PAPUA: REPORTED INTIMIDATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 002431 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/ANP, INR/EAP, DRL/PHD E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ID SUBJECT: PAPUA: REPORTED INTIMIDATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS REF: JAKARTA 1647 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak for reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Contacts in the Papuan human rights community report increasing threats and surveillance. While the threats are usually anonymous, Papuan activists believe they come from the Indonesian security services. Mission has no specific evidence that any individuals are in immediate danger. Papuans fear that the threats are intended to silence them in the wake of President Yudhoyono's more open policy toward Papua. Poloff will visit Papua September 10-14 and will look into the reports further. END SUMMARY ¶2. (C) REPORTED INTIMIDATION: Contacts in the Papuan human rights community report increasing threats and surveillance. Recent reports of intimidation include: -- Several individuals who identified themselves as military intelligence officials reportedly questioned Albert Rumbekwan, Director of the National Human Rights Commission Papua (Komnas HAM-Papua),immediately after his June meeting with Hina Jilani, Special Representative of the UNSYG for Human Rights Defenders (reftel). Since then, Mr. Rumbekwan says he has received "hundreds" of anonymous text messages threatening him and his family. One such SMS, forwarded to poloff, accused Rumbekwan of supporting Papuan separatist groups and threatened him with "the same fate as Munir." (Note: Munir, a prominent Indonesian human rights activist, was poisoned, allegedly with some involvement by GOI security services, in 2004.) -- Yan Christian Warinussy, a well-known human rights lawyer and Director of the Institute of Research, Analysis and Development for Legal Aid in Manokwari, a town in West Papua, told poloff that he has also been the target of threats. He reported that individuals he believed to be intelligence officers were following him and regularly questioning his family about his activities. -- Rev. Benny Giay and Rev. Noahk Nawipa, prominent figures in the Kingmi church, an Evangelical Christian grouping, have also reported receiving a number of threatening text messages. These followed a July 30 incident where a mob, allegedly affiliated with a rival church, attacked the Kingmi church in Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province. These incidents purportedly stem from a bitter split between the Gospel Tabernacle Church of Indonesia (GKII) and the Kingmi church, a Papuan offshoot of the GKII. Some Papuan contacts allege that the security forces have fomented the split as a cover for violent action against Rev. Giay and other church leaders, although there is no credible evidence of this. ¶3. (C) NO SIGN OF IMMEDIATE THREAT: Papuan human rights activists report that the uptick in anonymous threats began during the June visit of Jilani of the UN (reftel). In response to the threats, expatriate volunteers from the international NGO Peace Brigades International (PBI) regularly accompany Rumbekwan and Warinussy to help guarantee their safety. Mission has no specific evidence that any of the individuals listed above are in immediate danger. ¶4. (C) BACKLASH AGAINST OPENNESS?: The Yudhoyono administration is slowly moving forward with its pledge to open Papua to international scrutiny, as evinced by the recent Hina Jilani visit and the promise to allow Representative Faleomavaega to visit Papua in December. Faced with this new openness, Papuan interlocutors assert that elements of the Indonesian security services are turning to threats and intimidation to silence them. Poloff will visit Papua September 10-14 and will look into the reports further. HUME