Hope for freedom for Palestinians remains high among a group of trauma-struck New Zealanders in Cairo.

In spite of extensive planning, the Global March To Gaza (GMTG) delegation of about 4000 international aid volunteers was thwarted in its mission to walk from Cairo to Gaza to lend support.

The land of oranges and pyramids became the land of autocracy last week as peace aid volunteers — young, middle-aged, and elderly — were herded like cattle and cordoned behind fences.

Their passports were initially seized — and later returned. Several New Zealanders were among those dragged and beaten.

While ordinary Egyptians showed “huge support” for the GMTG, the militant Egyptian regime showed its hand in supporting Israel rather than Palestine.

A member of the delegation, Natasha*, said she and other members pursued every available diplomatic channel to ensure that the peaceful, humanitarian, march would reach Gaza.

Moved by love, they were met with hate.

Violently attacked
“When I stepped toward the crowd’s edge and began instinctually with heart break to chant, ‘Free Palestine,’ I was violently attacked by five plainclothes men.

“They screamed, grabbed, shoved, and even spat on me,” she said.

Tackled, she was dragged to an unmarked van. She did not resist, posed no threat, yet the violence escalated instantly.

“I saw hatred in their eyes.”

Another GMTG member, a woman who tried to intervene was also “viciously assaulted”. She witnessed at least three other women and two men being attacked.

The peacemakers escaped from the unmarked van the aggressors were distracted, seemingly confused about their destination, she said.

It is now clear that from the beginning Egyptian State forces and embedded provocateurs were intent on dismantling and discrediting the GMTG.

Authorities as provocateurs
The peace participants witnessed plainclothed authorities act as provacateurs, “shoving people, stepping on them, throwing objects” to create a false image for media.

New Zealand actor Will Alexander said the experience had inflated rather than deflated his passion for human rights, and compassion for Palestinians.

“This is only a fraction of what Palestinians experience everyday. Palestinians pushed into smaller and smaller areas are murdered for wanting to stand on their own land,” he said.

“The reason that ordinary New Zealanders like us need to put our bodies on the line is because our government has failed to uphold its obligations under the Genocide Convention.

“Israel has blatantly breached international law for decades with total impunity.”

While the New Zealanders are all safe, a small number of people in the wider movement had been forcibly ‘disappeared’,” said GMTG New Zealand member Sam Leason.

Their whereabouts was still unknown, he said.

Arab members targeted
“It must be emphasised that it is primarily — and possibly strictly — Arab members of the March who are the targets of the most dramatic and violent excesses committed by the Egyptian authorities, including all forced disappearances.”

This did, however, continuously add to the mounting sense of stress, tension, anxiety and fear, felt by the contingent, he said.

“Especially given the Egyptian authorities’ disregard to their own legal system, which leaves us blindsided and in a thick fog of uncertainty.”

Moving swiftly through the streets of Cairo in the pitch of night, from hotel to hotel and safehouse to safehouse, was a “surreal and dystopian” experience for the New Zealanders and other GMTG members.

The group says that the genocide cannot be sustained when people from around the world push against the Israeli regime and support the people on the ground with food and healthcare.

“For 20 months our hearts have raced and our eyes have filled in unison with the elderly, men, women, and children, and the babies in Palestine,” said Billie*, a participant who preferred, for safety reasons, not to reveal their surname.

“If we do not react to the carnage, suffering and complete injustice and recognise our shared need for sane governance and a liveable planet what is the point?”

Experienced despair
Aqua*, another New Zealand GMTG member, had experienced despair seeing the suffering of Palestinians, but she said it was important to nurture hope, as that was the only way to stop the genocide.

“We cling to every glimmer of hope that presents itself. Like an oasis in a desert devoid of human emotion we chase any potential igniter of the flame of change.”

Ava Mulla, said from Cairo, that the group was inspired by the courage of the Palestinians.

“They’ve been fighting for freedom and justice for decades against the world’s strongest powers. They are courageous and steadfast.”

Mulla referred to the “We Were Seeds” saying inspired by Greek poet Dinos Christianopoulos.

“We are millions of seeds. Every act of injustice fuels our growth,” she said.

Helplessness an illusion
The GMTG members agreed that “impotence and helplessness was an illusion” that led to inaction but such inaction allowed “unspeakable atrocities” to take place.

“This is the holocaust of our age,” said Sam Leason.

“We need the world to leave the rhetorical and symbolic field of discourse and move promptly towards the camp of concrete action to protect the people of Palestine from a clear campaign of extermination.”

Saige England is an Aotearoa New Zealand journalist, author, and poet, member of the Palestinian Solidarity Network of Aotearoa (PSNA), and a contributor to Asia Pacific Report.

*Several protesters quoted in this article requested that their family names not be reported for security reasons. Ava Mulla was born in Germany and lives in Aotearoa with her partner, actor Will Alexander. She studied industrial engineering and is passionate about innovative housing solutions for developing countries. She is a member of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA).

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A West Papuan liberation advocacy group has condemned the arrest of 12 activists by Indonesian police and demanded their immediate release.

The West Papuan activists from the West Papua People’s Liberation Movement (GR-PWP) were arrested for handing out pamphlets supporting the new “Boycott Indonesia” campaign.

The GR-PWP activists were arrested in Sentani and taken to Jayapura police station yesterday.

In a statement by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), interim president Benny Wenda, said the activists were still “in the custody of the brutal Indonesian police”.

The arrested activists were named as:

Ones M. Kobak, GR-PWP leader, Sentani District
Elinatan Basini, deputy secretary, GR-PWP Central
Dasalves Suhun, GR-PWP member
Matikel Mirin, GR-PWP member
Apikus Lepitalen, GR-PWP member
Mane Kogoya, GR-PWP member
Obet Dogopia, GR-PWP member
Eloy Weya, GR-PWP member
Herry Mimin, GR-PWP member
Sem. R Kulka, GR-PWP member
Maikel Tabo, GR-PWP member
Koti Moses Uropmabin, GR-PWP member

“I demand that the Head of Police release the Sentani 12 from custody immediately,” Wenda said.

“This was an entirely peaceful action mobilising support for a peaceful campaign.

“The boycott campaign has won support from more than 90 tribes, political organisations, religious and customary groups — people from every part of West Papua are demanding a boycott of products complicit in the genocidal Indonesian occupation.”

Wenda said the arrest demonstrated the importance of the Boycott for West Papua campaign.

We express deep concern over the recent arrests of individuals in Sentani, West Papua for
distributing pamphlets advocating a boycott of Indonesian products from West Papua and
raising awareness of ongoing political issues in the region. The detention of these individuals
likely… pic.twitter.com/4e4hJ7FxUJ

— Benny Wenda (@BennyWenda) March 18, 2025

“By refusing to buy these blood-stained products, ordinary people across the world can take a stand against this kind of repression,” he said.

“I invite everyone to hear the West Papuan cry and join our boycott campaign. No profit from stolen land.”

Source: ULMWP

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Fresh violence has erupted in several parts of New Caledonia over the past three days, with more burning and destruction and at least one death connected to unrest.

The renewed unrest comes after seven pro-independence figures from the CCAT (Field Action Coordination Cell, close to the hard-line fringe of the pro-independence platform FLNKS) were indicted on Saturday and transferred by a special plane to several jails in mainland France.

They are facing charges related to the organisation of the protests that led to grave civil unrest that broke out in the French Pacific territory since May 13 in protest against a French Constitutional amendment.

The amendment, which is now suspended, purported to change voter eligibility in New Caledonia’s local elections by opening the vote to French citizens having resided there for an uninterrupted ten years.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Pro-independence Radio Djiido’s Andre Qaeze told RNZ Pacific young people had said that “Paris must respect us” and what had been decided by Jacques Lafleur and Jean-Marie Tjibaou, who were instrumental in putting an end to the tragic events of the 1980s and restoring civil peace in the French territory.

In 1988, Tjibaou signed the Matignon Accords with the anti-independence leader Lafleur, ending years of unrest and ushering in a peaceful decolonisation process.

Qaeze — speaking to RNZ Pacific today as the week-old crisis continued — said the political problem, the electoral roll, was the visible part of the iceberg, but the real problem was the economic part.

He said they had decided to discuss the constitutional amendments to the electoral roll but wanted to know what were the contents of the discussions.

They also wanted to know the future of managing the wealth, including the lucrative mining, and all the resources of New Caledonia.

“Because those young people on the road, plenty of them don’t have any training, they go out from school with no job. They see all the richness going out of the country and they say we cannot be a spectator,” he said.

‘Rich become richer, poor become poorer’
“The rich become richer and the poor become poorer, and they say no, we have to change this economic model of sharing.

“I think this is the main problem,” he added.

Qaeze said the old pro-independence generation used to say to the young generation: “You go and stop”.

“Then we are trying to negotiate for us but negotiate for ‘us’. The word ‘us’ means only the local government is responsible not everybody.

“And now, for 30 years the young generation have seen this kind of [political] game, and for them we cannot continue like this.”

He believed it was important for the local pro-independence leaders to take care of the content of the future statutes not only political statutes.

According to French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc, almost 240 rioters had been detained following the violent unrest as of Monday.

Qaeze said every year about 400 indigenous young people left school without any diploma or any career and these were the young people on the streets.

He added there was plenty of inequality, especially in Nouméa, that needed to change.

“Our people can do things, can propose also our Oceanian way of running and managing [New Caledonia].”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea’s chief Immigration boss Stanis Hulahau has warned all foreign nationals in the country that the office will not hesitate to detain and expel them if found engaging in criminal and illegal activities.

Chief executive Hulahau issued the stern warning to all foreign nationals in the country that there would be “no room” for foreign criminals engaging in illegal activities.

He gave this warning following a recent joint operation in Port Moresby by Immigration and police officers — based on intelligence — who arrested a foreign national, reportedly from New Zealand, for being in possession of methamphetamine implements.

The foreigner had also overstayed his visa.

Hulahau cautioned all foreign nationals residing in PNG that they must abstain from the consumption of illicit substances and refrain from engaging in criminal activities.

“I will not hesitate to detain foreigners and expel them from the country by way of deportation if your actions are a threat to national security,” Hulahau warned.

“We will not tolerate foreign criminals in Papua New Guinea.”

“I have noted an increasing number of foreign nationals being arrested and charged for consumption and being in possession of illicit drugs including methamphetamine, marijuana and related crimes including possession of illegal firearms, ammunition, operation of brothels and continuous breach of the migration and labour laws.

“I welcome foreign nationals to invest and work in the country but should you wish to abuse our laws and engage in illegal activities, I will show you the exit door,” said Hulahau.

He said ICSA (Immigration and Citizenship Service Authority) protected the borders from unscrupulous foreigners and would not hesitate to deport anyone who was formally charged by police and found guilty by a court.

Republished from the PNG Post-Courier with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea police have arrested three men and seized a stockpile of unlicensed firearms, ammunition, explosives and other illegal items in a raid in Western Highlands province last week.

The arrests identified a further seven men who were alleged to be part of a blackmarket network who move the illegal items from Western Highlands into the upper Highlands provinces. They were also arrested.

About 800 rounds of ammunition, firearms, explosives and other illegal items were  confiscated from the trio, including a Winchester shotgun, shotgun belts, sniper scopes, a Glock pistol and a hand grenade.

Deputy Commissioner of Police-Operations Dr Philip Mitna confirmed that a security operation had been carried out.

“Illegal firearms and drug trade is an ongoing issue in the highlands,” he said.

Firearms and live ammunition are smuggled into many border provinces linked by the Okuk Highway.

“A security team in Hela had made surveillance on firearms and ammunition. They visited Hagen (travelling in from Tari) and engaged with Hagen police, who organised raids and executed two search warrants on July 30, 2023, and effected several arrests,” Deputy Commissioner Mitna said.

Regular arms supply
According to information received by the Post-Courier newspaper, there is a regular ammunition and firearms supply arriving from illegal dealers in the Highlands eastern end and this is supplied to the western end, which includes Hela, Enga and Southern Highlands.

“With the continued tribal fights in Hela and Enga provinces and other criminal activities involving firearms, the intelligence had confirmed most of the ammunition was being bought from Jiwaka and Mt Hagen dealers,” Deputy Commissioner Mitna said.

“So far, the number of people being detained has increased to 10, and we anticipate more arrests. Among those arrested included a prominent businessman and security firm owner in Mt Hagen.”

According to the findings and assessment by security personnel, the Western Highlands share has built up to 80 percent of illegal ammunition and has been supplying other provinces.

The team tracked persons of interest from Tari to Mt Hagen and sought assistance, leading to several search warrants being executed by police with support from the PNG Defence Force Reconnaissance Unit.

The arrests of the 10 men came as the operations were executed in two-week intervals and continued last month.

The arrest of a local man in Hides started an investigation into the proliferation and movement of firearms and ammunition within the Highlands region.

Allegedly involved in kidnappings
The man who was picked up in Hides was allegedly involved in the recent series of kidnappings and ransom and incidents in Mt Bosavi, Southern Highlands, and parts of Western Province.

The arrest of the man in Hides and nine more in Mt Hagen led to the uncovering of a large stash of unlicensed firearms and varieties of live ammunition, including a hand grenade as well as several other illegal items at a home in Newtown, Mt Hagen.

According to reports, the intelligence gathered led to the arrest of the main suspect  who was apprehended in Mt Hagen. He is alleged to be the main supplier and distributor of unlicensed weapons and ammunition in the tribal fighting zones in the Highlands region as well as other parts of PNG.

On Tuesday, August 1, 2023, the main suspect was formally cautioned and formally charged with 10 counts under the newly Amended Firearms Act 2022 and two counts under the Explosive Act (chapter 308) respectively.

The charges are:

• Two counts of unlawfully in possession of unlicensed Firearms under section 65 (c)(ii) of the Amendment Firearms Act, 2022;
• Eight counts of unlawfully in possession of unlicensed live ammunitions under the section 65A (a) of the Amendment Firearms Act, 2022; and
• Two counts of unlawfully in possession of unlicensed explosive under the section 14(1) of the Explosive Act, Chapter 308.

The other nine men were still being interviewed and were being processed.

Police investigations were continuing.

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A West Papua pro-independence leader says Indonesia is ramping up its repression of peaceful activists while people mobilise in favour of the province gaining full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

Benny Wenda said 10 activists were arrested earlier this week while handing out leaflets advertising a peaceful rally to support his United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) gaining full membership of the sub-regional group.

Wenda added that the next day rallies in Jayapura and Sentani were forcefully disbanded and 21 people arrested.

He said at the rallies activists were demanding that their birthright as a Melanesian nation be fulfilled.

Wenda said West Papua was entitled to full membership of the MSG by “our ethnic, cultural, and linguistic ties to the rest of Melanesia”.

“If Melanesian leaders needed further proof of the necessity of ULMWP full membership, then Indonesia has provided it,” he said.

“Only as full members will we be able to expose grave abuses such as these arrests on the international stage, and to defend our identity as a Melanesian people.

‘Why the quietness?’
“Indonesia claims that they are entitled to membership of the MSG because they represent other Melanesian populations. If that is the case, then why are these populations staying quiet?

“Indonesia cannot claim to represent West Papuans in the MSG, because we already have representation through the ULMWP.”

Wenda is demanding on behalf of the ULMWP and the West Papuan people “that no further arrests are made of Papuans rallying peacefully for full membership”.

He said Indonesia had nothing to fear from West Papuans returning to “our Melanesian family”.

“At the same time, they must understand that West Papuans are speaking with one voice in demanding full membership. All groups, ages, genders and tribes are totally united and focused on achieving our mission. We will not be deterred.”

The MSG is due to meet in Port Vila, Vanuatu, this month, although the dates have not yet been announced.

Last week, the Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Papua New Guinea (PNG) with trade, border arrangements and education foremost on the agenda.

However, as reported by RNZ Pacific, one topic that was not discussed was West Papua despite the countries sharing a 760km border.

An estimated 10,000 West Papuan refugees live in PNG, escaping a bloody conflict between armed separatists and the Indonesian army.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Seven regional executives representing all the customary regions of West Papua have declared their support for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) gaining full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

The executives are of the ULMWP ‘provisional government’ in the Indonesian-ruled Melanesian region.

The ULMWP declared this political support in a statement this week in advance of the forthcoming MSG summit in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

ULMWP’s executive, legislative and judicial councils had earlier made a declaration in support of full membership in Jayapura on 4 June 2023.

ULMWP president Benny Wenda had separately announced his support for MSG full membership, saying “our agenda is now totally focused on consolidating support for full membership”.

According to the statement, the whole of the West Papuan liberation movement stood united behind the shared goal of MSG full membership.

The seven customary regions of West Papua and the executives representing them are: Anim-Ha Region – Mathias Tambai; Bomberay Region – Erik Fimbay; Domberay Region – Markus Yenu; Lapago Region – Herman Kossay; Mamta/Tabi Region – Beny Yantewo; Meepago Region – Habel Nawipa; Saireri Region – Edison Kendi.

While MSG membership comprises the Melanesian states of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, there is a long-established precedent in a political grouping, the Kanak and Soclalist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), representing New Caledonia as a full member.

19 arrested
Meanwhile, the human rights watchdog Tapol reports that the Indonesian government “continues to tread on the right to peaceful free expression in West Papua”.

“This can be seen from arrests and treason charges against three members of the peaceful independence campaign group, the National Committee for West Papua (Komite Nasional Papua Barat, KNPB), in Tambrauw Regency, Southwest Papua province,” the agency said in a statement.

The arrests took place on 9 June 2023, in Sarwom village, where 19 people were taken into custody.

Those arrested were a mixture of members of the coordinating body for the KNPB from neighbouring Maybrat regency, as well as local members.

The head of West Papua area police claimed that those arrested had been proclaiming the founding of the KNPB in Tambrauw, and calling for the independence of West Papua from Indonesia.

Police also claimed that the group put up a fight, being arrested with TNI support.

However, activist groups stated that they were actually only eating food and drinking coffee together without disturbing anybody in the local area, when the police arrived with weapons.

Activist groups also fiercely denied the “police insinuation” that the KNPB had links to the West Papua National Liberation Army – Free Papua Movement (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional Papua Barat – Organisasi Papua Merdeka (TPNPB-OPM)).

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Esther Haluk, a women’s rights activist from GARDA Papua, is among West Papuan activists who have condemned a declining state of freedom of speech in the Melanesian region.

Speaking in a recent online discussion on “Status and Trends of Freedom of Expression, Assembly, and Digital Rights in West Papua”, she said there was a growing sense of fear among Papuans who wished to openly voice their opinions due to the Indonesian government’s response.

Haluk said that the deterioration of freedom of expression in Papua could be traced back to 2019 when large-scale protests erupted in response to instances of racism.

She said individuals from the Papuan community who had participated in those protests were subsequently arrested and imprisoned.

“Some Indonesian people call us monkeys but when we fight against it, we are arrested. We are victims,” Haluk told the discussion organised by SAFEnet and TAPOL this week.

According to Haluk, whenever Papuans exercised their freedom of expression to voice the truth, they were consistently met with opposition from the military and police forces.

Haluk shared that she personally experienced being arrested for participating in a peaceful protest in May 2022. However, at the police station she was questioned about her social media posts instead.

Facebook account hacked
“So at that time we were taken to the police station not because of the protest but rather due to our social media posts. My Facebook account was hacked three times after I posted some comments on the news,” Haluk explained.

Haluk said the policies implemented by the Indonesian government did not align with the wishes of the Papuan people, particularly over the splitting up of Papua province to  establishment new provinces.

However, when Papuans protested against the policy, they were arrested.

“We refuse to accept the policies enforced in Papua because they do not positively impact our lives,” she said.

“We are witnessing ecological destruction that poses a threat to our existence, as well as issues of land appropriation.

“It is our fundamental right to express ourselves and engage in peaceful protests, yet the government responds by deploying a significant number of military and police personnel to suppress Papuan voices,” Haluk said.

She said Indonesia as a democratic nation should uphold and honour the freedom of expression of Papuans.

Peaceful protests
In Haluk’s view, the way the Indonesian government treated Papuans indicated that Papuans were not viewed as a part of Indonesia.

“We intended to conduct a peaceful protest, so why did the government resort to sending in the police and military to forcibly disperse us?

“We were simply exercising our rights, so why the use of such excessive force by the military and police?

“Based on our experiences as Papuans, it feels as though our rights hold no significance and are not acknowledged within Indonesia,” Haluk said.

Ian Moore of the human rights campaign TAPOL revealed in the forum that there were 21 instances of arbitrary dispersals that took place in 2022, according to the Tapol West Papua 2022 report “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Assembly”.

Moore highlighted that most of the incidents occurred in Papua province, particularly in the capital Jayapura. However, similar incidents were also reported in other parts of West Papua, especially in Sorong, and Central Papua.

Moore said that various police units were involved in the dispersal of peaceful demonstrations in Papua, ranging from standard units to special task forces such as the Nemangkawi Task Force, the Mobile Brigade Corps, and police intelligence agencies

Papuans ‘oppressed’
Made Supriatma, a researcher at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said the state continued to oppress Papuans by deploying military forces to deal with their protests.

This response, Supriatma added, was “excessively brutal” and amounted to repression against Papuans.

Supriatma said that various protests by Papuans indicated a growing sense of nationalism, particularly among the youth in Papua.

The Indonesian government should engage in dialogue with Papuans to address their concerns and listen to their demands.

“Papua has a strong movement, and young Papuans are eager to voice their opinions and participate in protests, even in the face of military repression,” Supriatma said.

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Twenty West Papuans who were fundraising for the victims of tropical cyclones in Vanuatu were today arrested by Indonesian police in Jayapura, the Papuan provincial capital, reports a West Papuan advocacy group.

“This was a peaceful, compassionate action, with Papuans taking to the streets to raise money for those affected by this latest Pacific natural disaster,” said Benny Wenda, president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).

“The Indonesian response was to disband the march at the barrel of a gun.

“Armed Indonesian police sought to block activists at several points, forcibly disrupted the procession, and eventually conducted a series of arbitrary arrests.”

Vanuatu was hit by two successive cyclones within 24 hours earlier this month. Homes and schools were destroyed, many were forced to flee to evacuation centres, and people lost access to water and electricity for several days.

West Papuans see ni-Vanuatu as “family” — “we naturally want to support them in their hour of need, just as they have always supported us in ours,” said Wenda.

“By criminalising this act of solidarity, Indonesia has demonstrated it will not accept any form of Papuan assembly or self-expression.”

Not political protest
Wenda said this was not a political protest. Participants did not raise the Morning Star flag or call for independence.

“They only raised awareness and money for a fellow black Melanesian nation that has always supported the West Papuan struggle.

“Indonesia, like the ULMWP, is a member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) along with Vanuatu. They have an obligation to allow West Papuans to raise money to stop the suffering of their fellow member.”

Indonesia has behaved like this before.

In March 2015, after Vanuatu was hit by a large cyclone, Papuans in the Yahukimo regency held a similar solidarity fundraiser. In response, police violently broke up the meeting, shooting six Papuan civilians and killing one.

“We must remember that climate change is the sole reason Vanuatu is so vulnerable to cyclones and other natural disasters. Despite producing zero carbon emissions, Vanuatu is being punished for the actions of rich countries and big corporations,” Wenda said.

“West Papuans stand with all Pacific nations in our joint fight against this existential threat. Our island is the lung of the world, with its third largest rainforest and thousands of unique plants and animals.

‘Ripping down forests’
“But Indonesia is ripping down our forests and mountains to build highways, mines, and palm oil plantations.

“To fight for climate justice we must also fight for West Papuan independence and the fulfillment of our Green State Vision.”

Wenda said he also wanted to alert the world about the alleged murder of another Papuan child. Enius Tabuni, a 12-year-old boy, was killed by Indonesian soldiers who then videoed his dead body, branded him as “OPM” — the Papuan Freedom Movement.

“The way that Tabuni was killed is the logical conclusion of Indonesia labelling OPM and all Papuan resistance fighters as ‘terrorists’. If we are stigmatised as terrorists, then we can be killed like terrorists.”

Tabuni was not OPM — he was a schoolboy, said Wenda.

“His death is a continuation of the last few years, as Indonesian occupation forces have committed unprecedented atrocities against civilians,” he said. Other incidents cited:

“None of these people were combatants. The Indonesian occupation kills all West Papuans equally.”

‘Deliberately targeting’ youth
In an attempt to crush the Papuan spirit, Indonesia was “deliberately targeting” the next generation of West Papuans, Wenda claimed.

“This kind of military violence is the reason that 100,000 West Papuans have been forcibly displaced since 2019, and why tens of thousands are still in the bush, unable to return to their homes,” he said.

Wenda reiterated his call for Indonesia to immediately withdraw their military from West Papua.

“Demilitarising West Papua is a precondition for this situation to be resolved peacefully. They must also release all 20 Papuans arrested today, alongside all political prisoners including Victor Yeimo.

“International journalists must be allowed to report on West Papua.

“Lastly, I repeat the call of 84 countries for Indonesia to finally allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit West Papua.”

This was an important moment for the world to reflect on what Indonesia was doing to West Papua, Wenda said.

“In reclaiming our sovereignty, we are aiming to restore our fundamental human rights – the right to show solidarity, to exercise freedom of assembly, and the rights of our children to live without fear.”

The Jakarta government had not responded at press time.

Benny Wenda is interim president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) provisional government.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Following months of legal limbo and a health crisis, Papua Governor Lukas Enembe was arrested this week by the country’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in a dramatic move condemned by critics as a “kidnapping”.

At noon on Tuesday, January 10, Governor Enembe was dining in a local restaurant near the headquarters of Indonesia’s Mobile Brigade Corps, known as Brimob.

After the arrest the Brimob transported him directly to Sentani Theys Eluay’s airport — an airport named in honour of another prominent Papuan leader who was callously murdered by the same security forces in 2002, not far from where the governor was arrested.

Governor Enembe was immediately flown to Jakarta to arrive at the Army Central Hospital (RSPAD), Gatot Soebroto, Central Jakarta, reports Kompas.com.

In what seems to be a cautiously premeditated arrest, Jakarta targeted Governor Enembe while he was alone and without the support of thousands of Papuans who had barricaded his residence since September last year.

Once the news of his arrest was leaked, supporters attempted to gather in Sentani at the airport, but they were outnumbered by heavy security forces. A few protesters were shot, and several were injured, with one protester dying from his injuries.

1 shot dead, several wounded
Papua Police Public Relations Officer Kombes Ignatius Benny Prabowo said when contacted by Tribunnews.com in Jakarta: “Yes, it is true that someone was shot dead on Tuesday.”

Among those who were shot were Hemanus Kobari Enembe (dead), Neiron Enembe, Kano Enembe, and Segira Enembe.

Surprisingly, they share the same clan names of the governor himself, indicating that only his immediate family were informed of his arrest.

Hemanus Kobari Enembe paid the ultimate price at the hand of Jakarta’s calculated planning and arrest of Papua’s governor.

The crisis began in September 2022, when Governor Enembe was named a suspect by the KPK and summoned by Brimob after it accused him of receiving bribes worth 1 million rupiah (NZ$112,000). This amount was then escalated into a rush of accusations against the governor, including a new allegation that the governor had paid US$39 million to overseas casinos, disclosing details of his private assets such as cars, houses, and properties.

Voices of prominent Papuan figures
A prominent Papuan, Natalius Pigai, Indonesia’s former human rights commissioner, was interviewed on January 11 by an INews TV news presenter regarding these extra allegations.

“If that’s the case,” Pigai replied, “then why don’t we use these wild extra allegations to investigate all the crimes committed in this country by the country’s top ministerial level, including the children of the president, as a conduit for investigating some of the crimes committed by his office in this country?

“Are we interested in that? Why just target Governor Lukas?”

Papuan public intellectual Dr Benny Giay was seen in a video saying that the arrest of Governor Enembe by the KPK in Jayapura was to serve the interests of Jakarta’s political elite, whom he described as “hardliners” in relation to the power struggle to become number one in Papua’s province.

According to him, Governor Lukas Enembe was a victim of this power struggle.

Dr Socrates Yoman, president of the West Papua Fellowship of Baptist Churches, described the arrest as a “kidnapping”. He said the governor had been arrested illegally, without following any legal procedures — and neither the governor nor legal counsel was informed of his arrest.

According to Dr Yoman, Governor Enembe is ill and in the process of recovering from his illness. Thus, this pressure exerted by the state through the military and police violated Governor Enembe’s basic rights to health and humanity.

The behaviour of the state through BRIMOB constituted a crime against humanity or a gross violation of human rights because the governor was arrested during lunchtime without an arrest warrant and while he was unwell, he said.

“The governor is not a terrorist — he was elected Governor of Papua by the Papuan people.

“This kidnapping shows that the nation or country has no law. The country is controlled by people who have lost their humanity, opting instead for animalistic rage and a senseless lust for violence.

“Our goal is to restore their humanity so that they can see other human beings as human beings and become whole human beings,” said Dr Yoman.

The governor’s health
The governor’s health has deteriorated since he was banned from traveling to Singapore for regular medical aid since September last year.

Last October, Governor Enembe received two visits from Singapore medical specialists who have been treating him for a number of years.

Despite these visits, his health has continued to deteriorate, which led Singapore’s medical specialists to send a letter in November to authorities in Indonesia requesting that the governor be airlifted to Mount Elizabeth hospital.

The letter from Royal Healthcare in Singapore said:

“We have treated Governor Lukas remotely with routine blood tests, regular zoom consults and monitoring of his glucose and blood pressure levels since November 1, 2022. However, his condition has deteriorated rapidly the last week. His renal function is at a critical range (5.75mg/dl), and he may require dialysis sooner than later. His blood pressure is hovering 190-200/80-100 increasing his risk of morbidity and mortality. He has been advised on immediate evacuation to Singapore with direct admission to Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital.”

The letters were ignored, and the sick governor was arrested and taken to a hospital in Jakarta, where he had previously refused to go.

Governor Enembe had previously written to KPK requesting that he receive urgent medical treatment in Singapore. Papuan police chiefs and KPK members were asked to accompany him, but this did not happen.

On November 30, 2022, Firli Bahuri, Chairman of KPK, visited the governor at his barricaded residence in Koya Jayapura, Papua, in what appeared to be a humane approach.

But what happened on Tuesday indicates that KPK had already decided to arrest him and take him to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta — almost 4500 km from his home town.

Many Papuan figures who go to Jakarta return home in coffins. Papuan protesters did not want their leader to be taken out of Papua, partly due to this fear.

Despite these protests, letters, and requests, Jakarta completely disregarded the will of the people and of the governor himself.

The plot to kidnap Governor Enembe appears to have been well planned over a period of four months since September, providing enough space for the situation in Papua to calm down and allowing the governor to leave his barricaded house alone without his Papuan “special forces”.

It was during the lunch hour of noon on Tuesday that KPK targeted him in a cunningly calculated manner.

Governor’s image in social media
Governor Enembe is portrayed in the Indonesia’s national narrative as a representative of the so-called “poor and backward” majority of Papuans, while portraying him as a man of a lavish lifestyle, owning properties and cars, and with great wealth.

Comments on social media are flooded with a common theme — portraying Papua’s governor as a “criminal”, with some even calling for his “execution”.

Some social media comments emerging from those fighting for West Papua’s liberation are echoing these themes by claiming that Governor Enembe’s case has nothing to do with the Free Papua Movement– his problem is with Jakarta only as he is a “colonial puppet ruler”.

It is true that Lukas Enembe is governor of Indonesian settler colonial provinces. However, Papuans have failed to understand the big picture — the ultimate fate of West Papua itself.

What would happen if West Papua remains part of Indonesia for the next 20-50 years?

Our failure to see the big picture by both Papuans and Indonesians, as well as the international community, is a result of Jakarta fabrication that West Papua is merely a national sovereignty issue for Indonesia. That is the crux of that fatal error.

The isolation of the governor from the rest of the Papuans as a “corruptor” and other dehumanising labels are designed to destroy Papuans’ self-esteem, stripping them of their pride, dignity, and self-respect.

The images and videos of the governor’s arrest, deportation, handcuffing in Jakarta in KPK uniform, and his admission to the military hospital while surrounded by heavily armed security forces are psychologically intimidating to Papuans.

Through brutal silence, politically loaded imagery has been used to convey a certain message:

“See what has happened to your respected leader, the big chief of the Papuan tribes; he is no longer a person. Jakarta still has the final say in what happens to all of you.”

Papuans are facing a highly choreographed state-sponsored terror campaign that shows no signs of abating.

For Papuans, the new year of 2023 should be a time of hope, new dreams, and new lives, but this has been marred once again by the arrest and kidnapping of a well-known and popular Papuan figure, as well as the death of a member of the governor’s family on Tuesday.

As human miseries continue to unfold in the Papuan homeland, Jakarta continues to conduct business as usual, pretending nothing is happening in West Papua while beating the drum of “development, prosperity, and progress” for the betterment of the backward Papuans.

With such prolonged tragedies, it is imperative that the old theories, terminologies, and paradigms that govern this brutal state of affairs be challenged.

A new paradigm is needed
The very foundation of our thinking between West Papua and Indonesia must be re-examined within the framework of what Tunisian writer, Albert Memmie, described as “coloniser and colonised”, when examining French treatment of colonised Tunisians, who emerged concurrent with Franz Fanon, the leading thinker of black experience in white, colonised Algeria.

The works of these thinkers provide insight into how the world of colonisers and colonised operates with its psychopathological manipulations in an unjust racially divided system of coloniser control.

These great decolonisation literature treasures will help Papuans to connect the dots of this last frontier to a bigger picture of centuries of war against colonised original peoples around the world, some of which were obliterated (Tasmania), able to escape (Algeria), or escaped but are still trying to reorganise themselves (Haiti).

Therefore, the coloniser and colonised paradigm is a useful mental framework to view Jakarta’s settler colonial activities and how Papuans (colonised) are continuously being lied to, manipulated, dissected, remade and destroyed — from all sides — in order to prevent them from uniting against the entity that threatens their very existence.

The real culprits in West Papua and proper Papuan justice
Most ordinary Papuans are unable to gain access to information regarding who exploits their natural resources, how much they are making, who receives the most benefits and how or why.

But Jakarta is too busy displaying Governor Enembe’s personal affairs and wild allegations in headline news — his entire existence is placed on public display, as an object of humiliation, just as the messianic Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross in order to convince Galilean followers that their beloved leader failed.

If true justice is to be delivered to colonised Papuans, then Papuans must put the Dutch on trial for abandoning them 60 years ago, and then hold the United Nations and the United States responsible for selling them, to Indonesia, 60 years ago.

In addition to arresting all international capitalist bandits that are exploiting West Papua under the disguise of multinational corporations, Indonesia should also be arrested for its crimes against Papuans, dating back over 61 years.

However, the question remains… who will deliver this proper justice for the colonised Papuans? Jakarta has certainly set itself on a pathological path of arresting, imprisoning, and executing any figure that appears to be a messianic figure to unite these dislocated original tribes for its final war for survival.

Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic/activist who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Local government officials in Papua New Guinea have offered a cash reward for information after the body of policeman Senior Constable Nelson Kalimda — whose body went missing in Tari, Hela — was found yesterday in Margarima.

The body of Papua New Guinean policeman Constable Nelson Kalimda — who went missing in Tari, Hela — was found yesterday in Margarima after the provincial government put up a cash reward.

Provincial police commander Robin Bore confirmed that the body had been found at the Andapali River in Margarima, near the Margarima-Kandep road.

“We have brought late Kalimda’s body back to Tari,” Commander Bore said.

Police Commissioner David Manning last night said that for those who wore the police uniform this was a personal loss.

“This is someone who has a family, who has served with us, below us or above us. He was one of us,” he said.

“We swore an oath to serve and we will continue to serve despite this loss

‘Our profession has risks’
“Ours is a profession that comes with risks.”

Manning said investigations were being led by some of the most capable officers in the PNG police force to bring swift justice on those involved in the death of Kalimda.

“I issue them a clear warning to anyone involved with Senior Constable Kalimda’s death to not resist arrest when police catch up with them.

“If these suspects threaten police with weapons, our police personnel have full authority to escalate the use of force and to use all appropriate means necessary to take control of the situation.

“Police have made two arrests so far and there are four other persons of interest that are the subject of an ongoing search.”

Kalimda was part of a team that escorted exam papers into Tari and he went missing on October 20.

He was last seen driving out of a guest house in Tari. His car was found last Thursday, a week after he was first reported missing, in a deserted area at the Komo-Hulia district, near Ambua.

Police assisted with fuel
Governor Philip Undialu said the provincial government assisted police with fuel and funding in the search for Kalimda.

Undialu said a suspect from the area had confessed to killing Kalimda in a phone conversation and said that he had thrown Kalimda’s body into the Andapali River.

He said that after the provincial government received the information, a reward was offered for the community to assist police and the PNG Defence Force to find Kalimda’s body.

“The body was recovered just this afternoon [Sunday] by a group of youths, and we will pay them a reward.”

Undialu also called on the suspect, whose identity is known, to surrender to police and appealed to the community to help bring in the suspect.

Rebecca Kuku is a journalist for The National newspaper. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

During the present period of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, public sensitivities in the United Kingdom and Australia are high. There is strong sentiment in both countries in favour of showing respect for the Queen’s death.

Some people may wish to do this privately. Others will want to demonstrate their respect publicly by attending commemorations and processions.

There are also cohorts within both countries that may wish to express discontent and disagreement with the monarchy at this time.

For instance, groups such as Indigenous peoples and others who were subject to dispossession and oppression by the British monarchy may wish to express important political views about these significant and continuing injustices.

This has caused tension across the globe. For instance, a professor from the United States who tweeted a critical comment of the Queen has been subject to significant public backlash.

Also, an Aboriginal rugby league player is facing a ban and a fine by the NRL for similar negative comments she posted online following the Queen’s death.

This tension has been particularly so in the UK, where police have questioned protestors expressing anti-monarchy sentiments, and in some cases, arrested them.

Police arrest anti-monarchy protesters at royal events in England, Scotland https://t.co/GJSzOa1SKU

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 13, 2022

But should such concerns about the actions of the Queen and monarchy be silenced or limited because a public declaration of mourning has been made by the government?

This raises some difficult questions as to how the freedom of speech of both those who wish to grieve publicly and those who wish to protest should be balanced.

What laws in the UK are being used to do this?
There are various laws that regulate protest in the UK. At a basic level, police can arrest a person for a “breach of the peace”.

Also, two statutes provide specific offences that allow police to arrest protesters.

Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 UK provides that a person is guilty of a public order offence if:

• they use threatening or abusive words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour
• or display any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening or abusive.

The offence provision then provides this must be “within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress” by those acts.

There is some protection for speech in the legislation because people arrested under this provision can argue a defence of “reasonable excuse”. However, there’s still a great deal of discretion placed in the hands of the police.

Seriously worrying that holding a sign saying #notmyking can get you removed by police. What ever your views on the monarchy, this should concern you. https://t.co/uj1TGkdL5t

— Clay Sinclair (@claysinclair) September 12, 2022

The other statute that was recently amended is the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act of 2022, which allows police to arrest protesters for “public nuisance”.

In the context of the period of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, the wide terms used in this legislation (such as “nuisance” and “distress”) gives a lot of discretion to police to arrest protesters who they perceive to be upsetting others.

For instance, a protester who holds a placard saying “Not my king, abolish the monarchy” may be seen as likely to cause distress to others given the high sensitivities in the community during the period of mourning.

Is there a right to protest under UK and Australian law?
Protest rights are recognised in both the UK and in Australia, but in different ways.

In the UK, the right to freedom of expression is recognised in Article 10 of the Human Rights Act.

In Australia, there’s no equivalent of the right to freedom of expression at the federal level as Australia doesn’t have a national human rights charter. Rather, there’s a constitutional principle called the “implied freedom of political communication”.

This isn’t a “right” as such but does provide some acknowledgement of the importance of protest.

Also, freedom of expression is recognised in the three jurisdictions in Australia that have human rights instruments (Victoria, Queensland and the ACT).

pic.twitter.com/8s01SZc1gx

— Paul Powlesland (@paulpowlesland) September 12, 2022

Can the right to protest be limited in a period of mourning?
In this period of public mourning, people wishing to assemble in a public place to pay respect to the queen are exercising two primary human rights: the right to assembly and the right to freedom of expression.

But these are not absolute rights. They cannot override the rights of others to also express their own views.

Further, there is no recognised right to assemble without annoyance or disturbance from others. That is, others in the community are also permitted to gather in a public place during the period of mourning and voice their views (which may be critical of the queen or monarchy).

It is important to also note that neither the UK nor Australia protects the monarchy against criticism. This is significant because in some countries (such as Thailand), it is a criminal offence to insult the monarch. These are called “lèse-majesté” laws — a French term meaning “to do wrong to majesty”.

The police in the UK and Australia cannot therefore use public order offences (such breach of the peace) to unlawfully limit public criticism of the monarchy.

It may be uncomfortable or even distressing for those wishing to publicly grieve the Queen’s passing to see anti-monarchy placards displayed. But that doesn’t make it a criminal offence that allows protesters to be arrested.

The ability to voice dissent is vital for a functioning democracy. It is therefore arguable that people should be able to voice their concerns with the monarchy even in this period of heightened sensitivity. The only way in which anti-monarchy sentiment can lawfully be suppressed is in a state of emergency.

A public period of mourning does not meet that standard.

Dr Maria O’Sullivan, associate professor in the Faculty of Law, and deputy director, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The United Liberation Movement of West Papua has condemned the brutal killing and mutilation of four indigenous West Papuans last week, saying it was a “a reminder of Indonesian colonialism”, as authorities announced the arrest of six special forces suspects.

News agency reports said Indonesian security forces had arrested the six elite troopers who had been accused of involvement in the killing of four Papuans and beheading them.

An Australian newspaper report said the accused’s military unit had a link with the Australian Defence Force.

“We are committed to upholding the law in this case,” Papua military chief Major-General Teguh Muji Angkasa told reporters in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province.

“If any of our soldiers are involved in criminal acts, we will not tolerate it.”

Residents of Iwaka village in Mimika district were shocked on Friday by the discovery of four sacks, each containing a headless and legless torso, in the village river.

Two other sacks were found separately, one containing four heads and the other eight legs. The sacks were weighted with stones.

‘Heartbreaking’ reports
In a statement, ULMWP interim president Benny Wenda said it was “heartbreaking” to hear that the four Papuans had been killed and mutilated by Indonesian special forces. The four were named as Arnold Lokmbere, Irian Nirigi, Lemanion Nirigi, and Atis Tini.

“This brutal killing must be seen for what it is: state sponsored terrorism,” he said.

“My people have always rejected Jakarta’s impositions, from the “Act of No Choice” in 1969 to the so-called “Special Autonomy” that rules over us today.

“Indonesia knows West Papuans will never accept their colonial rule. Instead, they must enforce it at the barrel of a gun.

Wenda said the killings, which had happened in Timika regency, in West Papua’s highlands, exposed the racism at the heart of Indonesian rule.

“After shooting the four men, soldiers cut off their heads and legs, stuffed them in sacks, and dumped them in a village river.

“How can people be seen as human if they are treated in this way? Indonesia views us as ‘primitive’, as ‘monkeys’. They have always wanted to get us ‘down from the trees’.

Rivers uses as ‘tombs’
Wenda said this was not the first time “our rivers have been used as our tombs”.

In 2020, Pastor Yeremia Zanambani in the Intan Jaya regency was tortured and killed by the Indonesian military.

Following this, soldiers killed two of Pastor Zanambani’s family members, burning their bodies and throwing the ashes into a river to hide the evidence.

Since 2019, there had been frequent examples of Indonesia’s “systematic brutality in West Papua”.

‘We have seen Papuan students murdered by Indonesian death squads, babies shot and killed, civilians in Nduga executed in military-style operations,” Wenda said.

“The history of Indonesian rule in West Papua is written in the blood of my people.”

Wenda said that although Indonesian police had arrested six special forces suspected of being responsible for the crime, “we know from the death of Theys Eluay that soldiers charged with extrajudicial killing regularly receive light sentences – and are often welcomed as heroes by their military superiors”.

“In Indonesia, peacefully raising the Morning Star flag is a worse crime than murdering indigenous West Papuans in cold blood.”

Justice call
Wenda called for justice to be done for these four slain men and their families. He declared the following demands:

• Indonesia must release all political prisoners, including the eight students who have been held since December 2021 for peacefully demonstrating on our national day;
• Indonesia must allow journalists to operate in West Papua;
• Indonesia must stop the delaying tactics and honour their promise to allow the UN High Commissioner to visit West Papua, as also demanded by the Pacific Islands Forum, the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States, and the EU Commission; and
• Indonesia must allow our right to self-determination and grant West Papua an internationally-monitored Independence Referendum.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

National Capital District Metropolitan Police Superintendent Gideon Ikumu has ruled out a proposal to impose a curfew in the capital city Port Moresby in the wake of the recent spate of violence.

He said the situation was expected to return to normal after soldiers yesterday joined policemen on the city streets monitoring the crisis.

A fight started on Sunday evening following a dispute between scrutineers of the Moresby Northeast candidates inside the counting venue at the Sir John Guise stadium.

It spilled onto the main road where men armed with machetes attacked each other.

It continued yesterday morning.

Most business houses told their employees to stay at home yesterday for their own safety.

Vanimo-Green MP Belden Namah called for an immediate declaration of a State of Emergency in troubled zones throughout the country.

Namah calls for ‘state of emergency’
“I am now calling for immediate declaration of the State of Emergency and curfew in Port Moresby, Enga and all the trouble zones,” Namah said.

But Ikumu said a curfew was not necessary as security personnel were monitoring the situation.

He hoped everything would return to normal today.

He said police had rounded up 18 suspects since Sunday.

“Less than 10 [people were] injured. Most didn’t go to the hospital,” Ikumu said.

“No deaths. Police have to link those suspects to the incident.

“They are subject to further investigations.”

Police chief turned to military
Police Commissioner David Manning asked Defence Force Chief Major-General Mark Goina for assistance.

Caretaker Prime Minister James Marape yesterday said the National Capital District was no place for criminals.

Marape said that additional manpower from the Papua New Guinea Defence had been deployed to support the Royal Papua New Guinea constabulary to police the nation’s Capital District.

“If you do not like the results of the counting, take it to the court of disputed returns,” he said.

“And let the Electoral Commission do its job and complete the counting process, send your scrutineers in to witness, and all candidates and supporters stay away from counting sites,” he said.

Marape said that candidates who were contesting to become leaders should not try to take the law into their own hands.

Gynnie Kero is a reporter for The National in Papua New Guinea. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz