Ireland urged to take principled stand on Papua

IRELAND/PAPUA: Anti-terrorism laws introduced last year after the Bali bombing are being used by Indonesia to clamp down on political dissent, a West Papuan human rights advocate has claimed.

In Dublin, where he met the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Tom Kitt, yesterday, Mr John Rumbiak said the Indonesian military was exploiting domestic fears about terrorism to carry out atrocities in regions such as West Papua and Aceh.

"The military are trying to create confusion and conflict, and manipulate the situation. They don't like the special autonomy that has been granted because 80 per cent of revenue now has to remain in Aceh and Papua. All the interests the military retained for the past 40 years have been cut."

Born in the remote island of Biak and educated in West Papua's capital Jayapura and New York, Mr Rumbiak (41) was forced to flee his homeland recently after receiving death threats for uncovering evidence of military involvement in the murder of two American civilians and a villager at a Papuan mine last August.

He said he was anxious to return, not least to report on the latest upsurge in military activity which caused more than 1,000 villagers to flee their homes in the central highlands of Jayawijaya in the past month. Two Baptist leaders were shot dead by the military a fortnight ago and at least one Papuan dissident has been tortured to death in custody.

In his talks with Mr Kitt, Mr Rumbiak urged Ireland to take a lead on West Papua similar to Irish policy on East Timor. That meant addressing the source of the conflict, the "illegal" annexation of West Papua by Indonesia in 1963. "The repression and genocide will continue as long as the sovereignty of Indonesia is not challenged by the international community. Within the next 20-25 years the Papuans will be wiped out in their own land, unless the international community changes its position."

He called on the Minister to support a UN review of the "Act of Free Choice" in which 1,022 hand-picked Papuans voted for integration with Indonesia in 1969. "We would also like to see Ireland use its EU presidency next year to consistently raise the West Papuan case with the aim of developing a common position."

Mr Rumbiak will address a public meeting on Globalisation and Genocide in West Papua at Cultivate, Essex Street West, Temple Bar, at 7.30 p.m. tonight. Other speakers include: author George Monbiot and Indonesian human rights activist Carmel Budiardjo.

Thousands of Indonesian troops continued yesterday with an operation to defeat Aceh separatist rebels and 18 killings were reported in two villages. Indonesia has launched its biggest military operation in a quarter-century to try to wipe out the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) following the breakdown of last-ditch peace talks in Tokyo. Residents of two villages in strife-torn North Aceh said 18 people were killed yesterday by the military. It was not possible to determine whether the dead had been GAM members.