PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS, PEACE AND DEMOCRACY IN INDONESIA

111 Northwood Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 8HW, UK
Tel +44 (0)20 8771 2904 Fax +44 (0)20 8653 0322
Email tapol@gn.apc.org Website http://www.tapol.org

< PRESS RELEASES

West Papua: TAPOL demands action to prevent the eruption of conflict

19 August 2002

TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign has today called on the British Government to take immediate action to prevent the situation in West Papua from descending into a situation of conflict.

In a letter to Foreign Office Minister of State, Mike O'Brien, TAPOL said that in July this year, the chief of police in West Papua, Drs Made Mangku Pastika announced the launching of a police operation code-named Operasi Adil Matoa. The operation is directed at organisations and groups allegedly pursuing separatist aims. The aim was to make an assessment of organisations such as the Papuan Presidium Council (PDP) to determine whether or not they are lawful and whether they should be banned.

Staff at West Papua's leading human rights organisation ELS-HAM who have seen the document setting out the aims of the operation said that it alleges that organisations such as the PDP, the Papuan Tribal Council and other named civil society organisations in West Papua are using the issue of human rights as a shield behind which to pursue separatist aims. This suggests that the police are planning to take action against civil society organisations whose existence and activities are fully within the law, TAPOL wrote.

TAPOL drew attention in its letter to the strenuous efforts by civil society organisations in West Papua to create a zone of peace and prevent it from becoming a second Aceh, where war is waging. These important

efforts by ELS-HAM have been discussed with police chief, Drs Pastika. While he expressed sympathy for the idea, his decision to launch Operasi Adil Matoa is not compatible with these efforts and is likely to lead to operations by the security forces that would gravely damage the establishment of a zone of peace, TAPOL wrote.

The most immediate danger is in West Biak where the police issued summonses three weeks ago to five people, including a well-known local OPM leader Melkianus Awom. The police have now warned that, if the persons fail to appear by the three-week deadline which fall this week, force will be used against them. This is seen as being a highly provocative move by the police that could undo all efforts being taken for conflict prevention and creating a zone of peace.

TAPOL called on the British government along with its EU partners:

1. To urge the Indonesian Government to order the police in West Papua to abandon Operasi Adil Matoa and instruct the police to support efforts by civil society organisations to create a zone of peace.

2. To express deep concern to the Indonesian authorities about moves in West Biak to use force against persons upon expiry of the summons issued to them recently and instruct the police to withdraw this very provocative threat.

3. To urge the Indonesian Government to enter into dialogue with the PDP regarding issues which are causing so much disquiet in West Papua, in particular dissatisfaction over the blatantly fraudulent 'Act of Free Choice' in August 1969.

ENDS

Press archive

top