Franciscan Action Network and Franciscans International Highlight Human Rights Abuses in West Papua, Indonesia (27 Jun 2008)

Washington DC -- From 19 to 23 May 2008, the Franciscan Action Network (FAN) and Franciscans International (FI) collaborated closely in supporting a joint delegation representing the interests of Catholic and Protestant church groups in West Papua, Indonesia. Representatives of the Office for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Diocese of Jayapura (known by its Indonesian acronym, SKP Jayapura), the Justice and Peace Office of the Evangelical Christian Church of Papua, the Sacred Heart Fathers' Province of Papua (MSC) and the Office for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Archdiocese of Merauke (SKP Merauke) brought their concerns to interested members of Congress, the US Department of State, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and interested NGOs. Members of FI provided expertise in international human rights law, norms and standards, while FAN provided important logistical support, useful introductions to interested groups and hosted an informal breakfast gathering at their new headquarters near Catholic University. The delegation was greeted with interest and enthusiasm by those with whom it met.

Of special concern to the delegation from West Papua was the ongoing and systematic use of torture by the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), Police, and active duty members of the Army stationed there. These groups, credibly accused of human rights violations and crimes against humanity in East Timor, are now generating fear in their own communities. The delegation had traveled from Geneva where the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) condemned the situation in West Papua and, in particular, the command and control position of Col. Bunhanuddin Siagian, a member of the TNI serving with impunity in the provincial capital, Jayapura. Siagian has a 'command and control' position 'with an Interpol "Red Notice" issued for his immediate arrest.  SKP Jayapura, the Synod of the Evangelical Christian Church of Papua, Progressio East Timor, Imparsial and Franciscans International presented a shadow report to the CAT highlighting 242 individual, substantiated cases of torture in West Papua, from 1998-2007, as well as cases of torture in Aceh, Indonesia.

West Papua, forming the easternmost territory of the Republic of Indonesia, which borders on independent Papua New Guinea, is rich in natural resources, including gold, copper, natural gas, timber and fisheries. Though it is the second richest province of Indonesia, according to the United Nations Development Program it is the second poorest in Indonesia. Over two million people live in West Papua, with a slight majority of indigenous Papuans. Indigenous Melanesian Papuans are amongst the poorest and most marginalized people in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. In West Papua, torture, arbitrary detention and impunity are rife. The Franciscan Friars and SKP Jayapura, with Protestant and other Catholic partners, are on the forefront of standing up for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Papuan people, as part of the "Papua: Land of Peace" initiative, together with Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist religious leaders. Thus, the struggle for social justice in West Papua is Franciscan, ecumenical and inter-religious.

FAN and FI respond to the longstanding invitation to work with SKP Jayapura, staffed and supported by the OFM Custody of St Francis, which has been ministering to Papuans without respite since 1937. Since 2001, FI has been working with SKP Jayapura on advocacy at the United Nations -- work which is need of increased, necessary contacts with US-based decision makers.

This was the first collaborative effort between FAN and FI. At present, FAN's growing social justice advocacy represents forty-one member organizations in Washington, DC. The non-profit organization's (NPO) mission is primarily directed at the national level. FI, a non-governmental organization (NGO) advocates on behalf of the poor and most vulnerable at the United Nations and the international level.