West Papua Information Kit

1960-report.PDF

West Papua Reports

United States Department of State Dutch 1961 report to UN
Dutch 1959 report to UN Dutch 1960 report to UN
Amnesty International Environmental Investigation Agency
Global Witness Human Rights Watch
International Crisis Group RFK Center for Human Rights
Harvard Law School Sydney University CPACS
Yale Law School Australian
British Other publications, Indonesian and UN, New York Times
Miscellaneous news articles

Amnesty International


Amnesty International Report 2001 from Waisor;
Amnesty International Report 2002;
Amnesty International Country Report 2005

Environmental Investigation Agency

Global Wittness

Harvard Law School

Yale Law School

Human Rights Watch

International Crisis Group

Robert F Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights

Sydney University

Australia

Britain

Other publications

U.S. Dept. of State

  • 2014 - Human Rights Report: Indonesia
    ...
  • 2013 - Human Rights Report: Indonesia
    ... however, there were instances in which elements of the security forces committed human rights abuses ... The government applied treason and blasphemy laws to limit freedom of expression by peaceful independence advocates in the provinces of Papua and West Papua and by religious minority groups.
    ... Violence continued to affect the provinces of Papua and West Papua during the year ... security forces shot and killed two and injured three alleged members of a pro-independence group in Sorong, West Papua, April 30. The group reportedly had gathered to plan a prayer service that was to include raising the outlawed Morning Star Flag ... Authorities charged seven people with "rebellion" for their roles in planning the demonstration
    ... The NGO Commission on the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) reported that between July 2012 and June 2013, it received 100 reports of torture with a total of 219 victims. A disproportionate number of these incidents occurred in economically marginalized regions. ... On May 13, police in Papua arrested independence activist Victor Yeimo for organizing an unauthorized demonstration. Yeimo had reportedly organized the unauthorized demonstration to call for an investigation into the April 30 killing of three would-be demonstrators by police in Sorong, West Papua (see section 1.a.). At year?s end Yeimo was serving the remainder of a three-year sentence for a previous conviction related to treason and incitement charges.
    ...On July 24, a court on Serui Island in Yapen Islands Regency, Papua Province, sentenced Edison Kendi and Yan Piet Maniamboi to two years and 18 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in the Yapen Indigenous People's Day observances. Lawyers for both men alleged significant flaws in the judicial process, including witness intimidation, manufacturing of evidence, and prejudicial trial procedures.
    On May 1, police in Sorong and Timika reportedly arrested 21 Papuans for raising banned separatist flags and calling for Papuan independence.
  • 2012 - Human Rights Report: Indonesia
    ...suppression or abridgement of the rights of religious and ethnic minorities was a problem. The government applied treason and blasphemy laws to limit freedom of expression by peaceful independence advocates in the provinces of Papua, West Papua, and Maluku and by religious minority groups. Official corruption, including within the judiciary, was a major problem. Other human rights problems included killings by security forces, abuse of prisoners and detainees, harsh prison conditions, trafficking in persons
    ... Separatist guerillas in Papua killed members of the security forces in several attacks and injured others. Suspected Papuan separatists also killed a number of non-Papuan Indonesian migrants
    ... reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings during the year. On June 14, unidentified members of the security forces in Jayapura, Papua shot and killed Mako Tabuni, a leader of the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB), which campaigns for self-determination for the provinces of Papua and West Papua. The circumstances surrounding Tabuni?s death remained unclear, with Indonesian National Police (INP) personnel asserting that Tabuni was shot while resisting arrest and human rights advocates stating that he was shot in the back while attempting to run away. Tabuni believed that he was the target of a government assassination attempt that claimed the life of student activist Tejoli Weya on May 1. Unknown actors shot Weya during a demonstration commemorating the 1963 transfer of Papua and West Papua from the Netherlands to Indonesia. At the time of the shooting, Weya was reportedly standing with Tabuni in the back of a truck as it passed the Abepura military compound. Fellow KNPB members and activists claimed that Weya was shot from the compound, and an autopsy revealed that he was struck by fragments from a .22 caliber round. Police did not investigate the case.
    ... Violence continued to affect the provinces of Papua and West Papua during the year. The remoteness of the area made it difficult to confirm reports of burned villages and civilian deaths.
    ... 50-100 members of the battalion descended on that neighborhood of Wamena, killing Elinus Yoman, injuring a number of residents, and reportedly burning 87 houses. At year's end authorities had not arrested or disciplined any members of the 756 Infantry Battalion
    ... Violence continued to occur along the road near Freeport McMoRan?s (Freeport?s) Grasberg gold and copper mine in Timika, Papua
  • 2011 - Human Rights Report: Indonesia
    ... security force personnel killed some alleged criminals and terrorists... On October 19, police and military units dispersed participants in the Third Papuan People?s Congress in Jayapura, Papua. The Indonesian National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) found that Demananus Daniel, Yakobus Samsabara, and Max Asa Yeuw, whose dead bodies were found near the Congress area, had been shot.
    ... Violence affected the provinces of Papua and West Papua during the year. Due to the remoteness of the area it was difficult to confirm reports of burned villages and civilian deaths. Much of this violence was connected to the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and security force operations against OPM. For example, OPM forces wounded three soldiers in a July 5 exchange of fire. In another incident on July 12, attackers, whom the government alleged were OPM-affiliated, injured four soldiers and two civilians. On October 24, alleged OPM-affiliated attackers shot and killed the chief of the Mulia police station.
    Following a military investigation, three soldiers from the 753 Infantry Battalion faced a court martial for the March 2010 killing of Pastor Kinderman Gire in Puncak Jaya, Papua. On August 11, the court sentenced Private Herry Purwanto, First Sergeant Saut Sihombing, and Private Hasirun to 15, seven, and six months in prison respectively for disobeying lawful orders. The soldiers were not charged with the more serious crimes of assault or murder.
    ...Abuse of detainees in Papua came under heightened scrutiny when, in October 2010, a graphic video was posted on YouTube that showed several Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) personnel threatening one detainee, Telangga Gire, with a knife to the throat and applying a smoldering stick to the genitals of another detainee, Tunaliwor Kiwo.
  • 2010 - Human Rights Report: Indonesia
    ... security force personnel killed a number of alleged criminals and terrorists... Violence affected the provinces of Papua and West Papua during the year. Due to the remoteness of the area it was difficult to confirm reports villages were burned and scores of civilians killed. Much of this violence was connected to the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and security force operations against OPM. ... security forces shot and killed OPM leader Werius Telenggen and OPM member Yarton Enumbi...
    members of Brimob in Manokwari, West Papua, shot and killed Naftali Kwan and Septinus Kwan during a riot sparked by a traffic accident. On September 24, 11 Brimob officers were sanctioned in connection with the shooting. Four received 21 days in custody, the other seven received 14 days.
    ... In August 2009 members of Brimob killed tribal leader and former political prisoner Yawan Wayeni at his house in Mantembu village, Yapen Island, Papua. In May video footage of Wayeni's death appeared on the Internet. The video showed the police taunting and providing no assistance to Wayeni as he was dying,
    ... No further information was available regarding the 2009 deaths of Mika Boma, Abet Nego Keiya, Melkia Agape, Fauzi Bin Syarifuddin, or Kelly Kwalik.
  • 2009 - Human Rights Report: Indonesia
    ... security force personnel committed a number of killings ... police allegedly beat and shot Bayu Putra Perdana while he was in custody. According to a hospital autopsy, Bayu died as a result of torture. ... Violence affected the provinces of Papua and West Papua during the year. ... police in Nabire reportedly arrested protestor Abet Nego Keiya and allegedly punched, kicked, and beat him with rifle butts and stabbed him with bayonets until he died. On June 6, police killed two persons while recapturing an airstrip in Memberamo Raya District ... police shot and killed Melkias Agape ... Police Mobile Brigade (BRIMOB) officers shot and killed Mika Boma and injured another four persons ... BRIMOB allegedly shot and killed tribal leader and former political prisoner Yawan Wayeni at his house ... On December 16, the well-known separatist leader Kelly Kwalik died following a reported exchange of gunfire with police. ...
    Other notable killings by police or unknown parties during the year occurred in Aceh Province. According to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), on February 2, the Pidie police allegedly killed former Aceh Independence Movement (GAM) combatant Fauzi Bin Syarifuddin. On February 3-4, two members of the Aceh Transition Committee (the successor organization to GAM) were shot and killed in separate incidents. On July 9, police in Krueng Raya allegedly tortured and killed Susanto, an alleged thief, while in custody.
  • 2008 - Human Rights Report: Indonesia
    During the year indigenous persons, most notably in Papua, remained subject to widespread discrimination, and there was little improvement in respect for their traditional land rights. Mining and logging activities, many of them illegal, posed significant social, economic, and logistical problems to indigenous communities. The government failed to prevent domestic and multinational companies, often in collusion with the local military and police, from encroaching on indigenous peoples' land. In Papua tensions continued between indigenous Papuans and migrants from other provinces, between residents of coastal and inland communities, and among tribes. ...
    The government continued to restrict foreign journalists, NGOs, and parliamentarians from traveling to the provinces of Papua and West Papua by requiring them to request permission to travel through the Foreign Ministry or an Indonesian embassy. ...
  • Human Rights Practices - 2005
    There were improvements in the human rights situation during the year and, although significant problems remained particularly in areas of separatist conflict, the end of the country's long-running internal conflict in Aceh Province was a major step forward. The government faced an intermittent, low intensity guerrilla conflict in Papua and West Irian Jaya provinces; inter-communal violence in Maluku and Central Sulawesi provinces; and terrorist bombings in various locations. Inadequate resources, poor leadership, and limited accountability contributed to serious violations by security forces. Widespread corruption further degraded an already weak regard for rule of law and contributed to impunity. Poverty, high unemployment, and a weak education system rendered all citizens, particularly children and women, vulnerable to human rights abuses. During the year the government devoted considerable resources and attention to the recovery effort following the devastating December 2004 earthquake and tsunami that left more than 130 thousand persons dead and missing in Aceh and North Sumatra provinces. The country struggled to come to terms with human rights abuses committed by prior governments. The following human rights problems were reported:
    • extrajudicial killings, particularly in areas of separatist conflict
    • disappearances
    • torture
    • harsh prison conditions
    • arbitrary detentions
    • a corrupt judicial system
    • warrantless searches
    • infringements on free speech
    • restrictions on peaceful assembly
    • interference with freedom of religion by private parties, sometimes with complicity of local officials
    • violence and sexual abuse against women and children
    • trafficking in persons
    • failure to enforce labor standards and violations of worker rights, including forced child labor
  • Human Rights Practices - 2004
    Security forces continued to commit unlawful killing of rebels, suspected rebels, and civilians in areas of separatist activity, where most politically motivated extrajudicial killings also occurred. There was evidence that the TNI considered anyone its forces killed in conflict areas to have been an armed rebel. Security forces also committed nonpolitical extrajudicial killings.
  • Human Rights Practices - 2003
    The security forces continued to employ unlawful killing against rebels, suspected rebels, and civilians in separatist zones, where most of the politically motivated extrajudicial killings occurred. There was evidence that the TNI considered anyone its forces killed to have been an armed rebel, particularly in areas where the TNI had announced an operation and told all civilians to leave. The security forces also committed numerous extrajudicial killings that were not politically motivated. The Government largely failed to hold soldiers and police accountable for such killings and other serious human rights abuses.
  • Human Rights Practices - 2002
    The security forces continued to employ harsh measures against rebels and civilians in separatist zones where most politically motivated extrajudicial killings occurred. The security forces also committed numerous extrajudicial killings that were not politically motivated. The Government largely failed to hold soldiers and police accountable for such killings and other serious human rights abuses.
  • Human Rights Practices - 2001
    Security forces tortured and otherwise abused persons. Rapes and sexual exploitation by security forces continued to be a problem. Prison conditions are harsh. Security forces employed arbitrary arrest and detention without trial in Aceh. Despite initial steps toward reform, the judiciary remains subordinate to the executive, is corrupt, and does not always ensure due process. Security forces infringe on citizens' privacy rights. Security forces continued to intimidate and assault journalists. The Government places some controls on freedom of assembly; however, it allowed most demonstrations to proceed without hindrance except in Aceh and Papua. Security forces also brutally dispersed demonstrations on several occasions. The Government places some controls on freedom of association. There are some restrictions on certain types of religious activity and on unrecognized religions. The Government continues to restrict freedom of movement to a limited extent.
  • Human Rights Practices - 2000
    The 275,000-member armed forces (TNI) are under the supervision of a civilian defense minister but retain broad nonmilitary powers and an internal security role, and are not fully accountable to civilian authority. The military and police jointly occupy 38 appointed seats in the DPR reserved for the security forces, as well as 10 percent of the seats in provincial and district parliaments.
    The Government's human rights record was poor, and the overall human rights situation worsened during the year, despite the Wahid Government's efforts to continue the country's democratic transition and permit the exercise of basic freedoms. Security forces were responsible for numerous instances of, at times indiscriminate, shooting of civilians, torture, rape, beatings and other abuse, and arbitrary detention in Aceh, West Timor, Irian Jaya (also known as Papua or West Papua), the Moluccas, Sulawesi, and elsewhere in the country. TNI personnel often responded with indiscriminate violence after physical attacks on soldiers. They also continued to conduct "sweeps" which led to killing of civilians and property destruction.
  • Confidential Dept. of State telegrams:
    Feb 1968 / May 1968 / May 1968 / Aug 1968 / Jun 1969 / Jul 1969
"Man's inhumanity to man is not only perpetrated by the vitriolic actions of those who are bad,
it is also perpetrated by vitiating inaction of those who are good"
- Martin Luther King.
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