Foto by KNPB Timika Region
Jayapura – Lately, political tension is up in West Papua, and now it has and is happening to the situation as in East Timor on 1999, said Mr. Buchtar Tabuni, when PNWP media unit interrupted his busy time as Chair of West Papua National Parliament and asked him about political situation in West Papua.
The situation happening right now is not apart from struggle and demand of West Papua people of right to self – determination in order to declare the state of West Papua outside of Unitary State of Republic Indonesia as a sovereign and independence nation one and for all, he said.
The demand of right to self – determination for Melanesian people in West Papua began to reverberate in Melanesia, Pacific even world since MSG summit 2013 in Kanaky, PIF summit 2015 in Port Moresby and it’s continue to 2016 Westminster declaration in the British Parliament about the UN intervention in order to supervise implementation of the referendum in West Papua.
He added, that with these political developments, the Indonesian Government has been given the responsibility to the military and police, Red White Unit (barisan merah putih/BMP), and the Islamic Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam/FPI) to carry out terror and intimidation and even abduction and summary killings against the indigenous people of West Papua in the villages and in towns in the territory of West Papua.
He described further that some events were undertaken openly or closely by military and police, BMP and the FPI ie. TNI and Islamic Defenders Front embarked from Jakarta and arrived in Sorong on February 10, 2016, immediately spread to the villages to make the indigenous West Papuans fear and fled to the city and to this day their lands controlled by them. White Red Unite (Barisan Merah Putih/BMP) has burned down the Morning Star and KNPB’s flags backed up by TNI and Police in Sentani, Jayapura district on May 2, 2016 and they rejected existence of KNPB and ULMWP in West Papua. On May 12, 2016 similar action has taken place in Wamena. Indonesia’s Navy Ships fully loaded with TNI and Islamic Defenders Front embarked from Jakarta and arrived in Fakfak regency on February 15, 2016. Mobile Squad from East Java regional police based has arrived in Timika on May 16, 2016, they have backed up the BMP and marched throughout the city of Timika carrying sharp tools such as arrows, spears, machetes and burned the Morning Star and KNPB flags.
These are happening In West Papua now, so therefore we do call IPWP, MSG, and PIF to urge immediate UN’s intervention in West Papua, he added.