Concerned WPAT, RI Limiting UN Special Rapporteur Visit Papua and Ambon Prisoner

West Papua Advocacy Team
c/o PO Box 21873
Brooklyn, NY 11202-1873
wpat@igc.org
+1- 575-648-2078

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Department of State
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Clinton,

The West Papua Advocacy Team respectfully requests that you raise the following concerns in your upcoming meetings with Indonesian officials during your visit to Jakarta:

The Killing of Mako Tabuni

On June 14 in West Papua, Government of Indonesia security elements shot and killed Mako Tabuni, a prominent Papuan human rights advocate. According to eyewitnesses, Mr. Tabuni was shot by plainclothes officers after he eluded their attempts to force him into an unmarked vehicle. Although he was badly wounded, the plainclothes officers failed to take him to a nearby hospital and instead brought him to a distant police facility where he died. The appearance and modus operandi of the security officials strongly suggest that they were members of the U.S.-funded "Detachment 88." This unit has been accused of human rights violations in West Papua and elsewhere by reputable human rights organizations.

The issue of impunity continues to prevail in Indonesia and Timor-Leste because the authorities of the two governments only want to improve diplomatic relationships and have neglected the human rights violations that occurred during the Indonesian occupation.
We strongly urge you to insist that the Government of Indonesia conduct a thorough and transparent investigation of the killing of Mako Tabuni.

Military Operations Impacting Civilians

For decades the Government of Indonesia has conducted military operations in remote areas of West Papua purportedly aimed at countering the activity of the small, lightly-armed Papua Freedom Movement (OPM). These operations have severely affected local civilians resulting in the destruction of homes, places of worship and public buildings, and causing the flight of civilians to nearby forests where they face life threatening conditions. Invariably, security forces impede efforts by humanitarian relief organizations to assist these displaced civilians. Many civilians have died as a result of these military operations. Currently such an operation is underway in the Paniai region.

We strongly urge you to call on the Government of Indonesia to cease resort to armed measures to address largely peaceful Papuan protests and to permit humanitarian relief organizations to respond to the urgent human need generated by these military operations.

See more: Concerned WPAT