Aksi tersebut akan dilakukan di depan Kantor Gubernur Sulawesi Utara. Peserta aksi diminta menggunakan seragam hitam-merah.
Seruan aksi berbau makar tersebut dilakukan warga Minahasa sebagai bentuk protes terhadap penahanan Basuki Tjahaja Purnama alia Ahok.
Seruan Minahasa Merdeka. (Fanpage Facebook/Ancient of Minahasa)
Sementara itu, akasi menolak Fahri Hamzah menginjakkan kakinya di tanah Minahasa hari ini masih terus berlanjut. Fahri ditolak karena dianggap intoleran.
Ribuan massa dari berbagai ormas memadati Bandara Sam Ratulangi Manado dan Kantor Gubernur Sulut, Sabtu (13/5). Jalan Bandara Sam Ratulangi dipenuhi masa yang berseragam hitam.
A lifelong campaigner for a free and independent West Papua has issued a stark warning to New Zealand politicians as he visits the country this week.
Benny Wenda with wantok students at the Auckland University of Technology this week. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
Benny Wenda, a tribal chief of West Papua exiled to the United Kingdom by Indonesia, told Asia Pacific Report that time was running out for West Papua if governments such as New Zealand do not act.
“If we live with Indonesia for another 50 years, we will not be safe. We will not be safe with Indonesia.”
He said the purpose of his visit to New Zealand was to highlight the importance of West Papua returning to its Melanesian family.
“We really need Pacific Islanders, our sisters and brothers across the Pacific – particularly New Zealand and Australia – to bring West Papua back to its Pacific family. Then we can survive. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to survive with Indonesia,” he said.
Since Indonesia took over West Papua following a controversial Act of Free Choice – dubbed by critics as an “Act of no choice” – in 1969, Wenda said his people had suffered.
“Everyday someone is dead, or has been killed, and someone has been stabbed, but no one is brought to justice.”
Human rights violations
In its rush to claim former Dutch colonies in the Asia-Pacific region following West Papua’s self-declared independence from the Netherlands in late 1961, Indonesia has subjected West Papua to continued human rights violations.
Many West Papuans have been imprisoned for non-violent expressions of their political views and widespread allegations of torture have been consistently made against Indonesian authorities.
Raising West Papua’s flag – the Morning Star – can incur 15 years in prison.
Wenda, the 42-year-old founder of the Free West Papua Campaign, has himself been imprisoned, accused of inciting an attack on a police station — despite the fact he was not even in the country at the time.
With foreign media all but denied access to West Papua – despite apparent lifting of restrictions by President Joko Widodo in 2015 – much of Indonesia’s atrocities remain secret, hidden.
It is for these very reasons, Wenda said, that West Papua was fighting.
“We are fighting for our independence, but we are also fighting for our land, our forest, our mountains.”
“Lifelong” Free West Papua advocate Benny Wenda says New Zealand support is integral to the global campaign. Image: Kendall Hutt/PMC
New Zealand support sought
Wenda is calling for the New Zealand government’s integral commitment to the campaign for a free West Papua.
He said this was because New Zealand had a duty, as a part of the Pacific, to raise awareness of the atrocities in West Papua.
“West Papua is a very close neighbour, so that’s why I hope the New Zealand government will speak more about the human rights situation in West Papua.”
Wenda said it was high time for New Zealand to pull away from its business, trade and investment focus with Indonesia and speak about Indonesia’s human rights abuses.
New Zealand “needs to do more” as a country, he said, because New Zealand is a country which is meant to value human rights, respect the rule of law, freedom of speech and the right to self-determination in other parts of the world.
It is therefore time for New Zealand’s foreign policy on West Papua to change.
“West Papua’s hope is Australia and New Zealand. This is a regional issue, this will never go away from your eyes and this is something you need to look at today. Review your foreign policy and look at West Papua.”
‘We are the gatekeepers’
“Australia and New Zealand need West Papua. We are the gatekeepers, and for security reasons, West Papua is very important,” Wenda said.
Catherine Delahunty, a Green Party MP who has campaigned strongly for West Papua on New Zealand’s political front, echoed Wenda’s views.
“They are insistent – the New Zealand government – that West Papua is part of the territorial integrity of Indonesia, so we can’t get past that critical issue.”
She said she therefore did not have much faith in the current government to step up and was looking for future leadership, such as through the Labour-Greens alliance, to move the campaign for West Papuan self-determination forward on the home front.
AUT doctoral student Stephanie Sageo-Tupungu of Papua New Guinea makes a presentation to Benny Wenda on behalf of the Pacific Media Centre. Image: Kendall Hutt/PMC
“I really do think we need a different government that actually has some fundamental commitment to human rights over and above trade and being part of the US military complex around the world. We have to have change to get change. It’s not going to happen through these guys.”
In her eight years in Parliament, Delahunty said the situation in West Papua was the toughest she had had to face.
“This issue, for me, has been one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever worked on. It’s been one of the most horrible and one of the most powerful examples of the cynical use of power and the way in which people can just completely close their eyes.”
Mainstream media role
Both Wenda and Delahunty said in light of the resounding silence surrounding West Papuan media freedom during Indonesia’s hosting of World Press Freedom Day last week that raising awareness of West Papua was key for the world to finding out about the atrocities there.
The mainstream media had a large role to play in this, both acknowledged.
“West Papua really needs the media in terms of the publicity. Media publicity is very important,” Wenda said.
Wenda said it was time for New Zealand’s mainstream to pick up the baton from smaller, independent news agencies and carry stories of West Papua’s atrocities themselves.
“I really hope the mainstream media here carries this. It’s very important. We need more mainstream media. They really need to pick up on this issue.”
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has reported that it was not unusual for both local and foreign journalists in West Papua to be threatened anonymously or by authorities. Data by the Alliance for Independent Journalists (AJI) has revealed there has been an increase in the number of assaults on journalists in the region over the past two years.
There were 78 violent attacks on journalists in 2016, up from 42 attacks in 2015 and 40 in 2014.
The AJI found only a few attackers from those 78 attacks had been brought to justice.
‘Everything swept under the carpet’
Wenda said there was deep-seated inaction on Indonesia’s part because of its prejudice in prosecuting people who have attacked and tortured and beaten both West Papuans and also West Papuan journalists.
“Indonesia is getting away with impunity. Nobody is brought to justice. Everything is swept under the carpet.”
Delahunty reflected, however, that the world was seeing the lack of free and frank reporting play out in West Papua.
“We see the consequences of nearly fifty years of no honesty about West Papua and it’s just up the road. It breaks my heart, but it also fires me up because I really believe there are some very, very brave young people, including journalists, who are committed to this issue and I guess it’s that thing: if you have a voice, use it.”
Wenda highlighted a “united” Pacific was key in raising awareness of the “Melanesian genocide” occurring in West Papua.
Benny Wendy with wantok students…representing a “united” Pacific for West Papua. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
‘United’ Pacific key
He called on his “brothers and sisters”, but was deeply thankful of the support given already by several Pacific nations for West Papua’s cause.
These nations raised grave concerns regarding human rights violations in West Papua at the 34th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in March.
Recent declarations by both the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu were also acknowledged by Wenda.
“We cried for 50 years, but then these countries sacrificed to take on this issue.”
Wenda told the Solomon Islanders and the people of Vanuatu gathered they should “be proud” and that their action was something to “take away in your head and heart”.
Wenda also told the remainder of his audience it was “ordinary people” and “mostly young generations” who were needed to continue the fight, with social media being their greatest tool.
Delahunty added people power and the growing solidarity movement across the globe were also central.
“The only way they’ll speak and respond to this issue at all is if we have growing public pressure and that’s the job of all of us, both inside parliament and outside parliament to raise the issue and to make it something people will feel accountable for, otherwise we just ignore the plight of our neighbours and the killing, torture, environmental desecration and human rights abuses continue.”
Wenda and Delahunty both closed their interviews with a clear message for Indonesia: “Start talking, start listening, and stop thinking that you can ever brow beat people into the dust because you want their resources because in the end, the human spirit doesn’t work like that and these people will never give up. It’s up to us to support them.”
Kendall Hutt is contributing editor of Pacific Media Watch.
Free West Papua advocate Benny Wenda presents Pacific Media Centre Professor David Robie with a traditional “bilum” for his journalism about West Papuan freedom. Image: Kendall Hutt/PMC
DailyPost – Former MP, Willie Jimmy Tapanga Rarua, the holder of the lease title for the land on which the miracle water in Luganville, Santo, is located and his wife Alvin Tapanga Rarua have applied to the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) in Port Vila to register the services under the name Holy (Healing) Water.
A Notice by Luganville Municipal Council on the Property in Question to the site advising to the people that miracle water is for free
The application forms lodged with the VFSC were signed on April 25, 2017 and signed by the two applicants.
An accompanying Lands Records Office document shows that an Urban Commercial Lease dated April 17, 2007 between the Lessor, the Minister of Lands and the Lessees Willie Jimmy Tanaga Rarua and Alvin Tapanga Rarua is for 75 years.
In a letter to the Commissioner of the VFSC dated April 15, 2017, Mr. and Mrs. Tanpanga Rarua said that: “As proprietors of the Property Lease Title 03/1113/053 situated in Luganville, Espiritu Santo, we wish to register the name Holy or Healing Water that is currently being used by the trespassers into our property without our consent.”
“We are also concerned of the fact that while we allow the use of the water to be free, commercial entities such as Vanuatu Ferry, Vanuatu Cargo, Big Sister and other coastal shipping agencies and even Air Vanuatu are all providing special trips to the travelling public at discounted rates to travel to travel to Santo to bathe in the Healing Water in my property,” they wrote.
They alleged these entities are abetting and are in complicity with the traveling public to trespass into their property.
“We therefore request the Commissioner to assist us to register the words or Name ‘Healing (Holy) Water Limited’ in our favor as proprietors of the property.”
The name is to only apply to the water in Luganville and not any other place, they said.
Caretakers of the water source say that upwards to 1,000 people visit the Miracle Water site everyday and between 3,000 and 4,000 on public holidays and weekends.
These people are coming from all over the country including now from nearby New Caledonia.
Jonas Cullwick, a former General Manager of VBTC is now a Senior Journalist with the Daily Post. Contact: jonas@dailypost.vu. Cell # 678 5460922
International support for West Papuan self-determination cause is growing, according to a Papuan independence leader.
Benny Wenda is in New Zealand this week, raising awareness about the Indonesian-administered region of Papua, or West Papua, which he fled in 2003.
New Zealand MPs pose with the West Papua Freedom Movement’s Benny Wenda after signing the International Parliamentarians for West Papua Declaration.
Last night in Wellington he addressed a group of MPs, after which eleven members signed a declaration by the International Parliamentarians for West Papua.
This international organisation of MPs is calling for an internationally supervised self-determination vote in Papua.
Mr Wenda said momentum was being driven by the Pacific Coalition on West Papua, chaired by the Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare.
New Zealand MPs sign the International Parliamentarians for West Papua declaration as Benny Wenda the head of the West Papua Freedom Movement looks on. Wellington 10-05-2017. Photo: RNZI/ Koroi Hawkins
“So the Manasseh Sogavare leadership is bringing a big impact on the West Papua issue. And the seven countries (of the coalition) I joined. It is bringing the West Papua case in United Nations level,” he said.
“So this is a big thing to change now. So we also got support from African, Carribean and the Pacific. So this is a growing number and solidarity around the world.”
Mr Wenda said West Papuans as a people had been through many grave challenges in the last five decades of Indonesian rule, but that they remained ever hopeful.
A growing solidarity network in the Pacific was giving them hope.
“The parliamentarians today…. Catherine Delahunty (New Zealand Green Party MP) lead a lot of MPs, bringing them in to sign their support.
“This is the best medicine, I think, for the people of West Papua. That’s why their spirit is alive even (though) they’re suffering under the Indonesian illegal occupation.”
New Zealand MPs pose with the West Papua Freedom Movement’s Benny Wenda after signing the International Parliamentarians for West Papua Declaration.
According to Mr Wenda, West Papuans were united under the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.
Indonesian government officials have characterised the Liberation Movement as a group of Papuans living abroad which lacks legitimacy to represent Papuans.
Mr Wenda dismissed this, pointing out that the leadership of the Liberation Movement is based both in and, out of necessity, outside Papua.
West Papuan grassroots support for the organisation within Papua was massive, he said.
Anggota parlemen Selandia Baru, Catherine Delahunty. keempat dari kanan, bersama sejumlah anggota parlemen Selandia Baru lainnya, seusai penandatanganan deklarasi mendukung penentuan nasib sendiri Papua. Tampak juga hadir Benny Wenda, juru bicara ULMWP (Foto: akun Facebook Catherine Delahunty)
WELLINGTON, SATUHARAPAN.COM – Sedikitnya sembilan anggota parlemen Selandia Baru (New Zealand) menandatangani deklarasi untuk menyerukan dan memberi dukungan bagi penentuan nasib sendiri rakyat Papua.
Penandatanganan itu dilaksanakan di Wellington, Rabu (10/05), disponsori oleh anggota parlemen dari Partai Hijau Selandia Baru, Catherine Delahunty. Penandatanganan tersebut disaksikan oleh Benny Wenda, juru bicara United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), organisasi yang menjadi wadah berbagai elemen rakyat yang pro-referendum Papua.
“Tadi malam diam-diam sejarah terjadi di Parlemen Selandia Baru, seiring dengan sembilan anggota parlemen menandatangai Deklarasi Westminster bagi referendum Papua yang diawasi oleh PBB,”
tulis Delahunty lewat akun Facebooknya, Rabu (10/05).
Ia juga menerangkan bahwa dirinya senang Benny Wenda dapat hadir dan turut meluncurkan acara itu.
“Saya sangat bangga dengan anggota parlemen kita dari Partai Hijau, Partai Buruh, dan satu dari (partai) Nasional yang menandatanganinya tadi malam, dan juga Marama Fox dari Partai MÄori dan Aupito S’ua William Sio, yang tidak dapat hadir tetapi telah menandatanganinya hari ini,”
lanjut Delahunty.
Delahunty tidak menyebut secara rinci siapa saja para anggota parlemen Selandia Baru yang menandatangani deklarasi. Namun di laman FB-nya ia menampilkan sejumlah foto acara penandatanganan itu. Belakangan berdasarkan siaran pers Green Party, diketahui nama-nama anggota parlemen yang menandatangani adalah Catherine Delahunty, Barry Coates, Mojo Mathers, Jan Logie dan Steffan Browning dari Green Party; Louisa Wall, Carmel Sepuloni dan Adrian Rurawhe dari Partai Buruh; dan Chester Burrows dari Partai Nasional. Deklarasi juga ditanda tangani Co-leader dari MÄori Party, Marama Fox, dan anggota parlemen dari Partai Buruh lainnya yang menanda tanganinya keesokan harinya, Aupito S’ua William Sio.
Deklarasi Westminster pertama kali diluncurkan di London tahun lalu. Ketika itu sejumlah anggota parlemen dari negara-negara Pasifik dan Inggris turut menandatangani deklarasi yang menyerukan dilakukannya referendum rakyat Papua.
Benny Wenda yang sedang beranda di Selandia Baru beberapa hari terakhir, mengatakan dukungan terhadap penentuan nasib sendiri Papua terus tumbuh dari berbagai kalangan. (Berbeda dengan data Delahunty, dia menyebut ada 11 anggota parlemen NZ yang menandatangani deklarasi).
Menurut dia, salah satu pemicu pertumbuhan itu adalah upaya Pacific Coalition for West Papua yang terdiri dari tujuh negara Pasifik, yang dipimpin oleh Perdana Menteri Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare.
Menurut Benny Wenda, inisiatif Sogavare telah membawa isu Papua hingga ke level PBB.
Koalisi negara-negara Pasifik itu terdiri dari Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Nauru, Palau dan Marshall Islands.
Tahun lalu, tujuh negara ini menyampaikan pernyataan di Sidang Majelis Umum PBB yang mendesak pemerintah RI membuka pintu bagi pelapor khusus PBB ke Papua terkait pelanggaran HAM yang terjadi di pulau paling timur RI itu.
Awal bulan ini, tujuh negara tersebut juga mengeluarkan pernyataan bersama di Brussels, dalam pertemuan tingkat menteri kelompok negara yang tergabung dalam African, Carribean and Pacific (ACP). Dalam pernyataan bersama itu mereka menyatakan keprihatinan atas pelanggaran HAM di Papua serta mendukung penentuan nasib sendiri.
“Jadi terjadi perubahan besar saat ini. Kami juga telah mendapat dukungan dari African Carribean and the Pacific (ACP). Telah terjadi pertumbuhan jumlah dan solidaritas di seluruh dunia,” kata Benny Wenda, dikutip dari radionz.co.nz.
Benny Wenda mengatakan dukungan anggota parlemen Selandia Baru “adalah obat terbaik bagi rakyat PApua. Itu yang membuat semangat mereka tetap hidup….”
Ia juga menegaskan bahwa rakyat Papua bersatu dibawah ULMWP.
Di kalangan elit Papua belakangan ini juga terjadi perkembangan baru. Bila selama ini pengakuan terhadap ULMWP tidak begitu jelas dinyatakan secara resmi, kini mulai terungkap secara terbuka.
Gubernur Papua, Lukas Enembe, Rabu pekan lalu seusai bertemu dengan Dubes HAM Belanda, dikutip oleh berbagai media berkata bahwa untuk menyelesaikan masalah Papua harusnya dilakukan seperti penyelesaian konflik Aceh.
Dia menjelaskan kasus di Papua mirip dengan Aceh karena ada kelompok United Liberation Movement for West Papua New (ULMWP) maupun Komite Nasional Papua Barat (KNPB) maupun TPN/OPM yang memperjuangkan kemerdekaan Papua.
“Konflik yang terjadi di Papua sama seperti Aceh, karena ada kelompok United Liberation Movement for West Papua New (ULMWP) maupun Komite Nasional Papua Barat (KNPB) maupun TPN/OPM yang memperjuangkan kemerdekaan Papua sehingga sering terjadi konflik dengan TNI/Polri,” ujar Enembe.
“Jika ingin menyelesaikan persoalan di Papua, maka perlu dilakukan seperti di Aceh. Di mana, hadirkan semua kelompok-kelompok yang berseberangan dengan pemerintah Indonesia seperti ULMWP maupun KNPB,” kata Lukas Enembe.
Komentar Enembe ini merupakan sebuah tahap baru, karena tahun lalu ketika media meminta komentar Enembe tentang ULMWP, dia berkilah bahwa dirinya tidak memikirkannya. Enembe yang saat itu berada di Istana Presiden di Jakarta, mengatakan tugasnya adalah meningkatkan kesejahteraan rakyat Papua sehingga tidak mau membuang waktu memikirkan soal-soal seperti ULMWP.
Dukungan terhadap dialog Jakarta dengan ULMWP juga dikatakan oleh kalangan parlemen Papua. Anggota Komisi I DPR Papua, komisi yang membidangi pemerintahan, politik, hukum, HAM dan hubungan luar negeri, Kusmanto, mengatakan pemerintah perlu berdialog dengan ULMWP, wadah yang selama ini gencar menyuarakan berbagai masalah Papua di kancah internasional.
Ketika membacakan laporan komisinya dalam sidang paripurna ke IV DPR Papua terhadap LKPJ Gubernur Papua tahun 2016, Selasa (09/05), Kusmanto mengatakan pemerintah harus duduk berunding dengan ULWMP.
“Persoalan HAM di Papua, bukan rahasia lagi. Sudah menjadi pembahasan di dunia internasional bahkan sampai ke PBB. Pemerintah pusat, pemerintah Provinsi Papua, harus duduk bersama mencari solusi,” kata Kusmanto, sebagaimana dikutip dari Tabloid Jubi.
Komisi I, menurut dia, mendukung komitmen atau pernyataan gubernur, meminta pemerintah berdialog dengan ULMWP.
Lagi – Lagi Kecelakaan Maut Tabrak Lari Terhadap Orang Asli Papua oleh Sebuah Mobil Truk di Merauke
Merauke; KNPBNews.
Tabrak Lari oleh orang Non-Papua terhadap OAP di Maroke
Tabrak Lari oleh orang Non-Papua terhadap OAP di Maroke
Tabrak Lari oleh orang Non-Papua terhadap OAP di Maroke
Merauke, Jumat, 12 Mei 2017. Kurang lebih Pukul/Jam: 13:30. Kembali terjadi kecelakaan maut tabrak lari dijalan trans irian menuju Sota: kilo meter 42.
Kecelakaan ini mengakibatkan dua orang menjadi korban:
1. Ulbanus Yolmen (35thn)
2. Agustinus Bole Samkakai (45Thn)
Kondisi korban :
1. Ulbanus Yolmen ( 35thn) kondisi kritis, namun masih hidup dan sedang dirawat di rumah sakit umum daerah Merauke.
2. Agustinus Bole Samkakai (45Thn) ; korban meninggal
Kronologis kejadian :
Kedua korban saat pulang dari kampung Yanggandur distrik Sota Kab. Merauke. Menggendarai motor RX King. Tiba tiba terdengar bunyi angin dan suara mobil yang melaju dari arah belakang degan kecepatan tinggi.
Seketika itu menabrak dan menyeret motor yang di gunakan oleh Ubaldus Yolmen 35thn, alamt Payum dan almarhum, Agustinus Bole Samkakai umur 45 thn, asal kampung Nasem Merauke.
Mobil truk menabarak dan meyeret pengendara motor Ubaldus Yolmen dan almarhum Agustinus Bole Samkakai berjarak 6 meter lebih.
Ciri – ciri mobil truk : bak papan warna Hijau Mudah, Kepala Mobil Warna Cat Kuning Mudah, bak ditutupi terpal warna Biru.
Sopir pengemudi mobil truk Melarikan diri menggunakan mobil. DS belum di ketahui.
Polisi Resort Merauke masih melakukan olah TKP dan penyelidikan kepada saksi utama Ubaldus Yolmen ( anggota Satpol PP Kab Merauke).
Jenaza sementara masih dirumah duka; Payum Merauke.
Luka tabrak korban : kepla bagian belakang pecah, telinga sobek, pelipis kiri pecah, kepala kiri sobek, bahu kiri terkelupas, lambung kiri dan pinggang terkelupas.
Semoga pelaku tabrak lari di temukan oleh pihak yang berwajib.
Foto korban meninggal (kamar jenasa RSUD Merauke) :
Suasana Sidang Paripurna ke IV DPR Papua Terhadap LKPJ Gubernur Papua Tahun 2016, Selasa (9/5/2017) – Jubi/Arjuna
Jayapura, Jubi – Komisi I DPR Papua, komisi yang membidangi pemerintahan, politik, hukum, HAM dan hubungan luar negeri menyatakan pemerintah perlu berdialog dengan United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), wadah yang selama ini gencar menyuarakan berbagai masalah Papua di kancah internasional.
Hal itu disampaikan anggota Komisi I DPR Papua, Kusmato ketika membacakan laporan komisinya dalam sidang paripurna ke IV DPR Papua terhadap LKPJ Gubernur Papua tahun 2016, Selasa (9/5/2017) di ruang sidang DPRP.
“Persoalan HAM di Papua, bukan rahasia lagi. Sudah menjadi pembahasan di dunia internasional bahkan sampai ke PBB. Pemerintah pusat, pemerintah Provinsi Papua, harus duduk bersama mencari solusi,” kata Kusmanto.
Komisi I mendukung komitmen atau pernyataan gubernur, meminta pemerintah berdialog dengan ULMWP.
Komisi I menilai, masih terjadinya pelanggaran HAM di Tanah Papua dan belum juga ada penyelesaian yang dapat dipertanggungjawabkan, mengakibatkan korban jiwa dan harta benda.
“Komisi I DPR Papua mendukung sepenuhnya Pemprov Papua atau Gubernur Papua untuk menyelesaikan pelanggaran HAM di Papua,” kata Kusmanto.
Sementara Emus Gwijangge, anggota Komisi I DPR Papua kepada Jubi usai laporan komisinya mengatakan, pihaknya merasa perlu mengangkat hal tersebut, sebagai salah satu upaya mendorong pihak terkait menyatukan persepsi menyelesaikan berbagai masalah di Papua.
“Kami ingin mengingatkan pemerintah pusat, khususnya jangan pernah alergi dengan ULMWP. Suka tidak suka, wadah ini memang ada. Melakukan diplomasi di dunia internasional. Bagaimana agar pemerintah bisa duduk bersama bersama dengan ULMWP,” kata Emus. (*)
Ada pepatah mengatakan “It is better late than never”, atau lebih baik lambat daripada tidak. Demikian dikatakan Lt. Gen. TRWP Amunggut Tabi menanggapi sekian kali sudah Presiden kolonial NKRI, Joko Widodo datang ke Tanah Papua, katanya, sebagai bukti keseriusannya membangun Tanah Papua.
Menanggapi itu, Amunggut Tabi dari Markas Pusat Pertahanan Tentara Revolusi West Papua (MPP TRWP) menyampaikan beberapa catatan. Pertama, “terimakasih karena bisa sadar juga saat ini, walaupun itu sudah terlambat”. Menurut Tabi, persoalan hubungan West Papua dengan NKRI sudah lama mengalami kehancuran, dan hubungan itu secara psikologis-nurani, orang Papua sudah tidak menerima NKRI dan orang Indonesia ada di tanah leluhur bangsa Papua, ras Melanesia.
Sudah berulang-ulang orang Papua, mulai dari orang-orang seperti Freddy Number, yang beberapa kali menjadi menteri dalam negara kolonial NKRI, Lukas Enembe, yang menjadi Gubernur Provinsi Papua saat ini, Abraham Atururi yang menjadi Gubernur NKRI Papua Barat hari ini, dan banyak pejabat kolonial asal Papua lain. Mereka dengan jelas dan degas mengatakan bahwa NKRI gagal meng-Indonesia-kan Papua.
Artinya orang Papua sampai hari ini, biar diberi jabatan menteri sampai tiga, seratus kali-pun, orang Papua akan tetap merasa non-Indonesia, dan tanah Papua masih akan dianggap sebagai tanah jajahan NKRI.
Hal kedua, menurut Tabi, apa yang dilakukan Joko Widodo bagus juga, karena NKRI memang harus membayar hutang nyawa orang Papua yang dia bunuh, hutang harga kekayaan yang dia sudah bawa keluar. Memang sangat sedikit yang dia bayar, tetapi paling tidak ada rasa bersalah di pihak Presiden NKRI sehingga berulang-ulang datang ke Tanah Papua untuk menutup rasa malu. Ini tanda-tanda manusia punya hatinurani. Tabi berharap Jokowi tidak kemudian menaruh harapan apa-apa kepada hati orang Papua supaya berbalik mendukung NKRI. Kata Tabi:
Saya harap Jokowi tetap sadar, jauh di lubuk hati terdalamnya, bahwa bangsa Papua, diberi apapun, diberi berapapun, dikunjungi tiap hari-pun, dibangun istana Presiden-pun, sampai kiamat, tetap akan minta merdeka. Akan hidup bertetangga dengan baik, sama dengan Timor Leste, kalau West Papua merdeka dan berdaulat di luar NKRI. Jokowi tahu, bahwa apa yang telah dilakukan NKRI selama ini salah besar. Oleh karena itu apa yang dia lakukan hanya untuk menutup malu, bukan untuk membuat orang Papua berubah pikiran untuk mendukung NKRI atau membatalkan perjuangan Papua Merdeka.
Ditanyakan tentang sisi lain dari pandangannya, bahwa justru semakin banyak jalan dibangun, maka semakin banyak proses militerisasi, dan semakin lama kekuatan perjuangan Papua Merdeka akan pudar, Tabi kembali menyatakan:
Itu cerita dari mana sebuah perjuangan untuk menentukan nasib sendiri pernah dihentikan karena kunjungan presiden kolonial, sejarah dari mana pembangunan dilakukan oleh sang penjajah akhirnya elit dan rakyat yang terjajah pernah membatalkan perjuangan kemerdekaan mereka? Jangan tularkan mimpi lewat mulut orang Papua.
The West Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda says international support for his people’s cause is steadily growing.
Mr Wenda is in New Zealand this week, raising awareness about the Indonesian-administered region of Papua, or West Papua, which he fled in 2003.
Last night in Wellington he addressed a group of MPs, after which eleven members signed a declaration by the International Parliamentarians for West Papua.
This international organisation of MPs is calling for an internationally supervised self-determination vote in West Papua.
Mr Wenda spoke to Johnny Blades and began by talking about a core issue of mistrust between Papuans and the Indonesian state.
BENNY WENDA: Distrust between Papuan and Indonesian… Jakarta always suspicious of every West papuan, whoever works in the government or ordinary people. So they’re suspicious and they’re always worried because Indonesia knows that their presence in West Papua is illegal. So they always worry. People who are working in Indonesia, in Jayapura or West Papua, they are always suspicious on them. So there is zero trust between Jakarta and Papuans, very much.
JOHNNY BLADES: This government under President Jokowi seems to have made more of an effort to listen to Papuans or to try and improve conditions on the ground, compared to previous Indonesian governments, would you agree with that?
BW: Yeah, the current president always constantly visits West Papua, almost two or three times a year. But the reality is, the governments are controlled by military. So the current president does not have power to change the situation in West Papua.
JB: There’s a lot happening in West Papua at the moment, isn’t there? The (outgoing) governor of Jakarta has been sentenced for blasphemy, and there are these radical elements who are sort of whipping up dissatisfaction with the Jokowi government. Tito Karnavian has warned that if that movement isn’t stopped, then there’ll be unrest in places like Papua. Would you agree with that?
BW: There’s a few elements that are trying to gain power, and there’s a politics angle in that, in what’s happening in Jakarta, because the military want to control. The current government is a civillian government, and so I think they want to go back where it was. So that’s why there’s a few elements like Wiranto and Prabowo trying to gain power and using these fundamentalists to manipulate them. That’s what’s happening in Indonesia. It’s something will change and unrest will happen.
JB: Do you ever hear from Indonesian government people trying to send you messages or anything?
BW: Until today they never say anything.
JB: But they are well aware of the work you’re doing. You are travelling around the world and lobbying, and things are starting to move a bit.
BW: Yeah, they’re working very hard trying to stop me, where ever I go. But this fight is not about who gains power, but this is about a humanitarian issue and this is human rights issue. That’s why I strongly believe that our right to self-determination still exists. This is something that I believe in. So Indonesia cannot stop me. My people and myself decide to free, so they cannot stop us. That’s why I’m confident.
JB: The Pacific Coalition on West Papua, which includes seven countries and of course a big civil society and church network, and the West Papuan Liberation Movement, has really internationalised the issue lately, including at the African, Caribbean and Pacific group summit this month.
BW: Yeah this is a big shift in the Pacific because Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are backing this issue, and we have formed the Pacific Coalition on West Papua, chaired by Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare. So the Manasseh Sogavare leadership is bringing a big impact on the West Papua issue. And the seven countries (of the coalition) I joined. It brings the West Papua case in United Nations level. So this is a big thing to change now. So we also got support from African, Caribbean and the Pacific. So this is a growing number and solidarity around the world.
JB: There’s a goal, isn’t there, to push Indonesia to have a legitimate self-determination process for the Papuans. Is that the ultimate goal?
BW: Yes that is the the ultimate goal. In fact today we signed the declaration. It’s part of the support for an internationally-supervised vote. And that Pacific Coalition and all that are part of the world, we are pushing that direction.
JB: Just now we’ve seen some New Zealand MPs sign up to it. MPs from other regions in the world have signed up to it. But can it make a difference when it comes to Jakarta?
BW: I think that at the moment, more people finding out, and parliamentarians around the world are solidarity with the people of West Papua. And here today we are signing the declaration, it’s cross-party. It’s not one particular party but Labour, Greens, National, they’re all signing the declaration. So this is, they show that around the world this fight is about a humanitarian issue. People believe in justice and freedom. That’s why these MPs are signing the declaration for West Papua internationally-supervised vote.
JB: There’s so many tribes in West Papua, could it function well as a nation on its own.
BW: Yeah I think we’ve been through many experiences in the last 50 years. We’ve learnt a lot, and we are travelling a lot. So Indonesia might say it’s a failed state. But we’ve are ready to take back our country because this is a last fight against colonialism, and we know that our neighbouring country in the Pacific they already got independence. And we also learn from them. We’re working together to rebuild a new country democratically.
JOHNNY BLADES: In Brussels the other day, this African, Caribbean and Pacific bloc heard from a Vanuatu government MP who was representing this Pacific coalition of seven countries which also is a network of NGO, civil society and church groups as well, who are saying that the world community has to act now on human rights abuses in Papua, but specifically to push Indonesia to have a legitimate self-determination process for the West Papuans, because questions about the legitimacy of the self-determination process by which Papua was incorporated into Indonesia back in the 1960s, questions over that are really gaining momentum at the moment. This follows on from the Coalition’s two recent representations at the UN level on Papua: that is, last September at the UN General Assembly, and then in March at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
BEN ROBINSON-DRAWBRIDGE: So how did the other countries in this group react to this call from their Pacific members?
JB: The Caribbean and African countries were signalling strong support for this, to have a resolution urging a proper self-determination process for the Papuans. But the Papua New Guinea ambassador at the meeting in Brussels spoke out against it. He actually said that the group shouldn;t push too hard at this. He suggested that a fact-finding mission to Papua is necessary for the African, Caribbean and Pacific group to conduct first in order to get a clearer picture of the situation. Remember PNG of course is right next door to West Papua and its proximity to this huge Asian country is a point of great sensitivity.
BRD: Have other Pacific groups like the Melanesian Spearhead Group or even the Pacific Forum, have they made similar representations on West Papua?
JB: They have attempted to, really. This issue has been brought up at both of those bodies many years ago, and particularly for the Melanesian Spearhead Group it was a huge issue because Melanesians in these countries feel strongly about West Papuan self-determination. It’s just that their leadership have not been able to find a unified position on it. And for instance since Indonesia has come in to the MSG as an observer and now an associate member, this issue has not advanced. So they haven’t been able to take it up at UN or ACP levels. And it’s much the same with the Forum: there’s not a unified stance on it. So the group of seven Pacific countries here who took up the issue in Brussels have really just thought ‘we’ll go ahead and do what we have to on our own’ because the Forum and the MSG, they seem to be saying, have failed on the West Papua issue.
BRD: Do any of the other countries in this (ACP) group, do they have significant political clout to be able to make a difference on this issue?
JB: They aren’t powerhouses on the world stage, most of these countries. But I think if there was to be this bloc of 79 countries suddenly taking it up at the UN General Assembly, that is significant in itself, and it would really add to the international pressure on Jakarta to maybe look for a new kind of solution to this simmering discontent in Papua.
