Contents:
Perspective: The New York Agreement: 1962-2012
Update
Chronicle
Perspective
WPAT Note: The following Perspective coincides with
the 50th anniversary of the signing of the "New
York Agreement," a watershed agreement, undertaken
without Papuan participation, which sealed the Papuan
people's fate as subject to annexation by Indonesia. The
author has chosen to use the pen name Ch. Hook out of
concern over retaliation by the Indonesian government as a
consequence of this article. WPAT considers this concern to
be well-founded.The New York
Agreement, 1962-2012
When the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.2601
several years ago, (Footnote 1) calling for the Secretary of
State to report to Congress regarding the 1962 handover of
West Papua, the New York Agreement was briefly in the
spotlight. Fifty long years ago, the New York Agreement
replaced Dutch colonialism with Indonesian military rule,
and a new word entered the lexicon of multi-lingual Papua
that was common to all - genocide.
The first killing was on 15 November 1962 - exactly one
month after Dutch forces left, a Papuan police constable was
killed on the island of Dom, close to the oil-town Sorong.
Under the auspices of the UN, Pakistani troops assisting the
transfer of power simply looked on. What should have been a
multi-national force, was not. As pointed out by Dame
Rosalyn Higgins, president of the International Commission
of Jurists (2006-9), this role for the Pakistani troops was
arranged without any paperwork by Foreign Minister (and
former ambassador to the US) Ali Bogra. (Footnote 2)
"As many Papuans (West Irianese) as possible," the New
York Agreement stipulated, "will be brought into
administrative and technical positions.?" But Indonesian
policy from the start was that of a victorious, invading
army. There were 7,600 Papuan officials at the time of the
transfer to Indonesian control. A European UN officer
commented on the transformation that occurred in the
forestry bureaucracy which initially had five top Papuan
supervisors, and 81 Papuan botanists, senior rangers and
draftsmen. All were replaced by Indonesians who were
inexperienced and (the UN officer observed) "their reliance
on West Irianese subordinates... can be embarrassing to the
onlooker." (Footnote 3)
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Papuans protest at U.S.
embassy in Jakarta, August 15,2012 on 50th
anniversary of signing New York Agreement. Photo
from
UCANews. |
Rampant racism became the political cover to maintain
Indonesian superiority. While marginalization and
impoverishment were the political tools of the new
colonizer, the omnipresent Indonesian army was the arbiter
of summary justice. The army also acquired business
interests throughout Indonesia tied to its "territorial
command structure," reaching from Jakarta to the most remote
villages in Papua - where this remains unchanged even
today.
The New York Agreement made provision for the Papuans to
vote for an independent future or to stay under Indonesian
rule. The provision for the Papuans to vote was a crucial
aspect of negotiations in the agreement which stipulated the
vote should be "the freely expressed will of the
population", but it was not. Leading up to the "Act of Free
Choice" in 1969, many prominent Papuans were arrested and
killed in the process of "culling", and this policy remains
unchanged even today. Two former leaders of political
parties, J. Ariks and L. Mandatjan who had fought with U.S.
marines against the Japanese, were among many thousands of
Papuans killed by bombing, strafing and untold atrocities in
the 1967-8 Manokwari revolt. In the Paniai district,
Indonesian paratroopers were used against 30,000 people
calling for independence. The actual "vote" was a travesty
in which 1022 Papuans, selected by the Indonesians were
compelled to vote unanimously for union with Indonesia.
(Footnote 4)
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Indonesia's General
Sukarno with Ellsworth Bunker (right). |
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President Suharto, in April 1969, farewelled some of the
16,000 troops who helped to achieve the unanimous vote with
words that hinted at the central role of the military in
securing control of West Papua as much as the central role
of the US "mediator", Ellsworth Bunker, in securing the New
York Agreement: "The return of West Irian [the territory of
Papua] into the fold of the motherland is not at all a gift
from outside, not just the result of cleverness at the
negotiating table."
Five decades after the agreement human rights
abuse and extrajudicial killings (as outlined by the Yale
report on Genocide in Papua/West Papua, Footnote 5) has
resulted in the destruction of "a substantial part of the
indigenous population."
A figure of 100,000 deceased is often cited, but this is
because the Papuan human rights group ELSHAM had names and
addresses as supporting evidence, usually as a direct result
of army violence. But the army has also been involved in
ending Papuan lives by means of starvation and disease,
sometimes done deliberately and no doubt sometimes simply
through neglect entailed in Indonesian government policy
which failed to provide for the basic health and other
fundamental needs of the Papuan people.
For example, when the army was exploiting the timber
resources of the southern regions of Kamoro and Asmat in the
1980s, Papuan communities suffered displacement and
starvation. Bishop Alphonse Sowada, an American, made public
the shocking data that in the under-five age group in the
Asmat area 600 out of 1000 were dying. These are the
statistics of genocide. (Footnote 6)
The Encyclopedia of Genocide (published by
Macmillan USA, 2004) used the demographic basis from the
1960 Census, under Dutch control, and the 1960 census from
Papua New Guinea (PNG) under Australian control. PNG - the
eastern half of the island also populated by Papuan people -
now has nearly 8 million inhabitants. By contrast, the
indigenous population of Papua/West Papua has less than 2
million, with a similar number of "transmigrants" mainly
from the Indonesian islands of Java and Sulawesi. Drawing on
the cultural similarity between "east and west" Papuan
indigenous populations, and historically comparable rates of
reproduction, Papua/West Papua in 2004 should have achieved
a total of approximately 3.4 million. There are a
multiplicity of factors involved, but this comparison
nevertheless reveals a serious population deficit, in the
range of 1.4 million.
An explanation for this deficit can be found in policies
(for which Jakarta must be held responsible) pursued by the
Indonesian army and police stationed in Papua. "The
deliberacy of their violence, and the intent underlying
their actions, predicates the accusation of genocide."
Footnote 7
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Hospital statistics, based on the number
of widows from this time period, indicate a total exceeding 25,000 dead. On the
ground, Kopassus officers in plain clothes, directly from Jakarta, selected many
Papuan leaders and articulate individuals for slaughter.
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Some examples: In 1977, in the highlands (where most
Papuans live) Indonesian forces strafed and bombed for three
months using ex-Vietnam OV-10 "Bronco" aircraft purchased
from the US Government. According to Dr. W.H. Vriend of the
local government hospital and author of the 2003 book "Smoky
Fires," there were American advisers for the Indonesian
pilots deployed on the tarmac at the main airport in the
Papuan highlands at Wamena. An estimated 70 percent of the
Tagi people of the Western Dani valley were killed in such
raids and many from other tribes. Hospital statistics, based
on the number of widows from this time period, indicate a
total exceeding 25,000 dead. On the ground, Kopassus
officers in plain clothes, directly from Jakarta, selected
many Papuan leaders and articulate individuals for
slaughter.
In 1997, along the southern foothills of the central
range, Major-General Prabowo Subianto (formerly Suharto's
son-in-law and head of the Indonesian Special Forces,
"Kopassus," at the time) was responsible for bombing and
strafing of villages, and causing widespread starvation by
laying waste to all gardens and farm-animals. The
International committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) official
there quit in protest, commenting (as he left via Jakarta
airport) that "thousands were dying".
The
ICRC was banned from Papua several years ago,
along with a leading Dutch NGO involved in community
development in Papua for decades. The human rights NGO
Peace
Brigades International
also is no longer able to work in West Papua. The era of
democratic reform has brought no improvement in Papua. High
hopes were held for "Special Autonomy" in 2002 but the
Minister for Home Affairs in Jakarta delayed full approval.
Furthermore, there was a crucial lack of incentive because
of Washington's preoccupation with converting the Indonesian
army into a front-line defense in the "war on terror." The
U.S. Government's drive to partner with the Indonesian
military in this venture dissuaded Washington from pressing
for an end to that military's human rights abuse,
unaccountability and corruption according to retired U.S.
diplomat Ed McWilliams. (Footnote 8)
Fifty years of human rights abuse in Papua/West
Papua....and
replying to 30 recommendations in the UN Human
Rights Commission's quadrennial review in May 2012, the
Indonesian response this month was more delays and
platitudes. The Indonesian government continues to deny
access to the United Nations special rapporteur on
indigenous people and is still "unable to allow foreign
journalists free access to Papua and West
Papua."
With the evidence that has emerged in the last fifty
years regarding the New York Agreement, it is clear that the
U.S. government did not have access to full intelligence
impinging on that decision. By refusing to address the
problem, the U.S. is further implicated in the on-going
tragedy in Papua/West Papua which includes accusations of
genocide and crimes against humanity that Jakarta cannot
dispel by denying access to the Special Rapporteur.
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(1) US Congress, "House
Resolution 2601, "Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 and
2007," Union Calendar No. 105'
(2) Rosalyn Higgins, UN Peacekeeping 1946-67,
Documents and Commentary, (Volume 2, Asia) (Oxford
University Press, 1970). The New York Agreement said the UN
force should be multinational. It had 59 military aides
from the US, 12 from Canada (the Americans and Canadians
were all air force personnel) and 1537 Pakistani troops from
the 14th Punjab. These joined 1500 Indonesian paratroopers
(earlier captured by Papuan and Dutch forces when they had
landed in Papua and were permitted to stay). The Pakistani
and Indonesian troops prayed together and patrolled
together. There was no official paperwork in UN files on how
the UN arranged this or who under the aegis of the UN
actually agreed to the Pakistani troops., although Secretary-General U
Thant was ultimately responsible. Higgins, p.113.
(3) Stanley Dennis Richardson,
The role of
forest-based industries in the economic and social
development of West Irian (Fund of the United Nations for
the Development of West Irian, 1968), p.53.
(4) Several books written at the time by western
journalists refer to the Manokwari rebellion and also to how
the paratroopers in Paniai put down opposition. In Manokwari
the OPM took over the town (former capital of Netherlands
New Guinea) for three days. The Indonesian government
employed paratroopers in Manokwari (e.g., see Brian May, The
Indonesian Tragedy, Graham Brash, 1979).
(5) "Indonesian
Human Rights Abuses in West Papua: Application of the Law of
Genocide to the History of Indonesian Control," report
by Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic,
Yale Law School, April 2004.
(6) Julian Burger, Anti-Slavery Society Report to
the UN Minority Rights Working Group, Geneva, 1984.
(7) See "Papua" section in Dinah L. Shelton, ed.,
Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
(Macmillan USA, 2004).
(8) Interview with author.
UPDATE
US Apache Helicopters Seen as "A Means of Destruction
for Papua"
A two-part piece by Simon Riyard Banundi, translated by
TAPOL, reviews the prospective sale of the U.S. Apache 64
attack helicopter to the Indonesian military (TNI), which has
been
protested by over 90 NGOs worldwide.
The article (Part
1,
Part
2) reiterates NGO's concerns that the weapons
systems could be deployed in West Papua to augment the TNI's
repeated "sweeping operations" which have devastated the
rural Papuan civilian population.
The article describes recent developments concerning the sale,
including: "In July and August 2012, the US government gave
a sign that it was offering to sell AH-64 Apache aircraft to
Indonesia. Indonesia's defense minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro
said on August 24, 2012: "Once it is approved by the DPR-RI,
the Indonesian parliament, the TNI will purchase eight AH-64
Apache aircraft. This super-modern aircraft costs US$45
million per unit."
Papuan NGO's Collecting Donations for Political Prisoners
Harassed by Police
The
September 23 Suara Pemburatan, translated by Tapol,
reported on efforts by local NGOs United For Truth and
Solidarity for Victims of Human Rights Violations on behalf
of Tapols (political prisoners) and Napols (convicted
prisoners). The report notes that while these organizations
were collecting money on behalf of Tapols and Napols, police
forced them to disperse. Some of the NGO members were taken
into custody, purportedly for causing traffic congestion.
(They were subsequently released.)
The NGO action was prompted by the failure of the Indonesian
government to provide minimally adequate medical care for
prisoners, in violation of Indonesia's international
obligations. Suara Pemburatan cites Melania Kirihio from the
Papua branch of National Human Rights Commission stating: 'It is the responsibility of the state to provide whatever
is necessary to guarantee the health of people in custody in
the various prisons. If the necessary treatment is not
available in the prison, the state must grant permission for
the prisoner to been examined elsewhere in accordance with
their needs."
New Zealand Fund Divests from Freeport over Human
Rights/Security Concerns
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has announced that it
will end its investment in the Freeport-McMoran. The decision,
according to the
fund, was out of "concerns over requirements for direct payments to
government security forces consequence of security issues" and
human rights at its copper and gold mine in West Papua.
Fund manager Anne-Maree O'Connor
told the media: "The context
is such that there have been fatalities at the mine, that
there have been reports by MSCI [Morgan Stanley Capital
International] and other sources of information that these
have breached human rights standards so we believe that the
situation is one that could continue well into the future,
and those are the standards that we look at when we
considering reviewing the behaviour of companies."
The NZ pension fund's involvement in the controversial
Freeport mine was challenged in a
major investigative article in Metro
magazine in December 2011. The article, by Auckland University of Technology communication studies student
and photojournalist Karen Abplanalp, described a long-running
strike at the mine and the shooting of miners in "suspicious
circumstances."
The Auckland-based Indonesian Human Rights Committee (IHRC),
which has campaigned against "unethical" investment in
Freeport, thanked the fund. IHRC's
Maire Leadbetter is now pushing the fund to divest from Rio Tinto, a
partner of Freeport's in the Papua mine.
All the Ingredients for
Genocide: Is West Papua the Next East Timor?
A
September 21 opinion piece published in the
Australian's
The Conversation raises the
prospect of genocide in West Papua. Author Jim Elmslie,
Visiting Scholar, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at
University of Sydney, also looks at Australian complicity
with the so-called "anti-terror" force Densus (Detachment)
88, which partially funds it.
Elmslie notes parallels between the current plight of
Papuans and that of the people of East Timor under
Indonesian occupation:
"The ingredients are there: stark racial, religious and
ideological differences coalescing around a desire for
Papuan resources and Papuans' land, on one hand, and
independence on the other. Indeed many Indonesians, as well
as the Indonesian state, already view Papuan separatists as
traitors."
Papuan Prisoner of Conscience Filep Karma Returns to
Abepura Prison from Jakarta Medical Treatment
Filep Karma, a political
prisoner of conscience from Papua, has
returned to Abepura
prison in West Papua after two weeks of medical treatment in
Jakarta. Karma's medical care was delayed for six months
despite a medical referral stipulating that he required
medical care not available in West Papua.
Abepura prison officials, under the Ministry of Law and
Human Rights, refused to cover cost of his medical treatment
and travel. This is in direct contravention of national and
international law [see United Nations'
Body of Principles for
the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or
Imprisonment (Principle 24), and Indonesian law (Regulation
No. 32/1999 on Terms and Procedures on the Implementation of
Prisoners' Rights in Prisons). Karma's travel
arrangements were funded by donations from Papuans and
international supporters.
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Filep Karma with
family and friends. Photo courtesy of family. |
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