APRIL 2007
WE ARE VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE, SAYS PAPUAN LEADER
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.393541178&par=0
Jakarta, 9 March (AKI) - A leader of the movement for independence of the Indonesian province of Papua has said that the Papuan people are in danger of being wiped out because of Indonesian rule. "We are at risk of genocide," said Benny Wenda, a Papuan independence leader in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI) from Britain where he lives in exile. "I fear that in 30 years the Melanesian race will be wiped off Papua. The international community must force Indonesia to stop its military operation and leave Papua," he said.
Papua is the eastern most province of the Indonesian archipelago. Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya, has been a scene of secessionist violence since Dutch colonial rule formally ended in 1962 and Indonesia formally took control after a referendum conducted in 1969.
The pro-independence movement - mostly peaceful and led by activists and religious leaders - calls for historical reassessment and a new referendum. According to some estimates, some 20,000 to 100,000 people in the province have been victim of abuse by the Indonesian military. The Indonesian government does not allow foreign journalists and human rights organisations to enter the province.
The Reverand Socrates Sofyan Yoman, leader of the Baptist church of Papua, said that the risk of "genocide" also comes with the flow of immigrants that continue to arrive from other parts of Indonesia. "Genocide is also seeing our culture and religion disappearing with the
arrival of migrants," the religious leader told AKI.
The Papuans are made up of 312 tribes of ethnic Melanesian people and Christians are a majority among the populations. The immigrants from other parts of Indonesia are of various ethnicities and are mainly Muslim. At the time that Jakarta took over control of the province, Papuans made up
almost the entire population. Today, it is estimated that they only account for half of the population.
Up until 2000, Jakarta had imposed a programme of internal migration, aimed at bringing those from more populated provinces such as Bali and Java, to Papua and other less populated islands. Today, voluntary migration continues.
Neles Tebay, a Catholic priest and local accademic said that the presence of immigrants is evident everywhere.
"There are mosques at every corner. Migrants are by far the majority in the main cities of the region," Tebay told AKI.
A 2003 study conducted by Yale University, said that the migratory flow of people towards Papua could be considered "an act of genocide".
The Indonesian government has denied these accusations. Jakarta has said that with respect to human rights, the situation in Papua has significantly improved in the last few years and that the desire for independence is not shared by most in the population. The government also said that the
provinces in the Papua region - Papua and West Irian Jaya - are ruled by Papuans, as stipulated by a special statute giving these area provincial autonomy in 2001.
The government also said that in Indonesia, citizens can move freely from one island to another.
Fsc/Aki)
Mar-09-07 16:26
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Benny Wenda
West Papuan independence? leader?& Chair of?the Koteka Tribal Assembly
P.O Box.656,Oxford,OX3 3AP England UK
Mobile:+44(0)7791629782
bwenda@infopapua.org
http://www.infopapua.org/
http://www.freewestpapua.org/
2nd letter: Prominent Church Leader: 'genocide' in WPapua
14.3.2007. 20:13:28
http://www.worldnewsaustralia.com.au/region.php?id=135496®ion=2
From: "joe collins" <seosamh20@hotmail.com>
A report by a prominent West Papuan church leader has accused the Indonesian military of committing "systematic genocide" in the province.
Reverand Socrates Sofyan Yoman, leader of the Baptist church of Papua, has told SBS that the policy of special autonomy introduced four years ago has failed.
He is calling on Jakarta to allow international observers in to mediate in the conflict.
The Indonesian army, they kill the people. They terrorize and intimidate the people publicly. They put them in the paper. When people are killed their photos are put in the local newspaper. The military have taken over the newspaper; we call it a 'criminal newspaper', Mr Yoman wrote on a New Zealander student magazine, Salient.
The Indonesians "are killing our mentality. They create our fear. Killing continually, systematically . they plan to depopulate West Papua. They're not only killing Papuans physically, but their mentality, emotion, character," Mr Yoman says."Also they kill it economically, and education and health. We need the health, we need to educate, and to build for the local indigenous people," Reverend Yoman says."We need the voice of the international community to relieve the West Papuans of their suffering. We need to be helped like East Timor. How are you able to help East Timor and not assist us in West Papua?"Mr Yoman says that the risk of "genocide" also comes with the flow of immigrants that continue to arrive from other parts of Indonesia."West Papuans on their own lands are very marginalized. The main purpose of Indonesians coming to West Papua is not to develop the people in Papua.They want to take over the lands, control the Papuans' lands. And they never develop the Papuans economically, or their capacity".
Papua is the eastern most province of the Indonesian archipelago.
Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya, has been a scene of secessionist violence since Dutch colonial rule formally ended in 1962 and Indonesia formally took control after a referendum conducted in 1969.The pro-independence movement - mostly peaceful and led by activists and religious leaders - calls for historical reassessment and a new referendum.
Italian newswire agency Adnkronos International (AKI) claims between 20,000 to 100,000 people in the province have been victims of abuse by the Indonesian military.
The Indonesian government does not allow foreign journalists and human rights organisations to enter the province.
The Papuans are made up of 312 tribes of ethnic Melanesian people and Christians are a majority among the populations. The immigrants from other parts of Indonesia are of various ethnicities and are mainly Muslim.At the time that Jakarta took over control of the province, Papuans made up almost the entire population.AKI claims today it is estimated that they only account for half of the population.
Up until 2000, Jakarta had imposed a programme of internal migration, aimed at bringing those from more populated provinces such as Bali and Java, to Papua and other less populated islands. Today, voluntary migration continues.
The Indonesian government has denied the accusations. Jakarta has said that with respect to human rights, the situation in Papua has significantly improved in the last few years and that the desire for
independence is not shared by most in the population.The government also said that the provinces in the Papua region - Papua and West Irian Jaya - are ruled by Papuans, as stipulated by a special
statute giving these area provincial autonomy in 2001.The government also said that in Indonesia, citizens can move freely from one island to another.
SOURCE: SBS, AKI, Salient