ORGANISASI PAPUA MERDEKA(OPM)/FREE PAPUA MOVEMENT

Press Release

12 July 1999

On 12 July 1999, Four Corner of the Australian Broadcasting Cooperation in its program titled 'BLOOD ON THE CROSS made serious allegations against International Red Cross Committee and Western allies focusing on the controversy around the hostages crisis and human rights abuses in the Mapenduma district of West Papua in 1996.

Despite they denied all these years, the program has also proved for the first time that there were a number of white soldiers present in West Papua. This included British-SAS, the Dutch military advisers, and most extreme case, the present of foreign mercenaries and International Red Cross. In a joint operation with the Indonesian military and local Kasuari militia. they gunned down indiscriminately civilians and animals, bombed their villages and destroyed their houses and, gardens in a desperate attempts to release the hostages. Consequently, considerable numbers of civilians were killed, torture, executed, raped and disappeared which report will be released soon.

"My people have been saying: "white men and Red Cross kill us" for three years. But they have been called liars. Why did no one ever investigate before. Why di not the British, why not the Red Cross. I deeply regret that the lost of many lives of my people including two Indonesian researchers in this attack. These killings are an integral parts of a long and systematic ethnic cleansing. We do not want new Kosovo happen in our region." said Otto Ondawame, International Spokesperson of the OPM.

In the last three years, those forces denied any involvement in human rights abuses and blamed the OPM to take responsibility for taking hostages and the death of two Indonesian researchers. As the report proved such accusation was completely wrong. These forces manipulated the name and symbol of the International Red Cross in their military objectives. International Red Cross failed to complete its humanitarian mission that resulted the lost of many lives.

"Red Cross left its humanitarian mission for dead of my people by leaving without any notice. Allowing to use of its symbols and personnel of the ICRC in military operation was serious violations of the ICRC's principles of being a neutral body. The failure of the ICRC to meet its humanitarian obligation was become clear in the current case. Such deployment had already brought devastating effects for my people. How can we trust such organisation any longer when its credibility is remain questionable. We strongly condemn the use of international humanitarian symbols and personnel for military purpose. I urge international community to investigate this controversial case immediately and make an inquiry into the controversy and to bring those responsible to court of justice", said Ondawame.

The controversy around the deployment of foreign mercenaries in the release operation was immoral and clearly the serious weaknesses of the Indonesian armed forces. The use of the mercenaries should be of concern to all governments and people in the region.

"We do not want the cries and suffering of our people become a place for gaining blood-money. We are people who have rights to enjoy peace, democracy and freedom. Let us live alone" said Ondawame.

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Contact address: Otto Ondawame, P O BOX 165, GARRAN, ACT 2605, AUSTRALIA. 61.2.625
705 87 /62490181.  FAX. 61.2.6249 55 23. E-mail:ondawame@coombs.anu.edu.au