AHRC-STM-064-2016
03 May, 2016
A Statement by the Asian Human
Rights Commission
INDONESIA: Stop arresting indigenous
Papuans!
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned
from national and local sources that on May 2, police
officers arrested in total 1,724 indigenous Papuans who took
part in a peaceful protest in Jayapura and other cities in
Papua.
The protesters came from various Papua districts, to
support the United Liberation Movement for West Papua
(ULMWP) becoming a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead
Group (MSG), a regional forum in the Pacific. Moreover, the
protesters also gathered to commemorate integration of Papua
into the Republic of Indonesia, on 1 May 1963, though the
integration remains a questioned one for many indigenous
Papuans.
Under President Joko Widodo, the human rights
situation in Papua and West Papua provinces has yet to show
any progress. Fundamental problems remain, such as lack of
law enforcement, and the lack of accountability amongst
security forces. In the last one year, the AHRC reported and
documented several cases in Papua, for instance the
excessive
force being used on April 5. Then there is
the
case on torture against three indigenous
Papuans, which occurred on 27 August 2015. Not only in
Papua, local indigenous Papuans were also arrested when they
were involved in and conducted peaceful protests in Jakarta,
as reported by Just Asia AHRC
TV episode 101.
Despite the protesters being released after their
being interrogated by the Police, circumstances have proven
that the government has yet to change its policy on Papua.
The government’s commitment to solve problems in Papua
peacefully, through dialogue, has never been formally
admitted or followed. Dialogue initiative are usually
organized by civil society organizations and
churches.
Under President Widodo’s administration, the
government has tended to prioritize the development of
public infrastructure to boost either national or
international investments in Papua. However, such a policy
does not really bring benefit for local indigenous. It
benefits non-indigenous Papuans who have been living in
Papua for many years. Furthermore, the development of public
infrastructure in Papua will potentially trigger other
problems, such as land grabbing and the migration of more
people from outside the Papua.
Considering the situation in Papua, the AHRC calls
upon the government of Indonesia, to consider the following:
first, the government must prove its commitment to solve
human rights problems in Papua and ensure protection for
local indigenous Papuans without any discrimination and
extreme restriction; second, the government of Indonesia, as
a member of the Human Rights Council, and having already
ratified several key international human rights instruments,
such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR), must ensure its policy is in line with the
covenant; third, the government must stop judicial
harassment against local indigenous people, and show its
commitment and seriousness to establishing peaceful dialogue
without undue delay.
Source : AHRC News
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