Pacific concern relayed at UN over West Papua abuses

Vanuatu has addressed a high level United Nations meeting over Pacific regional concerns about human rights abuses in Indonesia’s Papua region, or West Papua.

The 34th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, was told that Indonesia has not curtailed or halted various widespread violations.

Vanuatu's Justice Mnister Ronald Warsal addresses the 34th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council regarding the human rights situation in West Papua. — Vanuatu’s Justice Mnister Ronald Warsal addresses the 34th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council regarding the human rights situation in West Papua. Photo: webtv.un.org

Vanuatu’s Justice Minister Ronald Warsal was speaking on behalf of his country and six other Pacific nations: Tonga, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, and Solomon Islands

“We note that in the past 15 years, the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights has collected evidence of gross human rights violations by Indonesian security forces in three principle areas of West Papua: Wasior, Wamena and Paniai.”

Mr Warsal said the Commission described the sets of cases in the first two places as crimes against humanity, which are punishable under Indonesian and international laws.

He referenced reports of extrajudicial executions of activists and the arrests, beatings and fatal shootings of peaceful demonstrators, including high school students; as well as persistent violence against Papuan women.

West Papuan human rights activist Rode Wanimbo address the 7th Pacific Women's Network Against Violence Against Women, while Bernadetha Mahuse looks on. — West Papuan human rights activist Rode Wanimbo address the 7th Pacific Women’s Network Against Violence Against Women in 2016 Photo: Pacific Women’s Network Against Violence Against Women

The Vanuatu minister said Indonesia’s government had not been able to deliver justice for the victims.

“Nor has there been any noticeable action to address these violations by the Indonesian government, which has, of course, immediate responsibility and primary accountability,” he said.

He also mentioned the marginalisation of West Papuans in the face of steady migration to the region by people from other parts of Indonesia.

“We want further to highlight another broad aspect of human rights violations – the Indonesian government policy over many decades and continuing until today of the migration of non-indigenous Papuans to West Papua, leading to a dramatic decline in the percentage of the indigenous Papuan population.”

Denial by Indonesia

Indonesia’s delegation to the UN mission in Geneva has issued a reply, saying it categorically rejects the allegations voiced by Vanuatu’s Justice Minister.

It said Mr Warsal’s address does not reflect the real situation on the ground, accusing Vanuatu of “using human rights issues to justify its dubious support for the separatist movement in Papua”.

We believe that challenges of West Papua must be brought back to the agenda of the United Nations Ronald Warsal

In a statement, Indonesia said its record on the promotion and protection of human rights spoke for itself.

“This includes our co-operation with various UN Special Procedures and Mandate Holders, as well as various collaborative endeavours at bilateral, regional and multilateral level including within the Human Rights Council in strengthening human rights mechanisms as well as in the promotion and protection of various basic human rights.”

“As a matter of fact, this year Indonesia will welcome the visits of two Special Rapporteurs, and present our third UPR report this coming May.”

Earlier, Mr Warsal referred to a series of recent pronouncements by mandate holders of the UN Council about serious Indonesian violations of the human rights of indigenous Papuans.

West Papuan demonstrators tightly monitored by Indonesian police. Photo: Whens Tebay

These included representations by UN Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; the rights of indigenous peoples; the Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; and the Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Indonesia’s government, however, said it had always endeavoured to address any allegation of human rights violation as well as taking preventative measure and delivering justice.

‘Domestic’ issues

The Indonesian government again sent a message to Vanuatu that it should stay out of what it regards as its own domestic matters.

Jakarta said that Vanuatu’s government should not divert its focus from addressing its various domestic human rights problem by politicising the issue of Papua for its domestic political purposes.

“In this regard, the Indonesian Government is prepared to work and co-operate with the Government of Vanuatu in their efforts to address various human rights violation and abuses against the people of Vanuatu” said the statement.

These abuses, according to Indonesia, included “violence against women, corporal punishment against minors, appalling prison condition, including torture of prisoners, and other challenges”.

Indonesian presidential candidate Joko Widodo campaigning in Jayapura. — Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo (check shirt) has made regular visits to Papua region where his government has been spearheading a major economic development drive. Photo: AFP

However, the seven Pacific nations have called on the UN Human Rights Council to request the High Commissioner for Human Rights to produce a consolidated report on “the actual situation in West Papua”.

Among other provisions, Mr Warsal said the report should also detail the various rights under the International Bill of Human Rights and the related conventions, including the right to self-determination.

“We believe that challenges of West Papua must be brought back to the agenda of the United Nations,” said the Vanuatu minister on behalf of the Pacific countries.

March 11, 2017 0

PIANGO: “Indonesia tak bisa lagi pura-pura polos di Panggung PBB”

Nabire, Jubi – Asosiasi NGO Kepulauan Pasifik menuding respon Indonesia terhadap pidato Vanuatu di Sidang Dewan HAM PBB (UNHRC) ke-34 sebagai upaya pengalihan perhatian komunitas internasional terhadap pelanggaran HAM yang terus terjadi di West Papua.

Emele Duituturaga, direktur eksekutif PIANGO sampai pada kesimpulan itu setelah Indonesia menuding Vanuatu “memolitisasi isu West Papua untuk tujuan politik domestiknya” dalam respon hak jawabnya di UNHRC di Jenewa (1/3).

“Reaksi Indonesia ini sangat kekanak-kanakan, dan sebetulnya hanya menelanjangi ketiadaan kemanuannya untuk menghormati dan menegakkan nilai-nilai yang menjadi milik komunitas internasional bangsa-bangsa , yaitu PBB,” ujar Duituturaga seperti dikutip Pacific Islands News Association, Minggu (5/3/2017).

Respon Indonesia, menurut dia adalah ciri khas politik ‘pecah belah dan menangkan’ dengan menjatuhkan Vanuatu namun kemudian menawarkan bantuan untuk isu-isu dugaan pelanggaran HAM-nya, “Itu sebetulnya (kepanikan) untuk merespon permintaan Koalisi Pasifik memperlakukan anggota keluarga Pasifik, yakni West Papua, dengan hormat dan bermartabat,” kata dia.

Menurut Duituturaga, Koalisi Kepulauan Pasifik untuk West Papua (PICWP) tidak akan meminta PBB mengirimkan Pelapor Khususnya ke West Papua jika mereka tidak memegang banyak bukti atas apa yang dialami rakyat West Papua.

Berdasarkan laporan HAM terkait West Papua, jumlah korban dan kasus-kasus pembunuhan diluar peradilan dan penyiksaan tidak berkurang signifikan dari 2012 sampai 2016.

“Penahanan politis meningkat tiga tahun terakhir, dan semua korban penyiksaan dan pembunuhan dari data mitra kami adalah orang asli Papua. Sementara orang asli Papua hanya sekitar 40% dari penduduk Papua namun mereka lah 100% dari korban. Ini jelas wujud elemen kekerasan rasial oleh praktik aparat keamanan.”

Sejak tahun 2007 Indonesia juga tidak mengijinkan prosedur khusus apapun mengunjungi West Papua, dan wilayah itu, lajut Duitutraga sebagian besar tetap tertutup bagi para pengamat HAM internasional. “Jurnalis asing pun tidak bisa dengan bebas melakukan liputan karena ditemani intel, sehingga sulit membuat laporan independen,” tudingnya.

“Ketika bukti-bukti sudah sangat banyak tunjukkan ribuan orang West Papua yang merupakan penduduk Kepulauan Pasifik kehilangan nyawanya, dan mereka berjuang memberikan pandangan alternatif untuk mengelola sumber daya mereka sendiri hingga memotivasi negeri Pasifik membangun koalisi, maka sekarang Indonesia harus menyadari tak bisa lagi pura-pura polos di panggung PBB,”

ungkap Duituturaga.

Sementara itu, terpisah pada Jum’at lalu, Juru Bicara Kementerian Luar Negeri RI Arrmanatha Nasir, seperti dilansir CNN Indonesia mengklaim bahwa PBB tidak akan menyelidiki isu pelanggaran HAM tersebut, karena menurut dia pernyataan Vanuatu hanya sebatas kekhawatiran politis dan bukan berdasarkan penyelidikan.

“Kalau [pelanggaran HAM] itu ada, pasti akan menjadi sorotan dari publik dan mekanisme yang berlaku di Indonesia,” kata Arrmanatha di Gedung Kemlu RI.

Menurut Nasir, pernyataan Vanuatu itu bukan pernyataan berdasar investigasi, melainkan hanya bersifat politis sehingga tidak bisa langsung ditindaklanjuti.(*)

Reporter :Zely Ariane

zely.ariane@tabloidjubi.com

March 8, 2017 1

What they don’t talk about when they talk about Papua

‘Being a young, female Indonesian myself, I expected myself to celebrate Nara Masista Rakhmatia’s UN General Assembly speech. Instead, I was gravely disappointed.’

Several weeks ago, a young, female diplomat named Nara Masista Rakhmatia made a speech that dazzled the Indonesian public. In a video that went viral, she denied accusations from 7 Pacific country leaders about human rights abuse in Indonesia’s Papua province at the 71st Session of United Nations General Assembly in New York last September.

She further shamed their attempt to interfere with Indonesia’s sovereignty. The video gathered over 188 thousand views on Facebook, along with hundreds of comments from Indonesian citizens expressing how proud they are of Nara’s intelligence and bravery to ‘teach those foreign country leaders about how to respect Indonesia’—especially given her young age.

In their remarks, delegations from Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Tonga criticized Indonesia’s human rights records in Papua. Nara in particular argued that these sentiments were largely misplaced, given that the main agenda of the Assembly was Sustainable Development Goals and a global response to climate change.

Furthermore, she claimed, these countries needed to self-reflect upon their own domestic issues before pointing their fingers to how Indonesia handles the province’s push for self-determination.

Being a young, female Indonesian myself, I expected myself to celebrate her speech. I should have been inspired and impressed by how sharp she was. Instead, as someone who studied International Relations and currently a Public Policy student, I was gravely disappointed.

Disappointed

First of all, Nara based her entire rebuttal on the obsolete definition of the sovereignty principle. While sovereignty is a crucial foundation to the United Nations, since 2005, the international community has extended its definition under the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ commitment, which stipulates that absolute sovereignty does not hold when a government fails to protect its people.

PROTEST. An arrested Papuan pro-independence demonstrator gestures from a police truck in Jakarta on December 1, 2015, after police fired tear gas at a hundreds-strong crowd hurling rocks during a protest against Indonesian rule over the eastern region of Papua. File photo by AFP

Although the concept was developed specifically as a framework for humanitarian interventions to prevent atrocity crimes and this situation has arguably not brought us that far, this core principle stands.

In other words, should these allegations stand, it is justifiable for the international community to express their concerns about the possibility of ongoing crimes against humanity.

Therefore, it is more urgent to argue about whether Indonesia has indeed violated human rights in Papua.

The speech failed to address, for example, the progress of President Joko Widodo’s promise to investigate the killing of 4 Papuan high-school students in 2014. No reports have been made available to the public around this and other pressing matters such as killings in Wasior in 2001 and Wamena in 2003. A recent op-ed contended that these were not ordinary crimes but crimes against humanity.

Nara also did not talk about the 4,587 individuals who were arrested by the police for expressing their political views in regards with the Papua issue in 13 cities, as documented by the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute.

On top of that, she spent a lot of air time explaining how Indonesia has been a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council for significantly longer periods compared to these 6 countries. She leveraged that membership status as a validation to the country’s ‘human rights commitment’.

This is a logical fallacy. In reality, Jakarta continues to maintain restrictions for human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and International Committee of the Red Cross from entering Papua. Becoming a member of a certain council hardly proved these allegations wrong. If anything, it should become an additional reason as to why the country needs to feel embarrassed about the hypocrisy at home.

Wrong focus

Some of my friends asked me to give Nara a break. After all, she was only representing her country. If anything, such response is far from surprising and rather predictable. Throwing in phrases like ‘territorial integrity’ and ‘sovereignty’ sounds like something that any other country would do in responding to such accusations at an international stage.

PROTEST HALTED. Papuan pro-independence activists, some in traditional tribal garb, march during a rally in Jayapura. AFP PHOTO

However, the issue goes beyond this. Even if we look past the messenger, the problem in Papua still exists, and the fact that the government of Indonesian preferred not to deal with it should alert us.

Thus what added to my disappointment was how mainstream media in Indonesia covered the issue. Instead of playing its role as the ‘fourth pillar’ that criticizes the government, many news outlets practically made her a heroine by echoing the flattering Facebook comments and further highlightsing how she looks.

It seems like nationalist sentiments—fueled by an ‘external threat’ from these Pacific countries’—distracted them from addressing the elephant in the room. Except for The Jakarta Post, most news seemed to avoid highlighting these allegations and instead talked about how beautiful and brave Nara was. In effect, social media discussions regarding this event rotated primarily around unproductive debates about her physical qualities.

Although concerns regarding Papua were expressed by only 7 small Pacific countries now, how will Indonesia—represented by Nara or anyone else—respond in the future, should they come from other geopolitically more powerful countries?

President Joko Widodo’s administration must know by now that something has to be done in Papua, and it should be done immediately.

Surely, we could not just continue deflecting every question with a ‘sovereignty’ card. – Rappler.com

Andhyta Firselly Utami graduated from International Relations program at Universitas Indonesia, and is currently a Master of Public Policy candidate at Harvard Kennedy School.