In a letter to Pacific churches, four church leaders claimed the Indonesian state had become part of the problem by not allowing space for people to appeal against racism.
"'.... our young people that are studying in various places in Indonesia have experienced ongoing actions of terror and intimidation which has caused them to feel unsafe,"the letter said.
''Due to this hundreds of students have decided to return home to Papua. This total will increase in the coming days if the intimidation is not stopped through concrete actions by the State.''
Here is the full letter:
ECUMENICAL FORUM OF CHURCHES IN PAPUA PASTORAL APPEAL
"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4: 13
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In response to the current social uprising in the Land of Papua that is taking place as a result of the racist actions experienced by Papuan students in several universtity cities in Indonesia we have released Pastoral Appeals on the 26 and the 30 August 2019 with the objective of inviting all actors to take a role in the creation of Lasting Peace in the Land of Papua.
Our current observation is that the State is becoming part of the problem. The state is not providing space for open protest against the racism which was what originally caused the anger of the Papuan people.
On the contrary our young people that are studying in various places in Indonesia have experienced ongoing actions of terror and intimidation which has caused them to feel unsafe. Due to this hundreds of students have decided to return home to Papua. This total will increase in the coming days if the intimidation is not stopped through concrete actions by the State.
We have received reports from our Congregations that there has been shooting and killings of the Papuan people as follows:
1. Regency of Deiyai - 8 people: 7 people were shot dead and 1 person was run over and killed and 40 people have gun shot and knife wounds from the Military and Police.
2. City of Jayapura - 4 people: 3 people were stabbed and killed by militia groups
3. Puncak Regency - 3 people: 2 people were burnt in their hut (honai) and 1 person was shot dead by the Military and Police.
4. Fak-Fak Regency - 3 people experienced stab wounds and bombs that were assembled by Militia grousp faciltiated by the Military (TNI) and Police (POLRI).
Apart from this there has been a wide wave of arrests and detention of Papuans in various Papuan cities These arrests and detention have taken place outside of any proper legal procedures.
1. Timika – 10 people
2. Manokwari – 13 people
3. Bintuni - 1 person
4. Deiyai – 16 people
5. Fak-fak – 3 people
6. Sorong – 13 people
7. Jayapura – 63 people
8. Jakarta – 6 people
What is even more concerning, is the determination by the Police that 16 victims of the shooting in Deiyai are suspects. Their medication and treatment at the hospital has been forcibly stopped and they have been moved while injured to cells in the Panai Police Jail on 31 August 2019. This action constitutes torture and a serious abuse of human rights and it reflects the racist and discriminatory attitude of the State towrads the Papuan people.
In Jayapura it is suspected that the Papuan people who have been captured and imprisoned are experiencing torture while under Police custody. They have not been allowed access to an independent and trusted lawyer. This is more proof of racist views and attitudes.
Arbitrary actions like these are the extreme opposite to the law enforcement actions carried out by police towards the perpetrators of racist speech and violence against Papuan students in Surabaya which became the root issue of the social turmoil in Papua.
Up to today we have not yet seen any meaningful progress in the process of bringing to justice the members of military, police and radical civil militias that attacked Papuan students in Surabaya and Malang.
While in Papua, the Army and Police apparatus have been incessantly criminalising student organisations (BEM), civil organisations (KNPB, ULMWP) and human rights defenders and activists such as Surya Anta Ginting and Veronika Koman.
This Forum continues to be very concerned with the massive and closed off military operations (Silent Miltary Operation) which has been going on since December 2018 in the area of Ngduga and has resulted in:
- A total of 45,532 refugees (40.25%) of the population.
- The death of 183 people from sickness and malnutrition
- The death of 6 people from bullet wounds
- The closure of 39 churches
These Actions of the State only strengthen the our belief that racism towards Papuans and its problems has taken deep roots in the mind of the State of Indonesia.
Apart from the above, in the face of the anti racisim movement that is growing in various areas both nationally and internationally the State and its actors are working hard to deflect the issue of racism through pushing fake news. However, this will never resolve the real roots of the Papuan Issue.
The following events show how the State is working hard to create fake news about Papua, close down free
speech and divert public opinion:
- The State met with 61 Papuans who did not represent the Papuan People and who brought various requests for projects which will never solve the Papuan Issues.
- Access to information continues to be shut off.
- Journalists are restricted and pressured to not report the facts and events that have happened in Papua. One example is the journalist from AlJazeera who was threatened.
- Papuan youth hostels are watched and terrorized.
- The throwing of two sacks of poisonous snakes into the Kemasan Surabaya Hostel.
- Intelligence officers are entering into Papuan campuses, schools and hostels, collecting data and intyimidating people.
- The unilateral canceling of Papuan student plane tickets in Surabaya who were returning to Papua
- Putting forward interviewees on National Television that are not credible with the objective of obscuring the problem of racism.
- The abuse of Papuan culture by carrying out a stone burning feast (a traditional ceremony normally carried out to make peace) in Sentani. According to this Forum the result of this ceremony was a false peace because the pursuit, arrest and imprisonment of the Papuan people continues to happen every day.
In summary this Forum has witnessed the forms of racisim mentioned above as well as the sending of an excessive number of troops throughout Papua in order to create a culture of fear. The security services that have been brought to Papua are disproportionately dominating the public space. This has brought the opinions of Papuans back to the dark times when the military operations era was enacted 56 years ago.
The conditions today are seen as a policy to again set up Papua as a Military operations area. Papua has had long experience that development based on racism and carried out with a military approach will never bring results that uphold humanitarian and justice values.
Departing form the above conditions, we demand that:
1. The Government of Indonesia immediately frees all those that have been captured and imprisoned for protesting against racisim throughout Papua and in Jakarta.
2. The Government of Indonesia should immediately retract all of the army and Police from Nduga Regency and all of the Land of Papua.
3. The United Nations Human Rights Commission, Independent Human Rights Organisations, and Foreign Journalists should immediately come to Papua to investigate that actions of killing and violence that have been experienced by victims throughout the Land of Papua. We no longer believe in the work of the Central office of the National Commission on Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM) or their local office in Papua which tends to protect the crimes of the State.
4. The Government of Indonesia should immediately agree to negotiations with ULMWP as it did with GAM in Aceh as a negotiations partner mediated by a third party. This is the only solution to bring about permanent Peace in the Land of Papua as was stated in the The Pastoral Appeal Letter of 26 August 2019 and which was presented directly to The Army Commander and The Head of Police in the Swiss Bell Hotel in Jayapura.
May God Protect us and bless us all,
This is our Pastoral Letter,
Jayapura 13 September 2019
Members of Ecumenical Forum of Churches in Papua
- Pastor Andirkus Mofu – Chairman - Indonesian Christian Church in the Land of Papua (GKI Tanah Papua)
- Pastor Dorman Wandikbo – President - Evangelical Church of Indonesia (GIDI)
- Pastor Socrates Yoman – President – Fellowship of Baptist Churches of Papua
- Pastor Benny Giay – Chairman - Synod of the Papuan Gospel Tabernacle Church (Kingmi Papua)
Source: Pacific Conference of Churches
