Jayapura – The West Papua National Committee (KNPB) is urging the Nabire District Police Chief (Kapolres) to release four KNPB activists who were arrested when they were handing out leaflets on Monday August 12 for a protest action on August 15 to commemorate the New York Agreement.
"The arrest and dispersal of the four KNPB activists in the Nabire area when they were distributing leaflets for a planned peaceful demonstration on August 15, 2024, shows an attitude of police arrogance that is not commendable", KNPB spokesperson Ones Suhuniap told Suara Papua on Monday.
According to Suhuniap, the distribution of the leaflets did not violate the law or the Constitution, because the leaflets were only a general notification whose contents conveyed information that a peaceful demonstration would be held on August 15.
Suhuniap said that the distribution of leaflets is part of the right to free expression guaranteed by the law and the leaflets were distributed peacefully.
Therefore said Suhuniap, the Nabire District Police Chief must stop such brutal and repressive actions accompanied by the dispersal of the KNPB activists who were distributing peaceful leaflets.
"The forced dispersal of activities by ordinary people and civilians is an abuse of the authority of the police, because the task of the police is not to disperse [people], but to safeguard and supervise so that every activity runs peacefully and safely so that there is no reason for the police disperse every community activity."
For this reason, he said, there was no reason for the Nabire District Police Chief to arrest and detain the KNPB activists and stop the distribution of the leaflets.
"We ask the Nabire District Police Chief not to curb democratic space for the people of Nabire to distribute leaflets and the peaceful demonstration on August 15, 2024. The Nabire police's actions are questionable. What is the reason for the police to disperse the KNPB activist who were distributing the leaflets so brutally and blindly?"
Suhuniap said that Papuans have the right to express opinions verbally or in writing, and if this is forcibly restricted or curbed, then where are the Papuan people's democratic rights.
The Nabire Police Chief must stop these dishonourable actions that are contrary to the principles of law and the Constitution which guarantee the right of each person individually or in groups to gather and associate.
"We condemn the actions of the Nabire police who did not prioritise the dialogical approach of negotiating with KNPB activists who were distributing the leaflets but instead forcibly dispersed them by firing tear gas."
Notes
The New York Agreement was signed on August 15, 1962 at the UN headquarters in New York, ending a territorial dispute between the Netherlands and Indonesia over the territory of West Papua. The agreement led to the so-called 1969 "Act of Free Choice" to decide whether West Papua would become independent or be incorporated into Indonesia. The UN sponsored plebiscite, in which 1,025 hand-picked tribal leaders were allegedly coerced by the military into unanimously voting for integration, has been widely dismissed as a sham.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Kapolres Nabire Diminta Bebaskan Empat Aktivis KNPB Nabire yang Ditahan".]
