Papua Prison Island

An expression of people's desire for freedom, cries of “Papua Merdeka” continue to ring out through the cities, mountains and forests of West Papua. The struggle is against fifty years of Indonesian rule, which throughout the last half-century has violently tried to subdue Papua, in its attempts to create a unified nation from the 17,000 islands that once made up the Dutch Empire.

Freedom as expressed by the word 'merdeka' is primarily a call for political independence, although the word is imbued with the clear hope that a new national sovereignty would also bring a wider liberation. Even when used outside the context of nations, 'merdeka' carries a sense of autonomy or self-reliance; from the same Sanskrit root Indonesian also inherited the word mahardika, meaning wisdom or nobility.

Those cries of freedom are also heard from the cells of Papua's prisons, where its absence is arguably felt more strongly than anywhere else. The struggle for a national liberation suddenly becomes much more personal and immediate when deprived of your own individual liberty, by means of police handcuffs or a judge's order.

Prison is used as a weapon against the people and their resistance to Indonesia, and over the years thousands of Papuans have found themselves locked away from the world behind prison bars. Many were arrested for expressing their aspirations for liberation, mostly relatively peacefully, but occasionally also for taking up arms. Others were merely unlucky enough to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in the structural violence of a justice system designed to spread intimidation throughout the entire population.

Agrarian Struggle takes a Deep Breath. Notes from the Second Congress of the Forum for Communication between Agrarian Communities (FKMA)

Not many people, neither left-wing activists nor intellectual defenders of agrarian justice, will have ever heard his name, let alone met him. Mukhlis, a young peasant farmer from Rengas village, Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, was one of twelve victims shot by police mobile brigade (Brimob) in December 2009. On that bloody Friday, he and hundreds of other villagers were defending the reoccupation of their land which had previously been seized by state-owned plantation company PTPN VII. Hot metal pierced his finger. A rubber bullet struck his forehead. The ring finger on his right hand is now shorter than it should be.

Mukhlis remembers, “On that day I was leaving to wash in preparation for Friday prayers. My mother told me “There's no need to go and join in (defending the land occupation), you're still young, you'll just get shot.” Mukhlis was 23 at the time. “But it wasn't at anyone's invitation that I decided to join the struggle. Something inside of me was calling,” he continued, as he raised the palm of his hand towards his breast.

Grassroots Towards Autonomy

'We farm or we die, resist the iron mine.'

This extremely brave slogan was taken from the Manifesto of the Kulon Progo Farmer's Struggle, written by the Coastal Farmers' Association (PPLP). For the farmers who live in this regency in the western part of Yogyakarta Special Region , this slogan represents the culmination of all their anxiety, anger and resistance to the mining company Indo Mines Ltd, headquartered in Perth, Australia, and supported by the Yogyakarta Special Region government.

However, Java's southern coast tends to attract relatively little attention, and so neither have the farmers' struggles to defend their land there. Java's economic growth has up until now mostly focussed on its northern shore. The southern coast is rich in valuable minerals. Iron sands, gold, vanadium, titanium, uranium, and also mineral water lie below the earth's surface. These minerals have not yet been much exploited.

Protected by claims of development and economic growth, local government believes they need to bring progress to the Southern Java coast. One way is through mining projects. This agenda is surely not without its other implications. For example, the plan to build a southern Java trunk road, funded by loans from the Asian Development Bank, for which it would surely be necessary to expropriate land and evict residents.

Facts such as these have become the focus for the Kulon Progo farmers' nervousness. Especially as they most certainly have to face the planned iron sands mine. A plan which, if enacted, would mean they would lose their farmland.

Save Pandumaan-Sipituhuta

Have you heard? Land conflict has occurred in Indonesia, again: One side wants to destroy the environment for the sake of mass production, the other aims to stop it. It’s an old song that’s repeating itself over and over again. But as long as there’s still injustice, let’s crank the volume up. If you love Indonesia’s beauty and hope to see it last, you know on which side of the stage you should stand.

The conflict takes place in Pandumaan and Sipituhuta, two areas in Humbang Hasuhutan Regency, North Sumatra Province, where a Tano Batak indigenous community lives. The conflict broke out after PT Toba Pulp Lestari decided to replace the people’s Styrax benzoin forest called Tombak Haminjon, part of the people’s indigenous territory, with industrial eucalyptus trees for its paper production line.

Statement of the Second Autonomous Peasant Farmer's Congress, 10th February 2012 - Forum for Communication between Agrarian Communities

To imagine a world without farmers is like imagining a world without food. In the same way, if we imagine a nation which ignores its people can we really believe in its sovereignty? Yet the state's architects are engaged in conjuring up such dark visions right now, as they become corporations' loyal servants.

In the name of development, the state and corporations continue to expropriate peasant farmers' land without cease. In the name of security, farmers are gradually but deliberately being turned into a labour force, available for hire. In the name of the public interest, peasant farmers' living space is being constricted or even obliterated so a handful of businesspeople increase their wealth. In the name of progress, farmers are hoodwinked into handing over their right to a livelihood, giving up their life, their work, their identity, losing their self-respect as a community, as humans.

Attacks by Earth Liberation Front

Our struggle can’t be limited under civilization terms. We out of it. We are wild and we are enemies of civilization. Not only the state and capital (in old terms of anarchism), but all the civilization: we are against it.

We are the ones who proudly throw out the social peace, walk out from our comfort zones and carried an attack actions against what we hate. We are declaring war against civilization and it’s property and join in the international urban guerrilla warfare with all our brothers and sisters in Informal Anarchist Federation and International Revolutionary Front.

We claim and take responsibility for arsons against car and shop belonging to the Vice Secretary of Demokrat in South Sumatera (winning party of 2009 general election), arsons against 4 ATMs in Makassar, and actions against two electrical substations during last week in Jakarta.

Solidarity Call for Ryo (1986-2012)

February 5th, 2013

Here follows a letter from the ex-members of Negasi, about the murder of our comrade Ryo. They are making public a situation that has hit them. War against the existent.

To all comrades,

On 25th November 2012, we lost our comrade named Ryo. He was killed by a coward in the morning when trying to go back to his place after looking for breakfast. Ryo is a member of the first generation of NEGASI and was active in counter-info projects, translation and publication to support the anti-authoritarian movement in Manado.

Ryo also involved in local autonomous struggles in North Sulawesi. He took a position as a campaigner and published infos related to the struggles. Stubborn but humble and always being the first one who would care about his comrades problems. Ryo left a wife and a four years old son.

Kulon Progo Farm or Die

Faced with the threat of their land being taken from them and turned into a vast iron mine, 20 kilometres long, the farmers of Kulon Progo on Java's South Coast have resisted with cries of “Bertani atau Mati!” “We farm or we die!”. Farm or die is a compilation of articles and interviews reflecting their struggle.

If you want to read or download Farm or Die as a pdf you can do that here (to read online) or here (to print). Otherwise, you can read a selection of the articles here:

• Interview with Widodo: A chilli farmer gives his views on the will farm, the struggle, solidarity and autonomy.
• Chronology of Struggle: Some key moments in the struggle from 2007 to 2011
• Interview with Suratinem: In 2011 Suratinem's husband Tukijo was abducted from his field by police, and sentenced to three years in prison. Suratinem tells her story.
• SG and PAG: At the root of the land dispute is the local sultanate, who claim the Kulon Progo land despite the farmers clearly having land title. Feudalism may exist informally in other parts of Indonesia, but only here is it protected by law. 

Kulon Progo Farm or Die: Interview with Widodo

Widodo is one of the local farmers in Kulon Progo who decided when he was young to go abroad as an immigrant worker just as many other youths from rural Indonesia. However, ever since the southern shore of Kulon Progo became verdant and began to yield healthy and abundant crops again due to the determination and hard work of local people he and many other village youth returned home to help their families continue in the ancestral tradition; self-sustained farming. Widodo has joined thousands of others under the umbrella of PPLP to continue to struggle against the lust for power and greed of capitalist mining corporations.

Kulon Progo Farm or Die: Chronology of Struggle

This is a timeline from when the farmers first learn of the plans to mine the area of Kulon Progo, located along the Southern coast of the island of Java, near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The farmers and local citizens continue to struggle to this day against the corrupt and greedy mining that threatens to destroy their land and livelihood.

Kulon Progo Farm or Die: Interview with Suratinem

Tukijo's wife (Suratinem) has now been working their land on her own for over a year while her husband sits in prison as unjust punishment for speaking out against corporate greed and corruption. At the time of this interview, Tukijo remains unfairly imprisoned. His wife is without the daily company, presence, help and support of her husband.

Kulon Progo Farm or Die: SG and PAG, The Stowaway of Yogyakarta Special State Planning Act

All this time, arguments over Yogyakarta's Special State status has been too focused on deciding who should be the rightful Governor and Vice Governor. The issue, in my opinion, is too confined. Because the thing that more characterizes the feudalism of Special Region of Yogyakarta (Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta/DIY), is the existence of million hectares of the imperial land in this province, known as Sultanate Ground (Sultanaat Gronden/SG) and Pakualamanaat Ground(Pakualamanaat Gronden/PAG).

Islands of Autonomy - social centres in Indonesia and the Philippines.

A collection of interviews with six autonomous spaces in Indonesia and the Philippines. The interviews were conducted at the start of 2011, and although the zine has existed for some time, it has unfortunately not been published online until now. Although in the two years that have passed, a few of these spaces have ceased to exist, hopefully it's still interesting to read people's experiences of creating autonomous communities in different contexts.

Interviews are with Institut A in Jakarta, Dandelion in Bandung, Gerbong Revolusi in Kulon Progo, Lino Nipi in Makassar, and - in the Philippines - Etniko Bandido in Manila and Kinayahan Unahon in Davao City.

Islands of Autonomy can be downloaded here.

Is Indonesia heading towards Fascism?

Some observations on the crisis and new terror laws.

A series of recent laws are highlighting a political trend in Indonesia. New laws on Dealing with Social Conflict and Intelligence are already ratified, and three other similar regulations are still in the pipeline: concerning National Security, Military Reserve Forces and Societal Organisations. Not only are these laws terrorising civil liberties and social movements, but they are also laying the basis for the growth of fascism in Indonesia.

Kaleidoscope of Agrarian Conflicts 2012: A portrait of how the people's voices and rights are ignored.

Agrarian or resource conflicts are getting serious. Unclear land-use planning (including the designation of forest areas), along with the government's attitude which seems to allow these conflicts to happen, are only making the situation worse. Companies come in to inhabited lands, or land owned by local or indigenous people. Conflicts arise between the people, or between the people and the company or the state. More often than not, it's the people that lose out.

Points of friction keep on arising. Resource conflicts causing loss of life and property have continued all year long. Data from Walhi indicates that in 2011 there were 8307 agrarian conflicts, and 4302 cases that had been resolved.

Most conflicts occurred in West Sumatra with 883 cases, South Sulawesi with 780, West Java 749, Central Java 532, Bali 515, East Java 400, East Nusa Tenggara 335, North Sumatra 331, Banten 324 and East Kalimantan 242 cases. Here's just a small selection of the agrarian conflicts that occurred this year.

A Chronology of PT Minersave's (Freeport's) Entry into Intan Jaya Regency, West Papua.

This article from KOMISI, a group of students from Intan Jaya in West Papua (in co-operation with the Suara Papua website), recounts how the Freeport mining company, through its subsidaries, established exploration activities in remote Intan Jaya regency over twenty years ago with the help of a western missionary. Currently, as local politicians grant permissions for further exploration work without a mandate or the consent of the communities that live there, the students make a clear demand that the company leaves their land, knowing the pattern of conflict that is bound to emerge otherwise.

Bangka Islanders Seize Mining Company's Ship

PT Mikro Metal Perdana's iron ore mining activities continue to be met with resistance from the Bangka islanders of Likupang District, North Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi. Their latest act of resistance was to sequester a ship belonging to the company, which has loaded with machines which would be used for mining. The action commenced on August 4th and was still continuing when this article was written on August 12th. The people are resolute that they will not end their action until mining activities are decisively halted.

Six years on, and still fighting Lapindo

Recently, 3000 victims of the mud volcano created by the Lapindo company's drilling operations, whose homes were in the affected area, once again demonstrated their feelings outside the East Java Governor's office in Surabaya. They were asking the provincial government to lend money to PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya so the company would be able to pay the compensation money it owed. The demonstrators came from places inside the designated affected zone, for example Renokenongo, Siring, Jatirejo and Glagah Arum villages in Porong district, and Kedungbendo and Ketapang in Tanggulangin District.

They Fight for the Forest

The Iban Dayaks from Semunying had always lived simply alongside their natural environment. Then in 2005 an oil palm plantation company appeared, wanting to take over the ancestral forest that had been the backbone of people's livelihoods for generations.

One year previously the company had obtained permission from the regency government for a 20,000 hectare plantation in Jagoi Babang district. Included in the permit area were 1,420 hectares of land for which the Iban Dayaks were the customary landowners. At first, PT Ledo Lestari, a subsidiary company of Duta Palma Nusantara Group, only built a road which passed close to the ancestral forest. But as time passed, they continued to take more of the land, taking space from the people without permission and eventually clearing their ancestral forest.

Anti-Mine Awareness in East Nusa Tenggara

In the last five years the East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Government has taken a very accomodating attitude to mining development. Many mining permissions have been issued by the provincial and regency governments, for minerals such as iron sand, gold, iron ore, uranium, copper etc. Since entering the era of regional autonomy, NTT is increasingly tormented by the mining industry.

The development of the mining industry in East Nusa Tenggara is indeed astonishing. Since 2007, extractive industries have commenced activities in all parts of the island chain. The number of mining claims submitted to Kupang Regency alone stretches to 80 companies, most of which are already operational. In South Central Timor Regency 176 claims have been submitted, in North Central Timor 139 and in Belu Regency, 89 mining companies are operational. Meanwhile there are also the mines which have already been open for a long time, such as the gold mines in East Sumba, Central Sumba, Lembata, Manggarai Barat, Alor and East Flores, or the iron sand mining in East Manggarai, Sikka and Lembata. Several of these mines are even located in conservation forest.