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Australian Prime Minister - John Howard - West Papuan Refugees.
We're safe from Indonesian Police and Military - safe in Australia - that's where the Bloody Hell we are!!!
On 18 January, 2006 a boat load of refugees from West Papua landed at Janey Creek, north of the Aboriginal community of Mapoon, Cape York, Queensland,
Australia after a six day journey from Merauke, West Papua.
The group consisted of thirty six adults and seven children. All are believed to be safe and in good health.
The West Papuan refugees has since been transported to the Australian Christmas Island detention centre.
The WPNGNC calls for the prompt processing of the West Papuan refugees and the granting of refugee status of all the individuals, who landed in Cape York.
See details below:-
West Papuan asylum seekers on Cape York
Wednesday, 18 January 2006
A Torres News exclusive by Corey Bousen and Damian Baker.
Photos by Damian Baker
The simple hand-painted sign on the outrigger, crudely tied to poles below the rebel West Papua Morning Star flag, said it all: “Save West Papua people soul from genocide”.
A boat load of 43 asylum seekers from the Indonesian controlled province of West Papua were found around 2pm on Wednesday, 18 January, by Coastwatch on the Western coastline of Cape York. Their discovery followed earlier reports that the occupants of the traditionally built boat were overdue after departing their homeland by sea five days earlier.
The Torres News, travelling by helicopter from Thursday Island, arrived at the site at around 4.30pm and was the only Australian media able to reach the remote landing site at the Janie Creek campground about 30 km north of Weipa. Travelling to the site was illegal as it was subject to a hasty no-fly ban imposed by the Commonwealth Government, although this was unknown at the time by the helicopter pilot chartered to fly the Torres News to the scene.
Torres News photography gives the appearance of the asylum seekers being in good health, despite travelling for 5 days in the 25-metre wooden outrigger, which was open to the elements.
Upon the Torres News helicopter landing, three Queensland Police officers – who said they were working under instructions from the Commonwealth’s Customs department – were quick to block access to the asylum seekers who were about 50 metres away. The West Papuans were subsequently moved by government officials to prevent the Torres News from taking further photographs.
The 43 West Papuan asylum seekers shortly after their arrival on the Australian mainland.
An ABC Online report on last night said the asylum seekers – comprising 30 men, six women and seven children – were undergoing health checks and would be housed at the Weipa Beach Front Lodge and Camping Ground for the night.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said she was pleased that the vessel had arrived safely and was due to make a further statement later today (Thursday, January 19, 2006).
Boat people fled 'genocide'
From: By Ian Gerard in Mapoon
January 19, 2006
MORE than 40 West Papuan asylum-seekers who fled the troubled Indonesian province in a large outrigger canoe six days ago landed on a remote beach in far north Queensland yesterday.The landing raises questions about Australia's border security and is set to test relations with Indonesia. The boat, carrying some of West Papua's most outspoken independence activists, landed at the Janey Creek campsite, north of the Aboriginal community of Mapoon.
The 25m traditional dugout canoe was fitted with an outboard motor and was flying the outlawed West Papuan flag."Save West Papua people souls from genocide, intimidation and terorist from military government of Indonesia," read a crudely worded banner on the boat.
"We West Papua need freedom, peace, love and justice in our home."
Immigration officers were last night interviewing the 36 adults and seven children, having moved them by 4WD to Cullen Point, then by bus to Weipa, where they were to be held overnight. The West Papuans - who had earlier huddled under a tree on the beach and were said by police to be scared - are only the third boatload of asylum-seekers to land on mainland Australia in four years.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone last night said she was pleased the boat had been found, given the concerns that had been held for its occupants.
Senator Vanstone said the 30 males, six females and seven children had co-operated with officials.
"There was an initial concern that four of the males had left the main group, but they were subsequently located by Coastwatch and returned," she said.
Senator Vanstone made no mention of the request for asylum, nor the association's demands the boatpeople not be placed in detention or be represented by government lawyers in their asylum bid.
The asylum-seekers are believed to include Herman Wanggai, a student leader from West Papua who had spent time in prison for treason, his wife and their three-year-old twins.
Herman Wanggai: Amesnty Int'l on his detention
"He has been one of the strongest and clearest student leaders in the past 12 years," Ms Byrne said.
Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs spokesman Clayton Boundey said the boat had been spotted by Coastwatch crews about 2pm (AEST) on western Cape York, and that a Customs vessel and government officials were on their way to meet it.
Seven Indonesians, who claim to be from West Timor, remain in detention on Christmas Island awaiting a decision on their request for asylum. They had travelled by boat and landed near the remote West Australian Aboriginal community of Kalumburu in November.
Unlike independent East Timor, West Timor remains a part of Indonesia, with West Papua.
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Papuan refugees' relatives 'shot, killed'
ABC - News on Line
Friday, January 20, 2006. 8:44pm (AEDT)
A refugee support group claims relatives of the Papuan asylum seekers, who landed on Cape York in Queensland this week, have been shot and killed in their home village.Independence campaigners are apparently among the 43 people who arrived by boat on Wednesday.
They have been transferred to the Christmas Island detention centre.
Nick Chesterfield, from the Australia-West Papua National Authority, says he has heard reports of reprisals being carried out.
"We have received information from several different sources that some direct family members of one of the people on the refugee boats has actually been shot dead today in Waghete village," he said.
"Two others are in a critical condition and one more lightly injured."
Australian Greens Senator Kerry Nettle says she has also received reports from West Papua that four people have been shot by the Indonesian Army.
Senator Nettle says two local pastors have reported that the shootings took place in the same area some of the West Papuan boat people are from.
She says she is concerned the incident might be linked to the Australian Government allowing Indonesian officials access to the asylum seekers yesterday.
Senator Nettle says high school children could be among the victims.
"The latest communication we've had is that they may have been high school age people, from middle school which is between 13 and 17, which makes it even more concerning," she said.
Earlier today, Indonesia's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Yuri Thamrin, denied rights abuses are rife in Papua.
"The new Indonesia is not a fertile ground for human rights abuses, especially genocide," he said.
Security forces shoot high school student in Papua
ABC News on Line - Saturday, January 21, 2006. 1:00am (AEDT)
Indonesian security forces shot dead a high school student and injured two men during a clash on Friday between security forces and angry residents in the troubled province of Papua, according to police.The clash occurred in the Waghete area of the central district of Paniai, killing Moses Douw, provincial police spokesman Kertono Wangsadisastra said.
Mr Kertono told AFP that the clash erupted after three people protested at the police station upon being told to stop taking "donations" of up to 100,000 rupiah ($A14) from residents while repairing roads in the area.
After assaulting two police officers, the three fled and returned with some 100 supporters.
Mr Kertono told AFP that they attacked the station when soldiers came to aid the police and that security forces were forced to open fire into the crowd because they refused to disperse after warning shots.
"We are still trying to verify whether the shots that killed the high school student and wounded the other two men came from police troops or from soldiers," he said.
He could not immediately confirm whether there were members or supporters of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) among the protesters.
A sporadic and low-level separatist insurgency has rumbled in Papua for decades, with many Papuans upset over their share of revenue from resource extraction in the province amid allegations of military human rights abuses.
Dozens of Papuan refugees arrived in Australia this week in an apparent bid for asylum, waving a banner accusing the Indonesian government of genocide, a claim it has denied.
- AFP
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Queensland Moderator calls for humane treatment of West Papuan refugees
By Journey
Updated : 2006-01-19
Print View
The Moderator of the Uniting Church in Queensland Rev Dr David Pitman has released a statement regarding the arrival of a boatload of West Papuans understood to be seeking asylum in Australia.
"Most people will be aware that a boat carrying about 40 refugees from West Papua has landed on the coast of Cape York. Initial media reports suggest that the Indonesian Government is attempting to label these folk as political dissidents," said Dr Pitman.
"We need to remember that West Papua is a country annexed by Indonesia with minimal protest from the international community, and subject to military occupation.
"In recent years thousands of people from other parts of Indonesia have been moved to West Papua to reinforce the notion that it is a genuine part of that nation. In the process the West Papuan people have suffered greatly."
Dr Pitman indicated that the Uniting Church will be monitoring this matter closely.
"It is our conviction that the Australian Government is obligated to treat these people humanely and responsibly, in accordance with the commitments made last year.
"It is also essential that our Government continue to actively pursue conversations with the Indonesian Government with a view to ending human rights abuses in West Papua.
Dr Pitman said that that Michelle Cook, our minister at Weipa and in the Cape York Patrol, along with the Coordinator of the local Community Centre, has been in contact with the police and others from the Convention Centre where the refugees are being held.
"They have offered support and help and have delivered some material goods, clothes, toys and blankets.
Uniting International Mission and Uniting Justice are in conversation with the national President of the Uniting Church, Dr Dean Drayton, with the intention of making a public statement on this matter.
"Please keep this urgent matter in your prayers," Dr Pitman said.
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Boat people 'at RAAF base'Herald Sun - 19jan06
A BOATLOAD of political activists who arrived in Cape York from the Indonesian province of Papua might be at an RAAF base near Weipa, a refugee spokeswoman said today.
Customs and immigration department officials interviewed the 36 adults and seven children last night but an immigration spokesman would only say they were spending the night at a remote location on the cape's north.
The 43 Papuans are in far north Queensland after spending five days at sea on a rickety boat before landing at Janey Creek, north of the Aboriginal community of Mapoon.Coastwatch officials found them about 2pm yesterday.
Pamela Curr from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Victoria today said the Papuans could be at an RAAF base near Weipa.
"There is a possibility they're at the Scherger RAAF base, which is 22km out of Weipa; that's the strongest possibility we've got," she told Sky News.
"The immigration department has drawn an exclusion zone around the people and won't allow anyone to speak to them."
Ms Curr said while it was not unusual for the immigration department to isolate asylum seekers, it was pointless considering refugee groups knew their names and why they were here.
"Immigration have always held people incommunicado but the difference is we know who these people are, immigration know, they have their names on a list, they know why they've come here," she said.
"This is no mystery boat from a mystery country.
"They know the situation in West Papua."
The asylum seekers were the adult children of Papuans who have been killed, exiled or jailed for their political beliefs, she said.
"ASIO and Australian Federal Police know what's going on up there about the imprisonment of people, the disappearances, the killings," Ms Curr said.
"The names of these young people, and they're predominantly people in their 20s and 30s, they're the children of the first leaders in West Papua most of whom have either been imprisoned, executed or have disappeared...
"The problem for these young people is that if they stay in West Papua they will be exterminated.
"What we're asking for is that these people be released into the community on bridging visas ... while they're applications are being assessed."
She said Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone's claim that it was unknown at this stage whether the Papuans were seeking asylum "beggars belief".
"They're not here on a Woman's Weekly tour," she said.
"It's a very treacherous piece of water. They've come down here with children, with wives. These people are fleeing persecution."
Senator Vanstone today said relations with Indonesia would not influence any decision on an asylum claim from the Papuan group, but she had not been advised whether they had formally applied for asylum.
"Australia has an extremely good record – if someone has a good case for asylum in Australia, Australia offers them protection," she told ABC radio.
"Australia has always made decisions in relation to protection claims on the basis of the merit of the claim and that has to be the case, rather than taking into account whether it will upset one or other of Australia's friends and allies."
Federal acting Opposition Leader Jenny Macklin today said she hoped the asylum seekers would not be held in detention any longer than was needed to complete security and health checks.
"We know that the immigration department doesn't seem to be able to get anything right, so I hope these people will be dealt with fairly and efficiently," Ms Macklin said in Sydney.
"We want to make sure that those children are not held in detention ... and are dealt with as quickly as possible."
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ABC Radio Australia
Radio Australia - News - Australia says Papuan asylum seekers to be treated the same as others
[This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1551316.htm]
Last Updated 19/01/2006, 23:00:39
Australian Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone says the group of Papuan asylum seekers found on Queensland's Cape York on Wednesday will be treated the same as other boat arrivals.Senator Vanstone says the single men will be held in a detention centre, if they apply for asylum, and the women and children will probably be housed in the community.
And she has defended the current border security arrangements.
"When Coastwatch is surveying the Torres Strait area - in fact much further over towards Indonesia - there's a tremendous amount of what you would call traditional vessels," she said.
"And it's not possible to see whether they are normal people going about normal business or a boat load of people intending to divert at some point and come to Australian mainland."
"Fleeing for their lives"
Nick Chesterfield from the support group, the West Papua National Authority, says many of the asylum seekers are West Papua's leading independence protesters.
"Apart from the fact that they're all West Papuan, they're all fleeing for their lives from Indonesian military violence," he said.
"Some you know have got women and children and other people on board - some are relatives of famous independence leaders."
Call for group to be treated as refugees
The International Commission of Jurists says it is against Australian refugee conventions for the Papuan asylum seekers to be held in detention centres.
Spokesman John Dowd says the 43 people came directly from a nearby country with no detours and should be treated differently from other boat arrivals.
"Under Australian law, they're obliged to treat them as lawful refugees," he said.
"They are asylum seekers and entitled to be allowed into the Australian community and while they're being processed should not be put in a concentration camp out at Baxter or shouldn't be put into any concentration camp anywhere let alone in the Pacific."
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Date: 1 February 2005Amnesty International
Indonesia: Prisoners of Conscience Action 2005
Case sheet: The Jayapura Flag-raisersCase information
Filep Karma (m) and Yusak Pakage (m) could face life imprisonment for their participation in a peaceful flag-raising ceremony in Abepura, Papua province on 1 December 2004. They are currently on trial in Jayapura on charges of rebellion under Articles 106 and 110 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP) which carries a possible life sentence. They are also charged under Article 154 KUHP with expressing hostility or hatred towards the state, the maximum penalty for which is seven years. Amnesty International considers them to be prisoners of conscience who have been detained purely for the peaceful and legitimate exercise of their right to freedom of expression and is calling for their immediate and unconditional release.
On 1 December 2004 a peaceful ceremony was held in Trikora field outside Abepura in Papua and the Morning Star flag, a symbol of Papuan independence, was raised in commemoration of the declaration of Papuan independence in 1962. The commemoration is celebrated annually by some Papuans. Approximately 200 people took part in the ceremony, and hundreds more local people watched from the edge of the fields.
When the flag was raised, police advanced on the crowd, firing warning shots and beating people with batons. At least four people were reportedly injured by bullets fired by the police, including two people receiving bullet wounds to the head, and at least one student had her body stepped on by members of the police forces.
Police also beat a human rights monitor from the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (ELSHAM), who was trying to photograph the police attack on the crowd.
However, the police were outnumbered by the crowd and were forced to retreat until riot police reinforcements arrived. They were then able to force an end to the ceremony.
Filep Karma was arrested at the site of the ceremony. He was reportedly beaten, and stepped on by police officers during transportation to the police station. A group of about twenty people were later arrested at the police station when they went to protest over Filep Karma’s arrest. This group was subsequently released, except for Yusak Pakage, who remained in detention with Filep Karma. The two men were later charged with rebellion for their role in leading and organising the event.
Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage have staged hunger strikes during their detention, to protest over their ill-treatment, and over the legality of the charges against them.
Other Prisoners of Conscience in Papua
Supporters of independence for Papua Province are among those who have been imprisoned as prisoners of conscience in Indonesia. Since late 1998, more than 72 people have been brought to trial in Papua in connection with activities in support of independence, of which at least 34 are believed to have been engaged only in peaceful activities. These have included organising or attending meetings in which the political status of Papua has been discussed, and ceremonies in which the Morning Star flag, a symbol of independence, has been raised.In a similar case two other prisoners of conscience, Herman Wanggai and Edison Waromi, were imprisoned for two years in Abepura Prison. The two men were detained during a peaceful flag-raising ceremony on the campus of Cenderawasih University in Abepura town on 14 December 2002. In October 2003 they were found guilty of "rebellion" (Article 106 and 110, KUHP) and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment each. They were released in 2004. A third man, Jordan Ick, was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment for knowing about the event but failing to report it to the authorities (Article 164 KUHP). He has also been released after serving his sentence.
Nine men who were arrested during a similar demonstration on 27 November 2002 were sentenced to between 14 and 15 month’ imprisonment. Six of them were considered to be prisoners of conscience. All have been released following completion of their sentences.
In 2001, Reverend Obeth Komba, Amelia Yiggibalom, Reverend Yudas Meage and Murjono Murib were sentenced to four year’s imprisonment each after being found guilty of "rebellion" under Articles 106 and 110 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP). All four are members of the Wamena Panel – the local branch of the civilian organisation which supports independence for Papua Province, the Papua Presidium Council. There four were accused of instigating violence in Wamena town in October 2001. Evidence showed, however, that they actively tried to prevent the violence. They were then told by the police to find those responsible. Unable and unwilling to do so, they were themselves charged and convicted of rebellion on the basis of their panel membership and attendance of public meetings which discussed independence for Papua. The four are currently serving their prison sentences.
Background
Following the forced resignation of former President Suharto in 1998, over 230 prisoners of conscience and political prisoners were released in a series of presidential amnesties. Repressive legislation which limits freedom of expression, under which many of them had been imprisoned, fell out of use for a brief period of time.However, since early 2001, repressive legislation has once again been used with increasing frequency against government critics, including labour and political activists, journalists, and independence activists in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) and Papua Provinces. A number of human rights organisations have also been charged with "defamation", in what appears to be an attempt by the authorities to discredit them and disrupt their legitimate work.
At least 62 prisoners of conscience have been sentenced to prison terms since 1998. Nine of them are currently imprisoned. In addition to Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage, six people who would be considered prisoners of conscience if convicted are currently facing trial. Hundreds more political prisoners have faced trial in the provinces of Aceh, Papua and Maluku. Amnesty International believes that many of these have been convicted solely for the peaceful and legitimate exercise of their right to freedom of expression.
While Amnesty International takes no position on the political status of any province of Indonesia, Amnesty International believes that the right to freedom of expression includes the right to peacefully advocate referenda, independence or other political solutions and that these rights must be upheld.
Amnesty International is calling on the Indonesian government to:
• Immediately and unconditionally release Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage, and all other prisoners of conscience in Indonesia;
• Make public commitments that there will be no further arrest of individuals purely for the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression, opinion, belief and association;
• Conduct effective and independent investigations into the allegations of human rights violations by members of the security forces in Abepura in relation to the events of 1 December 2004, including the unnecessary use of force against peaceful demonstrators, and the ill-treatment of detainees; and to prosecute those found to be responsible;
• Repeal repressive legislation used to imprison prisoners of conscience including the “Hate-sowing Articles” (Articles 154, 155, and 156 KHUP) and articles which criminalize “insulting the President or Vice-president” (Articles 134, 136 and 137 KUHP);
• Ratify and implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
• Issue standing invitations for UN Mechanisms to visit Indonesia. Priority should be given to the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the Special Rapporteur on Torture;
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Papuan people warned against celebrating independence
Jakarta Post - December 14, 2004
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura -- Police personnel will not hesitate to arrest any parties who attempt to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the proclamation of the West Melanesian State, a top police officer in Papua warned on Monday. The anniversary celebration falls on December 14.
"The anniversary celebration is unlawful and parties who commemorate it will be severely punished," said chief of Papua provincial police Insp. Gen. Dodi Sumatyawan.
Dodi issued the statement after attending the inauguration of the speaker and deputy speakers of the Papuan provincial council.
Earlier, Papua police had taken stern measures against Papuans celebrating the anniversary of Papua Independence Day on December 1.
Police have arrested two Papuans believed to have led the flag raising ceremony in Trikora Field, Abepura, Jayapura on that day. The two -- Philep Karma and Yusak Pakage -- are being questioned by Papua police. They are charged with committing treason and disturbing public order.
Similarly, police also arrested two separatist leaders, Herman Wanggai and Edison Waromi, who led the commemoration of the West Melanesia State's 14th anniversary at the Cenderawasih University campus two years ago. They were both convicted for treason and sentenced to two years in jail.
December 14 was declared the anniversary of West Melanesia after West Melanesia leader Thom Wanggai proclaimed the independence of the West Melanesian people on December 14, 1988 in Mandala Field, Jayapura.
Herman Wanggai, the follower of Thom Wanggai, argued that the West Melanesian struggle for independence is justified. Based on the Rome agreement, Indonesia was given a mandate by the Netherlands to prepare Papua for independence after the latter were forced out of the province in 1963. But, from the time the agreement was signed on May 1, 1963, Indonesia has never had any intention of setting Papuans free, said Herman.
Knowing that the Rome agreement will never be implemented, Thom Wanggai proclaimed Papua independent on December 14, 1988, said Herman. Thom was found dead while serving a jail sentence in a Jakarta prison in 1996.
Thom apparently has a significant following in Papua. His death was not accepted quietly, with his funeral stirring chaos in Jayapura. Papuans in Jayapura were very angry after military and police personnel banned Papuans from parading the remains of Thom from Sentani Airport to a cemetery in Jayapura, where Thom's remains were set to be buried.
The angry masses burned down markets and houses along Jayapura's main thoroughfares, and set some cars ablaze.
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Letter to Australia on Papua Asylum Seekers
PO Box 15774, Washington, DC 2000320 January 2006
Prime Minister John Howard
c/o Embassy of Australia to the United States
1601 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20036-2273Via facsimile: 202-797-3168
Dear Prime Minister Howard:
We strongly urge your government to respond with compassion and in compliance with legal and international obligations with respect to the 43 West Papuan refugees seeking asylum who arrived at Port York on January 17. While Australia is to be commended for its timely and successful efforts to assist these men, women, and children after their harrowing journey, it is equally important that they now be accorded the full rights and privileges which accrue to their refugee status.
The circumstances of their plight, especially the systemic human rights violations which impelled them to make this arduous voyage, are not in question. International human rights organizations, the media, and West Papuan rights organizations now under threat have convincingly documented the widespread and intensifying abuse in West Papua carried out by Indonesian authorities, primarily by the military and police. In December 2003, Yale Law School published a report that addressed both the scale and seriousness of the situation in West Papua. It said in part:
The Indonesian military and security forces have engaged in widespread violence and extrajudicial killings in West Papua. They have subjected Papuan men and women to acts of torture, disappearance, rape, and sexual violence, thus causing serious bodily and mental harm. Systematic resource exploitation, the destruction of Papuan resources and crops, compulsory (and often uncompensated) labor, transmigration schemes, and forced relocation have caused pervasive environmental harm to the region, undermined traditional subsistence practices, and led to widespread disease, malnutrition, and death among West Papuans….Many of these acts, individually and collectively, clearly constitute crimes against humanity under international law.
The military and police operate with impunity within Indonesia's corrupt judicial system. Increasing military deployment and continuing development of "militia" to intimidate the local population, as well as the central government's plan to divide the province, have led to a potentially volatile climate. The marginalization of West Papuans in their own land, reflected in a dearth of fundamental health, education and other basic services as noted in recent World Bank reporting, has created intolerable conditions.
It is certain that the 43 West Papuan refugees would face persecution should they be sent back to Indonesia. We urge you to ensure that they have the fair hearings to which they are entitled.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Karen Orenstein, Washington Coordinator
East Timor and Indonesia Action NetworkBama Athreya, Deputy Director
International Labor Rights FundKevin Martin, Executive Director
Peace Action and Peace Action Education FundEmily Goldman, Senior Program Officer
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human RightsMary Anne Mercer, Deputy Director
Health Alliance InternationalJoseph K. Grieboski, President
Institute on Religion and Public Policy Secretary General, Interparliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom
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Australia angry with Indonesia of Papua shootings
17:35 2006-01-21
Australia has asked Indonesia to explain the shooting of protesters in Papua province, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said Saturday, but he declined to speculate on whether the incident was linked to the flight of dozens of asylum seekers from the restive region.On Friday, Indonesian security forces opened fire on a group of about 100 protesters outside a police station in the central Papuan town of Paniai, killing at least one person and injuring two others. "We've asked our diplomatic representatives to obtain an appropriate report (on the shootings) for us," Ruddock told reporters in Sydney.
The shooting occurred a day after 43 asylum seekers from the province, including independence advocates and their families, reached Cape York in northeastern Australia in a traditional outrigger boat and accused Indonesia of genocide.
Benny Giay, chairman of the human rights group ELSHAM, said that a protester shot dead by police on Friday, 13-year-old Moses Douw, was a close relative of one of the asylum seekers, according to Saturday's Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. Opposition Labor Party foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd urged the government to investigate whether the shootings came as a reprisal for the Papuans' escape.
"What are the connections between these individuals (who were shot) and those who are seeking asylum on Cape York, if any connections exist?" Rudd said to reporters in Brisbane. But the attorney-general declined to speculate on whether the two events were connected.
"You're talking about issues that might be raised in the context of asylum claims and I'm simply saying they are not matters about which it is appropriate for me to comment," Ruddock said. Nick Chesterfield, from the Australia West Papua Association which campaigns for Papuan self-determination, told Network 10 Television that the government had revealed the identities of the asylum seekers to Indonesia.
But the immigration department denied that allegation and said Indonesia has had no contact with the Papuans. The asylum seekers are being held at a detention center on Australia's Indian Ocean territory Christmas Island while their refugee claims are assessed.
"There has been no contact between ... Indonesian officials and the group," department spokesman Sandy Logan told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. Green Party Sen. Kerry Nettle has called on the government to shelve negotiations on a new security pact with Indonesia which would formally recognize the Southeast Asian nation's sovereignty over its sprawling archipelago, despite secessionist movements in some provinces including Papua.
A security treaty between the neighbors was scrapped by Indonesia in 1999 when Australia led a U.N. military force into East Timor to fight pro-Jakarta militia who launched a bloody rampage after people there voted for independence.
Indonesia has warned that bilateral relations could be damaged if Australia grants the 43 asylum. Nettle's spokesman, Kristian Bolwell, also said the party had information from three sources in Papua, whom he did not identify, that four teenagers had been killed in Friday's shooting, but he said he couldn't vouch for the accuracy of the figure.
In Papua, police spokesman Col. Kertono Wangsadisastra denied the Green Party's claim, and reaffirmed that one student was killed and two injured. Papua was integrated into Indonesia in 1969 after a vote since dismissed as a sham, reports the AP.
N.U.
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Asylum seekers' move to Christmas Is 'shocking'
7:25 AM January 22A Northern Territory human rights advocate says a group of West Papuan asylum seekers should be brought back from Christmas Island and housed in Darwin.
The 43 Papuans arrived on Cape York on Wednesday and have been flown to the Christmas Island detention centre off Western Australia.
There are concerns about possible links between their processing and a clash involving independence supporters in Papua, which left one person dead and two others injured.
Rob Wesley Smith, the Darwin spokesman for "Australians for a Free West Papua", has likened the political situation in Papua to that in East Timor under Indonesian rule.
He says the volatile political situation in the province is well known and the group deserves Australia's protection.
"It's quite shocking really that people who've come to Australia for political asylum and it's quite clear from the sign on their boat and so on and what we know about them, that they then get sent on a seven-hour Hercules flight almost to the door of Jakarta - get them as far away from people who might help them in Australia," he said.
Mr Wesley Smith says the group has a convincing case for asylum and should be quickly processed on the mainland.
"On any standard they're likely to be given refugee status," he said.
"There is plenty of accommodation in Australia, in fact there is empty accommodation in Darwin and we offered to accommodate them anyway and to send them out to Christmas Island is a farce."
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Jakarta warns on Papua refugees
BBC
2006-01-20
Indonesia has said ties with Australia could be strained if Canberra offers asylum to boat people claiming rights abuses in the province of Papua.
A government spokesman said the move "could disturb bilateral relations".He was speaking two days after 43 people from Indonesia's eastern Papua province, including several children, reached northern Australia on a canoe.
Papua has been home to an ongoing separatist struggle since Indonesia took over in the 1960s.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin said on Friday that Australia risked attracting a wave of boat people from Papua if it granted asylum to the 43 people.
Mr Thamrin also said that accepting their claims of abuses "could strengthen perceptions in Indonesia that there are parties in and around (Australia) who support or express sympathy for separatism".
The Papuans - who reportedly include leading pro-independence activists - arrived on Australia's northernmost Cape York Peninsula on Wednesday.
The group was reported to be carrying a banner that accused Indonesia of genocide in Papua.
Indonesia gained sovereignty over Papua - a former Dutch colony - in 1969.
Archive: Refugee/IDP, West Papua(Irjan Jaya).
WPNGNC Comment:- If conditions are so good for the West Papuans under indonesian occupation, why would so many risk a treacherous boat voyage to come to Australia? Why are there so many West Papuan refugees in PNG?
For your information Mr Yuri Thamrin most average Australians couldn't care less if the West Papuan refugee situation "disturbed bilateral relations" with Indonesia. Australian's don't react to veiled threats from one of the most corrupt governments in the world.
Australians remember the support porvided to our soldiers during World War II by the West Papuans not like the Javanese who collaborated with the Japanese.
--------------------------------------------------Boat People's Fate in the Balance
The Courier Mail - 28jan06
AUSTRALIA is likely to decide within three weeks whether 43 asylum seekers from Indonesia's troubled Papua province are refugees, the Immigration Department said today after Jakarta urged Canberra to send them back.
The asylum seekers were found last week on Cape York, Australia's northernmost point, after sailing for five days in a traditional outrigger with a banner accusing the Indonesian military of conducting genocide in their homeland.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono spoke to Australian Prime Minister John Howard yesterday and stressed that the group should not be given political asylum but should be returned to Indonesia. He gave an assurance that they would not be prosecuted.Sandi Logan, national communications manager of the Australian Immigration Department, said legal representatives were travelling to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, where the group are being held, to document the Papuans claims.
"The migration agent and legal representative interviews will last most of next week, followed then by a further week's interviews among (Immigration Department) migration agent staff and the West Papuans," Logan said.
"So it could be two to three weeks' time by which time the Department would be in a position to recommend a determination."
Indonesia has warned Canberra that the issue could damage their strong ties. Australia has repeatedly said that it considers Papua a legitimate Indonesian territory.
Papuan independence activists have campaigned for more than 30 years to break away from Indonesia while a low-level armed rebellion has also simmered. Human rights groups accuse the Indonesian military of widespread abuses there.
Jakarta took over Papua from Dutch colonial rule in 1963. In 1969, its rule was formalised in a UN-backed vote by community leaders which was widely criticised as a sham.
Australia's ties with Indonesia waned when it led a UN-mandated intervention force into East Timor in 1999 to quell violence after Timorese voted for independence from Jakarta.
Ties have since improved as the two countries joined forces to fight terrorism. Canberra's efforts gained momentum after Yudhoyono became Indonesia's first directly elected president in October 2004.
At the end of that year, Canberra rushed to the aid of its northern neighbour following the December 26 earthquake and tsunami and has also stepped in to help Indonesia deal with a deadly outbreak of bird flu.
WPNGNC Comment:- The bottom line is that Bambang Yudhoyono cannot be trusted. He promised to get to the bottom of the Munir murder, but only served up Polycarpus and left BIN alone, eventhough there is overwhelming evidence of BIN involvcment.
He has scapegoated several Papuans (and the OPM) for the Timika shootings, eventhough there is overwhelming evidence of Indonesian Military involvement. These shootings were used to extort payments from Freeport.
Australians will not be bullied by Indonesia over the West Papuan refugees.--------------------------------------------------------
The WPNGNC has issued a press release in support of all West Papuan refugees.
See video SBS Australia News 23 March 2006 on refugees 13.2mb mpeg file.
See video ABC 7.30 Report 3 April 2006 28.6mb mpeg file.
Note:- The WPNGNC does not endorse or recognise the existence of the Papuan Peoples Assembly or any other creations of the Indonesians which purport to govern West Papua under any form of autonomy. West Papuans want self determination followed by full independence from Indonesia and will not settle for anything less.
Additional information will be added as it becomes available.
