Press Release issued by the Coalition of Civil Society to Uphold Human

Rights in the Land of Papua

Special Autonomy - OTSUS - came into being at a time of struggle when
the Papuan people had become the objects of development, resulting in
many incidents of violence and human rights violations over many years.
This was acknowledged in the introductory paragraphs of the OTSUS law
and Articles 45- 47 of OTSUS,   in which the State acknowledged that
mistakes had been made. There were hopes that an era of truth would
emerge by means of creating peace and the right to life for the people
of Papua. At the same time, however, there were groups who were against
the enactment of OTSUS.

After being in force for nine years, these hopes have not been realised
in accordance with expectations. There have been a numebr of  very
serious  cases, such as Warior, Wamenda, Puncak Jaya, Tingginambu,
Serui, Abepura and UNCEN, Mamberamo, Nabire, Manokwari and the arrest of
a number of pro-democracy activists, the most recent of which being
threats against journalists that have occurred with increasing intensity
during the course of 2010. During 2010, there were at least five acts of
violence against journalists . In July 2010, Ardiansyah Matrais who
worked for Merauke TV and the JUBI tabloid was found dead after having
received threats and being followed in Keerom, a typical example of
cases that have occurred during the OTSUS era.

None of these cases have been properly resolved by legal procedures as
required by the law, meaning that the people of Papua have no sense that
the perpetrators have been brought to justice by the State.

The situation had been made even worse because the civil authorities in
Papua have created the impression that they exert no authority or are
too weak to handle cases of human rights violations. None of the civil
authorities, the DPRP, the MRP or the Governor, have raised their voices
or offered to mediate with institutions in power  whenever violence has
been  experienced by civil society, meaning that there has been a
virtual absence of control by the civil authorities. Even worse is the
fact that the human rights agendas of OTSUS have been completely
neglected and have been given no place whatever in the policy of
development in Papua.

We members of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations feel deeply
concerned at and mourn the death of the enforcement of human rights and
peace in the Land of Papua. We therefore propose the following to all
those who have an interest in the Land of Papua.

1.  The Central Government

Should promotee and foster dialogue between Papua and Jakarta for a
compehensive solution to all the problems in Papua that have occurred
since Papua was integrated into the Republic of Indonesia/NKRI because
OTSUS has been incapable of becoming the final solution in restoring
relations between Jakarta and Papua.

The central government should, starting now, change its view  of Papua
as an  area of conflict because such an attitude  can only cause
continuing political crises in Papua because of the security approach
and the use of the law. Experience has shown that such an approach has
failed to end resistance  by the Papuan people, even causing the
emergence of new Papuan movements.

End all forms of stigmatisation of the Papuan people because this is
deeply humiliating for the Papuan people who have ceased to have any
confidence in development undertaken by the central government in Papua.

Evaluate and reconsider that policy of dispatching non-organic troops to
Papua because  many cases have occurred as a result of the presence of
these troops and have resulted in new problems within society, while
revealing a lack of sensitivity for the local values of the people.

The government should make public the size of the defence budget for the
deployment of troops to Papua because these funds are extracted from the
state budget, while the public in Papua, especially the Papuan people,
should know what are the objectives of all this, how many personnel are
involved, the locations where they are deployed and the amount of the
funds being used for all this during the course of a single year.

To enhance human rights policies that take sides with the victims in the
Land of Papua. This is because there is the erroneous view that the
problems in Papua are only about the economy. As long as the central
government persists in holding this view, disturbances will continue to
occur in Papua.

The police force must act professionally in the performance of their
duties and not discriminate against the Papuan people when they uphold
their basic rights as citizens, while at the same time striving to
restore confidence in the police.

Treat all prisoners in accordance with the procedures in force and the
rule of law, so as to safeguard dignity and humanitarianism while
steering clear of all arbitrary treatment, in particular ending the
practice of torture.

The use of military courts as has recently occurred in Jayapura is proof
that these military tribunals are incapable of creating a sense of
justice for the victims and among  the public and are far removed from
the basic human rights standards adopted by the Indonesian Government
with its ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights by the adoption of law 5/1998 which established the
basis for fair trials.

2. The Government of Papua.

It should never forget or neglect  the human rights agenda in policies
pursued in the Land of Papua, because up until now, more  emphasis has
been placed on the economy and welfare. There must be a balance between
these two agendas.

Treat all prisoners in accordance with the rule of law, guaranteeing
people's sense of dignity and humanitarianism  and avoid all arbitrary
actions, in particular the practice of torture.

The Governor, the DPRP and the MRP  should coordinate with each other
and respond quickly to cases of violence  and human rights violations in
the Land of Papua. The absence of such an attitude  is proof that these
civil institutions have no commitment to upholding human rights in Papua
and will only intensify public mistrust of these institutions in the
eyes of the Papuan people.

All programmes regarding the economy and welfare should be gender
specific  and take the side of the victims of human rights violations,
in particular taking due regard for the education and health of the
victims and their families including the granting of reparations.

To immediately set up a team to draft a special regulation  (Perdasus)
for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Human Rights Court as
provided for in OTSUS, bearing in mind that these matters have not been
dealt with during the nine years since OTSUS was enacted, and have been
forgotten altogether.

Jayapura, 9 December 2010

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-----Original Message-----
From: reg.westpapua-owner@lists.riseup.net [mailto:reg.westpapua-owner@lists.riseup.net] On Behalf Of Tapol
Sent: woensdag 15 december 2010 18:56