Mettu Badii, Semarang – Scores of students and young people from the group National Papua Solidarity (NAPAS) held a candlelit vigil in front of the Diponegoro University campus in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang on Sunday July 14 to remember the bloody Wasior and Wamena incidents.

Speaking on Monday July 15, action coordinator Piet Yobe told Selangkah Magazine that the candlelit vigil was to remember the scores of Papuan people who fell victim during the bloody Wasior and Wamena cases.

“It has been nine years since the humanitarian tragedy of the bloody Wasior and Wamena [incidents] yet the perpetrators have never been brought to trial”, said Yobe.

The case was submitted to the Attorney General’s Office in 2004 but to this day, he said, the results of the follow up remain unclear. Because of this therefore, they are calling on the Indonesia state not to ignore the cases and immediately take responsibility.

Otis Gwijange added that the land of Papua has never been free from the humanitarian crisis created by the Indonesian military and police (TNI/Polri) in the name of the state against the Papuan people.

“The Papuan people always become the victims because of peaceful actions demanding justice that are deemed to be subversive activities. All of the cases that have occurred in the country [of West Papua] are ignored, there has never been any clear legal process”, he explained.

“The action was closed with a prayer and the demonstrators disbanded peacefully”, said Yobe. (MS).

[Kenang Kasus Wasior dan Wamena Berdarah, Napas Gelar Aksi Lilin Kemanusiaan – Majalah Selangkah. Senin, 15 Juli 2013. Translated by James Balowski.]