Joint security forces arrest three IDPs in Puncak, among them one minor

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Published on Monday, 17 May 2021 05:37

According to the Papuan media outlet Suara Papua, joint security forces arrested three indigenous Papuans on 16 May 2021. The arrest reportedly occurred in the Tanah Merah Village, where 16-year-old Nelius Magai, Jon Waker, 30, and Ones Magai, 30, had fled after being displaced from their homes in the Tegelobak Village. They have been detained at the Gome Military Post in the Puncak Regency, where a widespread security force operation has been ongoing since late April 2021 (see photo).

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Westpapua-Netzwerk fears further violence in WP due to the "terrorist" categorisation

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Published on Wednesday, 12 May 2021 11:48

The Westpapua-Netzwerk (WPN), a forum of organisations and individuals in Germany advocating for human rights in West Papua, has issued an open statement expressing its concern over the classification of the TPNPB-OPM as "terrorists" as a further step in the spiral of escalation in West Papua. On 29 April 2021, the Indonesian government announced that it is categorising the armed fighters for the independence and freedom of West Papua as a terrorist organisation. In this context, the WPN calls for the protection of human rights defenders, the prosecution of racist violence, the visit of the UN OHCHR, among other calls. The statement reads as follows:

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Update on situation of IDPs in Puncak Regency – Local government says thousands displaced due armed clashes

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Published on Friday, 14 May 2021 10:25

Papuan media outlet Suara Papua has published new data on internally displaced persons in the Puncak Regency, where Indonesian security forces have launched a widespread operation against the West Papua National Liberation Army since 27 April 2021. According to the Social Affairs Department in Puncak, 653 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are currently seeking shelter at the local government complex in Puncak’s largest town of Kimak (see photo, source: Suara Papua). Thousands of indigenous villagers from the Mabugi and Ilaga Utara districts are believed to hide in churches and the forests.

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KNPB Spokesperson Victor Yeimo arrested and charged with treason

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Published on Monday, 10 May 2021 13:11

On 9 May 2021, members of the Nemangkawi task force arrested Victor Yeimo (see photo, source: Jubi) in Jayapura. He is the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) international spokesperson, a civil resistance movement organisation promoting the right to self-determination. Yeimo also plays a significant role in forming a petition against the prolongation of Papua’s special autonomy status. According to various media sources, the police had already searched Victor Yeimo since the Uprising, a series of protests against the racial discrimination of ethnic Papuans and for self-determination in 23 towns across West Papua and 17 cities in Indonesia between 19 August and 30 September 2019. The police believe that he played a major role in organising and leading the protests.

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Victim of torture dies in Tambrauw Regency – Observers demand independent investigation

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Published on Thursday, 13 May 2021 10:08

On 9 April 2021, two members of the Pamrahwan Yonif RK 763 military post tortured indigenous Papuan, Moses Yewen, 45, in the village of Wayo, Tambrauw Regency. He reported the incident to the military police and demanded the withdrawal of military personnel from Fef and the Tambrauw Regency.  On 7 May 2021, Moses Yewen suddenly passed away in his house in the Wayo Village, Fef District. Observers believe that his death is related to the torture he experienced one month earlier. Mose Yewen (see photo, Suara Papua) was an indigenous land rights holder in the Fef District, where the military has erected a military post and a military sub-district command.

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What about Jokowi’s promise to open access for foreign journalists to West Papua?

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Published on Monday, 10 May 2021 12:40

On 10 May 2015, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) declared during a visit to the Merauke Regency, Papua Province, that the government will open access for foreign journalists to the provinces Papua and Papua Barat. Jokowi explained during the interview that the Clearing House procedure would be abolished, and foreign journalists covering events in West Papua would no longer need special permission differing from the permission for other parts of Indonesia.

Five years after Jokowi’s promise, it is not clear to what extent President Jokowi’s commitment in 2015 was implemented. Human rights organisations criticise that the statement was never enforced through government regulation. Such regulation should guarantee that foreign journalists can cover news events freely in West Papua without intimidation, limitations or being escorted by security force members during media coverage.

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Again internet breakdown as armed conflict escalates – Coincidence or deliberate government measure?

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Published on Thursday, 13 May 2021 08:34

Since 30 April 2021, the internet in Papua’s largest city, Jayapura, has been dysfunctional. The breakdown occurred only five days after members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN PB) killed a Papuan intelligence chief in the Puncak Regency on 25 April 2021. Thereupon, Indonesian security forces launched an operation against the TPN PB on 27 April to find and arrest the perpetrators. Media observers and human rights activists suspect that the Government has deliberately shut down the internet to impede the flow of information on the conflict situation in the central highlands. Similar operations over the past two years have been frequently accompanied by human rights violations and internal displacement of the indigenous population.

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SAFEnet suspects internet disruptions in West Papua are deliberate

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Published on Sunday, 09 May 2021 12:22

The South-East Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) affirms that the internet disruptions seem to co-relate with security-related incidents in West Papua over the past year. The internet in the regencies Jayapura and Sarmi has been dysfunctional since 30 April as the violent conflict in the central highlands gained new tension after the West Papua National Liberation Army killed the Papuan Intelligence Chief. Vice President of Corporate Communications of telecommunications company PT Telkom, Pujo Pramono, declared that the disconnection of a submarine cable was responsible for the disruption. The connection will be fully recovered in the first week of June 2021, said Pramono.

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