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Please help send direct aid to the highlands of West Papua

fPcN Intercultural | 24.06.2003 04:09

appeal for help

URGENT APPEAL
Please help send direct aid to the highlands of West Papua.

1000 people are still scared to return to their villages in the highlands of
Papua following the recent military operation in the area. The TNI are still
occupying the villages and have burnt many houses, schools and gardens,
destroying everything the people posses, including their crops which they
rely on to eat.

Most of the women and children have now made it to safer villages but the
majority of the men remain in the jungles monitoring the situation in their
own villages. There are severe food shortages as many of the gardens have
been burnt and people dare not return to those that are still under TNI
occupation. At least sixteen people have died in the operation, some shot by
the TNI, some burnt alive in their houses whilst others have died from
starvation and exposure whilst hiding in the jungle.

We are going to send aid direct to the area, to give to the families of
those who have been killed, to help rebuild houses that have been burnt and
to buy desperately needed food. Please help and send what you can.
There is a film report from the area online at this link

 http://realserver.spc.org:7070/ramgen/piratetv/fpcn/wamenajune2003.rm

you will need to have real player installed to watch it.
 http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=real
has real player 8 available for download free.

To donate:
Online, please use credit or debit cards via PayPal at
 http://www.fpcn-global.org/general/donate.php (please also send an
accompanying email stating that your donation is for supporting the victims
of TNI in highlands of West Papua)
or.
Send cheques made payable to KSAS (Koteka Solidarity and Support) to DeMMaK,
c/o SDEF, 6 Tilbury Place, Brighton, BN2 2GY
or.
Make a bank transefer to:
A/C Name: KSAS, Sort Code: 070093
A/C No: 33333334, Ref No: 0346 / 703 572 995
Branch Address: Nationwide Brighton London Road, 104 London Road, Brighton,
BN1 4HF

In May we sent a small amount of money to some of the victims' families and
the thank you that came back was overwhelming. They said that the highland
people had never been helped like this before. However, since the exodus
from the villages like Kwiawagi the situation has got much worse. Let's keep
up this support so that the koteka people can stay strong and continue their
struggle for freedom!

For more info about the situation in Wamena, please see:

 http://www.westpapua.net/news/03/06/130603-the_ongoing_indonesian_military_atrocities_in_th-2912.html


You can also help by participating in a concerted
PRISONER SUPPORT PHONE ACTION

To the best of our knowledge there are only two non-TNI prisoners still
being held in connection with the Wamena gun theft on 4th April. They are:

Kanius Murib 48 being held in Kodim 1702 (army
custody), Wamena.

Mikael Heselo 32 being held in Polda (police custody),
Jayapura.

We want to have a push to show solidarity for these prisoners. Kanius has
been held in army custody since early April, the same place where his family
member Yapenas Murib was killed by the TNI. Mikael Heselo was badly beaten
on arrival in Polda.

The best way we have discovered to get to the authorities concerned is to
have a large telephone campaign. If as many of us as possible telephone over
the next week, it is likely that this will get through to the prisoners and
they will feel our support. It can also help to improve their conditions and
chances of fair treatment or even push early release. So please phone.

The numbers to ring are:
KODIM (TNI) Office in Wamena: +62 969 31089

POLDA: +62 967 533763 or 531717
Prison Cells Polda: +62 967 531830
Intelligence Polda: +62 967 531829

The most important thing is to say their names a lot!

Information for phoning:
You can phone Indonesia from UK for 15p per minute by first dialling 0905
306 0197, then the international number.

They are 8.5 hours ahead of the UK, so it's daytime there around midnight or
first thing in the morning from UK. However the phone will be answered 24
hours so just ring when you can.

The most important thing is just to say their names a lot, even if they
don't understand English, and make it clear you are phoning from abroad.

Some Indonesian phrases you can use (pronunciation guide in brackets):
Saya telepon tentang . (Sy-ar telepon tentang..) - I am telephoning about
...
Hati hati (Harti harti) - Be careful
Kami jaga lihat anda sekarang. (Karmee jargar leehat anda seykarang) - We
are watching you now
Saya dari Inggris. (Sy-yar dary Ingrees) - I am from England
Kamu pratikan baik kesehatan mereka, minum, makan dan keselamatan mereka.
(Karmu prateekan bike kay-say-hartan meraykar, minum, makan dan kay-selamtan
meraykar) - Treat them well, give food, water and look after them)
Kami tahu apa yang lakukan di lembaga. (Karmee tarhoo apa yang larkookan dee
lembarga) - We know what you do in the prison
Kami adalah teman mereka. (Karmee ard-ar-lar tayman meraykar) - We are their
friends

 Koteka_Prisoner_Support@xsmail.com

Papua Merdeka! - Free Papua

fPcN Intercultural
- e-mail: info@fpcn-global.org
- Homepage: http://www.fpcn-global.org