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Are natural resources like oil and copper a blessing or a curse? Experiences around the world over the past 500 years show that natural resources are more frequently a curse.

If it is true that countries with abundant natural resources are cursed, then Papua is the place in Indonesia which has suffered by far the most because of this curse. By rights, per capita income of the roughly two million Papuan natives and the 700,000 migrants should be the highest in Indonesia from their rich natural resources. Are the inhabitants enjoying the benefits from these natural resources that are being exploited in the land where they live? Clearly they are not.

The primary beneficiaries of Papua's riches are the Indonesian government in Jakarta , the foreign multinationals who have been granted concessions to exploit copper ( Freeport ) and oil (BP), and non Papuan inhabitants who are illegally exporting timber and various other natural resources.

Unless there is a radical change in policy, it is not difficult to predict what future awaits the Papuans. The rape of Papuan resources will proceed at an intensified rate, as a result of which, one of the richest biological and cultural territories in the world will be totally destroyed in less than a century.

Four measures needed

Experiences from other parts of the world show that there we can turn Papua’s curse into a blessing: Four measures are needed.

First, to declare a 50-year moratorium, which could be renewed with regard to new explorations to exploit natural resources on a major scale.The Freeport and BP projects are producing far more profits than what the Papuans would need to live for the next 50 years.

Second, to halt the influx of new migrants. There are already enough people in Papua to protect the natural resources and sell other natural resources on a continuing basis. In this way, Papua would become by far the richest and best National Park in Indonesia .

Third, to set up a Trust Fund which would receive 100 percent of the taxes, royalties and other revenues from the existing concessionaires. Such a move has been taken successfully taken by Norway and other countries. The Trust Fund should be managed by Indonesians of the finest character who would also be charged with supporting social and cultural developments of the Papuan people, starting with free education; and would also be charged with funding security forces to protect Papua from intrusions for unlicensed natural resource exploitation.

Fourth, to get rid of the two provincial structures and replace this with a single government structure for West Papua that government would be responsible for regulating those economic activities not based on the exploitation of natural resources.

With such a regional government, the Papuan people would be as free as are Indonesians in other parts of the country to pursue various activities that are not reliant on the exploitation of the natural resources or that involve the removal of the native Papuans.

Business ventures those are able to provide jobs for Papuan people wishing to live in a modern economic environment, without being surrounded by mega projects that are run by outsiders. Tourism and eco-friendly sectors would be able to support a lifestyle that is on a par with other Indonesian citizens. Is such a vision feasible? Would Indonesia have the political will to do something that so many other countries have been unable to do?

Perhaps not. There is greed and nationalism and unrestrained religious conflict. Even so, there is still an opportunity in Papua. Protecting this region should be easier than protecting some parts of Kalimantan and part of Brazilian Amazon and equatorial Africa.

This is not just about the fate of the Papuan people, who are cursed with living among abundant natural resources. This is a crime being perpetrated by man against man that is happening before our very eyes.

Papuans want Indonesian Troops to leave

By Neles Tebay, Abepura, Papua

The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, November 6, 2007

In the wake of civil society's efforts to transform Papua into a land of peace, the Indonesian Military (TNI) has been growing both in strength and numbers in the province, as reported by the International Crisis Group in September last year.

Plagued by what the government calls a separatist movement, Papua is expected to become home to thousands of troops over the next few years. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Djoko Santoso has already revealed a plan to base the third infantry division of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) and more cavalry as well as engineering battalions in Papua to protect the country's border and conflict-prone areas.

Citing Papua's vulnerability to conflicts and separatism, more troops are needed in Papua, Golkar Party politician Yuddhy Chrisnandy said in response to the plan. He may represent the general opinion of the House of Representatives, which is known for it's ultra-nationalistic bias.

Indigenous Papuans have repeatedly expressed their opposition to the deployment of thousands of reinforcement troops to their homeland.

The latest was voiced loudly on Oct. 19, when local people in Arso (the capital of Keerom regency, some 75 kilometers northeast of the provincial capital of Jayapura) blockaded the road connecting Keerom and Jayapura to vent their anger with military troops after a soldier assaulted a district chief.

Why do Papuans reject the sending of military reinforcements to West Papua ?
Some cases below might be helpful in understanding the reasons behind Papuans' aversion to the military.

On Oct. 18, the head of Arso district, Charles Tafor, was beaten by a member of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus), who was on duty at the border with Papua New Guinea . Responding to the incident, Papuans blockaded the main road in Arso and demanded the withdrawal of all Kopassus troops posted in Keerom regency. The military eventually removed the soldier.

Several weeks earlier, a Catholic priest, Father John Djonga, left Waris District (in the same regency) following a series of intimidations and death threats allegedly from soldiers.

Djonga is a non-Papuan who has been defending and campaigning for the rights of Papuan people. The intimidation targeting him mounted after he reported to Governor Barnabas Suebu the concerns of Waris residents in the wake of the deployment of Kopassus troops to their home soil.

In the latest threat, Djonga said a man climbed over the back wall of the house where he lived. A well-built man entered the house in Abepura, just south of Jayapura, and asked a student, "Is Father Djonga here?" The intruder quickly removed himself however, when he was told the pastor of St. Mikael Church in Waris was not there.

Amnesty International immediately expressed its fears for Djonga's safety (AI, Sept. 24, 2007 ), and he was told not to return to Waris for the time being.

According to Djonga, Papuans in Waris district were interrogated harshly and indiscriminately by Kopassus troops about their knowledge of the guerrilla movement.

Facing the military, they are commonly asked several questions: What's your name? Where are you from? What crops do you grow? Why do you carry a traditional bow and arrows? You are OPM, right? Do you keep the Morning Star flag? Who is hiding guns?

It seems Papuans, who are Indonesians by citizenship, are treated as strangers in their own land by those who are supposed to protect them.

On Aug. 30, 2007 , Papuans from Waris district were able to openly share their concerns with the local military commander Col. Burhanuddin Siagian. They said should the situation in Waris not improve, they would take refuge in Papua New Guinea .

More than eight years ago, in July 1999, four Catholic bishops from Papua highlighted, in their report to then president Abdurrahman Wahid, the heavy presence of troops in Papua. The religious leaders blamed the military's arrogance as one of the causes of anxiety among the Papuans.

The bitter experiences of the Arso district head and the parish priest confirm the situation has not improved.

The arrival of thousands of troops has failed to create peace or tranquillity in Papua because the soldiers, including the Kopassus troops, serve as the central government's way of dealing with indigenous Papuans.

For the sake of peace, Papuans have called on the government and the TNI commander to pull out all Kopassus personnel from Keerom regency.

They know their request will be unheeded, as has happened since 1963, but at
least they have the courage to speak up.

The writer is a lecturer at the Fajar Timur School of Theology and
Philosophy in Abepura, Papua.

Millionaire Businessman supports West Papua

The Canberra Times,

21 October 2007.

Crusader for West Papuan cause by Emily Sherlock

THEY have been interrupting our TV viewing for months. And with the federal election campaign in full swing, advertisements on West Papua have become more prevalent.

The man behind this curious, relentless thorn in the side of the Federal Government is millionaire businessman Ian Melrose, who said he was driven by a child's preventable death into acting on the behalf of our West Papuan and East Timorese neighbours.

His advertisements which are appearing several times an hour highlight human rights abuses in West Papua and East Timor at the hands of the Indonesian military. They also call for human rights monitors and access for foreign Journalists to West Papua in Australia 's new security treaty with Indonesia . Mr Melrose said the advertisements had been targeted to screen in areas were the Government held key marginal seats and across most capital cities.

"What we are trying to do is highlight the human rights abuses that the Indonesian military is currently committing in West Papua , there are killings every second or third day," he said. "Because media are not allowed in, none of these stories come out." The Optical Superstore proprietor also put his weight behind a 2004 campaign for a better deal for East Timor over oil and gas rights in the Timor Sea.

Last year, he also commissioned a Newspoll asking Australians if they were for or against self-determination for Papuans, including the option of independence.

Mr Melrose was coy in disclosing how much the campaigns had cost and said putting his financial weight behind the advertisements had never been an issue. "I know too many East Timorese that have been tortured or have had family members killed by the Indonesian military," he said. "You either get upset or you do something. Getting upset doesn't help them, doing something will, so that is why I decided I wasn't going to sit on the couch any more."

Initially he said he was motivated to get involved after reading in 2004 about a 2-year-old East Timorese girl who had choked to death on roundworms. A worm tablet could have saved her life, but instead she was asphyxiated when hundreds of the 20-30 centimetre worms crawled from her small intestine to her stomach then to her oesophagus and blocked her trachea. "I thought it was just horrific and unacceptable that for less than 50 cents she could have survived," he said.

Mr Melrose has also written to the Prime Minister about West Papua and is determined to continue his campaign, sending information to all 640,000 of his customers in the lead-up to the election.

"When you eventually make money and I've made money it doesn't do any good to hoard it if you can do something good with it," he said. "That is what I'm having at doing. Whether I'm successful or not is going to be another issue."

The Prime Minister's office and Indonesian Embassy declined to comment on issues raised in Mr Melrose's campaigns

Ends

Papuan groups seek peace talks with Indonesia

Source: Sydney Morning Herald.

October 1, 2007

A group of pro-independence Papuans said it has asked Indonesia 's government to meet to discuss greater democracy and self-determination as well as the withdrawal of troops from the troubled, resource-rich region.

A resolution of the decades-long conflict in Papua could pave the way for Papuans to form political parties and have greater say over resources that include vast forests and huge copper and gold deposits.

The West Papua Coalition for National Liberation (WPCNL), an umbrella organisation which includes the Free Papua Movement (OPM), said it had written to Indonesia 's president, and asked for negotiations with the government to be supervised by an internationally recognised mediator.

"The pro-independence groups demand a peace dialogue with Indonesia with third-party mediators, as that will guarantee transparency," Paula Makabori, a member of the group, told Reuters.

She said that Finland, which helped broker a peace agreement between Indonesia's government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Aceh in 2005, was willing to mediate between predominantly Christian Papua and the government of the world's most populous Muslim country.

Indonesia 's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has promised to end decades of conflict in Papua and speed up development but critics say little has been achieved under the 2001 special autonomy agreement for Papua.

Since former President Suharto's resignation in 1998, Indonesia has been transformed from a dictatorship to a vibrant democracy and has settled two of its three main conflicts with independence for East Timor 's and greater autonomy for Aceh.

But its role in Papua, which has a population of just over 2 million people, continues to attract widespread international criticism, with human rights groups reporting abuses by the military.

"A deal means Indonesia would have to pull out the military, allow genuine democracy, international human rights monitors, an economic redistribution, and the creation of political parties," said Damien Kingsbury, an associate professor at Australia 's Deakin University , who advised on the Aceh peace talks. "Papua would be looking at creating a more democratic political environment in keeping with Indonesia 's own democratisation. That could contribute to a more secure investment climate for Papua with the support of local Papuans."

A peace agreement and increased autonomy could change how investors such as Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc - whose Grasberg mine in Papua is one of the largest copper and gold mines in the world - negotiate deals in future, Kingsbury said.

Freeport paid a total of $1.6 billion in royalties, tax and dividends in 2006 to the Indonesian government, and is the single biggest foreign taxpayer in the country.

Papua, which occupies the western half of New Guinea island, was under Dutch colonial rule until 1963 when Indonesia took over. Jakarta formalised its rule in 1969 in a vote by community leaders which was widely criticised.

"There were reports of extrajudicial executions, torture and ill-treatment, excessive use of force during demonstrations and harassment of human rights defenders" in Papua, Amnesty International said in its 2007 report.

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