Transcript
This year, non-Papuan Indonesians were among the hundreds demonstrating in Jakarta. They were blasted by water cannons, before police arrested 203 of them. A public interest lawyer who was present, Veronica Koman, says demonstrators were roughed up by undercover police, and that ten of those taken in by police sustained injuries. They were all released without charge within a few hours, but Ms Koman says the arrests follow an ongoing pattern of infringement of constitutional rights.
"It's just basic freedom of expression. As long as Papua is still a part of Indonesia it means they still have the right to freedom of expression, and it's being violated systematically by the state."
Thursday's demos also occured in Papua region itself, mainly as prayer events and under the tight watch of police. Unlike December 1st demos in global centres such as London and Sydney, the Papua events were not allowed to feature raising of the Morning Star. Two days earlier a new organisation called the Indonesia's People Front for West Papua declared support for a legitimate self-determination process. Its spokesman Surya Anta was among those arrested in the capital
"All the members of this organisation, and also the individuals that support this United Front for West Papua, we are from Indonesian people. All the members of this organisation. There are no Papuans who are members of this United Front."
Although Jakarta says it is final, 1969's Act of Free Choice under which Papua was subsumed into Indonesia, voted on by only 0.2 percent of its population, remains a core grievance for Papuans. Mr Surya says if Indonesian and Papuan people can work together, and combine with international pressure, it is realistic that Jakarta can be encouraged to address the question of legitimacy. However the government prefers to focus on its economic development efforts in Papua, which include a major infrastructure drive taking in remote regions. The government's official on development in Papua, Judith Dipodiputro says in grassroots communities there is a growing sense of positivity about the opportunities opening up.
"Most of my work is at the village level and I see this willingness, this positive wanting to... (like) this is the time, what can we do; creativity, wanting to innovate, try this, try that. Papuans in Papuan villages try to serve themselves with the help of the district, or Kabupaten (regency) or municipal or provincial government."
Yet Veronica Koman says that as far as Indonesia's general public is concerned, the state has long censored accurate information about Papua.
"And we in Jakarta are really campaigning, letting Indonesians know what's actually happening in West Papua, and also the history of manipulation by state. So people are opening their eyes, and it's growing, the solidarity is definitely growing."
She says since April this year, police have made 4,800 arrests of people participating in demos in support of West Papuan self-determination.
