WEST PAPUA NATIONAL AUTHORITY

Jalan Aru Nomor 18, Abepura, Jayapura, Papua

telephone : + 62 (0) 967 585221

westpa_authority@yahoo.com.au

PRESS ALERT: WEST PAPUA, THURSDAY 13 MARCH 2008

Since 3 March 2008 West Papua’s influential youth and student movement, under the auspices of the West Papua National Authority, has been organising the biggest public peace demonstration around Papua (Sorong, Manokwari, Nabire, Serui and Jayapura) against the Indonesian occupation since 1963, which will continue till 13 March 2008

• The rally-call referendum! referendum! responds to the Indonesian government regulation NO.77/2007 banning the display or use of West Papuan national and cultural symbols, namely: Morning Star Flag,
• National Anthem (Hai Tanahku Papua);
• the Crown Pigeon. National Fauna symbol.

The regulation that covers this, No.77/2007, has violated the conditions that expressly allowed for peaceful expression of Papuan cultural practises and political aspirations guaranteed under the Special Autonomy regulation No.21/2001.

On 13 March 2008:15:00 PM Jack Wanggai, spokesperson of West Papua National Authority Manokwari together with 13 Papuan Youth and Students (Mr. Daniel Sakwatorey; Mr. Noak Ap; Mr. Markus S. Ompes; Mr. Leonardus Bame; Marthinus Luther; Mr. Edi Ayorbaba; Mr. George Richard; Mr. Ariel Waromi; Mr. Silas Carlos .T. May; Mr. Yan Maniani and other two students activist) were arrested by Indonesian police and military. They have been charged under Indonesian Law (KUHP) article 7 (1( (g), article 112 (1) (2), article 113 and article 155. (The articles of Subversion and Rebellion)

We question why the Indonesian government, military and police are behaving in this way. This law only relates to charges for those who are subversive, humiliate government, terrorists and common criminals. The Papuan students and youth simply held a peaceful rally calling to the governments of Indonesia and the World to solve the root of the West Papuan political problem by referendum (the purest principle of democracy).

An informal meeting was held between the Indonesian Ambassador to Australia and Jacob Rumbiak, Foreign Affairs Co-ordinator of West Papua National Authority (in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on Thursday 13^th 2008:12:00 – 14:00 PM). During this meeting, Rumbiak suggested to the government of Indonesia that when Indonesia wants to demonstrate a serious commitment to helping indigenous Melanesian people of West Papua, the Indonesian government must take the first step by releasing all Papuan political prisoners from all Indonesian gaols around Papua and inside Indonesia. Secondly the Indonesian government should open up space for Papuans to have the basic human rights of freedom of speech and expression; which include guarantees from the Indonesian Government to protect them from terrorism, intimidation, kidnapping, killing and arbitrary detention. Jacob Rumbiak offered the government of Indonesia the opportunity to come to the table for peace talks with the West Papua transitional government under the international legal mechanism of third party country mediation.

West Papua National Authority is urgently calling on the International community and the United Nations to immediately send a fully independent International fact finding mission and for immediate deployment of peacekeepers inside West Papua to protect and save indigenous Papuan from the internationally recognised and ongoing crimes against humanity and Genocide of the West Papuan people.

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