Open letter to MSG leaders
Open letter to MSG leaders
28 June 2010
Dear Prime Minister,
The Australia West Papua Association (Sydney), is writing to you concerning the issue of West Papua . The human rights situation in West Papua has continued to deteriorate since the last Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) summit with ongoing human rights abuses occurring in the territory. We understand that you are aware of the issues of concern in West Papua but we would like to bring your attention to a number of recent reports that raise grave concerns about the human rights situation in West Papua.
In Amnesty’s
International Report for 2010, it states in relation to
Papua
“Violence increased sharply around the time of
parliamentary and presidential elections, creating a climate
of fear and intimidation. There were reports that security
forces used unnecessary or excessive force during
demonstrations and tortured and ill treated people during
arrest, questioning and detention. Security forces also
reportedly committed unlawful killings. Severe restrictions
were imposed on the right to peaceful assembly and
expression”.
Amnesty’s report also points out
that
“At least 114 people were detained for peacefully
expressing their views. The overwhelming majority were
peaceful political activists who were sentenced to terms of
imprisonment for raising prohibited pro independence flags
in Maluku or Papua”.
Below is an extract from
Human Rights Watch World Report for 2010, in relation to
West Papua.
"Papua and West Papua
Indonesian
authorities have responded to a longstanding, low-level
armed separatist insurgency in the provinces of Papua and
West Papua with a strong troop presence and often harsh and
disproportionate responses to non-violent dissent or
criticism. Human Rights Watch has long expressed concerns
over anti-separatist sweeps by the police, which often
result in individuals who peacefully express support for
independence being arrested and detained on charges of
treason or rebellion (makar). The government continues to
restrict access by foreign human rights monitors and
journalists to Papua, exacerbating the existing climate of
impunity and making investigations extremely difficult.
Prior to being ordered to close its Jayapura office, the
ICRC had been visiting detainees in Papua's Abepura prison,
where prison guards continued to torture inmates, including
political prisoners Buchtar Tabuni and Yusak Pakage.
In
July a series of shootings at the Freeport goldmine in
Timika left three people dead, including one Australian.
Police, declaring that the Free Papua Movement (OPM) was
involved in the attacks, arrested at least 20 Papuans in
relation to the killings and declared seven as suspects. The
OPM denied any involvement, and those targeted by the police
insisted that they were neither affiliated with the OPM nor
participants in the attacks. In November police released the
final seven Papuans detained in connection with the
incident. In November a Manokwari district court convicted
three men of makar (rebellion), for raising a
pro-independence flag".
At the present time
Indonesian security forces are conducting sweeping
operations in the Puncak Jaya regency in the highlands of
West Papua looking for members of the OPM. These security
operations have occurred regularly in the Puncak Jaya
region leaving the local people in fear and traumatised. A
deadline of the 28 June has been given to the OPM to
surrender otherwise a much larger security operation will
take place. The possibility of a larger military operation
taking place is only adding to the fear in local
communities in the region.
At the MSG summit in Fiji in July, the Australia West Papua Association (AWPA)
urges the MSG to raise concerns about the human rights situation in West Papua with the Indonesian President and call on him to halt any ongoing or proposed military operations in the Puncak Jaya region.
We note that the people of Kanaky (New
Caledonia) are represented at the MSG by the Front de
Libération National Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS). We believe
the time is now right for the Melanesian people of West
Papua to be also granted observer status at the MSG.
We urge you to support Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Edward Natapei, who has said he will sponsor the issue of Papua to the Melanesian Spearhead Group and Pacific Islands Forum meetings and would propose that the independent movement of West Papua be granted Observer Status within these two regional bodies.
We also urge you to support Vanuatu's parliamentary motion calling for the UN General Assembly to help clarify the legality of the process under which West Papua was ceded from the Netherlands to Indonesia in the 1960s.
The West Papuan people have being calling for dialogue with Jakarta and AWPA believes that regional organisations such as the MSG can play an important role in helping facilitate dialogue between the West Papuan leadership and the Indonesian Government. We encourage the MSG to urge the Indonesian President to dialogue with representative of the West Papuan people to work out all the issues of concern in the territory.
We note that the
Melanesian Spearhead Group led by
Prime Minister Edward
Natapei
visited New Caledonia
at the invitation of
the
Front de Libération National Kanak et
Socialiste(FLNKS)
. We encourage the MSG to send a fact
finding mission to West Papua to investigate the human
rights situation in the territory.
AWPA (Sydney)
ENDS