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Australia - East Timor Friendship Association (SA) Inc. Last boat to freedom?             Anike is free – but are all the people she left behind condemned to a living hell in their own land?   4 year old Anike Wainggai & her father fled to Australia with 41 other West Papuans in January 2006.  After 5 days at sea, the 43 asylum seekers landed their 25 metre outrigger canoe at Mapoon on Cape York Peninsula.  Their claims for asylum were undeniable under existing laws.  They had come directly from the place where they were persecuted & many of them gave credible detailed accounts of torture & imprisonment.  Their accounts of Indonesian repression echoed the Reconciliation report (CAVR), a document they had no access to (see “Truth the last casualty?” in this edition).  Anike & her father Yunus & 41 other Papuans are now living in Melbourne under Temporary Protection Visas granted in March 2006.    In April 2006, Anike’s mother Siti told Indonesian media that she wanted the Government to press for Anike’s return home.  Anike’s parents had been separated for 2 years.  Next day, Siti disappeared from Jayapura just before her flight to Jakarta to meet President Yudhoyono.  On April 13th, Immigration Minister Vanstone announced new regulations designed to prevent any more Papuans seeking asylum.  A week later, Siti, now in hiding in Papua New Guinea (PNG), revealed that her statement seeking Anike’s return was made under coercion from Indonesian army (TNI) intelligence officers.  Yunus’ lawyer David Manne said it showed high level attempts to discredit, intimidate & harass the 43 successful asylum seekers.  Siti fled with only the clothes she was wearing & a photo of Anike. She & Yunus are pleading for her asylum in Australia.  Yunus can’t sponsor his wife to Australia until he is granted permanent protection, which could take 3 years.  He joined peaceful protests for independence in West Papua & helped people pursued by authorities to flee to PNG.  He says for this he would be arrested & killed if he returned to West Papua.    In August 2006 the Howard Government failed to pass its harsher asylum seeker law. Several Government MPs voted against it or abstained. The bill was withdrawn to prevent certain defeat in the Senate by Government senators. A November 2006 High Court ruling will now force TPV holders to reapply for refugee status & to prove their claims remain valid. The onus of proof is shifted to asylum seekers. Governments can now more easily return asylum seekers at any time they say circumstances have changed. All 43 of the Papuan TPV holders are now at risk of being returned in 2009 – or sooner. A recent report by the Edmund Rice Centre reveals several documented cases of asylum seekers returned by the Howard Government only to be killed in the homeland they had fled from.[1] This new threat of arbitrary return at any time makes TPV holders more insecure than ever. The temporary nature of TPVs often leads to serious mental illness.   Both governments have since signed & ratified the Lombok treaty. It affirms Indonesian sovereignty over Papua & sets up joint maritime patrols between Papua & northern Australia. A massive surveillance program will see Australia’s navy helping Indonesia ’s navy to detect asylum seekers & return them to Papua. 5 Papuan asylum seekers were intercepted north of Cape York in August 2007 & sent back to PNG after 4 weeks in detention. The Australian people were not informed because it was a "routine operational matter" - according to then-Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews. Lawyer David Manne claimed Australia had violated its international obligations to protect refugees. [2]   Intimidation With families & friends still in Indonesia, intimidation is easy.  Indonesian Human Rights Commission Deputy Chairman in Papua, Albert Rumbekwan, says the families of the 43 asylum seekers have been “terrorised”. [3]  Human rights group Refugees International (RI) says no state should consult countries of origin about whether asylum seekers get refugee status.  RI says Indonesia will deny any persecution in Papua & claim that any violence shows they’re fighting terrorism.  The war on terror is used as an excuse for all kinds of human rights abuses. [4]    Jakarta ’s furious reaction to the asylum decision may be due to a fear of losing international aid.  In February 2006 it ratified the UN’s main human rights treaty – a condition for access to loans from the Asian Development Bank.  It must within 2 years report to a UN committee on how it is meeting its treaty obligations.  Any adverse comments on Indonesia’s efforts are known throughout the UN system; so Indonesia pressed Australia to send the Papuans back. A 2006 Newspoll of 1200 Australians showed 76.7% support West Papuans’ right to self-determination; only 5.5% were opposed. [5]   Repression to continue unless … Since coming to power in 2004, President Yudhoyono has tried to bring TNI under civilian control.  The Lombok treaty will shore up TNI & weaken his authority.  To stop the flow of refugees & demands for Papuan independence, he needs to end transmigration of Javanese to Papua, remove most soldiers, & offer Papua real autonomy. [6] A 2004 report by Yale Law School described extra-judicial killings, torture, disappearances, rape & sexual violence by the army.  The report concluded “without significant international pressure, the pattern of violent repression in West Papua is likely to continue.” [7] The Howard Government applied no such pressure - nor will a Rudd Government unless the Australian people speak out. The Howard Government ignored Siti's plight & the plight of all West Papuans . 6-year-old Anike would not understand their reasons.  Nor would most Australians.   References:  1. Smith, Kerry 2006, “DIMA forced fatal return of refugees”, Green Left Weekly, 16th August 2006 www.greenleft.org.au/2006/679/7808 2. Hart, Cath 2007, "Returning asylum seekers 'scandalous' ", The Australian, 27th Sept 2007 http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22489350-16953,00.html 3. Steketee, Mike 2006 “Howard is wrong on refugees”, The Australian, 20th April 2006 http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20876,18864015-7583,00.html 4. Walters, Patrick & Nason, David 2006, “Prime Minister slams door on boatpeople”, The Australian, 13th April 2006 http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,18801565-601,00.html 5. Maiden, Samantha 2006, “Small comfort for SBY in Papua polling”, The Australian, 19th April 2006 http://www.benoquist.com/newspolljune.pdf 6. Davidson, Kenneth 2006, “Australia’s Papua stance not helping Indonesian democrats”, The Age, 20th April 2006 http://www.asia-pacific-action.org/southeastasia/indonesia/netnews/2006/ind15v10.htm#Australia's%20Papua%20stance%20not%20helping%20Indonesian%20democrats 7. Yale Law School 2003 report, “Indonesian Human Rights Abuses in West Papua:  Application of the Law of Genocide to the History of Indonesian Control” http://www.law.yale.edu/documents/pdf/westpapuahrights.pdf Are you concerned about West Papua? Want to find out more? Look at these sites: http://www.freewestpapua.com/ http://westpapuaaction.buz.org/ http://zulenet.com/awpa http://www.newint.org/issue344/contents.htm

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