Udeido art group launches „Tonawi Mana” virtual exhibition on human rights situation in West Papua

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Published on Sunday, 19 July 2020 09:31

The art group Udeido has launched its virtual exhibition on the human rights situation in West Papua - it carries the name “Tonawi Mana”. It can be viewed on the group’s website until 17 August 2017. The exhibition is a further initiative by Udeido to push the development of superb and critical art in West Papua.

Tonawi Mana is a term from the language of the indigenous Mee tribe in the central highlands of West Papua. It refers to those elderly Mee who are “able to tap the hearts of their listeners and also stimulate all the voices that are not expressed by their owners to be expressed. They speak as a wise for the weak ones. For these Tonawi, peace can be realized by speaking out all the problems […] Tonawi Mana refers to the wise who always speak up when a dispute or injustice occurs.” The exhibition shows artwork from Papuan artists as well as artists from other regions in Indonesia who have expressed their perception and critical views of the situation of indigenous Papuans in drawings, photography paintings, installations and poems.

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Police in Wasior alleged of using excessive force and torturing a suspect

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Published on Thursday, 16 July 2020 13:44

Members of the Teluk Wondama District Police allegedly tortured a suspect named Sedrik Kaikatu as he was receiving medical treatment at the public hospital in the town of Wasior, Papua Barat Province. Sedrik Kaikatu had sustained multiple injuries while police officers tried to arrest him. The Chief of the Teluk Wondama District Police, Yohanes Agustiandaru, explained that Mr Kaikatu was admitted to the public hospital because he injured himself as he fell off a roof, where he was trying to hide from the police officers. The police chief’s statement contradicts the testimonies of other sources who claim that the officers released multiple shots when the suspect attempted to escape. The Manokwari police had put Sedrik Kaikatu on the list of wanted persons for alleged involvement in the theft at a mobile phone store in Manokwari on 23 April 2020.

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Political prisoner Surya Anta Ginting talks about inhuman conditions at detention centres in Jakarta

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Published on Thursday, 16 July 2020 13:25

On 24 April 2020, Paulus Surya Anta Ginting and five Papuan activists were found guilty of treason for organising a peaceful protest against racism in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta on 28 August 2019. He and four of the activists were sentenced to nine months imprisonment. Another activist was imprisoned for eight months. Surya Anta Ginting has now talked about their incarceration and the inhuman conditions they experienced during police custody at the Mako Brimob Prison and inside the Salemba Detention Center, one of the largest correctional facilities in Indonesia’s overcrowded capital Jakarta. The Papuan news outlet Suara Papua published an article about Surya Ginting’s experience during detention.

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Corruption allegations against Korindo palm oil conglomerate

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Published on Wednesday, 15 July 2020 12:13

Activists have called on the Indonesian authorities to launch an investigation into the allegations of corruption by the Korindo Group, a privately-owned conglomerate. Investigative journalists uncovered a $ 22 million "advisory" payment from the company. The activists are also pushing for the protection of the rights of indigenous communities affected by the company's palm oil operations. Korindo has so far cleared 25,000 hectares (62,000 acres) of rainforest in West Papua.

The investigation, a collaboration between Mongabay, the Gecko Project, the Korean Center for Investigative Journalism-Newstapa and Al Jazeera, examined the irregularities related to the payment and the role they played in the rapid expansion of Korindo's oil palm plantations in Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua.

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Labour Union files lawsuit against Freeport Indonesia and Department of Manpower and Transmigration

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Published on Wednesday, 15 July 2020 11:55

The Federation of Chemical, Energy and Mining Workers of the Indonesian Labour Union (PC FSP KEP SPSI) in Mimika regency has filed a lawsuit against Freeport Indonesia (PT FI) and the Indonesian Department of Manpower and Transmigration (Disnakertrans) in the administrative court in Jayapura. The workers union will be represented in court by the Papuan Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua). The lawsuit is one of multiple initiatives of former Freeport workers who were dismissed by PT FI after the company introduced a “furlough program” in February 2017. According to a report by the Indonesian NGO Lokataru, approximately 12,000 permanent workers and 20,000 contract workers were laid off. A few months later, PT FI reportedly fired around 4,200 workers participating in a strike against the furlough program.

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Police officers arbitrarily arrest and torture suspect in Keerom Regency

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Published on Tuesday, 14 July 2020 12:08

On 4 July 2020, members of the Keerom District Police reportedly arrested and tortured Yudi Kwimi in the Arso district. His relatives claim that the arrest rather resembled a kidnapping than a lawful arrest. Three civil vehicles allegedly approached Yudi Kwimi in the Kwimi Village around 4.00 pm, and four plainclothes police officers jumped out of the cars and immediately handcuffed Yudi. One officer covered Yudi Kwimi’s mouth to prevent him from shouting. The officers then lifted Yudi into the back of a pick-up truck. As one of the relatives tried to help Yudi Kwimi, an officer reportedly kicked him and told him at gunpoint to back off. According to the relatives, the officers did not show a warrant and failed to provide any reason for the arrest.

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