WCC NEWS: WCC expresses concern over human right violations in Tanah Papua

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World Council of Churches - News

WCC EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATIONS IN TANAH PAPUA

For immediate release: 24 February 2012

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee recently issued
a statement expressing concern over the escalation of violence in Tanah
Papua, Indonesia. They urged the Indonesian authorities to stop the
killings of civilians at the hands of armed forces and protect the rights
of Papuan people.

The statement was released in a WCC Executive Committee meeting in Bossey,
Switzerland, which took place from 14 to 17 February.

The statement was issued in the context of Tanah Papua experiencing
increasing conflict during the past months. The tensions between
indigenous Papuans and Indonesian police led to the killings of several
civilians in October last year.

The events in October involved a crackdown on a peaceful gathering of
Papuans, who were faced with force by the Indonesian military, brutally
beating and killing civilians.

The statement highlights that the “tragic escalation in tension once
again poses a wake-up call to Indonesia and the international
community.” It insists that the “grievances of the Papuan people must
be addressed without further delay.”

In Tanah Papua, the indigenous population has suffered economic deprivation
since the times of the authoritarian Suharto regime (1965-98), who
encouraged transmigration programmes turning Papuans into a minority in
their own land.

“Over the past several years the Papuan people have been demanding
freedom of expression and the right to self determination, but the demands
for their legitimate rights have been continuously suppressed by the
Indonesian authorities,” reads the statement.

The statement called the churches to “provide long term accompaniment and
also to be engaged in advocacy on peace and security for all Papuans in
their struggle for the right to life and right to dignity.”

The WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs has been
monitoring the situation in the region and has organized solidarity visits
to Tanah Papua.

Read full text of the WCC Executive Committee statement (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=f2557fb7ac1643f53849 )

West Papuans "traumatized", WCC team tells Indonesian government
(Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=790b4e9fd5e39cf2de4b
) (WCC press release of 29 July 2008)

Commission of the Churches on International Affairs  (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=ed88b865e1197ddc342e )

WCC member churches in Indonesia (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=cd0ac70e86410332474a )


The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness 
and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of 
churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, 
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.



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