PAPUA -- UPDATE ON BANNED BOOK AND DETAINED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000478 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/ANP, DRL/AWH NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PROP SCUL ID SUBJECT: PAPUA -- UPDATE ON BANNED BOOK AND DETAINED ACTIVIST REF: A. JAKARTA 318 ¶B. JAKARTA 26 JAKARTA 00000478 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4 (b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Contacts remain angry over a decision by Indonesian authorities to ban a book by a Papuan author. Authorities have not arrested the author of the book, which is strongly anti-Indonesian. The trial of Papuan human rights lawyer Sabar Iwanggin for "inciting public hatred" is proceeding slowly. The GOI is clearly taking the wrong tack on these cases and is not winning any friends in Papua. Mission continues to note its concern to the GOI. END SUMMARY. PAPUAN ANGST ¶2. (C) A decision by the GOI to ban a book continues to spark concern in Papua. Although authorities have taken no action against Sendius Wonda, the author of the banned anti-Indonesian book, Papuans remain seized with the issue. (Note: Authorities banned Wonda's book--"The Sinking of the Melanesian Race: The Political Struggle in West Papua"--because they alleged it could spark "public unrest." See ref A.) Papuan academics and journalists have published a number of commentaries which support Wonda's right to free expression and which also urge that the ban be lifted, including several in the Jayapura-based "Cendrawasih Pos," Papua's largest-circulation newspaper. So far, authorities have not taken any action against these other writers. ¶3. (C) Some Papuans are looking for ways to push the boundaries of what authorities will allow on this issue, as Reverend Benny Giay--a well-known Protestant pastor in Jayapura--explained to POLOFF on March 5. Giay and other Papuan intellectuals have formed what they call "the Papuan Writers' Association" as a direct response to the book ban. According to Giay, the group is committed to "telling our own story in our own words." ¶4. (C) Another member of the group, Jayapura theology professor Dr. Neles Tebay, outlined the group's plans. He conceded that Wonda's book lacked academic rigor and that many of his most sensational allegations--such as the claim that Indonesian officials had deliberately introduced HIV/AIDS in Papua to decimate the indigenous population--were totally unsubstantiated. ¶5. (C) Tebay claimed, however, that some of Wonda's assertions, such as the demographic impact of non-Papuan migration into the region, could be "rigorously proven." Tebay said he and fellow Papuan writers planned to publish another book which would repeat some of Wonda's claims, but back them up with rigorous evidence. This book, he said, would be represent "a test" of how far the authorities would allow Papuan intellectuals to go. TRIAL MOVES FORWARD ¶6. (C) The trial of Papuan human rights lawyer Sabar Iwanggin on charges of "inciting public hatred" continues to move forward in Jayapura. Authorities in Jayapura have charged Iwanggin on the grounds that he sent SMS messages that could foment violence between ethnic Papuans and non-Papuans. His trial began on January 7 (Ref B). Iwanggin's defense lawyer Aloysius Renwarin told POLOFF on March 5 that the trial was proceeding slowly, but without complications. ¶7. (C) Several witnesses have given testimony in court that contradicted their earlier statements regarding the content of messages they had allegedly received from Iwanggin. This, according to Renwarin, had helped bolster the defense case that Iwanggin was completely innocent of all charges. Key witnesses from the cellular phone company Telkomsel have failed to appear in court, despite having been summoned three times. JAKARTA 00000478 002.2 OF 002 ¶8. (C) Iwanggin's legal team reported that they have had unrestricted access to their client, who remains in custody in Jayapura. They also report that Iwanggin is being well treated and receives regular visits from his family. JAKARTA NOT MAKING FRIENDS ¶9. (C) Via its actions in both cases--the book ban and Iwanggin--the Indonesian government is not making any friends in Papua. Papuans are clearly bridling a bit at the government's heavy-handedness. Thus, the GOI seems to be provoking the sort of opposition it wants to squelch. Mission continues to express its concerns to the GOI about these cases and how the government is handling them. HUME