Leaked military documents have confirmed that Indonesia鈥檚 elite special forces unit Kopassus routinely engages in 鈥渕urder [and] abduction鈥. The documents also show Kopassus officially defines civilian dissidents as its 鈥渆nemy鈥 in its operations in West Papua.
The documents, posted by journalist Allan Nairn at Allannairn.com on November 9, identify Indonesia鈥檚 primary enemies in West Papua as unarmed civilians involved in the independence movement.
Indonesia
Hundreds of thousands of victims of the Mount Merapi volcano eruption in central Java face economic and social destruction unless the government carries out a comprehensive recovery plan to help them.
By November 9, the Data Communications Centre from the health ministry has put the death toll from the October 26 eruption at 168 people, with 1105 injured and 279,779 evacuated.
In solidarity with the victims, the Indonesian Poor People鈥檚 Union (SRMI) has set up disaster relief centres in eight districts: Mungkid, Salam, Ngluwar, Salaman, Muntilan, Mertoyu, Srumbung and Borobudur.
West Papuans and their supporters staged protests worldwide to coincide with US President Barack Obama's visit to Indonesia. Large protests were held in West Papua.
In Melbourne, about 50 activists protested at Federation Square on November 10, demanding action against the Indonesian government and its atrocities against West Papuans.
Unless the Indonesian government carries out a comprehensive recovery, hundreds of thousands of Merapi volcano eruption victims are certain to face economic and social destruction.
鈥淥ne of the worst impacts of the eruption is the destruction of people鈥檚 livelihood; the land cannot be used to grow plants and economic activity virtually stops,鈥 said Agus Priyono after visiting disaster relief centres set up by the Poor People鈥檚 Union (SRMI) in Magelang municipality.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard used a series of meetings with Asian leaders at the UN Regional Summit on October 30 to lobby for her government鈥檚 proposal to build a 鈥渞egional鈥 detention centre for refugees in East Timor.
She met with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh of Laos and President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines, the October 30 Australian reported. She also met with United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, who 鈥渘oted鈥 her proposal 鈥 the only outcome reported.
Videos showing the torture of West Papuans by occupying Indonesian soldiers have embarrassed the Indonesian government ahead of a scheduled visit in November by US President Barack Obama.
Obama is due to discuss a security deal that would involve the US training Indonesian military units accused of human rights violations.
A video posted at FreeWestPapua.wordpress.com shows two Papuans from Gurage village being tied down and interrogated by Indonesian soldiers about the alleged location of weapons belonging to the Free Papua Movement (OPM).
One hundred people gathered in Brisbane鈥檚 King George Square on October 22 to commemorate the tragedy of the SIEV X, an Indonesian fishing boat bound for Australia, which sank on October 19, 2001, drowning 353 asylum seekers 鈥 146 of them children.
Moluccan refugees will protest against Australia鈥檚 support for the Indonesian military outside South Australian Parliament house on October 26.
The protesters say that the Indonesian military, particularly Detachment 88, which receives financial and logistical support from Australian army, has been involved in heavy repression of Moluccan independence activists.
Refugee Action Coalition NSW media release
A year ago, then prime Minister Kevin Rudd called Indonesian President Yudhoyono requesting that the Indonesian navy intercept a boat carrying 254 Tamil asylum seekers to Australia. The boat was the subject of
international attention after the asylum seekers refused to disembark at Merak in Indonesia. In April 2010, the asylum seekers were forcibly removed to Tanjung Pinang detention centre.
Except for two families shifted to detention in Medan, all the Tamils remain in appalling conditions in Tanjung Pinang.
Fresh claims have emerged that an Indonesian 鈥渃ounter-terrorism鈥 unit that receives Australian funding and training has perpetrated human rights abuses against independence campaigners in Maluku and West Papua.
Indonesian military forces have stepped up their campaign of repression in West Papua in recent months. But leaders of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) continue to defy Indonesian demands to surrender.
The campaign for West Papuan independence has been amplified by the continuing repression and lack of improvement of living standards under the current 鈥渟pecial autonomy鈥 system.
An eyewitness report from West Papua Media Announcements (WPMA) posted on Pacific.scoop.co.nz on June 16 described a large military mobilisation in the mountainous Puncak Jaya region in central West Papua.
On May 25, 70 people protested outside the Thai embassy in Jakarta in solidarity with the pro-democracy Red Shirts in Thailand. The protest was jointly called by the Working Peoples Association (PRP), the People鈥檚 Democratic Party (PRD), the Confederation Congress of Indonesia Union Alliance (Konfederasi KASBI); the Indonesian Nasional Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI); the National Student League for Democracy (LMND)
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