THERE is a renewed Church call for the Australian Government to pressure Indonesia to allow a United Nations human rights mission to West Papua.
The call comes from Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, seven years after the killing by Indonesian soldiers of four teenage boys in the Paniai district of the West Papua highlands
The Commission’s executive officer, Peter Arndt, said Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo agreed to a UN request from a human rights mission in February 2018 , but it was yet to happen.
“The UN mission needs to go ahead without further delay,” Mr Arndt, who has carried out his own fact finding missions to West Papua, said.
“The Australian Government has expressed its support for the UN mission both in correspondence to our Commission and in answers to questions at recent estimates hearings in the Senate.
“We hope the prime minister and the foreign minister will continue to pressure the Indonesian Government so that an independent investigation into the Paniai massacre and many other human rights violations in West Papua can happen.”
The human rights advocacy group TAPOL says that on December 8, 2014 members of the Indonesian military from Special Battalion 753 Team shot live rounds into a crowd, killing four teenagers and wounding 17 others.
According to UK-based TAPOL, people from the village of Eneratoli, Paniai Regency, Papua Province, were gathered together on a football field to protest against an incident from the previous night, where members of Special Battalion 753 had beaten and tortured 14-year-old Yulianus Yeimo and several of his friends.
“On the night of 7 December 2014, Yulianus Yeimo and three of his friends in Ipakiye Village openly criticised a military officer for driving his motorcycle through the village in the dark of night, without the using his headlights,” TAPOL said.
“The officer then went and gathered other military members and returned to the location to violently beat the youth.”
Mr Arndt has met with the families of the boys killed in Paniai during fact finding missions to West Papua.
He says the families “have waited far too long for justice”.
“Many other victims’ families and survivors have waited too long for justice too,” Mr Arndt said.
During 2021, Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has engaged with MPs and Senators to maintain Australian support for the UN mission and to build pressure on the Indonesian Government.
“We are encouraged to see good support for action on West Papua among MPs and Senators from the Government, the Opposition and from the cross benches,” Mr. Arndt said.
“A number of questions on West Papua were asked at Senate Estimates hearings this year.
“A motion on West Papua was also put on the House of Representatives notice paper by Government MP, George Christensen, and Tasmanian Independent MP, Andrew Wilkie in November and we hope this will be debated in the House when it returns in February 2022.
“Our Commission continues to keep in touch with Catholic priests and leaders from other churches in West Papua and also with victims’ families.
“They have waited far too long for justice and we will continue to offer them our support and solidarity.”
