- Human Rights Update West Papua - 1st Quarter 2021
- West Papua Council of Churches asks the MSG to accept ULMWP's membership
- Greenpeace publishes revealing report on deforestation in West Papua
- Soldiers torture Papuan man in Tambrauw Regency - Residents demand the withdrawal of military
- Resistance fighters execute two teachers and a pupil in Puncak Regency
- West Papua Council of Churches: President Widodo should meet the Papua pro-referendum group
- Security force members shoot dead Papuan gold panner in Mimika Regency
- Amnesty International publishes new report – Human rights situation in West Papua shows no improvement
- Students launch peaceful protest against Freeport mine in Jayapura – Police disperse the crowd and arrest three protesters
- 12 KNPB Activists in Merauke provisionally released from police detention
- Temianus Wandikbo sentenced to 16 months for alleged involvement in Freeport shooting
- Further case of enforced disappearance causes ethnic tensions in Nduga
- The situation of IDPs from Nduga and Intan Jaya – Activists confirm further fatalities
- Police impede public human rights event in Jayapura
- Man shot down as police disperse a crowd in Timika – Relatives demand compensation
- Police carry out nine political arrests in Timika and Jayapura
- Jokowi takes palm oil waste off toxic waste list
Human Rights Update West Papua - 1st Quarter 2021
Of the eight reported cases of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances between January and March, seven were related to the central highlands' armed conflict. There was no investigation into any of the killings because the military claimed the victims were associated with the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN PB). The intensity of the conflict is likely to aggravate as Jakarta continues deploying additional non-organic troops to West Papua. At least 1,800 additional military personnel and 100 special police force members were transferred to West Papua in the first quarter of 2021 to fight against the TPN PB, maintain public order and secure government and military interests. The Indonesian Government continues to seek a violent solution to the conflict. In March 2021, the Government announced its plan to add the TPN PB to the terrorist organisations' list. This measure would make peaceful talks between the conflict parties even more improbable. The deployment of non-organic security forces and ongoing armed clashes go to the detriment of the indigenous peoples in conflict areas. The violence in the Intan Jaya Regency resulted in further displacements of at least 3,600 indigenous Papuans.
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Greenpeace International has released a report titled "License to Clear: The Dark Side of Permitting in West Papua" on 6 April 2021 revealing allegations of systematic violations on plantation and forest release permits in Papua. It urgently calls on the Indonesian government in Jakarta and the provincial governments to protect the area designated for palm oil plantations in Papua from further deforestation. "Since 2000, the land released from the forest estate for plantations in Papua Province alone has totalled nearly a million hectares (951,771 ha) – an area more than one and a half times the size of the island of Bali". Greenpeace reported that most of this land currently still forested, so the government must reverse the move by permanently protecting the uncleared forest areas and recognising customary land rights. After climbing to a peak in 2015 and 2016, the rate of deforestation has been falling in Papua Province for the last three years, mainly due to a decrease in forest clearance for plantations. The report attempts to address the critical questions of the extent to which government policies have contributed to this downward trend in deforestation and whether it will continue.
Soldiers torture Papuan man in Tambrauw Regency - Residents demand the withdrawal of military
Two members of the Pamrahwan Yonif RK 763 military post have beaten a Papuan man in the village of Wayo, Tambrauw Regency, on 9 April 2021. According to the media outlet Suara Papua, Moses Yewen (48 years) wanted to buy food in a small restaurant in Wayo. A dispute arose after the two soldiers asked Moses Yewen (see photo, source: Suara Papua) what he wanted to do inside the restaurant. After a short argument, the two military members dragged Moses Yewen inside the nearby military post and repeatedly punched him to the body. Moses Yewen sustained bruises on his torso, as well as injuries on the feet and hands. On the following day, residents gathered in front of the Pamrahwan Yonif RK 763 military post and demanded that the military post be closed.
In the context of Easter, remembering the passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the West Papuan Council of Churches has released a new letter on 2 April 2021. Through this latest open letter, the West Papuan Council of Churches (WPCC) keeps calling for a visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to West Papua and for President Widodo to follow up on his promise to meet the Papua pro-referendum group. Additionally, it calls for Papuans to pray and fast for the healing of the land and people of Papua and the unity of all cultural leaders, church leaders, government leaders, NGO leaders, women leaders and youth leaders. The Council also thanks the cultural leaders, church leaders, the media, government leaders, communities and academics in the Pacific region, and all parties involved in international solidarity for the People of Papua from Africa, Australia, Europe, America and the Indonesian Civil Society who have demonstrated true solidarity in the long journey of the suffering of Gods People on the Land of Papua.
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Members of the Nemangkawi joint security task force reportedly killed a Papuan civilian inside PT Freeport Indonesia's mining area in the Mimika Regency.. The incident occurred on 21 March 2021, around 9.20 pm in the area around Mile 50. Demianus Newegalen (see photo, source: JPIC Kingmi Papua) was in the forest hunting for cuscus, an animal that indigenous Papuans only hunt at night when the eyes reflect the light. A bullet hit Demianus Newegalen in the left side of the lower back as he was tracing down a cuscus using a flashlight. Relatives found his body in the early morning hours of 22 March 2021. In the late afternoon, the body was brought to the Caritas hospital in Timika for a post-mortem examination. Representatives of the Papuan Regional Police (Polda Papua) claimed that Demianus Newegalen was associated with the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN PB) and had allegedly attacked security force members with bow and arrow. After the incident, the Papuan police chief, Mathius Fakhiri, urged all residents to stop activities in the area between Mile 48 and Mile 50 because security force members had launched an operation to arrest a high-ranking TPN PB commander.
On 7 April 2021, Amnesty International published its new report 2020/2021. The report contains information on the human rights situation in 149 countries in 2020. The section on Indonesia contains a sub-section focusing on the pattern of human rights violations in West Papua. According to Amnesty International, at least 47 cases of suspected unlawful killings by security forces were recorded between February 2018 and August 2020, resulting in 96 fatalities. The cases were almost equally committed by members of the police, the military and joined security forces. The director of Amnesty International Indonesia (AII), Usman Hamid, commented that the figures illustrate the Government’s lack of commitment for the enforcement and protection of human rights. AII documented 19 cases and 30 victims of extra-judicial killings in West Papua throughout 2020. The occurrence of four unlawful killing cases with six victims between January and March 2021 indicate that such violations are likely to continue throughout 2021.
Students launch peaceful protest against Freeport mine in Jayapura – Police disperse the crowd and arrest three protesters
On 7 April 2021, Cenderawasih University students in Jayapura launched a peaceful demonstration (see photo, source: Jubi) against the giant gold and copper mine owned by PT Freeport Indonesia (PT FI) subsidiary of transnational mining company Freeport McMoRan. The protesters demanded the government ban PT FI from operating in West Papua, as the company's presence has been a driver of armed violence, land rights abuses, and environmental destruction for more than five decades.
The Merauke police provisionally released 12 activists of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) on 2 April 2021 (see photo, source: KNPB Merauke). According to multiple media sources, the local police claimed that the suspects were released to celebrate Easter with their families. Lawyers argued that the statement was just a pretext to distract the public from the remaining period of detention, which will expire on 12 April 2021 if the police do not come up with sufficient evidence for further processing of the case. They also demanded the police to issue a letter confirming that the police will not continue the criminal investigation (Bhs Indonesia: Surat Penetapan Penghentian Penyidikan or SP3) in the case once the detention period has expired.
On 30 March 2021, a panel of judges at the Timika District Court sentenced Temianus Wandikbo (see photo, source: Jubi) to 16 months imprisonment for his alleged involvement in the killing of a foreign employee as regulated under Article 338 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP) in conjunction with Article 56 (1) KUHP. Members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN PB) attacked the office of mining company PT Freeport Indonesia in Kuala Kencana on 30 March 2020, killed one employee and injured two others with firearms during the incident. Temianus Wandikbo claims that the TPN PB members forced him to carry a bag with unknown content up the hill to a location near the crime site before he was allowed to return to his village. All witnesses testified at court that they did not see him during the shooting at the Freeport office.Further case of enforced disappearance causes ethnic tensions in Nduga
Human rights defenders have revealed a further case of enforced disappearance in the Nduga Regency, where the armed conflict between the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN PB) and Indonesian security forces has been ongoing since December 2018. According to information received, Yermias Nagen was arrested by military members on 29 March 2021 near his garden. His wife witnessed a group of soldiers bringing him into the forest. A team of police investigators found traces of human blood but no clues pointing at Yermias Nagen. Shortly after the incident, people in the town of Kenyam went on the streets, demanding the police to find the perpetrators. Several protesters reportedly broke a store owned by migrants in response to the incident. The relatives confirmed that Yermias Nagen was not affiliated with the TPN PB.
Human rights defenders have exposed updated information on the situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the regencies Nduga and Intan Jaya. Humanitarian helpers working with IDPs from Intan Jaya confirmed the deaths of at least nine IDPs. The majority of fatalities were reported from the town of Nabire, where about 3,000 IDPs from Intan Jaya have sought temporary shelter. Children are particularly affected by the displacement situation. Many internally displaced children (IDCs) do not go to school since they fled their homes. Besides, they are highly vulnerable to health issues, a common problem among many IDPs due to malnutrition and bad hygienic conditions in refugee shelters.
Police forces in Jayapura have prevented a public panel discussion at the Ekspo Waena Complex on 27 March 2021. The event carried the title “West Papua National Seminar – Searching for a way out of human rights violations in West Papua”. Human rights activists, student representatives and academics (see photo, source: Jubi) had been invited to share their views on the human rights situation in West Papua. The police blocked access to the event location at Ekspo Waena and prevented participants from entering the complex, where the panel discussion was supposed to take place.Man shot down as police disperse a crowd in Timika – Relatives demand compensation
Joint security forces have shot down twenty-year-old Andres Bewarmo as they dispersed a crowd of approximately 200 people in the Pomako Village in Mimika Regency on 7 March 2021. Before the incident, a group of drivers had attacked an intoxicated resident. Multiple residents in Pomako witnessed the beating. Shortly after the brawl, people gathered about 200 meters near the crime site and tried to chase down the attackers. They demanded the police to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators immediately. Joint security members forcefully dispersed the crowd with firearms after the people refused to leave.
Police carry out nine political arrests in Timika and Jayapura
Jokowi takes palm oil waste off toxic waste list
President Joko Widodo has removed palm oil refining waste - or what is commonly referred to as spent bleaching earth (SBE) - from the category of hazardous and toxic waste (Bahan Berbahaya dan Beracun or B3). Previously, discussions about amendments to the B3 category focused on fly ash and bottom ash (FABA), which emerges during coal production and is no longer included in the B3 category. Both substances' repeal is listed in Government Regulation No 22/2021 regarding the Implementation of Environmental Protection and Management dated 2 February 2021.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.
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