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| Papuan Protest |
The latest violence carried out by the security forces in Papua and
West Papua provinces on April 30 and May 1, 2013, have been met with a
strong response from the United Nations. Among other things, the UN has
asked Indonesia to allow international journalists to enter the
country’s easternmost province.
The UN's high commissioner for
human rights, Navi Pillay, expressed deep concern on Thursday over a
police crackdown on demonstrators in Papua and West Papua in recent days
that reportedly left several people dead.
"These latest incidents
are unfortunate examples of the ongoing suppression of freedom of
expression and the excessive use of force in Papua," Pillay said in a
statement received by tabloidjubi.com.
Media reports state that
police shot and killed two protesters in the city of Sorong, West Papua,
who were preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of Papua becoming part
of Indonesia, while at least 20 demonstrators were arrested in the
cities of Biak and Timika on May 1, the statement said.
"There has
not been sufficient transparency in addressing serious human rights
violations in Papua," Pillay said, urging Indonesia to allow
international journalists and UN observers into the province.
Head
of the Papua branch of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI),
Victor Mambor, said earlier that there was no judicial regulation to
prevent foreign journalists from entering Papua.
In practice,
however, they are always refused entry by a number of ministries, such
as the Foreign Ministry and the Coordinating Political, Legal and
Security Affairs Ministry.
“This is strange. There is no judicial
regulation, but the government prevents them [foreign journalists] entry
with a variety of reasons, like visa and security issues,” Victor said.
“If
a few happen to enter Papua, they go undercover as tourists or with a
tight escort from the security apparatus, such as BIN” he said,
referring to the National Intelligence Agency.
Source News: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news
