Release Buchtar Tabuni: International Lawyers for West Papua

International Lawyers for West Papua
Press Release

Arrest of Buchar Tabuni

The International Lawyers for West Papua (ILWP) is concerned at the arrest of Buchtar Tabuni for his peaceful expression of support for the International Parliamentarians for West Papua. This is a violation of the fundamental human right to freedom of expression - a right protected under international law. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights states as a rule of customary international law that:

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

As a sovereign state, Indonesia is bound by international law.

Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also states that:


1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.

2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.

Indonesia acceded to this Covenant in February 2006 and is likewise bound by this treaty to respect freedom of expression.

Freedom of expression is one of the essential foundations of a democratic society. No State can claim to be a democracy if it penalises individuals for their expressing their views peacefully. Only authoritarian governments are afraid of dissent, debate and different opinions.

We ask the Indonesian government to release Buchtar Tabuni and to allow him and all West Papuans to express their opinions freely and peacefully.

We ask the Indonesian government to respect international law and to bring Indonesian national law in line with the standards set by international law.
6th December 2008

Melinda Janki
International Human Right Lawyer & International Lawyers for West Papua

BIG BOOST FOR WEST PAPUA DECLARATION:

Former UK Foreign Office Minister, Rt Hon. John Battle M.P., recognises West Papuans’

M.P., recognises West Papuans’
“inalienable right to self-determination”.
Oxford, England, 8th December 2008

The worldwide campaign for justice and freedom for Indonesian-occupied West Papua received a strong boost today with news

that a former U.K. Government Minister who handled Britain’s relations with Indonesia, the Right Honourable John Battle M.P.,

has put his name to the West Papua Declaration (see text below) launched by International Parliamentarians for West Papua

(IPWP) in London last week, recognising the West Papuan people’s “inalienable right to self-determination” and calling on the United Nations “to put in place arrangements for the free exercise of that right”.

In November 2000, during his time as Foreign Office Minister, Mr Battle made a powerful speech entitled “The relationship between the UK and Indonesia”, in which, with specific reference to West Papua, he said:

“In West Papua there are real issues and grievances to be addressed. Tensions there between centre and periphery are not unique but have been magnified and intensified. We look to the Indonesian government to do that constructively and peacefully. As history has shown, the least effective approach in the long run is heavy-handed treatment by the security forces.”

“We do make human rights an integral feature of our overall approach in international affairs in Indonesia. We will stress that international help would be put in jeopardy internationally and elsewhere if there is any repetition of the sort of state-sponsored terrorism that we saw last year [1999] in East Timor.”

Richard Samuelson, Free West Papua Campaign (UK)

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The WEST PAPUA DECLARATION

London, 1st December 2008

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WE the undersigned recognise the inalienable right of the indigenous people of West Papua to self-determination, which

was violated in the 1969 “Act of Free Choice”,



AND call upon our governments through the United Nations to put in place arrangements for the free exercise of that right



SO that the indigenous people of West Papua can decide democratically their own future in accordance with international standards

of human rights, the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.



International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP)

New York Agreement According to Indonesia

The New York Agreement 15 August 1962 According to Indonesia’s Arguments

There are two versions of opinions regarding the Legal Documents on which the Act of Free Choice 1969 was based: The New York Agreement between The Kingdom of the Netherlands and Indonesia, 15 August 2962

Agreement Between the Republic of Indonesia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands Concerning West New Guinea (West Irian)

(Signed at the Headquarters of the United Nations, New York, on 15 August 1962)

The Republic of Indonesia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands,

Having in mind the interests and welfare of the people of the territory of West New Guinea (West Irian) herinafter referred to as “the territory”,

Desirous of settling their dispute regarding the territory,

Now, therefore, agree as follows:

RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENT AND RESOLUTION OF

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Article I

After the present Agreement between Indonesia and the Netherlands has been signed and ratified by both Contracting Parties, Indonesia and the Netherlands will jointly sponsor a draft resolution in the United Nations under the terms of which the General Assembly of the United Nations takes note of the present Agreement, acknowledges the role conferred upon the Secretary-General of the United Nations therein, and authorizes him to carry out the tasks entrusted to him therein.

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Soal Papua, Komisi I Kirim Nota Protes Ke Parlemen Inggris

JAKARTA - Komisi I Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) akan mengirimkan nota protes kepada parlemen Inggris terkait dukungan dua angota parlemen itu terhadap upaya Papua merdeka.

Hal tersebut dikatakan Ketua Komisi I DPR, Theo L Sambuaga kepada wartawan di gedung DPR, Senayan, Jakarta, Senin (20/10/2008).

"Kita akan angkat ke forum kerja sama antar parlemen," kata Theo.

Meski langkah Komisi I cukup telat dan dikeluarkan setelah peristiwa dukungan dua anggota parlemen untuk Papua merdeka, Theo membantah jika upaya Komisi I bersifat reaktif.

"Kami memberikan sikap terhadap pembentukan kaukus ini yang tujuannya untuk mengkampanyekan pemisahan Papua dari negara kesatuan republik Indonesia," ujarnya.

Theo melanjutkan, masalah Papua pada dasarnya tidak hanya dibahas di periode DPR saat ini. Namun oleh DPR sebelumnya. Terutama mengenai masalah pembangunan dan pemberdayaan masyarakat, peningkatan pendidikan, demokrasi, hak asasi manusia, kehidupan masyarakat Papua, dan dana otonomi khusus yang penggunaannya harus efektif di Papua.

Sementara anggota Komisi I Abdillah Toha mengatakan, dukungan dua anggota parlemen Inggris belum tentu mempersentasikan seluruh anggota parlemen itu.

"Tapi saya minya pemerintah waspada dan bertindak tegas agar tidak timbul kaukus-kaukus semacam ini yang dimungkinkan, kurangnya informasi terhadap Papua," kata Abdillah. (enp)
Sumber : Okezone