On 15 August, four Irish human rights activists - Mark Doris, Micheline Sheehy Skeffington, Treena Lenthall and Ciaran O'Reilly - were arrested after they staged a sit-down protest inside the Dutch Embassy in Dublin. The protest, on behalf of the indigenous population of West Papua, coincided with the 40th anniversary of the signing of the New York Agreement by the Dutch colonial power, Indonesia, and the UN in 1962 - and without consultation with West Papuans. This squalid deal allowed the emerging Asian power to overrule the West Papuan parliament and militarily occupy the island.
The protesters wanted to highlight the responsibility of the Dutch government with regard to the continuing human rights violations in the country - a hundred thousand West Papuans have died at the hands of the Indonesian military. They also called for Dutch support for "a proper act of self-determination in accordance with international practice in West Papua, as agreed by the Netherlands at UN headquarters 40 years ago".
The Netherlands has done little to prevent the Indonesian inflicted violence against the population of one of its colonies in the Pacific. "When we go to the European Union looking for support, they say that this is a responsibility of the Dutch government, as they were the colonisers of West Papua. But the Dutch government say they are too small a country to take on this problem," explains Neles Tebay, a West Papuan student at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, Italy.
So far, the only action taken by the European Union has been the denunciation of the so-called Act of Free Choice - a supposedly public consultation that took place in West Papua in 1969 and resulted on Indonesia seizing the country. "'The Act of Free Choice'... was never more than a farce. A grand total of 1,025 Papuans, all selected by the Indonesian authorities, were permitted to vote - with virtually no UN monitoring- on the future of West Papua's 800,000 inhabitants. Not too surprisingly, they unanimously voted to remain in Indonesia...," reads a European Commission Report.
Neles Tebay has heard about this Act of Free Choice - "I do not call it 'of Free Choice'", he explains. He says the denial of the right to self-determination for the Papuan people by Indonesia is one of the root causes of a conflict that has lasted for four decades.
"In 1969, there was what the Indonesians called the Act of Free Choice and the guidelines of this act were formulated in the New York Agreement, which was going to be monitored not by the United Nations, but by the Indonesians themselves," says Tebay. "This was despite that the Indonesian government was an interested party to the Agreement, as it wanted West Papua to be part of its territory, while the Dutch government opposed it."
On paper, this Act of Free Choice allowed for each West Papuan to decide on the future of the country, but the Indonesian government selected 1,026 people to represent around 800,000 Papuans. "The Indonesian government handpicked these 1,026 delegates", denounces Tebay who also points out how some Indonesians participated in the vote, though only West Papuans, and not foreigners were supposed to participate. No UN observer was present during the selection process. After the selection, the 1,026 people were taken to some secret location and isolated from the rest of the population till the day of the vote.
"Out of the 1,026 hand-picked delegates", continues Neles Tebay, "the Indonesian selected 175 people to declare their aspirations for the country. In the secret location where they were detained, these 1,026 people were taught what to say: that they wanted Indonesia. When the time for the vote came they were gathered in a room and called the name of the 175 people and asked them to declare what they wanted. They repeated what they have been taught. Then, the Indonesian asked the rest whether they agreed with the opinions of the others. That is what they called Act of Free Choice".
Some of the forced participants in this farce became members of the armed and political opposition to Indonesia, as was the case with Theys Eluay, chairman of the Papuan Presidium Council, the West Papuan parallel government. Theys Eluay was killed by members of the Indonesian Special Forces Kopassus on 11 November 2001. Nine members of Kopassus, the Indonesian Army's Special Forces Command, are being detained while the same Indonesian Army that was involved in the killing is in charge of the investigation. Eulay's murder is part of the Indonesian strategy of targeting Papuan political leaders. On 25 February 2002, Yafet Yelemaken, the director of the Civilian Custom Institute in Wamena, West Papua, warned international agencies about the Indonensan Army's plan to kill 1,000 people - political leaders and representatives of the West Papuan Presidium Council. On Monday 24 June 2002, Yelemaken died in agony in his home. It is widely suspected the Indonesian militias poisoned him.
Violence has been a daily occurrence in West Papua since the arrival of the Indonesian Army. Shoot-to-kill, harassment and human rights violations are suffered by the population. Neles Tebary recalls his experience:
"When I was a small boy, one time my mother and I went to the city and we had to walk pass a military post. I noticed my mother walked faster when passing the army post and as soon as we passed, my mother hit me and told me: Next time you walk with your mother or your sister past the army post, you have to walk fast, but she did not tell me why. Later, I learned that rape and sexual abuse are routinely carried out by the military as part of its policy of harrasment.
"When I moved to Jayapura, the capital of West Papua, I heard horrifying stories. I heard how in a village near the capital, the Indonesian military arrested a Papuan man and killed him. His flesh was cut in small pieces, which were cooked on a barbecue. Then the Indonesia military summoned his wife and children and they were forced to eat the flesh of their husband and father." These stories have been documented by the Christian Evangelical Church in West Papua. Representatives of the Church in the country have also warned of the immediate possibility of genocide similar to that carried out by the Indonesian military and their sponsored militias in East Timor and the Maluku islands.
The signs of a massive Indonesian military operation are already in place. The Indonesians declared West Papua a military zone, which de facto means an increasing military presence with a free hand to deal with "suspected supporters or members of the pro-independent movement". More worrying has been the arrival of the so-called Laskar Jihad fighters, who participated in the sectarian conflict in the Maluku islands.
Meanwhile, the military has already established Red and White militias, armed groups trained and armed by the Indonesian government to carry out a dirty war against the population.
In response, the West Papuans have declared their country a peace zone. "Any activity, any movement, any policies directed to establish West Papua as a peace zone, we will support, but any activity or policy that hinders the zone of peace will be rejected by West Papuans, " says Neles Tebary. "This is why the introduction by the Indonesian military of what they call Jihad fighters, who participated in the sectarian conflict in the Malukus, has been rejected by West Papuans, but also by Indonesians living in West Papua and the Muslim leaders "We also reject the creation of an East Timor style militia in West Papua."
In spite of the ongoing harassment and violence, the demand for self-determination is still present. After the Act of Free Choice, the Papuans organised and launched a traditional military campaign against the Indonesians. In 1998, violent methods were abandoned in favour of a peaceful approach. In May 2002, democratically elected delegates from all over the country met at the Second Papuan Congress - the First congress had taken place in 1961. It was during the Second Congress that Papuans decided to use peaceful means on their fight for the right to self-determination. This decision was fully supported by the rebel forces in the jungle.
"Since then, the Papuans have been calling for meaningful dialogue, which should be monitored by an internationally recognised institution," explains Tebary.
Papuan political representatives and religious leaders have supported this call. However, so far, the Indonesian government response has been increasing repression and military presence in West Papua.
other death in Turkey
Fatma Bilgin last week became the 53rd death faster to die on hunger strike in the protest against high-security F-type prisons in Turkey.
Bilgin had been convicted of "membership of an organisation" under Paragraph 168 of the penal code of the Republic of Turkey, and was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment. She had been in prison for seven years.
The member of left-wing group TAYAD started fasting on 3 June 2001, as part of the fifth Death Fast team, while she was in Malatya Prison. She died on 10 August in Ankara Numune Hospital, where she had earlier in her fast been subjected to the torture of forced feeding.
Hot air to save fossil fuels Down Under
BY MICHAEL PIERSE
AUSTRALIA - The construction of a one kilometre high tower capable of producing enough energy for 200,000 homes has been approved by the Australian government, and could be in operation within three years.
Subject to approval by the New South Wales state authorities, the giant chimney-like structure will generate electricity by drawing warm air from ground level through turbines. Enviromission, the company pioneering this project, say the full-scale prototype, planned for a site on the border of New South Wales and Victoria, could be replicated in deserts throughout the world.
The company's chief executive, Roger Davey, said "it's completely silent, it doesn't need any fuel, and the only by-product is hot air". Producing the same amount of energy using fossil fuels would release 700,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year.
The concrete tower will be surrounded by a circular greenhouse, which is 7km in diameter. Warm air will collect in the greenhouse and rise towards 32 turbines at the tower's base. The outer circles of the tower may be used for agriculture or fruit drying, but closer to the tower there will be a constant 35mph wind and temperature rising towards 60C (140F).
Work on the tower is expected to begin next year, and the first electricity should be generated by 2005. Enviromission believes it can have five plants up and running by 2010.
This is an unusual move for Australia: its government was one of five worldwide not to ratify the Kyoto protocol on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Environmentalists, however, have noted that the country's vast expanses of uninhabited land are ideal for environmentally friendly energy production.
Coup d'état verdict deepens Venezuelan tensions
BY MICHAEL PIERSE
VENEZUELA - The aquittal of four army officers last week, who were accused of being involved in a conspiracy to overthrow Venezuela's elected government, has led to further disturbances in the South American country.
11 Supreme Court (TSJ) justices approved a petition to refuse to try the men, who stood accused, by the Attorney General, of participating in the 11 April coup d'tat.
The TSJ further refused to recognise that there had been a coup d'état and, risibly, stated that leftist President Hugo Chavez had not been held captive by the officers, but was merely under their "supervision". The officers were also seen on television reading declarations saying that they would no longer recognise the authority of the President.
Street protests by followers of the Venezuelan President have ensued - with many calling for the dissolution of the TSJ. Some of the TSJ justices are suspected of being in cahoots with the right-wing opposition. Many international observers concur.
Chavez, who describes himself as a "social revolutionary", is currently implementing reforms that will benefit the poor, but which are destabilising relations with Venezuela's corporate sector. In turn, the corporate world, and factions within the military and police, have combined with Chavez's political enemies to conspire against his government.
As the discord between pro and anti-Chavez factions grows, the real achievements of Chavez's regime are being ignored, at least according to American-born sociologist and freelance reporter, Gregory Wilpert.
"The media and other observers never mention the fact that over half of Venezuela's population is the potential beneficiary of real urban and rural land reform, which is currently in the process of being implemented. Also no one ever mentions the tremendous increases in health services and education for the poor. These achievements would be reversed if the opposition came to power," Wilpert, who currently lives in Caracas, said last week.
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