- International Women’s Day accompanied by repressive acts against Papuans – Malang police chief accused of racism
- Indonesia offers Elon Musk Papuan Island Biak for SpaceX launchpad causing rage among its residents
- Police investigates 13 palm oil investors in Papua Barat Province
- Jakarta deploys new troops to West Papua whilst turning a blind eye on IDPs
- Indius Sambom sentenced to 20 months imprisonment – Lawyers say verdict not based on facts
- Two Papuan students arrested and detained in Jakarta
- Bloodshed in Intan Jaya continues - Military members kill high school student
- Military members shoot dead disabled Papuan in Intan Jaya
- KNPB activist Kristian Yandum dies during police detention
- Papuan couple arbitrarily arrested, beaten and detained – both victims demand strict sanctions against police and public prosecutor
- Protests against formation of Papua Tengah Province continue – Thousands of people in Dogiyai go to the streets
- Deforestation cause floods in the Keerom Regency
- Government plans to establish Papua Tengah Province - Military members create manipulated video to promote administrative partition
- IDPs from Mimika face challenges after return to their villages
- Police violence in Jayapura - Internal police investigation body accused of negligence
Media outlets have reported repressive acts against protesters in multiple cities across Indonesia during the International Women’s Day commemoration on 8 March 2021. In the Javanese city of Malang, police officers arrested 17 protesters, among them Papuan students, after protesters had allegedly damaged a police car. The Malang Police Chief gave the order to shoot down Papuan students who had come to the police station to demand protesters' release. In Makassar, two protesters were reportedly arrested after being accused of promoting Papua-related political issues. The police dispersed a peaceful commemoration in the Papuan city of Jayapura. Nine protesters were arrested. The police in Malang and Jayapura argued that the protests were violating COVID-19 health protocols.
In December 2020, the Indonesian government offered SpaceX CEO Elon Musk a rocket launch site on Biak in Papua Province. But Papuans on Biak are fiercely opposed, arguing a space launchpad will drive deforestation, increase Indonesian military presence, and threaten their future on the island, The Guardian reported. Residents of Biak Island in Papua are worried that a new SpaceX launchpad on their land will cost them their traditional hunting grounds, damaging the nature their way of life depends on. A tribal chief on the island, Manfun Sroyer, said he feared Papuans would be forced from their homes. But, if they protest, they will be arrested immediately. This isn't the only rocket launch site that may be built on Biak. Russia's aerospace agency, Roscosmos, wants to develop a launchpad on the island by 2024. "In 2002, Russians wanted our land for satellite launches. We protested, and many were arrested and interrogated ... now they've brought it back, and this harassment and intimidation is still going on," Sroyer told The Guardian.
The Papua Barat Regional police has launched investigations against 13 palm oil investors holding plantation licenses in the Papua Barat Province. The companies had arranged licenses (HGU, Hak Guna Usaha) to establish oil palm plantations in the province but never launched their field operations. The investigations follow-up on a previous evaluation by the local government and the Commission for Eradication of Corruption (KPK). The assessment also revealed that more than 2,224 hectares of land were outside the concession areas.
Jakarta holds on to its approach resolving the political conflict through deployment of additional security forces to West Papua, unwilling to enter into negotiations with Papuan independence groups. According to media sources, an Indonesian battleship brought 1,350 new military personnel to Jayapura on 9 March (see right photo). The non-organic troops will be deployed to armed conflict hotspots, such as the regencies Intan Jaya, Nduga, Puncak and Mimika. Human rights observers say that the non-organic troops do not understand Papuan indigenous culture and are a main driver of violence against civilians in West Papua. The Papuan Parliament's vice-chairperson (DPRP), Yunus Wonda, expressed concern over the growing number of non-organic troops in the Papua Province.
Indius Sambom sentenced to 20 months imprisonment – Lawyers say verdict not based on facts
Judges at the North Jakarta District Court have sentenced the Papuan defendant Indius Sambom to 20 months imprisonment for violating Article 1 of Emergency Law No 12/1951 on the illegal possession of firearms and explosives on 10 March 2021. They argued that Ivan Sambom allowed members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-PB) to stay overnight inside his house. Previously, the public prosecutor had sought a sentence of three years for Sambom. According to Indius Sambom’s lawyer, facts at court showed that the police had neither found TPN PB members nor ammunition inside Sambom’s house during the arrest.
In the early morning hours of 3 March 2021, police officers entered the Papuan student dormitory in Jakarta and arrested Roland Levy, a member of the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) Central Committee and Kelvin Molama, the Secretary of the AMP Committee in Jakarta (see photo, source: Facebook). Both are currently detained at the Jakarta Police headquarters. The police investigates against both activists for involvement in alleged violence against people and property and theft using force, as regulated in Articles 170 and Article 365 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP). Human rights observers are concerned that the police try to criminalise the students for their engagement in peaceful political and human rights activities.Bloodshed in Intan Jaya continues - Military members kill high school student
Military members have again killed a young Papuan in Intan Jaya Regency. According to media information, members of the Raider 715/MTL Infantry Battalion shot dead 17-year-old Melianus Nayagau in the village of Puyagia, Sugapa District, on 6 March 2020. The body was brought to Bilogai Town on 7 March 2021. Shortly after the incident, an unknown number of indigenous families in Puyagia reportedly fled their homes and sought shelter in the surrounding forests shortly after the raid. Three internally displaced persons (IDPs) reportedly sustained injuries because they fell during the escape.Military members shoot dead disabled Papuan in Intan Jaya
Kristian Yandum, one of 13ÂÂÂÂ members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) who had been arrestedÂÂÂÂ in December 2020, has passed away at the Bunda Pengharapan Hospital in Merauke on 27 February 2021. The news about his death came only three weeks after his lawyers had expressed concerns regarding police officers’ negligent behaviour. They didn’t process Kristian Yandum’s request for medical attention during detention at the Merauke District Police Headquarters for almost one month. The ICP has not yet received any verified information about the cause of death.
A panel of judges acquitted Agustinus Bebe and Adolfina Sarce Nari on 22 February 2021. The verdict set an end to 148 days of arbitrary detention. The couple was unlawfully arrested due to extortion allegations on 17 July 2020 after they had requested the payment of outstanding debts. The Papuan Association of Human Rights Lawyers (PAHAM Papua) explained that the police officers had violated multiple criminal procedure provisions the law enforcement operation. The officers failed to show a warrant during the arrest. They tortured Agustinus Bebe and his wife during detention at the Papua Regional Police (Polda Papua Headquarters), forcing them to sign a confession letter.Protests against formation of Papua Tengah Province continue – Thousands of people in Dogiyai go to the streets
Thousands of people from 11 districts in the Dogiyai Regency have peacefully protested against establishing a new Province in West Papua on 22 February 2021. The protesters also rejected building a district police headquarter (Polres Dogiyai) in Dogiyai. The formation of the new 'Papua Tengah Province' is championed by a handful of people under the Meepago Regent Association's lead, while the majority of West Papuans is against the administrative partition. The regents from Nabire, Dogiyai, Deiyai, Paniai, Intan Jaya, Mimika and Puncak support the administrative partition as it opens up a wide range of opportunities for a small political elite in West Papua.
Floods once again struck the Papuan Regency of Keerom in early February 2021 after heavy rainfalls had lasted for more than a day. The water level reached up to 1.5 meters and caused damages to 1,155 houses and 4,500 hectares of agricultural land. About 4,400 residents, mainly from Arso and Arso Barat's districts, were reportedly displaced and sought temporary shelter in public facilities. The Arso area used to be a natural water reservoir but was closed with buildings and settlements over the past decades. The water originated from the three rivers Tami, Bewani and Skamto, which flow through the Keerom Regency.
The Indonesian government is planning to establish a new province in West Papua. The plan has triggered rejection among many civil society groups and the Papuan Peoples’ Assembly (MRP). Many Papuans argue that the formation of the new province only serves the interests of a small political elite and ignores the aspirations of the majority of the Papuan people who do not support the administrative partition. In January 2021, people in Biak, Jayapura, Sorong and other cities across West Papua protested peacefully against the government’s plan to push through amendments to the Law No 21/2001 on the Special Autonomy for the Province of Papua (UU Otsus Papua) to path the way for the establishment of a new ‘Papua Tengah Province’. Article 76 of the law stipulates that the MRP and the provincial parliament (DPRP) must approve new autonomy areas.
IDPs from Mimika face challenges after return to their villages
In late January 2021, the first internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the villages Waa, Arwanop, Opitawak and Banti in the Mimika Regency returned to the Tembagapura District after spending almost eleven months in the town of Timika. Human rights observers have expressed concern over the current situation of the IDPs. According to information received, the IDPs cannot access health services and continue to be prevented from returning to their villages. Currently, the IDPs have been accommodated inside the primary school in Banti II Village. Health facilities and schools have been abandoned. Many houses and the electricity supply have been damaged. Human rights activists criticized security force members for restricting the IDPs from walking to the nearby town of Tembagapura, where they can buy food and access medical services. Some of the IDPs reportedly launched a peaceful protest, demanding freedom of movement and access to health facilities.Police violence in Jayapura - Internal police investigation body accused of negligence
New allegations have been raised regarding a case of torture by members of the Papua Regional Police (Polda Papua). As the victim’s relatives wanted to file a complaint against the perpetrator, the internal police investigation body (Propam) reportedly refused to process the complaint. According to the Papuan media outlet ‘Suara Papua’, a twenty-six-years-old Papuan man with the initials RW (victim wants to stay anonymous) was beaten up by three police officer at the Polda Papua headquarters in Jayapura on 14 January 2021. RW had fallen asleep inside a public transport vehicle. The police officers accused him of being drunk. RW explained that he fell asleep inside the car because he had been fishing in the early morning.About the ICP
Human Rights and Peace for Papua is an international coalition of faith-based and civil society organisations (the Coalition) addressing the serious human rights condition in West Papua and supporting a peaceful solution to the conflict there. West Papua (Papua) refers to the western half of the New Guinea island in the Pacific and comprises the eastern most provinces of Indonesia. Indigenous Papuans are suffering from a long and ongoing history of human rights violations and security forces subject them to violence including killings, torture and arbitrary arrests. Impunity prevails. A lack of adequate access to health care and education as well as demographical and economical marginalisation and discrimination mark the living condition for Papuans. A heavy presence of Indonesian security forces, lack of access for international observers such as journalists, corruption and transmigration from other parts of Indonesia aggravate the situation. Political prisoners and the persecution of political activists shows the extent of repression with which freedom of expression and indigenous peoples’ rights are being violated. Papua’s wealth in natural resources attracts businesses and security forces resulting in exploitation through mining, logging, harmful agricultural projects, and environmental degradation. This dynamic challenges traditional indigenous culture while Papuans demand their right to self-determination.
visit our website at www.humanrightspapua.org