Contents
1) Most Papuans no longer sympathize with security forces
2) President wants MRP set up soon
3) Susilo to tackle security issues in first 100-days
4) European Union wants to see Aceh and West Papua for themselves
5) Anti-military demonstration in West Papua
6) Papuan council calls on Yudhoyono to stop military operations in Papua
7) Papuans pressing hard for self rule
8 ) Activist warns of Papua 'time bomb'
9) In Brief
10) Upcoming events

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Anne Noonan & Joe Collins
awpa 1
bun...@bigpond.net.au
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Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
PO Box 28,
Spit Junction,

NSW 2088

AWPA welcomes articles for the newsletter on any issue in relation to West Papua. The reports in the newsletter are from the various email conferences on West Papua.

AWPA appreciates any donations of support to help in its campaign work.

Past newsletters can be found at http://www.zulenet.com/awpa/

1) Most Papuans no longer sympathize with security forces

Jakarta post.com November 06, 2004

Like war-torn Aceh, Papua remains in the spotlight. Papua Governor Jaap Solossa talked with The Jakarta Post's Ridwan Max Sijabat on Friday after leading a Papuan delegation to meet with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to discuss the situation in the province.

Question: Would you like to summarize your delegation's meeting with the President?"

Answer: The President and our delegation were of the same opinion that the special autonomy regulated by Law No. 21/2001 is the main pillar of a grand strategy to seek a comprehensive solution to the complex Papua issue. The President promised to make a fundamental decision to prove his strong political commitment to settling the issue through peaceful dialog, and instructed his aides to take concrete measures to enforce the special autonomy law. He was very glad to meet with us, and shared his intention to fully implement the special autonomy, which was left untouchable during former president Megawati Soekarnoputri's tenure, over the last three years.

Q: Would you like to explain that issue in detail?

A: During the meeting, the President instructed the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs (Widodo A.S.) and home minister (Moh. Ma'ruf) to discuss the draft regulation on the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP), and to make the necessary preparations for its establishment. The implementation was delayed because it was feared that it could pave the way for the province to separate from Indonesia in the future. The establishment of the MRP has been included in the President's first 100-day program, and he pledged that the MRP's establishment would be his "Christmas gift" to the Papuan people. The President also promised to set up a Papua desk at the Presidential Office to deal with Papua matters. The special desk, led by the President and consisting of Papuan figures, military officials and politicians would mainly be tasked with preparing necessary policies and development programs in Papua.

Q: What is your comment on the controversial draft regulation on the MRP?

A: It is not really controversial because it is based on the special autonomy law. And what makes Papua special, unique and different from other provinces is the MRP, which according to the law is the highest decision-making institution, representing all components in the province. Megawati and her former government declined to approve it, and to set up the long-awaited MRP, because they feared that the institution would be used to assist the province's separation from Indonesia. But, if Acehnese people are allowed to adopt the sharia according to Islam, why aren't we allowed to do the same thing?
(The majority of Papuans are Christians.)

Q: How is the planned formation of the two new provinces progressing?

A: The President has agreed to review the controversial Presidential Instruction, No. 1/2003, which was issued to enforce Law No. 45/1999 on the development of North Maluku, West and Central Irian Jaya provinces, which is no longer effective since it is against the special autonomy law. Papuan people are not against any idea to form four or five more provinces in Papua, which is 3.5 times the size of Java Island. However it should gain approval from the MRP. The Papuan provincial legislature has filed a law suit against the presidential instruction, and the Constitutional Court is scheduled to make a decision on the case on Nov. 11. The Higher Administrative Court has annulled Presidential Decree No. 10/2003 on the extension of Octavianus Abram Atururi's one-year period as acting governor of West Irian Jaya.

Q: What other issues are most urgent in Papua?

A: Illegal logging, illegal fishing and HIV/AIDS. And the three issues correlate with one another. Illegal logging and illegal fishing activities have been rampant in the province because the region is out of the close supervision of the public in Jakarta. The looting of Papua's rich resources involves timber and fishing companies from Malaysia and Thailand. They are backed by security personnel from local Navy units and police offices. Timber barons have paid police personnel to back the illegal logging activities, which have involved local loggers. It is also common for them to offer sex workers from Java as presents for local informal leaders, to keep their mouths closed. The timber barons also bribed local Navy units to escort their log vessels out of the province. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS has reached around 15,000 at present, and most of them are living in the southern part of the province, particularly in Mimika and Merauke regencies, where illegal logging and fishing activities have been rampant.

Q: What are you doing to address these serious problems?

A: During the meeting with the President, we asked the government to lift the joint decree issued by the forestry minister, fisheries and maritime affairs minister, the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander and the National Police chief, concerning the supervision of forest and maritime resources (wanalaga and wanabahari) in the province. Corrupt officials of the National Police and the Navy in the province abused their power and manipulated the joint decree to loot the province's resources. Most Papuan people are no longer sympathetic toward the security authorities because many innocent people have been shot in military operations and their resources looted. The provincial government will intensify the anti-HIV/AIDS campaign among youths and school students aged between ten years and 18 years to curb the spread of the virus.

2) President wants MRP set up soon

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post 5/11/04

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered on Thursday the immediate establishment of a long-awaited Papuan People's Council (MRP) as required by the special autonomy law for Papua province. However, the President underlined that the council would simply be a cultural representative of the country's easternmost province. Susilo made the statement during a meeting with Papua Governor Jaap Salossa and other Papuan leaders, including former governor Barnabas Suebu and former legislator Patrick Morin, at the presidential office in Jakarta. "The President welcomes the establishment of the MRP and has ordered his ministers to settle the issue immediately as it already has been discussed for three years," Suebu said after the meeting. He quoted the President as saying the full implementation of the autonomy law was the final solution to separatism in Papua, where rebels have been fighting for independence since the 1960s.

"According to the President, the MRP will not be a superbody but a cultural representative that will accommodate religious and cultural leaders to express the people's aspirations," Suebu said. Susilo said the council should not serve as a political body, as regulated by Law No. 21/2002 on special autonomy for Papua. Megawati Soekarnoputri's administration revised the law to eliminate the MRP's political roles. The decision sparked controversy as the original status of the council was one of the hallmarks of the autonomy law meant to empower Papuans. According to the original law, all policies that affected the lives of people in the province required approval from the MRP. The current government is drawing up a regulation to establish the council. Suebu also said there should be better communication between Papuan leaders and the central government in an effort to end the separatist movement. "The President welcomed the suggestion and ordered his ministers to create a forum for direct communications with the people of Papua," he said. During the meeting, Jaap Salossa conveyed an invitation to Susilo to attend Christmas celebrations in the predominantly Christian province. "The President has promised to attend a Christmas celebration in Papua," the governor said.

3) Susilo to tackle security issues in first 100-days

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post.com 29/10/04

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration will focus on security in conflict areas and the fight against separatism, rampant smuggling and terrorism in the first 100 days in office. In specific, the government will devote its time and energy to providing security prior to and during Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year holidays. "This security maintenance program is aimed at building people's faith in the government and among themselves," State Minister of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Board Chairperson Sri Mulyani Indrawati said after a Cabinet meeting. However, she failed to provide details on the concrete measures to reach the goals, saying the action plan of the program would be further determined by the related ministries.

Mulyani said the Cabinet meeting, which lasted three and a half hours, discussed the outline of the program and did not touch specific or concrete measures. She said the separatist movements in Aceh and Papua, unabated conflicts in Poso, Maluku and North Maluku, as well as crimes that cost the country's economic resources like fish pouching, illegal logging and widespread smuggling were high on the agenda. "Of course we do not expect to address all those issues in the first 100 days, but we will find initial steps to cope with them," Mulyani said. To put an end to the decades of separatist movement in Aceh, the government had imposed a state of civil emergency over the past year. The government will have to decide whether to extend or lift the security status by Nov. 19.

The government will set up a task force that will find comprehensive solutions for illegal activities on smuggling and other transnational crimes. Initial measures and commitment to eradicate corruption and create good governance will also top the 100-day program, by establishing a supervisory commission for the prosecutor's office and carrying out bureaucratic reform. "We are determined to eradicate the mentality among the bureaucrats who tend to make things difficult and costly," State Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan A. Djalil said. The latest data from the World Bank revealed that Indonesia was among the worst countries in providing services for the business community. It takes 155 days to complete a business permit here, compared with 94 days in Cambodia and 198 days in Laos.

Regarding the supervisory commission for the prosecutor's office, Mulyani said the form and other details of the commission will be discussed soon. Land ownership, free health services and education for the poor will also be a priority of the government in the 100-day program. "Creating job opportunities, setting up mechanism to protect migrant workers, as well as the handling of the mass exodus of workers (from Malaysia) are among our priority programs in the first 100 days," Mulyani said. She said President Susilo had appointed Vice President Jusuf Kalla to chair the supervisory board overseeing the implementation of the programs. "We have not discussed the form of the supervisory board. It just floated in the Cabinet meeting," the minister said. She said it was in accordance with the regulations that the government would spend three months to draft a comprehensive program for the next five years.

4) European Union wants to see Aceh and West Papua for themselves

Tempo Interactive - October 28, 2004 Flamboyan, Jakarta ­

The head of the European Union's Troika Delegation, Bernard Bot, said on Thursday October 28 that they were interested in visiting Aceh and West Papua. Indonesia, according to foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda, understands the EU's wish to visit the two conflict prone provinces. "They want to know about the latest developments in the two provinces", he said. According to Bot, their planned visit is intend to understand developments in the situation in these two provinces. "The relationship which we and Indonesia wish to develop includes issues of political and human rights", he said. Wirajuda said that Aceh and West Papua have never closed to international visits. "In Aceh, we received representatives from the International Red Cross to determine [the deployment] of their teams", he said. (INDOLEFT News Service.
(Translated by James Balowski.)

5) Anti-military demonstration in West Papua

Tempo Interactive - October 30, 2004

Cunding Levi and Lita Oetomo, Jayapura ­

Thousands of demonstrators from the Papua People's Anti-Militarism Front (Front Rakyat Papua Anti Militerisme, FRPAM) led by Jefrison A. Pagawak demonstrated again on Friday October 29. This time, the public demonstration which was joined by students from the mountain areas of Central Papua was held on the grounds of the offices of the Papuan governor in the provincial capital of Jayapura a day after a demonstration was held at the offices of the Papuanprovincial parliament, also in Jayapura.The demonstrators wanted to meet with the governor, J.P. Solossa, to ask him to immediately dismiss Elieser Renmaur, the regent of Puncak Jaya, from his post. This is because according to the commander of the Trikora/XVII military command, Major-General Nurdin Zainal, who they met with at theprovincial parliament on Thursday October 28, it was the regent who had asked the TNI (armed forces) to deploy troops in the Puncak Jaya regency. They said that presence of large number of troops in the area would result in [more] civilian casualties. The Trikora military commander said this request was made in a letter he received from the Puncak Jaya regent which had been endorsed by the local council. "We also want the Mulia case to be investigated as quickly as possible and the formation of an independent team to investigate the affair", said Pagawak who is the chairperson of FRPAM.

As a result of the lateness of the Papua provincial council in meeting with the demonstrators they became emotional and it was apparent that the situation was becoming heated and slightly out of control. As a consequence, scores of security personnel from the local police formed a barrier at the entrance to the governor's offices and appeared to be at a high state of readiness. In the end however, one of the demonstrators was able to reduce the level of tension and calm was restored after the deputy-governor Constant Karma and the chairperson of the provincial parliament John Ibo met with them. During the meeting Ibo agreed to form an independent team to investigate the Mulia case which resulted in the death of a number of civilians, one of which was a priest named Elisa Tabuni. He also agreed to follow up the protesters' demands that regent of Puncak Jaya be removed from his post. Karma said that for the record they would study and reexamine the letter requesting the deployment of troops which was referred to earlier by the demonstrators. "We are therefore planning that on Tuesday November 2 all council members will hold a meeting to discuss the issue of what happened in Mulia in the Puncak Jaya regency", said Karma before the crowd who were visibly wet because of a heavy downpour.

After listening to the statements by Ibo and Karma the demonstrators held prayers and agreed to return peacefully to their homes. A day before the demonstrators met with Zainal at in the offices of the provincial parliament. Coming out of the meeting which lasted several hours, was an agreement to form an independent investigative team to uncover the truth behind the Mulia case. Led by Pagawak, the demonstrators on Thursday came in larger numbers than on Wednesday October 27 and arrived at the provincial parliament at exactly 11am. Also present among the demonstrators was a public figure and intellectual from the central mountains, Father Socrates Sofyan Yoman.
(Translated by James Balowski.)

6) Papuan council calls on Yudhoyono to stop military operations in Papua

Kompas - October 21, 2004

Jakarta, Kompas - As many as four people and a priest in the Puncak Jaya regency of West Papua were killed by shots suspected to have been fired from a TNI (armed forces) helicopter. Fearing for their lives as many as 500 people living in and around the area where the shooting occurred have sought refuge on Wijaya Mountain. As a result of the incident two members of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) from West Papua, Ferdinanda Ibo Yatipae and Pendeta Max Demetouw, are calling on Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) as the new president to stop military operations which are indiscriminate and short-sighted. "We ask Pak SBY not to increase the number of TNI troops in Papua province. We also ask that firing on people from helicopters which are like the actions of a blind pig be stopped immediately because there are civilians being caught in the middle. If they really [want to] pursue the OPM [Free Papua Movement], then okay pursue the OPM", explained Yatipae at the DPD building in Jakarta on Wednesday October 20.

He is also asking the government to provide food, medicines and blankets for those who have sought refuge on Puncak Jaya which is locate close to the snowline. Yatipae and Demetouw said that they had only just received information about the shooting yesterday morning from the deputy head of Papuan Traditional Council, Leo Imbiri, and the Puncak Jaya deputy regent, Enembe. It has been difficult to confirm the exact location of the incident because of communication problems.

Demetouw is asking the new government to immediately implement special autonomy for Papua because this issue was campaigned on by Yudhoyono and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla during the election. "Within the next 100 days, SBY-JK [Kalla] must sign the government regulation on the implementation of special autonomy for Papua", he asserted.
(sut) INDOLEFT News Service
(Translated by James Balowski.)

7) Papuans pressing hard for self rule

Courier Mail (Queensland) 19/10/04.
Marianne Kearney in Jakarta

Demonstrators rallied in Jayapura yesterday demanding that recently elected president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono allow international negotiators to end the decades-long conflict in Papua. The protest by up to 500 students came as church leaders and civil groups began lobbying Mr Yudhoyono for Papuan self rule in Indonesia's easternmost province. Many Papuans, who voted overwhelmingly for Mr Yudhoyono in the September elections, are hopeful he will finally implement a progressive autonomy law. Church leaders, civil society leaders and Papua's Governor Jaap Salossa, will meet Mr Yudhoyono on Friday, two days after his inauguration. They will argue that if he wants to quell separatism in the province, formerly known as Irian Jaya and now often referred to as West Papua, he should implement progressive law.

On the campaign trail, Mr Yudhoyono promised to implement the special autonomy Bill, but stopped short of saying he would allow a Papuan people's assembly to be the province's highest law making body. Under former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, Jakarta allowed Papua to receive a greater percentage of revenues from natural resources but wouldn't allow the regional parliament to establish the people's assembly, a kind of Upper House which had veto power over Parliament's budgets and policies.

Ms Megawati feared that establishing the assembly would allow tribal leaders to demand independence from Indonesia. The progressive autonomy law, which effectively gives the Papuan Parliament self-government except for foreign affairs and security issues, was meant to offer Papuans an attractive alternative to independence and diminish support for the armed guerillas from the Free Papua Movement. The poorly armed rebels have been fighting a sporadic guerilla war against the Indonesian military since 1969, when the United Nations sponsored a flawed ballot which accepted Papua's incorporation into Indonesia.

8 ) Activist warns of Papua 'time bomb'

By Nick Lenaghan. Sunday Herald Sun 7/11/04

THE restive Indonesian province of Papua was a ticking time bomb that could drag Australia into its wreckage, a prominent Papuan human rights campaigner warned today. John Rumbiak, international advocacy co-ordinator for the human rights group Elsham, said increasing militarisation, coupled with human rights abuses and unmet demands for independence had turned Indonesia's easternmost province into a "time bomb waiting to go off".

"There's a whole series of triggers that you can pull and it's going to go off. The tensions are already there." As evidence of a worsening human rights situation, Mr Rumbiak cited a recent military operation in the central highlands region that had left six people dead, including a popular pastor, and forced 5000 villagers to flee their homes.

Locals were losing patience with Jakarta after moderate independence leader Theys Eluay was assassinated in November 2001 and efforts to establish a "zone of peace" throughout the province by humans rights workers had failed, he said. An extra 25,000 troops had poured into the mineral and timber-rich province since 2000. And more than a million migrants had moved into the province from elsewhere in Indonesia, rapidly closing the gap on the 1.5 million native Papuans, he said. "People are frustrated, they could just pull the trigger and that's it. "If they can't fight against the military, they will turn their anger on the migrants." Militia groups added to the explosive mix and they had experienced a recruitment surge last December during a visit by Eurico Guterres, the notorious leader whose own militia wreaked havoc in East Timor, he said.

Mr Rumbiak warned Australia and neighbouring countries would be affected if widescale violence broke out and refugees began fleeing over the border to Papua New Guinea. More than 12,000 refugees have crossed the border since 1984 and more recently guns and drugs have been ferried into PNG. A "failed state" crisis in Papua could also threaten security in the wider Pacific region, Mr Rumbiak said. He said Indonesia's new President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had expressed a willingness to resolve the conflict in Papua. He called on the Australian government to "support and encourage" Mr Yudhoyono to establish the "necessary pre-conditions" for peaceful dialogue.

They included a withdrawal of the massive troop presence in Papua, dismantling the militias and dropping a decree that had redivided the province into three new provinces, he said. Papua is home to the world's largest gold and copper mine at Freeport, while British energy giant BP plans to start the construction of the Tangguh liquefied natural gas (LNG) next year, and BHP Billiton is hoping to go ahead with an open cut nickel mine. But the province has also been wracked by sporadic clashes between the military and the independence fighters since Indonesia assumed control from the Dutch in the early 1960s.

Mr Rumbiak said human rights workers had estimated 100,000 Papuans had died at the hands of the military. The activist himself fled his homeland two years ago after a series of death threats and has since lived out of a suitcase in the United States, Europe and Australia.
(Herald and Weekly Times)

9) In Brief
Alleged rebel gunned down

The Jakarta Post.com 23/10/04

Jayapura, Papua: Indonesian military (TNI) and police personnel shot dead an alleged Papuan rebel, whose group went on a rampage in Tinggi Nambut hamlet, Puncak Jaya regency, last week, a top Army officer said on Friday. Maj. Gen. Nurdin Zainal, the chief of Trikora military command overseeing military affairs in Papua, said that the alleged rebel had been shot dead during an armed clash on Thursday morning on Lima Jari hill, some 12 kilometers from Mulia city, the capital of Puncak Jaya regency. The joint team said a rifle had been recovered from the dead man, while the other alleged rebels had fled the scene. A group of Papuans shot five Makassar migrants dead, and torched houses and government buildings in Tinggi Nambut hamlet last week.
-- JP

Papuans living abroad to return home

The Jakarta Post,27/10/04

MERAUKE, Papua: The Indonesian government is ready to bring home 232 displaced people of Indonesian nationality living in Daru, a province of Papua New Guinea near the Indonesian border, an Indonesian senior official claimed on Tuesday. Johanes Gluba Gebze, the regent of Merauke, said that the plan was at the request of the Indonesians, who had been living in the neighboring country for 40 years. Johanes said they had wanted to return home earlier, but had no money to finance the trip. Last year, the Merauke administration facilitated the return of 16 displaced people of Indonesian nationality from Daru province.
-- JP

Tension high in Papua village

The Jakarta Post, 17/10/04

Indonesia: The situation in Tinggi Nambut village, Puncak Jaya regency remained tense on Friday, following the murder of five construction workers, all migrants from Makassar, South Sulawesi province earlier on Tuesday. Fearing a backlash from the Indonesian Police, the alleged Papuan separatists, who have been accused over the killings of the migrants and have been holed up in the village, located in the central highlands of Papua, burned down public buildings, including elementary schools and the subdistrict cooperative office on Friday. No fatalities were reported during the fires, which were apparently aimed at shifting the attention of the Indonesian police, according to preliminary speculation by Comr. Wempy Batlayeri, the chief of Paniai police overseeing Puncak Jaya regency in Papua province, on Saturday.
­ JP

Indonesian President says military action in Papua should not lead to civilian deaths

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says civilian deaths are unacceptable in military operations in the Indonesian province of Papua. He has instructed security minister Widodo to ensure army forces carry out their operations properly and carefully in the troubled Puncak Jaya region. At least 10 civilians in the area have died in recent fighting between separatist guerillas and the Indonesian military. The guerrillas are blamed for killing six migrant workers last month in apparent retaliation after soldiers shot four civilians, including a Catholic priest. An independent team is investigating the shootings.
(RNZI 7/11/04)

10) Upcoming events

West Papua information session

When: Tuesday 16th November at 7.30pm

Where: Newcastle City Hall, King Street, Newcastle

Guest Speakers: John Rumbiak and Professor Peter King

We will also be screening the documentary "Land of the Morning Star"

Free admission. If you could publicise this event amongst your community it would be appreciated.

More Info. aman...@bigpond.com

The talk on the 12 November is 'The New US Presidency -What does it offer?

Stephen Loosley, former ALP Senator
Prof. Ian Tyrrell , School of history, Uni NSW
Dr Bob Howard, Research Associate, Government and Internatinal Relations, Sydney Uni.

Politics in the pub.

The Gaelic Club
64 Devonshire St.
Surry Hills

Every Friday 6PM -7.45 PM

19th November.

Nation Building in the Pacific-can Australia be a true friend?

Nic MacLellan. Journalist Author of "After Muroroa France in the South"

Professor Peter King, Author of "West Papua & Indonesia since Suharto: Independence, Autonomy or Chaos?

26 November.

Aceh and West Papua-Struggles for freedom
Dr Nurdin Rahman,
Human Rights Activist, formerly lecturer English, Uni Aceh.

John Martinkas,
Journalist.
Author of works on East Timor, Iraq, West Papua.
His most recent book is "Indonesia's Secret War in Aceh"