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| West Papuan activists Rofinus Yanggam (left), Yuvensius Goo (centre) and Markus Jerewon (right) entered the Australian consulate in Bali in October. Photograph: Marni Cordell |
Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have now
confirmed consular staff in Bali threatened to call the police if a
group of West Papuan activists did not leave the Australian compound.
Three West Papuan activists entered the Australian consulate in Bali
in early October in a protest that coincided with the Apec summit in
Bali – an embarrassing development for Australia and the then newly
elected Abbott government, given acute Indonesian political
sensitivities about the pro-sovereignty movement in the Papua provinces.
The activists wanted to call on the Australian government to pressure
Indonesia to release all Papuan political prisoners and open the
province to routine scrutiny by foreign journalists. The three men
scaled the security fence and entered the Australian consulate just
after 3am on 6 October.
Immediately after the incident, the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade said in a statement: "We can confirm that three individuals from
Indonesia’s Papua provinces delivered a protest letter at the Australian
consulate general in Bali this morning to Australia’s consul general.
The three men left the consulate voluntarily before 7am."
This statement contradicted the first-hand account of the activists,
who insisted they departed because Australian officials threatened to
call the local police or the military.
The foreign minister, Julie Bishop, denied on ABC Radio shortly after the incident
that threats were made. "I'm advised that no threats were made," she
said. "Indeed, I understand we called them a taxi ... when their friend
who was to pick them up didn't turn up.”
Appearing before a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday, Dfat
officials conceded the West Papuans were in fact told police would be
called if they refused to leave the consulate.
That answer came in response to a series of questions from the Greens senator Richard Di Natale, who has expressed concern about the safety and wellbeing of the activists since the incident.
Other Senate crossbenchers, including the Democratic Labour party
senator John Madigan and the South Australian independent Nick Xenophon,
have also raised concerns about the safety of the three men.
The Dfat officials indicated it was protocol in cases such as the
October protest to tell activists that police will be called if they
don’t depart.
Dfat deputy secretary Paul Grigson said Australian diplomatic posts
were not a “place of automatic sanctuary” and could not operate
effectively if they were treated as such.
Di Natale asked the officials could he take it then from their broad
answer about protest protocols that the West Papuans were told police
would be called if they didn’t leave? “Yes senator,” Grigson told the
hearing.
Grigson said the activists had also been told they could seek a
conversation with the consul general at another point if they agreed to
leave.
Di Natale asked the officials, given concerns about human rights
abuses in Papua perpetrated against sovereignty activists, and the
concerns activists have about any entanglements with police, whether the
threat to call the authorities endangered their safety. “I don’t accept
that senator,” Grigson said.
He argued the method of response was a judgment call for the head of post, “which I support”.
Prime minister Tony Abbott at the time issued a public rebuke to the
activists. “Australia will not give people a platform to grandstand
against Indonesia,” Abbott told reporters at the Apec summit in October.
“We have a very strong relationship with Indonesia. We are not going
to give people a platform to grandstand against Indonesia. I want that
to be absolutely crystal clear.”
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