Report shows Indonesian military treats PNG as its own territory : Melbourne Indymedia

Report shows Indonesian military treats PNG as its own territory
Submitted by manukoreri on Tue, 22/08/2006 - 22:52.

FREE WEST PAPUA CAMPAIGN (Melbourne)

MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE
Embargoed for release until: 0600, Wednesday 23nd August, 2006.

Report shows Indonesian military treats PNG as its own territory

An explosive report in today's issue of The Bulletin has vindicated a field investigation into the activities of the Indonesian military (TNI) in the Papua New Guinea – West Papuan border region. This investigation was undertaken by fieldworkers from May 14 to 14 June 2006 on behalf of the Free West Papua campaign in Australia. The work was funded exclusively by grassroots donations from Australia.

“For too long the security and human rights issues present along the border of the Papua Niugini and West Papua have been ignored at the strategic peril of countries in the region,” said Nick Chesterfield, the compiler of the report, and International Officer with the Free West Papua Campaign.

“In abandoning those who fought so hard for our freedom in World War 2, we have missed out on a genuine opportunity to stop displacement of our neighbours, and to genuinely combat terrorism on our doorstep,” explained Chesterfield.

Currently a massive troop buildup is occurring on the border by the Indonesian military, who have so far managed to resist genuine civilian control within Indonesia. After the defensive killings of five security personnel and agents provocateur in the demonstrations of March 15/16, the Indonesian military and Police have conducted widespread reprisals against students and the family members of all university students in West Papua.

Chesterfield continued: “The TNI's network of terror has now spread deep within Papua Niugini and has made its presence felt within isolated communities along the border, who are living in fear of an imminent invasion. We uncovered evidence that a massive ground offensive is in the final stages of planning, and there are questions that need to answered publicly by many people in the region to prevent this from happening.”

In recent weeks, several incidents have occurred on the border which have exacerbated the tension felt by local communities. This includes the shootings by PNGDF of fisherman suspected to be undercover TNI, in circumstances that are still unclear, amid claims of a PNG Government ordered cover-up. There have also been widespread allegations of illegal crossings by Kostrad and Kopassus personnel.

Also just this morning, the Indonesian Consul-General in Vanimo, Hardojo, refused to stop to go through passport control at the Wutung border crossing. According to a police officer who spoke with Mr Chesterfield, “He said he was late for an important military meeting in Jayapura, and was too busy to wait for Immigration. He just ignored our orders, walked across the no man's land, hopped in a taxi and drove away. But what can we do?”

“Before PNG was independent, the Indonesian military government already had a long standing plan to annexe PNG. The TNI have gradually come to control the economy of PNG with the help of corrupt figures in the PNG government,” said Jacob Rumbiak, Foreign Affairs Co-ordinator with the West Papua National Authority

According to Rumbiak, the TNI “are using the pretext of the demonstrations on March 16 to hunt to their deaths students throughout the border region, terrorizing local people. This is being done to prevent West Papuan people speaking out about military abuses and the genuine aspirations for their self-determination.”

“Now these latest incidents on the border are showing that PNG people also are waking up to the TNI's plans to destroy the territorial integrity and dignity of PNG.”

Central to this is the appointment of Major General Zamroni of Kopassus as the new military commander of West Papua. When contacted by the Free West Papua Campaign today, Dr Clinton Fernandes, author of Reluctant Indonesians: the future of West Papua and senior lecturer in strategic studies at UNSW, said "Major General Zamroni's appointment shows the Indonesian military's thorough disregard for the wishes of the civilian administration.”

“Zamroni was once deputy commander of Kopassus under the murderous Lieutenant-General Prabowo. Extra-judicial murder and other forms of state terror were and remain a specialty of this organisation. Australians should keep this in mind when they hear their government's preference for closer links with the Indonesian military," explained Fernandes.

Photographic and witness evidence was also found that shows clearly that Timbul Silaen, the infamous and indicted former police commander of West Papua (and the police chief during the carnage of 1999 in East Timor), is present in West Papua and overseeing militia activity.

“Questions need to be asked about what these people are doing in West Papua at the time where there of a militia build-up, and a renewed presence across West Papua of the very “rogue elements” that have such a brutal history,” said Chesterfield

For a copy of the full report, visit:

http://freewestpapua.com/files/SITREP%20West%20Papua%20Border%20Mission%20MayJune%202006.pdf

For a copy of

For a copy of a summary of briefing points, visit:
http://freewestpapua.com/files/Briefing%20points%20for%20West%20papua%20border%20mission%20report.pdf

For further comment, please contact:
Nick Chesterfield, spokesperson, mob: 0409 268 978
Jacob Rumbiak, West Papua National Authority, mob: 0404 513 314

w w w . f r e e w e s t p a p u a . c o m

why is it necessary to couch things in terms of romanticism of world war 2. inter-imperialist wars...

FREE WEST PAPUA CAMPAIGN (Melbourne)
Briefing points from West papua Border Mission Report

== Students (the clash, escape and relatives) ==

• The West Papuan students who were seeking political asylum after the March 15 & 16 2006 demonstrations in Jayapura suggest that there are many hundreds of students and other persons who have left Jayapura and have gone into hiding because of concerns for their personal safety.

• These persons have been subjected to beatings, torture, retaliatory action and reprisal killings by Indonesian authorities. Parents or relatives of these persons have also been subjected to reprisal and torture.

• The students appear to be political refugees who face real danger of persecution from Indonesia. An argument that these persons may not be safe from Indonesian authorities while staying in Papua New Guinea, and that international assistance is immediately required.

== The SKP report regarding the student clash ==

• “The clash started at 12.15 hours, while several demonstrators were throwing stones and bottles at the officers as they were negotiating with Arnold Omba, chair of the Jayapura Pepera Front and Selpius Bobii, secretary-general of the Pepera Front central board. The crowd did not want to remove the road block but the officers wanted it removed. The officers, wearing anti-riot gear, moved forward in lines and pressed the crowd back.

The latter withdrew to the Cenderawasih university campus where they pelted the officers with stones, bottles and sticks. The officers were forced to retreat and came under attack from the crowd. Seeing this happen, intelligence agents came to their assistance by opening fire. The crowd became more brutal, striking blows and throwing stones at officers who had fallen. As a result Police Brigadier I Saud Suleman and Police Brigadier I Syamsudin were found dead at 16.00 hours and Second Sergeant Agus Supryadi from air force intelligence was found (dead) at 17.15 hours.”

• Brief overview of Student escape,
”On the 19th of April a group of 23 students left the Dock VIII at 0400 West Papua time. 400 metres out of Dock VIII, two navy boats appeared and gave chase. One navy boat ran behind along the coast and one ran at the front of the boat. The students tried to put the boat to full speed but because it was only a 19 footer, with 23 passengers on board it could not outrun the TNI boats. The boat was then rammed by the first navy boat and it capsized. Finally the boat was sunk after it was rammed again. The students all swam in different directions for their lives. One of the students was stabbed in the water by the navy repeatedly with either a gaff or a bayonet on a rifle. The two closest students to the capsized boat witnessed TNI personnel stabbing the student in the boat. This student, Benidiktus Dimi, was killed. Another, Abisay Salmon Keiya, was also captured. Yulianus Pigome went missing, and was later picked up by the police and is still in custody. A third, given the name Johan (not Jonah) Wenda was rescued and arrested (The rest of this group have safely and successfully made it to PNG and are currently in hiding).

According to a survivor:
“The boat capsized and I removed a pair of my change (clothes) with my certificate and bible. I was pulled by the sea current six times, and so I let go of my certificate and hold on to a rock and managed to survive. I believe we were being followed because I saw dims {beams?} of light from behind and in front of us. At 4:00 am I heard my friends voice saying, “Let me go, I want to swim!”. I believe he was stabbed while my other friend went missing for good.”

• Example of issues affecting relatives of the fleeing students, “Some of the students reported that their family members have already been targeted in home villages. A key student leader described in harrowing detail the situation with his mother. “After the March 16 clash at UNCEN, and at the 18th(Saturday), Intel (POLRI) arrested my mother, then took her from the house to the university. They wanted to kill her in front of the university but she was struggling and shouting hard, and so they took her to POLDA and tortured her, burned her with cigarettes and beat her up for three days at the gaol. After three days, KOMNAS HAM and MRP came to the Police station and took her out from the station in an unconscious condition. Right now, she reported all these facts to KOMNAS HAM, and the police are harassing her daily to find me. Her life is in danger. After this they sent the Intel and are still doing so, to find out where I am.”

• The students will never get permanent protection in PNG and would much rather be in Australia or New Zealand where we will be safe. Finding show that PNG just wants to keep it quiet and are too close to the TNI.”

• Comment of student activist, ““Yes –I was tortured being the leader of the raising the flag (peaceful raising of the Morning Star flag in front of Wamena Parliament house on 2nd July 1998) . I was burnt with cigarettes, hot irons. I was beaten so badly. At one stage in the torture I thought “I will die now” but with the hand of God I am alive. God had given me the extra live to continue fighting for the independence of West Papua. This is my cause.”

• The TNI and POLRIs deliberate campaign to irrationally and arbitrarily target all students in West Papua, regardless of their level of involvement in the March 15/16 actions. Practices such as the kidnapping of family members and the torture and brutal sexual abuse have only been held to account because of the brave actions of organisations of Indonesian people concerned for human rights, such as KOMNAS HAM. The TNI and POLRI's heavy handed tactics and brutality on uninvolved family members only serve to demonstrate to the outside world tendencies that may be viewed as constituting Genocidal Acts against Papuan people, with arrest and intimidation based only on race.

==Militia==

• This report presents strong information about links between personnel of the Indonesian military and commercial logging operations along the north coast of Papua New Guinea. Commercial fish industry and timber logging operations in Papua New Guinea are working with Indonesian military and armed militias from Phillipines & Indonesia. These armed personnel are providing security for the industry operations. The nature and origin of these armed personnel suggests that a strategic political role is be being played by these personnel.

• Past and present members of Indonesian military have interests in logging and resource exploitation. These interests form a military industry complex, which has been ongoing in Indonesia since the Suharto era. It seems plausible that these same interests have extended into logging interests in Papua New Guinea. The military industrial complex which includes Indonesia’s TNI is entrenched in Papua New Guinea.

• On 10 April 2006 the OPM conducted an attack on an Indonesian military camp. This attack was supposed to assist the students fleeing persecution after the March 15/16 2006 demonstration.

• Details of very large deployments of Indonesian troops and equipment along the northern border region with Papua New Guinea. TNI installations including locations, equipment, troop numbers & battalion identifications, which extend through territory along the northern section of the Trans Irian Highway to Wutung.

• Islamist or Jihadist type militias are currently active & training in the immediate region.

• Local people have been removed from the area of military operations, face restricted movement and face a vastly increased danger of attack.

• Strong evidence to indicate a massive troop build-up in the areas of Wutung to Sengi. The daily operations there, witnessed by those that had to flee, and the prevalence of death squad operations show one of two scenarios:

1. the Indonesian military is unable to reign in rogue
elements within that are conducting joint militia,
Laskar Jihad and Jemaah Islamiyah training and operations,
forming death squads, attacking and displacing villagers
and turning their land into oil palm plantations, and
conducting cross border incursions in preparation for a
full scale occupation and / or invasion of PNG; or,

2. the Indonesian military all the way to Command level,
ARE THE ROGUE ELEMENTS that are conducting joint militia,
Laskar Jihad and Jemaah Islamiyah training and operations,
forming death squads, attacking and displacing villagers
and turning their land into oil palm plantations, and
conducting cross border incursions in preparation for a
full scale occupation and / or invasion of PNG.

Transcription of PDF

why ww2? why ever?
by blakfela friend of papua Thursday August 24, 2006 at 10:27 PM

Papuans died in their tens of thousands defending Australia because Australians wanted to use their land, not ours, as a battleground. It is hardly romanticism - it is reality, Australians like to take war to other's places and never here. Don't we owe our wantoks a little bit in return?

Papuans happily stood with Australian people when needed because that is what indigenous people do - they look after their friends in trouble.

Australia is living in luxury from stealing the wealth of Papua. Hope you enjoy your latte on stolen blakfela land as more of our blakfela brothers and sisters die because people can't be arsed standing up for them.

Either that or do something about it. Maybe it would be useful to support those that are prepared to brave a murderous military to come here and remind people on why we should use our "freedom" to stand with those that have none (and I am not talking about the solidarity activists who go in - I mean the Papuans themselves who come across the sea and those left behind).

But if you do nothing now, wait till the TNI knock on your door. Because they won't even give you a chance. Your choice.

To the Papuans: you do have friends here.

I support the struggle just not the romanticism of war. i had a grandfather in png during the 2nd world war. it was fucked then and it is still fucked.

free west papua