Revolutionary Haitian Priest, Gerard Jean-Juste, Presente!

by Bill Quigley

Though Haitian priest Father Gerard Jean-Juste died May 27, 2009, at age 62, in Miami from a stroke and breathing problems, he remains present to millions. Justice-loving people world-wide mourn his death and celebrate his life. Pere Jean-Juste worked uncompromisingly for justice for Haitians and the poor, both in Haiti and in the U.S.

Pere Jean-Juste was a Jesus-like revolutionary. In jail and out, he preached liberation of the poor, release of prisoners, human rights for all, and a fair distribution of wealth. A big muscular man with a booming voice and a frequent deep laugh, he wore a brightly colored plastic rosary around his neck and carried another in his pocket. Jailed for nearly a year in Haiti by the U.S. supported coup government which was trying to silence him, Amnesty International called him a Prisoner of Conscience.

To read the full article go to:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/05/31

Pax Christi Meetings

You are invited to

The Annual Meeting of Pax Christi Victoria Inc. International Christian Peace Movement

Sunday 16 November 2008, 4.30 p.m., at Kildara Centre, Rear 39 Stanhope St, Malvern (east of Glenferrie Road)

· Report and Assess a significant year

· Share your hopes and ideas on Pax Christi 2009

· What will our special contribution to the peace movement be?

· What challenges lie ahead?


Special Feature
Barbara Hadkinson will report on her recent visit to Timor Leste

We will finish with a SHARED MEAL around 7.30 p.m BRING FOOD TO SHARE


December Agape

Sunday December 14 at 4.30 pm

St John’s Uniting Church
Cnr Glenhuntly Road & Foster Street Elsternwick

Sarah Williams & Krystal Spencer of the Jahwork Community, Doveton will report on their visit to Malaysia as Pax Christi representatives on the
Inter-civilisational Youth Engagement Programme
Green versus Greed: Youths Reflect on the Environmental Challenge

Hopefully they will be joined by two Australian Muslim participants sponsored by the Centre for Dialogue

'Jihad' evangelicals on trial

Saeed Saeed October 03, 2008

Deen, Hanifa: The Jihad Seminar. Crawley, University of Western Australia Press, 2008. RRP $29.95. ISBN 9781921401121

In January 2002, the Victorian Labor Government passed its Racial and Religious Tolerance Act prohibiting the vilification of persons on the grounds of race and religious beliefs.

Mainstream religious groups and human rights activists applauded the move, viewing the legislation as providing an extra layer of legal protection from an increasingly intolerant society.

Free speech warriors and evangelical groups organised rallies and dedicated many inches of column space to opposing the laws, citing them as an attack on freedom of speech and censorship of deeply held religious beliefs.

It took a year for the first case to arrive at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) — the state's peak Muslim body — accused the Christian evangelical group Catch the Fire Ministries of religious vilification after a series of lectures about Islam by Pastors Daniel Scott and Daniel Nalliah offended Muslim converts in the audience.

Sensing a good yarn, self-proclaimed 'literary sleuth' Hanifa Deen attended the tribunal sessions to observe what she expected would be a cut and dried three-day hearing. Like most legal and media observers, Deen didn't expect the case to drag on for five years and reach as high as the Supreme Court.

Full points then must be given for Deen's patience and tenacity. The result is a book far removed from the lazy Islam versus Christianity narrative pushed by the mainstream press. Instead, The Jihad Seminar frames the story as being 'convert driven' with new Muslims on one side and born again Christians on the other.

Deen was granted full access to the Muslim complainants while she managed to land a few key interviews with Scott and supporters of Catch the Fire.

She states both sides believed they had no choice but to see this matter through to the courts. For Muslims the seminar was viewed as blatantly offensive and they finally had legal armoury to defend themselves. Catch the Fire, who view interfaith activities with disdain, viewed the case as an attempt to muzzle their preaching.

Deen made the right decision to eschew the case's turgid legalities in favour of its broader implications. This gave her the licence to step out of the court room and discuss wider issues of racial and religious tolerance, from the global rise of Islamaphobia and John Howard's identity politics to the disturbing scenes of the Cronulla Riots.

Deen is a feisty presence throughout the book. Her persistent research uncovered some of the hidden motives behind the case. She reveals it was more than just a simple dispute. Instead it was used by both sides to pursue their political means.

The ICV was supported by a large cohort of religious groups who viewed this case as an important test of how this legislation could be practically applied. At the same time the little known Catch the Fire Ministries captured the imagination of cashed up American evangelical groups, whose donations helped finance the expensive case.

Deen is a gifted writer whose lucid prose helps makes sense of some of the convoluted legal manoeuvres of the case. A secular Muslim with a love for Monty Python, she never hides her irreverent side. When it works it reveals some cutting descriptions. She describes Pastor Nalliah's religious history as a 'job application for the after life', and the Muslim imams she met as 'usually nice men, but they are now what I would call witness box material'.

When it doesn't work she comes across as condescending to the deeply religious converts she interviews. This is unfortunate as their true stories are seldom told.

Nonetheless, The Jihad Seminar is a timely book on a misunderstood legislation, devout religions and the corrosive impact that racism and religious vilification continue to play in Australian society.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saeed Saeed is a Melbourne writer and youth worker.

source from Eureka Street: http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=9178

US believes nuns have a habit for terrorism

BALTIMORE, Maryland - Two Roman Catholic nuns jailed for non-violent action against nuclear weapons were also listed as terrorists by US authorities.

Sister Ardeth Platte, 72, and Sister Carol Gilbert, 60, came back from two weeks out of Baltimore to find letters from the Maryland state police saying they had been wrongfully listed as suspected terrorists on a 2005-2006 federal database.

"To be labelled a terrorist is really very hard to hear and to accept, when your whole life has been one of loving nonviolence," Platte said.

Maryland State Police have sent letters to 53 activists wrongfully declared terrorists by authorities, inviting them to look at their entries in the database, after which the files would be deleted.

The Dominican nuns broke into a US nuclear missile silo in Colorado in 2002 and painted crucifixes with their own blood, earning Platte and Gilbert prison sentences of 41 and 33 months respectively.

"If they can label us as terrorists, they can label all kinds of people as terrorists," Gilbert said. "So then people become afraid to speak out against what the established government might be saying - and that is the demise of democracy."

Source from Brisbane Times: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2008/10/11/1223145683867.html

Micah Challenge & MDG

Rev Joel Edwards

Incoming Director of Micah Challenge International -
the international campaign by churches to mobilise public
support to lift millions out of hunger and acute poverty.

Also member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission UK;
International Chair of the World Evangelical Alliance;
Member of Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation;
Honorary Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral, London

Thursday 16 October, 3.00-4.30 pm

At the new facilities at
YARRA THEOLOGICAL UNION
98 Albion Rd, BOX HILL VIC 3128

Entry to forum by donation
Off street parking available.
The Conference room is also
accessible via 34 Bedford St

Norwegian Government Fund Blacklists Rio Tinto

Emma Alberici, ABC,2008-09-11

Rio Tinto has been blacklisted by Europe's biggest investor for "grossly unethical conduct" through its involvement in the world's biggest gold mine in Indonesia. The Norwegian Government's sovereign wealth fund, the equivalent of Australia's Future Fund, was one of Rio's biggest investors before deciding to withdraw its $1 billion investment.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/11/2361534.htm?section=world

The Government Pension Fund divests its holdings in mining company, Ministry of Finance, Norway, 2008-09-09

http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fin/Press-Center/Press-releases/2008/the-government-pension-fund-divests-its-.html?id=526030

The recommendation from the Council on Ethics, Ministry of Finance, Norway [PDF, 143 KB]

http://www.regjeringen.no/upload/FIN/etikk/Recommendation%20RT.pdf


Companies Excluded from the Investment Universe, Ministry of Finance, Norway

http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fin/Selected-topics/andre/Ethical-Guidelines-for-the-Government-Pension-Fund---Global-/companies-excluded-from-the-investment-u.html?id=447122

Grasberg Minerals District, Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold

http://www.fcx.com/operations/grascomplx.htm



Norwegian Pension Fund, Statement by Rio Tinto, 2008-09-10

http://www.riotinto.com/media/news_12275.asp



Indonesia: Resources and Conflict in Papua, ICG, 2002-09-13

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=1449

New Study Links Indonesian Politician to 2002 Murder of U.S. Schoolteachers

S. Eben Kirksey, Ph.D.
University of California
skirksey@ucsc.edu
+1.831.600.5937

Andreas Harsono
Pantau Foundation
aharsono@cbn.net.id
+62.815.950.9000

Fresh evidence links Indonesia’s military to the 2002 murder of two American school teachers in the remote Papua province. An article in the latest issue of South East Asia Research, a peer-reviewed journal published in London, is a forensic account of a murder that is still the subject of an open FBI investigation. “Credible sources link Indonesian intelligence agents to the planning of this attack,” said co-author Eben Kirksey, an American anthropologist. “But, Senior Bush Administration officials—including Condoleezza Rice, John Ashcroft, and Robert Mueller—have helped cover-up evidence of Indonesian military involvement in the murder of U.S. civilians,” continued Dr. Kirksey. “The FBI has failed to bring this case to a definitive resolution.”

FBI agents apprehended a group of Papuan villagers in 2006 and delivered them to Indonesian authorities. Indonesian courts sentenced seven of these men, including alleged ringleader Antonius Wamang, a guerilla fighter in Papua’s independence movement, to jail time for participating in the attack. But, Indonesian military involvement was not seriously considered at the trial. “The Indonesian trial was a sham,” says co-author Andreas Harsono, an Indonesian investigative journalist. “Why did America trust this important case to a court system known for widespread corruption?”

Indonesian Politician, Agus Anggaibak, Allegedly Set Up the Murder
Agus Anggaibak, a 27-year old member of the regional parliament, helped plan the ambush, according to reliable sources. He also reportedly facilitated contacts between the shooters and active duty military agents. In an interview with the authors, Anggaibak admitted to having ties with Indonesia’s intelligence agency, BIN. Anggaibak denied any involvement in the attack. But, he also admitted to meeting with Antonius Wamang, the convicted ringleader. “Credible journalists have long reported that the highest levels of the Indonesian military had foreknowledge of this murder,” said Dr. Kirksey. “We have identified the probable field agent who carried out the plan.”

Evidence of Indonesian Military Shooters
Indonesian soldiers fired their weapons at the crime scene, according to ballistics reports. School teachers who survived the ambush saw uniformed men speed away from the crime scene in the moments after their colleagues were murdered.

The article, titled “Criminal Collaborations? Antonius Wamang and the Indonesian Military in Timika”, draws on over 2,000 pages of Indonesian-language courtroom documents, recently declassified U.S. State Department cables, and over 50 interviews. The full article is available through university libraries and can be purchased on-line: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ip/sear. South East Asia Research is published by IP Publishing Ltd for the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London.

Cholera outbreak in West Papua: Indonesian Government response ineffective

New reports from Human Rights and Church sources in West Papua state that 85 people have died in a Cholera outbreak over the past 3 months in the adjacent Nabire and Paniai regencies of West Papua.

Previous reports by Indonesian authorities in early June stated 17 people had died. At that time Health authorities disputed figures from West Papuan Human Rights workers that there had actually been 34 fatalities if cases in the villages were counted.

“This latest Cholera outbreak started in April and has continued through to June 2008. Based on information supplied from the ground the Institute of Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights believes that the Indonesian Health Department and Provincial government response has been grossly inadequate. It appears that people were treated in the community health centers when people were able to physically carried there but the government response in those affected villages was very limited.”

“Indeed for the Government personnel the response was a matter of mutual blaming and a refusal to take responsibility. Everybody in the Government has avoided taking responsibility and has blamed each other for what went wrong.”

The Papua Health Office was reported in the Jakarta Post (June 4th, 2008,) as identifying an ‘Ogawa-type vibrio cholera viral infection’ following tests in Jayapura.

Cholera, which is a bacterial disease, attacks the gut lining with infected people quickly developing symptoms of severe diarrhea & massive fluid loss. The disease can be fatal within 18 hours if re-hydration & therapy does not occur.

This Cholera epidemic was first reported in Paniai in early April 2008 at Ekemanida village. It has spread to nearby villages at Kamuu and North Kamuu Districts. The villages where the disease was reported are Ekemanida, Idakotu, Dogimani/Idadagi, Makidimi/Egebutu, Ekimani/Nuwa, Denemani/Apagogi, Kimupugi, Dikiyouwo, Duntek, Boduda, Deiyai, Goodide, Idakebo, Mogou and Dogimani.

In March, April 2006, in the highland regencies of Jayawijaya and Yahukimo 178 and 33indigenous West Papuans respectively died reportedly from Cholera epidemics.

Paula Makabory representing the Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights said, “Cases of fatal diarrhea, which include undiagnosed Cholera, have been increasingly reported in Nabire and Highland areas of West Papua in the past few years.”

Paula Makabory also said today, “ Earlier this month our organisation alerted the World Health Organisation (WHO) of this current Cholera outbreak but that organisation in Indonesia appears to have not responded. We contacted the WHO because previous experience is that the Indonesian Government agencies and provincial government would not mount an adequate response.”

“Although there are massive amounts of money available to government in West Papua that money is not being used to control the contagious diseases, which also includes HIV/AIDS, TB, as well as Malaria, in the indigenous population. Little of the Special Autonomy funds budgeted for health is being effectively. West Papua remains closed to access from international NGO and the media so none knows what is happening.”

“The Special Autonomy process which Jakarta set up 7 years ago is not serving the peoples education and health needs. Many West Papuans view the combination of lack of health services and military occupation as deliberate and 'Genocide'.”

“West Papua must be opened up to the world so the basic human rights including the right to adequate health of Indigenous West Papuan can be promoted. There is a new set of diseases which have never been experienced by remote & isolated highland communities which are continuing to spread into these communities.”

“West Papua should be opened to international health organisations to assist local communities in developing the ability for detection and treatment of disease and to assist in public health generally, including pre and post natal care of mothers and babies.”

“Talk by international countries such as Germany of swapping Indonesia’s international debt in return for implementation of health programs by the Global Fund[1] will be most effective in West Papua if there is increased political freedom. International attention is necessary so that the critical health services can be rapidly implemented. The indigenous communities must be given the freedom to join in this health reform so they can help themselves. ”

Paula Makabory said, “There is a need for a major rethink about how community health and human rights is addressed in West Papua as the indigenous people do not trust the Indonesia Government. The international community, NGOs and Governments should be encouraging local health projects which are necessary to respond to the health crises in West Papua.’

“If the West Papuan people are not empowered in the field of health, the health of the West Papuan people will continue to deteriorate.”

For further information contact,

Paula Makabory +61 402547517

Dr Anne Noonan +61 2 99601698

Matthew Jamieson +61 418291998

[1] Germany cancels 50 mln euro Indonesian debt (June 23 2008, Thomson Financial)

Matthew Jamieson
Institute for Papuan Advocacy & Human Rights
PO Box 1805, Byron Bay NSW 2481 Australia
matthew@hr.minihub.org
tel +61(0) 418291998

Democracy and death in Myanmar

By Larry Jagan

BANGKOK - Amid Myanmar's perhaps worst-ever natural disaster, the ruling junta has pushed through a new constitution which guarantees its future hold on political power. Over the weekend the military government held a referendum on the new charter in the country's worst cyclone-hit areas, completing a voting process many onlookers have characterized as flawed, rigged and even immoral.

The military government proceeded with the vote amid a gathering humanitarian crisis, where over 100,000 are believed to be dead or missing and as many as 3 million left homeless by Cyclone Nagris, which first hit Myanmar on May 2 and 3. Officials controversially went ahead with the first round of voting on May 10, while postponing the polls until May 24 in the worst cyclone-hit areas.

In the official statement announced by the state media, less than a week after the first round of voting, the Myanmar attorney general and head of the committee that organized the vote, Aung Toe, said that 99% of the 22.5 million eligible voters had turned out to vote, and some 92.4% voted yes on the new charter. A day after the second round, where nearly 5 million voters were registered to vote, the government announced a 90% voter turnout and that 92.9% had approved the constitution.

To read the full article from Asia Times, click on:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/JE29Ae01.html

Daniel Berrigan: Forty Years After Catonsville

by Chris Hedges

Forty years ago this month, Father Daniel Berrigan walked into a draft board in Catonsville, Maryland, with eight other activists, including his brother, Father Philip Berrigan, and removed draft files of young men who were about to be sent to Vietnam. The group carted the files outside and burned them in two garbage cans with homemade napalm. Father Berrigan was tried, found guilty, spent four months as a fugitive from the FBI, was apprehended and sent to prison for eighteen months.

Father Berrigan, unbowed at 87, sat primly in a straight-backed wooden chair as the afternoon light slanted in from the windows, illuminating the collection of watercolors and religious icons on the walls of his small apartment in upper Manhattan. Time and age have not blunted this Jesuit priest’s fierce critique of the American empire or his radical interpretation of the Gospels. There would be many more “actions” and jail time after his release from prison, including a sentence for his illegal entry into a General Electric nuclear missile plant in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, on September 9, 1980, with seven other activists, where they poured blood and hammered on Mark 12A warheads.

“This is the worst time of my long life,” he said with a sigh. “I have never had such meager expectations of the system. I find those expectations verified in the paucity and shallowness every day I live.”

To read the full article from The Nation, click on:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/21/9105/

Protest Camps Against American Military Bases in Japan and Italy

By Ann Wright

The presence of the US military, 63 years after World War II, is a huge source of anger for the citizens of Japan, Korea, Germany and Italy. On the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, the US military uses an artillery firing range known as Yausubetsu. The range is small in comparison to ranges in the United States and Germany - only 30 kilometers by 10 kilometers - but the source of irritation to Japanese farmers whose land was taken for the range and for those who live near the range is large. The peaceful rolling hills and valleys of the area are the home of the dairy industry of Hokkaido. The Japanese have used a cartoon of an angry dairy cow with boxing gloves as their symbol of protest of the US military's use of the range.

The Japanese government pressured farmers in the area to sell their land when the artillery range was established in 1962. All but three families eventually sold out. Mr. Kawase refused to sell or move, and instead has built three structures that are used by activists year round to protest Japanese and American use of Yausubetsu for artillery practice. Mr. Kawase, a very spry 82 years old, build a huge Quonset hut on his property where 100 activists can sleep on mats, make posters and banners and listen to speakers. In the kitchen of the building, activists cook huge meals from plants and vegetables of the Hokkaido countryside and serve fresh milk and cheeses from angry local dairy herd owners.

On the roof of the building, for military aircraft flying over and those on the land to see, Mr. Kawase has painted in huge Japanese script the text of Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan:

"Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of forces as means of settling international disputes. In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized."

To read the full article from Truthout, click on:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051108F.shtml

Australia acknowledges need for a Nuclear Weapons Convention

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Australia today delivered a statement on nuclear disarmament to the Non-Proliferation Treaty meeting in Geneva. It was much different from statements made in previous years. It even included a reference to the need for a nuclear weapons convention (NWC) for the first time ever. This is something which disarmament experts have described as quite significant. The reference is a cautious one, but using those words in this forum is rare. The only other countries so far to have mentioned an NWC at the meeting have been Costa Rica, Malaysia and Iran.

The statement read: “Australia under a new Government is fully committed to realizing a world free from nuclear weapons … A world free of nuclear weapons will require carefully calibrated steps that buttress international peace and security. Every state, whether holding nuclear weapons or not, must play a part in realizing that world. And at an appropriate time, the international community will likely need to consider complementary legal frameworks, including a possible nuclear weapons convention, for the eventual abolition of nuclear weapons.”

Australia welcomed reductions made by the nuclear weapon states in the size of their arsenals but said that “the international community, Australia included, remains hungry for further, irreversible reductions and greater transparency from states holding nuclear weapons. Concurrent with their warhead reductions, nuclear weapon states need to confirm a reduced role for their nuclear weapons in national security policies.”

It concluded with these words: “We are making progress towards realising the vision of a world free from nuclear weapons, albeit neither as fast nor as consistently as we would wish. Yet one thing is for certain – that without a renewed global commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation … the vision will remain little more than that. Australia is ready to join such a renewed commitment.”

Source from the ICAN blog:
http://icanw.blogspot.com/2008/04/australia-acknowledges-possible-need.html

Human Rights Report: West Papuan flag raising ‘political’ detainees and prisoners are tortured and receive inhuman treatment in custody

5 May 2008

The Institute for Papuan Advocacy & Human Rights (IPAHR) has received information detailing the mistreatment of West Papuan political detainees
& prisoners, who are held by the Indonesian police and prison service in Jayapura, Manokwari and Timika.

There are serious concerns for the safety and health of the prisoners. It has been reported that prisoners have been physically abused and tortured while in custody.

These concerns have been relayed to IPAHR by a number of different Church organisations and Human Rights workers in West Papua. This report is collated from Indonesian language reports and by information supplied by Church & Human Rights sources.

Prisoners & detainees, detailed in this report, have been arrested as a result ofinvolvement in flag-raising events or for displaying the symbols of the West Papuan flag, the Morning Star on their clothing.

Cultural symbols, like the Morning Star flag, were previously permitted under the Special Autonomy law, are now banned under Regulation 77 / 2008.

Two leading Human Rights organisations in West Papua have said the detention of nonviolent activists under Law 77 / 2008 is a regressive step for freedom of political expression in West Papua. This ban violates Indonesia’s constitutional commitment to freedom of expression according to these Human Rights advocates.

The Government of Indonesia has ratified the treaties of Civilian and Political Rights and also the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which contradicts the Indonesian law used to make these prosecutions.

Chris Warinussy, a respected Lawyer in Manokwari, reported that police in West Papua have intimidated journalists, who covered the Manokwari
demonstration, which called for reversal of regulation 77 / 2008.

One defendant in Timika who brought a video camera to a protest in December 2007, has been accused of intending to distribute footage of the flag-raising protest to the outside world.

There is real cause for concern about the safety of these groups of West Papuan Political prisoners. IPAHR urges organisations and individuals to contact their own Government and the Indonesian Government and Embassies to raise concerns about the wellbeing of West Papuan political prisoners and to call for their immediate release.

For further information contact:
Paula Makabory, Els-ham in Australia on +61 402547517;
Chris Warinussy, LP3BH Manokwari on +62 81527077564;
Matthew Jamieson, IPAHR in Australia on +61 418291998
Details of recent treatment of detainees & prisoners is outline below:

- Conditions of Detainees in Jayapura and Manokwari arrested during March 08;
- Report by LP3BH on condition of political prisoners in Manokwari;
- Detainees who face life imprisonment over flag-raising in Timika are tortured;
- Beating of Filip Karma in Prison.

1/ Prisoners in Jayapura and Manokwari detained during March 08

The following information is taken from an Indonesian language report of KPKC Synod GKI Papua on condition of detainees in Manokwari and Jayapura. This report is similar to the second report by LP3BH, which forms second part of this document.

There are seven political detainees arrested in March 2008 who were sick. The details of the detainees are shown as follows;

1. Six detainees, imprisoned by Police in Manokwari, Jack Wanggai, Elimelech Obet Kaiwai, George Richard Ayorbaba, Mathinus Luter Koromath, Eddy Ayorbaba and Frans Kareth; &

2. Zakarias Horota (27) who is from the student organisation FNMPP and is imprisoned in Jayapura police station.

Detainees in Manokwari

On Monday 21 April 2008, the Team from LP3BH, Manokwari, was assisted four students detainees who were very ill to go to Police Clinic in Manokwari.

These people were:

1. Yakubus (Jack) Wanggai* who suffered from painful chest and asthma.
2. Elimelech Obet Kaiwai whose suffered from symptoms of heart attack, headache and acid liquid was coming out of his mouth.
3. George Risyard Ayorbaba, who suffered from chest pain and coughing.
4. Marthinus Luter Koromath, who suffered from cough, diarrhoea and chest pain.

*SMS sent on 2 May 2008 said tha Yakubus (Jack) Wanggai sickness is getting worse. Mr Wanggai has reported that his right hand may be broken.

The prisoners are under the responsibility of Dr Andi Mappaodang. They were prescribed the same medication for stomach disorder (Antasit), and their blood pressure record was to be very low. The LP3BH team donated some extra food for the detainees.

It is report that Eddy Ayobaba was taken to hospital on 20 April with positive Malaria. Frans Karet reportedly suffers from sharply painful chest because he has to sleep on the floor without any blankets or matrass.

It is reported that the foods, which have been given to them by the police, in Manokwari, are already off (decomposing) or were not cooked properly, which has made them sick.

The prisoners also report that the General chief commander of police officers, Ipda. Pol. Edy Saputra, always interrogates and terrorizes them during meal times.

Eleven prisoners are currently in detention in Manokwari arrested in March 2008. This group are:

Yakobus Wanggai

Frans Kareth

Markus Solig Umpus

Edy Ayorbaba

Daniel Sakwatorey

Marthinus Luther

Noak AP

George Risyard Ayorbaba

Ariel Werimon

Leonardus Decky Bame

Elimelech Obat Kaiwai

This group is being supported by LP3BH, Manokwari.

Students in Jayapura

Zakarias Horota was reported to be complaining about his breathing and a sharply painful chest. The police officers, took him to the Polices hospital of Bhayangkara on Friday 19 April 2008.

The following day, the SKP Catholic Bishop and KPKC Synod GKI (Protestant Church) recommended Mr Horota to go to the Catholics hospital of Dian Harapan. The report says the results taken at the Catholics Hospital did not support diagnosis of lungs pleurisy or Malaria. Zakarias Horota was still reported to be in painful condition.

On Thursday 24th of April 2008, the KPKC GKI synod visited Mr Horota and others in prison in Jayapura. The conditions in the jail were reported to be very poor and the air ventilation was not good which resulted the detainees suffering from breathing problems. Also it was reported that the prisoners had only been given a main meal twice a day and that there was not enough water sometimes not given any at all. At times the group reported hade no water to drink and were forced to drink dirty water from flash toilet tank. They were also reported to be locked up in a very tiny room, where they had to are take turns sleeping in the night and day time as there was not room for all to lie down.

The detainees had raised this issue to their lawyer, Gustaf Kawer, who taken the matter to the Police headquarters. The police reportedly answered that they have not enough budget from Government so they could not do little to change these conditions.

The following four West Papuans are reported in police custody in Jayapura arrested in March 2008:

Zakarias Horota

Elias Weah

Ester Doloros Tapnesa

Abu Muri

Kontras is providing legal support for this group.

2/ Report by LP3BH on condition of political prisoners in Manokwari

(This translation was posted by TAPOL and is similar to one above produced by GKI)

A report from the LP3BH dated 21 April 2008 lists the dates of questioning of the eleven detainees being held in connection with the events of 3 and 13 March 2008 over a period from 26 March till 9 April.

On 14 April the parents of the detainees were invited by the police to discuss the interrogation process and the preparations underway to hand the cases on to the prosecutors' office and the Manokwari district court.

On Monday 21 April, the defense team accompanied four of the detainees to the police clinic for examination because they were complaining of health problems:

1. Yakobus Wanggai was having breathing problems and his blood pressure was 90/70

2. Elimemech O.K. was having heart palpitations, headache and acidity in the mouth. Blood pressure 70/50

3. George Riayad Ayorbaba had chest pains and a heavy cold.

4. Marthinus Luther was coughing, had chest pains and was suffering from diarrhoea.

Yakobus Wanggai also told the team that on 20 April Eddy Ayorbaba fell ill and was taken to the police clinic. A blood test confirmed that he was suffering from Malaria.

On 22 April, Markus Solik Umpes, the father of one of the detainees who had arrived in Manokwari from Sorong was allowed to meet his son for the first time.

Report signed by: Yan Christian Warinussy and team members were Thresje Juliantty Gaspersz SH, Yohana Matini SH, Semuel H. Yensenem SH

3/ Detainees who facing life imprisonment over flag-raising in Timika are tortured

Six West Papuan non violent protestors face a minimum of twenty years for their alleged part in a flag raising event in Timika, on December 1st 2007.

The Catholic Office for Justice and Peace (SKP) in Timika report that while in detention the six detainees have been tortured. They reportedly have injuries to their chest and head in addition to suspected broken bones caused from being kicked and punched by the police while in custody.

Local human rights defenders advocating for the rights of the six political prisoners have also been harassed and intimidated by the police.

The six prisoners claim that they do not know who raised the flag. They all claim that on the morning of December 1st 2007 they were woken up and asked to gather outside the church.

Mr. Pigai who brought a video camera owned by LEMASA, the Amungme Indigenous Council, to the protest is one of those arrested. Police have accused Mr. Pigai of trying to distribute footage of the protest to the outside world[1].

The SKP report that the accused were part of a group of 35 of nonviolent demonstrators arrested in front of the St Petrus Paulus church last December 2007.

Within a week of the original arrests 29 those who were detained were released.

The trial of the Timika 6 is listed below is reported to have begun. The accused are:

- Jacobus Pigai (male / 35 years old). Occupation: Civil Servant Department of Tourism, Kabupaten Mimika. Mr. Pigai is also the Executive Secreatry of LEMASA – the Amungme Indigenous Council, Timika

- Melki Magai (male / 20 years old )

- Polce Magai (male / 20 years old)

- Sumien Magai (male / 20 something years old)

- Juli Gwijangge (male / 20 something years old)

- Kuniel Nurigi (male / 20 something years old)

At the demonstrations the Morning Star flag was raised as part of peaceful celebrations to mark what most West Papuans consider to be their national day.

SKP and Foker LSM are reported to be supporting the prisoners.

Police in Timika have accused the six of “intentionally wanting to separate from the United Republic of Indonesia”, charging them with rebellion and treason under sections 55, 106 and 107 of the Indonesian Criminal Code.

These controversial sections of law are a legacy of Indonesia’s authoritarian past. Under the rule of former dictator, General Soeharto, these sections prohibiting freedom of expression were used to crackdown on acts of political dissent.

Human Rights Watch has called for the sections on treason to be repelled and for West Papuans arrested for peaceful flag raisings to be released as part of Indonesia’s commitment to restoring democracy and protecting human rights.

Human Rights Watch has said that the arrest and detention of activists in Manokwari and Jayapura has no basis in law and called for the prisoners to be released.

Previously allowed under Special Autonomy and former President Abdurrahman Wahid’s rule as a symbol of Indigenous identity, in recent months Indonesian legislators have passed a new law (Law 77/2007) that bans displays of the Morning Star flag and other symbols deemed associated with "separatism".

4/ Beating of Filip Karma 28 April 2008

Rev Sofian Yoman and others report that Filip Karma has bean beaten in prison. Rev Yoman reports that the incident occurred on 28 April 10.45 pm and Fillip Karma was violently beaten by a prison officer, named Eli Awi in Abepura prison.

Eli Awi, who is a Papuan man was said to be drunk at the time. Rev. Yoman is reported that Eli Awi hit Karma 5 times in head 2 times in body in the incident after repeatedly asking for money for alcohol.

Also note: Alo Runwarin, legal advocate from Els-ham, reports that Filip Karma’s detention conditions allow him to go out of the prison during day but must return to prison at night. Mr Karma does use this provision.

Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage, two nonviolent activists were charged in relation to raising the Morning Star flag in December 2004. Karma and Pakage were sentenced to 15 and 10 years respectively.

Last year Filip Karma is reported to have produced documentation about being mistreated while in custody.

End

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[1] Free access for overseas journalists remain is restricted in West Papua.

UN has torture questions for Rudd

Mark Dodd | May 01, 2008

KEVIN Rudd's apology to the Stolen Generations has been applauded by the UN, but the world body has raised serious concerns about Australia's compliance with its treaty obligations to combat torture.

Questions were raised yesterday by the UN Committee Against Torture in its review of Canberra's compliance with the international conventions on torture, cruelty, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment.

A copy of the committee's review was received by The Australian. Australia is among 145 nations that are signatories to the convention on torture and is obliged to present itself for periodic review by the UN.

Australia was praised for closing down offshore detention centres for asylum-seekers, but the UN wanted to know why the Government was building a new centre on Christmas Island.

"More information was also requested on the so-called super-maximum security prisons," the review said. "This formulation led to concerns that there was a period of isolation of unjudged persons. Also the absence of a definition of torture in Australian law was a gap that needed to be addressed."

To read the full article from The Australian, click on:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23625755-31477,00.html

WEST PAPUA NATIONAL COALITION FOR LIBERATION

Port Moresby, 29 April 2008

The leaders representing 29 West Papuan political and civil society organisations have formalized the establishment of the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation [WPNCL]. This coalition represents the 1.5 million West Papuan people from over 600 tribal communities on the western half of the island of New Guinea. (The landmass of West Papua is an area of 430,000 square kilometers, which is about the same size as France.)

At a meeting held in Port Vila, Vanuatu during April 2008, the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation elected Richard Yoweni of the National Liberation Army of West Papua (TPN PB) as Chairman, Dr. John Otto Ondawame as Vice Chairman and Mr. Rex Rumakiek as the Secretary General.

The Secretariat for the WPNCL will be established at the West Papuan Peoples Representative Office in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

"The establishment of this WPNCL shows the determination of the people of West Papua to take control of the agenda and progress their struggle for self determination and independence in the international arena. This organisation seeks to reclaim and protect the resources, culture and lives of the West Papuan people in the face of Indonesian colonization of our land", said Clemens Runawery spokesperson for the WPNCL.

"Indonesian Government control over West Papua for the past 45 years and the implementation of its so-called 'Special Autonomy' package in the past 5 years has grossly failed the West Papuan people."

Mr Runawery went on to say, "Under Special Autonomy there has been very poor administration leading to the rapid deterioration of health and education of Papuan people, an ever increasing wave of the HIV/AIDS disease and huge profiteering from the exploitation of West Papuan natural resources and rainforests.”

“There is now a disastrous situation where West Papua people are on the brink of becoming a minority in their own land."

"International support for Special Autonomy has been a success for international investors, lincluding BP at the Tangguh gas project & RTZ at the Freeport copper mine. These investments have effectively underwritten the occupation of West Papua by the Indonesian security forces.”

“Indonesian is in a phase of business expansion in West Papua and that means the abuse of human rights of indigenous West Papuans, the restriction of political freedom and tightening military control. The expansion of Indonesian Government backed businesses and economic interests is at the expense of the people of West Papua."

"WPNCL is now seeking Observer Status with the Melanesian Spearhead Group and the Pacific Islands Forum as a platform for the people of West Papua within the United Nations and other international forums."

"The WPNCL will seek to reverse the so-called Act of Free Choice of 1969 and re-inscribe West Papua on UN Decolonization Committee in so that the people of West Papua are given the due process of 'self-determination'."

“The WPNCL will continue to seek internationally mediated negotiation with the Republic of Indonesia as the best way of resolving the ongoing armed conflict promoted by the Indonesian security forces and reversing the disastrous human rights and spiraling health situation of the West Papuan people.”

The Chairman of the West Papuan National Coalition for Liberation, Richard Yoweni, said today, "On behalf of people of West Papua, the WPNCL Secretariat would like to convey publicly our heartfelt thanks to the Government, Political Parties, Chiefs, Churches, NGOs and the people of Vanuatu for their continued support for our struggle for self determination."

For more information please contact:

Clemens Runawery +675 72074704; or

Paula Makabory +61 402547517