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| Jeremy |
Jeremy Bally, (26), is a Canadian activist campaigning on human rights issues in West Papua. He has recently finished his Pedalling for Papua
campaign in which he rode his bicycle through seven different countries
in the last six months, to spread the words about the ongoing human
rights abuses in West Papua. He spoke to the Asian Human Rights
Commission (AHRC) on his campaign and experience of being misrepresented
by the Indonesian media.
(Photo: Jeremy Bally speaking at a rally in Melbourne, Australia. Courtesy of Pedalling for Papua)
Can you tell us about the campaign? What is it actually about and where did you get the idea?
The idea came up almost four years ago now after I learned about West
Papua from a friend in Canada. I just got into biking anyway and what I
learned about seemed like a story that really needed to be told, seemed
to be an intriguing story to tell. Last year I rolled across Canada and
after that one I thought it will be worthwhile to do it again. So this
past six months, almost seven months, since I left actually, I've ridden
my bicycle through seven countries and covered about 12,000 kilometres,
and done around 70 awareness-raising events about West Papua.
How did the people you met during the tour and the people who
attended your presentations take the message you're trying to convey?
It was 99% positive. I had a few presentations in the Netherlands and
New Zealand where some Indonesian students, who I think were coming
with a mandate from the Embassy while they are on scholarships from the
government, to come to Papuan events and speak negatively about it. But
other than those, very, very few cases, people were really intrigued to
learn about something they have had not known before because for the
most part there were people that had never heard of West Papua. I tried
to deliver the message in sort of artistic, engaging, theatrical way
because I think it's just sort of more memorable for people to hear it
like that. And yes, there was really, really positive reception
throughout.
How did the Indonesian students take your presentation?
I'm not really sure exactly what the mandate these students had from
the embassy. The presentation I did in The Hague, in the Netherlands, is
a pretty good example. Basically, the guy afterwards asked a question
by way of making a very long statement about how things in West Papua
are fine and the claims of human rights abuses are very exaggerated, not
the kind of things which you'd be very familiar with. And afterwards I
was talking to some of the people who were helping me to organise the
event and they said that it was pretty much word for word what other
Indonesians students have said when they came out to these things. So I
think the students are coming, perhaps, with like a strong belief that
what they say is accurate, but they all have a really, really specific
mandate from the embassy to talk about it in those kind of ways.
You recently met with the Papua political prisoners in Abepura prison. How is the condition of the political prisoners there?
The day that I saw them, they were all in very good spirits. I was
really happy to meet them. So there was an air of it being good the day
that I was there. But that is absolutely not the case in general for the
prisoners there. A lot of these guys have been subjected to torture
when they were arrested, they are isolated regularly. Sort of the bottom
line is they are in prison for raising the flag, speaking at a rally,
speaking up peacefully, doing things that according to the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights which Indonesia is a signatory to is just
not acceptable. Their criminal code is completely contrary to their
international obligation. These prisoners are victims of this
discrepancy. To say that their conditions are OK is kind of crazy. They
were again in good spirits on that day but I think it's because they
were receiving this message of solidarity I was bringing in, and getting
a sense of the international recognition of what they are going
through.
But in some media in Indonesia – the Jakarta Post, the Jakarta
Globe and Okezone – wrote that you've said the political prisoners are
"healthy and have no problems. I'm sure that officers in the prison have
treated them well"? They also reported that you've said "it turned out
that Papua is not like what I have heard". Have they misquoted you?
It was not even a misquote, it was just a lie. It was just putting
words in my mouth completely. It was frustrating. It was actually
infuriating to be subjected into that kind of propaganda. This campaign,
so many people working hard to make it actually happens and I've been
used for Indonesian propaganda so it was infuriating.
Did you complain to these media?
I complained to the Jakarta Globe and I have been cleared up. So they
replaced their article with another one which is good and I'm totally
happy with. As with the Jakarta Post, I came to their office and spoke
with the Editor for the Archipelago division, which I guess covers Papua
stuff. And told him what my issues are with the article. He basically
chalked it up to mistranslation or something that has been lost in
translation, which could not be possibly the case because I never said
anything that even close to that. So I'm quite convinced that it's a
politically motivated article. I've written a letter to the Editor and
sent that to him. I also commented on the bottom part of the article on
the website. I've got a member of my team who supports us
internationally who also wrote to the editor. Just to make sure it's
well known that it's insulting to me, to the campaign, to the cause, for
the prisoners to be misrepresented and to be used for propaganda like
that.
Has there been any response from the Editor of Jakarta Post at all?
No, not yet. I'm going to call him again later tonight and tomorrow
to follow up if I don't hear from him. I'm going to keep on that one.
But if that one does not change, I'm going to be writing an article when
I get back home just to sum it up for the Canadian and international
media. I'll use it as an example how the Indonesian media can be used to
betray Papua in a negative or misleading light, which is how a lot of
Indonesians are given the wrong impression about what is going on in
Papua.
Who were the journalists present during your visit to Abepura prison? Do you remember from what newspaper or media are they?
I can't remember his name but there was one with the Associated Free
Press, and their article is actually quite good. I can't remember all
the names but I do have some of their business cards. But I haven't seen
their contents come out yet. So whoever it was from the Jakarta Post – I
don't remember anyone there from the Jakarta Post – either they got
their files from someone else or they lied about where they were coming
from.
What is the human rights situation like in Papua these days, in your observation?
I have met unofficially with the human rights activists in Papua as
they were helping me to organise the meeting with the political
prisoners. I cannot tell you who have helped me to organise it as the
situation in Papua is so volatile so for people on the ground to have
their names exposed. It exposes them to the risk of becoming political
prisoners themselves. One of the guys I met, Victor Yeimo, who is the
General Secretary of the West Papua National Committee, he was arrested
this year for political reason, because he is heading this Commission
which held a lot of demonstration asking for referendum for Papua. Few
months ago, the report of his arrest said that he and his party were
beaten with rattan canes and kicked when they were arrested and his
sentence is three times longer than what was actually handed down to
him. So these are just examples of what have been going on. On December 1st
there was a rally in Jayapura that was apparently not approved by the
military or security forces. To break it up, the security forces fired
live rounds at the crowd, a lot of people were injured, and one person
was reported dead. So it's kind of the same as it been, it's just not
getting better. But I think the movement within Papua and outside Papua
is not cooling down the Indonesian strategy about cooling this thing
down is not working at all, I don't know why they are not really
catching onto the fact that violence is not going to work for either
side. I feel the situation is the way it has been in the last ten years
and before that. They need to start looking into different solutions.
Now that you have spread the word about human rights issues in
West Papua in seven countries, you also have met with the political
prisoners. What is next?
I'm going back to Canada and take a rest for a while because I
haven't had rest for a while. I'm quite keen to go to law school and
sort of to expand my own capacity to be able to support the West Papua
cause. I've been an activist for a long time but it has been in my
personal capacity. I want to do it in my professional capacity in order
to be able to support the cause.
What do the young people around the world like you can do to help to improve the human rights situation in Papua better?
I think it's very important for young people to do two things. One is
to talk about it. I mean the goal of my campaign is to make Papua into a
household topic. More specifically, I think it's very important to
lobby the members of parliament, the members of local government to be
able talk about it in the house of parliament, in many government houses
around the world because right now West Papua is a domestic issue for
Indonesia. If it remains a domestic issue, nothing is going to change as
there is no incentive for Jakarta for there to be movement if it's just
a domestic issue. But if it becomes an international issue then there
will be more leverage that the activists can use to be able to open
dialogue with Jakarta and make some demands to Jakarta, "if this doesn't
change then you're going to be facing some sanction", perhaps? The
capacity to be able to talk about it is so much greater if it's an
international issue. So I think these two things are really essential (Photo: Jeremy with the political prisoners in Abepura prison. Courtesy of Pedalling for Papua)
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