The spokesman of the Chief of Police in Papua, Commissioner I Gede Sumerta Jaya, said that the security situation in Papua remained calm throughout the territory of Papua when the KNPB [National Committee of West Papua] organised several demonstrations to commemorate the New York Agreement on 15 August 1962. He alleged that the police had acted with tolerance.
The police official said that as the demonstrators gathered in front of the Taman Budaya Expo Museum in Waena, the police approached the organisers of the demonstration. Agreement was reached with the former Chairman of the KNPB, Buchtar Tabuni, who was in overall charge of the demonstrations that the police would not disrupt the mass action or cause any traffic congestion. The police spokesman said that the Papuans had been given the space to express their aspirations and said that he was pleased that the KNPB activists had complied with the regulations.
As was earlier reported, hundreds of KNPB members organised a peaceful demonstration in the vicinity of the museum, in order to support three planned actions in connection with a Cultural Festival that was held on the morning of 15 August.
Groups of people gathered at several points and performed traditional Papuan dances as well as carrying flags with the morning star symbol and the word LAWAN [RESIST] painted on the flags.
While this was going on, members of the local police force, including officers from Brimob and police officers from Abepura, cordoned off the demonstrators.
In front of the museum, a mobile pick-up unit arrived, carrying several types of equipment such as loud-speakers, generators [genset?] and microphones. Some of the KNPB demonstrators and some students among the crowd delivered speeches
The Chairman of the KNPB, Buchtar Tabuni who was also the person responsible for the demonstration said in a speech that the event was being held to express support for the establishment of the OPM office in The Netherlands on 15 August 2013.
Buchtar Tabuni said: "We would like to express our gratitude to the Melanesian Spearhead Group for the statement they made during their meeting in Noumea, Kanaky from 19-21 July in support of our right to self-determination."
Buchtar also said that they rejected the New York Agreement adopted in 1962 because no indigenous Papuans had been involved. He went on to say that preparations were under way for the establishment of OPM offices in other countries and this should be seen as an acknowledgement of the struggle of the Papuan people to set up a sovereign state of their own, liberating themselves from Indonesian colonialism.
Two KNPB demonstrations in Manokwari
Demonstrations also occurred in the regions of Wosi and Amban with several groups of people gathering together on a podium in Manokwari. A spokesperson for the KNPB, Sarfas Mbiksimbo said that around eighty people from Wosi had gathered together on a special platform.
Meanwhile, a group of around fifty people, most of them students, handed out leaflets calling on all Papuans to support the establishment of the OPM office in The Netherlands. They also unfurled banners proclaiming their Melanesian culture and calling for a referendum.
These KNPB demonstrations were heavily guarded by police officers patrolling Wosi and Amban. The actions continued for about four hours, causing traffic congestion near the meeting points.
[This translation by TAPOL is slightly edited and abridged to clarify the meaning.]