http://www.news.vu/en/news/RegionalNews/050819-West-Papua-report.shtml
PAPUA: Report points to violence by Indonesian military By Interviewer: Samantha Hawley - Radio Australia Pacific Beat Posted Friday, August 19, 2005 A damning report has accused the Indonesian military of committing systematic violence against the citizens of the Jakarta-controlled province of Papua. In the report, researchers from Sydney University cite eyewitness accounts of military involvement in acts of arson, theft, rape and torture, and the researchers call on the Australian Government to take action. The Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney released its report at Parliament House in Canberra today. Presenter/Interviewer: Samantha Hawley Speakers: Stewart Rees, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney HAWLEY: Stuart Rees, the Director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict studies at the Sydney University, says the report is a culmination of four years work. It makes harrowing reading. REES: The forced displacement of people, the murder of people, the destruction of their homes and livelihood, the spread of AIDS, almost as a weapon of war given that it's clearly spread by sections of the military and it's clear too that there's hardly any primary health care available. HAWLEY: How many villages have we seen being destroyed, I guess since this study? REES: Well there's about. there's at least a dozen whose names are identified in that report. HAWLEY: And how many deaths? REES: About 100,000 people over the past 30 years. Now, the evidence in the report talks more specifically about thousands in the past couple of years. HAWLEY: The report 'Genocide in West Papua', says the armed forces act as a law unto themselves in the Indonesian province, with no real accountability for the crimes against the Indigenous population. It says the survival of the Papuan population is at threat. REES: I think there is a sense of hopelessness and that has made us publish this report and say enough is enough. HAWLEY: The authors cite one instance where members of Kopassus, Indonesia's special forces command, allegedly burnt down 370 homes in one village. In another in October last year, a primary school teacher was allegedly shot and killed by a member of the TNI - the Indonesian military - and in February this year the report says schools and houses were destroyed in three separate villages. According to the Australian researchers who spent time in the province, there are thousands refugees living in the jungle, many of them starving. And with military operations in Papua accelerating since 2003, Stuart Rees thinks its fits the definition of genocide. REES: We're saying that Australia is a signatory to the convention on genocide and that makes us have a legal obligation as well as a moral obligation, to tell a wide public what is going on. HAWLEY: The report also describes an emerging illegal arms trade and religious-based terrorism recruitment in Papua and claims some groups have links to radical Islamic organisations. Professor Rees says humanitarian, not military action, is needed. REES: For example, a United Nations force, the recognition of peace monitors to say there are standards that have to be adhered to and we're going to examine them. HAWLEY: The researchers say the Australian Government has a moral obligation to raise the report's findings at an international level. Stuart Rees says that will take courage. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> <font face=arial size=-1><a href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12hed1gmr/M=320369.6903865.7846595.3022212/D=groups/S=1705329729:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1124487290/A=2896110/R=0/SIG=1107idj9u/*http://www.thanksandgiving.com ">Help save the life of a child. Support St. Jude Children¿s Research Hospital</a>.</font> --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. http://www.ppi-india.org *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Reading only, http://dear.to/ppi 4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
