News has just arrived here in australia that Anike is ALIVE AND WELL!!!!!!
she is living with her mother and father in a camp in Papua, and apparently slapped one of the guards when he was being rude and aggressive to her.
We are all SO SO SO happy to hear this great news, coming up the year anniversary of the coerced repatriation of Anike and Yunus.
WE LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH AND ARE SO HAPPY TO HEAR YOU ARE ALIVE AND WELL !!!!
STAY STRONG.
LOVE FROM ALL YOUR FRIENDS IN AUSTRALIA.
XOOOXOXOXOXOXOXXOOXXO
OXOXOXOOXOXOX
XOXOXOXOX
Monday, October 26, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Syndey Morning Herald Reports.....
Indonesia jails 11 Papuans over flag
January 9, 2009
A court in Indonesia's remote Papua region has jailed 11 activists for subversion after they raised the region's banned independence flag.
Prominent activist Jack Wanggai was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison and 10 others were given three years over peaceful protests in March 2007, said lawyer Yan Christian Warinussy.
The sentences were increased by the High Court in the Papua provincial capital Jayapura on Thursday after prosecutors in Manokwari city, where the protests took place, appealed against the decision of a lower court to jail the activists for eight months each, Warinussy said.
"The activists were carrying out peaceful demonstrations ... and they brought the Morning Star flag," he said.
"The court said that if it didn't deal with this case harshly then it will set a bad precedent for all of Papua."
He said the defendants planned to appeal to Indonesia's Supreme Court.
Separatist sentiment runs deep in Papua, which lies on the western end of New Guinea island and was incorporated into Indonesia after a 1969 UN-sponsored vote of select tribal elders widely dismissed as a sham.
Displaying banned separatist symbols such as flags in Indonesia can lead to sentences up to life in prison.
http://news.smh.com.au/world/indonesia-jails-11-papuans-over-flag-20090109-7dka.html
Saturday, January 10, 2009
ABC reports
Concerns for 7yo asylum seeker forced back to Indonesia
Posted
There are concerns for the health of a seven-year-old girl who was forced to return to Indonesia in November last year after being granted political asylum in Australia.
Anike Wainggai was taken back to Papua Province by her father.
She and her father, Yunus Wainggai, were two of more than 40 asylum seekers who caused a diplomatic storm after they were granted refugee status in 2006.
But last November Mr Wainggai took his daughter home after negotiating assistance from the Indonesian Embassy.
Friends say they fear he was coerced.
A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith says he asked the Indonesian ambassador to ensure transparency in the repatriation, but would not comment further on the nature of the discussion, or if Mr Smith was happy with the response.
Now a group of Anike's Australian friends say the seven-year-old is upset and unwell, and that her family is not enjoying the usual level of community support.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/08/2461937.htm
Sunday, December 7, 2008
International Human Rights Day. Wed Dec 10th, 2008.
Meet at Indonesian Embassy this Wednesday for International Human Rights Day to draw attention to the human rights abuse in West Papua.
Location: 72 Queens Rd, Albert Park.
Time: 10am.
Location: 72 Queens Rd, Albert Park.
Time: 10am.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Letter in THE AGE, December 2, 2008
We have failed Anike. Pray for her
IT IS staggering beyond belief that Australia's duty of care to seven-year-old Anike Wanggai has failed to protect her from returning to Indonesian territory following her three-year stay on a temporary protection visa ("Papuan refugees want to go back", The Age, 28/11).
Anike has been at the forefront of demonstrations holding aloft the Morning Star Flag, which, in her birthplace of West Papua, brings a 15-year jail sentence. While unaccompanied minors were prevented from being involved in political demonstrations by Department of Human Service rules, Anike was with her father, Yunus Wanggai. They went missing on November 15, and, a week later, were in the company of Indonesian officials in Canberra.
Recent events don't make sense to those who knew them well, such as their signing up for permanent Australian citizenship, the acceptance of their wife and mother, Siti Pandera Wanggai, for a family reunion in Australia, Anike's joy at school, Yunus' medical care.
Despite denials from the Indonesian embassy, there is a whiff of coercion. This story needs to be told and those responsible held to account. Anike is an extraordinary child and will be sadly missed by all her friends across Australia. We pray for her future safety.
Frances Walton, Ivanhoe
IT IS staggering beyond belief that Australia's duty of care to seven-year-old Anike Wanggai has failed to protect her from returning to Indonesian territory following her three-year stay on a temporary protection visa ("Papuan refugees want to go back", The Age, 28/11).
Anike has been at the forefront of demonstrations holding aloft the Morning Star Flag, which, in her birthplace of West Papua, brings a 15-year jail sentence. While unaccompanied minors were prevented from being involved in political demonstrations by Department of Human Service rules, Anike was with her father, Yunus Wanggai. They went missing on November 15, and, a week later, were in the company of Indonesian officials in Canberra.
Recent events don't make sense to those who knew them well, such as their signing up for permanent Australian citizenship, the acceptance of their wife and mother, Siti Pandera Wanggai, for a family reunion in Australia, Anike's joy at school, Yunus' medical care.
Despite denials from the Indonesian embassy, there is a whiff of coercion. This story needs to be told and those responsible held to account. Anike is an extraordinary child and will be sadly missed by all her friends across Australia. We pray for her future safety.
Frances Walton, Ivanhoe
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Radio New Zealand International reports......
Wainggai and daughter were coerced to return to Indonesia, says West Papuan
Posted at 07:24 on 01 December, 2008 UTC
A member of Melbourne’s West Papuan community says that two asylum seekers who have left Australia to return to Indonesia have been coerced into the move.
Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has confirmed that two of the group of 43 Papua asylum seekers who fled to Australia in 2006, Yunus Wainggai and his daughter Anike, have returned home.
Earlier, supporters of the two Papuans voiced concern that the pair had gone missing following a recent interview with Australian Federal Police.
Melbourne-based Papuan student, Richard Rumbiak, says the pair were taken in by Indonesian agents and coerced to leave.
“That’s what all the West Papuans here in Melbourne, we believe: they’ve been forced to return to West Papua by the Indonesian government, and the intelligence services here in Melbourne, that’s why they disappeared for two weeks before they left.”
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has denied that there was force involved in their decision to return home, but says Mr Wainggai was promised money and a job.
+
+ an apology for mixing poetic sense
with real dangerous sitch
what i trying to get across
is we're just looking out for our sis
and have to cut through a lot of non$ense
dead sure someones got their big business
mixing up all this shit
after you've read through all of this
can you really think
they were taken by consent?
with real dangerous sitch
what i trying to get across
is we're just looking out for our sis
and have to cut through a lot of non$ense
dead sure someones got their big business
mixing up all this shit
after you've read through all of this
can you really think
they were taken by consent?
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Canberra TImes Reports on Yunus and Anike
Claims refugees want to return to Papua disputed
28/11/2008 1:00:01 AM
TWO refugees who were among 43 Papuans who ignited an international diplomatic row when they were granted asylum in 2006 are seeking to return to Indonesia.
Yunus Wanggai is believed to be negotiating with Indonesian authorities in Canberra for him and his daughter to be re-united with his wife, Siti Pandera Wanggai, who has disappeared in Vanuatu.
But Papuan activists fear Indonesia may have put pressure on Mr Wanggai to return for "propaganda purposes" to discredit Australia's protection visa regime, and quash concerns about the persecution of pro-independence groups in Papua.
It is understood Mr Wanggai has not been in touch with his lawyer for two weeks, and his decision to return is at odds with recent moves to become a permanent resident in Australia.
Mr Wanggai and his daughter, Anike, now seven, were among 43 asylum seekers who arrived at Cape York in January 2006, and were found to have well-founded fears of persecution.
The decision to issue the Papuans with protection visas provoked a furious response from Indonesia; the President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, recalled his ambassador in protest.
Four months later Mrs Wanggai, who stayed in Papua, was at the centre of a media storm when she said she was coerced by an Indonesian intelligence officer into making a false appeal for the return of her daughter.
She escaped to Papua New Guinea and then Vanuatu and had applied to be reunited with her family in Australia through the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR. However, it is believed she disappeared from Vanuatu in October after becoming frustrated by delays in the process.
The leader of the 43 Papuans, Herman Wanggai, said he had had no contact with Yunus and Anike for 10 days. "I am really concerned about their safety. My concern is particularly related to my niece, Anike," Mr Wanggai said. "I don't believe they want to go back to Indonesia … Maybe Indonesia tried to pressure him to use for propaganda to criticise the legal system in Australia."
Frances Walton, the Melbourne foster mother of four of the Papuans, said Yunus had a well-grounded fear of returning to Indonesia as the Wanggai family had a history of involvement in the independence struggle for Papua. "Many members have been jailed for 15 years for raising the Morning Star flag, a symbol of freedom from Indonesian rule," Ms Walton said.
The latest developments come two months after two other Papuan refugees, Hana Gobay and Yubel Kareni, returned to Indonesian voluntarily. The pair reportedly told Indonesian media they came to Australia for a university education and not to flee human rights abuses.
In August the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirayuda, told the Herald their return would be "good for both Australia and Indonesia".
A spokesman for Indonesia's embassy in Canberra, Dino Kusnadi, said he was unable to comment. "My guidelines say that I should respect the rights of Yunus Wanggai to not engage in the media," he said.
Mr Wanggai's lawyer, David Manne, had no comment.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/world/world/general/claims-refugees-want-to-return-to-papua-disputed/1372481.aspx?storypage=0
Monday, December 1, 2008
1st of December; West Papua Independance Day.
TODAY
1st of December- West Papua Independance Day
protest 11am Indonesia Consulate. 72 Queens Rd, Melbourne
Media release, 1st Dec.
West Papua independence day: Government hands back Papuan refugees to Indonesia.
West Papua Independence day, Dec 1, this year marks a sad and angry time following reports that refugees Yunus Wainggai and 7 year old daughter Anike arrived in Jakarta following their disappearance from their Collingwood home on Sat 15th November.
Mr Wainggai and his daughter are two of 43 West Papuan refugees who escaped West Papua under Indonesian military control by canoe and landed on the shores of Cape York in 2006 seeking asylum. They were granted temporary refugee status, and filed their application for permanent residency in Australia just two days before their disappearance.
West Papuan community member Richard Rumbiak, who will be speaking on this day,
states; “We believe they have been coerced by Indonesian sources who operate here and manipulate West Papuans here. Myself as Indigenous West Papuan am very concerned about that, even overseas, in Australia. “
No one from the community has heard from Mr Wainggai (whose phone has been disconnected), as well as his lawyer, despite claims Mr Wainggai asked to speak with him.
Where: Indonesia Consulate. 72 Queens Rd, Melbourne. 11:00 am.
“Dec 1 marks a celebration of the anniversary of the morning star, the independence movement of West Papua and to reinstate our commitment for Papua independence. The four of the 43 who have returned for their personal reason have probably been coerced by the Indonesian government and their Papuan agents, and will not change the situation in West Papua, which has always driven our independence movement.“ Richard Rumbiak.
Contact Richard Rumbiak 0413 534 224
West Papua independence day: Government hands back Papuan refugees to Indonesia.
West Papua Independence day, Dec 1, this year marks a sad and angry time following reports that refugees Yunus Wainggai and 7 year old daughter Anike arrived in Jakarta following their disappearance from their Collingwood home on Sat 15th November.
Mr Wainggai and his daughter are two of 43 West Papuan refugees who escaped West Papua under Indonesian military control by canoe and landed on the shores of Cape York in 2006 seeking asylum. They were granted temporary refugee status, and filed their application for permanent residency in Australia just two days before their disappearance.
West Papuan community member Richard Rumbiak, who will be speaking on this day,
states; “We believe they have been coerced by Indonesian sources who operate here and manipulate West Papuans here. Myself as Indigenous West Papuan am very concerned about that, even overseas, in Australia. “
No one from the community has heard from Mr Wainggai (whose phone has been disconnected), as well as his lawyer, despite claims Mr Wainggai asked to speak with him.
Where: Indonesia Consulate. 72 Queens Rd, Melbourne. 11:00 am.
“Dec 1 marks a celebration of the anniversary of the morning star, the independence movement of West Papua and to reinstate our commitment for Papua independence. The four of the 43 who have returned for their personal reason have probably been coerced by the Indonesian government and their Papuan agents, and will not change the situation in West Papua, which has always driven our independence movement.“ Richard Rumbiak.
Contact Richard Rumbiak 0413 534 224
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Last night, information was revealed that Yunus and Anike Wainggai left AUSTRALIAN shores and landed in the INDONESIAN capital, Jakarta.
If they have been coerced in any way, and this looks highy likely given the circumstances Australian Law and Security has been compromised.
Coincidently, Monday the 1st of December is "West Papuan Indepencdance Day".
Meet outside the Indonesian Consultate on Monday, at 11.00am, located at 72 Queens Rd, Melbourne. Bring banners and all your friends, we need to make this public and get the media attention it deserves.
If they have been coerced in any way, and this looks highy likely given the circumstances Australian Law and Security has been compromised.
Coincidently, Monday the 1st of December is "West Papuan Indepencdance Day".
Meet outside the Indonesian Consultate on Monday, at 11.00am, located at 72 Queens Rd, Melbourne. Bring banners and all your friends, we need to make this public and get the media attention it deserves.
Friday, November 28, 2008
The Sydney Morning Herald Reports on Yunus and Anike
Claims refugees want to return to Papua disputed
this article is taken from the SMH
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/claims-refugees-want-to-return-to-papua-disputed/2008/11/27/1227491736659.htmlTWO refugees who were among 43 Papuans who ignited an international diplomatic row when they were granted asylum in 2006 are seeking to return to Indonesia.
Yunus Wanggai is believed to be negotiating with Indonesian authorities in Canberra for him and his daughter to be re-united with his wife, Siti Pandera Wanggai, who has disappeared in Vanuatu.
But Papuan activists fear Indonesia may have put pressure on Mr Wanggai to return for "propaganda purposes" to discredit Australia's protection visa regime, and quash concerns about the persecution of pro-independence groups in Papua.
It is understood Mr Wanggai has not been in touch with his lawyer for two weeks, and his decision to return is at odds with recent moves to become a permanent resident in Australia.
Mr Wanggai and his daughter, Anike, now seven, were among 43 asylum seekers who arrived at Cape York in January 2006, and were found to have well-founded fears of persecution.
The decision to issue the Papuans with protection visas provoked a furious response from Indonesia; the President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, recalled his ambassador in protest.
Four months later Mrs Wanggai, who stayed in Papua, was at the centre of a media storm when she said she was coerced by an Indonesian intelligence officer into making a false appeal for the return of her daughter.
She escaped to Papua New Guinea and then Vanuatu and had applied to be reunited with her family in Australia through the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR. However, it is believed she disappeared from Vanuatu in October after becoming frustrated by delays in the process.
The leader of the 43 Papuans, Herman Wanggai, said he had had no contact with Yunus and Anike for 10 days. "I am really concerned about their safety. My concern is particularly related to my niece, Anike," Mr Wanggai said. "I don't believe they want to go back to Indonesia … Maybe Indonesia tried to pressure him to use for propaganda to criticise the legal system in Australia."
Frances Walton, the Melbourne foster mother of four of the Papuans, said Yunus had a well-grounded fear of returning to Indonesia as the Wanggai family had a history of involvement in the independence struggle for Papua. "Many members have been jailed for 15 years for raising the Morning Star flag, a symbol of freedom from Indonesian rule," Ms Walton said.
The latest developments come two months after two other Papuan refugees, Hana Gobay and Yubel Kareni, returned to Indonesian voluntarily. The pair reportedly told Indonesian media they came to Australia for a university education and not to flee human rights abuses.
In August the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirayuda, told the Herald their return would be "good for both Australia and Indonesia".
A spokesman for Indonesia's embassy in Canberra, Dino Kusnadi, said he was unable to comment. "My guidelines say that I should respect the rights of Yunus Wanggai to not engage in the media," he said.
Mr Wanggai's lawyer, David Manne, had no comment.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/claims-refugees-want-to-return-to-papua-disputed/2008/11/27/1227491736659.html
THE AGE REPORTS ON YUNUS AND ANIKE....
this article is taken from The Age
http://www.theage.com.au/national/papuan-refugees-want-to-go-back-20081127-6k2q.html?page=-1
Jewel Topsfield and Tom Allard
November 28, 2008
http://www.theage.com.au/national/papuan-refugees-want-to-go-back-20081127-6k2q.html?page=-1
Claims refugees want to return to Papua disputed
TWO refugees who were among 43 Papuans caught in a diplomatic row when they were granted asylum in Australia in 2006 now want to go home.
Yunus Wanggai is believed to be negotiating with Indonesian authorities in Canberra for him and his daughter to be reunited with his wife Siti Pandera Wanggai, who has disappeared from Vanuatu after awaiting permission to come to Australia.
But Papuan activists fear that Jakarta may have put pressure on Mr Wanggai to return to the Indonesian province for "propaganda purposes" to discredit Australia's protection visa regime and quash concerns about the persecution of pro-independence groups in West Papua.
It is understood Mr Wanggai has not been in contact with his lawyer for two weeks, and his decision to return is at odds with recent moves to become a permanent resident of Australia.
A spokeswoman for the Australian Federal Police said they had interviewed Mr Wanggai and his daughter Anike in Canberra on Monday and "had no concerns about their welfare".
"We are not telling anyone where they are," she said. But the AFP denied it was helping Indonesian authorities encourage the two to return to Papua.
Mr Wanggai and Anike, 7, were among 43 asylum seekers who arrived at Cape York in January 2006, and were found to have well-founded fears of persecution. However, a decision to issue the Papuans with protection visas provoked a furious response from Indonesia, with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recalling his ambassador in protest.
Four months later, Mrs Wanggai, who stayed in West Papua, was at the centre of a media storm when she claimed she was coerced by an Indonesian intelligence officer into making a false appeal for the return of her daughter.
She escaped to Papua New Guinea and then Vanuatu, and had applied to be reunited with her family in Australia through refugee agency UNHCR. But it is believed she disappeared from Vanuatu in October after becoming frustrated by delays.
In a signed statement dated yesterday and obtained by The Age, Mrs Wanggai said Australia's failure to allow her to become a refugee and join her husband in Melbourne had prompted her decision. She also said she wanted to return to Papua's capital, Jayapura, to care for her ailing older daughter.
But a leading figure in the Melbourne-based West Papuan independence movement, Nick Chesterfield said he had doubts about the authenticity of the letter, and whether it was obtained under duress. He said he had spoken to Mr Wanggai and Anike the night before they "disappeared" on November 15. "We are concerned they have been coerced," he said.
A spokesman for Indonesia's embassy in Canberra, Dino Kusnadi, said he was unable to comment at this stage.
Mr Wanggai's lawyer, David Manne, said he was unable to comment on confidential client matters, but admitted he had serious concerns.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/papuan-refugees-want-to-go-back-20081127-6k2q.html?page=-1
Thursday, November 27, 2008
LETTER TO KEVIN RUDD
Dear Mr Rudd
I apologise for seeking your intervention in the case of the two 'missing' West Papuan asylum-seekers, Yunus and Anike Wainggai, but we now feel obliged, twelve days later, to call for accountability from Australian government departments and agencies involved.
I attach my letter to Stephen Smith (26 Nov 08) for the grounding circumstances. Essentially, Anike and her father have been 'missing' since Saturday 15 November. Victoria Police (at Heidelberg Station) closed the file on Monday 24 November, after the AFP reported the two had walked into a police station in Canberra.
However, the situation stands now, as it did on the day they went missing, where neither we from the West Papuan community in Melbourne nor the Wainggai's lawyer have been able to locate them or contact them. Given our conviction that their disappearance is an Indonesian intelligence operation involving agents in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu as well as Australia, and the matrix of lies and deceit surrounding their removal from Melbourne and events ever since, we now feel it incumbent on the departments of Immigration and Foreign Affairs to prove the government has fulfilled its duty to protect these high-profile refugees, and that Yunus' request to return to Indonesia was voluntarily submitted without pressure or coercion from Indonesian-intelligence agents in Australia or in Vanuatu (where Siti Wainggai, Anike's mother and Yunus' wife, has also 'disappeared'.
Mr Rudd, I do not seek a response to this letter, but do request you assign some critical personnel to bring this case to a satisfactory conclusion.
Yours sincerely,
Louise Byrne
Australia West Papua Assoc (Melbourne)
Tel 04 329 24 212
I apologise for seeking your intervention in the case of the two 'missing' West Papuan asylum-seekers, Yunus and Anike Wainggai, but we now feel obliged, twelve days later, to call for accountability from Australian government departments and agencies involved.
I attach my letter to Stephen Smith (26 Nov 08) for the grounding circumstances. Essentially, Anike and her father have been 'missing' since Saturday 15 November. Victoria Police (at Heidelberg Station) closed the file on Monday 24 November, after the AFP reported the two had walked into a police station in Canberra.
However, the situation stands now, as it did on the day they went missing, where neither we from the West Papuan community in Melbourne nor the Wainggai's lawyer have been able to locate them or contact them. Given our conviction that their disappearance is an Indonesian intelligence operation involving agents in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu as well as Australia, and the matrix of lies and deceit surrounding their removal from Melbourne and events ever since, we now feel it incumbent on the departments of Immigration and Foreign Affairs to prove the government has fulfilled its duty to protect these high-profile refugees, and that Yunus' request to return to Indonesia was voluntarily submitted without pressure or coercion from Indonesian-intelligence agents in Australia or in Vanuatu (where Siti Wainggai, Anike's mother and Yunus' wife, has also 'disappeared'.
Mr Rudd, I do not seek a response to this letter, but do request you assign some critical personnel to bring this case to a satisfactory conclusion.
Yours sincerely,
Louise Byrne
Australia West Papua Assoc (Melbourne)
Tel 04 329 24 212
Anike and Yunus Wainggai in indymedia.....
http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/story/west-papuan-refugees-coerced-return
.......
........
.......
........
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
What is the point having an Asylum System if we cannot protect people from the threat and coercions that have been made?
The AFP are currently believed to be holding Yunus and Anike at a secure location. If anyone knows of this location, or any AFP safe house in Canberra, or Hotel, please imediately contact 0409 268 978 from a public phone. Disclosure of such information IS NOT illegal in circumstances of an illegal removal from Australia.
WE NEED TO ACT NOW
The hours to their imminient removal are closing in, and it is increasingly obvious the AFP is conniving with Indonesia on this one. Why is the AFP refusing to allow legal representation and verification of consent? What have they to hide?
I asked the Indonesian consulate if they could guarentee Yunus, Anikes and the Wainggai families' safety for the duration of this, but they refused to. Maybe everyone needs to call the Indonesian Embassy constantly (fill up their machines) or fax them Tel. + 612 - 62508600 Fax. + 612 - 62736017 to ask them why they are doing this, and will they guarentee Anike's Safety.
Also, we need etreme pressure on the Australian government. At no stage have we been able to satifactorily or independently verfy the voluntariness of Yunus return, and failure to establish this is contrary to Australia's refugee laws.
Fax the AFP, ring them until they enable independent verification of voluntary return.
..Nick..
I asked the Indonesian consulate if they could guarentee Yunus, Anikes and the Wainggai families' safety for the duration of this, but they refused to. Maybe everyone needs to call the Indonesian Embassy constantly (fill up their machines) or fax them Tel. + 612 - 62508600 Fax. + 612 - 62736017 to ask them why they are doing this, and will they guarentee Anike's Safety.
Also, we need etreme pressure on the Australian government. At no stage have we been able to satifactorily or independently verfy the voluntariness of Yunus return, and failure to establish this is contrary to Australia's refugee laws.
Fax the AFP, ring them until they enable independent verification of voluntary return.
..Nick..
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