30th January 2007

"Let West Papua Vote For Freedom!" Says Oxford MP As Indonesian Ministers Visit London, Andrew Smith MP Says It's Time For a West Papua Independence Referendum, in a Letter to the Indonesian President

In January 2007, In the jungles of New Guinea, Indonesian soldiers
are burning down homes and churches and forcing thousands of innocent Papuan civilians to flee for their lives into the hills. Meanwhile in London on January 31st, Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett is holding talks with the Indonesian Foreign, Defence and Trade Ministers.

For Oxford East MP, Andrew Smith, the visit of the Indonesian Ministers to London is a vital opportunity to speak up for the rights of the West Papuans. As Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on West Papua, Mr Smith, a former Minister in Tony Blair's Labour Government, has written to the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, calling on the Indonesian military to stop its attacks on Papuan civilians and for the Indonesian Government to respect the Papuans' right to choose between staying in Indonesia or independence.

Written by a West Papuan citizen

Political freedom is not enough. The struggle of the West Papuan will only reach its success if all the Papuan people unite. And they will only unite if they share a common burden and fate. They must have a common interest and perspective about the goal of their struggle.

My appeal - that the leaders and intellectual figures of West Papua learn from Mahatma Gandhi about the basic principles of Non-Violent Resistance. Then they have to pass them on to the grassroots level. Nelson Mandela (fighting against apartheid in South Africa) and Martin Luther King Jr. (fighting against racial discrimination in the USA), both learned a lot from Gandhi.

oleh a West Papuan citizen

Kemerdekaan politik saja tidak cukup. Perjuangan Papua hanya akan sukses kalau seluruh rakyat Papua bersatu padu. Hal yang bisa menyatukan rakyat adalah kalau mereka memiliki perasaan senasib dan sepenanggungan, memiliki kepentingan yang sama, dan perspektif yang sama terhadap tujuan dari perjuangan.

Himbauan saya, kiranya para pemimpin dan tokoh intelektual Papua mau belajar dari Mahatma Gandhi tentang Prinsip-prinsip Utama Perlawanan Tanpa Kekerasan. Setelah itu meneruskannya ke tingkat akar rumput (grass root). Nelson Mandela (melawan politik apartheid di Afrika Selatan) dan Martin Luther King Junior (melawan diskriminasi rasial di USA), mereka belajar banyak tentang Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi memulai SWADESHI dengan SUMPAH. Ia membakar seluruh baju importnya dan mengenakan pakaian yang dibuat atau ditenun oleh wanita-wanita India. Dari baju, lalu ke garam, selanjutnya ke hal-hal kecil lainnya. Semua ini nampak “sepele� tapi karena dilaksanakan dengan sungguh-sungguh oleh India maka Inggris akhirnya kalah.

Elsham Papua Barat 2006 Year End Report

“Five Years Of Special Autonomy Have Brought No Improvements.
The Human Rights Situation Has Gotten Worse"

Ever since West Papua’s integration into Indonesia in 1969 as a result of PEPERA[1], there have been serious problems between the Indonesian Government and the Papuan people. The problems relate to its legal status, to the history and politics which have resulted in economic and social problems. The roots of these problems have resulted in prolonged conflicts between Papuan society and the Indonesian government, which persist to the present day.

oleh a West Papuan citizen

Menyusul insiden terkini di Distrik Mulia, Kabupaten Jaya Wijaya Papua dimana dua
orang personil TNI tertembak, Panglima TNI Air Marshal Djoko Suyanto menyatakan bahwa
ia tidak akan mengirim pasukan tambahan dari Jawa atau provinsi lainnya di Papua.
Pernyataan ini diterbitkan oleh Antara, kantor berita milik Pemerintah Indonesia pada
tanggal 10 Desember 2006.

Insiden di Distrik Mulia tersebut menimbulkan pertanyaan dalam benak saya. Apakah
TPN-OPM telah mengubah kebijakan mereka? Tahun lalu mereka menyebutkan bahwa mereka
telah menghentikan perang gerilya dan akan menggunakan upaya diplomatik guna mencapai

Written by a West Papuan citizen

Ms. Anisa Bame, one of the members of Majelis Rakyat Papua (MRP) or Papua Consultative Assembly, stated that MRP has never given its approval in a plenary session on the declaration of Papua Barat Province. Several days before Christmas, Sinar Harapan daily newspaper in Jakarta reported that a team led by Dr. Dortheus Asmuruf, David Obadiri, B.A. and Drs. Don Flassy will declare the new province in Sorong as its capital on January 5, 2007. According to Obadiri, the territory of Provinsi Papua Barat will be the same as the territory of Provinsi Irian Jaya Barat.

Media Release 1 January 2007

In an attack on religious freedom and the church in West Papua the Indonesian Police have accused the Kingmi Church of being the religious arm of the OPM (Free Papua Movement).

The increase in repressive Indonesian Government action in West Papua is occurring at time when the Australia Indonesia security treaty is to be ratified by Australian Parliament & would mean Australia Government would not involve itself in the civil rights issues in West Papua.

Two Kingmi Church clergy, Rev Benny Giay & Rev Noakh Nawipa are accused by Indonesian Police of cooperating in an armed attack, close to the Freeport gold & copper mine in August 2002, which resulted in the deaths of two U.S and one Indonesian teacher.

oleh a West Papuan citizen

Masyarakat Papua dan Maluku telah mengkonsumsi sagu dan ubi-ubian seperti betatas, kasbi, keladi serta embal selama berabad-abad. Saat ini makanan tradisional tersebut sedang digantikan oleh nasi lewat kebijakan RASKIN dari Pemerintah Indonesia yang lebih berpihak pada “berasnisasi�.

Sagu, betatas, keladi dan kasbi sudah menjadi bagian dari identitas budaya rakyat Papua dan Maluku. Ada banyak tarian tradisional, istilah bahasa daerah, peralatan masak dan bertani, tari-tarian dan ritual adat serta lagu-lagu rakyat yang berhubungan dengan makanan pokok tradisional tersebut. Bila beras berubah menjadi makanan pokok di Papua dan Maluku maka identitas budaya bangsa-bangsa yang termasuk dalam rumpun Melanesia ini akan ditinggalkan dan dilupakan untuk selamanya.

Media Release 30/12/06

Today (30th December 2006) members of Gereja Kingmi (the Indigenous Church in West Papua) organised demonstrations in front of the Church Synod office in Jayapura, West Papua after Indonesian Police yesterday stormed and occupied the Synod Office, injuring two Pastors in the process.

“Police accuse us of being the religious arm of the OPM (also known as the Free Papua Movement) but all we want to do is run our own affairs free of government interference and intimidation� said Pastor Benny Giay, Chair of the Kingmi Church’s Bureau of Justice and Peace. “This attack by the Police is not just against church activists working to defend human rights� said Pastor Giay, “it is an attack on the institution of the Church itself.�

Written by a West Papuan citizen...

According to Indonesia, there are now two provinces in West Papua - Papua and Irian Jaya Barat. This division of West Papua into two provinces by the Government of Indonesia (GOI) was clearly rejected by Papuan representative bodies. Authorities in Jayapura (West Papua) accused the Indonesian government of violating their own Special Autonomy Law, claiming that creation of the province of Irian Jaya Barat is unconstitutional. Therefore, they brought the case to Mahkamah Konstitusi, the highest court in Indonesia which deals with constitutional matters. Although Papuan representatives won the case, the GOI rejects the outcome, and refuses to reverse their arbitrary creation of the Irian Jaya Barat province.

Yesterday (December 22, 2006) Sinar Harapan, an Indonesian daily newspaper, reported that another province will be declared on January 5, 2007, with Sorong as its capital. The new province will be named Provinsi Papua Barat, coming into effect in April 2007.