The members of BUK and our families wish a (belated) Merry Christmas 2010 and a Happy New Year 2011 to all. Hopefully the New Year will bring excitement, love, caring, peace and motivation to our work for justice.

Documentation Of Human Rights 2010

Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) Papua and Bersatu Untuk Kebenaran (BUK)

“Still Questioning the Responsibility of the State and the Implementation of Human Rights in Papua”

 Jayapura – As the year comes to a close, KontraS Papua and United for Truth (BUK) called a press conference on Wednesday, 22 December at 02:30 in the office of KontraS Papua.
This press conference was a reflection on the record of human rights violations in Papua during the year 2010. These human rights violations have not yet been taken up by the legal system, nor taken seriously by the government, nor has there been any effort to prevent or resolve the cases of human rights abuses in Papua.

These points were made by the coordinator of KontraS Papua, Harry Maturbongs, SH; the coordinator of BUK, Peneas Lokbere; and Olga Hamadi, SH, Msc.
During this press conference, Olga explained that the failure of the state to respond to human rights abuses in Papua during this year has resulted in a feeling of insecurity for the people of Papua because they are still subject to practices which result in victims\, both on the side of the civilian population and on the side of the security forces. Harry Maturbongs added that the cases of human rights violations are mostly directed at one tribe, that is, the people of the Papuan highlands, and if the security forces do not resolve these cases, then the civilian population will continue to live in fear.
Peneas stated that the Special Autonomy legislation has not produced any positive effects for the victims of human rights abuses in Papua. It is highly regrettable that the government is not serious about dealing with the plight of the victims. Until now, the government has not even evaluated any of the cases of human rights violations that have occurred in Papua.
It is guaranteed under Indonesian Human Rights Law that, according to Law number 39, paragraph 100, 1999; “Every person, group, political organization, community organization, NGO, or other community institution, has the right to participate in the protection, maintenance, and progression of Human Rights.” This is reiterated by Special Autonomy Legislation page XII, paragraph 5, verse (1); “The government, the provincial government, and the population of the province of Papua has the obligation to uphold, promote, protect and respect Human Rights in the Province of Papua.”
Until now, however, the practice of upholding human rights in Indonesia, especially in Papua, has not been managed well at all. Many people suffer from discrimination and negative profiling from the forces of law and from the government, despite the regulations and and legal guarantees supposedly protecting their human rights. Because of this, KontraS Papua would like to take this opportunity to report on the situation of human rights in 2010, and to give special attention to several issues which are especially important to the upholding of human rights in Papua. Among others, these issues are as follows:

First: The failure of the state to respond to the violence in Papua this year has resulted in a feeling of insecurity for the people of Papua because the community still suffers under patterns of violence which continue to claim victims from both the civil society as well as from the security forces.
We can divide the cases which have occurred just this year in Papua, into several categories of violence.
These include: Horizontal violence – such as the tribal war in Kwamki Lama, the clash between a group of Nafri people and Highlands people, and finally the case of the attack on Yoka Village.
Structural violence – in which the security forces are the perpetrator of violent acts. We still remember the legacy of the shooting of Yawan Yaweni in Serui, the shooting of a civilian in Expo Waena, the shooting of a citizen from the community in Wamena, the shooting in Harapan Sentani Village, the shooting in Manokwari, the violence documented in the infamous YouTube video and the violence covered up in Puncak Jaya, which was discovered by representatives of Komnas HAM Papua, the case in Bolakme, and the shooting in Kamkey. In the case of the video of violence towards the citizen in Tingginambut, the mechanism of Human Rights Justice was very far from the human rights standards that have been ratified by the government of Indonesia {that is, the Convention on the Rights of Civil Politics (Law Number 12, 2005) and the Convention Against Torture (Law Number 5, 1998)}, which supposedly clarify the principles of a fair trial. In fact, the “resolutions” of the previously mentioned cases have not given any sense of justice to the victims.
Violence by Unidentified Groups – like the shooting in the area of PT Freeport, the Terror in Puncak Jaya, the Shooting in Puncak Jaya, the Terrorizing of reporters in Merauke that culminated in the murder of a reporter in Merauke, and the Shooting in Nafri Village where the police have yet to identify any suspects. These incidents set a bad precedent for the performance of the police, in the eyes of the public.

Second: Regarding the issue of the escapes of convicts and detainees in Papua; such as those which occurred from Abepura Prison. It was recorded that on Monday, 3 May 2010, at least 18 convicts and detainees ran away, which resulted in seven prison guards scheduled to be on duty that day, being threatened with being fired. On 7 June 2010, as many as 26 residents of Abepura Prison ran away, including 15 convicts and 11 detainees. On 5 June 2010, as many as 3 convicts and detainees escaped from the neighborhood of Abepura Prison, and most recently, on 3 December 2010, as many as 5 convicts escaped from the neighborhood of Abepura Prison which resulted in one of the convicts, a man named Miron Wetipo, being shot dead. This event culminated in an incident where Filep Karma, Buctar Tabuni, Dominggus Pulalo, Danny Lopez Karubaba and Alex Elopere transferred from Abepura Prison to the Papuan Provincial Police Station where they remain, detained as witnesses to the aforementioned incident. During 2010, a total number of 52 convicts and detainees escaped from Abepura Prison, including one who was shot dead. Until now, the public has yet to receive accurate information regarding whether the convicts and detainees that escaped have been returned to Abepura Prison or not, because there have been no public statements made about these incidents.
In Manokwari, it was recorded that 11 convicts escaped from Manokwari Prison. This case continued with charges being brought against 7 employees (Class IIB) of Manokwari Prison as suspects, including the Warden of Manokwari Prison.

Third: The garish political cases which were framed by the anti-sedition laws in 2010. According to the records of KontraS Papua, there were 7 people that were accused of sedition in the National Court of Jayapura. In addition, there were 7 other people whose (sedition) cases are still being investigated by the District Attorney of Jayapura. In Wamena, as many as 8 people are under investigation by Wamena Police. (Ed.- It is my understanding that those who are being investigated, are also detained.) In Biak, one person was tried by the National Court of Biak and at this moment the case is under appeal by the District Attorney of Biak. In Manokwari, 7 people are currently in custody of Manokwari Police on sedition charges. From the aforementioned cases, it can be seen that the year 2010 saw 30 people accused (and most now being tried) for sedition.

Fourth: The inability of the national institutions to uphold human rights has resulted in incomplete protection, contruction, and progress of Human Rights in Papua. The institutions which are supposed to uphold human rights in Papua have not yet been empowered to carry out their duties. (The Human Rights Court and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission do not yet exist, and the Commission on Human Rights Papua is still weak.) Because of this, human righs violations in Papua have not been resolved. For instance, the case of human rights abuses in Wasior 2001 and Wamena 2003, wherein there has still been no legal responsibility assigned, which only strengthens the culture of state-sponsered impunity.
The effort by the federal and provincial governments to give expression to Truth and Reconciliation by formulating human rights policies at the federal and provincial levels has yet to be achieved. The proof of this is that there no legal regulations regarding Truth and Reconciliation. Neither has the state fulfilled its duties regarding the Rights to Reparation. which include Compensation, Restitution, and Rehabilitation for victims. In fact, there is not a single policy specifically designed to guarantee rehabilitation for the victims and the famiilies of victims of human rights violations in Papua.

It is absolutely critical that the federal and provincial governments resolve the above four issues concerning human rights and the legal system. The national and regional governments must be committed and brave enough to create the necessary breakthroughs regarding human rights issues and the maintenance of human rights.

-The government should use the momentum of its 2010 year-end statements to broadcast strategic plans for upholding its responsibilities regarding Law and Human Rights, plans which specifically clarify the vision for handling the problems of Human Rights in Papua.

-Regarding the problem of horizontal violence in Papua; the Papuan People’s Council (MRP), as a cultural institution, must have the ability to create regulations to protect the social order at the level of Tribe, Tradition, Religion, and other levels. These regulations should build on concepts of dialogue between communities to better preserve a more harmonious social order.

-Regarding structural violence, the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), along with its Papuan branch office, must carry out in-depth investigations, determining whether the cases mentioned above constitute serious human rights abuses or not. They must take into account the human rights standards which have been ratified by the government itself, including the Convention on Civil and Political rights (Law Number 12, 2005) and the Convention Against Torture (Law Number 5, 1998).
It is also especially important that the entire Police institution is socialized and understands the National Police Chief’s Regulation Number 8, 2009, regarding the Implementation of the Principles and Standards of Human Rights Within the Duties of the Indonesian Police.

- Regarding violence carried out by unidentified groups, the security forces (police and military) haven’t come to any conclusions (at least none that they have shared with the public) regarding the involvement of groups or individuals who may have incited violence among the community. The (national) Police should be able to pronounce some suspects in the aforementioned cases, in order to create a feeling of some security within the community.

-The Papuan Provincial Government, the Department of Law and Human Rights, the Correctional System, and the Papuan Legislature, as the overseeing institutions, should get together to impartially evaluate and improve the entire prison system to create a feeling of safety and security for both the civilian population and the prison employees. There must be continuing positive development within the prison system, including the minimizing of the kind of incidents which have occurred recently. In regards to the incident at Abepura Prison on 3 December 2010, the authorities need to look closely at the incident in order to take precise steps to resolve the issues and promote fair and due process.

-The various and garish cases of sedition in Papua indicate that the state needs to change the pattern of its legal approach to theses cases. Another pattern must be found, a pattern which can guarantee freedom of expression for its citizens. In fact, the state should reconsider the use of the sedition laws within the context of the Indonesian legal code.

-The provincial government of Papua needs to strengthen the powers of the Papuan Branch of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM Papua), and implement the content from the Special Autonomy legislation, especially Chapter XII on Human Rights, Paragraphs 45 and 46. It is important that the state take an active role in finding effective avenues to recovery and rehabilitation for the victims of human rights violations in Papua.

-It is important for ALL parties, including the National Government, the Papuan provincial government, the Papuan legislature, the Papuan People’s Council, the Papuan Branch of the National Human Rights Commission, the Military, the Police, the Department of Law and Human Rights, human rights NGOs, community leaders, traditional leaders, and religious leaders actively participate in the protection, maintenance, and progress of human rights in Papua.

 KontraS Papua                                    Bersatu Untuk Kebenaran