Access to citizenship could prove the best hope yet for thousands of West Papuan refugees living in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
“I want citizenship. I’ve been here 28 years and want to get on with my life,” said Donatus Karuri, a 57-year-old father of six, outside the shelter he shares with five other families at the Hohola refugee settlement. It is one of four settlements for West Papuan refugees in the capital Port Moresby.
Like most West Papuan refugees, he is unable to work legally and has only limited access to public services.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are more than 9,000 West Papuan refugees in PNG today, many of whom have been in the Pacific island nation for over three decades.
Others know no other home and can’t imagine living anywhere else.
“I was born here. This is the only country I know,” said Dan Hanasbey, 27, another refugee wanting citizenship.
Flight from Indonesia
Between 1984 and 1986, more than 11,000 West Papuans fled east into PNG from the western, Indonesian half of New Guinea Island to escape political turmoil and economic discontent; the area’s longstanding secessionist sentiments towards Jakarta continue to simmer today.
West Province, a former Dutch colony rich in natural resources, was later divided into two separate provinces – Papua and West Papua – however, indigenous West Papuans continue to refer to the entire Indonesian area as West Papua.
At the time the refugees arrived, the PNG government was not yet a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention. It granted the West Papuans prima facie refugee status shortly after accession to the convention in 1986 – but with seven reservations, including Article 34 on naturalization.
Of the close to 9,300 West Papuan refugees in PNG today, almost half live along the border areawith Indonesia.
Another 2,435 live in urban areas, while 2,290 live in East Awin, the only officially sanctioned area for West Papuan refugees to settle. There, regular assistance is available and access to 6,000 hectares of government land is provided – about 120km away from the Indonesian border. The site was established in an effort to resettle the refugees away from the border areas to avoid possible political problems with the Indonesian government.
Those who resettle in the area for six months are provided permissive residency permits (PRPs), which allow them certain rights, including the right to work and travel internally (excluding border areas), and gives them access to health and education services.
Few refugees, however, wish to resettle in East Awin, preferring instead to stay close to the border area and their land and families on the other side. Others frown upon its remote jungle location and inaccessibility.
Like many West Papuan refugees, Donatus Karuri would like to stay
The government estimates only 40 percent of West Papuan refugees hold PRPs. As a result, most survive on subsistence farming – particularly in the border area. Those in urban settings live on private or government land, under constant risk of eviction, and often work illegally.
The cost of citizenship
Despite these challenges, many West Papuans – who share a similar Melanesian ancestry to Papua New Guineans – have integrated well in this nation of 7.3 million and would like to stay.
“Local integration with the opportunity to be granted PNG citizenship is the best solution for many West Papuan refugees under the current circumstances,” Walpurga Englbrecht, UNHCR country representative for PNG, told IRIN.
“The problem, however, is the application fee is too high.”
Under PNG law, any foreigner – including refugees – wishing to apply to citizenship and who has fulfilled eight years of residency must pay a 10,000 kina (US$5,000) application fee.
“We can’t afford that. It’s impossible,” Freddy Warome, 58, a West Papuan community leader, complained.
Under Article 34 of the Refugee Convention, signatory states should facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of refugees, and make every effort to expedite naturalization and reduce the costs as far as possible.
To date, the PNG government appears mindful of this responsibility, but it remains unclear when they might act upon it.
Speaking at a 2011 ministerial meeting to mark the 60th anniversary of the Refugee Convention, Moses Manwau, PNG’s former vice minister for foreign affairs and immigration, confirmed the government’s commitment to withdrawing its earlier reservations to the Convention, and to waiving all fees or introducing nominal fees for refugees seeking naturalization.
“We are determined to give refugees the kind of life, liberty, peace and prosperity they deserve so that they can hold their own against any other citizens in Papua New Guinea,” he said.
UNHCR believes there should be a path to citizenship for those who desire it, while those West Papuans lacking PRPs who would like to remain in the country should be provided PRPs without having to relocate to East Awin, Englbrecht said.
Environmental damage caused by copper mining in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has affected thousands of refugees from the neighbouring Indonesian province of West Papua who have not received any support from PNG or the mining company, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and NGOs.
“Some of the border settlements of West Papuan refugees have become severely affected by flooding associated with sediment build-up in the rivers due to the Ok Tedi mine,” said Ben Farrell, a regional UNHCR spokesperson, referring to a mine that has operated in PNG’s western provinces since 1984.
The western half of New Guinea Island, West Papua, is an Indonesian province where separatists have fought for independence for decades. The 1984 Indonesian government crackdown on the Free Papua Movement of West Papuan separatists led to thousands of West Papuans fleeing to neighbouring PNG.
At least 1,500 West Papuan refugees hosted by PNG along Fly river – the second longest river running through the half-island nation’s western provinces – have been affected by ongoing mine-induced flood damage, according to Wren Chadwick, the former advocacy and information officer for Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) based in the capital, Port Moresby.
Flooding has destroyed food gardens and sago palms, the traditional food staple, “forcing people into the jungle to wait out the floods so they can access food sources,” said Chadwick.
In a 2009 JRS assessment, more than 3,200 refugees living along the river cited pollution from the mines as the main obstacle to growing food.
“Die-back” sludge
The Ok Tedi mine dumps roughly 90 million tons of waste into the Ok Tedi and Fly rivers annually, according to the company’s environmental assessments. Mine sediment causes river beds to rise, forcing mine-contaminated water onto surrounding fields where it has killed up to 3,000sqkm of vegetation in a phenomenon known as “die-back”.
“In PNG mines have polluted rivers, damaged agricultural land and displaced communities from their homes and farmland,” said Chris Albin-Lackey, Human Rights Watch’s senior researcher on extractive industries based in New York.
The Ok Tedi mine contributes to roughly 18 percent of the country’s annual GDP, according to a 2012 World Bank report.
Compensation, but not for refugees
While Ok Tedi mine has paid out nearly US$980 million to affected communities, West Papuan refugees do not qualify because they are living outside the area designated for them under amendments made to the 1987 Migration Act which restricts them to East Awin camp, 6,000 hectares in the country’s northeast.
Relocation plans are under way for local communities, but refugees living alongside those communities are not included, according to UNHCR.
“West Papuan refugees without Permissive Residence Permits and [other] non-Melanesian asylum seekers and refugees have no access to documentation or some basic rights such as access to the labour market,” said Farrell.
Refugees continue to live along the rivers due to kinship ties, despite the lack of working papers in a place where even subsistence farming for survival requires documents.
As of 2010 there were some 9,700 West Papuan refugees in PNG, of whom nearly 2,300 were in the designated East Awin area, 5,000 in border areas and some 2,400 in cities.
The 1996 Limited Integration Policy for West Papuan refugees stipulated that only refugees who have lived in East Awin for at least six months can get Permissive Residency Permits, which entitle them to freedom of movement, the right to work, and access to health services and education.
Those who decline relocation to camps in East Awin bear the impact of flooding without assistance as well as “run-down shelters, lack of adequate water and sanitation facilities, and lack of security of land tenure and the threat of forced eviction,” according to UNHCR’s Farrell.
“The biggest issue is lack of a national refugee policy that realistically deals with refugees who refuse to move to East Awin,” Chadwick said.
An official with the government-funded think-tank Consultative Implementation and Monitoring Council Secretariat, which has helped draft national refugee policy, said no refugees should be refused humanitarian assistance.
Environmental damage caused by copper mining in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has affected thousands of refugees from the neighbouring Indonesian province of West Papua who have not received any support from PNG or the mining company, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and NGOs.
“Some of the border settlements of West Papuan refugees have become severely affected by flooding associated with sediment build-up in the rivers due to the Ok Tedi mine,” said Ben Farrell, a regional UNHCR spokesperson, referring to a mine that has operated in PNG’s western provinces since 1984.
The western half of New Guinea Island, West Papua, is an Indonesian province where separatists have fought for independence for decades. The 1984 Indonesian government crackdown on the Free Papua Movement of West Papuan separatists led to thousands of West Papuans fleeing to neighbouring PNG.
At least 1,500 West Papuan refugees hosted by PNG along Fly river – the second longest river running through the half-island nation’s western provinces – have been affected by ongoing mine-induced flood damage, according to Wren Chadwick, the former advocacy and information officer for Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) based in the capital, Port Moresby.
Flooding has destroyed food gardens and sago palms, the traditional food staple, “forcing people into the jungle to wait out the floods so they can access food sources,” said Chadwick.
In a 2009 JRS assessment, more than 3,200 refugees living along the river cited pollution from the mines as the main obstacle to growing food.
“Die-back” sludge
The Ok Tedi mine dumps roughly 90 million tons of waste into the Ok Tedi and Fly rivers annually, according to the company’s environmental assessments. Mine sediment causes river beds to rise, forcing mine-contaminated water onto surrounding fields where it has killed up to 3,000sqkm of vegetation in a phenomenon known as “die-back”.
“In PNG mines have polluted rivers, damaged agricultural land and displaced communities from their homes and farmland,” said Chris Albin-Lackey, Human Rights Watch’s senior researcher on extractive industries based in New York.
The Ok Tedi mine contributes to roughly 18 percent of the country’s annual GDP, according to a 2012 World Bank report.
Compensation, but not for refugees
While Ok Tedi mine has paid out nearly US$980 million to affected communities, West Papuan refugees do not qualify because they are living outside the area designated for them under amendments made to the 1987 Migration Act which restricts them to East Awin camp, 6,000 hectares in the country’s northeast.
Relocation plans are under way for local communities, but refugees living alongside those communities are not included, according to UNHCR.
“West Papuan refugees without Permissive Residence Permits and [other] non-Melanesian asylum seekers and refugees have no access to documentation or some basic rights such as access to the labour market,” said Farrell.
Refugees continue to live along the rivers due to kinship ties, despite the lack of working papers in a place where even subsistence farming for survival requires documents.
As of 2010 there were some 9,700 West Papuan refugees in PNG, of whom nearly 2,300 were in the designated East Awin area, 5,000 in border areas and some 2,400 in cities.
The 1996 Limited Integration Policy for West Papuan refugees stipulated that only refugees who have lived in East Awin for at least six months can get Permissive Residency Permits, which entitle them to freedom of movement, the right to work, and access to health services and education.
Those who decline relocation to camps in East Awin bear the impact of flooding without assistance as well as “run-down shelters, lack of adequate water and sanitation facilities, and lack of security of land tenure and the threat of forced eviction,” according to UNHCR’s Farrell.
“The biggest issue is lack of a national refugee policy that realistically deals with refugees who refuse to move to East Awin,” Chadwick said.
An official with the government-funded think-tank Consultative Implementation and Monitoring Council Secretariat, which has helped draft national refugee policy, said no refugees should be refused humanitarian assistance.
For nearly 50 years the people of West Papua have suffered under brutal Indonesian colonial rule and up to 400,000 civilians have lost their lives in Indonesian military operations.Thousands have fled across the border to seek sanctuary in Papua New Guinea. This footage was taken on Wednesday 16th February 2011, in the jungle near Vanimo, Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea, less than 50km from the West Papua border.
It shows West Papuan refugees returning to their village for the first time since it was burnt 3 weeks earlier by special operation “Sunset Merona” led by Papua New Guinea Police and Defence Force.
The men came out of hiding in the bush to talk to me, and the women were able to leave for only a couple of hours where they were being held, as they told their captors they were looking for food from the garden.
After I left the men went back into the bush to hide, and the women returned to where they were being held. These refugees are still unable to return to their village and remain hiding in the jungle, on the run from special operation Sunset Merona.
This footage is clear evidence of contravention of the UN Charter for Refugees by Papua New Guinea, and also raises major questions about the legality of special operation Sunset Merona and the alleged involvement of the Indonesian Government in pressuring the Papua New Guinea authorities to undertake these raids.
This footage is clear evidence of contravention of the UN Charter for Refugees by Papua New Guinea, and also raises major questions about the legality of special operation Sunset Merona and the alleged involvement of the Indonesian Government in pressuring the Papua New Guinea authorities to undertake these raids.
Refugees from West Papua in Kiunga Diocese stand in front of their stilted houses, preparing for waters from the river to rise up to the door. They are forced to build their homes on this unwanted land as more than 90 percent of the land in the country is owned by locals. (Photo by Peter Balleis SJ/ JRS)
Kiunga, 16 March 2011 – From the banks of the Fly River in the industrial township of Kiunga, I watch Martina standing motionless, perfectly balanced at the front of the dug-out canoe as it glides gracefully towards me. I am struck by her regal appearance as the sun glints off the droplets in her hair – like a queen who has just stepped out of her palace.
In reality Martina has climbed down from her simple house, constructed with bush material, plastic and iron sheets she and her family have collected over the years. Despite being built on long, thin poles, high above the ground, the water has risen to just inches below the floor following heavy rains in the mountains. With an average annual rainfall in the mountains of over eight metres, this is not an uncommon event.
As Martina’s young cousin effortlessly manoeuvres the narrow canoe, I am struck by the resourcefulness of these communities who have elected to build their homes on this ‘unwanted’ land. Martina’s house is set amongst a cluster of about 25 built on the spillway of the Fly River, just off the main road of Kiunga in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province.
With 97 percent of land in the country owned by the indigenous people, and 80 percent of the population relying on the land for their daily needs, there is little land available for purchase (even if you can afford it). So the refugees who come to town to be closer to services and employment opportunities, and settle on what unclaimed land they can find. Martina’s cousin shoots me a cheeky smile before pushing off to return to the games inside her house. With the water high, there are few dry places to play outside.
Causes of displacement
Martina is one of more than 800 West Papuan refugees living in this remote town, her parents having fled across the Indonesian border along with nearly 12,000 others between 1984 and 1986. The group fleeing was diverse and included educated student activists, militant freedom fighters, and subsistence farmers and their families.
Some refugees fled for their lives, having been targeted for punishment for their political activism, others sought refuge from threatened and real violence from both the Indonesian military and the OPM militants, some fled to escape from Indonesia’s oppressive policies which left Papuans feeling like second-class citizens in their own land, others hoped to bring international attention and support to their resistance of Indonesian occupation.
Upon arrival, the asylum seekers established a series of makeshift camps close to the border in both the Western Province along the Fly and Ok Tedi rivers, and in the Northern Sandaun Province. Initially the Papua New Guinea government hoped that they would return of their own accord and even forcefully returned some. But eventually, the poor camp conditions (including the death of around 90 people in one) prompted the government to accept that they were ‘prima facie’ refugees, sign the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and agree to allow the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and others, including NGOs and the Catholic Church, provide assistance.
More than 25 years on, more than 10,000 West Papuan refugees remain in the country. Approximately 2,500 now live in East Awin, the official camp established by the government in an attempt to move the refugees away from the porous border and placate their Indonesian neighbour.
The 15km tract of land at East Awin site was carved out of the dense jungle about one hour’s canoe ride, and another 2-7 hours by truck or tractor (depending on the road conditions) from Kiunga. Although persistent road problems means accessing markets and other facilities in Kiunga is a problem, these refugees are serviced by aid posts, a health centre, elementary and primary schools, to a standard at least as good as their local neighbours.
Approximately 5,000 refugees refused the government’s instruction to ‘either move to East Awin or return to Indonesia’, preferring to stay near the border areas, close to their traditional land and amongst people with whom they share the same language and culture. Even the removal of all government and UNHCR services has not persuaded them to move.
Today, the Catholic Diocese of Daru-Kiunga is the main provider of basic health and education services to refugees in these areas. Some health services are also provided by the Evangelical Church of Papua New Guinea and Australian Doctors International. While the government does not actively prevent these services being offered in limited forms, some parts of government no longer acknowledge that the refugees remaining near the border are in fact refugees, referring to them instead as ‘border crossers’.
The border refugees, like the locals around them, live a subsistence lifestyle, growing sweet potato, bananas, cassava, peanuts and sago. Unlike many of the locals, however, they do not have access to the regular compensation payments made to communities who live along the rivers polluted by the Ok Tedi mine. While many refugees complain about the unfairness of this arrangement – after all they are living with the daily impact of the pollution – many observers remark on the industriousness of the refugee communities who have not grown dependent on the cash hand-outs from the mine.
In most of the border communities, the refugees belong to the same tribal group as their local hosts; the imposed international boundary is recognised as only secondary to the land boundaries their ancestors fought hard to claim and maintain. Despite these kinship bonds, however, relations with locals are tense in some areas, with the local landowners who initially welcomed them as relatives, feeling that they have now outstayed their welcome. Indeed, in some places, the fast-growing refugee communities now outnumber their local hosts, and more and more land is required to sustain them.
The remaining 2,500 refugees are scattered around cities and towns of Papua New Guinea. Those in Kiunga, have come to be closer to schools, hospitals, markets and employment opportunities. Employment is hard to come by, however, and many in town have little or no access to land for food gardens. Many, like Martina’s family, rely on the small income raised by selling doughnuts, betel-nut, or icy-poles from small tables set up beside the dusty road to pay for food, clothes and school fees.
Providing assistance
The Catholic Church has a long history of providing assistance to refugees in Papua New Guinea. As a major partner in the early relief efforts, it distributed food relief and other basic supplies and was a significant advocate for the humane treatment of refugees by the government.
The Diocese of Daru-Kiunga continues, in partnership with NGOs such as Horizont3000, Mercy Works Inc and more recently the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), to advocate with and on behalf of refugees and, through programmes, such as teacher training, maternal health, adult literacy and student sponsorships, to ensure their basic needs are met.
For many years the Diocese had a separate refugee programme and dedicated Parish personnel. Recognising the importance of facilitating local integration, however, the refugees are today integrated into the parish structure along with their neighbours.
Since 2008, JRS has been working in partnership with the Diocese of Daru-Kiunga to provide accurate information to refugees about their rights and options for the future, to strengthen the Diocese’s capacity to advocate for refugees, and with the Bishop, to advocate for the rights and needs of refugees at national and international levels.
To this end, JRS Information and Advocacy Officers have visited the remote refugee settlements up and down the border to collect information, conducted training with Diocesan personnel, published newsletters for refugees, and worked with UNHCR and all levels of government to identify and address issues of concern to refugees.
The future for West Papuan refugees
The tables turn slowly in Papua New Guinea, however, and positive change can be a long time coming. What is the durable solution to this protracted refugee situation? Generally, in refugee situations, voluntary repatriation is the preferred option, where possible. A number of refugees have indeed returned to West Papua on Indonesian-sponsored aircraft in repatriation exercises organised by the Indonesian and the Papua New Guinea government.
Indonesia promotes voluntary returns, hoping to show to the international community that West Papuans have no reason to seek asylum. UNHCR is not yet satisfied that the conditions necessary for voluntary return exist, so has not supported such exercises. With outside journalists and human rights organisations prevented from entering West Papua, it is difficult to know how these returnees fare.
For the majority of West Papuan refugees, return is not something they will do voluntarily, at least not until they achieve their political aspiration of an independent nation. For these refugees, local integration is the most likely durable solution. Indeed, after more than 24 years, this integration is well underway.
As the Bishop of Daru-Kiunga puts it “the gradual, silent Melanesian-style process of integration through power-struggles, exchanges, alliances and inter-marriage is already taking place”. Local integration is not without its challenges, however. Permanent, regularised access to land, for instance, is a major issue of concern for both refugees and their host communities, with no easy solution.
Access to citizenship is another obstacle to overcome, albeit with a more straight-forward solution. Despite fulfilling the residency requirement for citizenship, the current fee of K10,000 (AU$4,500) is prohibitive for all but the most fortunate refugee. Additionally, border refugees are currently not eligible given their status has not been regularised.
These factors along with the operation of Indonesian law have left most refugees, including their children who were born in Papua New Guinea, stateless. One refugee said “if they can’t give me citizenship, I’m ok with that because I’m already old, but at least give my children a country to belong to”. Other refugees only want to be a citizen of a free West Papua.
Although resource-rich (Western Province is home to the Ok Tedi gold and copper mine which generates significant income for the country), the dispersed population, lack of service infrastructure and difficult-to-access rural population creates many obstacles to service provision and economic development for its residents. Consequently, the Western Province has some of the highest rates of poverty, and performs among the lowest in terms of health and education statistics.
Along with many refugees and locals, Martina is one of the 40% of year 10 students who did not get high enough grades to obtain one of the limited number of places in year 11. For these young people, opportunities are limited. Martina is not deterred, however. She is taking any opportunity she can – attending JRS journalism sessions to produce content for the JRS newsletter and improve her English skills has inspired her try to upgrade her school marks by correspondence, and hopes to secure a place at a teachers’ college.
Wren Chadwick, JRS Information and Advocacy officer in Papua New Guinea
Refugees from West Papua in Kiunga Diocese stand in front of their stilted houses, preparing for waters from the river to rise up to the door. They are forced to build their homes on this unwanted land as more than 90 percent of the land in the country is owned by locals. (Photo by Peter Balleis SJ/ JRS)
Kiunga, 16 March 2011 – From the banks of the Fly River in the industrial township of Kiunga, I watch Martina standing motionless, perfectly balanced at the front of the dug-out canoe as it glides gracefully towards me. I am struck by her regal appearance as the sun glints off the droplets in her hair – like a queen who has just stepped out of her palace.
In reality Martina has climbed down from her simple house, constructed with bush material, plastic and iron sheets she and her family have collected over the years. Despite being built on long, thin poles, high above the ground, the water has risen to just inches below the floor following heavy rains in the mountains. With an average annual rainfall in the mountains of over eight metres, this is not an uncommon event.
As Martina’s young cousin effortlessly manoeuvres the narrow canoe, I am struck by the resourcefulness of these communities who have elected to build their homes on this ‘unwanted’ land. Martina’s house is set amongst a cluster of about 25 built on the spillway of the Fly River, just off the main road of Kiunga in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province.
With 97 percent of land in the country owned by the indigenous people, and 80 percent of the population relying on the land for their daily needs, there is little land available for purchase (even if you can afford it). So the refugees who come to town to be closer to services and employment opportunities, and settle on what unclaimed land they can find. Martina’s cousin shoots me a cheeky smile before pushing off to return to the games inside her house. With the water high, there are few dry places to play outside.
Causes of displacement
Martina is one of more than 800 West Papuan refugees living in this remote town, her parents having fled across the Indonesian border along with nearly 12,000 others between 1984 and 1986. The group fleeing was diverse and included educated student activists, militant freedom fighters, and subsistence farmers and their families.
Some refugees fled for their lives, having been targeted for punishment for their political activism, others sought refuge from threatened and real violence from both the Indonesian military and the OPM militants, some fled to escape from Indonesia’s oppressive policies which left Papuans feeling like second-class citizens in their own land, others hoped to bring international attention and support to their resistance of Indonesian occupation.
Upon arrival, the asylum seekers established a series of makeshift camps close to the border in both the Western Province along the Fly and Ok Tedi rivers, and in the Northern Sandaun Province. Initially the Papua New Guinea government hoped that they would return of their own accord and even forcefully returned some. But eventually, the poor camp conditions (including the death of around 90 people in one) prompted the government to accept that they were ‘prima facie’ refugees, sign the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and agree to allow the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and others, including NGOs and the Catholic Church, provide assistance.
More than 25 years on, more than 10,000 West Papuan refugees remain in the country. Approximately 2,500 now live in East Awin, the official camp established by the government in an attempt to move the refugees away from the porous border and placate their Indonesian neighbour.
The 15km tract of land at East Awin site was carved out of the dense jungle about one hour’s canoe ride, and another 2-7 hours by truck or tractor (depending on the road conditions) from Kiunga. Although persistent road problems means accessing markets and other facilities in Kiunga is a problem, these refugees are serviced by aid posts, a health centre, elementary and primary schools, to a standard at least as good as their local neighbours.
Approximately 5,000 refugees refused the government’s instruction to ‘either move to East Awin or return to Indonesia’, preferring to stay near the border areas, close to their traditional land and amongst people with whom they share the same language and culture. Even the removal of all government and UNHCR services has not persuaded them to move.
Today, the Catholic Diocese of Daru-Kiunga is the main provider of basic health and education services to refugees in these areas. Some health services are also provided by the Evangelical Church of Papua New Guinea and Australian Doctors International. While the government does not actively prevent these services being offered in limited forms, some parts of government no longer acknowledge that the refugees remaining near the border are in fact refugees, referring to them instead as ‘border crossers’.
The border refugees, like the locals around them, live a subsistence lifestyle, growing sweet potato, bananas, cassava, peanuts and sago. Unlike many of the locals, however, they do not have access to the regular compensation payments made to communities who live along the rivers polluted by the Ok Tedi mine. While many refugees complain about the unfairness of this arrangement – after all they are living with the daily impact of the pollution – many observers remark on the industriousness of the refugee communities who have not grown dependent on the cash hand-outs from the mine.
In most of the border communities, the refugees belong to the same tribal group as their local hosts; the imposed international boundary is recognised as only secondary to the land boundaries their ancestors fought hard to claim and maintain. Despite these kinship bonds, however, relations with locals are tense in some areas, with the local landowners who initially welcomed them as relatives, feeling that they have now outstayed their welcome. Indeed, in some places, the fast-growing refugee communities now outnumber their local hosts, and more and more land is required to sustain them.
The remaining 2,500 refugees are scattered around cities and towns of Papua New Guinea. Those in Kiunga, have come to be closer to schools, hospitals, markets and employment opportunities. Employment is hard to come by, however, and many in town have little or no access to land for food gardens. Many, like Martina’s family, rely on the small income raised by selling doughnuts, betel-nut, or icy-poles from small tables set up beside the dusty road to pay for food, clothes and school fees.
Providing assistance
The Catholic Church has a long history of providing assistance to refugees in Papua New Guinea. As a major partner in the early relief efforts, it distributed food relief and other basic supplies and was a significant advocate for the humane treatment of refugees by the government.
The Diocese of Daru-Kiunga continues, in partnership with NGOs such as Horizont3000, Mercy Works Inc and more recently the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), to advocate with and on behalf of refugees and, through programmes, such as teacher training, maternal health, adult literacy and student sponsorships, to ensure their basic needs are met.
For many years the Diocese had a separate refugee programme and dedicated Parish personnel. Recognising the importance of facilitating local integration, however, the refugees are today integrated into the parish structure along with their neighbours.
Since 2008, JRS has been working in partnership with the Diocese of Daru-Kiunga to provide accurate information to refugees about their rights and options for the future, to strengthen the Diocese’s capacity to advocate for refugees, and with the Bishop, to advocate for the rights and needs of refugees at national and international levels.
To this end, JRS Information and Advocacy Officers have visited the remote refugee settlements up and down the border to collect information, conducted training with Diocesan personnel, published newsletters for refugees, and worked with UNHCR and all levels of government to identify and address issues of concern to refugees.
The future for West Papuan refugees
The tables turn slowly in Papua New Guinea, however, and positive change can be a long time coming. What is the durable solution to this protracted refugee situation? Generally, in refugee situations, voluntary repatriation is the preferred option, where possible. A number of refugees have indeed returned to West Papua on Indonesian-sponsored aircraft in repatriation exercises organised by the Indonesian and the Papua New Guinea government.
Indonesia promotes voluntary returns, hoping to show to the international community that West Papuans have no reason to seek asylum. UNHCR is not yet satisfied that the conditions necessary for voluntary return exist, so has not supported such exercises. With outside journalists and human rights organisations prevented from entering West Papua, it is difficult to know how these returnees fare.
For the majority of West Papuan refugees, return is not something they will do voluntarily, at least not until they achieve their political aspiration of an independent nation. For these refugees, local integration is the most likely durable solution. Indeed, after more than 24 years, this integration is well underway.
As the Bishop of Daru-Kiunga puts it “the gradual, silent Melanesian-style process of integration through power-struggles, exchanges, alliances and inter-marriage is already taking place”. Local integration is not without its challenges, however. Permanent, regularised access to land, for instance, is a major issue of concern for both refugees and their host communities, with no easy solution.
Access to citizenship is another obstacle to overcome, albeit with a more straight-forward solution. Despite fulfilling the residency requirement for citizenship, the current fee of K10,000 (AU$4,500) is prohibitive for all but the most fortunate refugee. Additionally, border refugees are currently not eligible given their status has not been regularised.
These factors along with the operation of Indonesian law have left most refugees, including their children who were born in Papua New Guinea, stateless. One refugee said “if they can’t give me citizenship, I’m ok with that because I’m already old, but at least give my children a country to belong to”. Other refugees only want to be a citizen of a free West Papua.
Although resource-rich (Western Province is home to the Ok Tedi gold and copper mine which generates significant income for the country), the dispersed population, lack of service infrastructure and difficult-to-access rural population creates many obstacles to service provision and economic development for its residents. Consequently, the Western Province has some of the highest rates of poverty, and performs among the lowest in terms of health and education statistics.
Along with many refugees and locals, Martina is one of the 40% of year 10 students who did not get high enough grades to obtain one of the limited number of places in year 11. For these young people, opportunities are limited. Martina is not deterred, however. She is taking any opportunity she can – attending JRS journalism sessions to produce content for the JRS newsletter and improve her English skills has inspired her try to upgrade her school marks by correspondence, and hopes to secure a place at a teachers’ college.
Wren Chadwick, JRS Information and Advocacy officer in Papua New Guinea
Scenes of terror and destruction have erupted around the Papua New Guinea’s frontier town of Vanimo, as an unprecedented and contentious PNG military operation against unarmed West Papuan refugees has arrested scores and burned over 30 houses to the …
PNG Troops Burn Down Border West Papua Refugee Camps As Refugees Flee To The Jungle
Scenes of terror and destruction have erupted around the Papua New Guinea’s frontier town of Vanimo, as an unprecedented and contentious PNG military operation against unarmed West Papuan refugees has arrested scores and burned over 30 houses to the ground.
79 people (28 Men, 24 Women and 27 Children) are currently being held in cramped and hot conditions at an interim processing facility outside the Vanimo Police Station, which has been taken over by police from Port Moresby after local police refused to cooperate. Special taskforce Police are refusing to provide meals, which are having to be supplied by the local Vanimo Catholic diocese, although there are no current allegations of mistreatment whilst in custody.
Nine men have been charged with unspecified charges relating to armed activities though refugee advocates have denied that these people are residents of the camps raided. Enquiries by West Papua Media have found none have access to legal representation at this stage.
On January 23 at Blackwater refugee camp outside Vanimo, 19 houses were set on fire by Police and Soldiers from Port Moresby, while residents were rounded up on trucks and taken to Vanimo Police Station. According to a detailed witness report provided by the coordinator of West Papuan refugees living in Vanimo, Barias Jikwa, the operation began at 1:00 am local time when houses were surrounded, and houses began to be razed at 04:00 am. Troops then used spades and guns to destroy the refugees’ food and edible crops.
Border Security Operation
Confusion and official intransigence has surrounded the border security OperationSunset Merona. by PNG Defence Force (PNGDF), Police, Customs, and Foreign Affairs officials. Troops from PNGDF’s 1st Royal Pacific Islands Regiment (1RPIR) flew in from Port Moresby in January under the command of Joint Forces Commander Jerry Frank together with out of area general police officers from Boroko, Bomana, Gordons, and Waigani.
The elite and often notorious Mobile Brigade were not included in the operation, although human rights sources have drawn attention to the standard operating procedure of house burnings that Mobile Brigade have employed with squatters and landowners affected by mining and forestry.
Sunset Merona was originally announced as a law enforcement exercise to counter the illegal flow of goods across the border from Indonesian military (Tentara Nasional Indonesia or TNI) sources that were hurting indigenous PNG businesses, and to ensure there were no illegal workers within the logging companies from Malaysia and Indonesia operating at the PNG – West Papua border. Most shops in Vanimo are owned by non-Papuans, and all sell goods of non-PNG origin at marked up prices, but still vastly cheaper than PNG produced goods. To date, there is no verifiable information that vendors of illegal goods have been caught up the security dragnet.
According to the West Papuan Refugee Relief Association (WPRRA) in Vanimo, a registered NGO, the raids were carried out “after a week of operation on the legal permits and identities of logging workers from Malaysia and Indonesia who spread across Vanimo, Madang and Wewak and besides logging activities, who also dominate the marketplaces of those provinces right now.”
The offensive, dubbed a politically motivated stunt by dissident members of PNG security forces, descended on remote border camps and villages and made arrests of logging workers and Indonesian military personnel, though it is believed these initial arrestees were released to make way for Refugee arrests after protest from Indonesian diplomatic representatives in Vanimo.
Up to 700 personnel are reportedly involved across PNG, though the joint force in Vanimo currently numbers only 150 personnel.
The offensive is exposing deep divisions in PNG security personnel, with several local security officers being stood down during the operation for “refusing to work for Indonesian interests”. One security source who wished to remain anonymous said: “This operation is a stunt; a political charade”. He went on to further explain that the sudden change of tactic may have also been created by a hazy early January violent incident between Indonesian and PNGDF soldiers inside Batas, the vast TNI owned shopping complex just metres from the PNG border at Wutung.
After several weeks of rumours and uncertainty surrounding the true purpose ofSunset Merona, the operation has deteriorated into an offensive against Indonesia’s enemies in PNG, the West Papuan people.
“Once again, this stunt operation is deeply suspicious in its timing, with Indonesia currently engaged in a systematic sweep and terror campaign for nonviolent activists from Jayapura to the border. The questions PNG people need to have answered is, are these two offensives working in conjunction with one another, and what kind of Melanesians are we to do the Jakarta’s work?”
In Yako village, 18 houses were burned down, and possessions and food gardens were systematically destroyed by troops. Yako camp housed over 50 families forced out of Blakwara camp by threats from local landowners allegedly in league with Indonesian military linked logging interests.
A spokesperson for the Blakwara community, Yalli Jikwa, 39, said: “The arrest of villagers and burning of houses is a violation of our rights as refugees, and the PNG government must take responsibility for its actions.”
Also under attack were the villages of Dawi, Wara Duanda, Musu, Dasi, Warakarap, Ambas, Bebfsi and Skotchiou. Houses have been confirmed razed at Dawi (4 houses), Bebfsi (3) and Musu (At least 4), with unconfirmed reports of every other village targeted having burnt houses. Local human rights monitors are still attempting to confirm the situation in other villages.
There have been no confirmed reports to date that any person has been shot or any weapons discharged in these operations so far. Some early allegations of severe mistreatment (beatings) in Blakwara and Yako, with over at least ten people still in the Vanimo Hospital currently being treated for their injuries.
Local human rights sources have reported that all villagers and refugees fled to the surrounding jungle prior to the raids, and have not retaliated. Amongst those fleeing were large numbers of guerrillas who have been asked by PNGDF to surrender, but are so far ignoring the request.
The RPNGC commander of Joint Forces for Operation Sunset Merona, Jerry Frank, has described all the arrested people as separatists despite clear information that almost all refugees at the attacked camps had been registered as refugees and/or permissive residents for many years, and many were non-political.
Radio NZ International has reported that PNG authorities have arbitrarily decided that anyone found not be a citizen of PNG will be considered an OPM activist and sent to East Awin refugee camp, which although overflowing, is under the control of the UNHCR and attended closely by Catholic relief agencies.
However, PNG’s acting deputy police commissioner Fred Yakasa acknowledged that they cannot return refugees to Indonesia to face possible arrest or execution . “It would be wrong to send those people back to Papua to an unknown fate,” Yakasa stated. “We respect Indonesia and West Irian as an integral part of Indonesia and that respect is there and we just want to make sure no rebel activity or anything of that nature advances on our side of the border.”
Dissident police officers in Sandaun see it differently. “Far from defending PNGs sovereignty, we are asking `how high’ before the TNI thugs even tell us to jump,” explained a senior security source in Sandaun on condition of anonymity. “It is like somebody fears they lose out on their logging spoils”.
West Papuan refugees spoken with by West Papua Media also paint an entirely different picture to that put forward by Somare’s operation. They have accused the Prime Minister Michael Somare of acceding to clandestine Indonesian demands, and acting to preserve his alleged business interests with the Indonesian military.
“How dare he treat his own wantoks like this for the Indonesians. We are not Indonesians. We are West Papuans, which is why we fled from the brutality of the Indonesian military year after year. Our whole lives have been in limbo in Papua New Guinea, denied education, denied jobs, even when some of us have been welcomed as wantoks by good hearted PNG folk. And now this criminal Somare is treating peaceful refugees like this just so he can please his bosses in Jakarta and safeguard his retirement bilas (trinkets),” said one elderly West Papuan refugee who was too angry to give his name when spoken to by West Papua Media by phone yesterday.
PM Somare recently stood aside pending investigation on corruption and official misconduct charges, but has quietly reinstated himself into the Prime Ministership functions with little protest from PNG political figures, many of whom also have documented involvement with Indonesian military business interests. However this operation has been in planning for several months, with almost K2.5 million budgeted for a six week initial operation, with the possibility of extension.
Local Business Complexities
Refugee spokespeople have alluded to local business interests playing a significant role in the evictions, which local security sources have confirmed. Most refugee camps targeted in this operation are surrounded by extremely valuable timber resources, and logging interests and national power politics are playing a significant part in the recent events.
The MP for Vanimo-Green River, Belden Namah, whose family traditionally provide refuge for both the OPM and refugees, has publicly condoned the harsh operations. As the villages were being razed Namah issued a statement criticising the Sunset Merona personnel, not for their harsh treatment of civilians, but for allegedly encouraging local people to demand logging companies pay for timber they remove from forests.
“This is very, very disgraceful,” Namah said, “It is a national disgrace for landowners to be told by security forces to set road blocks to collect road levies, when such infrastructures are national assets,” he said.
Under the PNG Constitution, Land belongs to the people, and it is not legally a national asset unless a specific act of Parliament has been enacted. Under these provisions, resource companies must legally pay for compensation for land they damage and resources they expropriate. Somare (and Namah) in June rammed through a change to the Environment and Conservation Act, but that is deemed by many in PNG to be unconstitutional.
“If they are targeting foreign workers for work permits, passports and other related documents, that is fine, but why are they encouraging the landowners to engage in actions that causes disruption and are destructive to the smooth operations of companies in the area….. The security forces must concentrate on the core focus of the operation.” Namah explained in his statement that this was to destroy OPM camps on the PNG side of the border.
At this point no allegations have been made to West Papua Media that Namah is influencing the operation, but as the local MP and a member of the Sandaun Provincial Security Committee, Namah is in a unique position to do so. Ironically, Namah came to power on the back of a concerted social movement resisting Indonesian control of logging, helping to create the GVG Moma landowner controlled co-operative ensuring community control and veto over unsustainable logging.
“Men, women and children have suffered for a very long time. The Government has abandoned its responsibility to the people, it seems. We must ensure that the benefits to the people are real and sustainable,” Namah explained in 2006.
Despite this, Namah is heavily involved as both a Forestry Minister, and an owner of major forestry businesses in Sandaun which have allegedly perpetrated serious environmental and social abuses against those opposed to unregulated clearance of old growth Papuan Jungle.
GVG Moma, which has increased its harvest since 2006 of highly valuable kwila/merbau, teak and other tropical hardwoods, are seeking to exploit the high value forest on which the refugee camps stand. According to local security sources, GVG Moma are also currently utilising the same distribution and personnel networks as when the TNI directly controlled Vanimo Forest Products prior to 2006.
The former PNGDF Captain Namah, who was gaoled and pardoned for his leading role in the Sandline mercenary crisis, has attracted significant controversy during his time as Forestry Minster for accruing significant wealth and property across the Pacific.
West Papua analysts have long been concerned about the connection between illegal logging in the area and the Indonesian military business interests having the potential to extend the already serious human rights abuses in West Papua into PNG territory.
Wikileaks recently revealed cables from the US Embassy in Jakarta that accused Indonesian military officers of deep involvement in illegal logging operations on both sides of the border. A 2006 cable details a briefing from a PNG government official reporting the TNI were ”involved in both illegal logging and drug smuggling in PNG”.
Local human rights and security sources are describing the atmosphere across Sandaun province as highly tense following the launch of the offensive. Since before PNG independence, there has long been widespread sympathy and tolerance for given West Papuans forced to flee violence safe refuge in the country. However, PNG also has a strong history of local businesses leaders working closely with Indonesian mercantile interests to clear refugees out of Sandaun, but this is the first time security forces in PNG have acted so blatantly in alliance with Indonesian policy of a military approach to rooting out West Papuan desires for independence.
Rumours are beginning to circulate that many ordinary people supporting West Papuans in Sandaun will take unspecified direct action to protest the treatment of their wantoks.
Local security forces refuse to co-operate.
Troops from Operations Sunset Merona prior to deployment – Image source The Nation
Troops from Operations Sunset Merona prior to deployment – Image source The Nation
Reports from security sources on the ground currently in Vanimo have confirmed to West Papua Media that soldiers from the local 2RPIR battalion were sidelined and local units of police were also refusing to cooperate with the operation.
The Provincial Commander of RPNGC in Sandaun Province, Sakuva Kasieng, was suspended by the RPNGC Commissioner for labelling the operation as politically motivated. West Papua Media unsuccessfully attempted to reach Kasieng for comment.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in December between Kasieng and the representatives of the Free Papua Movement (OPM – Organisasi Papua Merdeka) based in Sandaun, to allow training of OPM forces in civil resistance techniques. A senior intermediary for OPM units in the area who was responsible for the training, was not available for comment at time of writing, nor to confirm whether the training was offensive and armed, or for nonviolent civil resistance tactics. Regular civil resistance training of refugees by activists and leaders within the nonviolent movement has been conducted for many years in PNG.
However, refugees have categorically denied that any armed struggle or violence training had been conducted in, near, or with any members of the villages that were targeted by operation Sunset Merona. “The accusation that these villages were National Liberation Army training bases is completely false. These villages attacked have no connection at all to the TPN, and Somare knows it,” explained Yalli Jikwa.
Security and local sources familiar with the MoU have alleged that a senior (and elderly) Papuan resistance figure was displeased with the training program, and allegedly provided a copy of the MoU to Indonesian Special Forces agents stationed at the Indonesian Consulate in Vanimo.
The sources described a subsequent surprise inspection by an Indonesian “consultant” to Blakwara camp in mid-December as a catalyst that changed the officially tolerant PNG government attitude to the camps that has been in existence since 1963.
West Papua and security analysts across the Pacific have long feared that cross border “hot pursuit” operations carried by Indonesian troops may draw other countries into a regional conflict. There is suspicion the TNI has pressured the PNGDF to act as its proxy to achieve its military objectives of neutralising the West Papuan resistance, and therefore avoid the potential for border violation. However, both Jakarta and Waigani deny this.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs was unable to provide comment prior to deadline.
Uncertainty for Refugees already in Limbo
PNG is home to around 12,000 West Papuan refugees who have fled Indonesian state violence in several major waves since occupation began in 1962. Several hundred refugees accepted facilitated repatriation last year with guarantees of land, cash and non-persecution. However the majority of refugees present say they have a well founded fear of persecution and cannot return. Refugees are deemed by PNG as permissive non-citizens which enables them to work but not to gain any legal certainty in housing, education or as citizens.
The refugee relief NGO WPRRA are demanding that the PNG government are called to account for their “inhuman operations against refugees who took refuge in PNG due to the Indonesian brutalities”, and that the governments of Vanuatu, New Zealand and others assist these displaced West Papuan refugees to seek asylum in a third country. WPRRA have also called on the international community to assist in “ensuring the fundamental rights of West Papuans in PNG are respected and protected according to the international law on refugees and human rights.”
The UNHCR is concerned about the attacks on refugees, and potential for inappropriate actions to escalate. “Our PNG Representative is closely monitoring the situation and in contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the principle of non-refoulement is being respected as the situation becomes clearer,” said Richard Towle, Australia/ PNG Regional Representative for UNHCR.*************
Nick Chesterfield is a founder and editor of West Papua Media. This breaking news report is available for syndication and republication. Please contactwestpapuamedia.info for further information.
The plight of more than 8,000 West Papuan refugees living in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province, near the border of West Papua, rarely receives our attention in Australia. Yet, a significant number of refugees have been living in this area for over 28 years.
Most of these refugees live in the remote North Fly District, either in the official refugee site at East Awin, in villages and settlements along the border, or in Kiunga town.
According to Maureen Sexton, a Sister of Mercy of the Melbourne Congregation who has been supporting refugees in this area since 2003, movement across the border has happened for generations because local people have land and community connections on both sides of the border.
However, she believes three critical incidents precipitated larger movements of people. The first was in 1960 when the Dutch handed over West Papua to Indonesia. The second coincided with the uprising that followed the 1969 “Act of Free Choice”, when Indonesia selected a minority of Papuans to vote for the country becoming either independent or part of Indonesia. It is claimed that they were forced by the Indonesian Government to vote for the integration of West Papua into Indonesia.
The third incident was in 1984 when an estimated 15,000 West Papuans crossed the border at various points, mostly in the Western Province. They were seeking international recognition of their long struggle for independence. Since then, there have been smaller movements, during the 1990s and again in 2001.
The status of West Papuan refugees in PNG varies and is a complex matter. Maureen explains that people who came prior to independence in 1975 have assimilated and are recognised as PNG citizens. But refugees who came across in the 1980s, 1990s and between 2002 and 2004, fall into two groups: those who have relocated to the East Awin refugee site (about 2,700), and those who have chosen to remain on the border between 5,000 and 6,000).
Refugees at the East Awin site have “permissive residency” which means they have official refugee status and some privileges. The latter group, referred to by the government as “traditional border crossers”, had all services removed by the PNG Government and the UN’s Refugee Agency, the UNHCR in 1987.
Maureen’s main work is supporting these border refugees. In 2004, she was joined by Catherine Corbett, a Sister of Mercy of the North Sydney Congregation. Maureen works in the Diocese of Daru-Kiunga’s Social Programme for Refugees which provides education, health care, and advocacy support for refugees living in Kiunga and the border settlements on the Fly River.
Catherine is a member of the St Gerard’s Pastoral Team which includes eight border villages in its boundaries. She is the Parish Women’s Animator working closely with the Women’s Co-ordinator and the many women’s groups. This year the women have started a pidgin literacy course.
In 2006-2007, Mercy Works Inc., the relief and development arm of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy, supported the work of the Social Programme for Refugees in three ways. It has contributed toward the construction of a new building at Kiunga which serves the dual purpose of providing a gathering space for development and support activities among refugees, as well as an office location for staff of the programme. Construction of the building is due to finish in October 2007.
Funds were also used to support refugee students at primary and high school levels, encouraging them to stay in the school system for as long as they are academically achieving. Priority was given to young women and those students whose parents are subsistence farmers and from remote areas.The community library at the East Awin refugee site was also strengthened through the purchase of much needed books and resources.
Would you like to partner with Mercy Works Inc. to support the needs of West Papuan refugees living in Kiunga and the North Fly District of Papua New Guinea? Find out more.
The plight of more than 8,000 West Papuan refugees living in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province, near the border of West Papua, rarely receives our attention in Australia. Yet, a significant number of refugees have been living in this area for over 28 years.
Most of these refugees live in the remote North Fly District, either in the official refugee site at East Awin, in villages and settlements along the border, or in Kiunga town.
According to Maureen Sexton, a Sister of Mercy of the Melbourne Congregation who has been supporting refugees in this area since 2003, movement across the border has happened for generations because local people have land and community connections on both sides of the border.
However, she believes three critical incidents precipitated larger movements of people. The first was in 1960 when the Dutch handed over West Papua to Indonesia. The second coincided with the uprising that followed the 1969 “Act of Free Choice”, when Indonesia selected a minority of Papuans to vote for the country becoming either independent or part of Indonesia. It is claimed that they were forced by the Indonesian Government to vote for the integration of West Papua into Indonesia.
The third incident was in 1984 when an estimated 15,000 West Papuans crossed the border at various points, mostly in the Western Province. They were seeking international recognition of their long struggle for independence. Since then, there have been smaller movements, during the 1990s and again in 2001.
The status of West Papuan refugees in PNG varies and is a complex matter. Maureen explains that people who came prior to independence in 1975 have assimilated and are recognised as PNG citizens. But refugees who came across in the 1980s, 1990s and between 2002 and 2004, fall into two groups: those who have relocated to the East Awin refugee site (about 2,700), and those who have chosen to remain on the border between 5,000 and 6,000).
Refugees at the East Awin site have “permissive residency” which means they have official refugee status and some privileges. The latter group, referred to by the government as “traditional border crossers”, had all services removed by the PNG Government and the UN’s Refugee Agency, the UNHCR in 1987.
Maureen’s main work is supporting these border refugees. In 2004, she was joined by Catherine Corbett, a Sister of Mercy of the North Sydney Congregation. Maureen works in the Diocese of Daru-Kiunga’s Social Programme for Refugees which provides education, health care, and advocacy support for refugees living in Kiunga and the border settlements on the Fly River.
Catherine is a member of the St Gerard’s Pastoral Team which includes eight border villages in its boundaries. She is the Parish Women’s Animator working closely with the Women’s Co-ordinator and the many women’s groups. This year the women have started a pidgin literacy course.
In 2006-2007, Mercy Works Inc., the relief and development arm of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy, supported the work of the Social Programme for Refugees in three ways. It has contributed toward the construction of a new building at Kiunga which serves the dual purpose of providing a gathering space for development and support activities among refugees, as well as an office location for staff of the programme. Construction of the building is due to finish in October 2007.
Funds were also used to support refugee students at primary and high school levels, encouraging them to stay in the school system for as long as they are academically achieving. Priority was given to young women and those students whose parents are subsistence farmers and from remote areas.The community library at the East Awin refugee site was also strengthened through the purchase of much needed books and resources.
Would you like to partner with Mercy Works Inc. to support the needs of West Papuan refugees living in Kiunga and the North Fly District of Papua New Guinea? Find out more.
The Morning Star Flag flying in Marrackville, Australia. March 23, 2006
The Australian government has granted temporary visas to 42 of the 43 West Papuan asylum seekers who arrived by boat in January. The group accuse the Indonesian military of “conducting genocide in their homeland.” The 36 adults and seven children spent five days at sea in a traditional outrigger boat before arriving in far north Queensland’s Cape York. They have been since been detained under Australia’s Mandatory Detentionpolicy.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said the 42 West Papuans have been given temporary protection visas (TPV). “These people have completed their medical and character checks and will be moved into the community,” she said. Most of the group are being relocated by private jet from Australia’s remote immigration detention centre on Christmas Island to Melbourne. Senator Vanstone said a decision was still pending on one of the asylum seekers, as there were further specific case issues to be addressed.
However, the Indonesian government says the refugees should be sent back. Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has told Prime Minister John Howard that the group should not be given political asylum. He assures that they would not be prosecuted. Last month, Indonesia’s ambassador, Hamzah Thayeb, warned that Australia’s relationship with Indonesia would be affected if the Papuans were granted asylum.
A spokesman for Foreign Minister Alexander Downer dismissed suggestions that the decision would cause a rift between Australia and Jakarta. “We’ve got an excellent bilateral relationship with Indonesia and we wouldn’t expect that any particular issue is going to bring that into question,” he said. Mr Downer personally informed his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirajuda, of the decision. “It’s a matter of some significance between our two countries,” said Mr Downer.
Indonesia has insisted that there are no human rights abuses in Papua. Djoko Susilo, a member of Indonesia’s parliamentary foreign affairs commission, labelled the decision “an unfriendly gesture by the Australian Government.”
Since their arrival, the 43 West Papuans have accused the Indonesian military of “genocide in their homeland,” taken over by Indonesia in the 1960s after a widely disputed independence referendum.
Herman Wainggai, who spoke for the asylum-seekers, thanked the Australian Government and people for a fair and just decision. “We were threatened in an extremely dangerous position … We had to flee to Australia from the intimidation of the killing and the persecution inflicted by Indonesian authorities against us,” he said.
“We trust that Indonesia will act with maturity and see that the situation in West Papua is very serious and one which must be dealt with peacefully and with humanity, not by violent means,” he said.
The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) has denounced the Australian government’s decision, urging the government to send a formal protest note to the Australian government over the visas and political asylum granted to the 42 Indonesian citizens. “We question the decision to grant visas and political asylum at a time when the security situation in Papua province is tense,” said member of the House Commission I for defence, foreign and information affairs Effendy Mara Sakti, of the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP).
Another House Commission member, Yudy Chrisnandy of the Golkar Party, said the granting of political asylum and temporary visas was unethical and could disrupt relations between the two countries.
Amnesty International has expressed particular concern about human rights violations in Papua, but welcomed the decision. “While welcoming today’s decision … Amnesty now encourages the government to consider the plight of the Papuan refugees, as under Australia’s temporary protection regime the refugees now face isolation from their families left behind and face uncertainty about their future,” the organisation said in a statement. Amnesty reports of “extrajudicial executions, ‘disappearances,’ torture, ill-treatment and arbitrary detentions in Papua Province.”
Australian Greens Senator Kerry Nettle also welcomed the decision. “The situation in West Papua is clearly very dangerous for those who assert their right to self-determination, so the decision to grant protection visas is a good one,” Senator Nettle said.
West Papua have been seeking sovereignty since the United Nations handed the province to Indonesia in 1969. A spokesman for the Free West Papua Campaign, Nick Chesterfield, said the decision highlights the dire situation. “What this clearly demonstrates is that the world needs to wake up to what is happening in West Papua and start to actively look at ways of ending the sickening violence that the Indonesian military continues to inflict on the people of West Papua,” Mr Chesterfield said.
“Rather than being isolated and locked up thousands of miles away on Christmas Island, these very courageous individuals can receive the support they deserve from the local community. This decision also means Australians will be able to hear first hand about the atrocities and escalating human right abuses that are unfolding in one of our closest neighbouring countries,” said Mr Chesterfield.
Meanwhile, the “Morning Star” flag of West Papua was raised in Marrickville, New South Wales, by Senator Nettle and the Mayor of Marrickville, Sam Byrne. The flag, officially unrecognised by Indonesia in the West Papuan region, was raised to “urge city citizens to support self-determination for the West Papuans people.”
Uniting Church minister Reverend John Barr, who recently returned from the area, warned of an “intensification of violence” and also recounted demands from protesters to have the Freeport mine and the Indonesian government held responsible for despoiling the Papuan environment. “We have heard one student was shot dead and many are badly wounded. I could hear people yelling and fleeing as my contact spoke to me on the phone from the grounds of the theological seminary,” he said in a statement.
WPRRA Port Moresby 