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REPORT TO THE UNITED STATES ON THE PAPUAN CONSENSUS May 20, 2009 First, we would like to congratulate Congressman Faleomavaega for his being selected again as the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. And we would like to thank him and other members of Congress, especially Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Donald Payne and Senator Patrick Leahy for their efforts to bring peace to West Papua and other regions of the world. This is a report on the current situation in West Papua, with regards to the recent successful effort in West Papua to produce a Papuan Consensus document. The Second Papuan Congress of 2000 established the Presidium Papua Council (PDP) as a representative political body dedicated to Papuan unity. The assassination of this Council's first President, Theys H. Eluay, by Indonesian Special Forces (KOPASSUS), sabotaged this peaceful, democratic undertaking. Since this assassination, the Indonesian Government has continued to provoke division among Papuans, including the formation of militias and other provocateurs that are loyal to Indonesian security and intelligence units as well as efforts to threaten and intimidate individuals and organizations that work for human rights, justice, and the demilitarization of West Papua. On April 22, 2009, a coalition of West Papuans met to begin to develop a genuine Papuan Consensus. This group consisted of about 40 leaders from the Presidium Papua Council (including Dewan Adat Papua, West Papua Indigenous Youth, West Papuan Solidarity Women), West Papuan National Authority, West Papuan National Coalition for Liberation, People’s Papuan Council (MRP), West Papuan Catholic and Protestant Leaders, and West Papuan intellectuals. We had a series of extensive meetings over two weeks and wrote and agreed to a final Papuan Consensus document. On April 30, 2009, in Jayapura, we announced to the Indonesian government and to the international community our intention to devote our efforts to building and broadening a genuine Papuan Consensus. From May 1 until May 13, the Consensus document itself was drafted and approved. The Consensus was signed on May 14.
The Papuan Consensus document includes the following positions: We pledged to build genuine Papuan unity and henceforth to form a common approach to the many and growing problems confronting Papuans. We also pledged to support one another among our sisters and brothers dedicated to Papuan self-determination and also we decided that West Papua is not a part of Indonesia in accordance with history. We urge the Indonesia government to dialogue with the indigenous Peoples of West Papua with mediation provided by International Community. We urge the Indonesia government to stop the aggressive process of transmigration to West Papua and to allow international access to visit West Papua. We also urge the Indonesia government to respect indigenous peoples of West Papua as the owners of Papuan land. We appeal to the United Nations, the United States, the Netherlands and those countries involved in the Act of Free Choice in 1969 to revisit the Act of Free Choice. We urge the United States and Europe to stop supporting Special Autonomy funding to Indonesia, because it is not being used for the welfare of indigenous peoples of West Papua; instead Indonesia uses the money to build up a strong military presence in West Papua and to support their program of Transmigration to West Papua. The genocide process continues in Papua. We appeal to the International Community to accelerate its recognition of the unique Papuan identity as a Melanesian group within the Malay population that dominates the Indonesian archipelago. We also appeal to the International Community to recognize and publicly acknowledge that the Indonesian government policy toward West Papua has been and continue to be a failure. This failure is demonstrated by the abysmal state of Papuans for whom availability of fundamental services essential to health, development, education and opportunity have been and continue to be wholly inadequate. Special Autonomy has failed in West Papua and human rights abuses, as well as impunity for those who commit those abuses, continue and grow. We call upon the United Nations to put in place arrangements for the free exercise of the right to self-determination, so that the indigenous peoples of West Papua can decide democratically their own future in accordance with International Standards of human rights, the principles of International Law and the Charter of the United Nations. On May 14, 2009, our Papuan Consensus was formally signed by Tom Beanal (Vice Chairman of PDP), Thaha Moh. Alhamid (Secretary General of PDP), Pdt Herman Awom (Moderator of PDP), Edison Waromi (Executive President of West Papua National Authority), Terianus Joku (Congressional President of West Papua National Authority), and Eliaser Awom, Former Political Prisoner, all signing on behalf of the entire Papuan Consensus coalition.
Submitted to you in person in Washington DC by Yoab Syatfle, Secretary of the Consensus Team East Timor and
Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) |
