Papuans in Yogyakarta demand end to military operations in Puncak Jaya
KRjogja.com - June 21, 2010
Yogyakarta -- Scores of Papuans from the group Solidarity for Papua (SUP) held a protest action at the Yogyakarta monument in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on Monday June 21. The demonstrators, most of whom were students, were demanding the lifting of the military operational zone (DOM) status that has been in effect in the Puncak Jaya regency of Papua.
Action coordinator Leksi Degei said that what has been taking place in the Tingginambut district of Puncak Jaya up until now has not been reported by the media. Yet the area has been under the control of the Indonesian military (TNI) and the police (Polri) since June 7.
"We don't know why there was an agreement between the Puncak Jaya II regional government, the Trikora XVII regional military commander and the Papua police on the DOM status in Puncak Jaya. There was no publication in the media there, yet gross human rights violations have already taken place", he explained during a break in the action.
Degei added that they are calling on all groups to open their eyes to what is occurring in Puncak Jaya, where a scorched earth policy is being applied, forcing all Puncak Jaya residents to immediately evacuate the area by June 28 at the latest. It is as if Puncak Jaya residents are being expelled from the land of their own birth.
"All residential areas are being swept by the TNI, many horrible killings have occurred. We are asking for an end to this scorched earth policy and the immediate lifting of the DOM status there", he added.
The demonstrators gave the government a deadline of Saturday June 26 to lift the DOM status. If their demands are not met, they will ask for an authority status to be declared in Papua.
"The SBY [President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] government is most responsible for this situation. This action is only an initial notification. Following this, we will hold a much larger national action in Jakarta", said Degei.
During the action, the protesters marched on foot from the Yogyakarta monument to the Yogyakarta central post office. After protesting for about an hour, the demonstrators disbanded under the close supervision of the Yogyakarta district police tactical police unit. (Dhi)
KRjogja.com - June 21, 2010
Yogyakarta -- Scores of Papuans from the group Solidarity for Papua (SUP) held a protest action at the Yogyakarta monument in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on Monday June 21. The demonstrators, most of whom were students, were demanding the lifting of the military operational zone (DOM) status that has been in effect in the Puncak Jaya regency of Papua.
Action coordinator Leksi Degei said that what has been taking place in the Tingginambut district of Puncak Jaya up until now has not been reported by the media. Yet the area has been under the control of the Indonesian military (TNI) and the police (Polri) since June 7.
"We don't know why there was an agreement between the Puncak Jaya II regional government, the Trikora XVII regional military commander and the Papua police on the DOM status in Puncak Jaya. There was no publication in the media there, yet gross human rights violations have already taken place", he explained during a break in the action.
Degei added that they are calling on all groups to open their eyes to what is occurring in Puncak Jaya, where a scorched earth policy is being applied, forcing all Puncak Jaya residents to immediately evacuate the area by June 28 at the latest. It is as if Puncak Jaya residents are being expelled from the land of their own birth.
"All residential areas are being swept by the TNI, many horrible killings have occurred. We are asking for an end to this scorched earth policy and the immediate lifting of the DOM status there", he added.
The demonstrators gave the government a deadline of Saturday June 26 to lift the DOM status. If their demands are not met, they will ask for an authority status to be declared in Papua.
"The SBY [President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] government is most responsible for this situation. This action is only an initial notification. Following this, we will hold a much larger national action in Jakarta", said Degei.
During the action, the protesters marched on foot from the Yogyakarta monument to the Yogyakarta central post office. After protesting for about an hour, the demonstrators disbanded under the close supervision of the Yogyakarta district police tactical police unit. (Dhi)
______
Tribunnews.com - June 28, 2010
Alie Usman, Jakarta -- Scores of demonstrators from the group Solidarity for Papua (SUP) that had gathered at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Monday June 28, ended up stopping at several points along the length of Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat on their way to the State Palace.
The protesters, most of which were wearing traditional Papuan dress and tassels, soon caused the flow of traffic on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat to come to a halt creating total grid-lock for several minutes.
One of the worst things was when the crowd took up almost the entire width of road in front of the Communication and Information Ministry office. At this point they held speeches and closed off the road for several minutes. Other road users were forced to use the busway lane to get by.
Although the action paralyzed traffic, there was no response whatsoever by police or security personnel on guard in front of the building.
Before moving off to the State Palace, the pro-Papua demonstrators gathered at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to hold a protest action. After giving speeches for several minutes, they continued the action with a long-march to the State Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka in Central Jakarta.
The protest was in response to their disappointment over the failure to end the military operational zone (DOM) status and scorched earth policy in the Tingginambut district of Puncak Jaya, which they say has resulted in numerous human rights violations.
The protesters, most of which came from inland tribes in Papua and brought regional symbols with them, called on the government to immediately lift the DOM status in Papua. They also called on the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to immediately step in and investigate a variety of cases of military violence in Tingginambut.
Notes
SUP (Solidarutas Untuk Papua) was established in mid June and includes activists from the Papuan Student Association (IPMA-PAPUA), the West Papua Student Alliance (AMWP), the Anti Colonial Movement (GANJA), the National Student Front (FMN), the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), the Indonesian Association of Catholic Students (PMKRI), Student Struggle Center for National Liberation-Political Union of the Poor (Pembebasan-PPRM), the Political Committee of the Poor-Peoples Democratic Party (KPRM-PRD), the Youth Organisations Union of Struggle (KPOP), the Indonesian Student Union (SMI), Perempuan Mahardhika (Free Women), the West Papua Women's Liberation Movement of Struggle (GP3-PB) and the Indonesian Struggle Union (PPI).
No comments:
Post a Comment