Buchtar Tabuni (born 1979) is a Papuan

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

activist, Chairman of the National Parliament of West Papua (PNWP), incorporating the National Committee for West Papua (Komite Nasional Papua Barat, KNPB), and

United Liberation Movement for West Papua The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) unites the three main political independence movements seeking independence for Western New Guinea (West Papua) from Indonesia under a single umbrella organisation. The ULMWP was formed on 7 ...

(ULMWP) representative.

Background

Indonesia's control over the western Papua region has been disputed since 1963, when the country took control of the province from the Dutch. A separatist movement formed, battling the Indonesian government for more than four decades. During this time, one sixth of the province's population died in

military operations A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations ma ...

. Papuans also cite economic issues, stating that the area's natural resources are exploited exclusively "for the benefit of the national capital, Jakarta".

Biography

Buchtar studied engineering in Makassar, South Sulawesi. In 2008, he organized the International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP), an organization devoted to repealing the

Act of Free Choice The Act of Free Choice ( id, Penentuan Pendapat Rakyat, PEPERA, Determination of the People's Opinion) was a controversial plebiscite held between 14 July and 2 August 1969 in which 1,025 people selected by the Indonesian military in Western New ...

, the 1969 referendum that had given Indonesia sovereignty over West Papua. He was arrested on 3 December 2008, in his house in Sentani,

Jayapura Regency Jayapura Regency is one of the regencies (''kabupaten'') in Papua Province of Indonesia. It is situated to the west of but does not include the city of Jayapura. Previously covering most of the north-east portion of Papua province, it was reduce ...

, for organizing a 16 October protest supporting the launch of IPWP in the UK Parliament. The following day, fifty protesters gathered outside the Jayapura police station to call for his release. Prosecutors sought a ten-year sentence against him on three charges: an act of treason (Article 106), provocation (Article 160), and acts against the state (Article 212). Buchtar's attorneys described the case as an attempt to stifle free speech in Papua, asking, "If outside Papua, people can freely raise their opinions, why is free speech still restrained in Papua, and treated as treason?" Amnesty International considered him to be a prisoner of conscience, "imprisoned solely for peacefully expressing isviews".

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

also lobbied for his release along with that of other non-violent Papuan political prisoners. In January 2011, Amnesty reported that Buchtar and fellow Papuan activist

Filep Karma Filep Jacob Semuel Karma (14 August 1959 – 1 November 2022) was a West Papua independence activist. On 1 December 2004, he helped raise the Morning Star flag at a ceremony in Jayapura, for which he was charged with treason and given a fifteen ...

had been transferred from the Abepura prison to isolation cells at the Jayapura police station and were at risk of torture. Buchtar was released from prison on 17 August 2011.West Papua Media Alerts. 2011
Buchtar Tabuni released from prison
On 8 June 2012, Buchtar was arrested again in Jayapura on charges of organizing violent protests. On 23 July, another activist,

Yusak Pakage Yusak Pakage (born 1979) is an Indonesian activist for Papuan independence, best known for his 2005–2010 imprisonment for raising the pro-independence Morning Star flag. Flag-raising incident In December 2004, at the age of 26, Pakage ...

, was arrested during Buchtar's trial for having a penknife in his bag. Pakage was charged with "possession of a weapon", which carries a maximum sentence of ten years' imprisonment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabuni, Buchtar 1979 births Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Indonesia Indonesian prisoners and detainees West Papuan independence activists Living people

Background

Biography

See also

References