Event Notice: Pacific Education and Advocacy Festival

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Published on Wednesday, 11 August 2021 06:40

National, regional and international civil society organisations working in the Pacific region will hold an online event. The participants will have the opportunity to learn about the struggles in the Pacific region from the perspective of indigenous peoples, human rights defenders, environmental activists, women and other groups. The event with the title “Pacific Education and Advocacy Festival” will be coordinated by the Pacific Council of Churches (PCC), the Fiji Council of Social Services, Pasefika Fono, Rize of the Morning Star, and the Papuan Customary Council (DAP).

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Police officer opens fire at Papuan villager – Angry mob burn down Nimboran police station

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Published on Monday, 02 August 2021 10:33

Multiple media outlets have covered a further case of police violence against an ethnic Papuan in the Nimboran District, Jayapura Regency, Papua Province. According to media sources, a member of the Nimboran sub-district police opened fire at 22-year-old Fredrik Sem in the Worambaim village on 2 August 2021. Mr Sem sustained an injury on the head due to a bullet and was admitted to the hospital (see photo below, source: JPIC Kingmi Papua). Following the incident, angry relatives and residents burned down the Nimboran police station (see photo on top, source: Jubi).

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The Guardian: Merauke Police chief alleged of torture was trained in Australia funded law enforcement facility

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Published on Thursday, 05 August 2021 10:09

The Guardian has revealed possible connections between the unlawful detention and torture of 14 Papuan activists in Merauke (see photo, source: Jubi) and the Indonesian police training facility Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC) in Semarang, Java Tengah Province. The police education centre is partly funded and run by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to teach best practice counter-terrorism and counter-people smuggling techniques to Indonesia’s national police (Polri).

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New YLBHI research on police misconduct in Indonesia

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Published on Monday, 02 August 2021 10:27

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) has published two-and-a-half-year long research about misconduct among police officers in Indonesia. YLBHI documented 202 cases across Indonesia between January 2019 and June 2021. The violations range from police negligence to severe violations such as torture or extra-judicial executions. 2020 appeared to be a terrible year with 105 such cases – more than 50 per cent of all cases documented throughout the entire research period. The most vulnerable groups among victims of such violations were police suspects and students.

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Nationalist organisation reports Bali Legal Aid Institute and four Papuan students to police

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Published on Wednesday, 04 August 2021 10:48

The Bali-based nationalist organisation Patriot Garuda Nusantara (PGN) has filed a complaint against the Bali Legal Aid Institute (LBH Bali) and four Papuan students to the Bali Regional Police (Polda Bali) on 2 August 2021. PGN raised allegations of treason against the Papuan students, and LBH Bali after the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) had commemorated its anniversary at the Papuan student dormitory in the city of Denpasar, Bali Province. LBH Bali argues it only provides legal aid to the four Papuan students. Their clients have publicly expressed their opinion as guaranteed under the Indonesian constitution, said LBH Bali director Ni Kadek Vany Primaliraning during an interview with the news outlet Suara Papua.

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Police officer opens fire at indigenous villager in Sorong Selatan

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Published on Thursday, 29 July 2021 10:40

On 20 July 2021, a member of the Sorong Selatan District Police with the initials OD reportedly attacked and tortured 46-year-old Nicolas Kemerai (see photo, source: Jubi) in the Bariat village, Sorong Selatan regency. The torture was meant to be a punishment for a broken timber deal. According to media outlet Jubi, OD was running a liquor business and had given 20 litres of liquor in return for two ironwood trees on Mr Kemerai’s land. As Mr Kemerai ‘s relatives prevented OD from cutting the trees, OD became angry and drove to Nicolas Kemerai’s house to take revenge.

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The Oneibo Shooting – Another example of widespread impunity among security forces in West Papua

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Published on Wednesday, 04 August 2021 10:27

Recent violent incidents involving Indonesian security force members have brought the issue of widespread impunity in West Papua once again into the public spotlight. Human rights organisations keep reporting human rights violations from the easternmost Indonesian provinces – almost all involve the police and military. In none of the cases, security forces members have been held accountable. The director of the Papuan Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua), Emanuel Gobay (see photo, source: Suara Papua), mentioned the Oneibo shooting as a typical example for the lack of accountability in West Papua.

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Military members arrest 12 Papuans in Skofro – 9 arrestees alleged of affiliation with the TPN PB

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Published on Thursday, 29 July 2021 10:22

Indonesian military members arrested a group of twelve Papuans (see table below) near the village of Skofro, Keerom Regency, on 14 July 2021. The soldiers stopped the group (see photo, source: independent human rights defender) in a pick-up truck driving from the Papua New Guinea border to Skofro. Nine arrestees are alleged of being affiliated with the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN PB), an armed resistance group fighting for West Papua’s political independence. They are believed to have participated in a TPN PB meeting at the Victoria TPN PB headquarters, located in Papua New Guinea near the border. The military members reportedly found several TPN PB member cards and notes taken during the meeting.

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