By Len Garae  3 hrs ago

Benny Wenda is both an International Lobbyist for Independence of West Papua as well as Interim President of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Provisional Government. But he is much, much more than that. His future was prophesied by his people to go to school in order to carry the message to the world with his “pencil” for West Papua freedom.

At the beginning he was a displaced child with his mother and Lani Tribe for seven years fending for themselves in the jungle and mountains of West Papua, while hiding from the Indonesian soldiers.

In his latest revelation, the Interim President tells me he saw with his own eyes what the Indonesian soldiers did to his mother. Out of Melanesian decency, it cannot be mentioned in this article.

His uncle insisted on sending him to school and Wenda was sent to school in Jayapura. “I was seated next to an Indonesian female student who immediately spat in my face. I wiped away her spittle with my hand and suspected that coming from the jungle, perhaps I needed to shower properly. So the next morning I showered three times before class. As soon as I sat down on my chair, she spat in my face again. My Indonesian teacher turned a blind eye as though nothing had happened,” he says.

Despite the mistreatment in his own country, he bravely struggled to get an education for the freedom of his people. Between 1977 and 1983 Benny and his family, along with thousands of other highlanders, lived in hiding in the jungle. He was appointed leader by the elders in his tribe, and later after the Lani people surrendered to the Indonesian military he attended Cenderawasih University in Jayapura, studying Sociology.

Benny went on to complete a degree in sociology and politics in Jayapura. While at university, he initiated discussion groups for Papuan students in Jayapura – of all ages and from all tribes from both the highlands and coastal regions – so they could come together and talk about what it was to be Papuan.

Without going into detail, Benny said he was jailed for 25 years for raising the Morning Sun West Papua Flag.

While in jail, he recalls that he missed being assassinated once. “I knew that I had to pray for God’s intervention to help me escape from prison. I also called on all my ancestors to intervene. Then one night in the middle of the night, I went to the toilet and executed my escape plan without knowing as to what the security lights searching the perimeter every few seconds should shine on me, as well as without knowing what awaited me on the other side of the wall,” he said.

There were three walls to jump and the security lights came on and off when he executed his escape.

Benny became the only West Papuan to have successfully escaped to freedom from an Indonesian prison.

He says he walked to his people and the news of his escape astonished both Indonesian and West Papuan.

Asked if he has any wish for a permanent job, he replies with his knockout smile that this is it – to free his people. He has never enjoyed another job.

news@dailypost.vu

• 23 Jan 2023 17:20 pm
• Naharin Ni’matun
• 295

An unknown person threw a bomb near the house of Jubi journalist Victor Mambor in Jayapura City, West Papua, on Monday at 04.00 a.m. West Papua is the most dangerous region for journalists in Indonesia and Victor Mambor has been targeted several times.

The bomb exploded about three meters from Victor Mambor’s house in North Jayapura District, Jayapura City. Victor said, before a low-power explosion occurred, he heard the sound of a motorcycle stopping which was recorded by the CCTV at his house. Victor and his family are safe, nor is there any damage to his house.

A police team has been investigating the incident on the ground, taking Victor’s statement and finding evidence of the bomb blast.

Victor is the founder of an independent news website in Papua, Jubi.id. He has been repeatedly subjected to digital attacks such as doxing, hacking and online harassment. On April 21, 2021, his car was vandalized by unknown people. No perpetrators have ever been arrested for these attacks.

The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) strongly condemns the bombings as a threat to press freedom in Papua. AJI urges the Indonesian Police to thoroughly investigate the perpetrators behind the terror. AJI call all journalists in Papua not to be afraid and give up on voicing the truth amidst various obstacles. 

AJI Indonesia recorded 114 cases of violence against journalists from 2000-2021. Meanwhile, in 2022 there were four cases of attacks against 7 journalists in West Papua.

Dandy Koswaraputra and Pizaro Gozali Idrus
2023.01.23
Jakarta

Police gather evidence near the site of a bomb explosion that took place outside the house of a senior journalist, Victor Mambor, in Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia, Jan. 23, 2023.

[AJI Jayapura for BenarNews]

A veteran reporter known for covering rights abuses in Indonesia’s militarized and restive Papua region said a bomb exploded outside his residence on Monday, with a journalists group calling it an act of intimidation that threatened press freedom.

No one was injured in the blast near his home in the provincial capital, Jayapura, said Victor Mambor, editor of Papua’s leading news website, Jubi, and a contributor to BenarNews and other media. 

Police said they were investigating the explosion and that no one had yet claimed responsibility.

“Yes, someone threw a bomb,” Papua Police spokesperson Ignatius Benny told BenarNews. “The motive and perpetrators are unknown.”

Mambor said he heard the sound of a motorcycle at about 4 a.m. and then an explosion about a minute later. “It was so loud that my house shook like there was an earthquake,” he told BenarNews. 

“I also checked the source of the explosion and smelled sulfur coming from the side of the house.” 

The explosion left a hole in the road, he said. 

The incident was not the first to occur outside Mambor’s home. In April 2021, windows were smashed and paint sprayed on his car in the middle of the night.

Mambor is also an advocate for press freedom in Papua. In that role, he has criticized Jakarta’s restrictions on the media in Papua, as well as its other policies in his troubled home province.

Indonesian journalists’ organization AJI awarded Mambor its press freedom award in August 2022, saying that through Jubi, “Victor brings more voices from Papua, amid domination of information that is biased, one-sided and discriminatory.” 

The Jayapura branch of AJI, which stands for Alliance of Independent Journalists, called the explosion outside Mambor’s house on Monday a “terrorist bombing.”

“AJI in Jayapura strongly condemns the terrorist bombing and considers this an act of intimidation that threatens press freedom in Papua,” it said in a statement.

“AJI Jayapura calls on all journalists in the land of Papua to continue to voice the truth despite obstacles. Justice should be upheld even though the sky is falling,” said AJI Chairman Lucky Ireeuw.

Amnesty International Indonesia urged the police to find those responsible.

“The police must thoroughly investigate this incident, because this is not the first time … meaning there was an omission that made the perpetrators feel free to do it again, to intimidate and threaten journalists,” Amnesty’s campaign manager in Indonesia, Nurina Savitri, told BenarNews.

The Papua region, located at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago, has been the site of a decades-old separatist insurgency where both government security forces and rebels have been accused of committing atrocities against civilians.

Foreign journalists have been largely barred from the area, with the government insisting it could not guarantee their safety.  Indonesian journalists allege that officials make their work difficult by refusing to provide information. 

The armed elements of the independence movement have stepped up lethal attacks on Indonesian security forces, civilians and targets such as construction of a trans-Papua highway that would make the Papuan highlands more accessible.

Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, has accused Indonesian security forces of intimidation, arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings and mass forced displacement in Papua.

Last month, Indonesian activist group KontraS said 36 people were killed by security forces and separatist rebels in the Papua and West Papua provinces in 2022, an increase from 28 in 2021. 

News Desk – Murder Of 4 Nduga Residents In Mimika

 20 January 2023

Jayapura, Jubi – The families of the four Nduga residents victims of murder and mutilation were disappointed with the Military prosecutor’s charges against the defendant Maj. Inf Helmanto Fransiskus Dakhi in a trial held by the Surabaya High Military Court III at the Military Court III-19 in Jayapura City on Thursday, January 19, 2023.

The victims’ lawyer also questioned the prosecutor’s construction of the indictment for Helmanto Fransiskus Dakhi, which led to what they considered as weak punishment, namely a 4-year prison sentence and dismissal from the Army service to Dakhi.

The families of victims were disappointed with the charges brought against Dakhi in Thursday’s hearing. “To this day, our families have not received the heads, feet and hands of the four victims. What was cremated was only part of the body. The charges are not comparable to the crime done,” said Pale Gwijangge, one of the victims’ relatives who was presented as a witness in the previous trial on Wednesday.

Helmanto Fransiskus Dakhi is one of six soldiers of the Raider 20/Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade who are defendants in the murder and mutilation of four Nduga residents (Arnold Lokbere, Irian Nirigi, Lemaniel Nirigi, and Atis Tini) that occurred in Settlement Unit 1, Mimika Baru District, Mimika Regency on August 22, 2022. The other five defendants are Capt. Inf Dominggus Kainama (who died on December 24, 2022 due to heart disease), First Pvt. Rahmat Amin Sese, First Pvt. Rizky Oktaf Muliawan, First Pvt. Robertus Putra Clinsman, and Chief Pvt. Pargo Rumbouw.

Dakhi’s trial was examined by a panel of judges of the High Military Court III Surabaya led by chief judge Col. Chk Sultan, with member judges Col. Chk Agus Husin and Col. Chk Prastiti Siswayani. The witness examination session of the case was moved to Military Court III-19 Jayapura because most of the witnesses were in Papua.

Pale Gwijangge emphasized that the trial of Dakhi’s case had clearly proven that Dakhi was involved in the entire process and planned the murder and mutilation. Aptoro Lokbere, Arnold Lokbere’s brother, echoed Gwijangge, saying that the Military prosecutor’s did not side with the victims. “They killed and mutilated humans. What they did was heinous and unforgivable,” said Aptoro.

The offense of premeditated murder as stipulated in Article 340 of the Criminal Code carries a maximum penalty of death. According to Aptoro, that is what should be charged against the perpetrators. The current charges, Aptoro said, were not commensurate with the actions of the defendant. “We ask that Maj. Dakhi be treated the same as his subordinates, because in the reconstruction it was proven that he was fully involved in the crime,” he said.

Construction of indictment implausible

The victims’ lawyer, Gustaf Kawer, said that since the beginning of the trial, the prosecutor and the panel of judges had not communicated with the families of victims. Kawer also questioned why the offense of premeditated murder was not charged to Dakhi as a primary charge as to the other five defendants.

Kawer hopes that the panel of judges will make a different verdict from the prosecutor’s recommendation. “That can happen if the judges stick to the facts of the trial, wherein there is an element of murder planning,” Kawer said.

Kawer said that the witnesses presented in Dakhi’s case gave clear testimony about Dakhi’s involvement in arranging tactics on August 19, 2022 regarding how to trap the victim. The trial also showed that Dakhi was at the fuel warehouse owned by witness Jack on August 20, 2022, and knew about the cancellation of the planned weapon sale transaction on August 21, 2022.

“The defendant also knew about the incident on the night of August 22, 2022, up until the four victims were dumped in the Pigapu River. Even the money that was divided up was from the planning results. So if the charge is Article 480 of the Criminal Code, that is not the case, this is a premeditated murder that cruelly took the lives of four Nduga residents,” he continued.

“Therefore, we really hope that the panel of judges can give the maximum sentence in accordance with the provisions of Article 340 of the Criminal Code. We don’t want the case to be like other cases, such as the death of Pastor Yeremia Zanambani and the shooting of students in, whose legal processes remain unclear,” Kawer said.

Previously, during the trial of the Mimika murder and mutilation case in Surabaya on December 19, 2022, Dakhi was charged by prosecutor Lt. Col. Chk Eri with multiple charges including the article on premeditated murder which carries the death penalty. However, the premeditated murder charge was placed by the prosecutor not as the primary charge.

In the first primary charge, the prosecutor charged Dakhi with Article 480 paragraph 2 jo 55 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code (on jointly or severally benefiting from the proceeds of an object which he knows or reasonably should suspect that it has been obtained by crime), which carries a maximum penalty of four years imprisonment. (*) —————————-

Translator Mahinda Arkyasa 

Editor Mahinda Arkyasa 

21 January 2023 00:23 WIB

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Joint personnel of the Indonesian National Army and the National Police managed to foil an arms trade involving the Armed Criminal Group (KKB) at Iwot Traditional Port in Boven Digoel, South Papua on Wednesday, January 18, 2023.

The joint personnel arrested two suspects while the remaining three managed to escape

Chief of Boven Digoel Resort Police Adj. Great Commissioner I Komang Budhiarta said that the two arrested perpetrators were identified as AH (20 y.o.) and MK (22 y.o.). The Police confiscated four rifles, 18 12 GS caliber ammunition, and Rp3.8 million in cash.

“The arrest was intentional because initially the officers were responding to reports of disturbance caused by drunk people at the Iwot Traditional Port, on Wednesday morning around 09:00 Eastern Indonesia Time,” Komang said on Friday, January 20, 2023.

Komang said that the police responded to the report, but later found five suspicious persons, which were immediately halted by the officers.

When the officers were about to conduct an examination, three of them fled and the other two were successfully apprehended.

“The two persons were then transported to Boven Digoel Resort Police to be examined and has been determined as suspects for illegal possession of firearms,” Komang added.

Komang explained that the two suspects are charged with Article 1 paragraph (1) of Emergency Law Np. 12 of 1951 in conjunction with Article 55 of the Criminal Code with subject to capital punishment, lifetime imprisonment, or 20 years of imprisonment.

“We call on the people to remain calm because officers remained solid in maintaining security in Boven Digoel Regency. It is true that the border area is wide and there are many access points to Papua New Guinea, we, therefore, requested for the Regional Government support,” Komang concluded.

ANTARA

PORT VILA, VANUATU (20 January 2023): The Director General of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat, Leonard Louma, OBE, this week met with the chairman of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Benny Wenda, and his retinue.

The request by ULMWP for the meeting was made through Vanuatu’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr Wenda conversed on two keys matters, firstly providing updates on the situation in West Papua, as they saw it, and secondly, sought information on the ULMWP application for full Membership to the MSG.

DG Louma opened his remarks by informing Mr. Wenda of the importance he placed on constructive dialogue between the two parties. Following that, he sought to explain the basic ground rules governing the operations of the Secretariat given that it is owned by five MSG members.

“The MSG Secretariat’s conduct and actions on any matter are defined and circumscribed by the MSG Leaders decisions. The Secretariat has no authority to act outside the collective decisions of the Leaders. As such, the Secretariat is not at liberty to prosecute the position of individual members on any matter,” DG Louma said.

In terms of the update on the situation in West Papua, DG Louma noted the information provided and pointed out that MSG Leaders have in the past expressed certain views on certain issues raised within the realm of reports of human rights abuses. MSG Leaders, as part of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), have taken a decision with their Forum colleagues on an approach that involves the United Nations and the MSG Secretariat is duty-bound to respect that approach.

In relation to the ULMWP membership application, DG Louma emphasised that the MSG Secretariat simply facilitates and implements ‘collective decisions’ made by leaders according to the approved regulations, rules and guidelines.

“As the Head of the MSG Secretariat, I must ensure that the actions I take are in accordance with the decision of the Leaders and the rules approved by them. Consequently, the application by the ULMWP will be considered against the criteria that was approved by the MSG Leaders,” DG Louma added.

The DG also underscored that the powers to make a decision on Membership matters in the MSG, rests with the MSG Leaders which is their exclusive preserve.

Caption: ULMWP Chairman Benny Wenda (middle) and DG Louma (2nd from right) following the meeting this week.

Kompas.com – January 18, 2023

Vitorio Mantalean, Jakarta — The General Elections Commission (KPU) was again the target of scores of demonstrators on Wednesday January 18.

This time it was a protest by a group calling itself the Indonesian Independent People’s Union National Leadership Board (DPN SRMI).

The demonstrators began arriving at the KPU along with the command vehicle at 2 pm. They wore red clothing, brought banners with the SRMI logo on them and carried posters with criticism against the election organising institution.

“Continue the elections? An audit first KPU”, read a message on one of the posters brought by the demonstrators.

“The KPU must be fair in its thinking”, called a speaker. “There were parties that didn’t pass [the verification process] but were then passed, there were parties that passed but then were not passed. The KPU must not side with the oligarchy, but side with the people”, reiterated the speaker.

These calls were related to reports of alleged electoral fraud committed by the KPU during the factual verification process for political parties to take part in the 2024 elections.

Last week, this alleged fraud was the conveyed to the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission II by a groups of non-government organisations (LSM) calling themselves the Civil Society Coalition for Safeguarding Clean Elections.

“Many figures have reported fraud by the KPU, some have gone to the DPR, the Bawaslu [Elections Supervisory Board], the DKPP [Election Organisers Ethics Council], saying that the KPU is not working professionally and is an accomplice of a certain group. Yet the KPU is not allowed to be involved in politics, let alone be a party accomplice”, said another speaker.

The protest action proceeded without incident although Jalan Imam Bonjol in front of the KPU offices became congested. Aside from the demonstrators, there were also children on the command vehicle.

Earlier, DPN SRMI General Chairperson Wahida Baharuddin Upa said that they have three demands for the KPU.

“Immediately audit the KPU. Reveal the Sipol (Political Party Information System) data on the political parties to the people. Halt the election process”, said Upa, who is also the Chairperson of the Justice and Prosperity People’s Party (PRIMA).

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Massa SRMI Demo KPU RI Minta Pemilu Ditunda dan Audit Data”.]

Source:

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2023/01/18/17292161/massa-srmi-demo-kpu-ri-minta-pemilu-ditunda-dan-audit-data

—————————————————————

CNN Indonesia – January 17, 2023

Jakarta — The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy has reminded President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo that there is still widespread opposition to minority groups performing worship and the establishment of houses of workers in several parts of Indonesia.

Setara Institute research director Halili Hasan said that the factual situation is that the problems of performing worship and establishing places of worship in Indonesia are far more serious than conveyed by Widodo.

“It needs to be pointed out that the factual situation on problems of performing worship and establishing places of worship in Indonesia are more serious than what was conveyed by the President”, said Hasan in a press release on Tuesday January 17.

Hasan noted that between 2007 and 2022 there were 573 incidents of harassment related to performing worship or places of worship. This harassment targeted minority groups and ranged from disbanding or opposing worship, rejecting places of worship, intimidation, vandalism to arson.

“There were 573 incidents of harassment of worship and places of worship over the last decade”, he said.

Hasan is urging Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas and Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian to abolish the discriminative stipulations in Joint Ministerial Decree (SKB) 2.

According to Hasan, the administrative requirements in the decree requiring support from 90 congregation members and 60 people outside of the congregation to build a house of worship obstructs the constructional rights of people to freedom of worship.

“The Setara Institute proposes that permission for the establishment of place or houses of worship be taken over by the central [government] through administrative mechanisms that are made easier and are simplified”, he said.

Earlier, President Widodo reprimanded village heads over cases of intolerance when non-Islamic religious communities faced difficulties performing worship because they are a minority in the area.

Widodo emphasised that all religious communities are entitled to freedom of religion and worship. He reminded them that this is guaranteed under the 1945 Constitution.

“Careful! Those who are Christians, Catholics, Hindus, and Confucians, be careful, they have the same rights in terms of performing worship, the same rights to freedom of religion and worship”, said Widodo at a

2023 National Village Head Coordination Meeting and Regional Leadership Coordinating Forum in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday January 17.

Widodo said he does not want rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution ignored. He warned the village heads not to let residents’

rights be revoked by agreements.

“There’s a FKUB [Forum for Religious Harmony] for example, there’s an agreement that they’re not allowed to build a place of worship. Careful, the constitution guarantees this. There are regulations by mayors, there instructions by regents. Careful, we must understand this problem”, he said. (mnf/fra)

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Setara Ingatkan Jokowi Masih Ada Masalah Pendirian Rumah Ibadah”.]

Source:

https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20230117205118-20-901702/setara-ingatkan-jokowi-masih-ada-masalah-pendirian-rumah-ibadah

—————————————————————

INDOLEFT News service

If you are not already subscribing to this news service, you can do so by sending a blank e-mail to <subscribe-indoleft@riseup.list.net> and you will be automatically added to the list.

To view the archive of Indoleft postings since 2003 visit:

<https://www.indoleft.org>.

ng Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas and Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian to abolish the discriminative stipulations in Joint Ministerial Decree (SKB) 2.

According to Hasan, the administrative requirements in the decree requiring support from 90 congregation members and 60 people outside of the congregation to build a house of worship obstructs the constructional rights of people to freedom of worship.

“The Setara Institute proposes that permission for the establishment of place or houses of worship be taken over by the central [government] through administrative mechanisms that are made easier and are simplified”, he said.

Earlier, President Widodo reprimanded village heads over cases of intolerance when non-Islamic religious communities faced difficulties performing worship because they are a minority in the area.

Widodo emphasised that all religious communities are entitled to freedom of religion and worship. He reminded them that this is guaranteed under the 1945 Constitution.

“Careful! Those who are Christians, Catholics, Hindus, and Confucians, be careful, they have the same rights in terms of performing worship, the same rights to freedom of religion and worship”, said Widodo at a

2023 National Village Head Coordination Meeting and Regional Leadership Coordinating Forum in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday January 17.

Widodo said he does not want rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution ignored. He warned the village heads not to let residents’

rights be revoked by agreements.

“There’s a FKUB [Forum for Religious Harmony] for example, there’s an agreement that they’re not allowed to build a place of worship. Careful, the constitution guarantees this. There are regulations by mayors, there instructions by regents. Careful, we must understand this problem”, he said. (mnf/fra)

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Setara Ingatkan Jokowi Masih Ada Masalah Pendirian Rumah Ibadah”.]

Source:

https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20230117205118-20-901702/setara-ingatkan-jokowi-masih-ada-masalah-pendirian-rumah-ibadah

—————————————————————

INDOLEFT News service

If you are not already subscribing to this news service, you can do so by sending a blank e-mail to <subscribe-indoleft@riseup.list.net> and you will be automatically added to the list.

To view the archive of Indoleft postings since 2003 visit:

<https://www.indoleft.org>.

By Duncan Graham

Jan 20, 2023

When is a purge a genocide? When a young Australian researcher finds solid evidence that’s long eluded international scholars, proving the minds of millions have been poisoned with lies.

Dr Jess Melvin is an award-winning academic at Sydney Uni. In 2018 she published The Army and the Indonesian Genocide using official Indonesian documents.

Her book – since released in Indonesian – conclusively showed that the mass slaughter across Indonesia of real or imagined Communists in 1965 and 66 was not an impulsive uprising of angry peasants, but government-organised mass murder.

Almost six decades after the mutilated bodies of at least half-a-million were thrown in rivers and shallow graves, relatives and friends of the victims have often been too frightened to speak. That’s because the official version has become embedded as the one truth ensuring all other accounts are heretical.

Now the deceived may find the courage to condemn as President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo has spoken: ‘With a clear mind and earnest heart, I as Indonesia’s head of state admit that gross human rights violations did happen in many occurrences. I have sympathy and empathy for the victims and their families.’

The apology follows recommendations made by a team he set up to look into severe cases of human rights violations and suggest non-judicial resolutions. There are 11 others, but the post-coup killings are the worst. Significantly he included West Papua where a prolonged and poorly reported insurgency continues.

In Indonesia the President’s statement has been getting applause, but the clappers forget that 23 years earlier the late fourth president Abdurrahman (Gus Dur) Wahid had already publicly apologised to victims and survivors of the massacres and detentions.

Some background:

During his 1945-1965 rule, founding president Soekarno ran an anti-imperialist Jakarta, Beijing, Pyongyang axis’ policy terrifying the West. When he started Konfrontasi with Malaya as the former British colony moved towards independence, Western strategists feared a second front would weaken the war in Vietnam.

Not all were on Soekarno’s side. The military imagined a peasants’ revolt as the Partai Komunis Indonesia (PKI) cracked its knuckles, so aroused the West. General Soeharto ousted Soekarno after the coup, consolidating his position by declaring martial law, banning free media and launched saturation promotion of only one narrative.

A crude film Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI (Treachery of G30S/PKI) was regularly telecast on the state channel TVRI. Viewing was compulsory at schools every October, though the graphic scenes would rate it R in the West.

Hundreds of thousands of intellectuals, artists and writers were exiled on remote Buru island for years. None faced court.

Although the coup is still officially labeled Communist, it was long suspected the military was involved, covertly aided by UK MI5 and US CIA operatives.

Following the putsch, a massive slaughter of real and imagined reds began. The army said the killings were spontaneous, driven by the people’s anger at the generals’ deaths. In reality soldiers were handing lists of suspects to civilian militias, and supplying machetes and guns to the vengeful.

A secret CIA report claimed the massacres ‘rank as one of the worst mass murders of the 20th century, along with the Soviet purges of the 1930s and the Nazi mass murders during the Second World War.

That didn’t concern Australian PM Harold Holt who told the New York Times: ‘With 500,000 to 1 million Communist sympathisers knocked off, I think it’s safe to assume a reorientation has taken place.’

In 2017 a US National Security Archive release of Jakarta Embassy papers showed diplomats ‘were documenting tens of thousands of killings by the military, paramilitary groups, and Muslim militias’.

Most visitors don’t know Bali’s sands are blood-soaked. The death squads were brutally active on the so-called isle of peace and harmony where Australians love to frolic. Few of the 80,000 victims, including women and children, were active PKI members but targeted in revenge killings often involving land and community disputes.

On the island of Flores, Catholic priests stood back while their parishioners were chopped and shot.

Overseas historians reckoned – but couldn’t prove – the slaughter was engineered by the military. That assumption is now concrete, thanks to Melvin collecting 3,000 pages of original army documents during a field trip to Aceh.

During the 2014 presidential campaign Widodo promised an investigation into the genocide. That was wiped from his agenda. Instead he’s been photographed watching and approving the ghastly film.

In 2012 a Komnas HAM ( the National Commission on Human Rights) report to the Attorney General recommended a full legal investigation to bring the perpetrators to account. The Attorney General refused, claiming ‘not enough evidence’.

“This is simply a lie,’ Melvin told this column. ‘I think it’s hard to see the President’s announcement as anything other than a cynical attempt to salvage his legacy ahead of next year’s general election.

‘He came to power with the promise of resolving Indonesia’s past human rights abuses and yet he has done very little in this regard. This latest announcement is further evidence of just how hollow these attempts have been.

‘My greatest concern is that the latest charade may actually make the situation more difficult for survivors. Similar promises were made in 2020 to provide ‘urgent assistance’ to civilian conflict victims in the province of Aceh (North Sumatra) but not a single rupiah has been received. (An intermittent independence campaign between 1976 and 2005 took an estimated 15,000 lives and displaced thousands. In 2006 the World Bank gave US $20 million to 1,724 ‘conflict affected villages.’)

‘If Jokowi is serious about salvaging his legacy, he should begin by accepting Komnas HAM’s recommendations and launch a judicial investigation into the events of 1965-66. At the same time, he should concentrate of ensuring that promised assistance is actually delivered to human rights victims and their families.’

(Some background info first appeared in Pearls & Irritations in 2020).

https://johnmenadue.com/indonesia-keeping-the-communist-myths-flying/embed/#?secret=vA83j46AhD#?secret=6vHQaqjNNT

News Desk – Roadblock action

19 January 2023

Wamena, Jubi – Dozens of residents from the Upper Wouma and Lower Wouma of Jayawijaya Regency, Mountainous Papua Province blocked road access, precisely at the junction of Wouma, Welesi and Assolokobal which connects Wamena and Kurima.

Based on Jubi‘s observation, dozens of residents have blocked road access and burned car tires in the middle of the road since Wednesday morning, January 18, 2023, at 9 a.m. local time.

One of the action coordinators, Kaitanus Ikinea, said the reason for blocking the road access was related to the planned grant of 72 hectares of land by the Welesi community to the Mountainous Papua Provincial Government.

Some time ago, representatives of the Welesi Customary Territory Care Team came to the Governor’s office and met with Mountainous Papua Acting Governor Nikolaus Kondomo and Acting Secretary Sumule Tumbo discussing the plan to grant 72 hectares of land to the provincial government.

The people, however, disputed because the land offered are borders between the Welesi and Wouma regions. The Wouma residents said there was no coordination or joint meeting involving them regarding the land grant.

Jayawijaya Police chief Adj. Sr. Hesman Napitupulu who arrived at the location of the blockade, then made negotiation efforts with local residents.

Napitupulu invited Wouma residents to the police headquarters to discuss the problem. The residents were willing to reopen access to the road and extinguish the fire so that the traffic flow returned to normal.

Furthermore, at the Jayawijaya Police Headquarters, residents of Upper and Lower Wouma discussed the issue with community leaders and the Mountainous Papua Administration officials.(*)