JAKARTA: Australian academics have sent a letter to Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr about the recent fatal shooting in Sorong, Papua.
The
letter said that the shooting of Papuans marking the 50th anniversary
of the transition of power from the UN to Indonesia in Papua by
Indonesian security forces highlighted continuing conflict in the
region.
“It
is our responsibility to protect civilians, particularly in our region,
against any state brutality. West Papua is not far away from us. They
are literally at our doorstep,” the group said in the letter made
available to The Jakarta Post on Monday.
The group urged Carr to ask that the Indonesian authorities hold accountable those involved in the attack.
“We
appeal you to publicly support President [Susilo Bambang] Yudhoyono’s
willingness for peace dialogue with Papuans as a way to find a peaceful
solution for West Papua in the long term,” the letter said.
The
letter’s signatories include Camellia Webb-Gannon, a visiting scholar
at Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney;
Francesca Merlan, a professor from Australian National University’s
(ANU) School of Archaeology and Anthropology; Rebecca Monson, a lecturer
at College of Law, ANU; Budi Hernawan, a postdoctoral research fellow
at ANU’s Regulatory Institutions Network; and Peter King, a professor at
the West Papua Project of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies,
University of Sydney.