Protesters call for the release of two French journalists outside the Indonesian consulate
A face frowned through
the glass at a bright banner waving on a fishing rod below the consulate
window. 15 years in an Indonesian jail can be the penalty for flying the Morningstar flag,
symbol of the West Papuan independence movement. But Jakarta’s little
patch of Sydney lay 50 cm away, separated from Australian soil by a
stern metal fence. There was nothing they could do.
A tiny pod of protesters
had prisons in mind as they gathered on the Maroubra footpath outside
the Indonesian consulate yesterday. They held up candles in glass
lanterns for two French journalists who
have been trapped in a West Papuan jail for more than 40 days.
Depending on how things pan out they could face 20 years behind bars.
This reporter helped
organise the vigil because Valentine Bourrat, 29, and Thomas Dandois, 40
have little prospect of seeing freedom any time soon unless the
Indonesian Government relents and lets them go. The journalists went to
the secretive region, annexed by Indonesia in 1969, to make a
documentary for Arte TV in France. They wanted to report on the
independence movement which began fighting after a disputed vote called
the “Act of Free Choice” handed the fertile western half of New Guinea
to Jakarta.
The lure of the story is
strong for Western media. Some highland tribes have had little contact
with the modern world. Remote areas are almost first contact regions.
A demographic genocide
has unfurled since Indonesia took over according to the University of
Sydney’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, which has reported that
migrants outnumber native West Papuans after less than 50 years of
occupation. Endangered tribes may vanish before their unique existence
is even recorded.
Independence fighters
hiding in caves have fought the Indonesian military with bows and
arrows, and relic World War II rifles found in the forest. Over the
years the military has responded with napalm, cluster bombs and aerial strafing.
Indonesia promises to
bring greater economic development to the region which contains the
world’s richest goldmine as well as valuable timber and agricultural
land. But Jakarta is highly sensitive about any hints that West Papuans
aspire to separate and has gone to great lengths to silence independence
leaders - including putting an international arrest warrant out for
Benny Wenda on bogus accusations of terrorism in 2011. Interpol dropped
the red notice after finding it had been politically motivated.
Independence
leader Benny Wenda tuning his ukelele at the raising of the Morningstar
flag in PNG in December. He was falsely accused of terrorism. Interpol
dropped the red notice after finding the allegations were politically
motivated.
This
sensitivity makes interviewing the armed independence movement, the OPM,
an extremely difficult task, not least because of the logistical
difficulties of finding them and the expense of getting there.
It is a story coveted by
journalists who are proud of their craft and are keen to tell the
little-known stories of the region. Indonesia’s supporters have said it
is easy to get a foreign journalist’s visa through the right channels,
but reporters say that in practice they have found the reverse to be
true. Gold Walkley-winning journalist Mark Davis was recently granted a
pass to produce a Dateline story for Australian TV station SBS which
aired on June 3. But he was openly followed through the streets by
Indonesians who filmed him as he went. That kind of attention makes it
difficult for reporters to do their jobs because West Papuans can be
afraid to tell their stories even when a potential informer isn’t
hovering.
Ms
Bourrat and Mr Dandois did what others have done before them. They went
in on a tourist visa, and they got caught. The usual penalty is to be
deported, but Indonesian authorities have instead responded with a
severity that has shocked the media industry.
Indonesian police told
Fairfax Media reporter Michael Bachelard that the pair were being
investigated for criminal subversion after communicating with
independence leaders. If they are charged they could face 20 years in
prison. The pair could get the maximum five years’ jail for the visa
breach alone. The Immigration Office in Papua told Fairfax Media that
they want the journalists to get the maximum penalty.
The International
Federation of Journalists and the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance
have both called for Ms Bourrat and Mr Dandois to be freed. “MEAA
condemns the ongoing detention of the pair and urges Indonesian
authorities to free Dandois and Bourrat and drop all charges against
them,” the journalist’s union said in a statement.
In New Zealand a
lunchtime vigil was held at the central Auckland city church of St
Matthews where Vicar Helen Jacobi prayed for the pair.
A rally was held in Wellington on the steps of Parliament calling on the NZ Government to help the journalists.
In Sydney, supporters
held candles at the gates of the Indonesian consulate and gave flowers
to passers-by before writing letters of support to send the journalists.
There were more police
than protesters there, perhaps because the FaceBook event page
registered 100 people as attending. Many without the ability to attend
had registered their support from far-away places by clicking they were
“going”.
Indonesian President-elect Joko Widodo has
said he wants to open up West Papua to foreign media, address
corruption and improve human rights across the archipelago. Human Rights
Watch researcher Andreas Harsono said he will have to battle forces
that don’t want change both in West Papua and in his own coalition. When
asked how Australia can help, Mr Harsono said: “criticise”. When the
rest of the world makes it clear that violating human rights is not
acceptable it helps Jokowi to overcome opposition, he said.
His first test is now laid before him.
The
Indonesian Embassy was contacted for a response. Police Attache Mr
Nazluddin referred questions to police in Indonesia who have all the
details of the case. Mr Nazluddin said that if people want to know how
authorities respond in West Papua, then they should go themselves to the
region and gather their own information.
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