Exiled West Papua on Third Papuan Congress & Freeport strike

Situation in West Papua as the only area of conflict in Indonesia has been re-heated in the last three months. In early August 2011, the people of West Papua conducted a peaceful demonstration in entire land of West Papua, demanding a referendum. Today, almost one thousand Papuans gathered in Jayapura, the capital city of Papua Province, to participate in the Third Papuan Congress, from 17-19 October 2011. At the same time, as many as 8.000 employees of Freeport McMoRan in Timika, Papua, have gone on strike since 29 September 2011. This third peaceful demonstration has crippled the activities of the world’s largest gold and copper mining production.

Although both the scenes and coordinators of action and demands are different, the roots causes are the same namely injustices. More importantly, the heavy presence of the Indonesian military infuses the atmosphere of fear. To date West Papua is the only restricted region in Indonesia for journalists, humanitarian workers, representatives of foreign governments and the UN human rights mechanisms.

I appeal to the people of Australia:

1. To put pressure on the Government of Indonesia in order to deal with the Freeport peaceful strike in a professional manner in accordance with the Indonesian laws and uphold human rights;
2. To put pressure on the Government of Indonesia to guarantee the freedom of expression and assembly as being exercised by the West Papuans during the Third Papuan Congress;
3. To ask the Government of Indonesia to open access to West Papua for journalists, humanitarian workers, representatives of foreign governments and the UN human rights mechanisms;
4. To ask the Australian Government to closely monitor the human rights situation in West Papua and report it back to the Australian public as part of its obligations under the principle of “responsibility to protect.”

Octovianus Mote lives in United States as a political refugee and a former chief bureau of Papua for the Kompas Daily, the biggest daily in Indonesia. He is affiliated with two programs at Yale University: Yale Indonesia Forum under the Southeast Asia Program and the International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School. His role is a Papuan lobbyist at the United States and recently elected as one of five Papuan negotiators.

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