News on West Papua's human rights and conflict situation
- Parliament passes revised Papuan Special Autonomy Law
- Leading Indonesian human rights defender Carmel Budiardjo passed away
- Human Rights Update West Papua - 2nd Quarter 2021
- Protest against revision of Papuan Otsus Law in Jakarta, Jayapura and Kaimana – 84 protesters reportedly arrested
- Prosecution of Victor Yeimo – Lawyers demand immediate release
- WPCC deplores appointment of Prov. Secretary Dance Flassy as Acting Governor of Papua
- Disagreement over temporary replacement of Governor between Papua and Jakarta
- Update on extra-judicial execution of four Papuans in Puncak Regency – Relatives demand prompt prosecution of perpetrators
- Papuan students commemorate 1st July and Biak Massacre in Surabaya, Bandung and Makassar
- Police in Biak alleged to have tortured suspect with boiling water
- Update on situation of IDPs from Puncak and Nduga
- Government says MIFEE should become food estate
- Police officers forcefully disperse peaceful protest at Freeport Mine – at least one worker tortured
- Prosecution of Victor Yeimo – Lawyers report police to Ombudsman for disregarding his rights during detention
- MRP challenges legality of unilateral revision of Papuan special autonomy law
- Thirty-two KNPB members arbitrarily arrested in Jayawijaya Regency
- Military member kills Papuan man during shooting at Jibama Market, Jayawijaya Regency
- Two indigenous Papuans disappeared in Pegunungan Bintang
Parliament passes revised Papuan Special Autonomy Law
Indonesia's parliament ratified on Thursday 15 July a new autonomy law for Papua aimed at boosting development sparking protests from activists. The chairman of the committee for the revision of the Papuan Special Autonomy Law (UU Otsus), Komarudin Watubun, declared on 12 July 2021 in Jakarta that the revised Special Autonomy Bill (RUU Otsus) was ready to be debated during a plenary meeting at the Indonesian parliament. The draft bill suggests 19 amendments to the current special autonomy law. The Indonesian government proposed the amendments to Articles 1, 34 and 75. Particularly, the revision of articles related to the allocation of special autonomy funds and the formation of new autonomy regions had caused heated discussions and public outrage in West Papua.
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Leading Indonesian human rights defender Carmel Budiardjo passed away Prominent Indonesian human rights defender, Carmel Budiardjo, passed away peacefully on 10 July 2021. She was the founder of London-based NGO
TAPOL, which has campaigned to release political prisoners in Indonesia since 1973. Tapol is the abbreviation for 'tahanan politik' in Bahasa Indonesia, which means 'political prisoners'. Carmel Budiardjo was imprisoned for three years in Indonesia during the persecution of communists under former President Suharto. Later she helped to establish several environmental groups, such as the NGO ‘Down to Earth’ in 1988 and the ‘London Mining Network’ in 2007. In 1995, Carmel Budiardjo received the Right Livelihood Award after being nominated by the International Federation for East Timor.
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Human Rights Update West Papua - 2nd Quarter 2021
Similar to previous reporting periods, human rights statistics between April and June 2021 continue to mirror the effects of the armed conflict and political tensions for Papuan civil society. The number of arbitrary arrests, political and non-political, continue to be high as the police firmly restrict the freedom of peaceful assembly and other civil-political rights. Nevertheless, Papuans voiced their discontent over the Papuan special autonomy and aspirations for self-determination in peaceful demonstrations. Papuan activist and human rights advocate, Victor Yeimo, was arrested in early May 2021 and charged with multiple criminal charges, among them treason. The police accused him of masterminding West Papua-wide protests against racism and civil unrest between August and September 2019. Three out of six reported victims of extra-judicial executions died in the context of security force raids in the Puncak Regency. All were indigenous Papuans.
Protest against revision of Papuan Otsus Law in Jakarta, Jayapura and Kaimana – 84 protesters reportedly arrestedPapuan students and solidarity groups launched peaceful protests against the revision of the Papuan Special Autonomy (Otsus) Law in the cities Jayapura, Papua Province, Kaimana (Papuan Barat Province) and Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. The protesters argued that the revisions were forced by the Indonesian parliament and the Government without considering the aspirations of the Papuan people. The police forcefully dispersed the protests and carried out mass arrests. The Jayapura police forcefully dispersed a peaceful demonstration at the Cenderawasih University campus on 14 July 2021 and arrested 24 protesters (see table below). At least five protesters were injured by security forces as a result of excessive force during the arrest (see photo below, source: independent human rights defenders).
Prosecution of Victor Yeimo – Lawyers demand immediate release
Lawyers representing Papuan activist Victor Yeimo have called upon the police to release their client immediately. Mr Yeimo has been detained at the Police Mobile Brigade headquarters for more than 60 days. According to Article 29 (1) b, of Law No. 8/1981 on the Criminal Procedure Code, suspects can only be detained longer than 60 days if their criminal charges carry a maximum penalty of nine years imprisonment. Victor Yeimo was charged with multiple criminal charges, including Article 106 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP) on treason. While Article 106 on treason authorises the courts to sentence a person to life imprisonment or a maximum of twenty years imprisonment, most charges against Victor Yeimo carry maximum penalties of less than nine years. The police recently extended the period of detention for another 30 days.
WPCC deplores appointment of Prov. Secretary Dance Flassy as Acting Governor of PapuaIn early May this year, the West Papuan Council of Churches reached out to President Jokowi, the governor of the Papua province and to the head of the provincial police via three
open letters. Since then, the situation in West Papua has kept spiralling and the conflict aggravating. The latest unrest is the response to the controversial
appointment of Papua's Provincial Government Secretary, Dance Yulian Flassy, as Acting Governor of Papua province by Indonesia's Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian. The reason given is that Papua Governor Lukas Enembe is currently undergoing treatment in Singapore and, in his absence, government and public services need to continue running smoothly. According to news outlet
Asia Pacific Report, this sudden appointment shocked Governor Enembe, who said that he had not been informed nor made aware of the appointment.
Disagreement over temporary replacement of Governor between Papua and Jakarta
On 9 May 2021, the Papuan Governor, Lukas Enembe left Jayapura and underwent medical treatment in Singapore. As of 30 June 2021, Lukas Enembe was still recovering from a sickness and has not returned to West Papua yet. Meanwhile, Papua’s vice-Governor, Klemen Tinal, passed away on 21 May 2021. The absence of Klemen Tinal and Lukas Enembe from their position as governor and vice-governor has caused a new conflict of interest between Jakarta and Papua.
Update on extra-judicial execution of four Papuans in Puncak Regency – Relatives demand prompt prosecution of perpetrators
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Papuan students commemorate 1st July and Biak Massacre in Surabaya, Bandung and Makassar
Papuan student movements in the Javanese cities Bandung and Surabaya organised peaceful assemblies in commemoration of the 1st July, which marks the day of the West Papuan independence proclamation in 1971, and the Biak Massacre, where security forces killed scores of people in the Papuan island of Biak on 6 July 1998. A discussion among students in a Papuan dormitory in Makassar, Sulawesi Selatan Province, was forcefully dispersed by a nationalist-militant group. Police officers failed to protect the students from the mob.
The Biak-based legal aid organisation LBH Kyadawun has raised allegations of torture against the Biak police. Imanuel Rumayom, lawyer and LBH Kyuduwun coordinator, explained that police officers had used physical force against Mr Yohan Ronsumbre, 20, during the police interrogation at the Biak-Numfor district police headquarters. On 21 June 2021, Mr Ronsumbre and two other suspects were arrested concerning the theft of a mobile phone.