[GELORA45] THE 2019 WEST PAPUA UPRISING IN SUMMARY

[Sunny ambon ilmeseng...@gmail.com [GELORA45]]

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THE 2019 WEST PAPUA UPRISING IN SUMMARY
19AUG2020

PRESS RELEASE

*THE 2019 WEST PAPUA UPRISING IN SUMMARY*

(London, 19 August 2020) Today marks the first anniversary of the West
Papua Uprising. The Uprising swept across 22 towns in West Papua, 17 cities
in Indonesia, and 3 cities overseas during the period of 19 August to 30
September 2019.

The trigger of the Uprising was the racist persecution of West Papuan
students in the Indonesian cities of Malang on 15 August, in Surabaya on 16
and 17 August, and in Semarang on 18 August 2019. The most significant of
these incidents was, however, the incidents in Surabaya where Indonesian
soldiers shouted ‘monkey’ repeatedly at the students, a word which was
later reclaimed by West Papuans who used it during protests. Indeed, the
focus of the Uprising later in West Papua was largely concerned with
condemning racism and prosecuting the racist perpetrators in Java, but also
holding an independence referendum.

At least an extra 6,500 police and military personnel were deployed to
crush the Uprising. The civilian death toll during its duration period
reached 61 people, of whom 35 were indigenous West Papuans. Of those 35
people who died, 30 had sustained bullet wounds, suggesting that they were
killed by the Indonesian security forces. Five other deaths were from stab
wounds inflicted by civil militias.

At least 287 civilians were known to be injured as a result of violence
during the Uprising. The actual number will be higher because many West
Papuans were reported to have avoided going to hospital. Many would-be West
Papuan patients were deterred from attending hospital to seek treatment,
due to security forces’ tactics of surrounding hospitals after each
incident and suffered trauma and fear of reprisals. Three deaths from
shootings in Deiyai on 28 August could have been prevented if those victims
had obtained medical help. Fourteen patients in Deiyai were taken into
police custody while still being treated in hospital, further confirming
fears of West Papuans. Similar cases took place in Wamena.

In total, at least 22,800 civilians were displaced during the period of the
Uprising. Following shootings that killed eight civilians in Deiyai on 28
August 2019, about 300 people were displaced. A further 11,000 people were
displaced as a result of horizontal conflict between local communities in
Wamena; and 4,000 in Jayapura. Around 6,000 West Papuan students in Java
and elsewhere returned to their homeland. A fresh operation which took
place in Puncak Regency during the Uprising displaced 1,500 civilians.

During the Uprising, there were 13 cases of attacks against press freedom
including internet shutdown, and 23 cases of attacks against human rights
defenders including one case of physical attack and nine cases of judicial
harassment. The internet shutdown was ruled as unlawful by the state
administrative court in Jakarta in June 2020.

In response to the harsh crackdown and escalating violence, the UN Human
Rights Office put out two statements of concern and sent two formal
communications to the Indonesian Government. Indonesia denied all
allegations.

A total of 1,013 arrests resulting in 133 number of political prisoners
took place during this period. Of those cases, 22 were charged with treason
Their sentences ranged from 6 months to 10 years.

In comparison, five soldiers who racially abused the West Papuan students
in Surabaya were only temporarily suspended. Only one of them was ever
tried in a military court. Sergeant Two Unang Rohana was found guilty of
disobeying orders, not hate speech, and was sentenced to two months’
probation, meaning he did not go to jail. Not a single police officer was
ever punished for the disproportionate measures taken against the students.

Five Indonesians were prosecuted for attacking West Papuans. Three racist
perpetrators in Surabaya were sentenced to five, seven, and ten months
imprisonment. Two of them were found guilty of broadcasting hoaxes; only
one was found guilty of hate speech. Two other Indonesians in Jayapura were
sentenced to only eight months and three years in jail for stabbing a West
Papuan to death.

Today, 

[GELORA45] THE 2019 WEST PAPUA UPRISING IN SUMMARY

[Sunny ambon ilmeseng...@gmail.com [GELORA45]]

THE 2019 WEST PAPUA UPRISING IN SUMMARY
19AUG2020

PRESS RELEASE

THE 2019 WEST PAPUA UPRISING IN SUMMARY

(London, 19 August 2020) Today marks the first anniversary of the West
Papua Uprising. The Uprising swept across 22 towns in West Papua, 17 cities
in Indonesia, and 3 cities overseas during the period of 19 August to 30
September 2019.

The trigger of the Uprising was the racist persecution of West Papuan
students in the Indonesian cities of Malang on 15 August, in Surabaya on 16
and 17 August, and in Semarang on 18 August 2019. The most significant of
these incidents was, however, the incidents in Surabaya where Indonesian
soldiers shouted ‘monkey’ repeatedly at the students, a word which was
later reclaimed by West Papuans who used it during protests. Indeed, the
focus of the Uprising later in West Papua was largely concerned with
condemning racism and prosecuting the racist perpetrators in Java, but also
holding an independence referendum.

At least an extra 6,500 police and military personnel were deployed to
crush the Uprising. The civilian death toll during its duration period
reached 61 people, of whom 35 were indigenous West Papuans. Of those 35
people who died, 30 had sustained bullet wounds, suggesting that they were
killed by the Indonesian security forces. Five other deaths were from stab
wounds inflicted by civil militias.

At least 287 civilians were known to be injured as a result of violence
during the Uprising. The actual number will be higher because many West
Papuans were reported to have avoided going to hospital. Many would-be West
Papuan patients were deterred from attending hospital to seek treatment,
due to security forces’ tactics of surrounding hospitals after each
incident and suffered trauma and fear of reprisals. Three deaths from
shootings in Deiyai on 28 August could have been prevented if those victims
had obtained medical help. Fourteen patients in Deiyai were taken into
police custody while still being treated in hospital, further confirming
fears of West Papuans. Similar cases took place in Wamena.

In total, at least 22,800 civilians were displaced during the period of the
Uprising. Following shootings that killed eight civilians in Deiyai on 28
August 2019, about 300 people were displaced. A further 11,000 people were
displaced as a result of horizontal conflict between local communities in
Wamena; and 4,000 in Jayapura. Around 6,000 West Papuan students in Java
and elsewhere returned to their homeland. A fresh operation which took
place in Puncak Regency during the Uprising displaced 1,500 civilians.

During the Uprising, there were 13 cases of attacks against press freedom
including internet shutdown, and 23 cases of attacks against human rights
defenders including one case of physical attack and nine cases of judicial
harassment. The internet shutdown was ruled as unlawful by the state
administrative court in Jakarta in June 2020.

In response to the harsh crackdown and escalating violence, the UN Human
Rights Office put out two statements of concern and sent two formal
communications to the Indonesian Government. Indonesia denied all
allegations.

A total of 1,013 arrests resulting in 133 number of political prisoners
took place during this period. Of those cases, 22 were charged with treason
Their sentences ranged from 6 months to 10 years.

In comparison, five soldiers who racially abused the West Papuan students
in Surabaya were only temporarily suspended. Only one of them was ever
tried in a military court. Sergeant Two Unang Rohana was found guilty of
disobeying orders, not hate speech, and was sentenced to two months’
probation, meaning he did not go to jail. Not a single police officer was
ever punished for the disproportionate measures taken against the students.

Five Indonesians were prosecuted for attacking West Papuans. Three racist
perpetrators in Surabaya were sentenced to five, seven, and ten months
imprisonment. Two of them were found guilty of broadcasting hoaxes; only
one was found guilty of hate speech. Two other Indonesians in Jayapura were
sentenced to only eight months and three years in jail for stabbing a West
Papuan to death.

Today, a year later, 11 political prisoners from the Uprising remain behind
bars. Those found guilty of treason, however, are all free, having served
their full sentences and have resumed their political activities. Alexander
Gobai, one of the high-profile ‘Balikpapan Seven’ political prisoners, has
resumed his position as head of the student body at his university in
Jayapura. At least 2,000 West Papuan ‘exodus’ students remain in West
Papua, waiting to be facilitated to study inside West Papua or in the
Pacific region. A teenager disemboweled during an attack in Fakfak still
has problems defecating despite a number of operations. None of the human
rights violations during the Uprising have been properly investigated. The
Indonesian Government has not dropped charges and is still pursuing
financial punishment