Military operation in Puncak causes internal displacement - Jakarta continues deployment of additional troops

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Published on Thursday, 29 April 2021 12:30

Joint security faces have launched a massive military operation in the Puncak Regency, Papua Province, on 27 April 2021. The operation followed the killing of the Papuan intelligence chief and the subsequent speech by President Joko Widodo, in which he gave the order to the national police and the military to find and arrest all members of armed criminal groups in West Papua. The security force operation caused villagers from four districts in Puncak to flee their homes and seek shelter in nearby churches. Meanwhile, the Indonesian military is deploying additional troops to conflict hot spots in the Papuan central highlands. The armed conflict in the regencies Puncak and Intan Jaya is believed to intensify in the coming weeks. Human rights groups fear further human rights violations in the combat areas.

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TPN PB kills Papua Intelligence Chief in Puncak Regency – Human rights observers fear further military raids

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Published on Sunday, 25 April 2021 11:10

Members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN PB) have shot dead the Papua Intelligence Chief, I Gusti Putu Danny Nugraha Karya. The shooting occurred on 25 April 2021, as the intelligence chief visited the village of Dambet in the Beoga District of Puncak Regency, Papua Province. The TPN PB officially claimed responsibility for the killing. During a public speech on 26 April 2021, President Joko Widodo ordered the military and police to arrest all perpetrators responsible for the killings in the Beoga District. Human rights observers are concerned that the military will soon conduct more raids in the Puncak Regency. Past security force operations in Puncak and other conflict areas have been frequently accompanied by extra-judicial killings, torture and internal displacement of the indigenous population.

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Verdict in trial against political activist – Judges sentence Soon Tabuni to 1 year and € 57,000 fine

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Published on Sunday, 25 April 2021 11:07

On 23 April 2021, judges at the Timika District Court found Soon Tabuni guilty of violating Article 45A (2) on hate speech of Law No. 19 /2016 about the amendment of Law No. 11/2008 on Electronic Information and Transaction. He was sentenced to one year imprisonment and a fine of one billion rupiahs (about € 57,000), substitutable by six months detention. Previously, the public prosecutor had sought a sentence of one year and six months in addition to the fine of one billion rupiahs. Soon Tabuni still considers appealing against the verdict. Human rights observers understand his prosecution as an act of criminalisation and an attack on the freedom of expression.

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Journalist in West Papua subjected to intimidation – Activists urge the police to prosecute perpetrators

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Published on Thursday, 22 April 2021 12:12

Papuan journalist Victor Mambor was reportedly intimidated on 21 April 2021. According to information received, the perpetrator(s) damaged Victor Mambor’s car between 12.00 and 2.00 am. The vehicle was parked on a public road in front of his house in Jayapura. The perpetrator(s) smashed the windshield and two side windows and defaced the car with spray paint (see photos, source Jubi). Activists believe that the attack was meant to intimidate Victor Mambor after he wrote several critical articles on the human rights situation in West Papua for the Papuan news outlet Jubi. Victor Mambor officially reported the case to the local police.

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New Report on Deforestation in West Papua - Highest levels of deforestation occurred under Jokowi Government

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Published on Thursday, 22 April 2021 11:54

The Indonesian NGO Auriga has published a new report about deforestation in West Papua. The report carries the title “Planned Deforestation: Forest Policy in Papua” and contains updated information about the reasons, developments and current state of forests in West Papua. Even though Indonesia has successfully decreased its carbon emissions on a national level since 2015, the highest levels of deforestation in West Papua have reportedly occurred under the current Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya, who has held office since the first term of Joko Widodo’s presidency.

The provinces of Papua and Papua Barat are home to the largest remaining forest area in Indonesia, with 33,847,928 hectares. Both provinces were granted an autonomy status in 2001. However, the special autonomy status has not helped reduce deforestation in West Papua due to a lack of clarity in harmonising conflicting national and local regulations. Growing deforestation in West Papua is related to the massive administrative partition that has taken place in West Papua. Each time new regencies were formed, the lack of definitive administrative boundaries, functional regional government organisational and proper development planning has contributed to deforestation.

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Public order police prohibit peaceful assembly and intimidates protesters in Deiyai

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Published on Wednesday, 21 April 2021 04:48

In the Deiyai Regency, Papua province, the local police prohibited a peaceful assembly against the prolongation of the special autonomy and the planned administrative partition of the Papua Province into five provinces. A civil society group named Papuan People Solidarity (SRP) planned to organise an open panel discussion in the town of Waghete on 19 April 2021. Still, the local police decided to ban the event on short notice. Members of the public order police task force (Satpol PP), together with two indigenous leaders, reportedly drove through Waghete and intimidated the residents with megaphones, warning them not to participate in the public assembly. SRP finally cancelled the panel discussion.

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