This is the 45th in a series of monthly
reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans This
series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy
Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments
and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua.
This report is co-published by the East Timor and Indonesian
Action Network (ETAN) Back issues are posted online at
http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm
Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund
McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com.
Summary:
Suharto's Legacy
Lives on in West Papua
The passing of Dictator General Suharto has
prompted a torrent of commentary, much of it focused on the
fact that he escaped earthly justice for his vast human
rights crimes and corruption.
Carmel Budiardjo, founder of TAPOL and
herself a prisoner under Suharto, took special note of his
crimes in West Papua,
writing:
"It was under Suharto that Indonesia
compelled the people of West Papua by force of arms to
become a part of the Republic of Indonesia, following
the fraudulent Act of Free Choice in 1969. Since then,
the West Papuan people have suffered from massive human
rights abuses, helpless to halt the unbridled plunder of
their natural resources. While the West Papuan people
live in abject poverty, the Indonesian state has reaped
huge benefits from revenues, royalties and taxes from
foreign enterprises such as Freeport which was granted a
concession by Suharto to extract copper and gold in
1967, and it will soon start profiting massively from
British Petroleum, now renamed Beyond Petroleum, as it
starts to exploit West Papua's natural gas."
The Suharto legacy lives on most clearly in
West Papua. Behind a screen of restricted access and travel
that obscures ongoing abuse from international scrutiny
Indonesian security forces continue to kidnap, torture and
kill. Moreover, as in the past throughout the archipelago,
the corrupt military continues to godfather corrupt logging
and other illegal operations that devastate the Papuan
environment. And like Suharto, those military and civilian
officials who perpetrated such crimes and who currently
abuse human rights continue to evade accountability.
In a
letter to U.S.
Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron R. Hume, ETAN and WPAT
strongly criticized his failure to acknowledge Suharto's
human rights crimes. "It is his military which continues to
repress civilian populations in West Papua and elsewhere.
And it is his military which the current U.S. administration
plans to continue to train and arm," they wrote. (see
http://www.etan.org/news/2008/01hume.htm)
Yudhoyono
Salutes Suharto's Brutal Subjugation of West Papua
Indonesian President Yudhoyono, in a January
28 eulogy for deceased General Suharto, praised the dictator
for the brutal military operation in Papua which killed
thousands.
The current president commended Suharto for
leading Operation Mandala, the military operation in the
early 1960's that repressed popular opposition among Papuans
to their forced annexation by Indonesia. SBY said in part:
"In 1962, he led the forces which bravely struggled for West
Irian (Papua)."
U.S. Embassy documents at the time (since
declassified and released) acknowledged U.S. awareness of
Indonesian forces' human rights abuses and Indonesian
violation of the terms under which it was given a UN mandate
to administer West Papua. The documents also reveal the U.S.
decision to ignore the Indonesian actions.
The U.S. had determined to block Dutch plans
to give the colonial areas in the western half of New Guinea
independence, in preference for a course that would
acquiesce to Indonesian demands that control of the vast,
resource rich area fall to Jakarta.
Following a blatantly fraudulent 1069 act of
self-determination (described the Indonesian in Orwellian
language as the "Act of Free Choice") the US quietly aided
Suharto's military in its brutal repression of Papuan
protest, inter alia, providing the military with US A-10
Broncos which were used, as in East Timor, to attack
villages. Human rights observers claim scores of thousands
of Papuans died.
Yudhoyono's decision to highlight this
aspect of Suharto's long, brutal reign appears intended to
remind Papuans and the international community that West
Papua, annexed and subdued by the Indonesian military at
great human cost among Papuans, will remain under Jakarta's
control.
see
Suharto: A Declassified Documentary Obit from the National
Security Archive
Indonesian
Government Admits Extensive Lack of Development in West
Papua, and Implicitly Failure of "Special Autonomy" Policies
West Papua is one of Indonesia's most
impoverished provinces, with 40 per cent of the 2.5 million
people living on less than 50 US cents a day, according to
the World Bank.
A January 3 Cendrawasih Pos article
(translated by Tapol) reports that according to an
Indonesian Government study West Papua is among the most
"backward" of Indonesian provinces The report notes that
conditions in some parts of West Papua have deteriorated
over the past three years. The admission is stark evidence
that the Indonesian Governments "Special Autonomy" approach
to West Papua has failed.
Excerpts of the Cendrawasih Pos report
follows:
The State Department for Backward
Regions yesterday released its evaluation regarding 199
backward regions. During the three years of the
SBY-Kalla government, only 28 regions have been lifted
out of the condition of backwardness. Conditions in
eastern Indonesia are particularly bad.
There are five stages of backwardness:
extremely backward, very backward, backward, rather
backward and no longer backward.
"The term extremely backward means that
no infrastructure development has taken place, there has
been no economic development, the health situation is
very poor indeed and education facilities are very
inadequate," said Lukman Edy. All the regions classified
as being in the worst category are in eastern Indonesia,
primarily in Papua and Maluku. They include Paniai,
Puncak Jaya, Yahukimo, Asmat, Star Mountains, Mamasa,
and Alor. When the backwardness classification was first
drawn up, nine regions were included in the 'extremely
backward' category but three years later, two more
regions have been added, Maluku Tenggara Barat and
Tolikara.
Within West Papua several regions,
including Meauke, conditions have worsened over the
period measured.
Indonesian Central
Government Pursues Further Illegal Division of Papuan
Homeland
A January 24 Jakarta Post article reports
that the Indonesian Regional Representatives Council (DPD)
on January 22 unanimously endorsed an initiative to create
eight new provinces and 13 new regencies (districts). The
proposal includes four new Papuan provinces. The Papuan
people have not been consulted about this division of their
land as required by the Special Autonomy Law of 2002
Timing for the project is unclear. President
Yudhoyono supports the plan but has urged that action be
delayed a few months. "We need to formulate a master plan,
including determining the exact timeframe to allow the
formation of new regions, also by synchronizing with the
schedule of the 2009 general election," he explained. DPD
(Parliament) chairman Ginanjar Kartasasmita favors a longer
delay, urging that new provinces and regencies should not be
established before the 2009 election was completed. He added
that results of an ongoing evaluation of several newly
formed regions had revealed that some regions had failed to
improve their conditions.
Septer Manufandu, the executive secretary of
the Cooperation Forum of Non-Governmental Organizations,
told the Post that the Papuan people did not need new
provinces but rather better public services. He said the
Special Autonomy measure of 2002 had not improved public
services despite the huge funds channeled to the natural
resources-rich province "About 90 percent of the special
autonomy fund has gone to the bureaucracy, which means Papua
does not need new provinces but access to basic services.
Regional division will only create little kings who only
seek money," he said. To improve public services, Papua
needs new districts and subdistricts, Septer added.
The January 26 South China Morning Post (SCMP)
reported that The Reverend Socrates Sofyan Yoman, general
chairman of the West Papuan Baptist Church, called the move
to split Papua further a divide-and-rule tactic by Jakarta.
"There is no rationale behind it. The only aim is to divide
Papuans and gain favours with some of the local elite," he
said. He added: "Dividing Papua will not bring prosperity.
It will bring more problems and corruption. What we need is
an honest and balanced discussion with Jakarta on how to
solve Papua's problems."
The SCMP reported that an assessment report,
Concord Review, a risk-assessment firm, said: "It flies in
the face of reason and will do little more than accentuate
primordial politics in the country."
Calls for division of the Papuan homeland is
not unprecedented The central government divided the Papuan
homeland in 2003 without approval from the Papua People's
Council as mandated by the 2002 law on Special Autonomy for
the province The most recent proposal for new provinces in
Papua has never received the council's endorsement either.
The Indonesian Supreme Court declared formation of the
provinces illegal, in clear violation of the special
autonomy law, but in a contradictory move declared the new
provinces a fait accompli.
The new proposed Papuan provinces include:
Central Papua; South Papua; Southwest Papua and West Papua
The proposal also includes new Papuan regencies (districts):
Arfak Mountains; Grime Nawa and South Manokwari.
Book Banning in West
Papua
The January 18 Jakarta Post carried an op-ed
by prominent Papuan and religious figure Neles Tebay
regarding the "shackling" of Papuan intellectuals in which
he notes the most recent banning of a book by a Papuan
author. Here is a synopsis of his commentary:
Indonesian citizens have found space to
exercise their rights and duties without fear, pressure
and intimidation from the state.
Indigenous Papuans, for their part, have
taken advantage of the democratic atmosphere to express
their opinions by writing books on some aspects of
Papua.
However, the central government has not
always regarded the new developments as good news.
Instead of being proud to see Papuans, who were once
illiterate and relied on oral tradition to tell their
stories, expressing their ideas in written form, the
government considers the exercise of Papuans'
intellectual creativity something suspicious if not
dangerous.
Many books on Papua, particularly those
authored by indigenous Papuans, are censored under
certain criteria set by the government or are banned
entirely.
The latest book to be outlawed by the
government is Tenggelamnya Rumpun Melanesia: Pertarungan
Politik NKRI di Papua Barat (The Sinking of the
Melanesian Race: The Unitary State of Indonesia's
Political Struggle in West Papua), written by young
author Papuan Sendius Wonda, and published by Deiyai, a
Jayapura-based publishing house
According to the chief of Jayapura
prosecutor's office, Sri Agung Putra, Wonda's 247-page
book contains some elements that "discredit the
government", "disturb public order", and "endanger
national unity".
Wonda's work is the second book on Papua
on which the government has slapped a ban, after
Peristiwa penculikan dan pembunuhan Theys H Eluay 10
November 2001 (The Abduction and Assassination of Theys
H Eluay on November 10, 2001) by Benny Giay, a Papuan
anthropologist, in 2002.
However, everyone knows the Attorney
General's Office has never clearly explained how the
books endanger national unity, discredit the government,
or disrupt public order.
By banning Papuan books based on unclear
criteria, the central government shows its undemocratic
face, despite its persistent self-promotion as a
champion of democracy.
After decades nothing has changed in the
way the government ignores Papuans' freedom of
expression and their intellectual freedom. It remains
restrictive in determining which books are appropriate
or not for Papuans to read.
Papuan Governor
Seeks New Papuan Symbol to Replace "Morning Star"
The January 11 Cenderawasih Pos reported
that West Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu announced on January
17 that the province would uphold a newly issued government
regulation that bans the use of separatist attributes as
regional symbols, a move in line with the province's status
as part of the unitary state of Indonesia. The decision
focuses on the "Morning Star" which has both cultural and
political implication for Papuans. A number of Papuans,
including Filep Karma and Yusuf Pakage, recognized by
Amnesty International and others as prisoners of conscience,
are jailed specifically for their employment of this symbol
during peaceful protests.
According to the Cenderawasoh Pos, the West
Papua government and legislature will discuss "a more
suitable regional symbol than the Morning Star." The current
central government has associated the Morning Star with
those fighting for West Papua independence. Previous
Indonesian Governments, including that of Abdurrahman Wahid,
had permitted display of the Morning Star flag, so long as
it was presented in conjunction with the Indonesian national
flag.
UK Government Supports
Papuan-Indonesian Government Dialogue
In response to a petition to the UK
Government regarding repression of human rights, including
political freedom in West Papua, the British Government
noted, in passing that it supported a key, longstanding
appeal by Papuans that the Indonesian Government engage with
Papuan political and civic leaders in a serious dialogue
The UK Government's January statement read
in part: "The Government believes that the best way to
resolve the issues in Papua is through peaceful dialogue
between Papuan groups and the Indonesian government. The
Government are in contact with Papuan activist groups in the
UK, and encourage dialogue between them and the Government
of Indonesia"
Papuans, recalling the effective involvement
of international monitors in advancing the cause of peace
and political rights through political dialogue between the
central government and Acehnese leaders, have urged that any
dialogue regarding West Papua similarly be supported by
international mediation
Great Poverty and
Great Wealth In Freeport's Realm
A January 16 Jakarta Post report claims that
various government and non-governmental agencies have 2008
plans to address the extensive poverty of the Mimika Baru
district located adjacent to the vast Freeport gold and
copper mining concession While the plans are encouraging,
the profound poverty among the Amungme and Kamoro people in
the districts 80 villages reveals the decades of neglect by
both Freeport and the Indonesian government for those form
whose lands vast riches have been taken.
The Jakarta Post's Markus Makur makes the
point powerfully: "With its vast gold and mining resources,
the world may look at Mimika regency in Papua as rich, but
the indigenous people who live there don't see it that way.
Outside of the infrastructure supporting the operations of
PT Freeport Indonesia's massive mining operation and
development concentrated in Mimika Baru district and Timika
City, little progress of any sort can be seen in the
regency, home to some of Papua's least rich. They live in
huts made of palm fronds, have no paved roads or public
transport and schools are small and far between, not to
mention the dearth of health facilities. The indigenous
Amungme and Kamoro people from mountain villages and other
remote areas of the regency are among the poorest. They have
no jobs They eke out a subsistence living scavenging for
gold among PT Freeport Indonesia tailings
This account describes conditions a WPAT
team member observed over a decade ago in villages 20
minutes by helicopter from the Freeport operated airport in
Timika - indicating no improvement in conditions over the
past decade.
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