How the Papuan people Continue to Unite in Resistance: Victor Yeimo Interview

[This Interview with Papuan activist Victor Yeimo was published on the Kontinum website, because of a feeling that little information and perspectives from the Papuan struggle is available in Indonesia, and so people outside Papua are not aware of the what is actually going on there. The original, in Indonesian, can be found at http://kontinum.org/2011/08/wawancara_victor_papua/]

We see Papua's problems as coming from a combination of problems with the state and corporations, military violence, ecological damage, genocide and extinction of indigenous cultures. The Papuan issue is also a national issue for Indonesia, and one which is not yet resolved. Many indigenous people are killed and tortured in order to legitimise the destruction of Papua's natural riches by the world's giant companies together with their closest partners: government.

Constitutional reasons, together with the logic of national unity and a narrow nationalist view of 'Indonesianness' are used to legitimise repression and oppression of the Papuan people and their land.

But amidst a climate of repression that doesn't seem to subside, the Papuan people struggle on, ever-bravely. To get to know the situation and viewpoint of the resistance movement in Papua, Kontinum interviewed Victor Yeimo, spokesperson of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), one of the people's organisations that continues the active struggle in the land of Papua:

Papuan Prisoner News: Buchtar Tabuni Freed, Filep Karma Refuses Remission

Each Indonesian Independence day, 17th August, a number of prisoners are granted remission as part of the celebrations. This year, the list included high-profile Papuan political prisoners Buchtar Tabuni and Filep Karma. This is a highly provocative act to Papuan activists, who equate the Indonesian presence in their land with continued repression.