Another Mass Protest in Manokwari

MASS PROTEST IN MANOKWARI WEST PAPUA, PROTESTERS DEMAND UN REVIEW ON ACT OF FREE CHOICE 1969 AND A GENUINE REFERENDUM

This morning (8 June, 2007), around 1000 people held peace protest in Manokwari, the capital town of Papua Barat Province. The protest was conducted in conjunction with the arrival of Ms. Hina Jilani, a special representative of the UN Secretary General on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Indonesia. She was expected to arrive in Jayapura today (8 June 2007). Jayapura is the capital of Papua province, the eastern-most province in Indonesia. Several years ago, Papua was divided into two provinces, Papua and Papua Barat.

Heavily guarded by the Indonesian police, the protesters walked for about three kilometers from Sanggeng stadium to Governor and DPRD (the provincial house of representatives) offices, located in Kota area, creating a snowball effect and causing a traffic jam. It began at 08.30 in the morning and ended at around 11.30.

The protesters, in a press release issued by Persatuan National Rakyat Papua untuk Pembebasan Papua (The National Papuan Unity for the Liberation of Papua), demand that (quoted from the release):

1. The United Nations must review the so called PEPERA 1969 or "Act of Free Choice 1969" and annul the Resolution No. 2504 dated on 19 November, 1969.

2. The decolonisation commission of the United Nations must immediately register the political status of Papua land as a colonised territory which has to be granted freedom through referendum,

3. Those who have committed crimes on human rights violation in Papua land since the PEPERA 1969 be brought to International Court.

4. OTSUS stands for Orang Papua Tambah Susah (meaning literally, Papua People are suffering more and more), therefore OTSUS-Special Autonomy has failed in Papua.

They also explained the background story of how Papua was coerced into Indonesia and mentioned such cases of human rights violation as Abepura, Wasior and Special Autonomy. In the last paragraph of their press release, the protesters quote the first paragraph of the preamble of Indonesian 1945 National Constitution which says, "That freedom is the right of any nation, therefore colonization has to be erased from the surface of the Earth, as it is against humanity and justice."

After delivering their demands in the offices of DPRD and Governor, the protesters continued walking to Gereja Elim Kwawi where they ended the rally with prayers.

This story was posted on behalf of a West Papuan citizen who cannot be named.