Indonesia’s Presidential Staff Office says it regrets the raising of the Morning Star flag – which is identified with Papuan independence – at the Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) in Melbourne, Australia, this week.

Presidential Staff Office deputy for political, legal, security and human rights affairs Jaleswari Pramowardhani insisted that the area in and around the consulate must be respected.

Pramowardhani pointed to the stipulations in the Geneva Convention on respect for foreign consulates and international legal customs.

“The host country, in this case Australia, has an obligation based on international law to maintain security in the area of the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia,” said Pramowardhani.

“Above all breaking in or infiltrating without authorisation. So the incident which occurred at the Melbourne KJRI cannot be justified and conflicts with international law,” she added.

Earlier on Tuesday, December 1, a video of the Morning Star flag flying over the Melbourne consulate went viral on Twitter. The owner of the Twitter account @Tbuch2, Tim Buchanan, shared a video of six people standing on the Melbourne consulate’s roof.

Two of them were holding a banner with a picture of the Morning Star flag with the message “Free West Papua”, while four others held a Morning Star flag and a poster with the message, “TNI [Indonesian military] Out, Stop Killing Papua”.

Officials grappled with the protesters trying to prevent the flags and banner being unfurled.

LIVE RIGHT NOW! 5 People have scaled the walls of the Indonesian consulate in Melbourne & are currently on the roof, they have raised the Morning Star flag of the West Papuan independence movement & banners reading TNI OUT: Stop Killing Papuans & FREE WEST PAPUA” #FreeWestPapua pic.twitter.com/Pkwuv1A3bl

— ?Tim☀️Buchanan? (@Tbuch2) December 1, 2020

Pramowardhani has asked the Australian government to take a “firmer stand” so that a similar incident does not reoccur.

This is not the first incident of its kind. In 2017, a Free Papua Organisation (OPM) sympathiser also managed to climb the wall surrounding the Melbourne Indonesian consulate and raise the Morning Star flag.

Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was
“Bintang Kejora Berkibar di KJRI, KSP Sesalkan Sikap Australia”.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A renewed declaration of independence by an exiled West Papuan leader has stirred a negative response from other Papuan independence fighters who are part of the West Papua liberation army force clashing with Indonesian security troops.

The rival fighters have rejected the peaceful unilateral claim of independence and in particular the claim that Benny Wenda is Papua’s provisional president, reports CNN Indonesia.

On December 1 – West Papua’s national flag day when protests across Indonesia and globally each year raise the banned Morning Star flag in defiance – the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) chairperson Benny Wenda declared Papuan independence.

He did not make the declaration on Papuan soil but rather through a press release
on the ULMWP’s official website.

In his declaration, Wenda said that he would no longer submit to the constitution and Indonesian law and that Papua will have its own laws and constitution.

Aside from declaring Papuan independence, Wenda also stated that he had been appointed as the interim president of the provisional administration of the republic of Papua.

“Today, we announce the formation of the West Papua provisional administration. We are ready to take over our territory, and we will no longer submit to Jakarta’s illegal military laws,” Wenda said.

“Starting today, December 1, 2020, we will begin to apply our own constitution and reclaim our sovereign land.”

Hot debate in news media
Indonesian news and current affairs programmes such as on TV One have hotly debated the diplomacy challenge raised by Wenda. Two prominent human rights advocates have spoken out in support of West Papuan right to self-determination.

The declaration has been disputed by other Papuan independence fighters who are part of the West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organisation (TPNPB-OPM).

“Starting today December 2, 2020, we from the TPNPB-OPM National Committee Central Management Office declare a motion of no confidence in Benny Wanda,” said TPNPB-OPM spokesperson Sebby Sambon in a written release.

The OPM believes that the claim of independence announced by Wenda will actually damage the Papuan people’s unity who are in the midst of an immediate struggle.

Sambon even accused Wenda of working in the interests of foreign capitalists from the European Union, the United States and Australia.

This, claimed Sambon, conflicted with the revolutionary principles of the Papuan nation.

“According to international law Benny Wenda declared and announced his state and claim in a foreign country, namely in the country of the British monarchy, this is totally wrong and cannot be accepted by any sensible person,” he said.

‘No significant impact’ says military
Wenda’s declaration of Papuan independence has not had any significant impact on the situation in Papua itself, claim Indonesian military leaders.

The spokesperson for the Indonesian military’s (TNI) Joint Defence Area Command III, Colonel Czi IGN Suriastawa who said that so far the situation in Papua was “still favourable”.

Suriastawa said that the declaration by Wenda is a matter for law enforcement officials and the TNI could only confirm that the situation in Papua was currently under control.

“It’s pretty smooth in Papua. Let the police deal with BW (Benny Wenda) because [his declaration] leans in the direction of makar [treason, rebellion, subversion],” he said.

Despite this, House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I member Sukamta has asked the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo not to take Wenda’s declaration lightly.

According to Sukamta the government must immediately deal with this protracted problem through a comprehensive approach so that Papua did not suffer the same fate as East Timor which separated from Indonesia.

“Don’t treat this development lightly, we don’t want Papua to end up like East Timor.

“Shootings and attacks on the security forces and civil society are still continuing, showing that the situation in Papua is not yet stable,” said Sukamta.

Declaration of independence
Although it is widely held that West Papua declared independence from Indonesia on 1 December 1961, this actually marks the date when the Morning Star (Bintang Kejora) flag was first raised alongside the Dutch flag in an officially sanctioned ceremony in Jayapura, then called Hollandia.

The first declaration of independence actually took place on 1 July 1971 at the Victoria Headquarters in Jayapura where the OPM raised the Morning Star flag and unilaterally proclaimed West Papua as an independent democratic republic.

Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was
“Pecah Kongsi Benny Wenda dan OPM Soal Papua Merdeka”.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

December 1 flag day protests have taken place in several cities around Indonesia including the capital Jakarta, Yogyakarta (Central Java), Ternate (North Maluku) and Sinjai (South Sulawesi), reports Arah Juang.

The actions were launched to commemorate West Papua Independence Day.

But even before the actions were launched, security forces attempted to  thwart them by blocking protesters, breaking up rallies and arresting demonstrators.

The following are reports on the actions in Jakarta and Yogyakarta:

Jakarta
In Jakarta, protesters from the Papuan Students Alliance (AMP), the Indonesian People’s Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) and the Papuan Central Highlands Indonesian Student Association (AMPTPI) had began preparing to launch actions since 5.30am.

The protesters gathered at the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta) in Central Jakarta holding banners reading “Reject Special Autonomy and Give the Right of Self-Determination to the West Papuan Nation” along with posters with similar demands.

The women demonstrators wore sali (traditional Papuan women’s clothing)  while others painted pictures of the Morning Star independence flag on their faces and bodies.

The protesters then moved off in an orderly manner to the intersection near the Indonesian Alkitab Foundation before taking vehicles to the United States Embassy in Central Jakarta.

At 6am the demonstrators had gathered in front of the US Embassy and were giving speeches. AMP member Roland Levy said in a speech that Special Autonomy (Otsus) had failed to protect the Papuan people.

“Many Papuan people have been killed, evicted, discriminated against and labeled as separatists. Because of this the solution is independence for the West Papuan nation as a democratic solution”, he said while shouting “Referendum? Yes!”

Following this, the protesters moved off to the nearby Presidential Palace but were blocked by police from entering the National Monument from the west near the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

The demonstrators then gave speeches, made up games, performed the Wisisi dance (a traditional Papuan dance) and prayed together to commemorate the declaration of West Papuan independence on 1 December 1961.

One of the participants read out a poem about the Papuan people’s spirit of nationalism for December 1. One of the women then related how independence was the right of all nations.

A statement was read out at 9.30am and the action closed with a prayer.

At the end of the action as the protesters were to return to the starting point, they were provoked by a small group of unknown individuals. The demonstrators restrained themselves and did not respond, referring to the group as “1000 or so people”, meaning a group hired by the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

Yogyakarta
In Yogyakarta, thousands of students from the Free Papua December 1 Movement Alliance launched an action commemorating the declaration of independence in Papua.

The action, which started at 9am, involved a long-march from the Papuan student dormitory to the nearby Zero Kilometer point in front of the Central Post Office. During the march the protesters shouted slogans such as “Free West Papua”, “NKRI no” and “Referendum yes”.

They also took turns in giving speeches with Momiake Gresya saying, “We Papuan people constantly live under the shadow of death, being killed, tortured like animals, and all of this is perpetrated by the TNI [Indonesian military] and Polri [Indonesian police]”.

“An example of this is in Nduga [regency] today. For two years more than 40,000 people have fled seeking shelter and 240 have died as a result of Indonesian military operations,” said Gresya.

In another speech, FRI-WP representative Muhamad Iis explained about the ordinary Indonesian people’s support for the Papuan struggle for independence.

“Today we declare our full support for Papuan independence”, he said.

Iis said that colonialism in Papua was not supported by all the Indonesian people.

“Colonialism is not the position of the majority of Indonesian people, just a greedy handful of people,” he said.

Accompanied by the song “Let the Coordination Post be Torn Down”, at 1pm the protesters danced around the command vehicle waving two Morning Star flags.

This managed to incite security personnel who tried to move into the crowd but demonstrators succeeded in blocking them and the situation returned to normal.

The action ended at 2.30pm with the reading out of a statement and
shouts of “Free West Papua, Free West Papua, Free West Papua”.

Other demands
A number of other demands were also made during the demonstrations, including:

• putting the perpetrators of human rights violations in Papua on trial;
• the withdrawal of all organic and non-organic troops and an end to military operations;
• an end to the theft of land and natural resources,
• that the Indonesian government acknowledge that West Papua
  has been independent since 1961;
• the closure of PT Freeport and other mining operations; for the UN to take responsibility for and be active in an act of self-determination;
• the “straightening out” of history and resolving human rights violations in Papua;
• allowing access for national and international journalists to report in Papua; an end to racial discrimination against Papuans;
• the ratification of the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence; and for
• the government to revoke the recently enacted Jobs Law.

Declaration of independence
Although it is widely held that West Papua declared independence from Indonesia on 1 December 1961, this actually marks the date when the Morning Star (Bintang Kejora) flag was first raised alongside the Dutch flag in an officially sanctioned ceremony in Jayapura, then called Hollandia.

The first declaration of independence actually took place on 1 July 1971 at the Victoria Headquarters in Jayapura where the OPM raised the Morning Star flag and unilaterally proclaimed West Papua as an independent democratic republic.

Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of
the article was “Peringati 1 Desember di Jakarta dan Yogyakarta, Mahasiswa Menyatakan Tolak Otonomi Khusus dan Berikan Kemerdekaan Bagi Papua”.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Academics, journalists and students today raised the West Papuan flag – an act banned in Indonesia and punishable by up to 15 years in jail – at a Pacific Media Centre-hosted symposium in Auckland today.

The protest marked the 59th anniversary of the day West Papuans first raised their flag of independence, known as the Morning Star, on 1 December 1961.

Organisers said the symbolic flag-raising was done during the centre’s “highlights and new horizons” symposium at Auckland University of Technology in solidarity with Papuan students studying in New Zealand and in protest against human rights violations by Indonesian security forces.

A human rights advocate at the event, Del Abcede, spoke on behalf of the students at their request, declaring: “I will say the things they cannot say because it puts them at risk”.

She appealed for more support from New Zealand and Pacific countries for the West Papuan self-determination cause.

“I will say the two things that the students cannot say directly themselves without being put at risk over their safety,” she said.

One was about raising the flag or speaking about the jailings. The other was about a petition for independence.

15 year jail sentence
“Filep Karma is a Papuan independence activist. On 1 December 2004 he helped raise the Morning Star flag at a caremony in Jayapura together with other activists. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison,” she said.

“Yusak Pakage, one of the activists was sentenced to 10 years. Pakage was released in 2010 by presidential pardon.

“But Filipe Karma refused a pardon. He was released on 19 November 2015 after [serving] more than 10 years due to pressure from the international community,” Abcede said.

“In January 2019, West Papuan activists delivered a petition to the United Nations demanding a referendum on West Papuan independence.

“The position of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) is clear – it advocates the right to self-determination through an independence referendum, not Indonesian-controlled ‘autonomy’.”

In solidarity with the Papuan students, about 50 academics and media people held the flag aloft and sang two traditional songs.

The symposium delivered presentations on a wide range of topics from the future of journalism research methodologies to documentary and journalism collaboration, project journalism in the Asia-Pacific Region, and media diversity and publication.

Speakers praised the Stuff news portal that this week published an apology for 163 years of biased reporting on Maori issues, with centre director Professor David Robie describing the “courageous” move as a “game-changer’ on media and race relations.

The centre publishes Asia Pacific Report, Pacific Media Watch and PMC Online online news platforms, and also the 26-year-old Pacific Journalism Review.

Protest outside NZ Parliament
In Wellington, dozens of people demonstrated in support of West Papuan independence outside New Zealand’s parliament, reports RNZ Pacific’s Johnny Blades.

New Zealand Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson and several other MPs attended the demostration in Wellington.

They spoke to a crowd of more than 50, saying the denial of Papuans’ right to self-determination was a Pacific regional problem.

Papua’s 1 December anniversary is marked by similar demonstrations around the world, including in Melbourne, Oxford, Honiara and The Hague.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz