1) Jakarta Post - Editorial : Ignoring Papua
2) ‘Pre-conditions’ for Papua
3) Papuans angered by President’s
statement
5) Riots in Indonesia's Papua after independence activist killed
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1) Editorial
: Ignoring Papua
The Jakarta Post | Thu, 06/14/2012 7:39 AM
In an effort to solve a problem, a leader has to avoid
blowing an issue out of proportion or, in the extreme, playing it down as if
everything is fine. Unfortunately President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is doing
both.
When he learned that one or two Cabinet ministers had placed their
allegiance to him below loyalty to their parties, Yudhoyono did nothing,
despite his prerogative of coalition unity. But when fatal shootings flared up
in Papua, killing at least 16 civilians and security personnel in the past
month alone, the President saw no urgency to settle the issue once and for all
despite the fact that violence has been plaguing the naturally resource-rich
province for decades.
We are appalled by the President’s latest statement, which
described the recent incidents in Papua as small-scale, merely taking into
account the small number of fatalities that were far below the number of lives
lost in violence in the Middle East. The President has sent the wrong message
about his administration’s knowledge of what is really happening in Papua. More
than that, the statement confirms that doubts over Jakarta’s commitment to
addressing the prolonged injustice in Papua are not groundless.
Now the public
at home and around the world understand why there has been no comprehensive
policy to deal with Papua, despite a number of initiatives, like the formation
of the Unit for Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B).
The unit has so far done much to open communications
between local Papuans, including rebel groups, and the central government, but
Jakarta’s propensity to underestimate the core problem of Papua — which is
injustice — undermines the hard work and achievements of the unit.
The Papuan
shooting spree comes against the backdrop of the international community’s
discontent with Indonesia’s human rights record in Papua during the UN Human
Rights Commission’s convention in Geneva a few weeks ago. It is therefore
imperative for Indonesia, the government in particular, to regain the world’s
trust through affirmative policies aimed at delivering justice for the Papuan
people, including an end to impunity given to perpetrators of
atrocities.
Post-New Order Indonesia has resolved half of the Herculean job of
keeping Papua as part of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia through special
autonomy for the province in 2001, which allows Papua to enjoy and manage the
lion’s share of its revenue from natural resources. But distribution of wealth
has failed to materialize as most of the huge funds have been wasted — or
embezzled by the local elites — as is evident in the fact that Papua and West
Papua remain the most disadvantaged regions, mostly because of Jakarta’s poor
supervision and — more importantly — ignorance.
That Jakarta has let Papua squander its golden
opportunities to develop and advance is not surprising given President
Yudhoyono’s indifference to the Papuan people’s right to security.
Reports of
the imminent restructuring of Papua’s military command may exacerbate the
already deteriorating security situation in the province. The chief post in
each of the three military commands (Korem) is currently held by a colonel but
will be given to a brigadier general. Only time will tell whether the
restructuring will result in the deployment of more troops to Papua.
Until
Yudhoyono, who himself promised a new deal for Papua after taking office in
2004, agrees to hold talks with the Papuans and listen to their grievances, the
chance of a comprehensive solution to the Papua conflict will remain
slim.
Indonesia succeeded in ending armed conflict and bringing peace
back to Aceh in 2005 because there was a will. The same determination must
prevail in winning Papua’s hearts and minds.
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2) ‘Pre-conditions’ for Papua
Vidhyandika D
Perkasa, Jakarta | Thu, 06/14/2012 7:41 AM
This moment could be considered one of
the bleakest times in Papuan history due to escalating conflict and violence in
the region. There have been several causalities reported both civilians and
military/police officers.
What attracted public attention is the
locations of violence, which have tended to shift from isolated areas, normally
in the highlands or mountainous areas to the capital of Papua,
Jayapura.
In addition, these “mysterious shootings” have occurred in
broad daylight and have hit their “targets” in public areas and near police and
military offices.
There are a few lessons that we could learn from the
aforementioned escalating conflict and violence in Papua.
First, we can question whether President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s program of the Presidential Unit for the
Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B) is indeed the right
“panacea” to solve the complex problems in Papua.
Also, is the program
effectively implemented and enthusiastically welcomed by the Papuans? There
have been numerous reports which show people’s skepticism about the program
which may be rooted in the failure of Special Autonomy.
Second, escalating
violence and conflict is also a sign that the government is overwhelmed by the
complexity of the issues in Papua and an inability to restore order.
Authorities are unable to catch and bring to trial the perpetrators of such
violence.
This is certainly a sad story. Unable to solve the problem,
the government tends to make unnecessary or defensive statements. For example,
they claimed that the violence was caused by a separatist movement.
This
statement was indeed premature and lacked evidence, especially when knowing
that in the recent mysterious attacks the victim have been shot in vital organs.
The gunmen are certainly trained |people.
There are just too many “invisible
hands” meddling in Papua, especially when the case in Papua is about power
politics and vested economic interests (Macleod and Martin,
2012).
Therefore, the government needs to update their data on the
mapping of violence and conflict in this region. Various violent incidents in
Papua could be committed by several “actors”. Therefore, the government should
not easily scapegoat local Papuans as perpetrators of such attacks. The government
must also have the courage to publish the conflict and violence mapping as
clear evidence.
An article by Macleod and Martin (2012) clearly stated that
there are segments of the population in Papua which are indeed opting for a
nonviolent struggle.
They argued that a nonviolent struggle,
is definitely more desirable than an armed struggle, which causes less loss of
life and greater participation of ordinary people.
Another repetitive and
unreasonable statement by the government is that these perpetrators of conflict
are difficult to capture because of the isolated and geographic conditions in
Papua. This may be true in one sense, but as media reported, quoting from the
statement by Neles Tebay, mysterious shootings and snipers are currently
operating in the city of Jayapura. How hard could it be to locate these
shooters in Jayapura, which is geographically a small city?
Third, with the
rise of conflict and violence occurring lately, it is a clear sign of deepening
distrust between the Papuans and the government. The government is seen as
incapable or not serious about solving problems in Papua. The mysterious
shootings and snipers only exacerbate the already heated situation
there.
When distrust is deepening between the two parties, what is then
the prospect of dialogue? Dialogue seems to be a more popular word, recently
compared to any other catchword, when one talks about Papua.
The questions that follow in dialogue,
which should be publicly understood, are who should be involved? What should be
the content of dialogue? What is the time frame? What is the measurement of
success or failure in a dialogue? What are the objectives, outcome and output
indicators of a dialogue? What are the key activities in a dialogue and so
forth?
Dialogue is only a means or even a tool to solve problems in Papua and
not an end in itself. There are pre-conditions that need to be taken into
consideration before dialogue could be implemented effectively. In other words,
there are “prerequisites” for effective dialogue. We need to remember that
“winning trust” is one of the main objectives of dialogue.
Supported by UNDEF,
CSIS is currently conducting a project to promote Social Accountability in
Papua. We have worked with various elements of civil society. In Australia we
have also talked with several academicians to obtain their insights on the
situation in Papua.
It is interesting that during our
project activities, elements of civil society and Australian academicians
frequently stressed the importance of meeting these pre-conditions before any
other programs or even dialogue could be effectively implemented.
When
these preconditions are met, there is hope that the government could win the
long awaited trust from the Papuans.
In our discussion with elements of civil
society and Australian academicians, the preconditions for Papua are
clarification on the history of Papua’s integration, investigating human rights
violations and bringing to trial the perpetrators, a fair trial for Papuans
“convicted” for involvement in separatist actions, eliminating Papuan
marginalization, and improving the welfare of Papuans.
Does the government
have the political will to deal with these preconditions in a timely manner?
Let’s say Papuan integration is final and not considered a topic which needs
further discussion; there are still other preconditions which are seemingly
manageable to be sorted out.
To conclude, we could say that the current
instability and chaos in Papua is the price that the government must pay for
neglecting or even underestimating the complexity of the problems in Papua. The
government and other stakeholders need a breakthrough and not treating Papua
just as business as usual to restore peace and order.
One possible solution is bringing onto
the discussion table a third party negotiator, whether a prominent national or
international figure who is trusted and respected by the Papuans.
The
government should not be paranoid about bringing international parties,
especially when it is clearly stated beforehand that a referendum in not an
option and the history of integration is final. Another solution is again
making more serious efforts to meet the preconditions for Papua mentioned
earlier. These are indeed urgent tasks to help avoid further disruptions in
Papua.
The writer is a researcher at the Department of Politics and
International Relations, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS),
Jakarta.
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3) Papuans angered by President’s statement
Margareth S.
Aritonang and Rabby Pramudatama, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 06/14/2012
7:36 AM
Papuans condemned President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono’s statement, which downplayed the escalating violence in the province
and considered the recent deaths from shooting incidents as relatively minor in
comparison to conflicts in other parts of the world.
During a Cabinet meeting
on Tuesday, Yudhoyono said “the recent incidents in Papua can be considered
small-scale, with a limited number of casualties” and “they are minor if we
compare them to the violence in the Middle East, where deadly attacks with so
many fatalities occur almost every day”.
Papuan activist John Djonga said the
statements reflected Yudhoyono’s lack of commitment to promote and protect
human rights, an issue that his administration had championed and promoted to
the global community.
“It’s really sad for the President to
disrespect all the victims of recent shootings. Violence is still painful
regardless of how many victims there are. So for me, it is now clear that the
Yudhoyono [administration], and the Indonesian government in general, have no
commitment to upholding justice and protecting human rights in Papua,” Djonga
told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He said that all the international human
rights covenants promoting human rights that Indonesia had ratified were
useless as the government paid little respect to the lives of its people.
“Or
maybe it’s only the lives of Papuans that don’t deserve the government’s
respect,” he said.
Separately, members of the House of Representatives from
Papua, Pasakalis Kossay and Agustina Basik-basik, called on Yudhoyono to
apologize for his statement.
“The President’s words really hurt Papuans, and
the relatives of all victims, in particular those who have been shot dead in
mysterious circumstances,” said Paskalis, who chairs the Caucus for Papua at
the House.
At least 16 people were killed in the past month alone in
mysterious shootings.
The latest incident claimed the life of
44-year-old Surono, a security guard and part-time motorcycle taxi driver in
Jayapura, who was shot dead near the campus of Cendrawasih University last
Sunday.
The mysterious shootings in Papua escalated only a few days after the
Indonesian government claimed that “Papua is stable” during the United Nations
Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) quadrennial human rights review on May
23.
Diplomats in the review session inquired about human rights violations in
Papua and the Indonesian government’s commitment to releasing Papuan political
detainees such as Filep Karma, who was arrested for flying the flag of the
Papuan separatist movement.
Separately, Law and Human Rights Minister Amir
Syamsudin said that authorities had followed proper procedures in detaining
Papuans.
“We have never detained anybody for
expressing their freedom of speech as has been accused by some parties. The
Papuans who were detained, including Filep Karma, are those who have obviously
violated the law on treason. Therefore, it’s misleading to address them as political
detainees,” Amir told reporters.
Separately, the executive director of human
rights watchdog Imparsial, Poengky Indarti said that treason charges were
highly political and prone to abuse by the government.
“Karma, and many of his
colleagues, was detained for flying the Morning Star flag, the flag associated
with a separatist movement. They are condemned as separatists, therefore they
are political detainees,” Poengky said.
------------------------
Invite UN Rights Experts to Increasingly Violent Eastern
Provinces
JUNE 13, 2012
By keeping Papua behind a curtain, the Indonesian
government is fostering impunity among military forces and resentment among
Papuans. It needs to let the media and civil society shine a light on
conditions in the province.
Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director
(New York) – The Indonesian government should allow
foreign media and civil society groups access to Papua to report on violence
and rights violations since May that have left at least 14 dead.
Human Rights
Watch urged Indonesia to accept calls made at the United Nations Human Rights
Council to permit access to the province and to issue standing invitations to
UN human rights experts.
“By keeping Papua behind a curtain, the Indonesian
government is fostering impunity among military forces and resentment among
Papuans,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “It
needs to let the media and civil society shine a light on conditions in the
province.”
Human Rights Watch said that the Indonesian government has failed
to hold to account those responsible for recent violence in Papua. On June 6,
2012, a crowd stabbed one Indonesian soldier to death and seriously injured
another after their motorcycle struck a Papuan child in Honai Lama District in
Wamena, a city in Papua’s Central Highlands.
In retaliation, hundreds of
soldiers from the 756th battalion swept through Honai Lama and
elsewhere in Wamena, beating and stabbing residents and burning homes.
A Papuan civil servant, Elianus Yoman, reportedly died
from bayonet wounds. Seven other Papuans were injured and hospitalized. The
soldiers set numerous buildings and motor vehicles on fire, causing many
villagers to flee into surrounding forest.
An Indonesian military spokesman in
Jayapura, Papua’s capital, initially denied that soldiers had injured any
Papuans. But Indonesia’s president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, later conceded that the Indonesian security
forces overreacted in their response.
There have been a number of other
violent incidents reported recently in Papua’s capital. Since May 23, unknown
gunmen shot dead several non-Papuan migrants. A German tourist was shot on May
29 and was sent for treatment to a hospital in Singapore. The police forcibly
broke up a protest on June 4 by the National Committee for West Papua (Komite
Nasional Papua Barat or KNPB), a militant Papuan independence group, reportedly
killing three student members. A KNPB member was also reported shot to death
earlier on May 1.
The response of the national government to the growing
violence in Papua has been inadequate, Human Rights Watch said. Yudhoyono told
reporters on June 12, “The action [attacks in Papua] can be said to have happened
on a small scale with limited victims.…
The figure is far [lower] than the violence in the
Middle East, [where] we can witnesses, every day, attacks and violence with
huge numbers of deaths.”
“President Yudhoyono should stop making excuses for
his government’s failure to investigate the violence,” said Pearson. “Allowing
full access to the province for UN rights experts, the press, and other
monitors could curtail the rumors and misinformation that often fuel
abuses.”
The Indonesia government sharply restricts access to its easternmost
provinces, Papua and West Papua. Military forces have been deployed there since
1963 to counter a long-simmering independence movement. Foreigners are required
to obtain a special permit to visit the areas. Such permits are routinely
denied or the processing delayed, hampering efforts by journalists and civil
society groups to report on breaking events.
During the Universal Periodic
Review of Indonesia at the UN Human Rights Council on May 23, France called on
Indonesia to ensure free access for civil society and journalists to Papua and
West Papua.
The United Kingdom noted the “increase in violence” in
Papua and “encouraged Indonesia to tackle violence against minority faiths and
accept visit requests by Special Rapporteurs.” Austria, Chile, the Maldives,
and South Korea called on Indonesia to accept standing invitations to the UN
rights experts and groups known as special procedures. Mexico specifically
asked the Indonesian government to invite the special rapporteurs to Papua.
The
previous UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions, Philip Alston, made a request to visit Indonesia in 2004 and again
in 2008, to which he never received a response.
“Several states registered
concerns at the UN Human Rights Council about Indonesia’s failure to invite UN
experts to the country,” said Pearson. “If Indonesia wants to be taken
seriously in Geneva, it shouldn’t continue to ignore this request.”
-----------------------------------------------
Riots in Indonesia's Papua after
independence activist killed
(Reuters) - Angry residents of
Indonesia's resource-rich Papua island burned cars and shops on Thursday after
an independence activist was shot and killed, police and human rights activists
said. A low-level insurgency for
independence has simmered on Indonesia's easternmost island for decades.
Mako Tabuni, deputy of a group pushing
for a referendum on Papuan self-determination, was shot dead while resisting
arrest, human rights activist Markus Haluk told Reuters.
Tabuni had been campaigning for an
investigation into a recent spate of shootings.
"This is not law enforcement, this
is ridiculous," Haluk told Reuters by telephone from Jayapura, the
province's main town.
"Security forces are using the
excuse of law enforcement to shoot, using the classic excuse of the separatist
group stigma," Haluk said of Tabuni's killing.
Police confirmed Tabuni's death saying
he was shot in the hip and leg and died on his way to hospital.
News of the killing brought people out
onto the streets of Jayapura and some of them torched shops and vehicles.
Television footage showed police inspecting burned out buildings and smoldering
cars.
Papua is the western half of an island
that includes Papua New Guinea. Gold, gas and copper make Papua one of the
richest areas in Indonesia and a hot destination for investment.
Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc
has the big Grasberg copper and gold mine on the island and BP's Tangguh LNG
field is centered at Papua's Bintuni Bay.
Resource companies share the island with
indigenous communities, many of whom rely on hunting and subsistence farming
and lack access to health care and education.
Indonesia, the world's third largest
democracy and Southeast Asia's biggest economy, has struggled to control the
low-key rebellion. Despite the deployment of substantial numbers of security
forces, violence has recently intensified.
Papua's development lags the rest of
Indonesia, an ethnically diverse country with the world's fourth largest
population.
(Editing by Matthew Bigg and Robert Birsel)
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