Sunday 19 October 2014
West Papuan independence leader Jacob Rumbiak has queried Australia’s ongoing financial support and military relations with Indonesia after the Red-White Coalition (Suharto’s New Order) garnered all the leadership positions in the Indonesian Parliament.
“The (independent) Federal Republic of West Papua is now the only democratic territory in Indonesia” the West Papuan leader said during celebrations of the FRWP’s third anniversary in his office in Docklands.
“General Prabowo lost the presidential election, but the military’s Red-White Coalition has harvested all the power, leaving President Widodo without political machinery in Jakarta’s House of Representatives (DPR) or the Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR)”.
“Last week’s display by the Indonesian Army, Navy, and Airforce was said to be the biggest in the country’s history, but was in fact government code for the military’s resumption of political capacity and influence; they’re very happy” he added. (see http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-07/indonesia-puts-on-a-display-of-military-strength/5795446).
In the final month of his presidential term, Yudhoyono oversaw his nation abandon ‘decentralization and democracy’ and revert to New Order political architecture and practices. Autonomy has been revoked. Provincial politicians are to be appointed. All the governors are back in uniform.
Yudhoyono, a four-star general, supported fellow KOPASSUS General Prabowo’s presidential campaign. His betrayal of democracy ensures block protection (immunity) of military and intelligence commanders—as well as the nation’s politicians and bureaucrats—from a corpus of human rights charges and a well-documented charge of genocide in West Papua by the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong.
3rd ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF WEST PAPUA
SUNDAY 19 OCTOBER; 2-4pm; 838 COLLINS ST, DOCKLANDS
GUEST SPEAKER: ROBERT STRINGER
Inquiries: Jacob Rumbiak, Minister for Foreign Affairs; MOB 0497 867 070
Melkias Okoka, Media Liaison, MOB 0403 588 796
