A Papuan woman politician has warned Indonesian security forces against restricting women from selling noken — traditional string bags — and other accessories displaying the banned Morning Star flag design at the Papuan National Games (PON XX) venue in Jayapura.

Orpa Nari, a Papuan People’s Assembly (MRP) member of the Women Workgroup, said the police should not be afraid of “a pattern”.

“It’s just a pattern,” she said. “None of these mamas [Papuan women] weave the pattern as a way to go against the state.

“If anything, it’s our identity as Papuans,” Nari told the Papuan newspaper Tabloid Jubi.

Previously, the security forces reportedly forbade Papuan women from selling any Morning Star-patterned accessories during the Games as they were considered a resistance symbol against the Indonesian state.

Nari said that Papuan women had been making noken with various patterns — including the Morning Star — for a long time, even before the National Games.

“It has nothing to do with the Games event. It’s common to find accessories with the Morning Star design made by Papuan women.

“It’s simply a part of their identity that cannot be forgotten and let go,” she said.

Supported their families
Nari added that these women had supported their families through knitting and making accessories.

“It’s their livelihood. We Papuans know it by heart,” she said.

MRP chair Timotius Murib said he had received information that residents and supporters wearing clothes and accessories with the Morning Star pattern were not allowed to enter the National Games venue

“Some people who wore bracelets or clothes with the Morning Star pattern were forbidden from watching the Games.

“These accessories are common and not just worn by native Papuans,” said Murib.

Murib hoped that the security forces would not overreact to the phenomenon.

“Don’t overdo it, it’s just an accessory. Let’s create a good atmosphere during the PON XX and make it a successful event,” he said.

The two-week-long Games end on Friday.

Yance Wenda is a Tabloid Jubi reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Eighty-three covid-19 cases have been reported during the Indonesian National Games (PON-XX) being held in Papua as of yesterday afternoon, says Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin.

He said evaluation of the Games would improve public health protocols in future.

“The 83 cases are concentrated among the participants competing in several sports — judo, archery, roller skating, cricket and motocross — as well as originating from a number of provinces (Jakarta, East Java, Central Java and Bali)” Sadikin told an online media conference on community activity restrictions (PPKM).

According to the ministry’s observation, virus transmission occurred in the lodging as each room was occupied by four people and the PON participants often ate together, the minister said.

“It will be our evaluation to improve the implementation of health protocols in future events,” he said.

The implementation of the health protocols could still be improved by giving greater authority to the regional covid-19 handling task forces, he added.

Furthermore, he said that his ministry had noticed that seven infected athletes had returned to their provinces before the end of their five-day quarantine period.

One athlete returned to Tarakan City, North Kalimantan Province, two returned to Jambi Province, three to Sidoarjo District, East Java Province, and one to the Special Region of Yogyakarta Province, he said.

“The President [Joko Widodo] has urged the athletes to be quarantined at their hometowns,” Sadikin said.

Several standards had been set regarding the implementation of health protocols at the XX PON, including giving adequate authority to the task forces and maintaining distancing among participants at the hotels and hostels both while resting and eating, the minister said.

Other standards included conducting routine covid-19 PCR tests to identify infected participants faster and keeping isolation centers ready to quarantine patients immediately, he added.

• Asia Pacific Report notes that the Games were controversial because of repeated calls to postpone them given the public health risks from the covid-19 pandemic.

Desi Purnamawati and Uyu Liman are reporters with Antara News.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s visit to Papua last weekend to officially open Indonesia’s National Games (PON XX) and officiate a number of infrastructure projects are ceremonial and will not provide any benefits to the ordinary Papuan people when cases of human rights violations are left unresolved.

This assessment was made by former political prisoner and Papuan activist Ambrosius Mulait in response to Widodo’s visit which he sees as nothing more than “image building” in the eyes of the ordinary people and the international community.

“Jokowi came simply to bolster his image, he didn’t come with the genuine intention of resolving human rights,” Mulait told Suara Papua.

Mulait said that the Indonesian government appeared inconsistent in dealing with the covid-19 pandemic because it wasallowing crowds to gather at National Games events.

“We are questioning the Jokowi administration’s inconsistency, why given the state of the pandemic in Papua are they continuing with PON activities involving thousands of people?” he asked.

“It’s surprising, covid-19 cases are already rising, but all of a sudden the figures are deemed to be falling and the PON can be held.”

The secretary-general of the Papuan Central Highlands Indonesian Student Association (AMPTPI) also criticised the repression and violence by police against Papuan students demonstrating peacefully in front of the United States Embassy in Jakarta on September 30.

“The police are also racist in their handling of Papua mass actions. Meanwhile they weren’t repressive towards a demonstration at the KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission office] several days ago, and instead gave them space [to demonstrate],” he said.

Mulait said the state was truly unfair in its treatment of Papuans.

“The Papuan people continue to be silenced by repressive means, peaceful actions are broken up, protesters are arrested, labeled ‘separatists’, jailed. The way they are handled is very discriminative and racist,” said Mulait.

Papua student activist Semi Gobay also expressed disappointment. He said that President Widodo had already visited Papua nine times but not one case of human rights violations had been addressed let alone resolved.

“At the height of the PON XX, he came down to look at noken [traditional woven baskets and bags] made by mama-mama [traditional Papuan women traders]. But the internally displaced people in Nduga and Maybrat, the shooting cases in Puncak, Intan Jaya and the Star Highlands are not dealt with by the Indonesian government under the authority of President Joko Widodo” he said.

Gobay said this further demonstrated the real face of the government.

“The president comes and visits and buys lots of noken, but the many conflicts in Papua are not resolved. What’s behind all of this?” he asked.

“The Indonesian government has no good intentions towards us. All the best in celebrating the PON on the sorrows of the West Papuan nation.”

Translated by James Balowski of IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Tidak Selesaikan Kasus Pelanggaran HAM, Jokowi ke Papua Hanya Cari Muka”.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Brother Frater Anton Syufi of the Papua’s Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) has been arrested by the Jayapura city district police for wearing a banned Morning Star (BK) independence flag T-shirt while watching a soccer match between Papua and East Nusa Tenggara at Indonesia’s National Games at Mandala Stadium.

This was conveyed by Frater Kristianus Sasior, also from the OSA, who assisted Brother Syufi at the Jayapura district police.

Syufi, who was arrested at 4 am last Sunday and detained until 7 pm, was finally released at 10 pm because police did not find any other issues to charge him with.

“The police said he was detained because he wore a BK T-shirt. The police said that he was disturbing the Papua PON XX [20th National Games], said Brother Sasior.

“There is a prohibition on wearing things with the BK design. Brother Frater Anton did not [show] it intentionally because he was wearing two layers of clothing.

“When his favourite team won he jumped up and down and opened his outer shirt so police saw the costume underneath with the BK design.

“He was summoned and taken to Jayapura city district police. The police said they were still waiting for the head of the intelligence unit to arrive so we were [also] still waiting”, explained Sasior when contacted by Suara Papua by phone from Sorong.

A similar story was conveyed by Evenisus Kowawin who said that Syufi was detained for wearing the Morning Star T-shirt while watching the soccer match.

“Frater Anton was arrested because he wore a BK shirt. Police saw the shirt then dragged him out, interrogated him then took him to the district police. He’s currently still at the police [station],” explained Kowawin.

Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. Slightly abridged due to repetition. The original title of the article was “Pakai Baju Bintang Kejora Nonton Pertandingan PON, Seorang Frater Ditahan Polisi di Jayapura”.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The interim president of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) has accused Indonesia of holding its 20th National Games “on the bones of my people”.

“While we mourn for three years of Indonesian military operations, these games are a dance on top of our graves, on top of our suffering, on top of our cries,” Benny Wenda said today in a statement.

“I call on my people to ignore these games and focus on liberating us from this tyranny.”

The two-week Papuan Games (PON XX), centred mainly on the new Lukas Enembe Stadium complex in Jayapura, were opened on Saturday by President Joko Widodo.

Wenda said that the ULMWP had gathered new information that in the past three years at least 26 local West Papuan political figures and 20 intellectual and religious leaders had died in suspicious circumstances after speaking out about human rights and injustice.

“Some of them were official heads of their local districts, others were prominent church people,” said Wenda in the statement.

“Many turned up dead in hotel rooms after unexplained heart attacks, usually with no forensic evidence available.

‘Systematic killing’
“This is systematic killing, part of Jakarta’s plan to wipe out all resistance to its rule in West Papua.

“These deaths have occurred at the same time that Indonesia has sent more than 20,000 new troops into West Papua. They are killing us because we are different, because we are Black.”

Wenda said that while President Widodo visited “my land like a tourist”, more than 50,000 people had been internally displaced by Indonesian military operations in Nduga, Intan Jaya, Puncak and Sorong since December 2018.

“High school children and elders were recently arrested and blindfolded like animals in Maybrat. The PON XX is a PR exercise by the Indonesian government to cover up the evidence of mass killings,” Wenda said.

“Any use of the Morning Star flag, or even its colours, has been totally banned during the games. One Papuan Catholic preacher was arrested for wearing a Morning Star [independence] flag t-shirt during a football match.

“Our Papuan rowing team was banned from the games for wearing red, white and blue, the colours of our flag.

“This has happened at the same time as 17 people were arrested for holding the Morning Star in Jakarta. A West Papuan woman was sexually assaulted by police during the arrests.

Papuan Games a ‘PR stunt’
“Indonesia continues to hold this PR stunt even while Vanuatu and PNG call for a UN visit to West Papua in line with the call of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States.”

Wenda said there was no reason Indonesia could not allow the visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to take place.

He asked that if Indonesia wanted to use the covid-19 crisis as an excuse to stop the visit, why was the Jakarta government sending tens of thousands of troops into West Papua.

“Why are they holding the National Games in the middle of military operations and a pandemic?” Wenda asked.

“President Widodo, do not ignore my call to find the peaceful solution that is good for your people and my people.”

The ULMWP repeated its call to “sit down to arrange a peaceful referendum, to uphold the principle of self-determination enshrined by the international community”, Wenda said.

“You cannot pretend that nothing is happening in West Papua. The world is beginning to watch.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A major national sports event opened in Papua at the weekend, with officials hoping it will showcase the Indonesian government’s commitment to developing the province and reassure the public that the region is safe despite an active and escalating pro-independence insurgency.

The National Games, an event held once every four years, were scheduled to take place last year but were postponed because of the covid-19 pandemic.

The games opened on Saturday and run until October 15 in Jayapura, the provincial capital, and three regencies.

Billy Mambrasar, a Papua-born adviser to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, said the government hoped the games would help boost the economy of the deeply impoverished region.

“The National Games in Papua, as Pak Jokowi hopes, will be successful not only in terms of sporting events and organisation, but also in creating a multiplier effect,” he told reporters.

Mambrasar said he had travelled across Papua to ensure that Papuan small businesses were involved in organising the games.

Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali said the people of Papua were already benefitting economically from the games.

‘Economic impact’
“It has brought an economic impact on the communities,” Zainudin said in a statement posted on the ministry’s website.

“People sell T-shirts and souvenirs. Moreover, the situation here is under control.”

Papua won the right to host the games in 2014, outbidding Bali and Aceh provinces. A total of 7039 athletes and officials have descended on Papua for the country’s biggest sporting event, in which competitors are competing for medals in 56 sports.

The games are being held at venues in Jayapura City and three regencies – Jayapura, Merauke and Mimika. Some events, including esports, began last week.

The director of the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) expressed optimism that the games would proceed without incident, saying the insurgency was “hundreds of kilometers away”.

“The military and police have taken necessary security precautions, so we are optimistic that all events will go well,” Boy Rafli Amar said in a video interview with detik.com.

More than 21,000 police and soldiers had been “deployed to prevent any security and public order disturbances,” national police chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo said.

‘Safe and smooth’ hope
“What we hope is that the games will run safely and smoothly, while covid-19 remains under control,” Listyo told reporters after visiting sport venues in Papua on Thursday.

The areas where the games are being held are generally peaceful. But violence linked to the insurgency has broken out in other parts of the region that comprises Papua and West Papua provinces, and which makes up the western half of New Guinea Island.

In September, suspected rebels set fire to public buildings, including a health clinic and an elementary school in Kiwirok district, after security forces killed an insurgent during a gunfight, police said.

A 22-year-old nurse died after falling into a ravine while trying to flee the scene of the attack. One of her colleagues survived after being stabbed.

A policeman and a soldier were also killed in clashes with rebels.

The insurgency has simmered for decades in the Papua region, but violence has intensified in the past three years.

In April, the government designated pro-independence rebels as “terrorists” after insurgents ambushed and assassinated an army general who headed the regional branch of the National Intelligence Agency. The killing prompted Jokowi to order a crackdown.

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who will officially inaugurate the National Games, buys Nokens – traditional Papuan bags – from a craftswoman in Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia, Oct. 1, 2021. [Courtesy President Joko Widodo’s official Facebook account]

Some local businesses unhappy
Jayapura Regent Mathius Awoitauw said the games could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“The National Games are a matter of pride for Papuans, because it is extraordinary to have been entrusted to host it,” he said.

But some local businesses, including members of the Chamber of Papuan Indigenous Entrepreneurs (KAPP) and the Papuan Coffee Community, said they had been left out.

“We have had several meetings with the games’ organisers but there has been no progress,” Meky Wetipo, KAPP’s executive director, told BenarNews.

“We hope that they can entrust us with providing 3 tonnes of skipjack tuna, several tonnes of carrots, and fruit. But all these things are being done by government agencies.”

Denny Yigibalom, a coffee farmer and owner of the TIYOM coffee brand, said he had met with local lawmakers to discuss cooperation between coffee farmers and the games’ organisers, but there had been no further communication.

Makers of noken, traditional Papuan bags, said they were disappointed not to have been enlisted to provide souvenirs for the games, said Cintya Warwe, the manager of the Papua Women’s Market.

Noken purchase promise
“During a meeting at the end of August with the women of the Meepago noken community, the women complained because the organisers had promised to buy 5000 nokens. But this has not happened,” Cintya told BenarNews.

She said she heard news that the games’ committee wanted to buy 25,000 fake nokens from outside Papua to be used as mementoes.

However, some indigenous small businesses are taking part in the events by setting up tents to sell handicrafts outside the new Lukas Enembe Stadium, which cost nearly $1 million to build and is named after the serving governor of Papua.

Individual residents have also been allowed to set up stalls outside the stadium and sell handicrafts and betel or areca nuts, which are traditionally consumed raw by Papuans and people in neighboring Papua New Guinea.

In Merauke, women from the Marind tribe are selling handicrafts, including bags, hats, wallets, bracelets, necklaces, and bows along the city streets.

“Sales are worth up to 3 million rupiah (U.S. $210) a day. Bags, wallets and hats are the most popular. Most of the buyers are contingents from outside Papua,” said Maria D. Keimawu, leader of a small businesses association.

Covid-19 concerns
The provincial government, meanwhile, has taken measures to prevent the spread of covid-19 during the games, including by ramping up vaccinations and limiting the number of people who can enter the main stadium to fewer than 10,000, officials said.

“Gatherings of large numbers of people, even with strict health protocols, should be cause for concern,” said Masdalina Pane, a member of the Indonesian Association of Epidemiologists.

She said cases spiked after the recently completed Tokyo Olympics and the European football championship.

Yunus Wonda, the games’ chief organiser, said more than 50 percent of people in the areas that host the games had received at least on dose of a vaccine.

“We will make sure that everyone entering the venue have been vaccinated, that’s the main requirement,” he said, referring to the opening ceremony at the Lukas Enembe Stadium.

Victor Mambor is editor of Tabloid Jubi and a contributor to Asia Pacific Report.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The West Papua National Committee (KNPB) claims that an attack on a military post in Maybrat regency earlier this month is being used as a pretext to “force the KNPB into a corner” and to criminalise them, reports Suara Papua.

The September 2 attack on Kisor sub-district military post in Maybrat regency, West Papua province, killed four soldiers.

“There are vested interests and a plot by certain parties behind the killing for four TNI [Indonesian military] members at Kisor, Maybrat,” claimed KNPB spokesperson Ones Suhuniap in a statement sent to Suara Papua newspaper.

“First multinational palm oil companies, which are currently challenging [the cancellation of] permits in the western Birds Head region,” he said.

“Second, the construction of [new] Koramil [sub-district military commands] in several districts in South Sorong and Maybrat regencies.

“Third, the additional deployment of troops on the grounds of securing the PON XX Papua [20th Papua National Games].”

Suhuniap said the incident was a plot and a trap which had been arranged to distract public attention from a challenge by four palm oil companies with the Jayapura State Administrative Court (PTUN) against Sorong Regent Jhony Kamuru’s decision to revoke their permits.

Legalising Trans-Papua Highway posts
The “plot” was also to legalise and accelerate the construction of sub-district military posts and TNI and Indonesian police posts on the Trans-Papua highway connecting Manokwari and Sorong.

Suhuniap said that for the KNPB such a plot was nothing new and these methods were often used in Papua, especially against the KNPB.

As has been reported, the police claimed that a member of the civil society KNPB was involved in the attack, namely the movement’s chairperson in the Kisor sector.

However, what their alleged motive was and why they were involved, along with who the mastermind was behind the 19 people declared responsible for the attack had not been cited by the police.

Suhuniap said that if there were KNPB Maybrat members involved then there was a third party which provoked or trapped them into it and so it was necessary to discover the mastermind and what their interests were.

The KNPB did not kill or act in a hostile way towards other people, including the TNI and police, Suhuniap said.

“There is no agenda of murder directed against the authorities or special organisational instruction to attack members of the TNI and Indonesian police,” he said.

Investigation needed
“So the police must delve into and investigate this case further. Who was the mastermind behind the attack? Don’t criminalise the KNPB.” he said.

If the investigation found that KNPB members were proven to have been involved in the attack then their actions were taken as individuals, not the organisation.

“We as an organisation [the KNPB] have never carried out sabotage or urban guerrilla actions,” he said.

Suhuniap also said the attack was part of an Indonesian effort to counter public demands from within Papua and internationally for the release of KNPB international spokesperson Victor Yeimo.

“The state is shaping public opinion to distract the Papuan people’s attention from Victor Yeimo’s release and creating a sense of fear,” he said.

“Indonesian colonialism through its intelligence [services] are shaping public opinion and distracting the Papuan people’s attention by accusing the KNPB of being involved in the attack on the soldiers in Kisor.

“We believe that this effort to distract public attention is a cheap sort of intelligence propaganda to destroy and criminalise the KNPB.”

Suhuniap called on colleagues from West Papua’s 112 resistance movement organisations and all Papuan people to remain solid and not be influenced by the manipulation of public opinion.

“The Papuan people must be consistent in rejecting the extension of special autonomy, the unconditional release of Victor Yeimo and demanding the right to self-determination,” he said.

Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “KNPB Sebut Empat Skenario Pembunuhan Empat Anggota TNI di Kisor”.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz