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West
Papua News
WEST PAPUA FORUM:
Portobello Hotel, Richmond St., Dublin
2
8.00pm, Sept 4:
All welcome!!!
Tel. 01 860 3431
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ARRESTS AT NETHERLANDS
EMBASSY, DUBLIN
Pictured in front of Netherlands
embassy, Dublin, being brought to custody
after having been arrested 15 August 2002,
left to right in white teeshirts saying
"West Papua betrayed": Mark Doris, Treena
Lenthall, Micheline Sheehy Skeffington.
Also arrested: Ciaron O'Reilly. Photo:
Brian Meade. [this photo was published
in The Irish Times, 16 August]
Left to right in white:
Mark Doris, Micheline Sheehy Skeffington.
Verraad = Betrayal. The banner also has
the dates 1962 and 2002. August 15th was
the 40th anniversary of the New York Agreement
between Indonesia and the Netherlands.
Photo: Brian Meade.
NewsTalk 106, Irish Times,
Irish Examiner, The Star, The Irish News,
Raidio na Gaeltachta covered the protest.
The Irish Examiner, 16
August 2002
Four arrested in embassy
sit-down
by Cormac O'Keefe
GARDAÍ arrested four
human rights protestors yesterday after
they staged a sit-down inside the Dutch
Embassy in Dublin.
The four, members of West
Papua Action, were protesting against
the country's record towards its former
colonial territory on the 40th anniversary
of a controversial agreement signed by
The Netherlands, Indonesia and the UN
on August 15, 1962. The group says the
Dutch Government failed to protect the
West Papua people by ignoring what they
claim was a rigged Indonesian poll on
independence for the natives.
A spokesman for the group
said three members, co-ordinator Mark
Doris, Micheline Sheehy Skeffington and
Treena Lenthall, entered the embassy reception
on Merrion Road, Ballsbridge, at about
11.30am. They told the receptionist they
had a letter for the ambassador and asked
to see him.
On hearing he wasn't there,
they sat down, displaying T-shirts reading,
West Papua betrayed - with the word VERRAAD,
meaning betrayed in Dutch, and the dates
1962 and 2002.
The protestors asked an
official to send the letter to the foreign
minister with a covering letter stating
he had received it. When he said he could
not do this, the group refused to go.
The ambassador then arrived
with gardaí, who arrested the four.
Mr Doris was taken to Donnybrook Station
while Ms Sheehy Skeffington and Ms Lenthall
and Ciaron O'Reilly, who was arrested
outside the embassy, were taken to Irishtown
Station. They were released pending further
investigations.
A spokesman said: "Forty
years of inaction by the Netherlands Government
has driven our group to this sit-down
protest. We would still hope the Netherlands
Government would play an active and constructive
role towards a solution for West Papua."
The 1962 agreement, signed
in New York, allowed Indonesia take over
West Papua from its colonial ruler, so
long as an "act of self-determination
in accordance with international practice"
took place within six years. An estimated
30,000 West Papuans died at the hands
of the Indonesians between 1962-69. Around
70,000 have died since.
The Star, Friday, August
16, 2002
GROUP’S SIT DOWN VIGIL
[Photo caption: PROTEST:
A man is arrested yesterday]
Four members of the West
Papua Action group were arrested yesterday
when they entered the Dutch Embassy in
Dublin and staged a peaceful sit down
vigil. The vigil was an attempt to highlight
the 40th anniversary of the agreement
the Dutch signed with Indonesia over the
self-governance of West Papua. Mark Doris,
one of the four arrested, said the people
of West Papua need a European power behind
them to “help their cause” but getting
the Dutch involved is like “nailing jelly
to a wall".
The Irish News, 16 August
2002
4 arrested in Papua protest
FOUR people were arrested in Dublin yesterday
as they handed over a letter to the Dutch
ambassador. The four, from West Papua
Action, were protesting against human
rights violations in West Papua. They
were released without charges but are
likely to appear in court at a later date.
The Irish Times, 16 August, 2002
Page 4: colour photo with caption: "Mark
Doris of West Papua Action being led away
by police after being arrested during
a sitdown protest in the Dutch embassy
yesterday. The group was protesting at
the Netherland's failure to call for self-determination
for its former colony of West Papua. Photograph:
Brian Meade"
PRESS STATEMENT
15 August 2002
Activists Arrested after Call on Netherlands
Government
to call publicly for Act of Self-determination
in West Papua
Irish activists today called
on the Netherlands government to call
publicly as a matter of urgency for a
proper act of self-determination in accordance
with international practice in West Papua
as agreed by the Netherlands at UN headquarters
40 years ago today.
The activists called on
the Netherlands Ambassador to Ireland
to convey to his government this demand
at the Netherlands embassy today, where
a vigil and protest occurred. The Ambassador
felt he couldn't accede to a request that
a cover letter with a copy of a letter
to the Ambassador (see below) be sent
to the Netherlands government, with a
copy to the activists before leaving.
After a peaceful sit down protest, Micheline
Sheehy Skeffington, Treena Lenthall, Ciaron
O'Reilly and Mark Doris were arrested
and brought into police custody - later
to be released.
The Netherlands signed the
New York Agreement with Indonesia at United
Nations Headquarters on 15 August 2002.
The peaceful protestors
wore tee-shirts saying “West Papua
betrayed”. A large banner displayed
VERRAAD! which means BETRAYED! in Dutch
– with the dates 1962 and 2002.
In a letter to the Ambassador,
West Papua Action coordinator, Mark Doris,
said:
‘As your government
fully knows, Article XVIII of the Agreement,
paragraph (d), had the following words:
The eligibility of all adults,
male and female, not foreign nationals,
to participate in the act of act of self-determination
to be carried out in accordance with international
practice
As your government fully
knows, an estimated 30,000 deaths occurred
in West Papua from 1963 to 1969, underscoring
how “the rights, including the rights
of free speech, freedom of movement and
of assembly of the inhabitants” were
not “fully guaranteed” as per
Article XXII of the Agreement your government
signed 40 years ago today. Your government
also knows how just 1,022 hand-picked
people voted in public to declare their
loyalty to Indonesia in 1969: this was
the extent of the “act of self-determination
in accordance with international practice”.
Your government did not
protest.’
West Papua (formerly called
“Irian Jaya”, now “Papua”,
by Indonesia) was taken over by Indonesia
in 1963, after a brief period of UN administration.
The Netherlands departed West Papua on
October 1st 1962. An estimated 100,000
people have died in West Papua since 1963.
For more information, contact:
Mark Doris, 087 2969742. 01 860 3431.
Note: Letter to Ambassador
below
ENDS
West Papua Action
134 Phibsborough Road
Dublin 7
Ireland
Tel. *353 1 860 3431 / 882 7581
Fax. *353 1 882 7576
Mobile. *353 87 2969742
Email. wpaction@iol.ie
http://westpapuaaction.buz.org
++++++++++++++++++++++++
for human rights in West Papua
including the right to self-determination
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Ambassador
Royal Netherlands Embassy
160 Merrion Road
Ballsbridge
Dublin 4
August 15, 2002.
Re: 40 years of silence
on West Papua
Dear Ambassador,
We are here today to commemorate
the history of silence of your government
and its betrayal of the West Papuan people,
in particular since your government signed
the New York Agreement 40 years ago today
at United Nations Headquarters with the
Indonesian government.
As your government fully
knows, Article XVIII of the Agreement,
paragraph (d), had the following words:
The eligibility of all adults,
male and female, not foreign nationals,
to participate in the act of act of self-determination
to be carried out in accordance with international
practice
As your government fully
knows, an estimated 30,000 deaths occurred
in West Papua from 1963 to 1969, underscoring
how “the rights, including the rights
of free speech, freedom of movement and
of assembly of the inhabitants” were
not “fully guaranteed” as per
Article XXII of the Agreement your government
signed 40 years ago today. Your government
also knows how just 1,022 hand-picked
people voted in public to declare their
loyalty to Indonesia in 1969: this was
the extent of the “act of self-determination
in accordance with international practice”.
Your government did not
protest.
The conspiracy of silence
from your government has spoken louder
than any words.
It is in the power of your
government however to begin to redress
this shameful history of silence and betrayal.
Your government could for
instance:
1. call publicly for a dialogue,
mediated by a third party, between West
Papuans and Indonesia;
2. support international
calls on UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
for the UN to review its role in the 1969
“Act of ‘Free’ Choice”;
3. make a public statement
on whether or not an “act of self-determination
in accordance with international practice”
took place in 1969;
4. call on Indonesia to
invite competent UN authorities to visit
West Papua to investigate the human rights
abuses which have been occurring there
since 1962;
5. call for the immediate
withdrawal of all combat troops from West
Papua;
6. call publicly as a matter
of urgency for a proper act of self-determination
in accordance with international practice
in West Papua as your government agreed
to at the UN 40 years ago today.
Your government fully knows
that Chakravarthy Narasimhan, former UN
Undersecretary General has said the so-called
“Act of ‘Free’ Choice”
was a “whitewash”. Your government
does not have to wait for any further
research in your country or elsewhere
to confirm what is obvious: the “Act
of ‘Free’ Choice” was a
sham.
The question of West Papua
will not go away. In fact, there is growing
concern here in Ireland and internationally
for the people of West Papua.
The Netherlands government
can choose to take an honorable part in
the history of West Papua, which may go
some way to redressing the injustice suffered
by West Papuans over the past 40 years.
Yours faithfully,
…………………….
Mark Doris,
Coordinator.
Irish Times Website Breaking
News 15 August 2002
Four arrested at protest outside Dutch
embassy
Last updated: 15-08-02, 17:44
Four members of a group
campaigning for independence for West
Papua were arrested during a protest at
the Dutch Embassy in Dublin this afternoon.
They were taken to Donnybrook
and Irishtown Garda Stations. All have
been released without charge although
summonses may be issued later.
The protest was to commemorate
the fortieth anniversary of the New York
Agreement which ceded Dutch control of
the former colony to Indonesia.
West Papuans’ right
to self-determination was stipulated in
this accord and a referendum on independence
was promised by 1969.
This never happened and
today’s protest was against the Dutch
Government’s refusal to raise this
issue with Indonesia, said Mr Mark Doris,
spokesman for West Papua Action’s
Irish branch.
Mr Doris, who was one of
those who was arrested, said 100,000 people
have died in the region as a result of
their struggle for independence.
He said "a small number
of people" had attended today’s
peaceful protest at the Dutch embassy
on Merrion Road.
Also arrested were Ms Treena
Lenthall; Ms Micheline Sheehy-Skeffington
and Mr Ciaron O’Rielly.
© 2002 ireland.com
Laksamana.net
Irish Arrested Over Papua Protest
August 18, 2002 01:52 PM
Laksamana.Net - Four people
have been arrested in Ireland for
participating in a protest outside the
Dutch Embassy in Dublin to demand
Indonesia's Papua province be allowed
to hold an independence
referendum.
The Irish Times Online said
the protesters were detained Thursday
(15/8/02) afternoon and later released
without charge, although
summonses may be issued later.
The protest commemorated
the 40th anniversary of the so-called
New York
Agreement which ceded Dutch control of
the former colony to the United
Nations and then to Indonesia.
Under the terms of the agreement
of August 15, 1962, between the
Netherlands and Indonesia, Dutch New Guinea
(West Papua) was transferred
to the United Nations and then ceded to
Indonesia in 1963, with the
proviso that an 'Act of Free Choice' be
held in 1969 to be determine
whether the territory would join Indonesia
or become independent.
But a referendum on independence
was never held. Instead, Indonesian
officials selected 1,026 tribal representatives
and coerced them to
choose to join Indonesia.
Pro-independence groups
say the people of Papua were cheated and
must be
allowed to hold an act of self-determination.
Thursday's protest in Dublin
was against the Dutch government's refusal
to raise the referendum issue with Indonesia,
Mark Doris, spokesman for
West Papua Action's Irish branch, was
quoted as saying by The Irish
Times.
Doris, who was among those
arrested, said 100,000 people have died
in
the region as a result of their struggle
for independence.
Indonesia has ruled out
an independence referendum for Papua and
has
instead promised the province a greater
share of the profits from its
vast natural resources.
The Irish Times, August
15
Embassy vigil for Irian
Jaya
DUBLIN - An hour-long protest
vigil outside the Netherlands embassy
is planned today to mark the 40th anniversary
of the New York Agreement concerning the
disputed Indonesian territory of Papua
(formerly Irian Jaya). It is known to
separatists as West Papua, writes David
Shanks.
The protesters say the Netherlands
agreed in 1962 that an "act of self-determination
in accordance with international practice"
would take place within six years in West
Papua. "It never happened… It
is time for the Netherlands to call publicly
as a matter of urgency for a proper act
of self-determination in West Papua in
accordance with international practice
as they agreed at the UN 40 years ago
on August 15th, 1962," said Mr Mark
Doris of West Papua Action. The protest
is at 1 p.m. at the embassy at 160 Merrion
Road.
Vigil at Netherlands Embassy,
1.00pm - 2.00pm Thursday August 15th
There will be a vigil outside
the Netherlands Embassy from 1.00pm to
2.00pm (please note time) on 15 August
2002, the 40th anniversary of the New
York Agreement concerning West Papua.
The Netherlands Embassy is located at
160 Merrion Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin
4.
The Netherlands signed an Agreement at
United Nations Headquarters in New York
with the Indonesian Government (the West
Papuans weren't involved in the Agreement),
where they agreed, inter alia, that an
"act of self-determinaton in accordance
with international practice" would
take place within six years in West Papua.
It never happened. The Netherlands government
did nothing, and continue to remain silent,
40 years later.
It is time for the Netherlands to call
publicly as a matter of urgency for a
proper act of self-determination in West
Papua in accordance with international
practice as they agreed to at the UN 40
years ago on August 15, 1962.
The West Papuan people continue to suffer
the consequences of silence with at least
100,000 deaths at the hands of the Indonesian
military since 1963.
West Papua, north of Australia,
was taken over by Indonesia in 1963.
For more information: contact
Mark Doris 087 2969742 or 01 860 3431.
*SIGN
ONLINE PETITION TO KOFI ANNAN*
Online Papua Discussion:
"The Conflict Prevention Initiative
(CPI) at the Harvard Program on Humanitarian
Policy and Conflict Research and the Center
for Security and Peace Studies(CSPS) at
the University of Gadjah Mada are pleased
to invite you to participate in an exciting
online forum discussion on peace and development
in Papua. The E-forum will be hosted on
the CPI Indonesia web portal at:
http://www.preventconflict.org/portal/discussion/
from June 24 to July 5, 2002."
Click
Here for Report and Pictures from International
Campaign Launch in Dublin
**************
Song
inspired by Papuan leader released
Human Music Australia and John Gordon
have released a new song "Theys Goodbye"
which can be downloaded free from their
site. The song is about 3 minutes and
is inspired by the memory of Theys Eluay.
More information about the song, and to
download: http://humanmusic.cjb.net
OUT NOW!
New Internationalist special edition on
West Papua:
the economic, political and social
challenges it's leaders face in their
struggle for independence.
Special price copies available
from West Papua Action.
***************
ON THIS PAGE BELOW:
Jakarta to outlaw
Papuan activists (August 29)
Behind the New York Agreement on West
Papua
To
West Papua's Victor, the Spoils
New Report
on Human Rights Conditions in Freeport
Area
Delay
expected for Theys' murder trial (July
27)
Extract
from EC Conflict Prevention Mission Report
Letter
to New York Times (July 22)
Indonesian
Army Pillaging, Beating and Raping Women
in West Papua (July 21)
Should
the US Resume Military Ties?
Papua Leaders Take Independence
Campaign Outside
Indonesia (July 5)
URGENT
ACTION (JULY 1)
Respected Highland Leader
Poisoned: Indonesian military suspected
The
Future Could Be Genocide: Report/Analysis
(10 June)
When Indonesia's
unity is no longer voluntary (11 June)
Indonesian military steps up repression
in West Papua (8 June)
*******************
Jakarta
to outlaw Papuan activists
By Don Greenlees, Jakarta correspondent,
The Australian
29 August 2002
INDONESIAN police have drawn
up plans to outlaw the main Papuan independence
organisation in a crackdown on separatism
aimed at preventing Papua from becoming
a "second East Timor".
Minutes of internal police
meetings and documents obtained by The
Australian, reveal a strategy to put the
Papuan Presidium, the leading civilian
proponent of an independent Papua, out
of business, possibly by arresting and
prosecuting its leaders.
The 60-day operation, known
as Adil Matoa, began this month with the
aim of identifying separatists or separatist
organisations, arresting and prosecuting
individuals "committing treason or
attacks against the state" and shutting
down organisations conducting separatist
activities.
According to the minutes
of a three-hour meeting on July 5, attended
by 16 high-ranking officers of the Papua
provincial police, the operation would
seek to prosecute Presidium members "according
to the law (by obtaining) clear evidence
that their activities are towards the
illegal separation of Papua from Indonesia".
It warns that police need
to take action to stop Papua becoming
another East Timor.
The moves to set up surveillance
against Papuan political activists and
pave the way for prosecutions come amid
heightened determination in Jakarta to
prevent separatist movements around the
country building momentum for their causes.
Analysis by the armed forces
intelligence agency has played down the
risks posed by the ill-equipped, poorly
co-ordinated and relatively inactive armed
wing of the Papuan resistance. But according
to sources, armed forces intelligence
is concerned about the potential for the
political wing to build support, particularly
overseas.
There are fears that foreign
lobbying activities could help change
sentiment in countries such as the US
and Australia, where governments support
continued Indonesian rule based on Jakarta
offering local autonomous rule.
Exerting pressure on the
civilian political movement is seen as
the most effective way of containing the
growth of pro-independence activity. An
order signed by the Papuan police chief,
Made Pastika, on July 17, initiating the
operation, states that activities to combat
Papuan separatists are to be carried out
within the province, elsewhere in Indonesia
and abroad.
In this document, targets
of the operation are cited as "suspected
civilians and community organisations
that have a vision and mission oriented
towards the separation of Papua from the
Indonesian republic and endangering the
unity of the nation by violating national
law".
It also cites civilians
and community organisations that "object
to government policy using the cover of
violation of human rights (and) violation
of indigenous rights" and conduct
activities that can "undermine the
dignity of the government and state".
Fearing the operation will
trigger a round-up of civilian political
and human rights activists, a national
human rights group wrote to the police
chief accusing the police of trying to
turn legitimate human rights work into
"a cheap issue to clamp down on innocent
people".
The letter by the Commission
for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence
(Kontras) warns the operation will only
lead to a repeat of the "crimes against
humanity committed in the past, for which
the state was never held accountable".
A written reply from police
headquarters in Jakarta maintains there
is a "strong reason" to run
operation Adil Matoa because there is
evidence "suspected individuals and
community organisations have a mission
(and) tried to build public opinion domestically
and abroad to unify their vision for an
independent Papua".
"We hope that those
illegal organisations will disband out
of their own conscience," the letter
states, in what activists regard as a
reference to the Papuan Presidium.
The
Jakarta Post
Print Edition: Page 7
– Friday, August 23, 2002
Behind the New York Agreement
on West Papua
John Saltford
Alumni, Department of Political and Asian
Studies
University of Hull United Kingdom
johnsaltford@hotmail.com
The opinion piece by the
Dupito Simamora, an Indonesian diplomat
to the United Nations, on revisiting the
1962 New York Agreement (The Jakarta Post,
Aug. 19) was very interesting. I also
fully agree with him that it is time to
review the issue in a “comprehensive
and objective manner”.
However, to assist with
the process of this objective review one
needs to look at what the New York Agreement
actually guaranteed. One can then compare
this with what took place and so come
to a conclusion as to whether it was such
a success story for the UN. Or, as others
claim, was the agreement’s implementation
just a crudely manipulated stunt that
fundamentally ignored the rights guaranteed
to the West Papuans by the UN, Indonesia
and the Netherlands?
The first point is that
there are arguments on both sides of the
debate over whether West Papua should
have gone to Indonesia in 1949. However,
in a sense these arguments are irrelevant
because the UN-brokered New York Agreement,
signed by Indonesia and the Netherlands,
guaranteed the West Papuan people the
right to self-determination, i.e. it was
for them, and no one else, to decide whether
they were Indonesian or an independent
state.
Under Article 2 of the
Agreement, the Dutch handed over West
Papua to a temporary UN authority (UNTEA)
on Oct. 1, 1962. After seven months the
UN then transferred control to Jakarta
prior to any act of self-determination.
On the UN’s record
during its seven-month administration
of West Papua (Oct. 1, 1962-May 1, 1963),
perhaps a couple of comments from the
UN officials who were actually there will
suffice. The first was made in a confidential
letter by the UNTEA Divisional Commissioner
for Merauke in December 1962 :
“If the date (of our
departure) is advanced or if the Agreement
is changed doing away with a plebiscite,
I do not expect widespread disturbances
because we have sufficient forces to control
the situation – a whiff of grapeshot
can easily control the situation if that
is what UNTEA wants.”
The second remark was by
the Merauke Commissioner’s colleague
in charge of Biak :
“I have yet to meet
any thinking, sober, generally responsible
Papuan who sees any good in the coming
link with Indonesia…. Unwelcome as
the anxiety and resistance of thinking
Papuans maybe it is of course hardly surprising
if one is not under pressure to close
one’s eyes to what is in fact happening
to this people at the hands of the three
parties to the Agreement.”
Whatever one makes of these
comments, they hardly describe a situation
that today’s UN would want to use
as a model for future operations.
But returning to the New
York Agreement, if ones is to pass judgement
on its implementation, it is necessary
to consider four key articles.
Under Article 16, a number
of UN experts were to remain in the territory
following the transfer of administrative
responsibility to Indonesia. Their primary
task was to advise and assist the Indonesians
in their preparations for Papuan self-determination
that was to take place before the end
of 1969. But these experts were never
deployed because Indonesia objected.
Under Article 22, the UN
and Indonesia had to guarantee fully the
rights, including the rights of free speech,
freedom of movement and of assembly of
the Papuans.
These rights were not upheld,
even during the UN administration, and
with no UN staff in the territory once
Jakarta took over, Indonesia was free
to act as it pleased. The official 1969
UN report actually admits that the article
had not been fully implemented adding
“the (Indonesian) Administration
exercised at all times a tight political
control over the population.”
Under Article 17, one year
prior to selfl-determination, the Secretary-General
was to appoint a representative who would
lead a team of UN officials, including
those already stationed in the territory.
Their task was to continue and build on
the work outlined in Article 16 and remain
until the act of self-determination was
complete.
A Bolivian diplomat, Ortiz
Sanz, was appointed but, as he made clear
in his official report, the non-implementation
of Article 16 meant that there was no
experienced UN staff in the territory
for him to lead. Instead he had to make
do with a newly arrived team of 16 who
were supposes to assist and observe an
act of self-determination in a vast territory
covering 160,150 square miles.
Under Article 18, all adult
Papuans had the right to participate in
an act of self-determination to be carried
out in accordance with international practice.
This central tenet of the
agreement was never implemented. The UN
effectively stood by as Indonesia selected
1,022 West Papuans to vote publicly and
unanimously in favor of integration with
Indonesia. The final wording of the UN
report says only that the procedure had
been carried out in accordance with “Indonesian”,
and not “international” practice
as specified in the article.
As the writer Simamora
concedes, retired UN undersecretary-general
Narasimhan Chakravarty has been quoted
saying that the Act of Free Choice was
“just a whitewash.” But what
Simamora does not mention is that Narasimhan
also adds : “The mood at the UN was
to get rid of this problem as quickly
as possible…. Nobody gave a thought
to the fact that there were a million
people there who had their fundamental
rights trampled…. How could anyone
have seriously belived that all voters
unanimously decided to join his (Soeharto’s)
regime?” Does Simamora seriously
believe this? It certainly appears so.
But when has a 100 percent vote of this
kind ever been considered as anything
but a sham? The answer of course is never.
Those 1,022 “representatives”
represented nothing but the official will
of Jakarta.
Importantly, Narasimhan’s
claims are backed up repeatedly in recently
de-classified documents emerging from
the archives of the UN and elsewhere.
In one example, a 1968 U.S. Embassy telegram
reports that UN representatives Ortiz
Sanz “concedes that it would be inconceivable
from the point of view of the interests
of the UN as well as Indonesia, that a
result other than the continuance of West
(Papua) within Indonesian sovereignty
should emerge.”
In a further example, a
1969 British document notes that the UN
Secretariat in New York “appear only
too anxious to get shot of the problem
as quickly and smoothly as possible.”
Another British official at the time commented,
“Privately, however, we recognize
that the people of West Irian have no
desire to be ruled by the Indonesians….
And that the process of consultation did
not allow a genuinely free choice to be
made.”
To conclude, there is certainly
a case for the UN to answer and a review
would be the fairest way of doing it.
It is surely in the best interests of
West Papua, the UN and even Indonesia,
that the full facts surrounding the Act
of Free Choice be revealed. There is nothing
to be gained from maintaining a distorted
version of history that can only further
distort current efforts to solve the West
Papuan issue peacefully. ***
The writer’s forthcoming
book is The United Nations and the Indonesian
Takeover of West Papua 1962-1969 Published
by Routledge-Curzon
Courier
Mail
To West Papua's Victor, the Spoils
By Greg Poulgrain
August 17, 2002
WEST Papua, the lost neighbour
of Australia, only 100km from our
northern border, last week commemorated
the Indonesian takeover of the
territory on August 15, 40 years ago.
As a "military operations
area" during the intervening period,
news from
Irian Jaya, now officially Papua, was
often smothered.
Only top-level assassinations
of Papuans were reported, but for the
Papuan people themselves, it is a case
of internal bleeding.
The New York Agreement in
1962, replacing Dutch colonial rule with
Indonesian, was dominated by US fears
that Netherlands New Guinea would
benefit only the communists.
With Indonesian army control,
however, the real benefits went to
US-linked mining and oil companies and
a handful of generals.
Now the most haunting spectre
in the countdown for Indonesia's next
election in 2004 is Islam. Whoever gains
or retains control of West
Papua will benefit greatly from its wealth
of natural resources.
This prize marred the UN's
intermediary role in the 1960s which should
have provided a multinational force to
separate Indonesian and Dutch
forces, including a Papuan battalion of
3000 troops.
However, there was an under-the-table
agreement, without UN
documentation, between the US administrator,
Ellesworth Bunker and
Pakistani foreign minister, Ali Bogra.
This meant the entire UN
force consisted of Pakistani Muslim troops
who
sided with Indonesia, the world's largest
Muslim country. Papuans were
being killed even before the UN force
departed in mid-1963. Objections
in the Australian parliament were stifled.
The New York Agreement provided
for a Papuan vote in 1969 to decide
whether or not they wanted to remain under
Indonesian rule, but the
outcome was already decided.
The 1969 Act of Free Choice
was a farce, even when the agreement was
signed in 1962. That was inadvertently
acknowledged by the most powerful
US lobby group in the Indonesian takeover
-- the Council on Foreign
Relations. The CFR was set up by Rockefeller
oil interests (Standard
Oil) before World War II.
More than any other group
-- even the CIA -- it influenced then
US
president John F. Kennedy's decision in
1962 to hand over Netherlands
New Guinea to president Sukarno.
It is no coincidence that
the CFR decided, only three months ago,
to
form a special committee once again to
focus on West Papua because of
the high profile of Islam since September
11, 2001.
The most prominent Indonesian
figure in West Papua is not President
Megawati Sukarnoputri but the leading
Muslim politician, Amien Rais,
aged 58, whose goal is to win the presidency
in 2004.
Rais was an outspoken critic
of president Suharto when he fell from
power in 1998.
The political party Rais
formed, the National Mandate Party (PAN),
gained only 7 per cent of votes in the
last general election, but his
role as king-maker is his strength. He
orchestrated the rise and fall of
president Abdurrahman Wahid but has since
vowed to "stick to his role as
chairman of the People's Consultative
Assemble" until the 2004 election.
Why is PAN focusing on West
Papua? Rais will need the support of the
Indonesian army to win the presidency,
just as Megawati did.
Although once a stern critic
of the army, Rais now sees West Papua
as
the key to winning support from the army
because the territory generates
a large amount of personal revenue for
the army.
Jakarta funds 25 per cent
of the army's running costs and the rest,
much
of it from illegal logging to China and
smuggling of flora and fauna,
comes from West Papua.
PAN, which is not restricted
to adherents of Islam, is organising a
number of Papuan representatives to provide
services for Papuans.
For 40 years, Papuans, particularly
in the highlands, have received not
much more from Jakarta than the brunt
of Indonesian military aggression
and racism.
Many Papuans have been shot
for raising the Morning Star flag, a symbol
of the independence denied them in the
1960s. And now, evidence of more
sinister ethnic cleansing is emerging:
Papuans who have distinguished
themselves academically are being killed
by lethal injections.
A university lecturer who
worked in West Papua for six years told
me 20
of his top Papuan students were killed
by injection at a hospital in
Jayapura, the capital, for minor complaints
such as a cut on the foot.
Only top students were killed. They were
given injections and died in 20
minutes.
Now PAN hopes to repair
the damage done by 40 years of genocidal
military rule.
For American observers,
such as the 10 military attaches who accompanied
Jakarta-based US Ambassador Skip Boyce
when he visited West Papua in
March, it may be hard to distinguish between
the influence of PAN and
more militant forms of Islam. Of those,
the most notable is the
army-sponsored Laskar Jihad group which
is acquiring a military force in
West Papua.
The Papuan population of
1.8 million are Christian; so too are
half of
the 1.2 million non-Papuans.
The trend, however, partly
the outcome of dire economic conditions
in
Java and partly the doing of an army-sponsored
strategy to create
instability in the future, is to promote
transmigrants from Java.
Ships bring up to 7000 Javanese
to West Papua weekly and each shipload
brings another contingent of Laskar Jihad.
The army trains these people
as the militia of the future, possibly
for a religious conflict, similar
to those that occurred in Ambon.
In the opinion of Rais,
Indonesian security forces can take either
a
democratic or a militaristic approach
to overcome such conflicts.
Without acknowledging the role of the
army or its motives in prolonging
such conflicts, Rais said that because
the democratic option had not
worked, he would prefer the militaristic
approach "even if it somewhat
tarnishes the image of democracy".
Winning army support before
the 2004 election is a PAN priority.
Monitoring the growth of
Islamic support in West Papua, and the
likelihood of Amien Rais winning the presidency
in 2004, is a CFR
priority.
The Australian priority,
to resume relations with the Indonesian
military, will increase the "democratic
deficit" in Papua and enhance
the role of militant Islam throughout
Indonesia -- advancing the problem
not the solution.
Greg Poulgrain is a lecturer
in South-East Asian history at University
of Queensland
Whoever gains or retains
control of West Papua will benefit greatly
from
its wealth of natural resources.
New
Report on Human Rights Conditions in Freeport
Area
The newly-released report
by Abigail Abrash, consultant to the Robert
F.
Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights,
entitled
"Development Aggression:
Observations on Human Rights Conditions
in the PT Freeport Indonesia
Contract of Work Areas with Recommendations"
has been converted to html
format and can be read on this website:
go to Links section, or click here.
Delay
expected for Theys' murder trial
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta
Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta Post
July 27, 2002
The trial of nine members
of the Army's special force (Kopassus)
accused of killing Papuan leader Theys
Hiyo Eluay will likely face further delay
because the military police cannot guarantee
they can hand over the results of their
investigation to military prosecutors
next month.
Brig. Gen. Hendardji, deputy
chief of the military police, said on
Friday the investigative team were having
difficulties collecting evidence, as well
as the testimonies of several witnesses,
calling the high-profile case "very
sensitive".
Hendardji, also chairman
of the Indonesian Military (TNI) investigative
team, initially said he would hand over
the results of the investigation this
month, but it was rejected as "incomplete"
by military prosecutors.
"I cannot set a deadline
for the handing over of the investigation's
results because most of the witnesses
have refused to testify. So what we need
is more time," he said.
Earlier, Military Police
chief Maj. Gen. Sulaiman A.B. said the
Kopassus members were likely to be tried
this month, soon after the TNI investigative
team hand over the dossiers to prosecutors.
But, Sulaiman retracted
his statement a few days later, saying
the trial might be delayed because the
team had yet to complete its investigation.
Theys, also a chairman of
the Papuan Presidium Council (PDP), was
found dead in November last year, only
hours after he had attended a commemoration
of the National Heroes Day at the Jayapura-based
Kopassus headquarters. Nine Kopassus members
are being detained at the military police's
cell for allegedly killing Theys. The
include Lt. Col. Hartomo, Maj. Doni Hutabarat
and Capt. Rianaldo.
Many had demanded the government
proceed with the case at the human rights
tribunal, considering that TNI as an institution
was believed to have engineered the killing.
Earlier this week, Rianaldo's
father Agus Zihof, a retired military
officer, sent a letter to Army Chief of
Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu, informing
that his son was being forced by a man
namely Maj. Andika Perkasa, a Kopassus
member and also a son-in-law of Hendropriyono,
the National Intelligence Agency (BIN)
chief, to confess to killing Theys.
In his letter, Agus also revealed that
"Andika had promised my son a good
position at BIN, because his father (Hendropriyono)
holds one of the top positions there".
Hendardji said the team
would not question Andika.
************************
Extract
from European Commission Assessment Report
"…the 'Act of
Free Choice'… was never more than
a farce. A grand total of 1,025 Papuans,
all selected by the Indonesian authorities
were permitted to vote - with virtually
no UN monitoring - on the future of West
Papua's 800,000 inhabitants. Not too surprisingly,
they unanimously voted to remain in Indonesia…"
Report of the EC conflict
prevention assessment mission to Indonesia,
March 2002, Page 64.
(Full Report: Go to Links Section)
********************
The
New York Times
July 22, 2002
Letters to the Editor
Indonesia and Terrorism
[The writer, a retired senior
Foreign Service officer, was political
counselor at the American Embassy in Jakarta,
1996-99]
To the Editor:
"Indonesia's Unreformed
Military" (editorial, July 17) rightly
calls for Congress to reject the administration's
plan to resume cooperation with the Indonesian
military and make it a "partner"
in the war on terrorism.
The Indonesian military
currently collaborates closely with an
Islamic fundamentalist organization, the
Laskar Jihad, whose armed fighters have
significantly exacerbated Christian-Muslim
fighting in the Malukus and are now provoking
Christian-Muslim tensions in the province
of Papua.
The Indonesian military's
support for this and other militias in
Papua, Aceh and Malukus is strongly reminiscent
of its creation of and support for militias
in East Timor, which, along with Indonesian
forces, laid waste to East Timor after
East Timorese voted to separate from Indonesia
in 1999.
The Indonesian military's
continuing record of cooperation with
domestic terror groups renders it untrustworthy.
EDMUND MCWILLIAMS
Falls Church, Va., July 17, 2002
**************************
Report
of Indonesian Army Pillaging, Beating
and Raping Women in West Papua
ARMY'S TAINTED LOGGING BUSINESS
IN PAPUA
Elsham News Service report,
received via Tapol 21 July 2002
" Army's lucrative
shadowy business not only contributed
much loved cash to the pockets of its
Generals, but also, shockingly, revealed
horrific stories of agony and pains of
the Papuans"
Deployment of military troops
of any given state to its territories
can be perceived normal when adherence
to widely accepted norms and rule of law,
including, of course, military code of
ethics, is maintained. Harmonious relationships
with surrounding environment, consequently,
will surely take place. This forms the
basis for successful and mutual interactions
among various interests.
The above premise seems
to be in contrast with the practices of
Indonesian army members now stationed
in various parts Papua, especially in
the sub districts (Kecamatan) around Jayapura
regency. Remoteness and isolation of pockets
of Papuan settlements may add to the confidence
of the Army to plunge into economic activities,
notably, logging business. Most of the
processed timber sold by Army personnel
were plundered, confiscated from local
Papuan natives, or directly from forest
without legal authorization. The Army's
had their own excuses for indulging in
such venture. Why then plunder of processed
timber extended to rapes and torture?
ELSHAM Papua prepared the following report.
Below are testimonies of
natives Papuans whose (processed) timber
forcefully seized.
April 2002, Habel Enef,
a local church worker, reluctantly surrender
his timber, after a Kopassus member who
was based in Bumi Irian Perkasa (BIP)
logging company, named Herman, threatened
to shoot him.
February 2002, Markus Putui
from Yetti village, handed in his processed
logs to an unidentified soldier of Infantry
Battalion 126 from North Sumatra (Bukit
Barisan) stationed in the area. Markus
was beaten with riffle butt and threatened
to be shot.
March 2002, (a) Andrias
Yombori, Head of Yetti village, was threatened
to be shot by a Kopassus member, Herman,
who was stationed at BIP logging company.
Andrias surrendered his processed timbers.
(b) Frans Putui from Yetti village had
volleys of bullets shot above his head
which forced him to give his processed
timbers to a member of Yonif 126 Bukit
Barisan, (c) 6 cubic meters of processed
timbers belonging to Yayasan Tradisional
Perbatasan (a local foundation) was seized
by Commander of Yonif 126 Bukit Barisan.
May 2002, processed timbers
belonging to William Itungkir (a Yetti
villager) were seized by a member of Yonif
126 Bukit Barisan. He was threatened to
be shot.
15 June 2002, at around 3 PM, members
of Kopassus riding on BIP own car, intercepted
the truck carrying processed timber belonging
to Reverend Augustinus Jibu Franz, chairman
of Traditional Perbatasan Foundation,
with the intention to seize the timber.
One member of Kopassus aimed his pistol
at the Reverend but another Kopassus member
prevented the shooting. Kopassus then
got the help of police to ultimately prevented
the timbers from being transported to
town for sale.
26 June 2002, five Yetti
villagers, Markus Putui, William Itungkir,
Maks Wel, Kipson Moi, and Elias Sakor,
were severely ill-treated. They were beaten
with riffle butts, then forced to creep
and eat soil.
Apart from pillaging the
processed timbers belonging to the natives,
the army personnel stationed around Yetti
area also poisoned rivers using toxic
chemicals to obtain fish. Rapes were perpetrated
by members of Army Yonif 725 from Wonogiri
in the village of Yuruf (Web sub district)
in Jayapura regency. The following are
names of the rape victims :
Debora Mandaweri (aged 16),
Densi Mandawer (aged 16), Roslin Wambea
(aged 17), Poppi Mandawer (aged 19), Klara
Wey (aged15), Berghita Sumel (aged 17),
Yinice Pikindu (aged 16), Mince Kemo (aged
18), Romi Sumel (aged 25), Mince Kemo
(aged 25), Lidya Matar/Mandoweri (aged
28).
When asked by an ELSHAM
Papua source, First Private P. Pakpahan
(aged 26) conceded that military personnel
sent in from outside Papua are allowed
by military top brass in Papua to conduct
timber and logging trade/ business to
sustain troops daily expenses. Lieutenant
Colonel Jhoni Supriyanto, Commander of
Yonif 126, fully supports this business.
Mr. Pakpahan said that daily expense of
Rp7000/ member was simply inadequate.
Additional source of income must be found.
Processed timber fits in. Mr. Pakpahan
further said that in other areas (out
side Papua) where he and his colleagues
were stationed before, daily expense was
averagely Rp15000/day/member.
Indeed the TNI (Indonesian
Army) involved in this business with full
force. The Yonif 126 from Bukit Barisan
who has been stationed in Arso area for
the last 9 months (October 2001-july 2002)
has been running this business in secrecy.
No proper compensation was given to traditional
land owners. Military and civilian trucks
were used to transport processed timber
to town. Army First Sergeant Sardens (aged
40) from Yonif 126 Bukit Barisan , commander
of military post in Yuwong village, stated
that money obtained from sales of processed
timber will be split in half, one half
for Jakarta and the other to the concerned
battalion.
Data provided by Jayapura
Forestry Department revealed that since
January 2002 to April 2002, 446,87 cubic
meters of processed timber had been transported
past Jayapura Forestry Department check
point. The price for one cubic meter is
Rp. 1.200.000.
Many, unsurprisingly, had
expressed disapproval and protests over
this military's side business on this
area of Papua. Nevertheless, in a recent
visit by Infantry Colonel Agus Mulyadi,
Regional Military Commander of 172 PWY
of Jayapura, to Yonif 726 post in Abepura,
denied that Army has involved in logging
business in around Indonesia-Papua New
Guinea border (Cenderawasih Pos 4 July
2002).
Concerns regarding control
by army members over (processed) timber
passing through military controlled posts
are raised by concerned government officers.
One by Mr. Marten Kayoi, Head of provincial
Forestry Department of Papua, who argued
that illegal "passing fee" imposed
on both commercial and local villagers'
processed timber by military personnel
on duty on each check posts should be
halted. Currently "passing fee"
imposed by military personnel at each
post are Rp50.000, for commercial operators,
and Rp10.000 for small native owned processed
timber@
----------
*ELSHAM NEWS SERVICE provides regular
reports and information on social and
political development and their implication
on Human Rights situation and democracy
in Papua. The reports and information
provided are obtained from ELSHAM PAPUA
local, national and international networks.
Those interested in subscribing to this
service are advised to register to ELSHAM
PAPUA. Please provide complete information
(Name of institution/ or individual; address,
etc). ELSHAM PAPUA is a human right organization
with a mission to eliminate militarism,
impunity, and to promote Human Rights
and democracy education for the people
of Papua. ELSHAM PAPUA was founded on
5 May 1998.
To subscribe (English and Bahasa Indonesia):
SUBSCRIBING TO ELSHAM NEWS
SERVICE
ELSHAM Papua is renewing
its News Service subscription. Those wishing
to subscribe to this service are advised
to register by filling the form below.
ELSHAM Papua News Service provides information
on social and political situation of Papua
and its implication on human rights and
democracy in Papua. ELSHAM News Service
issues reports in two languages, Indonesian
and English.
Name :
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ELSHAM Papua is a human
rights NGO advocating for demilitarisation
and
empowerment of Papuans in the areas of
human rights, democracy, justice
and peace .
Note : Please email the
information supplied above to elsham_irja@wasantara.net.id.
ELSHAM Papua is currently processing this
electronic registration.
SHOULD THE U.S. RESUME
MILITARY TIES WITH INDONESIA?
REFLECTIONS FROM A PAPUAN PERSPECTIVE
by John Rumbiak
Supervisor ELSHAM - Institute for Human
Rights Study and Advocacy in Papua
[This paper was the basis
of a presentation in the U.S. in June
of 2002, during an educational campaign
at the Asia Society in New York City on
17 June and before members of the U.S.
Congress, Senators and the State Department
in Washington, D.C. June 19 21]
Full
Paper Here
Voice
of America
Asia Pacific Papua Leaders Take Independence
Campaign Outside
Indonesia
Patricia Nunan - Jakarta
5 Jul 2002 09:30 UTC
Leaders in the Indonesian
province of Papua are taking their fight
for independence overseas, with a recent
trip to Washington and a
visit to Australia in the works. VOA's
Patricia Nunan spoke with
independence leader Willy Mandowen to
learn more about the
separatist movement seven months after
the assassination of a
prominent leader, and in light of East
Timor's recent
independence.
Independence leader Willy
Mandowen said he is encouraged by the
response he is getting for Papua's independence
struggle in some
far away places, such as New York and
Washington. "Although we
know before we go that U.S. government
official policy is not to
support any separation of Indonesia.,
but we're very pleased that
the people in the State Department or
congressmen would be very
willing to sit down and talk with us and
show . they want a
peaceful solution." Mr. Mandowen
is one of the leaders of the
Papua Presidium Council, an organization
formed in 2000 to push
for independence from Indonesia.
Papua, formerly known as
Irian Jaya, adjoins the country of Papua
New Guinea in the western Pacific. Its
people are ethnically and
culturally different from most Indonesians.
The province is rich
in natural resources. Papuans resent efforts
by Jakarta to move
other Indonesians to the island, and to
extract resources from
Papua. Papua's struggle may be less famous
than a similar struggle
in East Timor, which won independence
from Indonesia in 1999. But
many of the details are familiar. Both
fought guerrilla wars for
independence for decades after being integrated
into Indonesia. In
Papua, the fighting continues. There is
a key legal difference,
however. The United Nations never recognized
Indonesia's 1976
annexation of East Timor. As a result,
the United Nations
eventually sponsored an independence referendum
for the territory,
leading to East Timor's break from Jakarta.
In contrast, the United
Nations approved the 1969 ballot that
integrated Papua with Indonesia. Mr. Mandowen
said that legal
hurdle can be overcome, because there
is evidence the ballot was
rigged in Indonesia's favor. The United
Nations, he said, should
take a new look. "If the U.N. does
a review and they find out that
from the legal point of view there are
some mistakes, as stated by
several U.N. officials during that time,
then let's put it back on
the table and discuss it," he said.
In the meantime, Mr. Mandowen
thinks he is living on borrowed time.
Along with his friend and
colleague Theys Eluay, Mr. Mandowen was
invited to a dinner at an
Indonesian military base last November.
The night before the
dinner, Mr. Mandowen's wife had a dream
in which she saw Mr. Eluay
frantically waving from the backseat of
a car. She saw Theys Eluay
was waving his hands, and therefore she
didn't want me to go to
the party," said Mr. Mandowen.
The Mandowens tried to call
Mr. Eluay but he had already left his
home. The next day, Mr. Eluay was dead,
the victim of an ambush on
the drive home.
Nine Indonesian soldiers
soon go on trial for the murder. But Mr.
Mandowen rejects the findings of investigators
who ruled the
murder was an ordinary crime and not a
political assassination.
"Theys Eluay has been one of the
many hundreds of thousands of
cases that we experienced in Papua, and
until now, no perpetrators
have been brought to court in the past
40 years," he said.
The Indonesian government
is offering Papua an alternative to
independence. A new law allows Papua greater
control over its
affairs and a greater share of the revenue
earned from its natural
resources. That way, Jakarta hopes, independence
aspirations may
fade away.
But Mr. Mandowen said the
bill overlooks human rights issues,
which he said are the primary reason most
Papuans want to be free
of Indonesia. "You don't control
the military or the police, it's
not stated in the bill. And even the way
they monitor, is they say
you can use repressive monitoring systems.
That means when
everything in the province doesn't go
with the wants of the
central government, they can be repressive."
The Papua Presidium Council
wants international support for a
human rights tribunal to hear cases of
human rights abuses in
Papua. Indonesia is holding such a tribunal
for East Timor,
investigating alleged rights violations
in the months surrounding
East Timor's independence vote. But that
tribunal has come under
heavy fire from human rights groups, who
charge that Indonesia is
protecting high-ranking military officers.
Mr. Mandowen said there
are lessons in East Timor's experience.
"We wouldn't be
discouraged because the East Timor case
has been a good lesson for
the world, so next time to set up a criminal
tribunal for Papua
human rights violations," he said.
Mr. Mandowen said the next
stop in his travels is Australia where
he will continue to lobby for Papua's
independence.
URGENT ACTION
"Human Rights Activists In Wamena
Under Threat"
Source: ELSHAM NEWS SERVICE
Received July 1, 2002
Terror and intimidation
being exerted now on human rights activists
in Wamena (Papua) serve to support the
notion that the Indonesian security force
is on a mission to exterminate human rights
activists in Wamena following the suspicious
death of Yafet Yelemaken, a notable tribal
leader and local human rights activist.
Evidence of threats were felt by these
people including Luis Maday, ELSHAM Papua
contact person in Wamena. Four members
of police and Mobile Brigade asked witnesses
about the whereabouts and activities of
the concerned human rights activists.
On 19 June 2002 at around
23.15 Papua time, four police members
carrying rifles visited the house of Paulus
Logho (aged 32), head of Abenaho village,
also a local ELSHAM Papua volunteer. The
four police members were met at the door
by the wife of Paulus Logho who 'informed'
the policemen that they came to the wrong
house. They said they wanted to buy OPSUS
rice Paulus was said to be selling. Upon
learning from Paulus' wife that he (Paulus)
was in Wamena town, the policemen said
they will go there to find him.
On 24 June 2002, Yulius
Nirigi (an ELSHAM Papua volunteer from
Mapnduma) was watching a soccer game taking
place near a Kopassus base when he was
accosted by an unknown Kopassus member
who asked him if he (Yulius) knew something
about Luis Maday (ELSHAM Papua contact
person in Wamena). The Kopassus member
said that they had followed Luis Maday
the other day when Luis went into the
house of the late Yafet Yelemaken to join
the mourning crowd. Some questions were
asked to Yulius regarding the situation
of the burial of the late Yafet Yelemaken,
and about Luis Maday. The Kopassus man
said they wanted to give some cloths they
purchased in Jawa to Luis Maday. Luis,
the Kopassus said, would sell the items.
On 26 June 2002, Karel Wamafma
(a World Wide Fund worker), who is an
ELSHAM Papua volunteer in Wamena, received
information from his colleague in Jayapura,
that reliable inside sources in Polda
Papua (Provincial Police) had told Karel's
colleague regarding Polda Papua targeting
a number of human rights activists in
Wamena. The names mentioned were : (1)
Luis Maday, aged 32, ELSHAM Papua in Wamena;
(2) Karel Wamafma, aged 37, a Wamena based
WWF worker and ELSHAM Papua volunteer;
(3) Laurens Lani, aged 42, the director
of Bina Adat Walesi Foundation.
The men mentioned (including
the late Yafet Yelemaken) were accused
of creating Laskar Kristen (Christian
Militias) to counter Barisan Merah Putih
(Red and White militias) and Laskar Jihad
in Wamena.
ELSHAM Papua calls for supports
from human rights organizations and concerned
individuals to have a look at this development.
Prevention at this stage is of prime importance.
Please contact Kapolda Papua to do something
(Papua Chief of Police) at the following
details.
KAPOLDA PAPUA
Mobile Phone : 0812 480 0033
Home Phone : +61 967 531014/5
Office Phone : +61 967 53396
Fax : +61 967 533763
Respected Highland
Leader Poisoned: Indonesian military suspected
[Note: Yafeth Yelemaken
warned West Papua Action in February 25
2002 about the "Indonesia army strategy
to kill 1000 people - Panel and Presidium
West Papuan Members, April - May 2002."
Yafeth was a peace-loving man who called
for dialogue.]
PRESS STATEMENT
Monday 24 June 2002
Yesterday, Yefeth Yelemaken,
Director of the Civilian Custom Institute
in Wamena, West Papua, died in agony in
his home in the Baliem Valley. It is widely
suspected he was poisoned by Indonesian
guerrilla commandos who were sent to West
Papua two weeks ago. The airport in the
Baliem Valley has now been closed, and
communication facilities to indigenous
organizations have been down-graded.
The highland chief was widely respected
throughout the Baliem Valley, and was
a leader of the Papua Presidium Council.
His death follows the imprisonment and
torture of Benny Wenda, another popular
highland leader and chair of the Koteka
Tribal Assembly, whose health is rapidly
deteriorating in an Indonesian incarceration
centre in Jayapura.
The death of Yafet Yelemaken marks the
beginning of a military sweep recently
announced by Indonesia's new army chief,
Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu. One hundred
Penembak Misterius ("special mysterious
shooters") were sent to West Papua
recently with a "state duty to cripple
and paralyse the Papua independence movement".
The commandos are operating guerrilla-style,
in small groups of six to eight, attempting
to destabilise West Papua's non-violent
movement by pitting tribal leaders against
each other.
The radical tactics were instigated by
the government in Jakarta, which is frustrated
that its Special Autonomy program, imposed
nearly three years ago, has not succeeded
in quelling calls for independence from
its awkward Melanesian province.
West Papuans are begging the international
community to prepare a team of special
observers to visit and report on the situation.
They want protection for their leaders
and political activists.
Jacob Rumbiak
Co-ordinator, Foreign Affairs
United West Papua National Front for Independence
The
Future Could Be Genocide
Reflections on Papua
John Barr
10th June 2002
Cause for Serious Concern
It was during a meeting
with East Timorese church leaders in June
1999 that I last heard the word "genocide'
mentioned. We had gathered in Soe, in
the mountains of West Timor, to discuss
developing events that eventually saw
the East Timorese reject Indonesia's autonomy
deal on 30th August 1999. While the world
recently celebrated East Timor's independence,
the price local people paid for their
freedom was horrific. During that meeting
in Soe my Timorese friends (both East
And West) warned me about a likely "bloodbath"
in East Timor. I thought they were exaggerating.
What I now know about East Timor surely
demonstrates my friend's warnings were
accurate.
The word "genocide"
was recently mentioned to me again. This
time I was in Jayapura, Papua (Irian Jaya).
It was 31st May 2002 and I was meeting
with leaders of the Evangelical Christian
Church in the Land of Papua. In the light
of East Timor's experience and also in
the light of the current situation in
the Maluku Islands, I feel I can simply
no longer take the word "genocide"
for granted or fob it off as an exaggeration.
Papua is now under great pressure and
the people of Papua are looking in the
face of a great tragedy. It could indeed
be genocide.
Irian Jaya or more correctly,
Papua, is a vast, little developed and
somewhat isolated region occupying the
western half of the island of New Guinea.
Colonial interests (Dutch, German and
English) carved up this island to form
artificial boundaries that are considered
entirely inappropriate by most people.
Being Melanesian rather than Asian and
Christian rather than Muslim, Papua now
sits awkwardly within the Republic of
Indonesia. The region is at a critical
stage and I have visited the area many
times over the past four years. These
visits took place before the introduction
of Special Autonomy for the province and
also before the murder, in December 2001,
of Theys Eluay, tribal leader and moderator
of the Papuan Congress.
During those previous visits
the evocative and somewhat controversial
call for "merdeka" or "independence"
was on lips of most Papuans. My visit
last week witnessed a significant change
where Papuans are "closing ranks"
and are avoiding possible conflict through
a commitment to the operation of a "zone
of peace" in the region. They are
focussing on maintaining a united stand
to avoid certain provocation from outside
forces. I believe its really a case of
survival as Papuans work with tremendous
pressures and seek a way forward. In another
sense, it's a case of resisting insidious,
subversive forces that are being imposed
upon the community by outsiders with the
intention of undermining and destroying
the Papuan community.
Papua already has a brutal
history. International organisations estimate
30,000 indigenous people were killed during
the turbulent 6 year period from 1963
to 1969. Moreover, observers believe 100,000
people have died in Papua over an extended
39 year period of occupation and systematic
intimidation. Exploitation of vast natural
resources, poor provision of medical services,
famine and an overwhelming Indonesian
military presence have all contributed
to this tragedy.
Three issues are currently
important. Firstly, there a massive shift
in demographics as outsiders settle in
Papua. Secondly, there is the possibility
of a "Maluku"-style conflict
with arrival of the Laskar Jihad in Papua
and the formation of their organisation,
"Forum Komunikasi Ahlus Sunnah Wal-Jammaah".
Thirdly, there is serious collusion and
co-operation between the Jihad, the militia
and the military.
(1) Influx of Newcomers into Papua
Census figures for the year
2000 indicate a population in Papua of
1,460,846 indigenous people and 772,684
non-indigenous people. This demonstrates
a population ratio of roughly two Papuans
to one non-Papuan however this figure
does not translate in terms of access
to wealth, distribution of resources or
participation in the local economy. The
Papuan majority is clearly dispossessed
at this juncture. Jakarta's Special Autonomy
deal with Papua has provided opportunities
for a share of Papua's wealth to remain
in the region however the deal has opened
the door to speculators and migrants from
other parts of Indonesia who want a share
in the deal. Special Autonomy pays little
respect to Papuan identity and the overwhelming
Melanesian ethos of the region.
I was informed that at least
five ships (large inter-island ferries)
are now arriving in Papua from other parts
of Indonesia each week. Most arrive laden
with passengers and then depart nearly
empty. Initial calculations suggest around
5,000 outsiders (predominantly Muslims
from Sulawesi, Maluku and Java) are arriving
in Papua each week. These people are not
part of an overtly organised transmigration
program. Many come with the support of
existing family members who are already
established in the province and present
trends suggest the number of incoming
passengers will increase.
However there are more sinister
issues here. Claims have been made that
the military is, in fact, sponsoring the
passage of thousands of young Javanese
men to Papua by ship. These young men
are given further support to set themselves
up in one of Papua's urban centres. Dr
Greg Poulgrain, in an article in the Courier
Mail on 22nd May 2002, makes this claim
and he suggests a contingent of Laskar
Jihad are included among these migrants
while the many Javanese new arrivals provide
a ready-made source for militia recruitment
in the event of conflict breaking out.
Population distribution
throughout Papua is not even with at least
three of Papua's major centers now demonstrating
a Muslim majority (Sorong, Timika, Merauke).
Informants indicate the TNI (Indonesian
army) are now proposing the possibility
of establishing a number new military
districts based on Sorong, Timika, Merauke
and Jayapura. A long
established practice in
Indonesia where military and civilian
government structures mirror each other
would see the creation of a majority of
districts/new provinces in Papua that
are dominated by Muslim migrants. Papuans
see this as a sinister strategy designed
to isolate indigenous Christian majorities
in the eastern section of Papua while
most of Papua would then come under the
control of newcomers. Many Papuans see
this as another strategy aimed at the
eventual Islamisation of Papua.
(2) Laskar Jihad arrive
in Papua
A number of reports have
already documented the arrival of the
Laskar Jihad in Papua. Jihad activities
are said to date from the year 2000 in
the local districts of Aimas and Salawati
(near Sorong) when a refugee teacher from
Maluku was caught threatening another
person with a weapon. This was followed
up with a visit of the Jihad commander,
Jafar Umar Thalib to Sorong in October
2001. Jihad training camps were set up
for Muslim men in the area. Training includes
attention to Islamic principles and self-defence.
This initially took place late at night
behind walled enclosures and then in isolated
bush areas. Since the second week of April
2002 training programs are now taking
place openly in the yard of Sorong's mosques,
including the largest mosque, Mesjid Raya
Al-Akbar. Activities take place late in
the afternoon each day.
Jihad training is said to
have been supported since November 2001
by the Laskar Jihad's former field commander
in Ambon. ELSHAM (Institute for Human
Rights Study and Advocacy) reports that
a member of the TNI - Korem (Indonesian
Army - Resort Military Command) and member
of the local police are involved in secret
activities related to the training of
Jihad in Sorong. Training also appears
to involve instruction on the stockpiling
and use of arms, bombs and mortars. Home-made
bombs and rockets have been stored in
kampungs and homes. A number of these
have been uncovered by local people (Christians).
ELSHAM also notes that a
man who lives in the Al-Mujahidin Mosque
in Kampong Baru in Sorong has been accommodating
six Pakistani's in his house since 29th
February 2002. Meanwhile a number of Afghani's
have been recently been sighted arriving
in Sorong by boat. These incidents evoke
fears concerning overseas terrorist connections.
Local politics in Sorong
(election of a new Bupati or district
head) are being significantly influenced
by the presence of the Jihad and there
are fears that alliances are now being
established between the Jihad and the
local Bupati. Meanwhile a publication
with the title "Laskar Jihad"
is now being sold in the local market.
Published outside Papua, the February
edition of the magazine identifies Christians
with the South Moluccan independence movement
and it makes the claim that these people
are responsible for the destruction of
mosques. The magazine is said to vilify
Christians (both in Indonesia and overseas),
Jews and the United States of America.
ELSHAM claims the Sorong
community is aware of the Laskar Jihad's
presence. It is popularly perceived that
the Jihad is there to oppose Papuan aspirations
concerning independence and to force Papuans
to become Muslims. Local government authorities
appear to be powerless in opposing any
Jihad activity while local police are
either unable or unwilling to act. On
the contrary, there is evidence indicating
those who report Jihad activities to the
authorities are being harassed and intimidated
by unkown people who call late at night.
There has also been instances where people,
who report Jihad activities to local police,
have been threatened with arrest.
Sorong is rife with stories
about the sighting of mysterious figures
and the incidence of strange events. For
example in January and February 2001 three
churches in Sorong (GKO or Ecumenical
Christian Church, GKAI or Bible Christian
Church in Indonesia and GKI-Immanuel or
Immanuel Evangelical Christian Church
in the Land of Papua) all reported receiving
strange envelopes in their offerings.
Each envelope contained 1,000 Rupiah (about
Aust.20 cents) and some script written
in Arabic. In the current situation, such
things raise all sorts of fears and suspicions.
Its not surprising to find
many people believe there could be an
outbreak of violence in Sorong similar
to what happened in Ambon or Poso. One
of my informants believes the Laskar Jihad
are preparing an attack sometime between
September and November 2002. They say
Papuans and the Chinese will be targeted.
The fear is not confined
to Sorong. In Fak Fak some 175 boats have
been sighted arriving along the coast
since April 2002 carrying Jihad personnel.
These boats most probably come from either
Maluku or Makassar (South Sulawesi) and
informants claim a total of 300 boats
are due to arrive in the area. Each boat
is said to have a carrying capacity of
around ten passengers plus cargo. Attempts
to have local authorities inspect the
boats and the their cargo have been refused.
These boats come in the guise of fishing
vessels however efforts to have the Department
of Fisheries inspect the boats have not
been successful. There are now strong
claims suggesting local government, police
and the military are working in collusion
with the Jihad.
Local Christian communities
have detained a number of recent arrivals
in the area. Four Jihad suspects who were
carrying home-made pistols and firearms
were caught and handed over to the authorities.
No action was taken to prosecute these
people for offences. The most recent incident
took place on 28th May 2002 near Fak Fak.
A man by the name of "Abu Taher"
was caught carrying Jihad identification
together with a map of Ambon (Kudamati
area). Meanwhile Jihad training activities
are said to be supported by up to 20 Afghanis
who are working quite freely without any
reaction from local government authorities.
ELSHAM reports that Osama Bin Laden's
name is now on Fak Fak's streets. Since
January 2002 street vendors have been
selling T-shirts, VCD's and books related
to Osama Bin Laden and his conflict with
the United States.
Jihad communities have also
been established in Jayapura in the Entrop-Hamadi
area. During a visit on 30th May 2002
to Arso, a large transmigration settlement
some 2 hours drive to the southeast of
Jaypaura near the boarder with Papua New
Guinea, I listened to accounts concerning
Jihad training camps that have been set
up during the past six months among Arso's
predominantly Muslim population. Cadres
are being prepared in this transmigration
complex to establish cell groups throughout
the region.
Accounts from Arso suggest
Jihad activities have been low profile
with a focus on quietly infiltrating local
communities. The local Camat in Arso (local
district head) tried to initiate a religious
forum to discuss the issue. This initiative
was received by the minority Christian
community however few Muslims chose to
support this move and the local police
and military failed to co-operate.
(3) Militia, the Army,
Provocation and Social Unrest
Collusion and co-operation
between the Laskar Jihad, the pro-Jakarta
militia (Satgas Merah Putih) and the army
is rampant in Papua. The person who is
said to have introduced the Jihad to Fak
Fak, Ali Purnama, has dealt directly with
the Satgas Merah Putih militia. Laskar
Jihad and Satgas Merah Putih militia train
together in secret locations in the jungle
with a common commitment to oppose and
defeat Papuan separatists. The so-called
rationale here says independence for Papua
will cause Indonesia to break up and it
will require all Muslims in Papua to covert
to Christianity.
Dr Greg Poulgain (University
of Queensland) claims there is military
involvement in the passage of thousands
of young men from Java to Papua. These
include Laskar Jihad and recruits for
the ranks of the Satgas Merah Putih militia.
Meanwhile there is clear evidence pointing
to the direct recruitment of local people
to the ranks of Satgas Merah Putih militia
by the TNI (Indonesian army). A document
recently obtained lists the names of 80
local people nominated to the ranks of
Satgas Merah Putih in the Jayawijaya region
(highlands). The document is approved
and signed by the district military commander.
It also lists a number of local tribal
leaders who have been influenced and pressured
to support the militia cause.
Laskar Jihad training in Fak Fak is also
coordinated by Kopassus personnel (Special
Forces Command troops) while there are
similar liaisons between Kopassus, Jihad
and Satgas Merah Putih militia in other
parts of Papua. An informant suggested
each group has its own function however
they all part of the one and the same
scenario. Linked here are the feared "ninjas",
masked men in black who terrorise the
population all over Indonesia. They are
trained in the art of provocation, terror
and murder. These "ninjas" were
most likely involved in the massacre at
Soya village in Ambon on 28th April 2002.
They have recently re-emerged in Poso
and one informant spoke to me briefly
concerning the recent appearance of "ninja's"
on the island of Biak.
There are presently 2,000
Kopassus operating in Papua while a special
elite force of 100 highly trained personnel
known as the "Pasukan Satuan Tugas
Pemburu" ("Hunters Taskforce
Unit") will be shortly arriving in
the region from their headquarters in
Medan. Papuans are naturally terrified
at the thought of another military show
of force. Special services and special
elite forces are not trusted. I heard
a number of stories concerning the increasing
incidence of HIV Aids in Papua. While
I could not obtain precise statistics,
the increase in HIV Aids is said to be
alarming. Many people believe the military
have a vested interest here in introducing
and perpetuating the problem.
The introduction of HIV
Aids is being undertaken as an effective
way of wiping out indigenous people. Alarming
rates of HIV Aids among remote tribes
in the Merauke region is a case in point.
This has resulted from the introduction
of prostitution in the area and the deliberate
offering of favours to local tribal leaders
in response to the acquisition of indigenous
land for commercial development. Many
believe this is a blatant case of ethnic
cleansing.
Rev Herman Awom, Vice Moderator
of the GKI di Tanah Papua (Evangelical
Christian Church in the Land of Papua)
and a president of the Papuan Council
Presidium disputes the need for more troops
in Papua. "There is no valid reason"
he says, "to take such an action
as Papua is relatively stable and peaceful.
No major OPM (Papuan independence movement)
strongholds at the moment exist in Papua
which require such a counter force."
Church leaders are fearful
that Papua is being led into a "Maluku-style"
conflict where provocation from the military,
the militia or the Jihad (or all three)
will force the community in to a tragic
spiral of violence and destruction.
Awom's concern is justified.
Rumours that the grave of Theys Eluay
(the murdered leader of the Papua Council
Presidium) was vandalised were circulated
on Friday 7th June. There are also rumours
circulating that Benny Wenda, Chairperson
of the "Dewan Musyawarah Koteka"
("The Koteka Tribal Assembly")
was arrested and detained by the police
on Saturday 8th June. These rumours appear
to be designed to provoke the anger of
local people and cause general panic.
Many believe such rumours are being deliberately
circulated by Indonesian agents with the
intention of creating serious trouble.
One Papuan comments quite
appropriately that "they killed Theys
Eluay, but there was no war. They tried
to arrest Papuan leaders, but still Papuans
want non-violent movement. Then they started
spreading rumours. And these are still
ineffective. We want peace, security and
stability in West Papua……we
want Indonesia to stop its state terrorism.
"
Is the Future one of
Genocide?
My Papuan friends tell me
there is a two million rupiah ($Aus.450)
reward for the execution of a pro-independence
activist in Papua. The Jihad and the militia
are being trained to clearly "kill
Papuans" while a recent ELSHAM report
cites a case in Sorong where a four year
old boy is seen grasping part of a homemade
bomb in the doorway of his house. The
boy tragically exclaims, "kabel ini
Bapak bikin untuk nanti mau bom orang
Papua' (my father has made this cable
because he wants to blow up some Papuans."
I also remember the words
of a local police commander as he recently
informed a church leader that "we
are trained to kill....not to carry out
the work of human rights!".
The people of Papua are
extremely vulnerable. Every effort is
being made to provoke some kind of conflict
in Papua. The church is under serious
attack for it is the most significant
and most effective body in Papua in terms
of gaining the trust of the local people
and leading the community in the way of
peace and non-violence.
Church and human rights
workers are being constantly monitored
by military intelligence. Death threats
have been received and I have no doubt
that the lives of key people in Papua,
including senior church leaders, are under
real threat.
The good news is that Papua
is defying such provocation and intimidation.
Close relationships exist between the
churches good relationships have been
created with local Muslim communities
(who do not want to be part of Islamic
extremism or Jihad activism). Papuans
are seriously committed to declaring their
homeland a "zone of peace" and
many of the differences experienced among
pro-independence groups are now being
addressed.
The view from outside Papua
says the region remains an unsophisticated,
primitive, pagan place. Troublemakers
claim Papua is a "hot bed" of
Christian-sponsored separatism and this
will lead to the disintegration of Indonesia.
These claims are simplistic and far from
the truth. There is much at stake here.
Any outbreak of violence
or social upheaval in Papua will provide
the military with the justification it
seeks. For the military is waiting for
its cue to move. The military is waiting
for a "green light" to ruthlessly
assert its dominance over the region and
secure Papua's vast resources. Meanwhile
any outbreak of sectarian conflict between
Papuans and the growing Muslim community
will provide the cue for intensified Jihad
activity. The Laskar Jihad are waiting
to move in with the intention of securing
Papua. For it is claimed Islam is the
only thing that can presently unite the
whole of Indonesia.
In all of this, a band of
militia men (both non-Papuan and Papuan)
are being recruited, trained, armed and
paid off to do the dirty work. There are
shadows of East Timor here and Papua must
be careful.
The Convention on Genocide
was approved by the General Assembly of
the United Nations on 9th December 1948.
This convention provides a working definition
of genocide:
"Genocide means any
of the following acts committed with the
intent to destroy, in whole or in part,
a national, ethnical, racial or religious
group, such as:
(a) Killing members of the
group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm
to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group
conditions of life calculated to bring
about its physical destruction in whole
or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent
births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of
the group to another group;"
I still remember that day in Soe, West
Timor, when the word "genocide"
was mentioned. Militia, in collusion with
the Indonesian military murdered hundreds,
if not thousands of East Timorese men,
women and children. We were told it was
going to happen and some of us tried to
convince governments around the world
that it would indeed take place. It has
now also happened in Maluku where Christian
and Muslim communities have been wiped
out under the spurious notion that Christians
and Muslims are supposed to hate each
other.
Last week the word "genocide"
was raised with me again. This time it
was during a visit to Papua. My friend
was not joking. "In 25 years time"
he said, "we (Papuans) could all
be finished". The world must take
notice. The life and the future of Papua
is a humanitarian issue and it's therefore
a matter for all people. The life and
the future of Papua is a justice issue
and it's therefore a matter for all fair
minded, law abiding people. The life and
the future of Papua is an issue involving
us as near neighbours. It's an issue involving
us as we share a common bond with the
Papuan people as brothers and sisters
in Christ. It's therefore a matter for
the Australian community and the Australian
church. We simply cannot walk away from
it.
Rev John Barr
Executive Secretary
Unity and International Mission
Uniting Church in Australia National Assembly
PO Box A2266 Sydney South 1235
Australia
Phone +61 2 8267 4251
Fax +61 2 8267 4222
Email: jbarr@nat.uca.org.au
When
Indonesia's unity is no longer voluntary
Jakarta Post Opinion
and Editorial - June 11, 2002
By Max Lane, Visiting Fellow,
Center for Asia Pacific Social Transformation
Studies, University of Wollongong, New
South Wales, Australia
The persistence of the movement
for a self-determination referendum in
Aceh, the emergence of the Papuan Peoples
Council and the troubles in Ambon have
all raised concerns about whether Indonesian
unity can be maintained.
Indonesia's process of achieving
a national unity during the first six
decades, and especially the first four
decades, of the 20th century is somewhat
unique. There are indeed very few countries
where the national unification of a multi-ethnic
territory occurred without war.
Of course the territorial
boundaries and basic economic structure
-- taxes treasury, customs, a single currency
etc -- were created by the Dutch. But
the fundamental components of a national
language, a national culture and a common
perspective for an independent Indonesia
was created in the face of extreme hostility
from the Dutch.
Dutch policy fostered local
tradition over any new national political
or general Indonesian culture. Dutch policy
suppressed the main instruments of national
unification: The political movements and
political parties. Finally when the Dutch
realized in 1949 that independence was
inevitable, they insisted on a federal
structure and tried to carry out a divide
and rule policy.
A unitary state, reflecting
a state based on a nation building process
aimed at completing the creation of a
single Indonesian nation was voluntarily
accepted by the vast majority of all the
independence movement, from Sabang to
Merauke.
Maintaining the voluntary
character of struggle to establish an
Indonesian state, build a single Indonesian
nation and all the associated political
institutions meant one thing: Democracy.
Democracy was Sukarno's reply to Muslims
who called for an Islamic state. He called
on them to win majority support. Relations
between center and province also required
open and democratic processes, reflected
in the open competition between political
parties for influence in the provinces
as well as in the national parliament.
The emergence of self-determination
movements in Aceh and West Papua have
been caused by the escalating violation
of the principles of democracy and voluntary
unity since the 1950s, but most particularly
during the repressive years of the New
Order regime. Any violation of the orginal
voluntary character destroys the original
basis of unity.
In West Papua, the original
Act of Free Choice was a manipulation
which completely violated the principle
of voluntary unity. In Aceh, the period
of military operations in the 1980s, reactivated
in a new form today, also completely broke
the the principle of voluntary unity.
The early calls for independence were
not answered in the way that Sukarno,
or first Mohammad
Hatta, or Mohammed Yamin or other nationalist
leaders would have answered such calls.
They would have answered
with argument and visions for a democratic
future for Indonesia. All the early nationalist
leaders were able to take that approachbecause
most of them were indeed democrats.
Soeharto was a militarist
with no convincing vision of a democratic
future. The New Order's dictatorship contradicted
all talk of "Panca Sila" democracy.
Soeharto used coercion by arms almost
immediately any sign of a desire for independence
surfaced.
And so it became inevitable
that popular commitment to the vision
of Indonesia, began to diminish in Aceh
and West Papua. Acehnese and Papuan nationalism
developed -- these were not realities
in 1945.
The New Order also weakened
nation building everywhere. The essential
engines of nation building since the 1920s
have been the political parties and political
movements. These parties and movements,
representing different interests in society,
were divided sharply by ideological outlook,
from left toright. They fought and struggled
hard. But they fought and struggled hard
about the future of Indonesia, about their
vision of how an independent Indonesian
nation and state should develop.
They involved tens of millions
of people in this great battle for the
future of Indonesia. It may have been
a bitter struggle but it was based on
participation and commitment and a passion
about the future of the new country.
When Soeharto destroyed
the political parties, by crushing the
left-wing parties and by "simplification"
of the center and right-wing parties.
All the old parties of the 1950s, except
for the left, have resurfaced in one form
oranother today but they are all bankrupt
of their ideological commitment.
They are infected with all
the diseases of the New Order: Self-seeking
and only looking for the immediate gain.
Only the genuinely new formations, like
the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) and
some worker, peasant, student and women's
organizations are free of the New Order
political culture.
There are no more vehicles
that provide for genuine mass participation
in determining the future. The economic
crisis means that Indonesia's very future
is being redefined. But mas commitment
to "Indonesia" weakens, hence
the many demands for special treatment
for provinces and regencies. Autonomy
has become an excuse for localism. The
political elite, created by the New Order,
cannot solve this problem.
The peoples of the archipelago
decided to unite in the 1920s to build
a new nation and state as an answer to
colonialism. The cry "From Sabang
to Marauke" was a cry for unity against
a marauding and oppressive Western colonialism.
Marauding and oppressive Western colonialism
is still here. Now it is not the Dutch,
but the United States, the IMF and the
"War against Terror".
The IMF now wages economic
war against the Indonesian people in the
interests of U.S. and Western businesses
greedy for cheap assets and minerals and
access to the Indonesian mass market.
Unity from "Sabang
to Merauke" is still needed. But,
as in the 1920s, it can not be achieved
by force but only voluntarily. But today
there are also new realities: Acehnese
nationalism and Papuan nationalism. A
democratic approach to this reality cannot
avoid the holding of self-determination
referendums. Of course, this carries the
risk that the Acehnese and Papuan people
may choose independence -- a decision
which must be accepted.
But this does not mean that
the struggle for voluntary unity must
stop. There can be many forms of unity:
Federation, confederation, even alliances
between independent states. Perhaps in
Aceh, agreement could be reached for a
second referendum in 10 years time to
confirm whatever decision the people made
after experiencing the new reality.
But the strongest and most
effective unity that can help the people
in their fight for sovereignty against
the IMF marauders is one based on a voluntary
acceptance and commitment to both the
idea of unity itself and the form of that
unity. Unity can only be achieved if all
forms of coercion stop.
The writer is the translator
of the Buru Quartet series of novels by
Pramoedya Ananta Toer and of the plays
and poems of W.S. Rendra.
Indonesian
military steps up repression in West Papua
By John Roberts
8 June 2002
Source: http://www.wsws.org
A number of recent reports
indicate that the Indonesian armed forces
(TNI) is preparing to intensify the crackdown
on independence supporters in the remote
eastern province of West Papua. Pro-independence
and human rights groups claim that additional
special forces troops and Islamic militia
groups are being moved into the province.
Australian academic Dr Greg
Polgrain, who visited West Papua in May,
told the Sydney Morning Herald this month
that large groups of Laskar Jihad members
were entering Papua every week among the
thousands of transmigrants from other
areas of Indonesia. "This is being
overseen and organised by the Indonesian
army. They are nearly all young men, not
transmigration families... Laskar Jihad
are training with arms and that is pretty
serious," he said.
Laskar Jihad is one of the
Islamic fundamentalist groups that have
been heavily involved in communal fighting
in both the Malukus and Sulawesi, which
has cost thousands of lives over the past
two years. Close ties exist between the
militia groups and sections of the Indonesian
military and police. The Sydney Morning
Herald reported that an additional 150
Kopassus special forces troops had just
been moved from Sumatra to bolster the
army presence in Papua.
The TNI, with the backing
of President Megawati Sukarnoputri, has
resorted to increasingly repressive methods
over the past 18 months to harass and
intimidate opponents of continued Indonesian
rule over the province. The military and
police maintain a de facto curfew. Arbitrary
arrest and detention is common and the
armed forces are directly implicated in
several murders.
Martin Luther Wanma, a pastor
from Sorong, stated in a letter that a
senior police officer had threatened to
arrest him. "The main reason for
my imminent arrest is my objection to
the Laskar Jihad coming to West Papua,"
he declared. According to the Papuan human
rights group Elsham, one man died in custody
after police rounded up and questioned
people in Wamena who attended meetings
held by Amnesty International and the
European Union in January and March respectively.
The most blatant example
was the killing of prominent independence
leader Theys Eluay last year. Eluay was
chairman of the Papua Presidium, which
was formed in June 2000 after a government-sponsored
meeting of tribal leaders rejected Jakarta's
proposals for greater autonomy and called
for full independence. He and other Presidium
leaders were charged with "subversion"
in late 2000 but later released.
Eluay was murdered on the
night of November 11 after dining at the
home of local Kopassus chief Colonel Hartomo,
near the provincial capital of Jayapura.
His driver disappeared and has not been
seen since. Kopassus special forces were
notorious during the Suharto period for
political murders and brutal operations
against separatist movements in East Timor
and Aceh as well as West Papua.
Such was the outrage over
Eluay's murder that the government was
compelled to launch a formal investigation.
Last month an 11-man commission of inquiry
brought down a report that pointed to
the involvement of Kopassus and led to
the arrest of six men, including Hartomo
and his deputy Major Donny Hutabarat.
The trial is due to begin in two months.
The six, however, are simply
convenient scapegoats. Given the political
implications of Eluay's murder, it is
highly unlikely that Hartomo and Hutabarat
would have acted without the direct sanction
of the army top brass. Phil Erari, one
of the two native Papuans on the inquiry,
has already denounced the findings as
a cover-up for those who ordered the murder.
At the time, military officers
brushed aside the murder, claiming Eluay's
death was an accident or "a heart
attack". Now the involvement of Kopassus
has been established, military commanders
are seeking to distance themselves from
the six. Commenting on the arrests, TNI
spokesman Major General Syafrie Syamsuddin
insisted that the motive for the murder
was not yet clear-the implication being
that it was not political.
Neither the investigation
nor the arrests have stopped the army
thuggery. According to a report in the
Christian Science Monitor on May 10, a
key witness in the upcoming trial who
attended the same dinner as Eluay at Hartomo's
home, was attacked and narrowly escaped
death. The Papuan rights group Elsham
said the attacker was Kopassus Sergeant
Yani.
US encourages Indonesian
military
Two factors have contributed to the more
aggressive role of the Indonesian military,
not only in West Papua but also against
the separatist movement in Aceh and throughout
the country.
The first was the ousting
of President Abdurrahman Wahid and the
installation of Megawati Sukarnoputri
last year after a protracted political
brawl in which the generals played the
role of kingmaker. The TNI top brass now
feels that it has an administration that
is not only beholden to it but supports
its repression of separatist movements.
One of the main criticisms of Wahid was
that his negotiations with independence
groups were paving the way for more East
Timors and the breakup of Indonesia.
The second is the US administration's
determination to reestablish close ties
with the Indonesian military. In 1999,
in the aftermath of the TNI's involvement
in atrocities in East Timor, the US Congress
imposed a ban on any links between the
US and Indonesian armed forces until such
time as those responsible were brought
to justice. The Bush administration, however,
has repeatedly stated its intention to
restore the ties with the TNI, which,
for more than three decades under Suharto,
served Washington's interests in Indonesia
and throughout the region.
A trial is currently underway
in Jakarta of 18 soldiers and civilians
alleged to have been involved in the East
Timor violence. The legal process is a
farce with the TNI top brass attending
the court and making public statements
of support for the accused in a crude
attempt to intimidate the judges. As in
the case of Eluay's murder, none of the
top generals have been called to account.
Yet, the Bush administration has seized
on the trial to argue that, as US Defence
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared recently,
Indonesia was dealing with "human
rights issues in an orderly, democratic
way".
At an Asian security conference
in Singapore in late May, Rumsfeld 's
deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, expressed the
hope: "I'd like to figure out ways
in which we wouldn't always use, as the
means of expressing displeasure, isolating
the Indonesian military from contacts
with the West and the United States."
Answering criticisms that Indonesia was
slow in supporting the US "war against
terrorism," he pointed out that the
two countries already have close security
ties. "The cooperation is really
very good, both with the CIA and FBI,"
he stated.
The Bush administration
has all but openly repudiated the Congressional
ban. Since the terror attacks on New York
on September 11, the US has resumed "non-lethal"
military sales to Indonesia, obtained
Congressional approval for an $US18 million
anti-terrorist training program mainly
for Indonesia, and resumed regular contacts
between US and Indonesian military officials.
In a particularly sinister
development, the Bush administration has
asked Congress for $8 million to train
a security force for "peacekeeping"
operations inside Indonesia. In other
words, a special military force is to
be established, outside the control of
the police, to suppress internal opposition,
including in West Papua.
These US moves will only
encourage the TNI to take a more aggressive
stance and to dispense with the cosmetic
"reforms" instituted since the
fall of the Suharto dictatorship.
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