest it is alleged officers manhandled and racially abused the students, who were also subjected to racial taunts by local pro-Jakarta activists who had gathered to support the police as the drama unfolded.

All the students were later released on July 17 following questioning.

“Police officers must not let racial abuse happen,” said Father Siswantoko.

He said the students had the right to express their views.

“They didn’t even stage a rally, but their voices were silenced anyway,” he said, adding that there is deep-seated prejudice by locals against Papuans.

Risky Hadur, a Catholic student activist also denounced the police action.

Left traumatised

“We express our deep condolences to the death of humanity and brotherhood in this nation.”

The students were left traumatised by the incident, according to Jefry Wenda, coordinator of a Papuan students’ group covering Java and Bali.

“Police officers and other people shouted at them and called them ‘pigs’ and ‘monkeys,’” he said, calling on the government to put a stop to abuses against the Papuan people.

National Commission on Human Rights official Natalius Pigai said the incident would be investigated.

“We must not let such racial discrimination happen,” he said. “We will send a team next week to Yogyakarta to investigate.

Ryan Dagur is a contributor to the Union of Catholic Asian News service.

August 22, 2016 0

Papuan students in Yogyakarta attacked by Indonesian police and militia

Reported by AMP Yogyakarta 18^th July 2016

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 15^th 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.

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.

Further information, please contact:

Yamin Kogoya

0477785680

kogoyay@gmail.com

Papuan student at the Australian National University Canberra-Australia

Yely Wenda

+6281344666626

aringgiklod@gmail.com

An International spokesperson of Papuan Student Alliance in Yogyakarta-Indonesia

20-year-old student Obi Kogoya attacked by Indonesian police and militia on 15^th July outside the boarding house Yogyakarta.

Hundreds of Indonesian police ready to attack Papuan students boarding house on Friday 15^th July 2016

July 18, 2016 1

Government pledges assurance to investors to realize plans for petrochemical

(26-8-2013)

Industry Minister has pledged government help for investors in order to realize plans to build a massive petrochemical complex in West Papua.

The Minister met with senior managers of German industrial giant Ferrostaal, which, together with Indonesia’s Chandra Asri, plans to build a US$2 bln petrochemical facility in Bintuni Bay, West Papua, but is waiting for assurances on natural gas supply, as per thejakartaglobe.com. Other companies, including South Korea’s LG International and state-owned fertilizer producer Pupuk Indonesia, plan to invest in Bintuni Bay, which could lead to the development of a US$7 billion petrochemical complex.

The proposed development is situated near the BP-operated Tangguh liquefied natural gas plant, which is currently undergoing a US$12 bln expansion to boost capacity by 50% from the present 7.6 miln tons of LNG available through existing facilities. Tangguh serves several fields that are estimated to have combined reserves of 14.4 trillion cubic feet. As per the Minister, Ferrostaal has already concluded a feasibility study on the project, which found “it would not be valid unless there is an assurance of natural gas supply.”

August 26, 2013 0