| Traditioneller Papua Rat erinnert an den Tag der Indigenen Völker |
|
|
| Geschrieben von Administrator | |
| Dienstag, 15. September 2009 | |
|
The Dewan Adat Papua (DAP) held a meeting to mark 13th September, the
third anniversary of the International Day of Indigenous People
established in 2007 by the UN. The chairman of DAP, Forkorus
Yaboisembut spoke on the theme: Let Us Safeguard our Land and the
Indigenous People of Papua. The presentation consisted of the
following points, safeguarding Papuan land, safeguarding the survival
of the Papuan people from creeping genocide, safeguarding Papuan
natural resources, safeguarding the forests, safeguarding Papuan
traditional villages, safeguarding Papuan people's futur. He said that the future of the Papuan people lies in their own hands because they face the continual dangers of being shot, murdered, arrested, held in prison, dying of starvation, and dying of a variety of diseases. The population of West Papua before the Act of Free Choice in 1969 stood at 700,000 and had increased to 1.2 million in 2007, whereas the population of PNG which was 700,000 in 1975 when it became free, was around 7 million in 2007, showing a big discrepancy between population growth in the two territories. He said that the population in West Papua was facing a kind of 'creeping genocide' as the result of numerous operations by the military that occurred in the period from 1963 until 1998. Summary killings,shootings, abductions and psychological operations against separatists for rebellion (makar). Papuans had also died from alcoholism, poisoning, inadequate health care, the spread of HIV/AIDS, all of which have threatened the lives of the Papuan people. He referred to a research paper in August 2007 by Dr Jim Elmslie of Sydney, Australia, which predicted that the non-Papuan people in West Papua would increase to 70.8 percent out of a total of 6.7 million in 2020. In 2030 the ratio would be 1:6.5. This meant that the indigenous people must themselves act to safeguard themselves from the dangers to their survival at a number of levels. He pointed to the exploitation of Papua's natural resources by capitalists, exploitation by the copper and gold mining giant Freeport and the liquefied gas exploitation by British Petroleum as well as the legal and illegal exploitation of Papua's forests. According to Papuan tradition, the land is the Mother of the people which gives them food, clothing and their children and grandchildren. Land also represents economic and religious significance for Papuan people. Speaking as a press conference at DAP's office on 13 September, Forkorus spoke of the Christian beliefs of the Papuan people regarding their survival, urging Papuas not to sell off their land and to prevent it from being used for (other people's) housing, but only to contract land out. The basic economic interests of the Papuan people, he said, were being marginalised, urban centres were now controlled by migrants as a result of which the indigenous people were facing deteriorating living conditions. Traditional villages of the Papuan people were facing extinction with the authorities paying no attention to the rights of the indigenous people. He recalled the killing of Opinus Tabuni on 9 August 2008 in Wamena at the annual commemoration of International Indigenous People's Day and the abduction of Theys Eluay and his chauffeur Aristoteles Masoka in 2001 as well as many other serious human rights violations. He called on the indigenous people to unite, shoulder to shoulder to save themselves from a humanitarian crisis and the danger of extinction. He also referred to the recent shooting incidents in the vicinity of Freeport which were similar to what happened some years ago when two US citizens were killed, only the intensity of these incidents had recently greatly increased. These incidents were likely to have been the work of provocateurs, well trained snipers who had been able to cover their traces. |
| < zurück | weiter > |
|---|
