Indonesian soldiers gloat over the body of Yustinus Murib.
Note the bruising to the right side and right arm which verifies
a severe beating and torture.
Free Papua Movement (OPM) Regional Commander Yustinus Murib was brutally killed on the day he appeared on Australian TV - November 5, 2003. In a dramatic address to the UN, Indonesia and Australia he had called for peaceful dialogue with the occupying power. Soldiers gloated over his body in a photo released to the Indonesian press. One Indonesian daily, The Jakarta Post, said the soldiers had treated their victim "like an animal they had hunted and killed". "Even in the most brutal of wars such behaviour is intolerable," it added. Nine others were also killed in the attack, including civilians, according to reports.
The call for dialogue has reverberated strongly inside West Papua in the past year. For example, on December 20, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu leaders in Papua united in their commitment to peace and called for dialogue to overcome the sociopolitical problems in Papua.
Indonesia has responded with silence, killings, arrests, and by increasing the military presence in the territory.
West Papuan Leader Murdered
The Guardian November 12, 2003
There are reports from Indonesian-occupied (West) Papua of the murder of West Papuan Independence leader Yustinus Murib and at least nine of his clan by Indonesian forces. Murib was a regional commander of the Papuan Liberation Army, or OPM.Last month Murib sent a letter to heads of state and the United Nations calling for a sovereign country to act as mediator between President Megawati Sukarnoputri and the West Papuan
independence movement.Murib, along with Petrus Tabuni and other OPM faction leaders, had called for a peaceful dialogue with Jakarta to discuss the political status of Papua. Murib's letter, as well as film of an
emotional appeal to the international community from Tabuni, was smuggled out of Papua and recentlly broadcast on the ABC Dateline program.Murib was filmed reading the letter surrounded by his supporters in the remains of a village which was among 11 destroyed earlier this year by Kopassus forces in an operation that displaced over 1000 civilians and left more than 20 dead.
There are also reports that at least 11,000 Indonesian troops have been deployed to Papua in recent months, leading to speculation of an imminent large-scale military operation.
West Papua - Backgrounder
14 July 2004 - SBS TV Australia
West Papua - Backgrounder
Play video from THIS link - Real Player format.
Transcript
Archives - July 14, 2004
West Papua - Backgrounder
And now to the Indonesian side of the island of New Guinea, West Papua. Both Australia and America have been courting the co-operation of Indonesia. Australia in particular has moved to renew training and intelligence links with some of the most notorious units of the Indonesian military. For its part, Indonesia has asked for more understanding in how it deals with its own security issues in rebellious provinces like West Papua. That understanding became a little more complicated this week with the release of some extraordinary documents from the US National Security Archive. Mark Davis will be speaking with the Indonesian Ambassador to Australia, but first a look at the documents and the issues.
3:40 secs
REPORTER: MARK DAVIS:
Since it took formal control of West Papua in 1969, Indonesia has faced consistent charges of severe human rights abuses there - abuses against tribal people in remote valleys far from the glare of media and international observers. Thousands of Papuans have been killed under Indonesian rule.
For decades, the Papuan resistance movement, the OPM, seen here in footage smuggled to Dateline last year, have sought international recognition that Indonesia illegally seized their country through a sham election.NEWS REPORT: The Act of Free Choice on whether or not West Irian was to remain in the Republic of Indonesia...
They've long held that the 1969 Act of Free Choice was a rigged and illegitimate election, just over 1,000 hand-picked Papuans delivering a predetermined outcome. It now seems the US State Department essentially agreed with that view. This week, 120 pages of cables and memos were released from the US National Security Archive, which are potentially damaging to Indonesia's legal claim to West Papua. Cable upon cable lists the concerns of US ambassadors and other staff about how the UN-monitored election was being conducted. Indonesia could not win an open election, they say, and they document the actions taken by the Indonesian military and senior government officials to secure the vote from a hand-selected few.
"A Greek tragedy," says the US Embassy, "where the conclusion is preordained." For the West Papuans, these documents will add fuel to the legal claims they're pursuing at the UN and around the world that their annexation by Indonesia was illegitimate, a message being heard with some sympathy in Europe, Ireland and the US.
As we showed last year, West Papuans were making a desperate call for international observers. From across the highlands came accounts of the Indonesian military burning villages to the ground and killing those they suspected of supporting the independence movement. This OPM rally called for a ceasefire in the highlands and pleaded with Australia or the UN to assist in peace negotiations. This commander, Yustinus Murib, wrote to John Howard, Kofi Annan and others asking for their diplomatic intervention. He was killed by Indonesian forces before he got a reply.www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/index.html
Imron Cotan Interview - Transcript
Earlier today Mark Davis spoke to Indonesia’s Ambassador to Australia, Imron Cotan, from Canberra.Play video from THIS link.
Archives - July 14, 2004
Imron Cotan Interview
Earlier today Mark Davis spoke to Indonesia’s Ambassador to Australia, Imron Cotan, from Canberra.
6:10 secs
MARK DAVIS: Ambassador, thanks for joining us. Were you surprised by the very strong nature of these documents?
IMRON COTAN, INDONESIAN AMBASSADOR TO AUSTRALIA: I'm not surprised at all.MARK DAVIS: Well, they're a pretty damning indictment of the process that delivered West Papua to Indonesia. When you say you're not surprised, was there no new information there for you? There was some new information there for the rest of us.
IMRON COTAN: Well, there is no new information as far as the Indonesian Government is concerned. Why I said so, because we should not apply current standard of norms to judge the - you know, the past event.
MARK DAVIS: This is hardly ancient history, sir. I mean, the Papuans have been saying this for many years, that they were delivered to Indonesia in a sham election. Now, when you read through the bulk of these documents, you would have to concur that the American Government at the time agreed with that position, although they never said so publicly.
IMRON COTAN: Well, I cannot and shall not concur to anything that is contrary to the Indonesian Government's position. Let me educate you about the problems that we have in Papua. As you know, there is a well-established international law principle stating that the boundaries of a newly independent state conform to its pre-sovereign ones and...
MARK DAVIS: See, that's back in the '50s, right, that's back in the '50s. Let's settle with the 1969 election - the so-called Act of Free Choice, which has now come to attention again. The essential confirmation that these documents would suggest is that the people that were voting there were hand-selected, there was massive intimidation, civilians were killed, and the American Ambassador said that the vote was unfolding like a Greek tragedy, the conclusion was preordained - preordained by Suharto, of course.
IMRON COTAN: Again, let me inform you - if you could kindly consult the book of history, the condition of the Papuans precluded them to exercise the principles that we are now holding in the very advanced democratic society like Australia. They could not even read or write properly. So that is why they elected their leaders to channel their aspirations.
MARK DAVIS: Well, in recent weeks you've had 20 US senators writing to Kofi Annan urging that an envoy be appointed for West Papua and that a report be prepared. Again, is that of concern to you?
IMRON COTAN: Well, we will not in any way or state let the senators of any particular country to rewrite our history.
MARK DAVIS: Well, in recent days we're getting unconfirmed reports of military raids across the highlands, again unconfirmed reports of arrests and some killings. Now, if this is going on, why shouldn't there be impartial observers allowed in to monitor this?
IMRON COTAN: Well, listen carefully - we should not and cannot speculate on unconfirmed reports that you are seeing. It is irresponsible.
MARK DAVIS: OK, well some reports that were confirmed. Last year, late last year - again in the highlands - local leaders there, including OPM leaders, requested peace talks and for a cease-fire after confirmed reports of many hundreds of people being forced to hide in the bush and several people being murdered. The main person that made that call, Yustinus Murib, within weeks of writing to John Howard asking for assistance for talks from Australia or the UN, he was killed by Kopassus troops. Is that a reasonable response to a very tragic and deadly situation in West Papua?
IMRON COTAN: Again I would like to underline the point that any responsible government should take stern actions against rebellions whenever it is occurring. So I think it is only responsible for my Government to take actions against those rebels. So if they are killed, indeed, that is, I believe, one of the consequences they have to face.
MARK DAVIS: On the case concerning Yustinus Murib, who was killed last year in the highlands, did any Australian officials make inquiries of you about his fate?
IMRON COTAN: Well, I should not disclose any relations that we have with Australia publicly. I believe we have our common concern. We discuss matters of common concern. But I think it is only responsible for me not to disclose any information relating to your government.
MARK DAVIS: Imron Cotan, thanks again for joining us.
IMRON COTAN: Thank you very much for having me.
See also National Security Archive http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB128/ Link.
