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Subj: PROSECUTION OF WEST PAPUA CONGRESS ORGANISORS TO GO AHEAD
Subj: KABAR-IRIAN: [EN] WP:BHP to Team With Indonesia's Antm in Nickel Venture: Official
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Subj: Human Rights Watch report on Papua Copyright 2000
Date: 6/27/00 11:43:26 PM Central Standard Time
From: iris@matra.com.au (Anne Noonan)
To: reg.westpapua@gn.apc.org
From AWPA
ABC, Asia-Pacific Program
First broadcast 27/06/2000)
PROSECUTION OF WEST PAPUA CONGRESS ORGANISORS TO GO AHEAD
Indonesian authorites are pushing ahead with moves to prosecute the
organisers of this month's independence Congress in West Papua, even
though President Abdurrahman Wahid is preparing to meet several leaders
at the presidential palace. Six Congress organisers have been named as
liable for treason, after the congress declared Indonesia's rule
illegal. But the hardline approach by Indonesian police has been
criticised for sending the wrong signals at a time when West Papuans are
detailing human rights abuses as their reason for breaking away.
From Jakarta, Bronwyn Curran reports.
CURRAN: Within days of the independence declaration Indonesia's Minister
for Human Right, Hasballah M. Saad was in West Papua launching
investigations into some of the killings and torture cases that make up
a long list of alleged brutalities by the military. His three day visit
to the province was the first by a government minister in the wake of
the congresses demand that Jakarta recognise West Papua's sovereignty.
Hasballah believes that redressing such abuses is key to taming those
calls for independence.
HASBALLAH M. SAAD: First we have to solve all the human rights
violations in the past.
CURRAN: Hasballah has ordered a team from his ministry to look into ten
cases of alleged
violations over the past 30 years. But punishing people for organising a
congress doesn't fall under his definition of a violation of human
rights. Asked whether he should be protecting the right to freedom of
assembly, he says he has something more important to protect - National
Unity.
HASBALLAH SAAD: As a Minister in the Republic of Indonesia I think it's
not appropriate for you to ask that question. It is impossible for me to
support other ideas that are against the Republic of Indonesia. If I do
that I am not appropriate to be a minister of the Republic of Indonesia.
CURRAN: While espousing resolution of human rights violations in West
Papua Hasballah says
he also supports calls by his government colleagues for repressive
action against further separatist moves in the Province.
HASBALLAH SAAD: I think that's right because we want to put Papua as a
part of Indonesian state. There's a strong need, and a strong need for
all us in Jakarta to put Papua as part of an
Indonesian State because we have a mandate from all of the Indonesian
people to do that.
CURRAN: Among those criticising the Indonesian government's reaction to
the congress is long-time West Papuan observer and academic, Franz
Maniagasi. He warns that using repression to crack down on the momentum
for independence could lead to international condemnation of Jakarta.
FRANZ MANIAGASI: The Indonesian government has failed to understand the
political reality developing among the Papua people. In 38 years of
integration the problems have never been solved in a thorough and
correct way. The government should have found ways to deal with Papua's
problems instead of taking repressive and violent measures, because they
don't solve the problems. On the contrary, they create new problems,
like the occurrence of more human rights violations which are then
politicised into an international issue.
CURRAN: Criticism of Jakarta's reaction to the congress has also come
from a man once
perceived as a stooge of the past Suharto government and pro-status quo
forces. Yorris Raweyai heads a traditionally pro-Indonesian paramilitary
youth organisation called Permuda Pancasila.
Half Papuan he's also been elected to the pro-Independence Papua
Praesidium, a body chaired by independence leader Theys Eluay. Yorris
wasn't at the congress though, he was locked in a Jakarta police cell
for six weeks as police investigated his alleged involvement in the
fatal 1996 attack against the then headquarters of the Indonesian
Democratic Party, in which supporters of the breakaway faction led by
Megawati Sukarnoputri were killed.
Yorris refuses to state whether he supports independence or a continued
integration with Indonesia, rather he advocates mediation and compromise
between Jakarta and the independence leaders. He's straightforward
though in his condemnation of efforts to charge congress leaders with
treason.
YORRIS RAWEYAI: The Indonesian national anthem was sung at the opening
of the congress
before the Papua song. How can the government say that's a separatist
action? Planning of the congress was done openly, the plans were
presented to the president and the central and local governments. It was
obvious from the beginning that the congress was going to result in
something controversial, so why give permission for it in the first
place? And why have the local military commander, police chief and
governor attend? They represent the government, don't they?
CURRAN: While police have questioned five of the six congress organisers
named as suspects
of treason, chief organiser Theys Eluay has so far resisted their
summonses. Instead he plans to meet President Wahid in the next few
days to personally convey to him the congress' declaration of West
Papua's independence. Meanwhile Indonesia's parliament is preparing to
pave the way for the enactment of a new state security bill, which one
minister says would enable faster invocation of harsh emergency laws.
Parliamentarians cite the need to contain the mounting separatism in
West Papua as one of the reasons for fast tracking the controversial
bill, a further signal of Jakarta's unrelenting determination to get
tough with separatists.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Australia West Papua Association
PO BOX 65
Millers Point
Australia 2000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------
From AWPA
ABC, Asia-Pacific Program
First broadcast 27/06/2000)
PROSECUTION OF WEST PAPUA CONGRESS ORGANISORS TO GO AHEAD
Indonesian authorites are pushing ahead with moves to prosecute the
organisers of this month's independence Congress in West Papua, even though
President Abdurrahman Wahid is preparing to meet several leaders at the
presidential palace. Six Congress organisers have been named as
liable for treason, after the congress declared Indonesia's rule illegal.But the hardline approach by Indonesian police has been criticised for sending the wrong signals at a time when West Papuans are detailing human rights abuses as their reason for breaking away.
From Jakarta, Bronwyn Curran reports.
CURRAN: Within days of the independence declaration Indonesia's Ministerfor Human Right, Hasballah M. Saad was in West Papua launching investigations into some of the killings and torture cases that make up a long list of alleged brutalities by the military. His three day visit to the province was the first by a government minister in the wake of the congresses demand that Jakarta recognise West Papua's sovereignty. Hasballah believes that redressing such abuses is key to taming those calls for independence.
HASBALLAH M. SAAD: First we have to solve all the human rights violationsin the past.
CURRAN: Hasballah has ordered a team from his ministry to look intoten cases of alleged
violations over the past 30 years. But punishing people for organisinga congress doesn't fall under his definition of a violation of human rights. Asked whether he should be protecting the right to freedom of assembly, he says he has something more important to protect - National Unity.
HASBALLAH SAAD: As a Minister in the Republic of Indonesia I think it'snot appropriate for you to ask that question. It is impossible for me to support other ideas that are against the Republic of Indonesia. If I do that I am not appropriate to be a minister of the Republic of Indonesia.
CURRAN: While espousing resolution of human rights violations in WestPapua Hasballah says
he also supports calls by his government colleagues for repressiveaction against further separatist moves in the Province.
HASBALLAH SAAD: I think that's right because we want to put Papua as a part of Indonesian state. There's a strong need, and a strong need forall us in Jakarta to put Papua as part of an
Indonesian State because we have a mandate from all of the Indonesianpeople to do that.
CURRAN: Among those criticising the Indonesian government's reaction to the congress is long-time West Papuan observer and academic, Franz Maniagasi. He warns that using repression to crack down on the momentum forindependence could lead to international condemnation of Jakarta.
FRANZ MANIAGASI: The Indonesian government has failed to understand the political reality developing among the Papua people. In 38 years of integration the problems have never been solved in a thorough and correct way. The government should have found ways to deal with Papua's problems instead of taking repressive and violent measures, because they don't solve the problems. On the contrary, they create new problems, like the occurrence of more human rights violations which are then politicised into an international issue.
CURRAN: Criticism of Jakarta's reaction to the congress has alsocome from a man once
perceived as a stooge of the past Suharto government and pro-status quo forces. Yorris Raweyai heads a traditionally pro-Indonesian paramilitaryyouth organisation called Permuda Pancasila.
Half Papuan he's also been elected to the pro-Independence Papua Praesidium, a body chaired by independence leader Theys Eluay. Yorris wasn't at the congress though, he was locked in a Jakarta police cell for six weeks as police investigated his alleged involvement in the fatal 1996 attack against the then headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party, in which supporters of the breakaway faction led by Megawati Sukarnoputri were killed.
Yorris refuses to state whether he supports independence or a continuedintegration with Indonesia, rather he advocates mediation and compromise between Jakarta and the independence leaders. He's straightforward thoughin his condemnation of efforts to charge congress leaders with treason.
YORRIS RAWEYAI: The Indonesian national anthem was sung at the openingof the congress
before the Papua song. How can the government say that's a separatist action? Planning of the congress was done openly, the plans were presented to the president and the central and local governments. It was obvious from the beginning that the congress was going to result in something controversial, so why give permission for it in the first place? And why have the local military commander, police chief and governor attend? Theyrepresent the government, don't they?
CURRAN: While police have questioned five of the six congress organisersnamed as suspects
of treason, chief organiser Theys Eluay has so far resisted their summonses. Instead he plans to meet President Wahid in the next few days to personally convey to him the congress' declaration of West Papua's independence. Meanwhile Indonesia's parliament is preparing to pave the way for the enactment of a new state security bill, which one ministersays would enable faster invocation of harsh emergency laws.
Parliamentarians cite the need to contain the mounting separatism in West Papua as one of the reasons for fast tracking the controversial bill, a further signal of Jakarta's unrelenting determination to get tough withseparatists.
Australia West Papua Association
PO BOX 65
Millers Point
Australia 2000
=======================================================
Date: 6/27/00 11:37:25 PM Central Standard Time
From: admin@irja.org
Sender: owner-kabar-irian@irja.org
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Monday, June 26 2:53 PM SGT
BHP to Team With Indonesia's Antm in Nickel Venture: Official
JAKARTA, June 26 Asia Pulse - Australian resources company BHP Co, Ltd
(ASX:BHP) will team up with state-owned PT Aneka Tambang (JSX;ANTM) to
develop nickel deposits on the island of Gag off Irian Jaya, an official
said.
Director General for General Mining Surna Tjahjadiningrat said BHP leaders
had told him about the plan and were enthusiastic about the tie-up with
ANTM.
Surna said BHP told him that it was set to carry out the plan despite the
prevailing situation that had scared many foreign investors away from the
country.
BHP has already held a working contract to develop the nickel deposit on
the island of Gag and it has concluded two years of explorations in that
area, Surna said
without going into details about investment value and the magnitude of the
reserve.
He said BHP and ANTM would signed a cooperation agreeement this week.
(ANTARA)
KABAR IRIAN ("Irian News") www.kabar-irian.com
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Date: 6/27/00 4:22:09 PM Central Standard Time
From: cscheiner@igc.apc.org (Charles Scheiner)
To: reg.westpapua@gn.apc.org
The recent HRW report on Papua,
"HUMAN RIGHTS AND PRO-INDEPENDENCE ACTIONS IN
PAPUA, 1999-2000" is available on the web at
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/papua/
The Table of Contents and Summary of the report
follow:
May 2000 Vol. 12, No. 2 (C)
INDONESIA
HUMAN RIGHTS AND PRO-INDEPENDENCE ACTIONS IN PAPUA, 1999-2000
I. SUMMARY
II. RECOMMENDATIONS
III. BACKGROUND
IV. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON IRIAN JAYA
V. CRACKDOWN FOLLOWING THE OPENING OF THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE
VI. RIGHTS VIOLATIONS FOLLOWING FLAG-RAISINGS IN SORONG AND GENYEM
Genyem
Sorong, July 5, 1999
Sorong, September 9
VII. PUBLIC MOBILIZATION AGAINST DIVISION OF THE PROVINCE
VIII. DECEMBER 1 FLAG-RAISINGS AND THE CLASH IN TIMIKA
The Clash in Timika
APPENDICES
I. SUMMARY
In December 1999, Indonesia's new President, Abdurrahman Wahid, announced
that he would watch the first sunrise of the new century from the
easternmost province of Irian Jaya. It was an unusual choice-the province,
roughly the size of France, has a population under two million in a country
of over two hundred million, and its capital, Jayapura, is some 3,500
kilometers (2,100 miles) from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta-but Wahid's
announcement was clearly intended to signal a major change of policy after
more than thirty years of authoritarian rule. At a ceremony at an army base
near Jayapura on January 1, 2000, Wahid declared that the province would
from that day forward be called "Papua," an important gesture of
reconciliation toward the indigenous population of the province, who call
themselves "orang Papua" (Papuan people). For decades, the name had been all
but taboo as the embodiment of forbidden aspirations to political and
cultural autonomy.1
Since coming to power in October 1999, the Wahid government has introduced
significant reforms in Papua in the face of widespread demands for
independence. In addition to the name change, which has yet to be officially
endorsed by Indonesia's parliament, the government has declared that
peaceful expression of pro-independence sentiment will no longer be punished
as it had been in former years, and it released over sixty Papuans from jail
as part of a nationwide amnesty for political prisoners. The government's
actions, however, have not been consistent and abuses have continued. While
it has permitted a number of peaceful demonstrations, which usually take the
form of symbolic raising of the "Morning Star" flag signifying an
independent Papua, other such rallies have been forcibly dispersed by police
with resulting injuries to demonstrators. Likewise, even as Indonesia's
Minister for Law and Legislation announced on December 13, 1999, that all
Papuan political prisoners would be released, five men involved in a
peaceful flag-raising which had taken place in the town Genyem on July 1,
1999, were charged with rebellion by a state prosecutor in Jayapura.
Although those charges subsequently were dropped, at the time this report
was being prepared authorities were continuing investigations into a series
of peaceful flag-raising ceremonies held throughout the province on December
1, 1999 and nine people already had been named as suspects.
Human Rights Watch takes no position on Papuan claims to self-determination,
but it supports the right of all individuals, including independence
supporters, to express their political views peacefully without fear of
arrest or other forms of reprisal. To the extent individuals are arrested
and imprisoned for peaceful participation in symbolic flag-raising
ceremonies, such treatment constitutes arbitrary arrest and detention in
violation of international standards. According to the U.N. Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention, which visited Indonesia in February 1999, the majority
of individuals then facing charges in connection with flag-raising
ceremonies in Irian Jaya were being held for peaceful expression of their
views and, as such, their detention was arbitrary and in violation of
international law. Under the new administration, the number of cases is
down, but Indonesia has continued to prosecute organizers of peaceful
protests.
Papua, Indonesia's largest province, comprising more than one-fifth of the
country's total land area, was first put under Indonesian control in 1963.
It was formally incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 in a still
controversial, U.N.-approved process. For many years, the province was
categorized as a military combat zone (Daerah Operasi Militer or DOM;
literally, Military Operations Area) and under an effective state of martial
law, ostensibly because of the threat posed by the Free Papua Movement
(Organisasi Papua Merdeka or OPM), an armed group engaged in a generally low
level guerrilla campaign for independence from Indonesian rule. At the same
time, many Papuans sought to express their support for independence through
peaceful means, notably the symbolic public raising of the "Morning Star"
flag which had first been flown openly when local people sought to free the
territory from Dutch colonial rule in 1961.
Under Soeharto, who ruled Indonesia for thirty years until forced to resign
by popular protests in 1998, such flag-raising ceremonies and other
pro-independence manifestations were ruthlessly suppressed. Demonstrators
were forcibly dispersed and assaulted, and leading activists were subjected
to arbitrary arrest and detention. Such activists frequentlywere prosecuted
and imprisoned under harsh laws dealing with subversion and rebellion, as
well as the notorious "hate sowing" articles of the Indonesian penal code.
Indigenous Papuans, who are Melanesians and darker-skinned than the
numerically and politically dominant Javanese and members of most other
ethnic groups in Indonesia, were also subject to ethnic and racial
discrimination. While Indonesian rule brought unprecedented economic
development, it also resulted in an influx of immigrants from other parts of
Indonesia and caused resentment among Papuans as the benefits went
disproportionately to foreign investors and these immigrants.When Soeharto
was forced from power in May 1998, many of these long repressed sentiments
could be made public for the first time.
When he took over following Soeharto's resignation, President B.J. Habibie
initially made efforts to recognize and apologize for the human rights
violations committed under his predecessor. But the new administration's
willingness to acknowledge past abuses in general terms was not accompanied
by concrete measures to establish justice or redress for the victims. In the
meantime, demands for independence mounted.
The strength of pro-independence sentiment was unmistakable as early as
February 1999, when 100 leading Papuan leaders met with President Habibie to
initiate what was being hailed as a "National Dialogue" on Papuan concerns.
But the leaders presented President Habibie with a single demand:
independence. This clearly shocked and displeased the Habibie government,
which had encouraged the National Dialogue up to then, and the process was
soon suspended. In April 1999, the government reverted to the methods used
during the Soeharto era, attempting to round up independence supporters and
censor discussion of the subject. The crackdown included bans on expression,
assembly, and association, arbitrary arrests, and widespread intimidation of
independence supporters. With nationwide demands for democratization still
mounting across Indonesia, however, opposition voices could not easily be
silenced. The result was an uncertain atmosphere in which, even as the
crackdown was underway, Papuan leaders continued to assert their right to
advocate Papuan independence. In July and September 1999, at least four
demonstrators were seriously injured, one of whom subsequently died in
custody, and thirty-two were arrested after police moved in to disperse what
had intially been peaceful flag-raising ceremonies.
In October 1999, following democratic elections, a new government took
office in Indonesia under President Abdurrahman Wahid, and promptly
initiated a number of reforms. Openly acknowledging the errors of the past,
the new administration moved quickly to allow greater freedom and to permit
the open expression of pro-independence views. Peaceful Papuan
flag-raisings, which had been broken up under Soeharto and Habibie, were now
permitted and were held without police interference in at least a dozen
places in Papua on December 1, 1999. The next day, however, there was a
violent clash between police and demonstrators at a flag-raising in Timika
in which six people were shot by police and dozens were injured. When he met
local community leaders at Jayapura on December 31, President Wahid assured
them that flag-raisings and other peaceful expression of pro-independence
views should and would be considered protected acts of free speech. At the
same time, Wahid stated unambiguously that the Indonesian government was not
prepared to accede to Papuan demands for independence.
During a visit to Irian Jaya in December, 1999, Indonesia's new minister for
human rights, Hasballah Saad, acknowledged the link between the past lack of
accountability for human rights abuses suffered by Papuans and the growth of
the separatist movement within the territory, and announced that a new
center for human rights study and advocacy would be established in Irian
Jaya. "If human rights are not respected . . . that could in turn provoke
people to ask what maintaining the unity of the Republic is for," Saad was
quoted as saying. "This circumstance could in turn encourage people to fight
for an independent state."2
This report details violations of civil and political rights in Papua from
the beginning of 1999, including those associated with the National Dialogue
and subsequent symbolic flag-raising ceremonies. At the outset, it provides
an overview of independence demands, then describes the rise and fall of the
National Dialogue and the crackdown that followed. It also reviews
developments since President Abdurrahman Wahid came to power in October 1999.
As this report was being prepared, Human Rights Watch learned of disturbing
developments in Merauke and Nabire in which groups of armed Papuan
neighborhood patrols (Satgas Papua) clashed with police and troops, an
incident in Fak Fak in which villagers clashed with the entourage of a local
government official, and communal violence in Entrop, near Jayapura, in
which a Papuan mob attacked non-Papuan shopkeepers. There were also reports
that, in response, non-Papuan transmigrant residents in the province were
being provided with firearms by government officials, and that, in at least
one district, an East Timor-style pro-government militia was being set up.
These reports, if true, make it all the more imperative that respect for
basic civil and political rights and strict implementation of the
distinction between peaceful advocacy and violent criminal acts be made
components of any long-term solution in Papua. Although the Indonesian
government has recognized such rights in principle, it has not yet
consistently respected those rights in practice.
1 The names "Papua" and "Irian Jaya" are used interchangeably in this report
to refer to the province.
2 "Rights abuses fed separatism in Irian Jaya," Jakarta Post, December 10,
1999; "Indonesia proposes rights center in Irian Jaya," Radio Australia,
December 9, 1999.
***********************************************************
Charles Scheiner
National Coordinator, East Timor Action Network/US
P.O. Box 1182, White Plains, New York 10602 USA
Telephone:1-914-428-7299; fax:1-914-428-7383 cell:1-914-720-9205
charlie@etan.org PGP key available on request.
Check out ETAN's web site: http://www.etan.org
For information on East Timor write info@etan.org
=======================================================
Subj: KABAR-IRIAN: [EN] PRESS RELEASE: For the round table talks on WP, Berlin, June
Date: 6/27/00 11:32:36 PM Central Standard Time
From: admin@irja.org
29th and 30th 2000
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From: "INDONews (s)"
http://www.indo-news.com/
for the round table talks on West Papua,
Berlin, June 29th and 30th 2000
(Heinrich-B=F6ll-Foundation, Hackesche H=F6fe, Rosenthaler Str. 40-41)
June 27th, 2000
The West Papua Network calls on the German government to appeal to the
Indonesian government to take all measures necessary in order to prevent
any further escalation of violence in West Papua (Irian Jaya), to
substantially reduce the military forces in the region and to resume the
dialogue with the West Papuan people aiming at a peaceful settlement of the
conflict.
In this respect it is indispensable that the Indonesian government
starts investigations into human rights violations committed in West
Papua. Those responsible for terror and massacres should subsequently be
put on trial and victims be granted compensation..
Furthermore, we call on the German government to initiate and support
projects aiming at civil conflict prevention and to urge for a
comprehensive settlement of the West Papua conflict within the framework
of the UN as well as the EU.
The West Papua Network fears that West Papua (Irian Jaya) might become a
second East Timor. During the last weeks numerous pro-Indonesian and
pro-independence militias have been formed in different towns. The
pro-Indonesian militias that consist to a large extent of inhabitants of
transmigration sites, are armed by the Indonesian army and trained by
former army officers. The Indonesian goverment is planning to send in
another 5 or 6 army and police battalions, thus strengthening the
presence of armed security forces in the region.
Therefore the West Papua Network has in cooperation with Watch
Indonesia! and the Heinrich-B=F6ll-Foundation initiated round table talks
in Berlin. Politicians as well as representatives of NGOs and churches
will for two days discuss with prominent West Papuans and Indonesians
possibilties to prevent any further escalation of violence in West
Papua. It is hoped that these talks will contribute to a better mutual
understanding between Indonesians, Germans and West Papuans.
The West Papua Network comprises app. 20 NGOs and several individual
members.
Contact:
Watch Indonesia! - Alex Flor, Monika Schlicher, Planufer 92d, 10967
Berlin, phone/fax: ++49-30-6981 7938, Mobile: 0179-292 2536
Coordinating office of the West Papua Network: Siegfried Z=F6llner,
Rudolfstr. 137, 42285 Wuppertal, phone: ++49-202-8900 4170 or
++49-2336-81357, Mobile: 0173-284 5134
Advisory Board: Dr. Anita Heller, Protestant Church; Esther Hoffmann,
Watch Indonesia!; Dr. Jochen Motte, United Protestant Mission; Hartmut
Poth, Rain Forest Group Bochum; Wolfram Walbrach, Protestant Church
Rheinland.
The following experts from West Papua and Indonesia will take part in
the round table talks:
Dr. Benny Giay, Walter Probst Theological College, Jayapura, West Papua
Nato Gobay, Office for Human Rights at the Bishop (Catholic Church), Biak,
West Papua
Dominggas Nari, Foundation for Rural Development (YPMD), Jayapura, West
Papua
Agus Rumansara, WWF, Jayapura, West Papua
John Rumbiak, Institute for Human Rights Studies and Advocacy, Jayapura,
West Papua
Dr. George Aditjondro, University of Newcastle, Australia
Background information
On December 1st, 1961, the Netherlands, then the colonial power in
controll of West Papua, put in place a "transitional parliament" that
was supposed to prepare for the independence of "Dutch New Guinea".
However, the Netherlands were pressured by the United States, that
feared a Communist take-over in Indonesia, into handing over West Papua
to Indonesia. Thus, since May 1st, 1963 West Papua has been under
Indonesian rule. According to the New York Agreement of August 1962,
that spelled out the details of the hand-over, Indonesia was obliged to
conduct a referendum in West Papua within six years. But in what was
called the "Act of Free Choice" 1,025 hand picked representatives were
pressured into voting for integration. And on November 19th, 1969, the
United Nations General Assembly accepted this scandalous procedures in
their resolution No. 2504.
On June 4th, 2000, a congress came to an end in West Papua which had
been attended by thousands of West Papuans from different parts of the
country. The 500 congress delegates called for a dialogue between the
governments of Indonesia, the Netherlands and the United States as well
as the United Nations with the aim of dealing with the history of the
annexation of West Papua by Indonesia. The West Papuan Congress 2000
demands a revision of the above mentioned GA resolution No. 2504 and a
recognition of independence that had been promised in 1961. President
Abdurrahman Wahid had planned to open the congress, but due to his last
minute change of mind he has now missed the chance to resume a dialogue
with the West Papuan people.
It is estimated that since 1963 app. 50,000 Papuans have been killed by
the Indonesian military and innumerable have been wounded, tortured and
raped. The underlying reason for the repeated calls for independence are to
be found in those human rights abuses, in racial discrimination and in the
reckless exploitation of West Papua's natural resources.
**********************************************************************
Watch Indonesia! Tel./Fax +49-30-698 179 38
Planufer 92 d e-mail: watchindonesia@snafu.de
10967 Berlin http://home.snafu.de/watchin
Spendenkonto: 0 632 136 701 Dresdner Bank Berlin (BLZ 100 800 00)
**********************************************************************
KABAR IRIAN ("Irian News") www.kabar-irian.com
NOTE: "All items are posted for their news/information content. They are
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