West Papua National Coalition for Liberation

Meningkatkan Ketahanan Nasional Dalam Rrangka Mewujudkan Keutuhan NKRI

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Sat, 11 Feb 2023 22:16:00 +0900

Oleh: HERMAN ASARIBAB, KOLONEL INF NRR 32262

West Papua National Coalition For Liberation ( WPNCL) yang dipimpin oleh Andy Ayemiseba, untuk memasukan Papua sebagai bagian dari MSG (Melanesia Spearhead Group) beberapa waktu lalu ditolak, WPNCL kembali bergerilya untuk mendapatkan “tiket” masuk ke dalam MSG. “Tiket” ini dianggap penting karena dengan diterimanya Papua Barat dalam MSG, secara otomatis Papua Barat akan diakui oleh lembaga MSG, lembaga yang diakui oleh PBB. Beberapa anggota negara penting

MSG, Papua New Guinena, Fiji, Kepulauan Solomon dan Australia menolak aplikasi WPNCL tersebut karena menghormati kedaulatan negara Indonesia, memberikan “tiket” tersebut kepada WPNCL berarti melecehkan Indonesia sebagai negara yang berdaulat. Selain itu, penolakan terhadap aplikasi WPNCL tersebut gagal karena negara-negara MSG menganggap WPNCL bukan organisasi representatif masyarakat Papua.

“Gangguan” terhadap kedaulatan Indonesia di wilayah Pasifik Selatan tersebut seakan membangunkan pemerintah Indonesia. Pemerintah Indonesia selama ini terlalu fokus untuk membangun hubungan dengan negara-negara tetangga di kawasan barat dan utara Indonesia, yaitu negara-negara ASEAN dan China. Pemerintah lupa bahwa Indonesia mempunyai tetangga di wilayah timur dan selatan juga, yaitu negara-negara ras Malenesia di Pasifik Selatan, kewajiban membangun hubungan baik dengan negara-negara tetangga di timur-selatan Indonesia menjadi sangat penting. Kebijakan Presiden SBY untuk datang ke Fiji untuk menghadiri Konferensi Tingkat Tinggi (KTT) ke-2 The Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) menjadi satu tonggak penting, karena mengawali kebijakan politik yang disebut sebagai “Look East Policy”, dengan adanya kebijakan ini hubungan antara Indonesai dengan tetangga timur-selatannya akan memasuki babak baru yang akan lebih baik.

Berbeda dengan negara-negara anggota MSG lainnya, Vanuatu tetap bersikeras mendukung lolosnya aplikasi WPNCL tersebut. Beberapa hari lalu, pemerintahan Vanuatu melalui Pastur Alain Nafuki, anggota Dewan Gereja Vanuatu, akan memfasilitasi 3 faksi OPM yaitu WNPCL, NRFPB (Negara R epublik Federal Papua Barat) dan KNPB (Komite Nasional Papua Barat, yang diklaim juga mewakili FWPC (Free West Papua Campaign) untuk membuat satu organisasi baru yang akan mewakili seluruh rakyat Papua.

Sumber; ib.lemhannas.go.id

Negara perlu selidiki sebab utama kematian Filep Karma

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Sat, 12 Nov 2022 19:06:00 +0900

Filep Karma diusung massa. Foto; Ist

Menanggapi kematian mantan tahanan hati nurani, Filep Karma, yang ditemukan tak bernyawa di Pantai Base G, Direktur Eksekutif Amnesty International Indonesia Usman Hamid mengatakan:

“Hari ini kami berkabung atas berpulangnya tokoh pembela HAM Papua yang selama ini dikenal gigih menyuarakan keadilan dan kedamaian di Papua. Kami menyampaikan duka cita yang mendalam kepada keluarga.”

“Perjuangan almarhum telah menginspirasi banyak orang, termasuk kaum muda, untuk jujur dan berani menyuarakan kebenaran. Ia pun tak gentar menghadapi ancaman. Kami sungguh kehilangan.”

“Atas ditemukannya jenazah almarhum di Pantai Base G, Jayapura, hari ini, kami mendesak jajaran lembaga penegak hukum dan hak asasi manusia, untuk menyelidiki sebab musabab kematian almarhum.”

“Penyelidikan ini penting untuk menjawab ada tidaknya indikasi tindak pidana atau pelanggaran HAM di balik kematian almarhum, karena banyak aktivis yang vokal di Papua menjadi sasaran kekerasan. Terlebih mengingat sepak terjang almarhum sebagai tokoh panutan dalam membela hak asasi orang asli Papua.”

Latar belakang

Pada hari Selasa, 1 November 2022, Filep Karma ditemukan tak bernyawa di Pantai Base G, Jayapura. Jenazahnya ditemukan dengan pakaian selam yang terkoyak terutama di beberapa bagian seperti paha dan kaki. Jenazahnya kemudian dibawa ke RS Bhayangkara, Jayapura.

Menurut informasi kredibel yang diterima Amnesty, menyelam adalah aktivitas rutin Filep selama beberapa waktu belakangan. Namun demikian, mengingat kondisi jenazah Filep yang cukup mengenaskan, Amnesty menilai perlu ada penyelidikan untuk mengetahui sebab musabab persis dari kematiannya.

Filep tercatat pernah menyandang status prisoners of conscience atau tahanan hati nurani dari Amnesty International yang bermarkas di London, Kerajaan Inggris. Status itu disandangnya usai dirinya ditahan dan divonis 15 tahun penjara karena berpartisipasi dalam kegiatan damai berupa upacara pengibaran bendera Bintang Kejora pada tanggal 1 Desember 2004. Pada November 2015, ia menghirup udara bebas setelah menghabiskan lebih dari satu dekade di balik jeruji karena ekspresi damai politiknya. Selama di penjara, Filep pernah mengalami penyiksaan dan perlakuan tidak manusiawi lainnya yang merendahkan martabat, termasuk tidak diberi akses medis yang layak.

Sebagian besar masa hidupnya, Filep menjadi seorang pegawai negeri sipil, mengikuti jejak ayahnya yang merupakan mantan Bupati Wamena, Andreas Karma. Filep aktif mengekspresikan pandangan politiknya secara damai.

Alasan Amnesty meminta adanya penyelidikan merujuk pada investigasi atas potensi kematian di luar hukum Kantor Komisaris Tinggi PBB untuk Hak Asasi Manusia tahun 2016 (Protokol Minnesota). Protokol ini menyebut bahwa pada kondisi kematian individu ataupun kelompok dalam sebuah kejadian, keluarga seharusnya dilibatkan dan diinformasikan dengan baik mengenai proses identifikasi. Dalam banyak kasus, hal ini tak hanya ditujukan untuk keperluan identifikasi, namun juga meningkatkan kemungkinan bahwa keluarga akan menerima proses tersebut, yang merupakan bagian penting dari akuntabilitas proses investigasi potensi kematian di luar hukum.

Sumber; https://www.amnesty.id

Ebook Andy Ayamiseba

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Tue, 1 Dec 2020 17:50:00 +0900

Untuk mendownload buku ini, silahakan klik gambar

Download Ebook

Peluncuran Biography Andy Ayamiseba

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 23:45:00 +0900

Peluncuran Biography Andy Ayamiseba Kami mengundang anda sekalian untuk mengikuti peluncuran biography almarhum Andy Ayamiseba yang ditulis oleh: Manggupre Saba dan dipublikasikan oleh Koalisi National bagi Pembebasan Papua Barat (WPNCL). Anda bisa bergabung dengan kami untuk mengikuti/mendengarkan pembicaraan yang akan disampaikan oleh beberapa teman terdekat dan rekan2 seperjuangan beliau memperjuangkan Kemerdekaan bagi bangsa Papua. Acara ini akan berlangsung bertepaan dengan Peringatan 1 Desember 2020.

Buku dapat di download setelah peluncuran.

Andy Ayamiseba: Idealisme, Dedikasi dan Konsistesi

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 22:43:00 +0900

Ringkasan

Buku Andy Ayamiseba; Idealisme, Dedikasi dan Konsistesi terbagi dalam enam bagian yang berisi fakta dari data dan informasi yang di himpun dari personil, keluarga dan teman-teman Andy Ayamiseba dan personil Black Brothers serta media yang memuat berita tentang kiprah Andy Ayamiseba bersama Black Brothers selama di Indonesia, Belanda dan Pasifik, dihimpun dari berbagai media yang terbit antara tahun 1960-2019.

Bagian I; Andy Dari Saoka Ke Hollandia

Kisah masa kecil Andy yang memiliki nama lengkap Andreas Wilhelmus Ayamiseba lahir kembar dengan Poppy Ayamiseba yang akrab di panggil Telly di Sorido, Biak pada 21 Apil 1947.

Andy menyelesaikan sekolah dasarnya di JVVS Saoka, Sorong. Setelah tamat SD ia melanjutkan ke PMS ZNHK di Fanindi, Manokwari 1961. Usai tamat SMP, Andy melanjutkan pendidikannya di HBS Jayapura tahun 1963—kini dikenal dengan nama SMA Gabungan. Setamat SMA Andy tidak melanjutkan sekolah (kuliah), namun memulai usaha yang dikerjakan secara profesional.

Andy berhasil mendirikan perusahaan PT. Bintuni Baru yang bergerak di bidang konstruksi dan perdagangan (Import/Export) ke luar negeri, Land/Property Development Irjaco Real Estate dan Travel Bureau Triton. dan tetap bermusik.

Selepas grup band sekolah Highscool Devils Andy bergabung dengan grup Muda Ria (1964) personilnya terdiri dari Andy Ayamiseba (gitar), Richard Waiseng (lead guitar), John Tamnge (bass), Kees Renyaan yang akrab dipanggil Texy menabuh drum dan “Honda” Marcel Siante teman sekolah Andy yang berasal dari Merauke sebagai vokalis.

Diakhir tahun 60-an Andy bergabung dengan The Varunas Band, didirikan oleh Angkatan Laut (Daeral X), Varunas berlatih di jalan Nirwana Angkasa, kediaman Indra Kusnadi (Panglima Daeral X) yang juga gemar musik.

Tahun 1969, Andy berjumpa dengan isterinya yang pertama, Mariana Lilo, yang berasal dari Kupang, Nusa Tenggara Timur. Mariana dan keluarganya pindah ke Jayapura karena Daud Lilo, (ayah Mariana) adalah seorang anggota Brimob, dipindahkan dari Kupang dan ditugaskan di Sukarnapura (Jayapura). Andy dan Mariana menikah pada tanggal 4 Juli 1970 di Kupang.

Situasi politik di Papua yang tidak stabil membuat Andy “memindahkan” sebagian keluarganya (termasuk Wellem Ayamieba yang saat itu masih kelas enam SD) ke Jakarta tahun 1973. Andy bisa pulang pergi ke Jakarta untuk melihat keluarganya dan mengurus bisnisnya, usia yang tergolong muda untuk bertarung di Ibu Kota Indonesia. Tahun 1974 Andy bersama keluarga pindah ke Jakarta, namun Andy sendiri balik lagi ke Papua dan mengumpulkan sejumlah anak muda Papua untuk berlatih band di garasi rumahnya di jalan Lembah II No. 8 Angkasa Indah, Jayapura. Grup band PdK terbentuk, berganti nama menjadi Los Iriantos Primitive dan bermetamorfosa menjadi Black Brothers. Selain berlatih musik, ada juga anak muda yang berlatih tarian tradisional Papua.

Los Iriantos Primitive pada bulan April 1976, resmi berganti nama menjadi Black Brothers dengan dua tambahan personil, Amry Muradji Kahar (Amry Tass) dari Sorong dan Abdullah Junus yang di kenal dengan nama David Rumagesang, kala itu David sedang kuliah di ISI Yogyakarta tahun 1973, setelah tamat SMA di Sorong.

Bagian II; Andy dan Black Brothers Bertarung di Jakarta

Black Brothers dikontrak untuk bermain di Ankerage Pub, sebuah bar merangkap rumah makan Eropa di lantai bawah Presiden Teater—ex Bioskop Presiden di Taman Ria Monas.

Black Brothers dan keluarga tinggal di rumah lantai tiga, Jendral Nisam Sahman, perwira militer angkatan laut aktif di jalan Kartanegara, Jakarta Selatan.

Black Brothers mulai dikenal lewat penampilan perdana di Taman Ria IRTI (Ikatan Restoran dan Taman Informasi), Monas, Jakarta. Penampilan yang menawan dan mendapat sambutan meriah oleh pihak manajemen Taman Ria.

Duel meet SAS vs Black Bros, 28 Desember 1976 dimulai pukul 20.00 WIB, Black Brothers tampil dengan kostum (cidako) tradisionil Irian, dengan lagu “Huambello” sebagai pembuka, pada sesi pertama setelah “Huembello”, BB menyajikan lagu-lagu Osibisa, Santana, KC and The Sunshine Band dan “Apuse” serta diiringi serombongan penari berbusana tradisional Papua. Sambutan pun meledak tanda suka cita penonton.

Meet kedua antara SAS dan Black Brothers, dalam acara penutupan festival musik rock 5-6 Agustus 1977 se Jawa Barat di Bandung.

Aktuil menjadi promotor yang mempertemukan Freedom, Farid & Bani Adam dan Black Brothers satu panggung di GOR Saparua, 30 Januari 1977. GOR Saparua sudah penuh sesak dipadati penonton yang ingin menyaksikan dual meet tiga band sekaligus antara Black Brothers, Freedom serta Farid & Bani Adam.

Menembus Pentas Musik Nasional

Black Brothers akhirnya berhasil menembus pentas musik Indonesia dan menjadi salah satu grup band dengan bayaran termahal, mendapat sponsor untuk show pada berbagai kota di Indonesia, dan tiap show selalu dipadati ribuan penonton.

Black Brothers Masuk Studio Rekaman

Hartono Hendra (Nyoo Ben Seng) suatu saat menonton Black Brothers tampil di Ankerage Pub, ia tertarik dan mengundang Andy Ayamiseba ke kantornya. Andy meyakinkan Hartono bahwa Black Brothers dapat memainkan lagu-lagu pop Indonesia dengan warna musik tradisional Papua. Hartono Hendra merespons dengan antusias, BB masuk dapur rekaman album pertama di bulan Juli 1976.

Melihat pemusik Papua yang banyak saat itu, Andy Ayamiseba kemudian mendirikan grup Black Papas dan Coconuts Band.

Black Brothers Grup yang Komplit

Andy Ayamiseba mengatakan bahwa Black Brothers merupakan grup yang komplit, dengan Agus Rumwaropen Si Jari Emas karena kemahirannya memainkan melody gitar dan dijuluki “George Benson” Yochie Pattipeiluhu memegang keyboard Si Pena Emas karena kemampunnya sebagai seorang pencipta lagu dan komponis, Benny Bettay memainkan Bass dan Stevi Mambor penabuh drum juga vokalis sebagai tulang punggung rytehm, Amri Kahar peniup terompet dan David Rumagesang peniup saksofon mempermanis rytehm dan Hengky Mirontoneng Sumanti sebagai vokalis utama yang bersuara emas.

Andy menjelaskan keberhasilan Black Brothers, pertama adalah tim menejemen, termasuk manager dan produsernya yang menangani hal-hal komersil, dan produktivitas dari group. Kedua yang tidak kalah pentingnya adalah penulis [penyair] berbobot dan mampu menulis syair-syair tentang realita kehidupan sehari-hari. Ketiga adalah masalah tampilan yaitu harmonisasi antara aransemen musik dan vocal utama serta backing vokal. Gabungan ketiga unsur ini yang membuat Black Brothers berhasil mencapai puncak kesuksesan. Selaku manager, produser Andy menyatakan bahwa yang membuat Black Brothers tersohor adalah syairnya yang berbobot dan dikenang sepanjang masa.

Bagi Andy Ayamiseba, mengurus menejemen sebuah band lebih sulit dari mengurus satu peleton tentara, karena kedisplinan yang berbeda. Namun demikian kru Black Brothers yang pada saat itu berumur sekitar dua puluh tahunan, mampu menunjukan bahwa mereka memiliki visi dan misi yang mengikat persaudaraan mereka secara erat, demi kesuksesan sebagai seniman. Andy memuji ketekunan mereka walaupun menejemen yang ia terapkan sedikit bersifat “bertangan besi”.

Peran Andy dan Black Brothers Dalam Perjuangan Papua

Grup musik akustik Mambesak dan Black Brothers telah berperan membangun identitas dan persatuan masyarakat Papua. Dua grup Mambesak dan Black Brothers memberikan sebuah pendidikan, pemahaman tentang kebersamaan, keragaman dalam kemajamukan masyarakat di Papua, yang dapat di kelola menjadi sebuah kekuatan yang dasyat.

Pertama; aspek perlawanan budaya yang telah dilakukan kelompk Mambesak, kedua; lobby untuk dukungan internasional. Beberapa hal positif yang muncul dari program-program tersebut adalah tumbuhnya identitas ke-Papua-an. Black Brothers di bawah kepemimpinan Andy Ayamiseba telah mempromosikan budaya dan identitas Papua Barat hingga ke wilayah Melanesia.

Kedua; kelompok ini telah menciptakan revolusi musik di Papua Barat dan seluruh wilayah Melanesia. Andy menyatakan bahwa bandnya selalu siap untuk menjalankan tugas apapun yang dibebankan OPM selama itu adalah rencana yang realistis dengan tujuan yang jelas dan dapat dicapai.

Undangan show Air Niugini dipakai sebagai momen untuk membawa keluar Dirk Ayamiseba, beserta seluruh anggota grup band Black Brothers dan keluarga mereka dari Indonesia. Sedangkan E.J. Bonay [mantan Gubernur Papua] dikeluarkan melalui perbatasan dan ditampung oleh Pemerintah PNG di Camp Wabo, Provinsi Gulf.

Rekaman pertama BB di Port Moresby, dilakukan di Studio Radio Nasional PNG (National Broadcasting Corporation/NBC), di Waigani, Port Moresby. Dibantu oleh NBC, BB merekam dua album untuk Raymond Chin yang belum memiliki studio rekaman saat itu. Selama di PNG, Pasifik, Black Brothers berasil merekam 31 album dan 3 album kompilasi.

Di Hubert Murray Stadium, Konedobu, Andy mengumumkan kepada masyarakat dan pemerintah PNG, bahwa Group Black Brothers dan musiknya hadir untuk mendukung perjuangan OPM dalam membebaskan bangsa dan rakyat Papua Barat dari penjajahan Indonesia.

Pernyataan Andy memicu reaksi protes Kedutaan Besar Republik Indonesia di Waigani (Port Moresby). Pangu Party pimpinan Sir Michael Thomas Somare, yang memimpin pemerintahan koalisi pada 1979, didesak agar segera mendeportasi Andy Ayamiseba dan kelompok Black Brothers ke Jakarta, untuk diadili atas keterlibatan mereka dengan OPM.

Tahun 1980, Black Brothers tiba dan bermukim di Belanda sebagai pencari suaka politik. Mereka bermukim di Belanda selama empat tahun dengan tingkat kehidupan yang lumayan baik, tapi Andy selalu ingat tugas kedua dari Markas Victoria yaitu mensukseskan Proyek Padaido, dan membangun basis internasional menggantikan basis di Senegal.

Pada akhir tahun 1983, setelah kembali ke Belanda dari tour di Caledonia dan Vanuatu, Andy mengadakan rapat khusus dengan anggota-anggota Black Brothers, Andy mengemukakan rencana untuk pindah ke Vanuatu dan membangun basis perjuangan yang kokoh bagi OPM di Kawasan Pasifik— untuk pertama kali dalam rapat Black Brothers Andy membuka rahasia tugas dari Brigjen Rumkorem, mengenai Proyek “P.”

Bagian III; Perpecahan dan Upaya Rekonsiliasi Gerakan Perjuangan

Pada pertengahan dekade 1960-an, isu Penentuan Pendapat Rakyat (PEPERA) di tahun 1969 merupakan masalah yang hangat dibicarakan secara rahasia oleh setiap anak bangsa Papua Barat. Pertemuan-pertemuan rahasia pun dilaksanakan terutama di kalangan mahasiswa, pemuda dan para politisi jaman pemerintah Belanda. Mereka membahas isi Perjanjian New York (New York Agreement) terutama tentang mekanisme “One Man One Vote”.

Menjelang tahun 1969, Andy Ayamiseba mulai menjalin komunikasi rahasia dengan sejumlah tokoh-tokoh Organisasi Papua Merdeka diantaranya; Moses Weror, Clemens Runawery, Willem Zonggonau, Herman Wayoi, Penehas Torey, Stefen Nafuni, August Kafiar, dan juga Arnold Ap, yang saat itu sedang merencanakan aksi protes pada 11 April 1969.

Bulan April 1969, Andy Ayamiseba ditangkap karena keterlibatannya sebagai koordinator logistik [transportasi] atas aksi demontrasi 11 April 1969 yang menuntut PEPERA harus dilakukan berdasarkan prinsip “Satu Orang Satu Suara” sesuai Perjanjian New York.

Pendemo yang ditangkap dan ditahan, dipenjarakan oleh Laksusda Kodam 17 Cenderawasih. Ketika Andy dipenjarakan, Donald anak laki-lakinya yang sulung masih berusia tiga bulan. Setelah keluar dari penjara Andy fokus membangun bisnis dan tetap bermain musik.

Andy dipercayakan sebagai anggota kabinet yang membidangi perekonomian nasional. Tugas khusus yang diberikan oleh Rumkorem pada waktu itu adalah membawa keluar kedua tokoh Pemimpin Papua, yakni Dirk Ajamiseba (mantan Ketua DPRD-GR Propinsi Irian Barat), dan Eliezer Jan Bonay (mantan Gubernur pertama Propinsi Irian Barat) dari wilayah Indonesia. Upaya ini kemudian dikenal dengan nama ‘Padaido Project’—rute “evakuasi” kedua tokoh tersebut adalah melalui Pulau Manus menuju Vanuatu dan seterusnya ke Belanda.

Perpecahan di Papua tak lepas dari pecahnya kepemimpinan gerakan perjuangan Papua di Belanda. Menurut Kaisiepo, Nicolaas Jouwe telah keluar dari organisasi payung gerakan pembebasan Papua di Belanda. Jouwe tidak menerima dan mengakui pemerintahan revolusioner Seth Rumkorem sebagai satu-satunya organisasi perlawanan.

Upaya Rekonsiliasi OPM di Luar Negeri

Perpecahan yang terjadi dalam OPM membuat negara-negara Melanesia berupaya membantu proses rekonsiliasi dalam tubuh perjuangan pembebasan Papua Barat. PNG di bawah pemerintahan Somare, mengundang Jacob H. Prai dan Otto Ondawame perwakilan dari faksi Pembela Keadilan (PEMKA), serta Seth Rumkorem dan Daan Kafiar perwakilan dari Markas Victoria (Marvic), untuk duduk membahas rekonsiliasi gerakan perjuangan di Port Moresby pada 14 -17 April 1978. Undangan PNG tidak ditanggapi oleh kedua faksi OPM, sehingga perpecahan terus berlanjut. Sementara itu pejabat pemerintah Papua Nugini tetap menyerukan agar persatuan dan rekonsiliasi nasional OPM harus dilakukan.Upaya rekonsiliasi bagi OPM terus dilakukan Walter Lini di Vanuatu, tujuannya agar meyakinkan pemerintah Vanuatu dan komunitas dunia tentang keseriusan Papua untuk bersatu. Para pemimpin OPM dari dua faksi utama ―Prai dari PEMKA dan Rumkorem dari Victoria, ditekan untuk menandatangani empat poin Deklarasi Port Vila tanggal 11 Juli 1985, di bawah pengawasan pemerintah Lini. Penandatanganan deklarasi ini dihadiri juga oleh Rex Rumakiek dan Andy Ayamiseba sebagai saksi.

Upaya Rekonsiliasi OPM di Dalam Negeri

Para pemimpin gerilya dalam negeri [Papua] turut mengeluarkan pernyataan tentang persatuan nasional, surat-surat tersebut antara lain dikirim oleh Fisor Yarisetouw dari PEMKA dan Marthin Prawar dari MARVIC pada 8 November 1984.

Sebuah memorandum kesepahaman dan kerja sama ditandatangani antara Mathias Wenda dari PEMKA dan Marthin Prawar dari Victoria pada 1 Agustus 1991, memorandum tersebut ditujukan untuk mengembangkan rencana persatuan nasional. Para pemimpin gerilya menyerukan persatuan nasional dan rekonsiliasi di antara para pemimpin OPM di luar negeri. Tanpa persatuan nasional, OPM tidak akan mencapai tujuannya.

Komando wilayah Selatan mencapai kesepakatan untuk mengakhiri satu tahun konflik internal yang ditandai dengan penandatanganan pernyataan kerja sama antara Bernard Mawen dan John Koknak, pada 25 Februari 1995 yang disaksikan oleh perwakilan organisasi dari dalam dan luar negeri.

Sebuah Organisasi Siswa Papua turut menyerukan penghapusan sukuisme, egoisme dan semua perbedaaan, dan membentuk front persatuan nasional. Seruan tersebut dikeluarkan tanggal 9 Februari 1996.

Dampak Kegagalan Rekonsiliasi

Segala upaya intervensi eksternal dan internal dalam proses rekonsiliasi nasional, menunjukkan bahwa semua faksi-faksi dalam OPM telah gagal mencapai persatuan. Kegagalan itu menyebabkan pemerintah negara-negara Melanesia terus mendorong terwujudnya persatuan gerakan pembebasan perjuangan Papua.

Konflik internal yang terjadi dalam perjuangan pembebasan Papua [OPM] menyebabkan hilangnya dukungan internasional, antara lain batalnya kerjasama dengan Uni Soviet, Cuba dan sejumlah negara Afrika yang telah menyatakan dukungan dan menawarkan kerja sama bagi pembebasan Papua; termasuk bantuan yang akan diberikan oleh Presiden Libya, Muammar Khadafi dan pemimpin PLO, Yasser Arafat.

Australia dan Selandia Baru melakukan pertemuan khusus, dan membahas keterlibatan Libya di wilayah Pasifik, Menteri Luar Negeri Australia, Bill Hayden dan Perdana Menteri Selandia Baru, David Lange, mengadakan pertemuan puncak tentang kegiatan Libya di Pasifik.

Bagian IV; Andy Ayamiseba di Kancah politik Vanuatu

OPM pada tahun 1970 menempatkan Rex Rumakiek sebagai perwakilannya dan telah membangun hubungan dekat dengan para pemimpin New Hebrides—salah satu partai nasional, yang kemudian pada tahun 1979 berganti nama menjadi Vanua’aku Pati (Party) di Vanuatu. Surat penetapan Rex Rumakiek sebagai perwakilan tetap OPM di Vanuatu dikeluarkan oleh Komite Nasional OPM No. 007/P.KN/83. Pos Vanuatu kemudian dilanjutkan oleh Andy Ayamiseba.

Black Brothers mengadakan tur yang pertama ke Vanuatu pada tahun 1983, Black Brothers membangkitkan kembali rencana semula antara OPM dan Vanua’aku Pati, agar Black Brothers harus menetap di Vanuatu guna memperkuat dukungan politik terhadap West Papua. Waktu itu ada indikasi bahwa hanya Vanua’aku Pati saja yang mendukung perjuangan West Papua.

Andy meyakinkan Walter Lini dan Vanua’aku Pati tentang dukungan Black Brothers terhadap kampanye politiknya, sehingga memuluskan jalan baginya untuk maju dalam pemilihan umum di Vanuatu. Black Brothers ke Vanuatu atas undangan resmi Father Walter Lini dan Vanua’aku Pati tahun 1983 [partai yang berkuasa saat itu] untuk membantu menggalang dana kampanye politik, guna memenangkan pemilu pertama di negara Vanuatu. Setelah Vanua’aku Pati kembali memenangkan pemilu, Andy bersama Black Brothers hijrah ke Vanuatu pada awal tahun 1984, dan memulai kampanye OPM disana.

Tahun 1970-an Rex Rumakiek telah membangun hubungan dengan para tokoh kemerdekaan Vanuatu, termasuk Hilda Lini (saudara perempuan Walter Lini), Kalkot Mataskelekele (kemudian bekerja di Mahkamah Agung Vanuatu), Silas Hakwa dll. Para tokoh kemerdekaan Vanuatu, sebagian adalah mahasiswa di University of Papua New Guinea (Universitas Papua New Guinea) yang kembali ke Vanuatu dan terlibat dalam gerakan kemerdekaan Vanuatu. Peran mahasiswa Vanuatu di kemudian hari menjadi sangat penting dalam mendukung perjuangan Pembebasan Papua Barat.

Selama di Vanuatu, Black Brothers merilis album Border Crossers, Live in Salomon dalam album Border Crossers terdapat lagu yang berjudul “Liklik Hope Tasol” yang dinyanyikan dalam bahasa Bislama, lagu yang sangat populer saat itu, disamping “Blue Eyes From Santo Town”. Black Brothers mendapat tempat di hati masyarakat Vanuatu. Show Black Brothers selalu dihadiri ribuan orang. Tahun 1986, Black Brothers mengadakan show di Honiara, Solomon Islands, untuk membantu rakyat yang mengalami bencana akibat angin badai Cyclone Namu (Santo Cyclone) dan show di tahun 1987 untuk membantu masyarakat Vanuatu yang dilanda bencana Cyclone Uma.

Jaringan di Salomon dijajaki bulan Juni 1996, saat itu sebuah delegasi OPM di bawah pimpinan Brigjen. Seth Rumkorem mengujungi Solomon Islands atas sponsor Andy Ayamiseba.

Tugas berikutnya yang diberikan Rumkorem sebagai Presiden Pemerintahan Revolusi Sementara (PRS), kepada Andy Ayamiseba adalah mempersiapkan satu kantor Perwakilan OPM yang akan dibuka di Vanuatu, sebagai ganti dari kantor Perwakilan OPM yang ditutup di Dakar, Senegal 1985. Andy lalu membawa kelompok Black Brothers dari Belanda ke Vanuatu dan ikut berkampanye untuk memenangkan Vanua’aku Pati dalam tiga kali pemilihan umum (1980, 1983, dan 1986), yang ketika itu dipimpin oleh Fr. Walter Lini dan Barak Sope. Perjuangan pembebasan Papua Barat akhirnya disponsori oleh Vanua’aku Pati untuk menjadi Permanent Foreign Policy of Vanuatu Government.

Tahun 2003, Andy Ayamiseba berhasil melobi Pemeritah Koalisi VP dan UMP yang baru, untuk membuka kantor OPM, yang diberi nama Kantor Perwakilan Bangsa Papua Barat (West Papuan People’s Representative Office/WPPRO).

Bersatunya Rex Rumakiek, Andy Ayamiseba petinggi dari OPM faksi Marvic dan John Ondawame selaku Menteri dalam Kabinet (1978, 1980, 1983, 1992) dari faksi PEMKA, merupakan kemajuan besar perjuangan Papua di Pasifik. Mereka bertiga secara bersama berupaya menyatukan jaringan perjuangan di Papua yang terpecah-pecah dalam faksi-faksi dengan membangun sebuah organisasi payung agar perjuangan pembebasan Papua memperoleh pengakuan internasional.

Barak Sope dan Eduard Natapei, berhasil mengajukan Wantok Bill, lalu diterima oleh seluruh anggota Parlemen dan Pemeritah Vanuatu pada Juni 2010. Usaha Andy untuk mendapat Wantok Bill dari pemerintah Vanuatu dilakukannya setelah pertemuan WPNCL akhir tahun 2008 di Port Vila, Vanuatu.

Wantok Bill adalah keputusan Parlemen Vanuatu terhadap Perjuangan Papua Merdeka sebagai Kebijakan Luar Negeri Pemerintah Vanuatu. Sekalipun pemimpin pemerintah berganti, isu Kemerdekaan Papua akan tetap menjadi agenda Pemerintah dan Rakyat Vanuatu. Wantok Bill merupakan undang-undang yang diadopsi dari petisi rakyat yang diajukkan anggota parlemen independen, Ralph Regenvanu.

Agenda lobi melalui Vanuatu Parliamentary Lobby Group for West Papua tetap dijalankan di bawah koordinasi MP. Ralph Regenvanu. Karena Tuan Sope sudah tidak lagi menjadi anggota Parlemen. Andy mengadakan pertemuan khusus dengan Edward Nipake Natapei, untuk mambawa isu Papua agar dibahas dalam suatu sesi MSG Parliamentary meeting on West Papua di Vanuatu. Negara yang tergabung dalam MSG bisa didesak oleh parlemen masing-masing negara untuk membahas isu Papua dalam MSG. Usulan Andy sangat didukung oleh PM Natapei dan ia berjanji akan mengajukan suatu Joint Council of Ministers Paper bersama Menlu Vanuatu agar bisa mendapat dukungan dari kabinet dalam pertemuan tersebut.

Bagian VI; Peran Andy Dalam Membangun Persatuan Papua

Untuk memperoleh kembali pengakuan dunia internasional, maka gerakan perjuangan pembebasan Papua perlu bekerja keras memenuhi syarat sebagai Belligerent serta syarat lainnya yang diatur dalam Protokol Tambahan 1977 mengenai CAR Conflict. Dalam ketentuan Pasal 1 Protokol II 1977 disebutkan:

a) Insurgent

Pada prinsipnya insurgent merupakan kualifikasi pemberontakan dalam suatu negara namun secara de facto belum mencapai tingkat keteraturan sebagai organisasi yang terpadu dalam melakukan perlawanan. Dalam hal ini, kedudukan pemberontakan belum dapat diakui sebagai entitas internasional yang menyandang hak dan kewajiban menurut hukum internasional.

b) Belligerent

Tahap pemberontakan ini merupakan kaum pemberontak yang sudah mencapai tingkatan yang lebih kuat dan mapan, baik secara politik, organisasi dan militer sehingga nampak sebagai satu kesatuan politik yang mandiri maka persoalannya berbeda dengan pemberontak insurgent.

Andy Ayamiseba, Rex Rumakiek dan diplomat senior Papua lainnya yang melakukan diplomasi di Kawasan Pasifik dan Internasional, sangat memahami hukum internasional tentang status Papua. Dengan pemahaman pengetahuan yang diperoleh selama bertahun-tahun, para diplomat ini berupaya sangat keras agar terbentuknya sebuah organisasi payung [WPNCL dan kemudian ULMWP] yang dapat menghimpun semua organ perjuangan Papua agar tidak terpecah-pecah lagi sehingga dapat diakui sebagai organisasi yang memenuhi syarat belligerent, dan tidak ada lagi faksi-faksi dalam tubuh gerakan perjuangan Papua.

Perubahan Politik Di Indonesia

Pergolakan politik di Indonesia antara tahun 1997–2000 yang menuntut reformasi di segala bidang, ikut memberikan ruang bagi munculnya tuntutan kemerdekaan Papua. Melalui pelaksanaan Kongres Rakyat Papua Kedua, terbentuklah organisasi payung yang representatif menghimpun semua faksi-faksi perjuangan orang Papua yang diberi nama Presidium Dewan Papua (PDP).

Ketua PDP, Dortheys Hiyo Eluay pada tahun 2000, memimpin satu delegasi untuk melakukan pertemuan rekonsiliasi dengan Seth Rumkorem sebagai Presiden Pemerintah Revolusioner Organisasi Papua Merdeka. Pertemuan ini digagas oleh pemerintah Vanuatu, atas usulan dan kerja keras Andy Ayamiseba sebagai pejabat OPM. Pertemuan ini kemudian merekomendasikan didirikannya Kantor West Papua Peoples Representatives Office yang dikelola oleh John Otto Ondawame, berkedudukan di Port Vila, Vanuatu.

Perpecahan yang terus menerus terjadi dalam perjuangan pembebasan Papua, membuat banyak tokoh yang akhirnya putus asa dan melihat bahwa perjuangan Papua telah menemui jalan buntu. Beberapa diantaranya memilih kembali ke Indonesia, dan berupaya mengajak semua diaspora Papua untuk kembali membangun Papua bersama Indonesia, termasuk mengajak Andy Ayamiseba untuk kembali ke Indonesia.

Upaya Baru Membangun Organisasi Payung

Nieuwegein (2003) Usaha membangun organisasi gerakan pasca PDP kembali dilakukan. Proses rekonsiliasi dilakukan melalui rentetan pertemuan yang berlangsung sejak tahun 2002, dimulai dari beberapa pertemuan terpisah (parallel meeting) dengan para pimpinan Tentara Pembebasan Nasional.

Lae (2005). Melanjutkan rekomendasi hasil pra-lokakarya pada 27 Oktober 2004, WPPTF lalu memfasilitasi suatu Pertemuan Para Pemimpin Papua Barat II (The 2^nd West Papua Leaders Meeting) yang dilaksanakan pada 28 November – 1 Desember 2005, di Lae, PNG.

Madang (2006) Mengacu kepada MOU sebagaimana yang telah disebutkan di atas, TPN-OPM merupakan komponen yang mendapatkan prioritas utama untuk direkonsiliasi. WPPTF selanjutnya melakukan pertemuan konsultasi terpisah dengan berbagai pimpinan Markas Komando TPN-OPM di seluruh Tanah Papua Barat, di antaranya Brigjen Richard H. Joweni, Jenderal Tadius Yogi, Jenderal Kelly Kwalik, Brigjen Nikolaus Ipo Hau, Jenderal Bernard Mawen dan Jenderal Mathias Wenda. Pertemuan tersebut berlangsung dari tanggal 22 – 24 Juli 2006 di Madang – PNG, kemudian melahirkan sebuah MOU dan Deklarasi yang disebut Madang Declaration.

Schotiau (2007) upaya untuk merekonsiliasi TPN PB yang tersebar di seluruh wilayah Papua Barat akhirnya dapat terwujud menjadi kebanggaan bagi perjuangan pembebasan Papua. Melalui The 2^ndWest Papua Guerilla Leaders Meeting (2^nd WPGLM), yang diselenggarakan di Markas Victoria sejak 5 – 8 April 2007, disepakati beberapa keputusan penting, terutama Struktur Nasional dan Peraturan TPN PB, yang dituangkan ke dalam MoU dan MarVic Declaration.

Ipoh (2007) Konferensi Tingkat Tinggi (KTT) Para Pemimpin Papua Barat atau West Papua Leaders Summit (WPLS), diselenggarakan pada 22-25 September 2007, di Ipoh, Malaysia. KTT ini berhasil menetapkan beberapa keputusan bagi proses penyelesaian politik bangsa Papua Barat, KTT ini dihadiri oleh beberapa organisasi politik rakyat Papua Barat.

West Papua Leader Summit 2008, Andy Ayamiseba kembali terlibat dalam upaya melobby pemerintah Vanuatu untuk memfasilitiasi pertemuan rekonsiliasi kelompok-kelompok perjuangan Papua Barat di Port Vila, Vanuatu. Pertemuan dilakukan pada 02-10 April di tahun 2008, yang melahirkan kesepakatan kerja sama dalam wadah afiliasi bersama yang diberi nama West Papua National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL).

Bagian V; Tahun-tahun akhir

Beberapa tahun sebelum meninggal, walaupun Andy sakit, namun ia tetap aktif membangun pencerahan dan komunikasi dengan semua jaringan perjuangan pembebasan Papua lewat surat elektronik dan media sosial, sebuah HIMBAUAN di posting Andy Ayamiseba di dinding fecebooknya pada Minggu pagi, 05 February 2017;

Di hari yang bersejarah ini, saya selaku seorang Anggota DEWAN KOMITE (Executive Council) dari ULMWP, dan Ketua Interim WPNCL, mengajak saudara-saudara seperjuangan Papua Merdeka ke dalam topik yang terarah demi menentukan status perjuangan kita, agar adanya suatu konsolidasi kekuatan yang terarah demi kemajuan perjuangan.

ULMWP selaku satu organisasi payung yang telah mempersatukan tiga institusi perjuangan yaitu: Parlemen Nasional Papua Barat (PNPB), NRFPB, dan West Papua Nasional Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL), sehingga telah memenuhi program politik pertama untuk mendapat dukungan dari dalam negeri, dan sub region Melanesia. Region Pasifik Selatan yang adalah fondasi utama dari dukungan Dunia (Internasional). Ini semua telah dibuktikan oleh penganugerahan status pengamat (observer) oleh MSG, Communique PIF dan pidato-pidto ke tujuh negara Melanesia, Micronesia dan Polynesia dalam bulan September 2016 di mimbar PBB. Lobby-lobby sedang berkelanjutan ke region-region yang lain di Afrika, Karibia, Uni Eropa dan Amerika Latin

Selanjutnya demi memperkokoh dukungan dalam negeri selaku fondasi dukungan dunia, ULMWP perlu membuka diri kepada institusi-institusi perjuangan lainnya, yang masih berada diluar dari organisasi payung, yang seharusnya mempersatukan semua kekuatan perjuangan. Agar bisa menjalankan program politik perjuangan yang terarah serta memiliki kerdibilitas yang diakui oleh dunia international.

Bagi anak dan cucunya, Andy Ayamiseba membuat pesan pada postingan di facebook 3 Mei 2017;

To my beloved children and grandchildren - I don’t have any wealth to pass it on when my time finally arrived as I am a FREEDOM FIGHTER living in exile during my entire presence on this planet, to free our beloved people and country WEST PAPUA. However, I do hope that the LEGACY of my involvement in the struggle will be your precious asset to walk with your heads up if one day Our Master has decided that a new nation of West Papua is born. Go back home to West Papua and contribute all your ex partyes to develop our country and communities rather than living and begging for pithiness like 2nd class citizens in other people’s land. This is my only will to pass on to all of you before it is too late to tell you. With all my love!!!

Mencermati Para Wanita Pejuang Fretelin 1970-an

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 16:22:00 +0900

Oleh; Blasius Mangkaka

Catatan sejarah menyebutkan bahwa pada tahun 1975, FRETELIN mengakomodasi partisipasi kaum perempuan dalam perjuangan gerilya di hutan-hutan bersama kaum lelakinya dengan mendirikan OPMT (Organizao Popular da Mulher Timorense) pada 28 November 1975. Pendiri, ketua dan sekretarisnya ialah Rose 'Muki' Bonaparte. Organisasi ini memiliki 7000 anggota yang hampir semuanya buta huruf.

Rose 'Muki' Boneparte lahir di Manatuto, sebuah kota kecil di pesisir utara, sekitar 70 kilometer dari ibu kota Dili tanpa catatan tanggal dan tahun lahir. Setelah lulus dari sekolah Canossian, dia mendapatkan beasiswa untuk belajar di Lisabon-Portugal pada awal tahun 1970an. Di Lisabon-Portugal, ia melengkapi pendidikannya dengan kursus mengenai pengantar perdagangan, namun dia lebih tertarik pada aktivis politik. Di Dili, ia bergabung dengan Reorganisasi Repertoir Portugis Movimento Portugis (MRPP), sebuah kelompok Maois yang dikerdilkan oleh Partai Komunis Portugis yang didukung Uni Soviet.

Ia mengajarkan dalam bahasa tetum Portugis hal-hal tentang baca tulis dan kesehatan kepada para anggota OMPT. Saat itu Rose "Muki" Bonaparte menggariskan kebijaksanaan perempuan dalam perang gerilya, yakni berpartisipasi dalam bentuk pengumpulan informasi tentang kekuatan musuh dan siap memanggul senjata apabila diperlukan.

Kepemimpinan Rose "Muki" Bonaparte dalam OPMT berlangsung amat pendek karena ia ditangkap pasukan pendudukan Indonesia pada 7 Desember 1975. Bersama koleganya (isteri dari Nicolao Lobato) yakni Isabel Lobato, ia ditembak mati oleh regu tembak TNI/Polri di tepi pantai Dili. Jill Jollife, seorang wartawan dan saksi mata asal Australia menulis bahwa Isabel Lobato dan Rose Muki Bonaparte dipaksa untuk menaiki kapal Tongkang yang akan membawanya ke Indonesia, namun Rose "Muki" Bonaparte menolaknya.

Karena menolak, Rose "Muki' Bonaparte kemudian ditembak mati di dermaga dan jenazahnya dilemparkan ke pelabuhan Dili. Saat meninggal dunia, Rose "Muki" Bonaparte adalah satu dari hanya 3 wanita dalam Komite Sentral Fretelin yang terdiri atas 50 orang anggota. Dua wanita lainnya ialah Maria do Ceu Pareira dan Guilhelmina Araudjo. Pada proklamasi kemerdekaan pertama Timor Leste tanggal 28 November 1975, Rose Muki Bonaparte adalah satu-satunya wanita yang memegang bendera baru Timor Leste.

Salah satu tokoh pejuang wanita Fretelin lainnya Mana Bisoi bersihkeras bahwa wanita dapat memanggul senjata seperti lelaki. Jill Jollifee seorang wartawan dan saksi mata tahun 1975 sempat melihat sekelompok wanita pemberani Fretelin yang mendatangi komandan pasukan Fretelin untuk menuntut agar mereka diberikan juga senjata dan peluru. Tetapi kemudian Fretelin tidak memberikan senjata dan peluru.

Para wanita itu hanya diperbolehkan untuk mengikuti pria-pria tentara Fretelin di hutan-hutan. Situasi ini membuat para wanita pemberani itu dilatih dengan taktik dan strategi gerilya. Sekarang masih dalam polemik terkait kaum wanita Fretelin yang meninggal dalam peperangan apakah mereka adalah tentera Fretelin penuh atau hanyalah sebagai kadet atau calon.

Magdalena Bi Dou Soares, anggota OPMT mengatakan kepada sebuah Media Timor Leste bahwa ia melihat kelompok-kelompok wanita dilatih untuk membongkar dan memasang kembali senapan, memasang peluru dan mengoperasikan senjata, serta membuat bubuk mesiu dan granat tangan. Para wanita itu diajarkan bagaimana melakukan penyergapan, menembak dan membunuh.

Mantan presiden FRETILIN, Francisco Xavier do Amaral mengatakan dalam sebuah wawancara dengan Sofia Ospina dari sebuah Media bahwa ia mengenal seorang perempuan pejuang wanita Fretelin yang bernama Maria Tapo, yang diajari oleh suaminya untuk menggunakan senapan mesin, namun baru setelah suaminya terbunuh, dia mengambil alih senjatanya, dan meninggal saat membela diri pada tahun 1975.

Kalau gerilywan laki-laki terluka, wanita boleh memakai senjata prianya. Agaknya pada masa revolusi kaum wanita Fretelin adalah orang kedua dalam kepemilikan senjata Fretelin. Mereka adalah para pejuang wanita yang tidak memakai seragam tentara wanita karena keterbatasan persediaan pakaian tentara, yang kurang diakui keberadaannya sebagai prajurid Fretelin penuh namun memiliki semangat penuh untuk perjuangan Fretelin.

Sumber; Kompasiana

Coconut Revolution

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Mon, 6 Apr 2020 22:41:00 +0900

After the world's largest copper mine was dug in the middle of their pristine island, the people of Bougainville fought back against Papua New Guinea and Australia. Starting with slingshots against helicopter gunships, they eventually drove the invaders off of their island. After retreating, Papua New Guinea established a naval blockade, forcing the people of the island to look within for innovations in the world's first true eco-revolution. An inspiration for people all over the world. Long live the coconut revolution!

All content belongs to the original owners. It is displayed here under Fair Use as this video is transformative in nature and not seeking a profit.

Music: Home - If I'm Wrong
Footage: The Coconut Revolution

History of Bougainville

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Mon, 6 Apr 2020 01:54:00 +0900

The island that would later be called Bougainville was first sighted in 1768 by the French explorer Louis de Bougainville who gave the island its name.

The German New Guinea Company as a part of their holdings that included the islands of New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland and all of the Solomon Islands later annexed the island.

By agreement of 1899 between Germany and Great Britain, Bougainville was separated from the other Solomon Islands and remained under German control while the Solomon Islands went to Great Britain.

Bougainvilleans objected to their separation from the Solomon Islands.

At the beginning of WW I in 1914 Bougainville was occupied by Australian and after the defeat of Germany, the German territories, collectively called New Guinea, became Mandate territories of the League of Nations and, in 1920, were placed under Australian administration.

During WW II Bougainville was the scene of fierce fighting. The Japanese occupied the island early in 1942. US troops had overtaken the island of Bougainville by March 1944. After the war, Bougainville was again put under Australian administration, this time as a United Nations Trust territory.

In 1960, Australian geologists found copper in Naisioi land, Bougainville. The transnational company Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), a joint venture of the Australian based companies Conzinc Rio Tinto and Broken Hill Corporation, began prospecting in 1963. No environmental impact study was carried out.

In 1968 elections were held throughout Papua New Guinea. Bougainville called for a referendum on secession, but the Papua New Guinea government did not honour this request. Self-government was given to Papua New Guinea on December 1973 and full independence from Australia on September 1975.

On the first of December 1975, two weeks before Papua New Guinea gained its independence; Bougainville unilaterally declared its independence emphasising its wish to remain separate from the new state of Papua New Guinea.

Bougainville appealed to the United Nations, but without success. A year later, negotiations with the Papua New Guinea government resulted in an agreement for limited autonomy as a province of Papua New Guinea. Bougainville was to have its own Provincial government. Many people complained that the people did not democratically elect the Bougainvilleans on the delegation that signed the 1976 agreement.

By 1988, tensions had escalated into violence, as it became increasingly clear that mining profits from an Australian joint venture on the island were not benefiting the people of Bougainville and that the mining activity was seriously damaging the island’s environment. That year, an organised group of traditional landowners, later known as the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) forcibly closed the mine and demanded the re- negotiations of contracts. PNG responded by sending in the Police Riot Squad and then the army, displacing some 24000 villagers.

The fight to close the mine escalated into a struggle for self-determination and indigenous control of the land as the population of Bougainville turned massively against PNG. Defeated, the PNG army left Bougainville and imposed a blockade on the island in April 1990. On May 17, 1990, Bougainville declared its independence officially for the second time, from PNG and established the Bougainville Interim Government (BIG). In April 1991 the PNG army, taking advantage of the hardships caused by the blockade, re-invaded Bougainville.

Since 1990 there have been many serious attempts to reach a political settlement to the conflict. The negotiations led to the signing in November 1994, of the Margini Charter, which paved the way for the establishment of the Bougainville Transitional Government (BTG), under the auspices of PNG. The charter committed PNG to restoring services on the island, and setting up a transitional government for Bougainville.

As the BIG boycotted the meeting, PNG saw the opportunity to select BTG representatives. In 1996 however the BTG premier was assassinated, with independent inquiries verifying the involvement of the PNG security forces.

With the complete failure of the peace accord and the inability of the PNG army to win the war in Bougainville the PNG prime minister announced that his government had hired Sandline, a mercenary company based in South Africa, to wipe out the rebel leadership in Bougainville. The international and domestic opposition led to the resigning of the Prime Minister of PNG. Elections in July ushered in a new era in Bougainville relations.

Following peace talks in Burnham, New Zealand in October 1997, four AFP members were deployed to Bougainville as part of the Truce Monitoring Group. The TMG concluded in April 1998 and was replaced with a Peace Monitoring Group. In January 2001 Bougainville and Papua New Guinea reached an agreement that would give Bougainville a referendum on independence.

The peace accord consists of a time-line for a referendum that should be held between 10 and 15 years from the election of the first autonomous government of Bougainville, that will be held within the next 12 months.

Source; UNPO

The Revolutionary Legacy of Amilcar Cabral

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Mon, 6 Apr 2020 01:17:00 +0900

by Carlos Martinez on Saturday, September 13, 2014

Amílcar Lopes da Costa Cabral, one of the greatest anti-colonial leaders of the twentieth century, was born on the 12th of September 1924 in Bafatá, a small town in central Guinea-Bissau. Today, ninety years later, let us take a moment to remember this brilliant revolutionary – the undisputed leader and architect of the struggle to liberate Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde from the yoke of Portuguese colonialism.

As a revolutionary theorist, as a guerrilla fighter, as an inspiring agitator, as an uncompromising internationalist, Cabral’s legacy continues to inform the global struggle against imperialism and for socialism.

From a base of almost nothing, he was able to lead the construction of the most successful guerrilla movement in Africa and a strong, disciplined political party: the Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC). Fidel Castro referred to him as “one of the most lucid and brilliant leaders in Africa, who instilled in us tremendous confidence in the future and the success of his struggle for liberation.”

Cabral built close links with the liberated African countries (in particular Guinea, Ghana, Tanzania, Algeria and Libya) as well as the liberation movements fighting colonialism in Mozambique, South Africa and Angola. Furthermore, he located the PAIGC’s struggle against colonialism within the global struggle against imperialism and for socialism, and on this basis forged close ties with the entire socialist camp, including the Soviet Union, China, the German Democratic Republic, Cuba and Vietnam. (The PAIGC was one of the few movements in the 60s and 70s to successfully navigate the Sino-Soviet split and maintain close relations with both the Soviet Union and China).

Cabral was surely a man of action, but he was also an important and innovative political thinker who made an outstanding contribution to anti-imperialist, socialist, pan-Africanist and revolutionary nationalist ideologies. Tetteh Kofi writes that Cabral “charted a new ideological path, extending the works of Marx and Lenin to suit African realities. Cabral was the leading political theorist of the Lusophone leaders, until his assassination in 1973” (cited in Reiland Rabaka ‘Concepts of Cabralism: Amilcar Cabral and Africana Critical Theory’).

Portugal’s racist policy – along with its own backwardness – meant that very few people in its colonies had access to higher education. In Guinea Bissau at the time, there was only a handful of university graduates in the whole country. However, Cabral displayed exceptional academic ability, and this enabled him to study at the University of Lisbon, where he met people like Agostinho Neto and Eduardo Mondlane (who would go on to lead the revolutionary movements in Angola and Mozambique respectively). In Portugal, his fellow African students introduced him to socialist ideology, and they spent much of their time studying, discussing and strategising: how to end colonial domination of their homelands? How to inspire the broad masses of the people to engage in struggle?

Cabral returned to Guinea Bissau in 1951 and worked for some years as an agronomist – which experience “provided him with ample opportunity to learn at first hand of the dire poverty and intense suffering of his people, especially in the countryside. His experiences made him more determined than ever to find ways and means of working for the freedom of his country and delivering his people from the yoke of colonial bondage.”

Living for a brief spell in Angola, he was a founder member of Angola’s preeminent liberation organisation, Movimento Popular Libertação de Angola (MPLA), along with his university friend Agostinho Neto. In the same year (1956), he and his comrades founded the African Party of Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde Islands (PAIGC).

ANC and SACP stalwart Yusuf Dadoo writes: “Under his leadership the PAIGC mobilised the country’s patriots to struggle for the freedom of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde Islands, created the people’s army and led the national-liberation war against the Portuguese colonialists. Cabral knew and understood his enemy well, and every phase of the struggle was carefully planned and action meticulously organised. The cadres of the PAIGC were given political education as well as military training and he stressed always ‘that we are armed militants and not militarists.”

In 1963, after several years of careful planning, study and strategising, the PAIGC launched its military campaign, which over the course of a few years was able to win the support and loyalty of the Guinean and Capeverdian masses and which managed to shake the rotting colonial entity to its foundations. The first liberated zones were set up in 1965, and these continued to expand unstoppably until independence in 1974, by which time practically the entire country was in the hands of the revolutionary forces.

Sadly, Cabral did not live to see the final victory of the national liberation struggle, and Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde were deprived of the insightful leadership that he would doubtless have provided in the post-colonial period. On 20 January 1973, he was kidnapped and shot by disgruntled PAIGC members working in collaboration with the Portuguese secret police.

Nonetheless, the heroic people of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde stepped up their fight, with Amílcar Cabral’s name on their lips.

Piero Gleijeses notes that, “a few weeks after Cabral’s death, the PAIGC was decisively strengthened by the delivery of surface-to-air missiles from the Soviet Union. Until then, the rebels had not had an effective defense against Portuguese air power, but in late 1972, Luis Cabral recounts, ‘we learned about a Soviet anti-aircraft weapon that was light and very efficient. Amilcar made a special trip to Moscow to explain our needs to the Soviet authorities and to urge them to give us that precious weapon.’ The mission, in December 1972, proved successful. In March 1973 the Portuguese prime minister wrote, ‘surface-to-air missiles unexpectedly appeared in the enemy’s hands in Guinea-Bissau and within a few days five of our planes had been shot down.’ This meant that ‘our unchallenged air superiority, which had been our trump card and the basis of our entire military policy … had suddenly evaporated.’” (Conflicting Missions)

By mid-1973, the PAIGC had extended its liberated territory to cover more than two-thirds of the country. On 24 September 1973, the Popular National Assembly proclaimed the independent state of Guinea-Bissau. Full independence was finally granted a year later, on 10 September 1974. Portugal had, in the course of 11 years’ severe warfare, been well and truly defeated.

Meanwhile, the revolutionary anti-colonial wars had played a major part in bringing about the economic and political crisis within Portugal itself, and had been an inspiration for the most progressive elements within the Portuguese left. The overthrow of fascism in Portugal owes much to the heroic struggle waged by the people of Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Angola and Mozambique.

Patrick Chabal, in ‘Revolutionary Leadership and People’s War’, sums up Cabral’s legacy succinctly:

In less than twenty years of active political life, Cabral led Guinea-Bissau’s nationalists to the most complete political and military success ever achieved by an African political movement against a colonial power. At the time of his death in 1973, months before Guinea-Bissau became independent, his influence extended well beyond the Lusophone world and Africa. Friends and foes alike admired his political acumen and skills and saw in him a potential leader of the non-aligned movement. His writings have shown him to be a sophisticated analyst of the social, economic and political factors which have affected and continue to affect the developing world.

We publish below a selection of valuable quotes by (and a few about) Amílcar Cabral, which are meant to serve as an introduction to his ideological legacy. The quotes are followed by some suggestions for further reading.

Theory and practice

As someone born in a country where a foreign colonial power pointedly refused to allow the vast majority of the population access to learning, Cabral had little time for anti-intellectual strands within the progressive movement. Indeed he strongly felt that the existing anti-imperialist movements were much in need of greater ideological grounding.

The ideological deficiency within the national liberation movements, not to say the total lack of ideology – reflecting as this does an ignorance of the historical reality which these movements claim to transform – makes for one of the greatest weaknesses in our struggle against imperialism, if not the greatest weakness of all. (source)

On the connection between theory and practice, he strikes a similar chord to Mao:

Every practice produces a theory, and though it is true that a revolution can fail even though it be based on perfectly conceived theories, nobody has yet made a successful revolution without a revolutionary theory. (ibid)

Very early on in their struggle, and with hardly any resources at their disposal, the PAIGC founders set up a political school in order to create cadres.

The fact that the Republic of Guinea was next to us enabled our Party to install there, temporarily, some of our leaders, and this enabled us to create a political school to prepare political activists. This was decisive for our struggle. In 1960 we created a political school in Conakry, under very poor conditions. Militants from the towns – party members – were the first to come to receive political instruction and to be trained in how to mobilise our people for the struggle. After comrades from the city came peasants and youths (some even bringing their entire families) who had been mobilised by Party members. Ten, twenty, twenty-five people would come for a period of one or two months. During that period they went through an intensive education programme; we spoke to them, and night would come and we couldn’t speak any more because we were completely hoarse. (source)

In his celebrated directive ‘Tell no lies, claim no easy victories’, he urges:

Educate ourselves, educate other people, the population in general, to fight fear and ignorance, to eliminate little by little the subjugation to nature and natural forces which our economy has not yet mastered. Convince little by little, in particular the militants of the Party, that we shall end by conquering the fear of nature, and that man is the strongest force in nature. Demand from responsible Party members that they dedicate themselves seriously to study, that they interest themselves in the things and problems of our daily life and struggle in their fundamental and essential aspect, and not simply in their appearance. Learn from life, learn from our people, learn from books, learn from the experience of others. Never stop learning. (source)

Socialism

Cabral’s major focus as a revolutionary was to create maximum national unity against Portuguese colonialism, and therefore much of his thought is framed in terms of revolutionary nationalism rather than specifically socialism. Nonetheless, he was very clear about what he thought post-colonial Africa should look like. Furthermore, he established very close links with the existing socialist camp, including the Soviet Union, Cuba, the German Democratic Republic, China and Cuba.

In our present historical situation — elimination of imperialism which uses every means to perpetuate its domination over our peoples, and consolidation of socialism throughout a large part of the world — there are only two possible paths for an independent nation: to return to imperialist domination (neo-colonialism, capitalism, state capitalism), or to take the way of socialism. (source)

Further:

The essential characteristic of our times is the general struggle of the peoples against imperialism and the existence of a socialist camp, which is the greatest bulwark against imperialism. (source)

In response to the question of to what extent Marxism and Leninism as an ideology had been relevant to the national liberation struggle of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde, Cabral stated:

Moving from the realities of one’s own country towards the creation of an ideology for one’s struggle doesn’t imply that one has pretensions to be a Marx or a Lenin or any other great ideologist, but is simply a necessary part of the struggle. I confess that we didn’t know these great theorists terribly well when we began. We didn’t know them half as well as we do now. We needed to know them, as I’ve said in order to judge in what measure we could borrow from their experience to help our situation – but not necessarily to apply the ideology blindly just because it’s very good. This is where we stand on this. (source)

Cabral’s writings on the class structure of Guinea-Bissaun and Capeverdian society are fascinating and deserve to be studied in detail. Here is a particularly interesting passage on the problem of trying to create a working class mentality in a country that only had a tiny working class:

We were faced with another difficult problem: we realised that we needed to have people with a mentality which could transcend the context of the national liberation struggle, and so we prepared a number of cadres from the group I have just mentioned, some from the people employed in commerce and other wage-earners, and even some peasants, so that they could acquire what you might call a working class mentality. You may think this is absurd – in any case it is very difficult; in order for there to be a working class mentality the material conditions of the working class should exist, a working class should exist. In fact we managed to inculcate these ideas into a large number of people – the kind of ideas which there would be if there were a working class. We trained about 1,000 cadres at our party school in Conakry, in fact for about two years this was about all we did outside the country. When these cadres returned to the rural areas they inculcated a certain mentality into the peasants and it is among these cadres that we have chosen the people who are now leading the struggle.” (source)

Speaking at a seminar on ‘Lenin and National Liberation’, held at Alma Ata, capital of Soviet Socialist Republic of Kazakhstan, in 1970, Cabral made the crucial connection between Lenin’s ideas and the national liberation struggles being waged across Africa:

“How is it that we, a people deprived of everything, living in dire straits, manage to wage our struggle and win successes? Our answer is: this is because Lenin existed, because he fulfilled his duty as a man, a revolutionary and a patriot. Lenin was and continues to be, the greatest champion of the national liberation of the peoples.” (source)

Yusuf Dadoo’s obituary of Cabral notes that “he had very close association with the Soviet Union which he visited on many occasions and made a major contribution to the promotion and strengthening of friendship and cooperation between the peoples of Guinea-Bissau and the Soviet Union, between the PAIGC and the CPSU.”

The socialist countries and the liberated African states were the major suppliers of weapons, training and finance to the PAIGC (as indeed they were to the MPLA in Angola, Frelimo in Mozambique, SWAPO in Namibia, ZANU and ZAPU in Zimbabwe, and the ANC and SACP in South Africa).

A socialist camp has arisen in the world. This has radically changed the balance of power, and this socialist camp is today showing itself fully conscious of its duties, international and historic, but not moral, since the peoples of the socialist countries have never exploited the colonised peoples. They are showing themselves conscious of their duty, and this is why I have the honour of telling you openly here that we are receiving substantial and effective aid from these countries, which is reinforcing the aid which we receive from our African brothers. If there are people who don’t like to hear this, let them come and help us in our struggle too. (source)

Further:

We want to mention the special aid given to us by the peoples of the socialist countries. We believe that this aid is a historic obligation, because we consider that our struggle also constitutes a defence of the socialist countries. And we want to say particularly that the Soviet Union, first of all, and China, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and other socialist countries continue to aid us, which we consider very useful for the development of our armed struggle. We also want to lay special emphasis on the untiring efforts – sacrifices that we deeply appreciate – that the people of Cuba – a small country without great resources, one that is struggling against the blockade by the US and other imperialists – are making to give effective aid to our struggle. For us, this is a constant source of encouragement, and it also contributes to cementing more and more the solidarity between our Party and the Cuban Party, between our people and the Cuban people, a people that we consider African. And it is enough to see the historical, political, and blood ties that unite us to be able to say this. Therefore, we are very happy with the aid that the Cuban people give us, and we are sure that they will continue increasing their aid to our national liberation struggle in spite of all difficulties. (source)

Anti-imperialist unity

Amílcar Cabral was a consummate internationalist, who understood anti-imperialist unity not simply in abstract intellectual terms but as a matter of life and death for his movement. After all, the enemy has shown itself to be very capable of developing unity when it needs to:

The Portuguese government has managed to guarantee for as long as necessary the assistance which it receives from the Western powers and from its racist allies in Southern Africa. It is our duty to stress the international character of the Portuguese colonial war against Africa and the important and even decisive role played by the USA and Federal Germany in pursuing this war. If the Portuguese government is still holding out on the three fronts of the war which it is fighting in Africa, it is because it can count on the overt or covert support of the USA, freely use NATO weapons, buy B26 aircraft for the genocide of our people (including from ‘private parties’), and obtain whenever it wishes money. jet aircraft and weapons of every sort from Federal Germany where, furthermore, certain war-wounded from the Portuguese colonial army are hospitalised and treated. (source)

In a fiery opening address at the conference of the Conference of Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies (CONCP) held in Dar Es-Salaam in 1965, we see the breadth and depth of his internationalism:

Our hearts beat in unison with the hearts of our brothers in Vietnam who are giving us a shining example by facing the most shameful and unjustifiable aggression of the US imperialists against the peaceful people of Vietnam. Our hearts are equally with our brothers in the Congo who, in the bush of that vast and rich African country are seeking to resolve their problems in the face of imperialist aggression and of the manoeuvres of imperialism through their puppets. That is why we of the CONCP proclaim loud and clear that we are against Tshombe, against all the Tshombes of Africa. Our hearts are also with our brothers in Cuba, who have shown that even when surrounded by the sea, a people is capable of taking up arms and successfully defending its fundamental interests and of deciding its own destiny. We are with the Blacks of North America, we are with them in the streets of Los Angeles, and when they are deprived of all possibility of life, we suffer with them.
We are with the refugees, the martyrised refugees of Palestine, who have been tricked and driven from their own homeland by the manoeuvres of imperialism. We are on the side of the Palestinian refugees and we support wholeheartedly all that the sons of Palestine are doing to liberate their country, and we fully support the Arab and African countries in general in helping the Palestinian people to recover their dignity, their independence and their right to life. We are also with the peoples of Southern Arabia, of so-called ‘French’ Somaliland, of so-called ‘Spanish’ Guinea, and we are also most seriously and painfully with our brothers in South Africa who are facing the most barbarous racial discrimination. We are absolutely certain that the development of the struggle in the Portuguese colonies, and the victory we are winning each day over Portuguese colonialism is an effective contribution to the elimination of the vile, shameful regime of racial discrimination, of apartheid in South Africa. And we are also certain that peoples like that of Angola, that of Mozambique and ourselves in Guinea and Cabo Verde, far from South Africa, will soon, very soon we hope, be able to play a very important role in the final elimination of that last bastion of imperialism and racism in Africa, South Africa. (source)

On Palestine:

We have as a basic principle the defence of just causes. We are in favour of justice, human progress, the freedom of the people. On this basis we believe that the creation of Israel, carried out by the imperialist states to maintain their domination in the Middle East, was artificial and aimed at the creation of problems in that very important region of the world. This is our position: the Jewish people have lived in different countries of the world. We lament profoundly what the Nazis did to the Jewish people, that Hitler and his lackeys destroyed almost six million during the last World War. But we do not accept that this gives them the right to occupy a part of the Arab nation. We believe that the people of Palestine have a right to their homeland. We therefore think that all the measures taken by the Arab peoples, by the Arab nation, to recover the Palestinian Arab homeland are justified. (source)

On Vietnam:

For us, the struggle in Vietnam is our own struggle. We consider that in Vietnam not only the fate of our own people but also that of all the peoples struggling for their national independence and sovereignty is at stake. We are in solidarity with the people of Vietnam, and we immensely admire their heroic struggle against US aggression and against the aggression of the reactionaries of the southern part of Vietnam, who are no more than the puppets of US imperialism. (ibid)

Visiting the US, Cabral met with representatives from a number of black liberation groups, and demonstrated a solid understanding of, and solidarity with, their struggle.

You can be sure that we realize the difficulties you face, the problems you have and your feelings, your revolts, and also your hopes. We think that our fighting for Africa against colonialism and imperialism is a proof of understanding of your problem and also a contribution for the solution of your problems in this continent. Naturally the inverse is also true. All the achievements towards the solution of your problems here are real contributions to our own struggle. And we are very encouraged in our struggle by the fact that each day more of the African people born in America become conscious of their responsibilities to the struggle in Africa.
We think that all you can do here to develop your own conditions in the sense of progress, in the sense of history and in the sense of the total realization of your aspirations as human beings is a contribution for us. It is also a contribution for you to never forget that you are Africans. (source)

He also makes an important point about the politics of non-alignment, specifying that this doesn’t mean “neither east nor west”, or “neither capitalism nor socialism”, but rather retaining independence of decision making:

Non-alignment for us means not aligning ourselves with blocs, not aligning ourselves with the decisions of others. We reserve the right to make our own decisions, and if by chance our choices and decisions coincide with those of others, that is not our fault. We are for the policy of non-alignment, but we consider ourselves to be deeply committed to our people and committed to every just cause in the world. We see ourselves as part of a vast front of struggle for the good of humanity. (source)

Cuba

In his incredible book ‘Conflicting Missions’, Piero Gleijeses writes in some detail about the relationship between Cuba and Guinea Bissau:

In January 1966, Cabral made his first trip to Cuba when he led the PAIGC delegation to the Tricontinental Conference in Havana. He was ‘the most impressive African in attendance,’ U.S. intelligence reported, and he made a powerful impression on his Cuban hosts. ‘His address to the Tricontinental was brilliant,’ Risquet remembered. ‘Everyone was struck by his great intelligence and personality. Fidel was very impressed by him’…
Amilcar Cabral had decided that Cuba alone should send its fighters to Guinea-Bissau. He chose Cuba in part because he felt some cultural and ethnic affinity with the Cubans and, above all, because he respected the Cuban revolution. ‘I remember that when I was in Cuba, Fidel told me that Cuba is also Africa,’ he told a group of Cubans in August 1966. ‘I don’t believe there is life after death, but if there is, we can be sure that the souls of our forefathers who were taken away to America to be slaves are rejoicing today to see their children reunited and working together to help us be independent and free.’ Thirty years later, other PAIGC leaders echoed his words. ‘We greatly admired the struggle of the Cuban people. The Cubans were a special case because we knew that they, more than anyone else, were the champions of internationalism,’ one recalled. ‘Cuba made no demands, it gave us unconditional aid,’ said another.

It was the Soviet bloc whose help was decisive. It provided arms, educational opportunities, and other material and political support. The Soviet Union was, by far, the major source of weapons. Cuba, too, gave material help, in the form of supplies, military training in Cuba, and scholarships. This was a considerable and generous effort for a poor country. But Cuba did much more, and its role was unique. Only Cubans fought in Guinea Bissau alongside the guerrilla fighters of the PAIGC…

Luis Cabral (Amilcar’s brother) later stated: ‘We were able to fight and triumph because other countries and people helped us … with weapons, with medicine, with supplies… But there is one nation that in addition to material, political, and diplomatic support, even sent its children to fight by our side, to shed their blood in our land alongside that of the best children of our country. This great people, this heroic people, we all know that is the heroic people of Cuba; the Cuba of Fidel Castro; the Cuba of the Sierra Maestra, the Cuba of Moncada… Cuba sent its best sons here to help us in the technical aspects of our war, to help us wage this great struggle against Portuguese colonialism.’

Visiting Cuba in 1966, Cabral stated:

If any of us came to Cuba with doubts in our mind about the solidity, strength, maturity and vitality of the Cuban Revolution, these doubts have been removed by what we have been able to see. Our hearts are now warmed by an unshakeable certainty which gives us courage in the difficult but glorious struggle against the common enemy: no power in the world will be able to destroy this Cuban Revolution, which is creating in the countryside and in the towns not only a new life but also — and even more important — a New Man, fully conscious of his national, continental and international rights and duties…
We guarantee that we, the peoples of the countries of Africa, still completely dominated by Portuguese colonialism, are prepared to send to Cuba as many men and women as may be needed to compensate for the departure of those who for reasons of class or of inability to adapt have interests or attitudes which are incompatible with the interests of the Cuban people. Taking once again the formerly hard and tragic path of our ancestors (mainly from Guinea and Angola) who were taken to Cuba as slaves, we would come now as free men, as willing workers and Cuban patriots, to fulfill a productive function in this new, just and multi-racial society, and to help and defend with our own lives the victories of the Cuban people. Thus we would strengthen both all the bonds of history, blood and culture which unite our peoples with the Cuban people, and the spontaneous giving of oneself, the deep joy and infectious rhythm which make the construction of socialism in Cuba a new phenomenon for the world, a unique and, for many, unaccustomed event. (source)

Solidarity with the working class movement in the ‘first world’

Cabral never tired of highlighting the need for global solidarity and unity against imperialism – a unity that should include the oppressed classes within imperialist society itself. However, he understood from direct experience that the creation of a ‘labour aristocracy’ had the effect of vastly reducing the anti-imperialist sentiment of the working class in western Europe and North America. Frankly, he understood this phenomenon better than 90% of western leftists.

I should just like to make one last point about solidarity between the international working class movement and our national liberation struggle. There are two alternatives: either we admit that there really is a struggle against imperialism which interests everybody, or we deny it. If, as would seem from all the evidence, imperialism exists and is trying simultaneously to dominate the working class in all the advanced countries and smother the national liberation movements in all the underdeveloped countries, then there is only one enemy against whom we are fighting. If we are fighting together, then I think the main aspect of our solidarity is extremely simple: it is to fight…
We are struggling in Guinea with guns in our hands, you must struggle in your countries as well – I don’t say with guns in your hands, I’m not going to tell you how to struggle, that’s your business; but you must find the best means and the best forms of fighting against our common enemy: this is the best form of solidarity. There are, of course, other secondary forms of solidarity: publishing material, sending medicine, etc; I can guarantee you that if tomorrow we make a breakthrough and you are engaged in an armed struggle against imperialism in Europe we will send you some medicine too. (source)

Interestingly, Cabral saw imperialism as being a greater threat to the European working class than to the masses of the oppressed nations – while revolutionising the latter, it had pacified the former, ”encouraging the development of a privileged proletariat and thus lowering the revolutionary level of the working classes.”

As we see it, neocolonialism (which we may call rationalised imperialism) is more a defeat for the international working class than for the colonised peoples. Neocolonialism is at work on two fronts – in Europe as well as in the underdeveloped countries. Its current framework in the underdeveloped countries is the policy of aid, and one of the essential aims of this policy is to create a false bourgeoisie to put a brake on the revolution and to enlarge the possibilities of the petty bourgeoisie as a neutraliser of the revolution; at the same time it invests capital in France, Italy, Belgium, England and so on. In our opinion the aim of this is to stimulate the growth of a workers’ aristocracy, to enlarge the field of action of the petty bourgeoisie so as to block the revolution. (ibid)

In his overview of class society in Guinea Bissau, he notes that the settlers of working class origin are often the most reactionary. This is another manifestation of the success of the western ruling classes in brainwashing workers.

The European settlers are, in general, hostile to the idea of national liberation; they are the human instruments of the colonial state in our country and they therefore reject a priori any idea of national liberation there. It has to be said that the Europeans most bitterly opposed to the idea of national liberation are the workers, while we have sometimes found considerable sympathy for our struggle among certain members of the European petty bourgeoisie. (ibid)

Talking with a degree of frustration about the endless criticism meted out to the liberation struggles by left sects in Europe, he says:

The criticism reminds me of a story about some lions: there is a group of lions who are shown a picture of a lion lying on the ground and a man holding a gun with his foot on the lion (as everybody knows the lion is proud of being king of the jungle); one of the lions looks at the picture and says, “if only we lions could paint”. If only one of the leaders of one of the new African countries could take time off from the terrible problems in his own country and become a critic of the European left and say all he had to say about the retreat of the revolution in Europe, of a certain apathy in some European countries and of the false hopes which we have all had in certain European groups… (ibid)

Against dogmatism

Amílcar Cabral is famous for his insistence on a concrete approach to concrete problems, rather than the dogmatic application of formulas. He was by no means against ideology, but he was adamant that no set of revolutionary principles could simply be transplanted wholesale from one situation to another. English historian, Africanist and the major chronicler of the Guinea-Bissau revolution Basil Davidson wrote that “if one had to define a single influential aspect of Cabral’s approach, perhaps it would be his insistence on the study of reality. ‘Do not confuse the reality you live in with the ideas you have in your head’, was a favourite theme in his seminars for party militants. Your ideas may be good, even excellent, but they will be useless ideas unless they spring from and interweave with the reality you live in. What is necessary is to see into and beyond appearances: to free yourself from the sticky grasp of ‘received opinions’, whether academic or otherwise. Only through a principled study of reality, of the strictly here and now, can a theory of revolutionary change be integrated with its practice to the point where the two become inseparable. This is what he taught.” (source)

After all, there were definitely no ready-made formulas ready for use in the context of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde. These highly complex African societies, whose history had been diverted by centuries of oppression by a colonial power that was itself very backward and dependent, were hardly the revolutionary centres that Marx and Engels had in mind when they produced the Manifesto of the Communist Party in 1848. Mao Zedong’s groundbreaking application of Marxism to the conditions of semi-fuedal China provided a much closer analogy to the conditions prevailing in Guinea Bissau, but even then there were important differences that required concrete analysis.

Naturally, there are certain general or universal laws, even scientific laws for any condition, but the liberation struggle has to be developed according to the specific conditions of each country. This is fundamental. The specific conditions to be considered include economic, cultural, social, political and even geographic conditions. The guerrilla manuals once told us that without mountains you cannot make guerrilla war. But in my country there are no mountains, only the people. In the economic field we committed an error. We began training our people to commit sabotage on the railroads. When they returned from their training we remembered that there were no railroads in our country. The Portuguese built them in Mozambique and Angola but not in our country. (source)

The PAIGC made an extensive study of production relations in the countryside, which led them to a campaign of mobilising the peasantry that was decidedly different to what had taken place in other African and Asian countries.

It so happens that in our country the Portuguese colonialists did not expropriate the land; they allowed us to cultivate the land. They did not create agricultural companies of the European type as they did, for instance, in Angola, displacing masses of Africans in order to settle Europeans. We maintained a basic structure under colonialism – the land as co-operative property of the village, of the community. This is a very important characteristic of our peasantry, which was not directly exploited by the colonisers but was exploited through trade, through the differences between the prices and the real value of products. This is where the exploitation occurs, not in work, as happens in Angola with the hired workers and company employees. This created a special difficulty in our struggle – that of showing the peasant that he was being exploited in his own country.
Telling the people that “the land belongs to those who work on it” was not enough to mobilise them, because we have more than enough land, there is all the land we need. We had to find appropriate formulae for mobilising our peasants, instead of using terms that our people could not yet understand. We could never mobilise our people simply on the basis of the struggle against colonialism-that has no effect. To speak of the fight against imperialism is not convincing enough. Instead we use a direct language that all can understand:
“Why are you going to fight? What are you? What is your father? What has happened to your father up to now? What is the situation? Did you pay taxes? Did your father pay taxes? What have you seen from those taxes? How much do you get for your groundnuts? Have you thought about how much you will earn with your groundnuts? How much sweat has it cost your family? Which of you have been imprisoned? You are going to work on road-building: who gives you the tools? You bring the tools. Who provides your meals? You provide your meals. But who walks on the road? Who has a car? And your daughter who was raped-are you happy about that?” (source)

Class suicide

Given the near-absence of an industrial working class, and the prevalence of petty bourgeois (or middle class) elements in the leadership of the national liberation movement, Cabral talked of the need for the petty bourgeoisie to commit ‘class suicide’ in order that the gains of the revolution not be reversed.

To retain the power which national liberation puts in its hands, the petty bourgeoisie has only one path: to give free rein to its natural tendencies to become more bourgeois, to permit the development of a bureaucratic and intermediary bourgeoisie in the commercial cycle, in order to transform itself into a national pseudo-bourgeoisie, that is to say in order to negate the revolution and necessarily ally. In order not to betray these objectives the petty bourgeoisie has only one choice: to strengthen its revolutionary consciousness, to reject the temptations of becoming more bourgeois and the natural concerns of its class mentality, to identify itself with the working classes and not to oppose the normal development of the process of revolution. This means that in order to truly fulfill the role in the national liberation struggle, the revolutionary petty bourgeoisie must be capable of committing suicide as a class in order to be reborn as revolutionary workers, completely identified with the deepest aspirations of the people to which they belong. (source)

Armed struggle

The people of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde fought for the independence – successfully – with guns in hand (and, thanks primarily to the Soviet Union, with sophisticated military technology). However, Cabral never romanticised the armed struggle and the loss of human life.

The past and present experiences of various peoples, the present situation of national liberation struggles in the world (especially in Vietnam, the Congo and Zimbabwe) as well as the situation of permanent violence, or at least of contradictions and upheavals, in certain countries which have gained their independence by the so-called peaceful way, show us not only that compromises with imperialism do not work, but also that the normal way of national liberation, imposed on peoples by imperialist repression, is armed struggle.
I am not a great defender of the armed fight. I am myself very conscious of the sacrifices demanded by the armed fight. It is a violence against even our own people. But it is not our invention – it is not our cool decision; it is the requirement of history. This is not the first fight in our country, and it is not Cabral who invented the struggle. We are following the example of our grandfathers who fought against Portuguese domination 50 years ago. Today’s fight is a continuation of the fight to defend our dignity, our right to have an identity – our own identity.
If it were possible to solve this problem without the armed fight – why not?! But while the armed fight demands sacrifices, it also has advantages. Like everything else in the world, it has two faces – one positive and the other negative – the problem is in the balance. For us now, it (the armed fight) is a good thing in our opinion, and our condition is a good thing because this armed fight helped us to accelerate the revolution of our people, to create a new situation that will facilitate our progress. (ibid)

African history and culture

The colonists usually say that it was they who brought us into history: today we show that this is not so. They made us leave history, our history, to follow them, right at the back, to follow the progress of their history. Today, in taking up arms to liberate ourselves, in following the example of other peoples who have taken up arms to liberate themselves, we want to return to our history, on our own feet, by our own means and through our own sacrifices. (ibid)

In his speech at the first Tricontintal Conference in Havana, 1966, Cabral questions the idea put forward in the Communist Manifesto that “all history is the history of class struggle”, noting that this cuts pre-class society out of history.

Does history begin only with the development of the phenomenon of ‘class’, and consequently of class struggle? To reply in the affirmative would be to place outside history the whole period of life of human groups from the discovery of hunting, and later of nomadic and sedentary agriculture, to the organization of herds and the private appropriation of land. It would also be to consider — and this we refuse to accept — that various human groups in Africa, Asia, and Latin America were living without history, or outside history, at the time when they were subjected to the yoke of imperialism. It would be to consider that the peoples of our countries, such as the Balantes of Guinea, the Coaniamas of Angola and the Macondes of Mozambique, are still living today — if we abstract the slight influence of colonialism to which they have been subjected — outside history, or that they have no history. (source)

In place of class struggle as the driving force of all history, Cabral proposes instead the development of the means of production:

If class struggle is the motive force of history, it is so only in a specific historical period. This means that before the class struggle — and necessarily after it, since in this world there is no before without an after — one or several factors was and will be the motive force of history. It is not difficult to see that this factor in the history of each human group is the mode of production — the level of productive forces and the pattern of ownership — characteristic of that group. Furthermore, as we have seen, classes themselves, class struggle and their subsequent definition, are the result of the development of the productive forces in conjunction with the pattern of ownership of the means of production. It therefore seems correct to conclude that the level of productive forces, the essential determining element in the content and form of class struggle, is the true and permanent motive force of history…
Eternity is not of this world, but man will outlive classes and will continue to produce and make history, since he can never free himself from the burden of his needs, both of mind and of body, which are the basis of the development of the forces of production.

Through this logic, Cabral seeks to break the inferiority complex that is pushed onto the masses of the oppressed nations by colonial ideology, and reassert Africa’s place in history. He also uses this theory to situate the national liberation struggle within the movement of history toward socialism: colonial domination has actually retarded the development of the productive forces (this is especially the case for Portugal’s colonies) and is a block on progress.

Both in colonialism and in neo-colonialism the essential characteristic of imperialist domination remains the same: the negation of the historical process of the dominated people by means of violent usurpation of the freedom of development of the national productive forces.

The colonies must remove this block and, in the interests of rapid development, align themselves with the socialist states:

Whatever its level of productive forces and present social structure, a society can pass rapidly through the defined stages appropriate to the concrete local realities (both historical and human) and reach a higher stage of existence. This progress depends on the concrete possibilities of development of the society’s productive forces and is governed mainly by the nature of the political power ruling the society… A more detailed analysis would show that the possibility of such a jump in the historical process arises mainly, in the economic field, from the power of the means available to man at the time for dominating nature, and, in the political field, from the new event which has radically changed the face of the world and the development of history, the creation of socialist states.

He also notes the process of intense human development that takes place within the national liberation struggle itself:

Our national liberation struggle has a great significance both for Africa and for the world. We are in the process of proving that peoples such as ours – economically backward, living sometimes almost naked in the bush, not knowing how to read or write, not having even the most elementary knowledge of modern technology – are capable, by means of their sacrifices and efforts, of beating an enemy who is not only more advanced from a technological point of view but also supported by the powerful forces of world imperialism. Thus before the world and before Africa we ask: were the Portuguese right when they claimed that we were uncivilised peoples, peoples without culture? We ask: what is the most striking manifestation of civilisation and culture if not that shown by a people which takes up arms to defend its right to life, to progress, to work and to happiness? (source)

Cabral was also strongly focused on the role of cultural imperialism in suppressing the peoples of the oppressed nations, and the importance of culture as an element of resistance to imperialism:

A people who free themselves from foreign domination will be free culturally only if, without complexes and without underestimating the importance of positive accretions from the oppressor and other cultures, they return to the upward paths of their own culture, which is nourished by the living reality of its environment, and which negates both harmful influences and any kind of subjection to foreign culture. Thus, it may be seen that if imperialist domination has the vital need to practice cultural oppression, national liberation is necessarily an act of culture”
The value of culture as an element of resistance to foreign domination lies in the fact that culture is the vigorous manifestation on the ideological or idealist plane of the physical and historical reality of the society that is dominated or to be dominated. Culture is simultaneously the fruit of a people’s history and a determinant of history, by the positive or negative influence which it exerts on the evolution of relationships between man and his environment, among men or groups of men within a society, as well as among different societies. (source)

Although he stressed the importance of African culture and identity, Cabral always made clear that this was not based on any type of discrimination or feelings of superiority.

We are not racists. We are fundamentally and deeply against any kind of racism. Even when people are subjected to racism we are against racism from those who have been oppressed by it. In our opinion – not from dreaming but from a deep analysis of the real condition of the existence of mankind and the division of societies – racism is a result of certain circumstances. It is not eternal in any latitude in the world. It is the result of historical and economic conditions. And we cannot answer racism with racism. It is not possible. In our country, despite some racist manifestations by the Portuguese, we are not fighting against the Portuguese people or whites. We are fighting for the freedom of our people – to free our people and to allow them to be able to love any kind of human being. You cannot love when you are a slave… In combating racism we don’t make progress if we combat the people themselves. We have to combat the causes of racism. If a bandit comes into my house and I have a gun I cannot shoot the shadow of this bandit. I have to shoot the bandit. Many people lose energy and effort, and make sacrifices combating shadows. (source)

The Life and Death of a Papua – Martyr And Hero, Theys Hiyo Eluay

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Sun, 5 Apr 2020 21:54:00 +0900

Theys Hiyo Eluay 03 November 1937 - 10 November 2001

Introduction

There was always some ambiguity in the role of Theys Hiyo Eluay. He clearly had a background of co-operation with the Indonesians. In his home area, Sentani, he did not have a large amount of support as the memories were still vivid of the largew number of people killed through his intervention with the Indonesian army. Some victims of his role before and after the Act of Free Choice (Pepera) of 1969 are still in hiding in PNG.

The struggle of the Papuans for freedom and independence came fully into the open with the fall of Soeharto on 21 May 1998. Habibie had soon after taking over as President promised East-Timor a referendum. The Papuans were promised a “dialogue.” Theys Eluay played a minor role in these first public efforts of political mobilization of the Papuan people. His day came after the mass mobilization of the Papuans had already taking place, in the form of a “dialogue” and the “socialization” of this dialogue. In February 1999 a Team of One Hundred, led by Thom Beanal, went to Habibie and asked for independence for the Papuan people.

Only after the rise of Thom Beanal Theys appointed himself to Great Leader of the Papuan People or also Great Leader of West-Papua, Pemimpin Besar Bangsa Papua (PBBP). There was then always the suspicion that his conversion from Red-White (Indonesian Nationalist) to a Papuan Freedom fighter was not sincere, but that he was manipulated by the army and by the kopassus. Up to the evening where he met his death Theys was very close o the army, police and kopassus commanders. However, by his violent death he clearly redeemed himself. He was now in the line of other Papuan martyrs like Arnold Ap (killed in 1984) and Thomas Wangai (died in prison in 1996).

Whatever the motivation of his murderers it is difficult to imagine that they anticipated the mass mobilization after his death and at his funeral. The worldwide media attention for his murder. The setting up of several investigation teams and the open acknowledgement that all the evidence pointed to the Kopassus as the murders of Theys Eluay and to all probability also his driver.

Background

Theys Eluay was educated in the Advanced Primary School (Jongensvervolgschool) of Yoka, Sentani, He followed then a course in meteorology and worked as a meteorologist assistant. He is from the Sere village and comes from a family of traditional leaders (ondoafi). He became ondoafi, probably because of his relatively advanced education, though he was not entitled to the responsibility as it follows a strict order of seniority. In After 1963, when Indonesia tried to eliminate Papua protest against its integration into Indonesia, Theys assisted the Indonesian army in pointing out people who were pro-Dutch and/or ant-Indonesian. These caused, in the smaal community of Sentani people (at that time probably around 15,000) a large number of victims. Theys was a member of the small number of Papuans selected to vote for integration with Indonesia in 1969. He helped to conduct a campaign in favour of a positive vote. Most of the Sentani people at that time did not agree with what Theys was doing. In 1971 he became a member of the “gotong royong” (co-operation) parliament. By 1980 the influence of Theys had already declined, which made him feel frustrated. He then joined the Lembaga Musyawarah Adat Papua, translated as the Papuan Customary Council Assembly, first of the Sentani area, then of the province. In 1990 he became chairman of this Council. Only in 1996 this Council became more politicised, with its highpoint in the period 1998-2002.

The role of Theys in the freedom struggle since 1998

The rise of Theys Eluay started soon after the Team of One Hundred had gone to Jakarta and had publicly announced, with not a single dissenting vote, that the result of the dialogue, initiated by Habibie was that the Papuans wanted to be free. This had not been planned. On the contrary. The government had dome everything it could to block any real expression of opinion. At all the regencies petitions had already been prepared that the religious leaders, the leaders of adat (traditional law) and the leaders of society humbly would ask Habibie to divide the province into three parts in order to be governed more effectively. It would also mean that for two Papuans a position as a provincial governor would be made available. The population got the wind of this and they demanded everywhere that this letter would not be send, but another letter instead which demanded freedom/independence. They demanded that the regent (bupati) or the head of police in the districts (kecamatan) would sign the letter too and that he would stamp it with the official government stamp. This was the first time the people came out into the open with their opinion with disregard of the consequences for their personal safety. They just signed these petitions with their name and function. Not long before this, the ones signing such statements would get dismissed, imprisoned or worse. People no longer were afraid as they saw the offer of dialogue as their last chance to gain their freedom.

Part of this mobilization as done by an ad-hoc organization, Foreri, which took up the offer of Habibie. Foreri, the Forum Rekonsiliasi Rakyat Irian Jaya, was an initiative of church leaders, who were joined by the adat leaders, and the student and women organizations. Theys was one of the adat leaders, together with Tom Beanal and Gaspar Sibi. Theys, it seems, was only asked to give the requests of Foreri some legitimacy. This was the Trinity of ordebaruism: society, i. e. women and students (tokoh masyarakat or tomas), the adat leaders (tokoh adat or todat) and religion (tokoh agama or togas) As chairman of the Papuan Customary Council Assembly Theys’ support was off course important to augment the legitimacy of the activities of Foreri in mobilizing the people to express their opinion freely.

Theys took initially a conservative viewpoint. He considered it too extreme to ask for independence. He did not join the Team of One Hundred. This changed, however, when the Team came back to Papua in triumph. They were the heroes. The delegate of Serui, Yusuf Tanawani, was carried on the shoulders of people all the way from the harbor to the Assembly Hall, with outstretched arms as blessing the multitudes. In the Assembly Hall he explained to the enthusiastic masses what had been achieved. Independence was immanent. All this was completely ignored by the only province wide daily, the Cendrawasih Pos. It is published by Jawa Pos, but its contents are controlled by the army. In almost in every issue there is news about some events in the army and police complete with a number of picture of these dignitaries in uniform. There is much reporting on events in the army and police, like transfers, promotions or just opinions. C-Pos has hardly any any Papuans as journalists. The focus is on the migrants. When the Team of One Hundred had made its point to Habibie Cendrawasih Pos dared to ignore this fact, but instead interview one Papuan, who had nothing to do with the Team or with Foreri, who explained that he was not in favor of autonomy. This seemed very ridiculous and the paper lost then all its credibility. That was also the time that Theys Eluay, Don Flassy and two students were arrested charged with organizing a meeting to discuss Papuan independence. When Theys was freed after a week he appeared on the front page of the Cendrawasih Pos with a picture, stating that West Papua did not need to ask for Independence as it had been independent all the way since 1 December 1961. Independence had illegally been usurped by Indonesia. It had just to be given back. The contrast with the previous editorial policy could not have been greater. This reporting definitely increased the circulation of Cendrawasih Pos. It was now only Theys who appeared in the paper. Other leaders in the struggle, like Tom Beanal or Herman Awom hardly ever appeared. There were weeks that Theys appeared almost every day with a picture on the frontpage. “Theys is weeping”, “Theys is angry” or rather “wrathful” (murka), “Theys is sick and has to go to Singapore,” “Straightaway friends” (after fetching the new military commander from the airport in Sentani!). This increased Theys’ popularity. He had the courage (or was given the opportunity) to say things other people were afraid to say in the open. All the time Theys remained very close to the top of the security apparatus. He was the adat leader and now also the Leader of the Papuans and as such he was part of the small and select group of the most powerful in the province.

Theys was a self-appointed leader. He got much of his support because of the publicity C-Pos gave him. He began to call himself the Great Leader of the Papuan People and also the Great Leader of West Papua. In February 2000 there was a large gathering of Papuans in a so-called Musyawarah Besar to discuss the future of West Papua and to determine a strategay of the struggle. By this time the army made overtures to the OPM. There was to be a dialogue between the Indonesian army and the OPM. These were from now on free to go where they wanted. The OPM was also present at the Mubes, which took place in Sentani Indah Hotel. By that time Theys had already formed a large group of so called Taskforce (Satgas) Papua. These were responsible for the security at the Mubes. Though a majority at the Mubes was in favour of Tom as chairman of the movement, with the great number of satgas close to the place where the meeting was held, Theys could definitely not be ignored. A compromise was struck and both became “Great Leader of the Papuan People”. At the follow up of this Mubes the Congress or rather the Second Papuan Congress, as the first Papua Congress was held in 1961, Theys stood up at the beginning of the meeting and said: “I am the chairman, isn’t it, Tom, while you are the vice chairman?” Tom had no other choice then to agree as he did not want a quarrel at the beginning of such a crucial meeting where very conflicting opinions about the strategy had to be accommodated and the unity of the movement had to preserved at all costs.

The Congress took place in May – June 2000, just to remember the first of May 1963 when Indonesia came in full control of West Papua, after the UNTEA period. The PDP or Presidium Dewan Papua, elected at the Congress of 2000, is fairly representative if we look to its composition with people from Biak, Sentani, Paniai, Merauke, Fak Fak and Wamena present. Also various churches, mainline protestant, evangelical and Roman Catholic, and even the Islam is represented.

The PDP formed a group which the local and the national government and the heads of army and police were prepared to take seriously as they were recognized as representatives of the Papuans in general, when dealing with issues as public security, the issue of the raising of the Independence flag, illegal demonstrations etc. In this way the PDP was given a considerable legitimacy. At the same time as the new government, and especially the new president Gus Dur, was building up a relationship of trust with the PDP, the army reacted with aggressiveness and violence on the raising of the Morningstar flag in the various districts and regencies. Each time there was a considerable number of deaths. Papuans began to speak about Bloody Biak, Bloody Timika, Bloody Sorong, Bloody Nabire etc.

As chairman of the PDP Theys was not known for consulting his fellow PDP members. Usually they had to read in the papers what Theys was doing on behalf of the PDP and by extension the Papuan people. For one PDP member, Tev Benny Giay from Paniai, this became too much to stomach when without consultation Theys honored the departing commander of the army by elevating him to the rank of “Great Warrior of the Papuans.” Papuans from the highlands said that they objected to raise funds and pigs for somebody who had a reputation of killing Papuans, as in the many incidents mentioned above. Benny Giay left the PDP saying that he was now too busy at the college, where he worked as a lecturer. Moreover there hardly had been any meetings of the PDP.

Whatever his shortcomings or his real motivations by his violent death by those he at one time in his life may have considered his friends he immediately after his death became an icon in the continuing struggle of Papuans against an oppressive Government.

His grave with a huge monument at the football field the Eluay family owned, close to Sentani airport, remained a place of pilgrimage and a memorial for the desire of Papuans to be independent from Indonesia.

Source; https://atipenburg.nl

Papua Barat tidak memiliki masa depan di Indonesia

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 22:32:00 +0900

Benny Wenda

12 Februari 2020

Pidato Ketua Wenda kepada Menteri Luar Negeri MSG

Pidato yang disampaikan oleh Ketua ULMWP, Benny Wenda, selama pertemuan Menteri Luar Negeri & Pejabat Senior Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), yang diadakan di Suva dari 10-12 Februari 2020.

Pemimpin yang terhormat, Yang Mulia, Bapak dan Ibu, saya menyambut Anda semua dalam bahasa saya sendiri, wa wa wa wa.

Saya juga mengakui Duta Besar Amena Yauvoli Direktur Jenderal Sekretariat MSG dan Stafnya yang berdedikasi atas layanan mereka yang tak kenal lelah kepada komunitas Melanesia. Pertemuan kami di sini menandai 34 tahun dari visi para pendiri bangsa kami, yang didukung oleh cara Melanesia dari keinginan budaya dan politik bersama, untuk seluruh dekolonisasi dan kebebasan negara-negara dan wilayah Melanesia. Dekolonisasi mungkin tampak kurang intrinsik saat ini, tetapi kebenaran yang menyedihkan adalah, orang-orang Melanesia jauh dari menjalankan kedaulatan penuh kita.

Di Papua Barat, tanah air saya, 2,5 juta orang adalah orang Melanesia, bukan orang Indonesia. Seperti orang Melanesia di Bougainville dan Kanaky Kaledonia Baru, rakyat saya juga menyerukan hak dasar kami untuk memilih dalam referendum kemerdekaan. Lima puluh delapan pelanggaran HAM yang meliputi penindasan perbedaan politik, diskriminasi, penyiksaan, pembunuhan di luar proses hukum, dan kekerasan sistemik polisi dan militer selama 58 tahun terakhir.

Kasus Nduga adalah contoh yang jelas. Sejak Desember 2018, operasi militer Indonesia yang tersebar luas di Kabupaten Nduga telah menggusur perkiraan 45.000 orang Melanesia Ingenious: 243 tewas, 34 wanita, 110 anak-anak, 95 pria. Saat ini ada 57 tahanan politik di Papua Barat yang hidup dalam ketakutan sebagai bagian dari kehidupan sehari-hari mereka.

Tahun lalu orang-orang Papua Barat bangkit. Puluhan ribu dari mereka berbaris, menuntut hak kami untuk menentukan nasib sendiri. Negara merespons dengan peluru. Negara menanggapi dengan penjara. Penjajah merespons dengan represi.

Mengapa orang Papua Barat bangkit? Karena di Surabaya, kota terbesar kedua di Indonesia, pasukan keamanan Indonesia dan gerombolan nasionalis mengepung asrama mahasiswa Papua Barat.

'Pulang ke rumah'. 'Monyet'. 'Anjing'. Inilah yang diteriakkan pasukan keamanan dan geng Indonesia kepada para siswa Papua Barat. Polisi Indonesia menembakkan gas air mata ke asrama, menangkap 43 orang Papua. Ini adalah percikan api yang menyalakan api 58 tahun rasisme, kolonialisme, dan pembunuhan massal. Orang-orang saya berbaris untuk mengakhiri rasisme terhadap orang-orang Melanesia. Mereka berbaris untuk menuntut hak mereka untuk referendum kemerdekaan, ditolak mereka oleh komunitas internasional pada tahun 1969.

Banyak pemimpin yang terlibat dalam demonstrasi itu sekarang telah ditangkap. Tujuh dari mereka diculik dan dipindahkan ke Kalimantan Timur, di mana mereka perlahan mati kelaparan di bawah pengawasan Negara Indonesia. Enam dari mereka berada di Jakarta menghadapi dakwaan makar, dan dapat dipenjara selama 15 tahun. Puluhan lainnya berada di penjara di Papua Barat.

Ini adalah bagaimana Negara Indonesia merespons pemberontakan rakyat Papua Barat. Bagaimana Negara Indonesia menangani serangan rasis terhadap pelajar Papua di Surabaya?

Hanya satu orang Indonesia yang dihukum karena serangan itu. Hukuman mereka hanya lima bulan, artinya mereka akan segera dibebaskan karena waktu sudah dijalani. Tidak ada satu pun orang Indonesia lainnya yang menghadapi konsekuensi atas serangan itu.

Indonesia tidak dapat menghilangkan ULMWP, meskipun ia mencoba. ULMWP adalah perwakilan yang sah dari rakyat Papua Barat, dan siap untuk menjalin hubungan dengan negara-negara lain. Faktanya, kita sudah berbicara dengan PBB, dengan pemerintah internasional.

Jika masalah penjajahan Indonesia tidak terpecahkan, maka rakyat saya tidak aman. Kita mungkin tidak akan selamat dari penjajahan Indonesia bertahun-tahun yang lalu 'seperti Pencegahan Genosida Reporter PBB, Juan Mandez pernah menyatakan' jika tidak ada yang dilakukan, Rakyat Papua Barat akan hilang '.

Pasifik, khususnya Melanesia, adalah kunci untuk kelangsungan hidup rakyat saya. Ketika Pasifik berdiri dengan satu suara untuk Papua Barat, seluruh dunia memperhatikan. Dunia tidak akan bertindak kecuali Melanesia dan Pasifik bersatu di belakang rakyat Papua Barat.

ULMWP, sebagai perwakilan sah rakyat Papua Barat, siap untuk terlibat dengan komunitas internasional. Kami sudah duduk di meja bersama mereka di lembaga bersejarah ini. Pada Oktober tahun lalu, saya mengeluarkan enam tuntutan kepada Presiden Indonesia , untuk menunjukkan itikad baik untuk mengakhiri konflik yang telah berlangsung lama. Ini termasuk menarik 16.000 tentara tambahan yang dikerahkan selama Pemberontakan Papua Barat, membebaskan tahanan politik, dan memungkinkan Komisaris Tinggi PBB dan pelapor khusus ke wilayah tersebut. Hingga hari ini, kami belum menerima tanggapan.

Pemimpin yang terhormat, Yang Mulia, Hadirin sekalian, Ini adalah keadilan Indonesia. Negara Indonesia melindungi mereka yang secara rasial menyerang orang Melanesia karena warna kulit mereka, karena budaya mereka. Tetapi jika Anda orang Melanesia, dan Anda menunjukkan menentang rasisme, Anda akan ditembak, Anda akan dipukuli, Anda akan ditangkap dan dipenjara selama 15 tahun.

Inilah sebabnya mengapa jelas bahwa Indonesia tidak memiliki minat dalam menyuarakan tuntutan rakyat Papua akan keadilan dan kebebasan. Indonesia tidak memiliki keinginan untuk mengatasi 'akar penyebab' konflik di Papua Barat, sebagaimana diserukan pada tahun 2019 oleh 18 negara di Forum Kepulauan Pasifik dan 79 negara di Kelompok Negara-negara Afrika, Karibia dan Pasifik. Hanya intervensi internasional yang dapat menyelamatkan rakyat saya dari genosida kolonial ini. Papua Barat tidak memiliki masa depan di Indonesia.

Gerakan Persatuan Pembebasan untuk Papua Barat dibentuk pada tahun 2014 sebagai tanggapan atas permintaan dari para pemimpin Melanesia dalam institusi ini, MSG. Kami telah tumbuh menjadi kekuatan terpadu dari semua kelompok kemerdekaan Papua Barat, di dalam dan di luar negeri.
Kami telah membentuk Komite Eksekutif, Dewan Legislatif, Dewan Yudisial, dan sembilan biro di Papua Barat termasuk kelompok solidaritas masyarakat Indonesia, dan di Papua Barat.

Tahun ini, Indonesia harus belajar dari contoh negara-negara Pasifik terdepan di dunia yang telah memberi orang hak untuk menentukan nasib sendiri. Pemerintah Papua Nugini dan Kaledonia Baru telah memimpin dalam menawarkan referendum tentang kemerdekaan kepada masyarakat Bougainville dan Kanaki. Indonesia harus mengikuti contoh-contoh demokratis ini dengan membiarkan orang Papua menggunakan hak penuh kami untuk menentukan nasib sendiri dan kemerdekaan yang telah kami tolak pada tahun 1969. Sebelumnya Januari 2019 saya mengirimkan Petisi Rakyat, 1,8 Juta tanda tangan, menuntut hak kami untuk memilih kemerdekaan, kepada Komisaris Tinggi PBB di Jenewa, disponsori oleh Pemerintah Vanuatu. Kami juga telah secara independen mengirimkan petisi kepada Rafael Ramírez Ketua Komite 24 pada 26 September 2017 di New York.

Indonesia tidak hanya menunjukkan tidak ada keinginan untuk mengatasi akar penyebab konflik, Indonesia telah memblokir masuknya PBB. Pada bulan Agustus 2019, 18 negara Forum Kepulauan Pasifik, termasuk Australia dan Selandia Baru, menyerukan agar Indonesia mengizinkan Komisaris Tinggi PBB untuk Hak Asasi Manusia ke wilayah tersebut untuk melapor sebelum Forum Kepulauan Pasifik 2020. Hingga hari ini, Indonesia belum memenuhi.

Pada bulan Desember 2019, 79 negara berdaulat di Kelompok Negara-negara Afrika, Karibia dan Pasifik, ACP, juga menggemakan seruan agar Indonesia mengizinkan Komisaris Tinggi PBB untuk mengunjungi tanah air kita . Hingga hari ini, Indonesia belum memenuhi.

Ini pertanyaan saya. Jika Indonesia mengklaim mewakili orang Melanesia dan memiliki keanggotaan MSG yang sah, mengapa Indonesia membunuh orang Papua Barat Melanesia setiap hari? Mengapa Indonesia memenjarakan aktivis Papua Barat yang damai selama 15 tahun karena mengibarkan bendera Bintang Kejora, simbol identitas Nasional dan Melanesia kita? Mengapa polisi Indonesia menyebut kami 'monyet' dan memotong 'rambut gimbal' kami di jalan-jalan Jayapura?

Salah satu kriteria penting untuk menjadi anggota MSG adalah bahwa negara yang bersangkutan tidak melakukan pelanggaran HAM. Indonesia telah melakukan kejahatan negara terhadap kemanusiaan orang Melanesia di Papua Barat selama 58 tahun.

Kami percaya kami memiliki lebih dari memenuhi syarat untuk memenuhi kriteria keanggotaan penuh MSG. Waktu untuk penundaan telah berakhir. Waktu untuk bertindak, untuk solidaritas dengan orang-orangku, telah tiba. Kami percaya bahwa MSG memiliki sejarah, kebiasaan dan keberanian untuk melakukan hal yang benar, dan membuat sejarah. Kebebasan Papua Barat akan menandai tonggak sejarah dalam perjuangan untuk kesetaraan manusia melawan kekuatan kolonialisme dan rasisme. MSG didirikan berdasarkan prinsip-prinsip dekolonisasi, tentang solidaritas Melanesia dan perjuangan bersama. Kita harus menemukan kembali nilai-nilai ini, dan mengingat kembali kata-kata bijak almarhum Pastor Walter Lini, pendiri Vanuatu, bahwa Vanuatu tidak benar-benar bebas sampai semua Melanesia bebas dan tentang Solomon Mamaloni, mantan Perdana Menteri Kepulauan Solomon, ketika dia bertemu para pemimpin OPM.

Pemimpin yang terhormat, Yang Mulia, hadirin yang terhormat, Tenkiu Tumas, Merci Beaucoup, Vinaka Vakalevu, Wa Wa Wa Wa

Benny Wenda
Ketua
ULMWP

Sumber: https://www.ulmwp.org/west-papua-has-no-future-in-indonesia

Mahfud Sebut RI Boleh Ambil Semua Langkah Pertahankan Papua

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 23:13:00 +0900

Menko Polhukam Mahfud MD menyebut tak ada opsi referendum bagi Papua. (CNN Indonesia/Andry Novelino)

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia -- Menteri Koordinator Bidang Politik, Hukum, dan Keamanan Mahfud MD menyebut Indonesia berhak mengambil semua langkah untuk mempertahankan Papua.

Hal ini dikatakannya terkait tuntutan referendum Papua untuk menentukan nasib sendiri dengan referendum atas nama hukum internasional.

Mahfud menyebut, tak ada opsi referendum bagi Papua. Hal itu didasarkan pada dua dasar hukum. Yakni, pertama, konstitusi Indonesia yang menyatakan Papua bagian yang sah dari Indonesia.

Kedua, hukum internasional, yakni keputusan Majelis Umum PBB Nomor 2405 pada tahun 1969 yang sudah secara sah menyatakan Papua bagian dari Negara Republik Indonesia.

"Dan berdasarkan ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights/Kovenan Internasional tentang Hak-hak Sipil dan Politik), setiap negara yang sudah berdaulat atas satu wilayah boleh melakukan semua langkah untuk mempertahankan kedaulatannya atas wilayah dan daerah itu dengan segala daya yang dimiliki," ujarnya, dalam acara Konferensi Pembangunan Papua di Hotel JW Marriot, Jakarta, Selasa (17/12).

Dari situ, dia menyebut setiap upaya untuk memisahkan Papua dari Indonesia harus dianggap sebagai perlawanan terhadap pemerintahan yang sah.

"Papua adalah bagian yang sah dari Republik Indonesia. Sehingga, asumsi dari seminar ini adalah bagaimana kita berpikir bahwa membangun Papua adalah membangun Indonesia," ujar Mahfud, yang saat itu bicara mewakili Presiden Joko Widodo.

Pihaknya hanya memberi lampu hijau untuk rencana pemekaran Papua dan Papua Barat. Hal ini, kata dia, akan diputuskan oleh Menteri Dalam Negeri Tito Karnavian.

"Kemungkinan itu dalam waktu yang tidak lama, terus akan dibicarakan. Kemungkinan iya apa tidak itu nanti Mendagri tentunya akan menentukan," ujar Mahfud.

Kendati demikian, Mahfud menilai usulan tersebut masih belum matang dan masih diinventarisasi permasalahannya.

"Masih dalam proses inventarisasi. Usul-usul itu kan masih belum matang. Masih mentah dan sedang terus dibicarakan," ujar Mahfud.

Sebelumnya, Ketua Gerakan Persatuan Pembebasan Papua Barat (ULMWP), Benny Wenda, menyatakan siap bertemu Jokowi untuk membahas Papua. Namun, tokoh separatis Papua itu mengajukan sejumlah syarat untuk dipenuhi.

Salah satunya adalah pertemuan itu harus membahas "tuntutan lama rakyat Papua Barat untuk menggelar referendum kemerdekaan atau penentuan nasib sendiri." (jps/arh)

Sumber; www.cnnindonesia.com

Sidang pemutusan internet Papua

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 23:06:00 +0900

Sejumlah mahasiswa asal Papua melakukan unjuk rasa di Jalan Kusumanegara, DI Yogyakarta, Selasa (20/8/2019). Aksi tersebut merupakan aksi solidaritas dan bentuk protes terhadap dugaan kekerasan serta diskriminasi rasial terhadap warga Papua.

Pengadilan Tata Usaha Negara Jakarta, Rabu (22/01), menggelar sidang perdana gugatan terhadap pelambatan dan pemutusan jaringan internet Papua oleh pemerintah periode Agustus-September 2019.

Penggugat yang merupakan koalisi masyarakat sipil meminta hakim menyatakan keputusan pemerintah itu sebagai perbuatan melawan hukum.
Di sisi lain, meski tak menghadiri sidang, pemerintah yakin kebijakan itu sesuai peraturan perundang-undangan yang ada.

Pelambatan dan pemutusan internet di Papua dituding melanggar beberapa ketentuan hukum, di antaranya UU 40/1999 tentang Pers dan UU 12/2005 yang mengatur kebebasan mencari, menerima, serta memberi informasi.

Ade Wahyudin, kuasa hukum penggugat, menuduh kebijakan itu mengganggu kerja jurnalistik pewarta dan media massa di Papua saat itu.

Ade mengatakan klaim Kementerian Informasi dan Komunikasi (Kominfo) untuk mencegah penyebaran berita bohong (hoax), seiring kerusuhan yang Agustus lalu terjadi di beberapa kota di Papua, justru menyebabkan kesimpangsiuran informasi.

"Media yang ingin melakukan verifikasi justru tidak bisa bekerja. Artinya informasi yang di luar Papua tetap beredar, sedangkan jurnalis di Papua tidak bisa mengklarifikasi yang beredar di Jakarta," kata Ade via telepon usai sidang.
Ade menilai hakim perlu menyatakan keputusan pemerintah itu 'melawan hukum' agar tak kembali diterapkan di masa mendatang.

Ia khawatir, tanpa putusan itu pemerintah akan memiliki preseden membatasi akses internet warga negara.

"Dalam beberapa pernyataan Kominfo akan meneruskan blokir dan shut down ini. Kalau tidak pernyataan melanggar hukum, kalau ada konflik, pemutusan internet akan sering dilakukan," ujar Ade.

"Kami ingin membuktikan tindakan itu tidak berdasarkan undang-undang sehingga pemerintah tidak bisa sewenang-wenang memutus internet," kata dia.
Namun seperti pernyataan resmi sebelumnya, Kominfo kembali menyatakan tidak ada yang keliru dengan pembatasan dan pemutusan internet selama beberapa waktu di Papua.

Juru Bicara Kominfo, Ferdinandus Setu, menyebut itulah yang akan dinyatakan pihaknya kepada hakim dalam sidang berikutnya.

"Itu dalam rangka menjaga ketertiban masyarakat karena ada kerusuhan di beberapa tempat dan penyebaran hoax yang cukup masif. Itu sesuai amanat UU informasi dan transaksi elektronik," ucapnya saat dihubungi.

"Kalau terjadi lagi situasi seperti di Papua, mau tidak mau itu akan dilakukan lagi," kata Ferdinandus.

Pelambatan dan pemutusan internet di beberapa wilayah di Papua terjadi tak lama setelah insiden rasisme di asrama mahasiswa Papua, pertengahan Agustus 2019.

Peristiwa itu diikuti beberapa kerusuhan, antara lain di Manokwari dan Sorong.
Sepanjang periode itu, Kominfo mengklaim memblokir 713.166 tautan internet yang berisi berita bohong soal insiden rasisme di Surabaya.

Meski begitu, koalisi masyarakat sipil yang terdiri, antara lain, dari Aliansi Jurnalis Independen, KontraS, YLBHI, dan Elsam, menyebut kebijakan itu bertentangan dengan prinsip demokrasi.

"Negara yang mempraktikan pemutusan internet tingkat demokrasinya lebih parah dari Indonesia," kata Ade Wahyudi.

"Apakah kita ingin berkiblat ke sana? Klaim pemutusan internet memutus hoaks tidak bisa semudah itu dilakukan," ujar Ade.

Selain di Indonesia, pemutusan internet selama 2019 juga diterapkan pemerintah China di Provinsi Xinjiang dan pemerintah India di Kashmir.

Beberapa negara Afrika juga pernah melakukan hal serupa, antara lain Zimbabwe, Republik Demokratik Kongo, Chad, dan Ethiopia.

Perkara gugatan kontrol jaringan internet di Papua ini akan kembali digelar 29 Januari mendatang.

Sumber; www.bbc.com

Pengabdian Seorang Dokter demi Kesetaraan Pendidikan di Papua

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 15:16:00 +0900

Jakarta: Hidup di Papua bukanlah hal yang mudah. Semua membutuhkan usaha, termasuk untuk mengakses pendidikan. Namun kendala ini tak mempan menghanyutkan semangat anak-anak di sana untuk terus mengejar cita-citanya.

Keadaan itu menyentuh perasaan Dokter Teguh Dwi Nugroho selaku Ketua Yayasan Tunas Bakti. Bersama dengan perusahaan penyedia layanan dan teknologi global terkemuka, Bosch, menginisiasi 'Bakti Nusantara Nabire Project', guna mendukung anak-anak dari pedalaman Papua agar dapat terus bersekolah.

Prakasa ini direalisasikan dalam bentuk penyediaan bangunan asrama yang layak dan memadai, serta pengadaan kebutuhan pokok bagi penghidupan para siswa SD dan SMP di Desa Muko, Nabire, Papua.
“Yayasan ini bergerak berlandaskan semangat kepedulian, kemanusiaan, persaudaraan, dan gotong royong dari seluruh komponen masyarakat. Karenanya, kami sangat antusias menyambut ajakan Bosch menggagas ‘Bakti Nusantara Nabire Project’ untuk bersama-sama membantu anak-anak pedalaman di Papua agar mendapatkan hak-hak mereka, terutama pendidikan,” ujar Dokter Teguh membuka percakapan dengan Medcom.id.

“Dengan asrama yang layak dan memadai, serta kebutuhan pokok yang terus terpenuhi, anak-anak Papua dapat belajar secara optimal. Sehingga kelak tumbuh menjadi manusia berdaya dan mampu berandil memajukan daerahnya,” lanjutnya.
Profesi membentuk dirinya
Dokter Teguh terjun langsung beraksi karena berbagai pengalaman yang telah dia peroleh sebelumnya. Bekerja menjadi seorang dokter membuatnya lebih mudah tergerak untuk membantu sesama.

“Saya kan dokter yang berada di pedalaman 3T (tertinggal, terluar, terdepan). Sebagai dokter, jiwa kemanusiaan memang ditempa bahwa kita melayani manusia. Kita tahu kebutuhan dasarnya manusia tersebut,” terang Teguh.

Tak hanya itu, sewaktu dia melihat keadaan sekolah di Desa Muko, Nabire, Papua, pria kelahiran Pati, Jawa Tengah ini merasakan sensasi berbeda. Semangat anak-anak di sana yang ingin belajar sangat luar biasa dan tak dapat terbendung. Tak ayal, suasana itu seakan memberinya tenaga lebih untuk membantu anak-anak untuk terus melanjutkan sekolahnya.

Bermula pada 2017 ketikaDokter Teguh melakukan survei ke lima tempat. Kemudian dia melihat ada SMP di sana yang sudah membangun sekolahnya sendiri. Lokasinya sekitar 30 km. Sekolah tersebut dibangun oleh warganya sendiri. Sayang, kondisinya saat dia datang sudah usang.

“Yang kami bantu adalah daerah yang kondisinya sangat terbatas tapi mereka masih mau berjuang. Kami berharap dengan sedikit bantuan yang diberikan, mereka akan bisa mandiri dan semangat untuk membangun dengan semangat gotong royong,” ujar Teguh yang merupakan Dokter Spesialis Bedah RSUD Kefamenanu.

Tak hanya profesi yang mendorongnya menjadi sosok relawan. Peran sang ayah juga memberi inspirasi bagi pria berusia 34 tahun ini untuk membantu sesama.

“Dari dulu sudah tertarik, melihat bapak jadi salah satu pemuka agama. Kita melihat sisi kemanusiaan, bermanfaat bagi orang lain adalah yang utama. Jadi dari sekolah, ini akan bermanfaat,” Jelas Dokter Teguh.
Pendidikan gerbang masa depan yang lebih baik
Teguh sangat mendukung pengembangan pendidikan. Ini karena menurutnya pendidikan adalah gerbang masa depan yang lebih baik.

“Percuma kalau ngomong kamu bisa jadi apa pun tapi tak ada sekolah. Dengan edukasi, sekolah yang baik orang bisa jadi apapun,” jelas Teguh.

“Yang paling realistis adalah bisa jadi lebih daripada bapak ibunya. Karena orang pedalaman bisa saja masuk sekolah kedinasan, STAN, STTPN, dokter bisa. Namun kalau bangunannya saja tak punya, mereka tidak akan bisa apa-apa,” lanjutnya.

Teguh menginginkan agar program ini dapat menggerakkan mereka secara perlahan untuk memiliki pengetahuan, bahwa dunia ini sesungguhnya luas dan semua orang bisa berkembang. Dengan itu, mereka dapat terinspirasi dan bercita-cita.

“Penting agar basic needs tersedia dan tercukupi. Setelah semua sudah diberi, baru kami inspirasi mereka. Datangkan PGRI, kami bangun mental dan keterampilan dari gurunya, anaknya pramuka dan lain-lain. Dengan seperti itu, bisa berceita-cita setingginya,” terangnya.
Mengajarkan kemajemukan dalam bermasyarakat
Selalu ada kesan di setiap perjalanan. Terlebih perjalanan yang diusung Dokter Teguh adalah misi kemanusiaan.

Dia melihat, orang-orang merasa asing dengan konsep kemajemukan. Untuk itu, Dokter Teguh mengajarkan warga di Nabire Papua melihat sisi positif dari kemajemukan. Bhinneka Tunggal Ika adalah hal yang perlu ditanamkan sejak anak-anak pada orang yang tinggal di lingkungan homogen.

“Pengalaman paling berkesannya adalah hal yang penting setelah kita ke daerah 3T, semuanya sama. Maksudnya sama sukunya, agamanya, keyakinannya. Pokoknya, homogen banget,” jelas Dokter Teguh.

Mengisahkan perjalanannya saat di Natuna, Dokter Teguh menceritakan saat-saat berjalan bersama seorang siswa.

"Dia bertanya ‘Pak dokter habis ini salat yuk sama saya’ Saya jawab: kamu duluan saja, saya tunggu di luar," jelasnya.

Siswa tersebut lalu bertanya kenapa Dokter Teguh tak salat. "Saya jawab saya di gereja sembahyangnya. Lalu dia bertanya kenapa saya tidak ngomong kalau saya non muslim. Lalu saya bilang kenapa harus saya ngomong. Kalau saya bukan muslim, kamu tidak sayang,” terang Dokter Teguh menceritakan.

Meski begitu, Dokter Teguh menyadari bahwa pertanyaan ini muncul karena kondisi mereka yang berada di lingkungan yang homogen.

“Namun setelah saya tinjau ke belakang, semua orang sama di suatu daerah. Misalnya di daerah situ semuanya katolik, di Serang mayoritas muslim. Di papua pun juga begitu,” jelasnya.

Tak lupa Dokter Teguh menekankan kepada anak-anak tentang hidup majemuk tak semuanya bernuansa negatif. Yang terpenting, satu sama lain memiliki intensi yang baik. Maka hasilnya akan berbuah positif.

“Saya jelaskan kami datang dari kemajemukan, dari semua profesi, agama, dan tak ada kepentingan itu. Kami memberi tahu berbeda itu tak apa. Tak salah dan kami mau membantu dengan kasih sayang. Kami bisa mengajar Bhinneka Tunggal Ika itu yang utama di Indonesia. Berbeda tak apa. Itu dalam banget,” jelasnya.

Dokter Teguh yakin usahanya ini adalah langkah yang baik untuk dilakukan. Semangat dan harapan anak Papua adalah hal yang tak boleh disia-siakan.

“Ini mereka yang bersekolah harus kita jaga. Saya percaya ini bisa membangun Papua,” tutup Dokter Teguh.(FIR)

Bosch Salurkan Donasi Pendidikan untuk Anak Papua

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 14:10:00 +0900

Managing Director, Bosch di Indonesia. Andrew Powell memberi keterangan kepada wartawan di Jakarta, Selasa (14/1/2020). ( Foto: Beritasatu Photo/Uthan )

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com - Bosch, perusahaan penyedia layanan dan teknologi global terkemuka, bersama Yayasan Tunas Bakti Nusantara, menginisiasi program 'Bakti Nusantara Nabire Project' guna mendukung anak-anak dari pedalaman Papua agar dapat terus mengenyam pendidikan dengan bersekolah.
Dukungan itu diwujudkan dengan menyalurkan donasi senilai total Rp 631 juta, yang terdiri dari Rp 250 juta untuk pembangunan asrama, dan 25.000 Euro atau setara Rp 381 juta, untuk biaya kebutuhan pokok selama lima tahun.

Managing Director Bosch di Indonesia, Andrew Powell, mengatakan, keterbatasan aksesibilitas dan sarana prasarana pendidikan turut berimbas pada rendahnya IPM di Provinsi Papua. Hal ini menjadi alasan kuat bagi Bosch dan Yayasan Tunas Bakti Nusantara untuk memprioritaskan Papua sebagai fokus kepedulian.

"Kami merasa terhormat dapat berkontribusi mewujudkan kediaman bagi anak-anak pedalaman di Papua, yang tidak hanya nyaman, tetapi juga menghadirkan kemudahan akses terhadap sarana prasarana pendidikan," ujar Anrew Powell di Jakarta, Selasa (14/1/2020).

Powell menambahkan pihaknya telah menyalurkan donasi senilai Rp 250 juta untuk tahap pertama pembangunan asrama dari keseluruhan tiga tahapan bagi anak-anak pedalaman Papua yang mengalami kesulitan aksesibilitas menuju sekolah.

Perusahaan juga menyalurkan donasi senilai 25.000 Euro secara bertahap selama lima tahun yang dimulai 2019 untuk subsidi kebutuhan pokok bagi penghidupan sekitar 35 anak.

"Tak berhenti di situ, kami akan menyiapkan program pemberdayaan berupa pelatihan serta pemberian alat pertukangan untuk produksi kerajinan tangan khas Papua, menyasar anak-anak yang menjelang lulus sekolah. Dengan demikian, mereka akan mampu berpenghasilan dan lebih mandiri," tandas Powell.

Ketua Yayasan Tunas Bakti Nusantara, Teguh Dwi Nugroho, menjelaskan, selama ini para siswa SDN Muko Tanah Merah, Distrik Yaro, Nabire, harus menempuh jarak yang jauh untuk bersekolah.

"Bahkan ada yang membutuhkan waktu dengan berjalan kami selama 3-5 jam dari tempat tinggal mereka dengan melewati hutan dan penggunungan," kata Teguh.

Teguh menambahkan, jauhnya jarak tersebut membuat salah satu guru sekolah merelakan dapurnya sebagai asrama agar anak-anak suku Dani tersebut tidak perlu lagi berjalan jauh.

"Untuk itu, kami membangun asrama untuk para siswa yang berusia antara 6-12 tahun, agar mereka bisa mengenyam pendidikan dengan kapasitas 18 putra dan 15 putri," tutup Teguh.

Sumber: BeritaSatu.com

Polisi Tembak Mati Anggota Kelompok Bersenjata di Papua

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 05:43:00 +0900

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Kepolisian Daerah Papua menembak mati NM, 35 tahun yang diduga anggota kelompok bersenjata di Kabupaten Nabire, Papua pada Senin, 20 Januari lalu.

Kepala Bidang Hubungan Masyarakat Komisaris Besar Ahmad Mustofa Kamal mengatakan NM diduga menjabat sebagai komandan operasi umum di Wilayah Mepagoo Kodap 29. "Karena jabatannya di KKB tersebut, maka NM memiliki peran yang strategis sebagai pengendali kegiatan KKB di wilayah Intan Jaya," kata dia melalui keterangan tertulis pada Kamis, 23 Januari 2020.

Berdasarkan hasil investigasi, NM juga berperan sebagai penyuplai bahan makanan, senjata dan amunisi untuk kebutuhan kelompok bersenjata di wilayah Intan Jaya.

Kamal mengatakan, kejadian penembakan itu berawal saat Polri dan TNI tengah menuju Kampung Nifasi, Kabupaten Nabire untuk mengecek lokasi yang dijadikan tempat transaksi jual beli senjata. Lalu, tim gabungan melihat NM dan rekannnya menuju ke arah Kota Nabire dengan mengendarai mobil.

"Tim pun mengikuti mobil pelaku dan langsung meringkus dengan cara menghadang," kata Kamal.
NM dan rekannya itu kemudian mencoba kabur. Petugas sempat memberikan tembakan peringatan ke atas sebanyak dua kali namun tak dihiraukan kedua pelaku.

Rekan NM berhasil kabur ke arah bukit. Sementara NM yang akan bersembunyi di semak-semak ditembak petugas di bagian pinggang. "Pelaku atas nama NM meninggal karena luka tembak," kata Kamal.

Dari NM, polisi menyita senjata api panjang rakitan, ponsel, dua buah amunisi 5,56 milimeter, KTP, buku tabungan, buku catatan dan uang Rp 500 ribu. Sementara untuk jenazah anggota kelompok bersenjata NM, kini telah dievakuasi ke Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah Kabupaten Nabire.

Sumber: https://nasional.tempo.co

Dakwaan Aktivis Papua Pengibar Bendera Bintang Kejora Mengandung Pasal Karet

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 05:10:00 +0900

JAKARTA, - Enam orang aktivis Papua melalui kuasa hukumnya membacakan eksepsi di Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta Pusat pada Senin (6/1/2020).

Mereka didakwa dengan tiga berkas perkara.

Perkara empat terdakwa menjadi satu berkas, yaitu Paulus Suryanta Ginting, Charles Kossay, Ambrosius Mulait, dan Isay Wenda.

Dalam eksepsinya, kuasa hukum aktivis Papua, Maruli Tua Rajagukguk menyebut dakwaan jaksa penuntut umum (JPU) terhadap enam aktivis ini adalah dakwaan karet. Sebelumnya enam aktivis Papua ini didakwa berbuat makar. "Dakwaan JPU terhadap enam aktivis ini tidak memiliki pengertian dan tolak ukur yang disebut makar," ucap Maruli di PN Jakarta Pusat, Senin.

Dalam dakwaan, jaksa menyebut keempat aktivis melanggar Pasal 106 juncto Pasal 55 ayat 1 ke-1 KUHP atau Pasal 110 ayat 1 KUHP.

Namun, menurut Maruli, pasal tersebut tidak menjelaskan perbuatan apa saja yang termasuk kategori makar.

"Ketiadaan penjelasan makar tentunya akan membawa permasalahan dalam penerapan pasal-pasal tersebut," ujar Maruli.

Maruli pun menilai dakwaan jaksa terhadap enam aktivis itu tidak jelas. Sebab, jika para terdakwa disebut berbuat makar, seharusnya pasal yang didakwakan ada yang menjelaskan tolak ukur perbuatan makar itu sendiri. Misalnya, seperti Pasal 87 KUHP yang menyatakan berbuat makar.

Namun, kenyataannya enam aktivis tidak didakwa pasal tersebut.

Tanpa adanya ketentuan Pasal 87 KUHP dalam surat dakwaan mengakibatkan unsur tindak pidana makar, baik dalam Pasal 106 KUHP maupun dalam Pasal 110 ayat 1 KUHP menjadi kabur dan tidak jelas," kata Maruli.

Dengan demikian, Maruli meminta hakim untuk membatalkan dakwaan terhadap enam aktivis itu. "Berdasarkan putusan Mahkamah Agung Republik Indonesia No.492 K/Kr/1981 tanggal 8 Januari 1983, kami mohon kepada Majelis Hakim Yang Mulia untuk menyatakan bahwa Surat Dakwaan Penuntut Umum batal demi hukum karena telah terbukti Penuntut Umum tidak mencantumkan ketentuan Pasal 87 KUHP dalam Surat Dakwaaan," lanjut dia. (Penulis : Cynthia Lova)

Sumber; https://megapolitan.kompas.com

Boycott Bali? Why the atrocities in West Papua demand your attention

noreply@blogger.com (West Papua National Coalition for Liberation) — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 03:25:00 +0900

Papuan students during a rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, on August 28, 2019 (Photo: Andrew Gal/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

By; Morgan Godfery

It’s estimated that as many as half a million Papuans have been killed at the hands of Indonesian security forces over the past 50 years. Not holidaying in Indonesia is an easy way to say you’re not OK with that, writes Morgan Godfery.

Would you have gone on holiday in apartheid South Africa?

I suspect for everyone other than Don Brash and his fellow Pledgers, the answer is a lightning-quick “no”. It’s a little hard to enjoy the Durban boardwalk knowing that the Black and Indian people who live only a couple of kilometres from the beachfront have probably never sunk their feet into the golden sands, for no other reason than the colour of their skin. Holidays and beaches were only for white people, and only a know-nothing or a white power apologist would book that morally corrupt trip.

I think about this every time a mate posts about his Bali trip. I mean, the trips always seem like a delight: the rice terraces, the cocktails, the tropical sweat-ups. One bloke I know seems to travel to the island every few years for nothing more than the cheap thrill of bartering down some of the poorest people in the world. I’m not sure I get it. One thing I do get, though, are “South Africa 1960” vibes. Do the New Zealanders who book trips there know that a few islands east, the Indonesian government is forcibly occupying the Melanesian island of West Papua and killing its indigenous people?

Last month four students from Jayapura, the West Papuan capital, were taken into police custody after unfolding the Morning Star flag, the symbol of indigenous independence, at Catholic mass. Possessing or displaying the Morning Star’s red, white and blue could land an activist in prison for up to 20 years. This is a possible future for the four students, caught by a plainclothes cop in the back pews. In West Papua the Indonesian government’s occupying forces (police, security services and military) reach into every corner of the country’s public and private life.

Churches, as one of the few places where solace can be found, are almost always at the heart of resistance struggles. The African National Congress did much of its organising under the protection of local churches. But in West Papua the walls are closing in. The Indonesian government is “opening” larger and larger chunks of the Papuan highlands. In earlier times the highlands and their people were more or less left to their live their own lives in their own way, just as they’d done for thousands of years, before the Indonesian military dictatorship ran a sham referendum in 1969 to justify taking the island. The so-called “act of free choice” saw a little over 1000 West Papuans – less than 0.25% of the population – bullied and coerced into signing over their sovereignty to the government in Jakarta.

An act of forced choice.
But what would the Indonesian government want from West Papua, a province that at first glance seems exceptionally poor, more so than even Bali. There are only a handful of universities, and travel is a negotiation between the road and its potholes. Yet the island is home to fantastically rich gold and copper deposits. The American company that operates the Grasberg mine, a vast mineral pit in the central highlands, is Indonesia’s largest single taxpayer. In Grasberg alone reserves worth more than $100 billion are still left to haul from the earth. Other parts of the highlands hide untold billions too.
This, then, is the chief reason Indonesia is tightening its grip on the Melanesian country: Jakarta’s elites understand that West Papua will finance their nation’s industrialisation.

So how far will those elites go to keep West Papua in the fold? Well, in the past half century, as many as half a million West Papuans met their end at hands of the Indonesian security forces. In the Asian Human Rights Commission’s report The Neglected Genocide, survivors from the massacres in 1977 and 1978 describe their run-ins with the Indonesian torture squads and their escape from the killing fields. “Violence wasn’t just something that happened in West Papua, it was a form of government.” Even today activists and ordinary West Papuans still go “missing”. Last year over 2000 West Papuan university students on Java made the trip home after racist harassment on Indonesia’s main island.

Knowing that history, it’s almost impossible to remain optimistic about West Papuan independence. And yet people continue to struggle. Young people, mostly, and increasingly Indonesians alongside West Papuans. Last year six Indonesian activists were taken to the cells for unfurling the Morning Star in Jakarta. Surya Anta, a spokesperson for the Indonesian Peoples Front for West Papua, is facing treason charges for his part in the demonstration. It’s an important reminder that the Indonesian people are separate from the Indonesian government, and not necessarily complicit in the latter’s crimes.
Many are ready and willing to risk more than we, as comfortable Westerners, can possibly imagine.

The same principle holds in Bali – the Balinese aren’t responsible for the actions of elites in Jakarta, and even less so the actions of the 20th century’s Indonesian dictatorship. Regardless, before setting foot on any Indonesian soil you should perform a moral and ethical calculus. Is my Indonesian getaway undermining solidarity for West Papuans? Is it lending international legitimacy to a government that doesn’t deserve it? There are no clean answers. But two truths are inescapable: one, West Papuans are ethnically Melanesian, and so for us as Māori and Polynesians they are our brothers and sisters; and two, the country is geographically a part of Oceania, and so for us as New Zealanders they are our neighbours in need.

Source; https://thespinoff.co.nz