Australian PM’s offer for 
Papua raises suspicion

Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Sun, July 07 2013, 9:43 AM
Paper Edition | Page: 2
Kevin Rudd: (JP/Jerry Adiguna)

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s commitment to help develop Indonesia’s easternmost region could instead lead to more abuses of Papuans, an activist warns.

Papua was among the three main issues discussed during the third Indonesia-Australia Annual Leaders Meeting between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Rudd at the Bogor Presidential Palace in West Java on Friday. The two other issues were people smuggling and economic cooperation in the beef and cattle sector.

“Given the trends of the series of cases in the past, we can see that almost all human rights cases in Papua were rooted in economic motivation. Corporations operating in Papua, particularly foreign ones, for instance, use soldiers for security, a measure that increases the chances of human rights abuses against locals,” the coordinator of rights group National Papua Solidarity (NAPAS), Zely Ariane, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

With Rudd standing beside him at a joint press conference after Friday’s meeting, Yudhoyono expressed concern over rampant “propaganda” spread by Papuan separatist activists in many countries who advocate independence by “exaggerating alleged human rights violations by Indonesian military and police”.

“I told the Australian prime minister that any Indonesian soldiers or police officers found to commit violations will definitely be punished or brought before a military tribunal,” Yudhoyono said. “But to be honest, in the recent past, those falling victims were Indonesian Military [TNI] personnel and police officers.”

In his speech at the conference, Rudd not only reiterated Australia’s recognition of Indonesia’s sovereignty over Papua but also offered help to speed up development in Papua and West Papua provinces.

“I, as the prime minister of Australia, will do everything I can to support [Yudhoyono] in this direction.”

Issues concerning Papua were not expected to be broached by those attending the media conference. “According to information I received, it was Prime Minister Rudd who raised the issue,” presidential spokesman for foreign affairs Teuku Faizasyah told the Post.

Zely alleged that Rudd’s statement was a further indicator of the wish of Australia’s businesses to invest in Papua, particularly in the mining sector. “The door for foreign investors has been opened by the government via its MP3EI [Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Development],” she said.

Foreign investment in Papua, she said, would not address the core problems in Papua. Massive projects would not only be prone to corruption but would also widen economic gaps and marginalize Papuans more, she added.

Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said that starting this year, the government would prioritize MP3EI projects in the eastern provinces, including Papua and West Papua.

“Projects in natural resources and energy will be boosted,” Hatta said. “But exploration projects must also contribute to the acceleration of local economies by establishing centers of growth around the projects,” he added, brushing-off Zely’s opinion.

Of the total MP3EI investment of Rp 545.76 trillion (US$55.12 billion) set for this year, almost a half or Rp 204.56 trillion will go to Papua, West Papua, Maluku and North Maluku provinces.

Issues surrounding Papua have always been politically sensitive for Indonesia, while to Australia, it is the long-unstoppable flow of asylum seekers that is at the heart of its domestic political interests.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/07/07/australian-pm-s-offer-papua-raises-suspicion.html

• Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
PO Box 28, Spit Junction, NSW 2088
Media release 5 July 2013
15 years after the Biak Massacre the oppression of the West Papuan people continues.

Saturday the 6 July marks 15 years since the Indonesian security forces massacred scores of people in Biak , West Papua. The victims, included women and children who had gathered for a peaceful rally. They were killed at the base of a water tower flying the Morning Star flag. Other Papuans were rounded up and later taken out to sea where they were thrown off naval ships and drowned.

The Australian Government who knew about the massacre turned a blind eye and did not protest to the Indonesian Government. (Between July 11 – 14 an Australian Army Captain arrived in Biak to carry out an official investigation on behalf of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs) http://www.biak-tribunal.org/west-papua-massacre-cover-up-controversy-in-australia/

Joe Collins of AWPA said , “it is tragic that 15 years after the Biak massacre West Papuans are still being killed, arrested and jailed for peacefully protesting about the injustice they suffer under Indonesian rule. We keep hearing how Indonesia is now a democracy yet during May, the security forces cracked down on a number of peaceful rallies resulting in 3 people killed and up to 20 arrested”.

There is no freedom of the press in West Papua as just days after first edition of the Pelita Papua magazine was published, it was banned by the police simply because it covered the issue of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) office in England

HTTP://EN.TEMPO.CO/READ/NEWS/2013/07/04/055493689/POLICE-BAN-FIRST-EDITION-OF-PELITA-PAPUA-MAGAZINE

West Papua is one of Australia’s nearest neighbours and the Australian Government should be doing everything it can to get Jakarta to negotiate with the West Papuan leadership to try and solve peacefully all the issues of concern in West Papua.

Note. The Biak Massacre – A Citizens Tribunal
A Citizens Tribunal for the 15th Anniversary of the Biak Massacre will be held on Saturday July 6th at the University of Sydney.
Details at http://www.biak-tribunal.org

Biak Massacre Citizens Tribunal
Venue John Woolley Building, Theatre N 395,
University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales
6th July, 2013, 10.00am – 5.00pm
(Australian Eastern Standard Time, UTC/GMT +10 hours)

Fifteen years ago, on July 6th, 1998, Indonesian security forces surrounded unarmed protesters in West Papua at dawn and began firing into the crowd. Scores were killed. Many survivors of this initial assault were loaded onto boats, brought into open ocean, and dumped overboard to drown. This Saturday, July 6th, 2013, the West Papua Project at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Sydney University,is hosting a panel of distinguished scholars, judges and lawyers to hear direct evidence from survivors of this atrocity. The Biak Tribunal will use the system of Coronial Inquest, a formal inquiry into a death. On Tuesday, July 9th, thecitizens tribunal will issue formal findings about the conduct of keyperpetratorsin the atrocity and recommendations for future action.

Shortly after Indonesia’s President Suharto was forced out of office by a popular uprising in May 1998, the people of West Papua began channeling this democratic energy in a new direction. Hundreds of peaceful West Papuans took to the streets on July 1st 1998, asking for the opportunity to vote on the issue of independence. On the island of Biak demonstrators occupied the harbor, but government security forces gunned them down. “Citizens around the world are demanding justice on the fifteenth anniversary of this massacre,” saysDr. EbenKirksey,key organizer of the tribunal, who witnessed the attack in 1998. Over ten survivors of the Biak massacre will present testimony to the tribunal and are available for interview.

The Biak Citizens Tribunal will generally follow the format of a Coronial Inquest, which is a formal inquiry into a death. This inquiry will look and act much like a court. Counsel Assisting will perform a role much like the prosecution, whiledesignated Other Interested Parties will act much like defence attorneys–critically evaluating evidence and cross-examining witnesses. The tribunal will issue formal findings about the conduct of various actors and recommendations about possible future proceedings and additional avenues for investigation.
Interested members of the public are welcome to attend

Note: Jurists and citizens presiding over the inquiry remotely will need time after the tribunal hearing to review video footage and assess the evidence. Release of a statement of findings and recommendations will be delayed until Tuesday, July 9th.

Watch the Tribunalproceedings live:http://www.biak-tribunal.org/

Memorial Concert
Sunday 7th July, 7-10pm
Biak Massacre Memorial Concert
Featuring David Bridie, Rize of the Morning Star, and John Gordon
Cafe Church, corner of St. Johns Road and Colbourne Avenue, Glebe

Open to the public, free entry or by donation, beef curry and rice dinner
$10, byo wine. Doors open 6pm
7 – 8pm Memorial service for victims and survivors of the Biak Massacre
8 – 10pm Live music: David Bridie; John Gordon; Rize of the Morning Star.

Presiding Jurists
Hon John Dowd, President, International Commission of Jurists, Australia. Chancellor of Southern Cross University
Dr Keith Suter, Chair, International Commission of Jurists (NSW). Director of Studies, International Law Association (Australian Branch)
IfdalKasim, Indonesian Lawyer. Former Head of the Indonesian Government Human Rights Commission (KetuaKomnas HAM). Will participate in the tribunal via remote video link.
Jose Carlos Marroquin, Guatemalan journalist and newspaper publisher.A key force in the recent genocide trial of former Guatemalan President JoséEfraín Ríos Montt. Will participate in the tribunal via remote video link.

Prosecutors
Gustav Kawer, a West Papuan human rights lawyer who has worked for the Papua Legal Aid Foundation since 2000. Recipient of the 2013 Lawyers for Lawyers Award in Amsterdam.
Prof Nicholas Richard Cowdery, Visiting Professorial Fellow at UNSW. Former Director of Public Prosecutions for New South Wales and President of the International Association of Prosecutors.

Defence
Graham Turnbull SC, New South Wales Barrister. Called to the Bar by Grays Inn in London after working for legal aid in New South Wales, he has been involved in terrorism cases, extradition prosecutions and cases involving incitement to racial hatred.
Dan O’Gorman SC, Queensland Barrister. Appointed Senior Counsel in 2006, he has represented numerous high profile defendants in criminal trials as well as indigenous people in prominent human rights and civil cases.
Jo Collins and Anne Noonan, Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)