Report by Ecumenical Council of Papuan churches

The Pastoral Team of Persekutuan Gereja-gereja di Papua (Ecumenical Council of Papuan churches) led by Rev Lipiyus Biniluk visited Mulia town from 16 to 18 January 2007. People in the Puncak Jaya regency area experience fear as a consequence of the armed conflict between the separatist group TPN/OPM led by Goliat Tabuni and military and police units in December 2006. As of 22 January, PGGP had already asked the Dewan Perwakilam Rakyat Provinsi Papua (Papua Provincial Legislative Assembly) through Commission F to facilitate a meeting with members of the DPRP, in particular with the DPRP Chairman, the Governor of Papua, the Head of the Provincial Police and the Head of Military for Trikora XVII, in order to deal with the humanitarian problem in Mulia. However, as of the writing of this report, there has no response.

The Executive Board of PGGP (Bishop Leo L. Ladjar, Rev. Lipiyus Biniluk, Rev. Andreas Ayomi and Rev. Herman Saud) concluded that "we the priests of the religious communities can wait no longer considering the situation of our congregations who are evacuating, suffering from starvation, sickness and fear while the Government of the Puncak Jaya Regency is busy preparing its Regent elections. In the light of our priority to make Papua a Land of Peace, we herewith directly report to the people of Papua what we have heard, seen and experienced ourselves in order to take steps in overcoming the humanitarian emergency situation."

Therefore they recommended:

1. To the Provincial Government of Papua to immediately support the Government of the Puncak Jaya Regency with humanitarian assistance in order to solve the humanitarian emergency situation in the Yamo District;

2. To the Government of the Puncak Jaya Regency to take immediate steps handling the emergency situation in particular the refugee problem in the Yamo District;

3. To TPN/ OPM, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the Indonesian Police to guarantee the security of delivered food supplies and medical teams from any side so that the refugees will obtain
needed help in a humane way and as quickly as possible.

4. The decrease of non-organic military troops, units of the intelligence service and the Mobil Forces of the Police (Brimob) and the centering of these troops in the Capital town of the Regency and District in order to decrease fear and trauma experienced by local people and to avoid potential conflicts with the local population so that an atmosphere of safety can be restored as soon as possible.

5. To the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) in Papua to make an investigation soon in order to reveal the activators of the series of violent acts which caused deaths and loss of
personal properties;

6. To all sides to quickly stop any politicization which sacrifices the people of Puncak Jaya.

Thus we report to the people of Papua and hope for common efforts to create Papua as a Land of Peace which is protected and blessed by the Almighty God.

Chronology of Violence

13 November 2006: Riots occur in Mulia after the distribution of direct financial help (fuel compensation). According to witnesses the violence broke out because the names of one part of the local population were not on the list of people receiving monetary compensation. Another source in Puncak Jaya said that the perpetrators of the riots were youths who some time before were facilitated by the local political elite involved in determining criteria for the future Regent candidates in the Puncak Jaya Regency elections for the period of 2007- 2012. The riots caused the country a financial loss reaching billions of Rupiah as governmental buildings and houses of members of the DPRD were destroyed and burned down by the mass.

8 December 2006: Two members of the military forces, Joko Susanto (Kopassus) and Tobias Sirken (retired military officer), are killed by armed separatists and their corpses burned. The killings occur the same day the separatist's Morning Star flag is raised at Kumibaga mountain approximately 500 metres from the old town of Mulia and coincides with the declaration of Lukas Enembe and Drs. Henock Ibo as candidates for Regent and vice-regent. Following these incidents part of the population, especially civil servants outside Mulia, the families of officials and other citizens leave Mulia by air transportation through Timika, Nabire and Jayawijaya whereas others could not leave Mulia to go about their daily activities as all the streets in and out of town were restricted or blocked for security reasons.

24 December 2006: An even bigger Morning Star flag is raised at Kumibaga mountain. At the same time separatists shout "war invitations" towards the Regent candidates pairs Lukas Enembe and Drs. Henock Ibo as well as Elvis Tabuni and Rev. Paulus Tabuni. Various letters are also circulating in the name of Goliat Tabuni supporting the candidate pair Elieser Renmaur and Wakerkwa. This letter is neatly typed and written in very correct language.

27-28 December 2006: An increase of military troops in Mulia by helicopter is reported.

29 December 2006: The traditional house of the Head of the GIDI (Gereja Injili di Indonesia) congregation Laringgen Morib, approximately three kilometres from the old town of Mulia, is burned.

5 January 2007: separatists flee when Brimob troops arrive at the flag raising location. Afterwards the Indonesian military arrives establishing a permanent post and raising the Indonesian Flag. Not far from Laringgen Morib's burned house Brimob kills Gumi Morib (34) during a security operation.

6 - 7 January 2007: The Lani people in Yami Regency begin to evacuate. They leave from two GIDI areas to three other areas on the other side of the Yamo river. After a two days of heavy walking on foot, one part of the group reaches the village Kiyage. Two bridges of the Yamo river which connect the Yamo District with the Capital of Puncak Jaya Regency are destroyed by the refugees as they were afraid of military operations or of being chased by the military or supporters of Goliat Tabuni. The refugees leave all their livestock behind.

AusAID funds HIV prevention in Papua province

From Asian Football Business Review

Papua province’s famous Persipura football club - Indonesian Premier League champions in 2005 - is promoting HIV prevention to over a million people. Around Jayapura, the capital of Indonesia's eastern-most province, billboards display the Persipura team with slogans such as, ‘Be a champion, wear a condom’. Posters with the same message travel the province every day on the back of minibus seats. Before and during live football broadcasts, radio announcers present HIV-prevention messages and promote safe sex. On television, viewers can see Persipura striker Boas Salossa and popular Papuan singer Edo Kondologit chatting about responsible sexual behaviour and the importance of using condoms.

Persipura players and their managers also wear ‘Persipura champions’ shirts emblazoned with the HIV-awareness campaign logo – a condom holding a football. The shirts are highly prized by fans, especially since the team has started wearing them off the field. Thousands of identical shirts will soon be distributed to the 2,500 junior players in the Persipura football club.Free condoms are given out at football matches.

Communications adviser Sara Knuckey told AusAID Focus, "there’s no point talking about condoms unless people know what they are, how to use them, and can get hold of them easily. By distributing condoms over the next two seasons, we’re hoping people will start asking for them. Condom use in Indonesia is low compared with other countries so we need to popularise their use. This is why our partnership with Persipura is so important. The team can help us educate young males about HIV transmission before they are sexually active. We have to get across the message that everyone must 'act responsibly and wear a condom'", she said.

And just to make sure the safe sex message is never far from anyone’s mind, a large football-toting inflatable condom in Persipura team colours will float above the grounds, starting with the first game of the 2007 season. The next stage of the campaign is peer education. Former and current Persipura players are training as AIDS ambassadors. They’ll work with younger players to improve fitness and football skills but they’ll also teach them about sexuality and safe sex practices.

According to the AusAID-funded Indonesia HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Project, the population estimate for Papua as of end 2005 was 2.5 million people while the estimated numbers of people with HIV is 11 042. The epidemic is more generalized than in other parts of Indonesia and reflects a Melanesian style epidemic as compared to a traditional Asian epidemic. HIV has been found in coastal as well as highland populations, in cities as well as villages, and is found in people who are not from the usual vulnerable populations of sex workers, IDU or men who have sex with men. Injection drug use seems to be relatively uncommon and transmission through injecting illicit drugs has not made a significant contribution to the epidemic.

STI are endemic in Papua with high rates of antibiotic resistance, and limited health infrastructure to manage this effectively. Population level knowledge about HIV and its prevention through condom use, is low. Condom availability is also low. Other contributing factors to the epidemic in Papua include lack of circumcision and a long history of accepted cultural practices that now facilitate HIV transmission.

The Australian Government is supporting the multimedia campaign through a A$3.15 million grant during 2006-07. Disbursements of these funds to NGOs in Papua province include Palang Merah Indonesia (Red Cross) A$241,734, Yayasan Kesehatan Bethesda (Church-based health foundation) A$384,929 and DKT Indonesia (provider of condoms) A$500,000.The central govenment owned Radio Republik Indonesia Jayapura receives A$66,594 as well as RRI Wamena A$29,867.

According to kangguru.org the RRI stations carry a weekly radio program called Mari Kitorang Bertanggung Jawab (MKBJ - Let Us Be Responsible) to provide information about HIV/AIDS, to improve people's awareness and to ask people to be responsible about HIV/AIDS. "Other very successful activities included cooperation with the Panitia Pelaksana (Implementing Committee) of the Indonesian Football League. Every match played by Persipura - the Jayapura Football Team - is broadcast live on RRI. Volunteers distribute information about HIV/AIDS and the football commentators announce HIV/AIDS information to the spectators.

"The football team itself, Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jayapura (Persipura), is allocated an Australian grant of A$26,979 for the period.


UPDATE (4 February 2007)

We wrote to the Australia's first Special Representative for HIV/AIDS and the Deputy Director General of AusAID, Annmaree O'Keefe, and asked if her organisation will be doing anything similar in Papua Barat as that province is represented in the Indonesian Premier League by Perseman Manokwari football club. She has yet to respond.

Ibu Ibo introduces Papua motifs to Javanese batik

Papuan-style batik is reportedly gaining popularity but Nethy Dharma Somba of The Jakarta Post reports that the fate of the Papuan batik makers, who own the motifs, has been neglected. From her simple home in Kemiri, Sentani, 63-year-old Mariana Ibo Pulanda continues her creative endeavors, although she only gets two or three orders a month.

She got involved in the ancient traditional industry when she learned how to make batik in Jayapura in 1992 before continuing her training at Batik Keris Solo in Surakarta,Central Java, in 1994.

"By making batik, I can tell my ancestors' stories to other people," she said, and so far, she has patented five Papuan batik motifs - Akolo, Siborakai, Yahahi, Yoniki, Yohelai and Taye Bumiyae, all from Sentani. "Back then, our ancestors used wooden boats, bark and the walls of their homes as media to tell various stories from our community, but with time, I have realized that by making batik I can preserve the Papuan motifs of my ancestors by using a different medium,"

Robyn Roper, who wrote his master's thesis on contemporary art in Papua at the University of Victoria, Canada, wrote in www.insideindonesia.org that batik became popular in Papua thanks to a 1983 joint aid project, which established Batik Irian, an income-generating project aimed at developing a Papuan batik industry by introducing batik techniques from Java. He said the cloth is printed with a mix of ethnically distinct Papuan motifs, usually in bright colors.

Ibu Ibo's workshop was built with Rp 30 million in assistance received in 2000 from former manpower minister Luhut Pangaribuan. She has also received a loan from the Papua Bank to help her develop her business. When the workshop was first opened, some 100 people came to learn how to make batik. But with not enough money to order materials as business has been slow, she now has only 13 employees. However she receives dozens of students from the Papuan Arts Institute.

Since all the materials, from the cloth and the canting to dye, must be ordered from Java, her batik is more expensive than that made in Java, but sold in Papua. A T-shirt for a junior high school student costs Rp 50,000, and Rp 35,000 for a T-shirt for an elementary school student.

IRJABAR's Rp 4 trillion allocation worth supporting

A delegation aiming to separate a new Southwest Papua autonomous province from Irian Jaya Barat province wrongly addressed its petition to the Papua Legislative Council in Jayapura, the leader of a Papuan intellectual committee revealed to The Jakarta Post. "[It should have gone] to the West Irian Jaya legislature (in Manokwari)instead and not the Papua legislature. West Irian Jaya has its own governor and legislature now," Lazarus Indow, chairman of the Manokwari Arfak Intellectuals, said.

The proposed Southwest Papua province, consisting of Sorong mayoralty, Sorong regency, South Sorong regency, Raja Ampat regency and Teluk Bintuni regency.

Lazurus argues that the citizens should first support the development of Irian Jaya Barat which had been had allocated Rp 4 trillion (US$545 million) to its annual budget through the Minister of Industry and Trade Mari E. Pangestu in Manokwari earlier this month.

He said the secession effort sprang from the disappointment of people who lost in the election last year. The leader of the delegation, Decky Asmuruf, had run for and lost the election. "Why did he run as a gubernatorial candidate if he argues that the province has no legal basis? Logically, he recognized West Irian Jaya's existence by running in the election. Why has he brought up the issue now?" Lazarus asked.

Q and A with Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu

Soon after his election for a second term as governor of Papua province in July last year, Barnabas Suebu said he had a dream of building a prosperous province for his constituents. He recently outlined his vision in an interview with Jakarta Post contributor Neles Tebay. The following are excerpts of the interview.

Question: What exactly is your dream or vision for Papua?

Answer: Having reflected on the history of development in the province and the current conditions here, I have come to the conclusion that a new Papua should be the vision of the province. The island of Papua is so beautiful and rich in natural resources, both in its soil and in the sea, and even in the air. I hope to see a new Papua where its people can live and enjoy a just, peaceful, and prosperous life.

I envision indigenous tribespeople, the owners of the land, living together with immigrants in an atmosphere of brotherhood. I hope immigrants can respect and recognize the rights of the indigenous people and likewise the local people can provide a comfortable and peaceful place to live together.

It's my dream to see Papuans work hard and study to enable them to draw even with and perhaps exceed the rest of the nation in terms of prosperity.

The level of education and health of Papuans must be more advanced than that of the people on other islands. They must be highly civilized and dignified, disciplined and faithful to God and
laws, and respect humanitarian, moral and ethical values, justice, and truth.

Q: What qualities do Papuans need in their leaders to make these dreams come true?

A: Papuan leaders must be democratically elected and possess a high capacity and capability for leadership, but at the same time they must be modest. They must be free from corruption, collusion, and nepotism, and against any form of discrimination. The ideal leaders are those who manage to blend authority and charisma and be role models for their people. Leaders who run a clean government that provides the best services to their people will win respect and trust from the people.

Q: How are you going to realize the vision?

A: It will require hard and never-ending work. To realize the vision, the process of development is a must. We need to go through a process of cultural and social transformation toward a new society. We need to fulfill three prerequisites to reach this vision, namely, power, resources, and leadership. With regard to power, we already have it through Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua. The law provides us with quite broad authority, space, and opportunity. We also possess abundant resources in human resources, natural resources and financial resources. What we have to do now is to organize all the resources effectively and properly.

However, we are also facing difficult and complicated problems. Due to some problems in Papua which remain unsettled, the existence of the Unitary State of Indonesia is even at stake. Such a situation requires a great leader. I am challenged to become that kind of leader.

Having analyzed our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, I have decided to adopt sustainable development as the basic strategy for development in Papua. This strategy suggests that we place human beings at the center of development. Development must promote ethical and moral values, justice, truth and human dignity.

Sustainable development requires us to apply an environmental perspective. We want to keep the balance between the necessity of exploitation and conservation of our environment. We do not want to exhaust our natural resources for short-term interests. We need to maintain our environment and natural resources, so that they can be utilized from generation to generation.

Q: How should the basic strategy be implemented?

A: We need three basic policies: growth-centered development, people-centered development, and development stability and continuity. These three basic policies will work if we can maintain continuity, balance, efficiency, effectiveness, self-reliance and accountability.

Q: Then what will be the priorities of your government?

A: Based on the reality in the field, I have decided to focus on reorganization of the bureaucracy at all levels in order to create clean governance and good governance, build Papua as the land
of peace and prosperity, improve human security, and accelerate the development of basic infrastructure. We will execute each item of the agenda through programs every year. If all of these four items are implemented, I believe we can eradicate poverty and improve the quality of life of all people living in Papua, particularly the indigenous people.