Confirmed-West Papuan students definitely forced out of consulate. Fear for their safety

Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
PO Box 28, Spit Junction, NSW 2088
Media release 7 October 2013

Confirmed-West Papuan students definitely forced out of consulate . Fear for their safety.

In light of the latest report on the ABC which confirms that the West Papuan students were definitely forced out of the consulate , AWPA has sent an email to the Australian Consulate in Bali urging the Consul- General to contact the Indonesian authorities asking that the West Papuans not be arrested.

Joe Collins of AWPA said, this is the least that the Australian authorities should do in light of the report which quotes Associate Professor Clinton Fernandes stating that he “heard a phone conversation in which an Australian official threatened the trio, leading them to fear for their lives if they were handed over to Indonesian authorities” and “They were being threatened with having the military called in and the police. They feared for their lives.” “It was very, very threatening – the word threat is accurate. There was not a polite conversation. (The students had left their phone recorder on).

It is understood that departure points out of Bali are being monitored by the Indonesian authorities and intelligence.

ABC report
Consul-General denies threatening West Papuan activists who occupied Australian consulate in Bali

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-07/consul-general-denies-threatening-west-papuan-activists/5002592

Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
PO Box 28, Spit Junction, Sydney, Australia 2088
Consul-General in Bali
Mr Brett Farmer
Jalan Tantular, No. 32
Renon, Denpasar
Bali

7 October 2013

Dear Mr Farmer,
I am writing to you again on behalf of the Australia West Papua Association in Sydney concerning the West Papuan students forced out of your consulate in Bali. We are shocked at the revelations in the ABC report which confirms that somebody in the consul threatened the students with having the military and the police called in, causing them to fear for their lives.

An academic, Associate Professor Clinton Fernandes is quoted in the ABC report stating “he heard a phone conversation in which an Australian official threatened the trio, leading them to fear for their lives if they were handed over to Indonesian authorities”. (The students had left their phone recorder on while in the consulate).

In light of these revelations we urge you to contact the Indonesian authorities urging them not to arrest the West Papuan students.

Yours sincerely
Joe Collins
AWPA (Sydney)
CC. Australian Embassy Jakarta

Forces ‘intimidate’ Papuan students in Bali

Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali | Business | Mon, October 07 2013, 11:59 AM
Students in Bali from the restive province of Papua have become the targets of raids by security forces that could view them as threats to Indonesia’s image during the prestigious APEC Summit.

While security officers were trying to prevent students from staging rallies during the summit to demand Papua’s independence from Indonesia, three Papuan students trespassed into the compound of the Australian Consulate General in the provincial capital of Denpasar.

The Australian Embassy confirmed the incident took place early on Sunday, saying the three were from Papua and West Papua provinces.

The embassy refused to detail how the students had entered the high security facility.

“We can confirm that three individuals from Papuan provinces delivered a protest letter at the Australian Consulate General in Bali this morning to Australia’s consul-general. The three men left the consulate voluntarily before 7:00 a.m.,” Ray Marcelo, a spokesperson from the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post.

“The circumstances of the incident and issues associated with the security of the consulate general are being reviewed,” he added. Ray also reiterated the Australian government’s position on Papua.

“It is clear, we recognize and support Indonesia’s sovereignty.”

A release by the Papuan Students Alliance (AMP) claimed that the three, identified as Markus Jerewon, 29, Yuvensius Goo, 22 and Rofinus Yanggam, 30, scaled the two-meter high fence of the Australian compound in Bali’s Renon district.

The AMP said the Papuans did not demand the independence of Papua. They only asked Australia to help push the Indonesian government to “treat them like human beings” and “release all Papuan political prisoners and open the secretive province to foreign journalists.”

In the hand-written letter, the three wrote that they wanted to “seek refuge and to deliver our message to the APEC leaders in Bali, including US Secretary of State John Kerry and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.”

Contacted over the phone, Melkias Dagai, the coordinator of Papuan students in Bali, said he did not recognize the three “intruders”.

“I am also shocked to hear this news from you,” he told the Post.

Hours after information about the incident circulated in Nusa Dua, the Papuan students’ dormitory in Bali was raided by the police.

“They intimidated us,” Melkias said.

Contacted by the Post in the afternoon, Lt. Gen. Lodewijk Freidrich Paulus, commander of the APEC Summit’s joint security operation, said he was still verifying the issue.

The Papuan students earlier complained about impromptu arrivals by people they believed to be intelligence officers.

“They have terrorized us at least five times since August,” Melkias said.

Lodewijk said last week it was not appropriate for students and activists to stage rallies during the summit, and launched attempts to prevent the rally.

“If your house is about to receive special guests, then it is obvious to sweep the floor of your house and do some cleaning to please your guest. Right?” said Lodewijk.

Activist Ni Luh Gede Yastini from the Bali Legal Aid Foundation said the plan to hold rallies on Monday and Tuesday to protest at the APEC Summit was still on the table.

“We’re still finalizing it,” she said, adding that US President Barack Obama’s absence and threats from security officers had not pressured them to call off the plan.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/10/07/forces-intimidate-papuan-students-bali.html

• Guardian: No threats made against West Papuans in Australian Bali consulate, Dfat says

Consulate occupation organisers say protesters feared for their lives after a warning that Indonesian military would be called

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/07/no-threats-west-papuans-consulate
Jo Collins and Anne Noonan, Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)