By Herman Wainggai
West Papua Human Rights Center, Washington, D.C.
In 1996 I escaped to Papua New Guinea (PNG) because we were targeted by the Indonesian police following a massive protest that broke out in West Papua following the death of their leader Dr. Thom Wainggai who died mysteriously in Cipenang penitentiary serving only eight years of his 20-year prison term. Sometimes in 1999, while in Lae, PNG, we heard that another huge protest broke out in Biak led by Filep Karma himself. This is the protest in which Indonesian military massacred indigenous peaceful protesters including women and children. During that protest, Mr. Karma was arrested for leading the protest and for raising the infamous banned Morning Star flag in his home city of Biak. This was the beginning of the reforms that swept across Indonesia resulted in the fall of Indonesian brutal dictator Suharto. It was the first time I heard about Mr. Karma.
After the fall of Dictator Suharto, I returned to West Papua as the newly established Indonesian government pledged radical changes and reforms throughout the country, and urged exiles to return home. During that time, I met Mr. Karma, and together we worked in our campaign for human rights, democracy, justice and independence for our Melanesian people. I facilitated a number of strategic meetings with fellow West Papuan activists both in our homeland and in Papua New Guinea, while Mr. Karma focused on promoting Dr. Thom’s Nonviolent message in his part of the country and in West Papua. He believed that our people must be educated – make them aware of the importance of unity and non-violent struggle against Indonesia. He reminded our activists that our weapon is our peaceful protests against Indonesian occupation.
Mr. Karma also attended our training and workshop which we held in PNG. In fact, he came to our home in Jayapura with a number of activists and together crossed the border to Vanimo, a PNG town near our border in the cover of night, and participated in our workshop. We valued and respected his views and style of leadership.
Over the years, Mr. Karma and I worked together on various projects and grew to know each other and style. He and I, alongside many Nonviolent leaders, spent a lot of time training our young students in the use of Nonviolent resistance, and the essential strategies that are vital in our struggle today, particularly mobilization of our people to participate in a large protest and how to adhere to the rule of law while challenging the authority of the state. Mr. Karm also led efforts in declaring the return of Special Autonomy to the Indonesian government, while promoting our legal arguments for self-determination, and using every Nonviolent mean to put our message across.
In December 2004 in Jayapura, we organized a huge protest at the Cenderawasih University. I was at the university compound with Mr. Karma, Jusak Pakage, Edison Waromi and other activists. We were there preparing to raise the Morning Star flag to commemorate West Papua’s national flag day, which is December 1, at Trikora Field. Strangely, the Indonesian soldiers were already there. They were there at the university campus around 11:30pm the night before to make sure they stopped the protest before it materialized. That morning, the Indonesian army blocked the roads with military tanks, trucks, and police cars. By 9 am, Mr. Karma and Jusak, and Pakage led our protesters in singing and praying before the flag ceremony. In response, Indonesian troops opened fire at our protesters while others violently beat our West Papuan protesters. Mr. Karma and Pakage tried to negotiate with the army but were instead forced into a police car and taken away. Both men were charged with “subversion” and sentences to 10 and 15 years in prison.
What was Mr. Karma’s crime that justified his fifteen-year prison term? His crime was raising the Morning Star flag, which is a right or free expression that is inherently democratic. Peaceful protest is highly promoted by every free democratic society, which Indonesia professes to be one. The act of raising the West Papuan flag, made Mr. Karma a threat to the Indonesian government. How is that rational? He was charged with subversion, which is a broad, generic term routinely used against Nonviolent political leaders. Using the hollow charge of “subversion” is a strategy that the Indonesian military uses in order to silence our Nonviolent political activists without specifying the details of the crime they apparently committed. This vague charge is highly condemned by world governments and NGO’s such as Amnesty International.
Before his imprisonment Mr. Karma worked in the civil society sector in Jayapura city, West Papua. He also spent a great deal of his time organizing meetings and training university students in Nonviolent protest techniques. Unfortunately, the Indonesian government took away 15 years of his life, but he never gave up. He was released and lived to his final day as a champion of our freedom movement.
Watch his clip here (English subtitles)
Our people have lost a great man, a man who had dedicated his life to the freedom and liberation of our indigenous people. It is a huge loss also to his family and to his friends and fellow activists. He was a man of his words; a man who led by example regardless of the risks he was facing. Those who knew him would recall the mini Morning Star flag he had on his motorbike as he traveled around Jayapura. He also had a mining Morning Start flag pinned to his shirt or jacket wherever he went.
We should set aside the day of his passing as a day of remembrance of the life of a true patriot. A day to remind Indonesia and the world of Mr. Karma’s life-long commitment to human rights, self-determination, and West Papua’s independence. Though he didn’t live to see the day West Papua becomes an independent country, we will remember him – as with many who went before him – when that day, and our freedom is achieved.
Finally, things about his passing aren’t adding up. I challenge our leaders back home in West Papua to raise their voice and get to the bottom of this. Mr. Karma fought his entire life for this, and he is no longer there. And we should know exactly what happened to him.
RIP Karma, may God be with his family and comfort everyone at this very painful time.