https://themilitant.com/2019/10/05/thousands-protest-against-racist-abuse-in-west-papua/
Thousands protest against racist abuse in West Papua
??By Patrick Brown
Vol. 83/No. 37
October 14, 2019
AP Photo/Safwan Ashari Raharusun
Led by a banner reading, ???Stop intimidation and racism towards
indigenous Papuans,??? march in Manokwari, West Papua, Aug. 19 protested
Indonesian government repression. Many Papuans call for government in
Jakarta to allow a referendum on independence for West Papua.
AUCKLAND, New Zealand ??? Demonstrations of thousands in Jayapura,
Manokwari and elsewhere across the West Papua region ??? the
Indonesian-ruled half of the resource-rich island of New Guinea ??? broke
out in mid-August against racist abuses faced by indigenous Papuans.
Despite stepped-up military and police repression the protests are
continuing, leading to the renewal of the nationalist movement. Many
Papuans are demanding the government in Jakarta allow a referendum on
independence for West Papua.
News of attacks on Papuan students in cities in Java on Aug. 17,
Indonesia???s independence day, sparked the protests. According to the
U.K.-based Free West Papua Campaign, ???military officers??? in Surabaya
taunted Papuan students as ???monkeys??? and accused them of desecrating the
Indonesian flag. Tear gas was used in an attack on student dormitories.
The indigenous people of West Papua face systematic military repression,
slurs and attacks. West Papua, the last colonial outpost in the Dutch
East Indies, was incorporated into Indonesia in 1963. Indonesia itself
gained independence from Dutch colonial rule after World War II.
Capitalists, both from Indonesia and overseas, profit mightily from
mining and forestry in West Papua.
Less than half the population has access to electricity. Over a quarter
of West Papuans live below the poverty line, more than twice the
official national average.
Days after the attacks in Java, angry crowds took to the streets across
West Papua, home to 3.6 million people, as well as in the Indonesian
capital of Jakarta in central Java. Thousands rallied in highland villages.
An Aug. 29 mass march in Jayapura highlighted a second wave of protests.
With more than 250,000 people, Jayapura, capital of Papua province, is
the largest city in the West Papua region.
Solidarity in the region
Marches in solidarity with the West Papuan people were held early in
September in Papua New Guinea and in Vanuatu, both predominantly
Melanesian Pacific island countries.
As part of rallies across Australia, several dozen people gathered in
Kingsford, Sydney, an area with a substantial Indonesian population,
Sept. 7, to condemn violence against the protests in West Papua.
Bridget Harilaou, of the Anti-Colonial Asian Alliance, who is of
Indonesian-Australian descent, said it was ???important to show there are
Indonesians who support independence and freedom for West Papua and who
condemn the violence from the Indonesian government.???
Annalucia Vermunt, Communist League candidate for Auckland mayor, told
the Militant Sept. 29, ???Working people around the world, and especially
in New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific should support the West
Papuan people???s nationalist aspirations against Indonesian military
repression. We have a common enemy in the imperialist rulers in Canberra
and Wellington who have backed Jakarta???s decadeslong occupation.???
National repression continues
Weeks after the Java attack, police shot and killed demonstrators in
Jayapura, Wamena, as well as Fakfak and Deiyai. Jakarta has sent in
thousands of soldiers and police to reinforce tens of thousands of
security forces already stationed there.
Michael, who is originally from West Papua, told the Militant in
Auckland Sept. 29, ???There are military and police bases in Jayapura??? and
the West Papua provincial capital of Manokwari. He declined to use his
real name for fear of government victimization. The Indonesian
government takes a ???military approach??? to the Papuan indigenous people,
he said, ???but that won???t solve the problem.???
Tens of thousands of people in the mountains, Al Jazeera reports, have
been ???forced from their homes as security forces attempt to flush out???
armed pro-independence groups.
Alleged ???ringleaders??? of the protests have been arrested by Indonesian
police, including Buchtar Tabuni, a leader of the United Liberation
Movement for West Papua, and Surya Anta, spokesperson for the Indonesian
People???s Front for West Papua. Jakarta has moved to cut off news from
the region, imposing limitations on internet access.
Fearing violence by cops and armed pro-military militia, hundreds of
students have returned to West Papua from cities across Indonesia.
???Papuans want a final decision for their political right for
self-determination,??? Yason Ngelia, chairman of the Student Movement at
Jayapura???s Cenderawasih University, told Radio New Zealand in early
September. ???We are flying the Morning Star??? flag of independence, he
said. This is an act of defiance punishable by imprisonment under
Indonesian law.
??Felicity Coggan in Sydney, Australia, contributed to this article.
In This Issue
Front Page Articles ???Step up solidarity with UAW strikers at GM!
???Impeachment hysteria targets working class, political rights
???Blackjewel miners end protest camp, fight goes on
???Dallas cop who killed Botham Jean is found guilty of murder
???SWP: Building solidarity helps boost working class struggle
???Declining trade, growing rivalries heighten crisis of imperialist ???order???
Feature Articles ???Drive to expand reach of ???Militant,??? revolutionary books
Also In This Issue ???Thousands protest against racist abuse in West Papua
???UK rulers move to stop ???Brexit??? as Johnson seeks US trade bloc
???Climate change panic fuels Dutch gov???t attack on farmers
???Oberlin College keeps up drive to crush the Gibsons
Editorials ???Working people need their own party
On the Picket Line ???Calif. sheet metal workers walk out over low pay,
health care
???Steelworkers in British Columbia strike Western Forest Products
???Quebec Steelworkers on strike at Galvano plant win solidarity
???Unionized university workers in Quebec strike for higher wages
???British Columbia aerospace workers fight Avcorp lockout
Books of the Month ???Castro: Coup opened door to US invasion of Grenada
25, 50 and 75 years ago
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York, NY 10018?? -?? themilitant@xxxxxxx
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Albert Einstein
???Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth.???
??? Albert Einstein