Thousands face genocide by Indonesian military
09 Dec 2004 03:24 GMTSince August 17 the Indonesian military have been attacking villages in the heavily forested highland district of Puncak Jaya of West Papua. Dozens have already been killed; either directly by bullets from helicopter gun ships or from starvation in the crowded makeshift camps that now adorn Pancak Jaya the highest mountain in Australasia...
West Papuans in the jungle with Morning Star flag
The military assault follows guerrilla attacks attributed to around 50 OPM / T.P.N. warriors in mid October. Six Indonesian construction workers were killed when their vehicle was attacked. This was followed by the torching of government schools and administration buildings.
Latest Reports: Message from the jungle (Dec 6) | Abepura: Images of Flag raising and police brutality (Dec 1)
Links: | Perth IMC | Melbourne IMC | Sydney IMC West Papua News |
| Morning Star flag action at embassy | Friends of Peoples close to Nature | Callout to action!!!|
The subsequent state reaction has led to "internal refugees" now exceeding 15,000 people from 147 villages. Some are forced to hide in caves in the mountains in the central Puncak Jaya district.
People are starving. The death of 15 people, mainly children, was reported on November 27th. There are 2800 troops in several locations around Puncak Jaya, blocking off access to the Papuans who fled into the forest seeking refuge. As well as direct attacks on people the troops have been destroying village houses, wrecking food gardens, killing domestic animals etc.
Against this huge state assault the tribes have shown their instincts for both flight AND fight. In mid November after much of the population had fled into the forest a government convoy on the way to the area was ambushed. One policeman was killed and 12 officials, police and local media were injured.
The helicopter gunship herding of the main mass of tribes people up onto the mountain peaks probably serves three functions:
- Collective Punishment: for guerrilla attacks on development projects. The military must show both the population as a whole and warriors in particular that the death of children, lovers and family is the reward for insurgency - just as the British army did in India, Borneo and Kenya!
- Draining the Sea: means the fish have nothing to swim in. The Papuan people are the sea and the military may hope that by driving them up onto the peaks it can easier deal with the warriors left behind at least for now.
- Genocide: in the service of expansion and profit is the primary function of the Indonesian Army in New Guinea. Today's cold mountain top deaths are just the most recent in a massacre that has eradicated a sixth of the Papuan population...
Violence and Kyoto are infinitely connected.
Aaron Vallejo 09.Dec.2004 04:57
We gringe at this information above. These tradegies MUST stop.
We require information and the mechanism (internet) to deeply rethink the causes of these tragedies to the global community.
These tragedies have roots in energy, then resources which then comes to politically 'good' decisions which then leads to social injustices.
To rebuild this relationship we the people will rebuild the energy systems of the world.
Wind will be first because it is the most cost effective renewable energy source, then solar in a very big way will come.
Solar will supply the majority of our energy. Creating local energy, local economies, local politics, social justice. The sun is democratic by design.
Big companies are on board because the decentralized regenerative solar hydrogen economy makes more economic revenue allowing them to fly right passed Kyoto as opposed to the large, destructive, centralized, inefficient, high liability, healthy crisis causing energy systems of today.
Raising a glass to you 'to the peace that we together are about to build':)
look up...
THoreau 14.Dec.2004 14:58
(Free Papua Movement)