text: Following an indoor introduction to Ornithology as well as to the tools and skills used in bird study, enjoy an afternoon walk to discover the wonders of bird watching. This class will also cover how to best use binoculars, guides, and on-line resources that help make birding so much fun. Before you can spot the 200 species of birds that call Audubon Greenwich home for some part of the year, it all starts with the basics.
  Papuans Behind Bars October 2014: ‘Bloody Yotefa’: police turn a blind eye to violence against indigenous Papuans
  At least 46 members of the West Papua National Committee (Komite Nasional Papua Barat, KNPB) were arrested in Jayapura and Merauke this month for participating in peaceful demonstrations. The demonstrators were urging the Indonesian government to release two French journalists who faced trial for breaching immigration rules.
  In likely reference to the Social Organisations Law (RUU Organisasi Kemasyarakatan, RUU Ormas), police claimed during the mass arrests that the KNPB is an illegal organisation as it is not registered with the Department of National Unity and Politics (Kesatuan Bangsa dan Politik, Kesbangpol) and affiliated symbols or attributes are also therefore illegal. Last June, police conducted a mass arrest in Boven Digoel under the same auspices. Indonesian human rights group Imparsial challenged the shutting down of peaceful demonstrations in Jayapura and Merauke, stating that freedom of expression in Papua is the worst in Indonesia, particularly when it comes to the treatment of KNPB rallies. The criminalisation of peaceful demonstrations, often under the auspices of the Ormas Law, restricts democratic space and stigmatises Papuan civil society groups.
  faces charges of conspiracy to commit treason. Lawyers from the Democracy Alliance for Papua (Aliansi Demokrasi untuk Papua, ALDP) have stated that the legal process for Wanimbo has been fraught with irregularities and that his case has been handled unprofessionally. Wanimbo faces charges different to those he was first accused of, and unsuitable evidence was used to build a case against him. The decision to impose a two-and-a-half-month prison sentence on the two journalists instead of acquitting them was a harsh blow for the campaign to open access to Papua. As noted by Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono, foreign journalists face a complex system of applying for visas to Papua, which requires the approval of 18 different government agencies – a process that severely restricts journalistic access. It remains to be seen whether Indonesian president Joko Widodo will make good on his promise of opening access to Papua.
  In our July update we raised concerns regarding an incident which has come to be known as ‘Bloody Yotefa,’ that took place on 2 July at Yotefa market in Abepura. Early reports stated that three Papuan men were killed following a police raid on a gambling den at Yotefa market. At least four Papuan men from the Central Highlands were tortured and 40 people arrested according to a Report from the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Desk (Keadilan, Perdamaian dan Keutuhan Ciptaan, KPKC) of the Evangelical Christian Church (Gereja Kristen Injili, GKI). Following the raid on the market, police arrested and handed over two Papuans, including a 14-year-old boy, to a mob of non-indigenous Papuans who publicly tortured and beat them while police stood by, later continuing the job themselves at Bhayangkara Police Hospital. While police beatings, torture and killings of indigenous Papuans are not new phenomena, the public involvement of non-indigenous mobs to achieve this is a particular low point.
  Bloody Yotefa challenges the government perspective that torture and killings are carried out by a rogue police in isolated cells, showing instead that these arbitrary violations are becoming social events in which the non-indigenous community can participate. This dynamic
  perpetuates a culture of fear and domination in which indigenous Papuans are exposed to constant risk of public violence, even in traditionally ‘safe’ spaces such as hospitals and university campuses. Police discrimination and profiling of indigenous Papuans, especially those who come from the Central Highlands, makes them still more vulnerable to public torture, violence and arbitrary arrest.
  Police Mobile Brigade members sent to work as private security in PT Nabire Baru’s oil palm concession in Nabire, Papua have been behaving badly once more. One team paid a visit to the house of Yunas Money, who is a customary landowner. Fully armed, they proceeded to smash and destroy the contents of his house.
  This police action, which took place on Friday 29th August 2014 at 3pm Papua time, left Yunus Money’s domestic furniture damaged, while the inhabitants of the house ran to seek refuge in the forest. [It appeared that] the Brimob wished to shoot Yunus dead because they felt aggrieved at the community pressure over how Brimob were working as security guards for the oil palm plantation.
  Robertino Hanebora, the Secretary of the Yerisiam Ethnic Group, reported that the policemen had been trying to find out the whereabouts of Yunus who is also the leader of a local cooperative. They were annoyed because of the community’s strong protests against the Brimob security (see also this previous report [Indonesian Original] [English translation]).
  Robertino said that although the protest letters which had been sent out had still not resulted in any follow-up action in the field, Brimob’s latest action showed that they were dismayed with our protest.
  Local indigenous customary landowners had sent a letter to the national police headquarters through their local cooperative on 21st July 2014, demanding the withdrawal of Brimob troops from the company’s concession because their presence was making the community anxious.
  Responding to arrogance on the part of Brimob working as security for PT Nabire Baru’s oil palm plantation, indigenous customary land owners from the Yerisiam people in Sima village, Yaur district, are requesting that chief of police in Papua immediately withdraws the Brimob guards from the plantation and replaces them with general police working out of the Nabire police station. This is the request of the Bumiowi cooperative, as signed by its leader Yunus Money.