Thursday, May 23, 2013

1) Indonesia’s Missteps in Papua Fuel Foreign Support for the Push for Independence


1) Indonesia’s Missteps in Papua Fuel Foreign Support for the Push for Independence

2) Govt must reprimand Freeport over facility incident: Local councillor

3) Mysterious murder in Puncakjaya
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http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/indonesias-missteps-in-papua-fuel-foreign-support-for-the-push-for-independence/

1) Indonesia’s Missteps in Papua Fuel Foreign Support for the Push for Independence

By Petrus K. Farneubun on 10:45 pm May 22, 2013.
Category Commentary, Opinion
Tags: , , 
Recently, a journalist in Papua asked me the question, “Do you support the opening of the Free West Papua campaign office in Oxford?” The question seems simple but in fact, it’s tricky.
It’s simple because it only requires a short “yes or no” answer. But I am more concerned about the tricky side: my answer will reflect whether I am pro-Papuan independence or pro-Indonesian territorial integrity. If it is the former, I will be labeled a separatist by the state, and if it is the latter, I will be considered irrational and lacking a sense of humanity regarding the situation in Papua.
As an academic, I think a different question needs to be asked. Instead of a yes/no question, I prefer a “why” question. So the interesting question is, why was the Papua campaign office opened, and why is there now growing international solidarity for the West Papua freedom campaign?
I have a couple of responses, I told the journalist.
First, the security-dominant approach employed by the state results in the relentless shooting, arbitrary arrest and conviction of Papuan political activists. This raises the concern of the international community. And if this approach continues, more sympathy will flood to Papua not only from states but also from non-state actors.
Furthermore, that approach will not deter the Papuan people from demanding their freedom. Rather, it will fuel a stronger sense of nationalism among Papuans and damage government goodwill to develop Papua.
The detention by Jayapura Police of the chairman of the National Committee of West Papua, Victor Yeimo, along with three other activists who took part in a demonstration against police violence is a case in point. Yeimo said, as quoted by local outlet SuaraPapua.com, that the police shut down the rally as part of the continued suppression of freedom of expression in Papua, and that it will not deter the Papuan people from peacefully voicing their aspirations. In principle, they will not give up, Yeimo said.
The recent deadly police shooting of demonstrators in Aimas, Sorong, and the detention of Yeimo and others during a rally to protest those killings, raises concern from the international community. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in a public statement said that recent incidents in Papua are “unfortunate examples of the ongoing suppression of freedom of expression and excessive use of force in Papua.”
Similarly, academics and researchers in an open letter to Bob Carr, Australia’s minister of foreign affairs, condemned what they described as atrocities in Papua, and urged the minister to request the Indonesian government to hold state perpetrators of violence to account.
In responding to rallies, the security apparatus should seek to manage the demonstration, not undertake suppressive, coercive and brutal acts. Such measures should be taken only if demonstrators engage in acts of violence causing death or material destruction.
Second, I said in reply to the journalist, the government concentrates on first-track (intergovernmental) diplomacy but forgets to counter second-track (public-focused) diplomacy. In the case of Papua, second-track diplomacy is growing strongly and enjoys considerable support from non-state actors and Melanesian countries.
The Indonesian government has received assurances from Britain that it respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia amid calls for Papuan independence. While that may be true at the moment, the world is ever-changing and politics is unpredictable — today’s friend can be tomorrow’s enemy.
Human rights violations, torture, arbitrary killing and detention in Papua may become a political excuse for Western governments to reconsider their commitment to upholding Indonesia’s integrity.
The government has failed to ensure it approaches both state and non-state actors to persuade them to reject the freedom campaign.
Restricting international journalists and human rights workers from accessing Papua demonstrates this failure. Instead of banning them, the government could cooperate with them to promote peaceful dialogue and efforts to bring prosperity amid special autonomy.
With this approach, the international community, both state and non-state actors, will trust the Indonesia government, and sympathy for the Papuan freedom campaign will gradually wane.
Looking at the situation through the lens of international relations theory, the Indonesian government is employing a neo-realist approach, believing that states are the only key actors in world politics, and that threats come mainly from other states.
Cooperation with non-state actors receives less attention — and this is dangerous for promoting democracy in the country. The Indonesian government needs to change its policy to include non-state actors in its efforts to promote its territorial integrity.
Petrus K. Farneubun is a graduate of the Australian National University and teaches at Cenderawasih University in Jayapura.
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http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/88969/govt-must-reprimand-freeport-over-facility-incident-local-councilor

2) Govt must reprimand Freeport over facility incident: Local councilor


Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA News) - The central government, provincial and district administrations must reprimand PT Freeport Indonesia over the collapse of its underground training facility which claimed the lives of many victims, a local legislative assembly (DPRD) member said.

"Freeport must receive a warning or reprimand from the central and local governments, namely the provincial government and the Mimika regional administration over its negligence which caused the death of tens of its workers who were buried in the collapsed training facility," Yan Mandenas, chairman of Commission D of the DPRD, said here on Thursday.

Yan said that the collapse of the training facility was the biggest underground mining accident in Indonesia, or even in the world, which claimed the lives of tens of ministers.

"This is a tragic national accident. We should not turn a blind eye to this matter. The government should affirm its attitude," he stressed.

Yan Mandenas, who is also chairman of the Papua Regional Chapter of the People`s Conscience Party (Hanura), asked the US-owned copper and gold mining firm and the government to review its underground activities for the safety of workers and the preservation of the environment.

He said that there was the possibility that serious damage to the environment had been taking place that led to the accident which claimed most lives in the history of Freeport.

"Freeport must review it, conduct comprehensive underground research. This incident has just happened in the training facility. What would have happened if that took place in the place of active mining activities?" he questioned. 

Twenty eight people have been found dead after an underground training facility at a PT Freeport Indonesia in Papua collapsed.

"We just received information 14 other bodies were found today," Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik said at a working meeting with House Commission VII in Jakarta on Tuesday.

So, totally 28 had died and 10 others had been injured, five seriously and five others lightly in the incident, he said.

He explained the incident occurred during routine training in underground mine safety, involving 40 participants consisting of 25 Papuans and 15 non-Papuans.

The training program had just gone for two days when on the second day the room where the training was held suddenly collapsed causing the participants to be buried under debris.

"The total number of the victims was 38 because two were absent that day," he said.

He said immediately after knowing about the incident he sent mining inspectors to Papua followed two days later by the director general of minerals and coal, Thamrien Sihite.

"We received information about the incident at 9am Eastern Indonesia Time on Tuesday and immediately three mining inspectors from the ministry of energy and mineral resources left for Papua followed two days later by director general Thamrin Sihite," he said.

On the way to the scene, he said, crowd stopped Thamrin and the president director of PT Freeport Indonesia and only after negotiation one of the three jeeps they used was allowed to pass to reach the scene.

At 7.40 am Eastern Indonesia Time on Tuesday (May 14) the Big Gossan underground tunnel collapsed while 38 Freeport workers were following a training program in it.(*)
Editor: Heru




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A google translate of article on KNPB web page. Be-aware google translate cab be a bit erratic.
Original bahasa at
http://knpbnews.com/blog/archives/1967

3) Mysterious murder in Puncakjaya
May 22, 2013 By: knpbtimika Category: KNPB Areas, News


Jershon victim Wonda, Secretary KNPB Puncak Jaya region
Puncakjaya-KNPBNews: mysterious killings continue to occur in Punncak Jaya, this is expressed by the Governing Body of West Papua National Committee (KNPB) Puncak Jaya region, reporting directly from the glorious peak conveyed in the central secretariat in Jayapura on KNPB At 18:00 WPB in Jayapura.

Mysterious murders that led to 41 people missing, out of all the missing number 41 people 11 people found dead while 30 people are still in search adults and 2 children were lost in the times while also sought.

In his report said that dark operation or killings and disappearances in Puncak Jaya papuan began lasts from April 1 until Degan is currently happening. In face-to-face direct reports degan KNPB center of the data we receive directly.

During the one and a half month pemubunuhan mysterious place, even pemerkosan against women, 2 high school kids, there are 2 children killed his parents and then the children are afraid to drift at times run Yamo, Puncak Jaya regency, there are arbitrarily arrested on public person - executions, no torture one of them high school students arrested in grade III cities for 2 Weeks later tortured and subsequently murdered in cutting his head in a sack and contents in the waste under a bridge, while the head dumped somewhere while it is still sought after by the family.

While the family was looking for 30 people who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, but there are those captured by the police and military in the region, every community in the glorious peak activity, examined so that people fear to perform daily activities,

To that end we ask Komnas HAM Papua and caring humanitarian ent right down to the glorious peak, and the operations because of mysterious killings samapai currently lasts, already 30 people missing and searched and 11 people were found dead 2 children swept away in fear of running time 2 children High School was raped, and the arrest and penjiksaan will continue to increase until this moment.

Jershon victim Wonda, Secretary KNPB Jayau Peak Region on behalf of Ella Enumbi victim is arrested by Kopassus last for 2 weeks and then killed and cut kepalaya then dumped his body in a sack contents were taken under a bridge April 9, 2013 murder of her body 26 april, for 2 weeks corpse hidden by Kopassus in custody in the post Purume Kopassus post in the glorious city. Of the 41 people who disappeared under mysterious circumstances the 30 people who were being sought the names and reports


Jershon victim Wonda, Secretary KNPB Puncak Jaya region
kornologis complete with photograph-victims will follow.

The following name victims have been found and recorded were: 1. Eila Enumbi place of birth dates, Mewoluk 12 Maret1986 Occupation Student (High School) Class 3 State Honor gender male. 2. Inoga Wonda, Age 40 Years 3. Deniti Telenggen, Gender Male, Age 17 Years, 4. Telapina Morib, Gender Male, Age 47 Years 5. Aibon Tabuni Gender male Age 38 Years 6. Yomiler Tabuni Gender male Age 48 Years 7. Bongar TelenggenJenis male genitalia, Age 35 Years 8. Josh Kogoya, male gender, age 70 years. 9. Yanenga Tabuni, male gender, age 36 of 10. Jershon Wonda, date of birth, Wondagobak-Noble, January 12 gender-lakiStatus: semester students (VIII) ENGINEERING Department of Jayapura, Occupation: Organization (KNPB) as a secretary in Puncak Jaya. 11. Eramina Murib in Tingginabut Rape by Army / Police 12. Regina Tabuni Tingginambut raped by army / police.Polres Yahukimo, Menembak Satu Pelajar, Mengalami Luka Parah

Puncak Jaya sweep continues from December to now ask for the investigative and advocacy for all victims occurred in Puncak Jaya because until now the TNI / Police and Detachment 88 and Kopassus was ineffective against the TPN / OPM and the TNI / Police vent their emotions to civilians in Puncak Jaya and to this murder and house raids Residents Honor Puncakjaya in progress. (Wtp)

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1) SBY Pledges Freedom for Papuan Political Prisoners: Lawmaker


1) SBY Pledges Freedom for Papuan Political Prisoners: Lawmaker

2) Amnesty International Report Bashes Indonesia Rights

3) Amnesty Indonesia country report
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http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/sby-pledges-freedom-for-papuan-political-prisoners-lawmaker/

1) SBY Pledges Freedom for Papuan Political Prisoners: Lawmaker

By Banjir Ambarita on 8:53 am May 23, 2013.



Jayapura. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has promised to free all Papuan political prisoners, a legislator claimed here on Wednesday.
The prisoners will reportedly be offered clemency as part of the priority points under the government’s “special autonomy plus” program.
“The president has promised to offer clemency and freedom for inmates who were involved in the politics of Papuan freedom,” said Yunus Wonda, a deputy speaker of the provincial legislature.
Yunus said that the president had made the promise in a recent meeting at his private residence in Cikeas, which was attended by Papuan figures including Papua Governor Lukas Enembe.
“The president conveyed it straight to us during a dialog at Cikeas on April 29,” Yunus said.
There are estimated to be up to 50 Papuan political prisoners currently held nationwide. The website papuansbehindbars.org lists 40 people and the offenses for which they were convicted, which include raising the banned Morning Star separatist flag, treason and taking part in rallies such as “indigenous people’s day celebrations” and “anti-Freeport demonstrations.”
The Papuan legislature prioritized their release as part of discussions with the president on granting increased autonomy, or “special autonomy plus,” to the province.
“The release of the political prisoners was one of the important points under special autonomy plus that was proposed to the head of state,” Yunus said.
“The president had no objection and is ready to offer clemency,” he said, adding that the political prisoners would receive facilities and jobs from the government once they were released. “It’s hoped that the political prisoners will join the Papuan people in the development [process] to create prosperity,” he said.
Under the special autonomy plus program, the central government will allow Papua to fully manage its own natural resources, Yunus added.
He said that the president would declare the promised clemency in August to coincide with his visit to Papua to inaugurate the special autonomy plus program.
“The president will come to Papua to hand over the special autonomy plus deal that all Papuan people are longing for.”
The president’s plan to end political imprisonment does not appear to have been conveyed to police in Papua, however. As recently as Monday last week, police in Jayapura arrested four activists from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) as they were holding a rally protesting human rights abuses in Papua.
According to comments by Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Gede Sumerta Jaya as quoted in suarapapua.com, one of those, KNPB chairman Victor Yeimo, remains in custody since he was already sought by police in relation to unserved prison time due to a previous conviction for demonstrating in 2009.
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2) Amnesty International Report Bashes Indonesia Rights

By Gabriel Kereh on 2:00 am May 23, 2013.
Amnesty International has decried a repressive human rights climate in Indonesia and a worrying lack of progress in addressing past abuses, in a report that is also the third in as many weeks to criticize rising religious intolerance in the country.
The 2013 report on “The State of the World’s Human Rights,” released today, cited problems in six areas, including “persistent allegations” of rights violations by police, repressive legislation invoked against peaceful political activists and the continued criminalization of freedom of religion.
Other problem areas were women’s rights, where Amnesty identified various setbacks and obstacles, as well as scant progress in delivering justice for past rights violations and the continued practice of handing down the death penalty — although no executions were carried out in 2012, the year in review in the report.
On the issue of rights violations by police and security forces, the report cited “excessive use of force and firearms, and torture and other ill-treatement.”
“Internal and external police accountability mechanisms failed to adequately deal with cases of abuses committed by police, and investigations into human rights violations were rare,” it said.
It also found that at least 76 “prisoners of conscience” remained behind bars, mostly from the regions of Papua and Maluku, where low-level separatist insurgencies are being waged, and accused the authorities of using “repressive legislation to criminalize peaceful political activists.”
Rights activists and journalists also fell victim to violations of freedom of expression, while news and nongovernmental organizations were “denied free and unimpeded access to the Papua region.”
Incitement & blasphemy
On the issue of freedom of religion and belief, Amnesty found that religious minorities — including Ahmadiyah, Shiites and Christians — faced ongoing discrimination, intimidation and attacks.
“In many cases the authorities failed to adequately protect them or bring the perpetrators to justice,” the report said.
It also said that authorities “used incitement and blasphemy provisions to criminalize freedom of religion, as well as freedoms of expression, thought and conscience.”
It noted that at least six people were jailed for incitement of blasphemy charges, including Alexander Aan, a self-professed atheist who was sentenced to two and a half years in prison last June for posting statements and pictures online that “some people construed as insulting to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.”
The fourth issue that the report highlighted was that of women’s rights, with women and girls found to be facing “ongoing barriers to exercising their sexual and reproductive rights.”
“A 2010 government regulation permitting ‘female circumcision’ remained in effect, in violation of Indonesia’s obligations under international human rights law. The CEDAW [Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women] Committee called on the government to withdraw the regulation and adopt legislation to criminalize the practice,” the report said.
Women were also let down by the continued lack of protection for domestic and migrants workers, the vast majority of whom are female, Amnesty said.
“For the third successive year, [the House of Representatives] failed to debate and enact a domestic workers law, leaving domestic workers… vulnerable to economic exploitation and the denial of their rights to fair conditions of work, health and education,” the report said.
It added that although Indonesia had ratified a 1990 international convention on migrant worker protection, “a lack of adequate legal protection in the country exposed migrant domestic workers, mostly women and girls, to trafficking, forced labor practices and other human rights abuses in Indonesia and overseas.”
The fifth point raised in the report focused on the continued lack of redress for past human rights abuses, including the bloody reprisal to the independence referendum in East Timor in 1999 and rights abuses by security forces and pro-Jakarta militias against suspected separatists in Aceh and Papua.
“In September, the Indonesian government announced at the UN Human Rights Council that they were finalizing a new law on a Truth and Reconciliation Commission; however, no progress was reported. A multi-agency team set up by the president in 2011 to devise a plan to resolve past human rights violations had yet to announce any concrete plans,” Amnesty said.
It also cited the refusal by the Attorney General’s Office to launch an inquiry into findings by the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) about possible crimes against humanity in the state’s anti-communist purge of 1965-1966.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also came in for criticism for failing to act on House recommendations in 2009 to bring to justice those involved in the enforced disappearance of 13 pro-democracy activists in 1997 and 1998, and to search for missing activists and provide rehabilitation and compensation to their families.
Right track?
There was a glimmer of positive news on the sixth and final point in the report, in that no executions were carried out in 2012, the fourth straight year, while one death row inmate even had their sentence commuted.
However, the government resumed the practice this year, executing four people so far, with plans to put to death another six.
Amnesty also noted that at least 12 death sentences were handed down last year and at least 130 people remained on death row.
Roichatul Aswidah, a Komnas HAM commissioner, acknowledged that Indonesia much to address, particularly on the matter of protecting religious minorities.
“The current government under Yudhoyono seems not to be protective of the rights of minority groups. This is worrying. We are denying our very own identity of being a country with great diversity by doing this,” she said.
On the death penalty, she questioned why the government was adding to the list of infractions punishable by death.
“Human rights issues are not issues that are simple and could be easily solved, I understand that. The question is, are we on the right track?” she said.
Alvon Kurnia Parma, from the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), said the country’s legal framework was not wholly to blame for supporting a climate conducive to rights abuses.
He acknowledged that while some laws and regulations were flawed, the main problem was a general political reluctance to uphold the rights of minorities.
“The problematic structure doesn’t give people enough room to seek justice. It limits the people’s participation,” Alvon said.
He added that once the political structure was fixed so that those in power did not feel compelled to pander to the majority at the expense of abandoning minorities, then the task of fixing the legal and institutional frameworks would be easier.
Amnesty’s report comes two days after the US State Department published its “International Religious Freedom Report 2012,” in which it also called out the Yudhoyono administration for failing to protect the rights of religious minority groups.
It cited reports of police collaborating with hard-line groups against members of sects deemed to be “deviant,” and the failure by security forces to act when radical non-state actors attacked minority sects.
That report came three weeks after the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent federal advisory body, issued its own report that warned that Indonesia’s “rich tradition of religious tolerance and pluralism has been seriously threatened by arrests of individuals the government considers religiously deviant and violence perpetrated by extremist groups.”
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3) Indonesia country report
Security forces faced persistent allegations of human rights violations, including torture and other ill-treatment and excessive use of force and firearms. At least 76 prisoners of conscience remained behind bars. Intimidation and attacks against religious minorities were rife. Discriminatory laws, policies and practices prevented women and girls from exercising their rights, in particular, sexual and reproductive rights. No progress was made in bringing perpetrators of past human rights violations to justice. No executions were reported.

Background

In May, Indonesia’s human rights record was assessed under the UN Universal Periodic Review. The government rejected key recommendations to review specific laws and decrees which restrict the rights to freedom of expression and thought, conscience and religion. In July, Indonesia reported to the CEDAW Committee. In November, Indonesia adopted the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, despite serious concerns that it fell short of international standards.
Indonesia’s legislative framework remained inadequate to deal with allegations of torture and other ill-treatment. Caning continued to be used as a form of judicial punishment in Aceh province for Shari’a offences. At least 45 people were caned during the year for gambling, and being alone with someone of the opposite sex who was not a marriage partner or relative (khalwat).
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Police and security forces

Police were repeatedly accused of human rights violations, including excessive use of force and firearms, and torture and other ill-treatment. Internal and external police accountability mechanisms failed to adequately deal with cases of abuses committed by police, and investigations into human rights violations were rare.
  • In March, 17 men from East Nusa Tenggara province were arbitrarily arrested for the murder of a policeman. They were allegedly stripped, handcuffed and beaten in detention for 12 days by the West Sabu sub-district police. Some suffered stab wounds and broken bones. Some were reportedly forced by police to drink their own urine. They were released without charge at the end of June due to lack of evidence.
Indonesian security forces, including police and military personnel, were accused of human rights violations in Papua. Torture and other ill-treatment, excessive use of force and firearms and possible unlawful killings were reported. In most cases, the perpetrators were not brought to justice and victims did not receive reparations.
  • In June, Mako Tabuni, a Papuan political activist and deputy chair of the pro-independence National Committee for West Papua, was shot dead by police officers in Waena, near Jayapura, Papua province. Police alleged he was resisting arrest. There was no impartial or independent investigation into the killing.
  • Also in June, soldiers attacked a village in Wamena, Papua province, in retaliation for the death and injury of two of their personnel. They reportedly opened fire arbitrarily, stabbed dozens of people with bayonets – resulting in one death – and burned a number of houses, buildings and vehicles.
  • In August, police and military personnel in Yapen island, Papua province, forcibly dispersed a peaceful demonstration commemorating the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Security forces fired their guns into the air and arbitrarily arrested at least six protesters. Some were reportedly beaten during their arrest.
  • Also in August, police personnel from the Jayawijaya District in Papua province arbitrarily arrested and allegedly slapped, punched and kicked five men in an attempt to force them to confess to a murder. No investigation into the abuse was carried out.
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Freedom of expression

The authorities continued to use repressive legislation to criminalize peaceful political activists. At least 70 people from the regions of Papua and Maluku were in prison for peacefully expressing their views.
  • In March, five Papuan political activists charged with “rebellion” under Article 106 of the Indonesian Criminal Code were imprisoned for three years for their involvement in the Third Papuan Peoples’ Congress, a peaceful gathering in Abepura in October 2011.
  • In July, Malukan prisoner of conscience Johan Teterissa, who is serving a 15-year prison sentence, was kicked and beaten with electric cables following his transfer from Madiun prison to Batu prison on Nusakambangan island, Central Java. He did not receive medical attention following the beating.
Human rights defenders and journalists repeatedly faced intimidation and attacks because of their work. International observers, including NGOs and journalists, continued to be denied free and unimpeded access to the Papua region.
  • In May, Tantowi Anwari, an activist from the Association of Journalists for Diversity, was beaten and kicked by members of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front in Bekasi, West Java. Tantowi filed a police report, but there was no progress on his case by the end of the year.
  • In September, Papuan human rights lawyer Olga Hamadi was threatened after investigating allegations of police torture and other ill-treatment in a murder case in Wamena, Papua province. There was no investigation into the threats, and fears for her safety remained.
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Freedom of religion and belief

The authorities used incitement and blasphemy provisions to criminalize freedom of religion, as well as freedoms of expression, thought and conscience. At least six prisoners of conscience remained behind bars on incitement and blasphemy charges.
  • In June, Alexander Aan, an atheist, was sentenced to two and a half years’ imprisonment and fined 100 million rupiah (US$10,600) for incitement after he posted statements and pictures which some people construed as insulting to Islam and the Prophet Mohamed.
  • In July, Tajul Muluk, a Shi’a Muslim religious leader from East Java, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for blasphemy under Article 156(a) of the Indonesian Criminal Code by the Sampang District Court. Local human rights groups and legal experts raised fair trial concerns. In September, his sentence was increased to four years on appeal.
Religious minorities – including Ahmadis, Shi’as and Christians – faced ongoing discrimination, intimidation and attacks. In many cases the authorities failed to adequately protect them or bring the perpetrators to justice.
  • In August, one person was killed and dozens were injured when a mob attacked a Shi’a community in Sampang, East Java. According to the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) the police did not take adequate steps to prevent the attack or protect the community.
  • At least 34 families from an Ahmadiyya community in West Nusa Tenggara province, who were attacked by a mob and displaced in 2006 because of their beliefs, continued to live in temporary shelter in Mataram, Lombok city. No one had been prosecuted for the attack.
  • The authorities refused to enforce decisions by the Indonesian Supreme Court in 2010 and 2011 to reopen the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church in Bogor and the Filadelfia Batak Christian Protestant Church in Bekasi city. The churches had been sealed off by local authorities in 2010. Both congregations remained at risk of harassment and intimidation by hardline groups for continuing to worship just outside their buildings.
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Women’s rights

Women and girls faced ongoing barriers to exercising their sexual and reproductive rights. In July, the CEDAW Committee recommended that the government promote understanding of sexual and reproductive health and rights, including among unmarried women and women domestic workers. The Committee also recommended that women be given access to contraception without having to obtain their husband’s consent.
A 2010 government regulation permitting “female circumcision” remained in effect, in violation of Indonesia’s obligations under international human rights law. The CEDAW Committee called on the government to withdraw the regulation and adopt legislation to criminalize the practice.
For a third successive year, Parliament failed to debate and enact a domestic workers law, leaving domestic workers, the vast majority of whom are women and girls, vulnerable to economic exploitation and the denial of their rights to fair conditions of work, health and education. Although Indonesia ratified the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families in May, a lack of adequate legal protection in the country exposed migrant domestic workers, mostly women and girls, to trafficking, forced labour practices and other human rights abuses in Indonesia and overseas.
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Impunity

There was little progress in delivering justice, truth and reparation for past human rights violations, including in Aceh, Papua and Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor). Survivors of sexual violence had yet to receive adequate medical, psychological, sexual and reproductive, and mental health services or treatment. In September, the Indonesian government announced at the UN Human Rights Council that they were finalizing a new law on a Truth and Reconciliation Commission; however, no progress was reported. A multi-agency team set up by the President in 2011 to devise a plan to resolve past human rights violations had yet to announce any concrete plans.
  • In July, Komnas HAM submitted its report to the Attorney General on possible crimes against humanity committed against members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and suspected communist sympathizers in the context of the 1965 failed coup. The Commission called on the Attorney General to initiate an official investigation, to bring the perpetrators to justice in a Human Rights Court and to establish a truth and reconciliation commission. No progress was reported.
  • In September, the Acehnese provincial parliament announced a delay to setting up an Aceh truth and reconciliation commission. This left victims and their families without an official mechanism to establish the truth about the violations they suffered during the conflict or to establish the fate or whereabouts of their loved ones who were killed or had disappeared.
  • The President failed to act on Parliament’s recommendations in 2009 to bring to justice those involved in the enforced disappearance of 13 pro-democracy activists in 1997 and 1998, to conduct an immediate search for activists who had disappeared, and provide rehabilitation and compensation to their families.
  • The government failed to implement recommendations made by the bilateral Indonesia-Timor-Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship, in particular to establish a commission for disappeared persons tasked with identifying the whereabouts of all Timor-Leste children who were separated from their parents and notifying their families.
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Death penalty

For a fourth successive year no executions were reported. However, at least 12 death sentences were handed down during the year and at least 130 people remained under sentence of death. In a positive move in October, it was reported that the Supreme Court had commuted the death sentence of a drug trafficker in August 2011, citing the death penalty as a violation of human rights and the Constitution. Also in October, it was announced that the President had commuted 19 death sentences between 2004 and 2011.
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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

1) Workers Blame Freeport for Fatal Incident at Giant Papua Mine


1) Workers Blame Freeport for Fatal Incident at Giant Papua Mine

2) Indonesia Reaffirms Sovereignty in International Forums

3) FLNKS Leaders Support West Papua Full Membership In MSG

4) Evacuation process at Freeport's collapsed facility officially stops

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1) Workers Blame Freeport for Fatal Incident at Giant Papua Mine

Kate Lamb
May 22, 2013

JAKARTA — Mine workers in West Papua, Indonesia, are raising questions about safety standards at a giant gold and copper mine where an underground training facility collapsed last week, killing dozens of miners. The Freeport Workers’ Union says the company ignored employee complaints that could have prevented the fatal incident.

Freeport workers were attending a safety training session when the tunnel to the Freeport McMoRan underground training facility collapsed last Tuesday.

Ten people managed to escape, five were killed instantly and 23 others were trapped inside. Despite intensive rescue efforts this week, there have been no further survivors.  The final death tally reached 28.

Freeport McMoRan has rushed to generously compensate the victims’ families, including providing scholarships for their children.

But questions remain about the safety standards of the underground training facility.

Freeport Workers Union official Virgo Solossa said the company could have done more to ensure safety standards.

Solossa said that during evaluations of regular training sessions conducted by Freeport, many workers had expressed concern about the safety of the underground training facility.

He said the incident could have been avoided if the training center had been moved above ground as repeatedly requested by the workers.

He said Freeport did not care and never responded to the complaints.

But at a joint news conference Wednesday with Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister, Freeport McMoRan President and CEO Richard Adkerson said he had no reason to believe safety standards at the training facility were sub-par.

“I told Mr. Minister that had I been there that day I would have joined our workers in that mine because we had no concerns or fears about its safety. And, that’s why we need to understand why this happened. We did not consider this a dangerous place. If we had had any indication of danger we would have never have had people in there,” Adkerson said.

Adkerson said that safety in all underground mining operations will be reviewed and the company will be transparent about its findings.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik  also confirmed that an independent team, including Indonesian and international specialists in geotechnical science and underground mining, will investigate the cause of the incident.

Operations at the giant Grasberg mine have been suspended since the tunnel collapsed and will not be resumed until the investigation is complete.

And, although Freeport has a solid track record in terms of safety, mining analyst Kurtubi said this incident proves otherwise.

“They try to be good in safety, but what has happened in this tragedy is proof that safety procedures at Freeport actually are not as good as we thought before. We know that this is underground mining, but as a global mining company, Freeport should strictly meet the procedures,” said Kurtubi.

The Freeport mine is located in the remote region of West Papua, a province where separatists have long fought for independence and where access for foreign journalists has long been restricted.

Workers demanding improved safety conditions are reported to have been protesting outside the mine for the past week.

In recent years, workers at the mine have paralyzed production during consecutive-month-long strikes because of wage disputes.
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2) 
Indonesia Reaffirms Sovereignty in International Forums


Written by Lauren Gumbs   
TUESDAY, 21 MAY 2013

Government forced to defend self against domestic and international critics
Indonesia is indicating increased concern for its territorial integrity and international image in the wake of public pressure over deteriorating situations for minorities in the country.

Internal calls for West Papuan independence are making headlines outside Indonesia, spurring transnational human rights groups and NGOs to pressure Indonesia and encouraging the international community to take notice. Religious and ethnic intolerance are also producing conflicts that refuse to go away, resulting in rights violations that undermine Indonesia's economic and democratic successes.

The country has been forced to defend itself against domestic opponents and transnational rights networks over both its sovereignty and its human rights record. These networks are increasingly bypassing dead-end domestic routes and searching for international allies to create outside pressure, as illustrated by the establishment of a "Free West Papua Campaign" office in the UK.

Rather than making concessions or instrumental adaptions to such pressures, Indonesia has refused to render its practices subject to international jurisdiction, denying criticisms, even calling a damning Human Rights Watch report "naive".

Yet on the issue of territorial integrity, Indonesia is considerably more forthright in reinstating its sovereign position and in asking other states to reinforce theirs. The official response to the opening of the "Free West Papua Campaign" office in the UK, was to demand answers from the British ambassador, who restated the UK's commitment to respecting Indonesia's territorial sovereignty.

During the ensuing diplomatic commotion, only one Indonesian lawmaker, Golkar Deputy Speaker Hajriyanto Thohari, publicly stated the underlying distrust around international respect for Indonesia's sovereignty.

"We often hear that officially, international leaders, including from the big Western governments, say they're supportive, that Papua is a part of Indonesia," he said as quoted in the Jakarta Globe.

"But look at the case of the exit of East Timor from Indonesia in the old days. How much the Western nations said they supported our sovereignty. But along the way, due to the interference of foreign nations, the province was lost," Hajriyanto said. "The West is always like that, you can't trust them completely."

Meanwhile the unofficial response based on these fears is a strategic operation to strengthen regional solidarities with a focus on mutual respect for and protection of territorial integrity. Via the proposal of an Asian treaty that would ban the use of force in settling disputes in South East Asia, Indonesia's current foreign policy preoccupations stipulate an acknowledgement of its sovereign boundaries.

Last Thursday during his visit to Washington, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa proposed an "Indo-Pacific-Wide Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation". He said nations should not "attempt to create new realities on the ground or at sea" and that states should be upfront about frictions in the Asia-Pacific region.

Some of these frictions are territorial disputes involving China, Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Japan, or hostile ones such as North Korean nuclear proliferation.

Natelegawa said that the region doesn't want "the unchecked preponderance of a single state", and also cautioned against feuding by rival states. China and the US were not specifically mentioned. Indonesia wants to be seen as a leader in the Asean region, but it is also setting up stronger rhetoric in order to defend sovereign incursions closer to home.

A stronger regional union made up of an Asian community would circumvent pressures such as shaming by transnational actors in international human rights regimes, where non-conforming states are isolated as pariahs and socialised into institutionalising international norms.

The Indo-Pacific treaty is similar to that proposed by former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2009. Although in 2010 after he was ousted, WikiLeaks cables revealed a hidden agenda to use the community to "contain" China's rising influence.

This time, however, Indonesia may be more concerned with strengthening and defending its sovereignty while it nurtures its influence in the dynamic region.

Whereas the Rudd treaty had a solid architectural purpose, Natelegawa's approach is more ambiguous and fluid, which appeals to the diversity of culture and aspirations across the region, and with any luck China, who is difficult to pin down on multilateral agreements.

Internal territorial disputes should not be underestimated as driving factors in such a treaty, as Indonesia is stalwart in retaining every last inch of its archipelago. Papua is most prominent but not the only concern. Recent controversy over a new Acehnese flag illustrated that Jakarta remains tense about the possibility of lingering separatist sentiment.

It's not the first time that Indonesia has appealed to regional solidarities to challenge the validity of universal human rights and to ward off the influence of the international community. Last year the country was instrumental in the construction of an alternative charter of Human Rights, the Asean Declaration of Human Rights (ADHR).

The ADHR is supposed to cater to Asian values rather than a Western oriented idea of 'universal' human rights, which in cultural relativist debates is seen as ethnocentric.

The UN however is concerned by the closed door drafting that left out stakeholders like civil society, and also that the wording of the charter is not in line with international standards.

Human Rights Watch is far more scathing, asserting that the declaration contains loopholes and pointing to coercion from stronger states.

"It is highly regrettable that governments in the Asean who are more democratic and open to human rights succumbed to the pressure of human rights-hostile governments into adopting a deeply flawed instrument," the Human Rights Watch statement declared.

Balancing individuals' obligations and duties with their human rights makes the declaration a less secure guarantee for Asean people as does limiting rights on the grounds of 'national security', 'public order', and 'public morality'.

The positive factor in this is that Indonesia is aware of its international reputation and is being drawn into discourse with transnational actors, going so far as to coordinate regionally, even if the rhetoric is for now instrumental.

This may be a period of denial and evasion, yet as long as Indonesia is vulnerable to international pressures in order to retain success like investment grade ratings, a broadening middle class, flourishing civil society, and an emergent Asean leadership role, transnational networks can mobilise effectively, fast paced democratisation will continue and Indonesia will have to introduce tactical concessions to address Human Rights violations.

(Lauren Gumbs is a Human Rights student who holds a Masters in Communication. she resides in East Java, Indonesia.)
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3) FLNKS Leaders Support West Papua Full Membership In MSG

Tuesday, 21 May 2013, 10:33 am
Press Release: Daily Post Vanuatu
FLNKS Leaders Support West Papua Full Membership In MSG
By Len Garae
The delegation of the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL) met with the Executive of the Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) in New Caledonia on April 11 and the incoming Chairman of Melanesian Spearhead Group Victor Tutugoro welcomed them in the true Melanesian spirit.
He said, “MSG is only for Melanesia and Liberation Movements within it, the FLNKs leadership would therefore be very happy to welcome the WPNCL as a new member in our Melanesian family. We open our heart and extend our hands to receive you the lost Melanesian son to come back into rightful Melanesian family.”
Seeking full membership in MSG has been the primary objective in the WPNCL’s application. The West Papua delegation visited Noumea as a part of its official political tour in the Melanesian Region.
The delegation consisted of Dr Otto Ondawame- Vice Chairman of the WPNCL, Barak T. Sope Maautamate, the former Prime Minister of Vanuatu and adviser to the WPNCL and Nato Taiwia Efate Member of Parliament for Efate Rural.


The delegation was warmly welcomed by the FLNKS Executive when it presented to the FLNKS Executive and Victor Tutugoro the official application of the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation to become a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
The FLNKS had opposed the admittance of the Indonesian Government in 2011 to become an observer of the MSG because of the past and 


continued killings of Melanesians in West Papua.
The event was covered well in local mass media including radio and TV interviews.
The Senate of the Kanaky National Council of Chiefs of Kanaky in Noumea is to seal the event in a customary manner, which has its own significant meaning. “The visit to Kanaky was successful gaining broader support among political leadership of the FLNKS and people of Kanaky. On behalf of the leadership of the WPNCL and the people of West Papua, we would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation for their support,” Dr Ondawame said.
The delegation of West Papua National Coalition for Liberation will travel to Honiara on April 21, 2013 to meet the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands and other Government Officials to present the MSG official application there.
ENDS



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4) Evacuation process at Freeport's collapsed facility officially stops

Wed, May 22 2013 13:40 | 158 Views
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The evacuation of victims of Freeport's collapsed underground facility in Papua province was officially stopped here on Wednesday, CEO of Freeport Indonesia Rozik B Soetjipto said here on Wednesday.

The incident which happen last Tuesday (May 14) at 07.30 in the morning kills 28 people while the other 10 survive.

"Today we officially stop the evacuation process along with the finding of the last body of the victim," he said.

The president director noted Freeport will continuously give support to the family of the victims.

Among the 28 workers who died are Aan Nugraha, Lestari Siahaan, Amir Tika, Lewi Mofu, Aris Tikupasang, Makmur, Artinus Magal, Mateus Agus Marandof, Daniel Tedy Eramuri, Muntadhim Ahmad and David Gobai.

Other casualties are Petrus Frengo Marangkerena, Febry Tandungan, Petrus Padak Duli, Ferry Edison Pangarbuan, Retno Bone, Frelthon Wantalangi, Rooy Rogers Kailuha, Gito Sikku, Selpianus Edowai, Hengky Ronald Hendambo, Suleman, Herman Susanto, Victoria Sanger, Jhoni Michael Ugadje, Wandi, Joni Tulak and Yapinus Tabuni. 

translating and editing by Amie Arimbi

(A051/O001) 
Editor: Ade Marboen
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