Background to Australian involvement in West
Papua
Australia originally supported the Dutch in trying to hold onto
West New Guinea, as we preferred another colonial power to act as a buffer zone
between Australia and any potential invader from the north. However, once the
US decided to back Indonesia, Australia also decided to support Indonesia’s
takeover of West Papua. In fact, Australia acted against
the wishes of the West Papuan people, who always wanted independence. One
example is the case of two West Papuan leaders, Clemens Runawery and
Willem Zonggonao who were removed by Australian officials from a plane just
weeks before the UN supervised vote. (in Australia’s then colony of PNG). This
was at the request of the Indonesian foreign minister. They were on their way
to the UN in New York carrying testimonies from many West Papuan leaders
calling for independence. Because of Australia’s involvment, they never had a
chance to plead their case.
Defence Force may have known of West Papua
atrocities
Two recent accounts by former Australian
defence force personnel who worked in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya
(now West Papua) in 1977 suggests there was ADF knowledge at that time of
alleged atrocities committed by Indonesian troops.
The Defence Department has issued a qualified
denial of a claim made by the Asian Human Rights Commission that military
aircraft supplied by Canberra were used in bombing runs over Papuan villages
resisting Indonesian rule.
UNITED NATIONS TEMPORARY EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY
(UNTEA)
Comments: Australia's
Helicopter team joined UNTEA to assist with the conduct of a cholera
eradication program. The detachment was withdrawn near the end of the program
after one of the helicopters crashed. There is however, no record from the UN
of Australia joining the UNTEA team.
The
Lombok Treaty
This treaty between Australia and
Indonesia, officially titled “Agreement Between the Republic of Indonesia and
Australia on the Framework for Security Cooperation”, is commonly known as the “Lombok Treaty”.
http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/indonesia/ind-aus-sec06.html
Former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan
Wirajuda, signed the agreement on the Indonesian island of Lombok on the 13
November 2006. On the 7th February 2008
in Perth, Former Foreign Minister Stephen Smith
(now defence Minister) and his Indonesian counterpart finalised the
formalities in an exchange of notes bringing the Lombok Treaty into force.
Article 1 of the treaty states that the main
objectives of the treaty are
1. to provide a framework for deepening and
expanding bilateral cooperation and exchanges as well as to intensify
cooperation and consultation between the Parties in areas of mutual interest
and concern on matters affecting their common security as well as their
respective national security.
The treaty has 10 articles covering a
number of areas including cooperation on
defence, counter terrorism, maritime
security, emergency preparedness and transnational crime. A number of articles
in this treaty are of concern and in particular, parts of article 3 covering
defence ties with the Indonesian military.
Also of concern is Article 2.3 which
states,
"The Parties, consistent with their
respective domestic laws and international obligations, shall not in any manner
support or participate in activities by any person or entity which constitutes
a threat to the stability, sovereignty or territorial integrity of the other
Party, including by those who seek to use its territory for encouraging or
committing such activities, including separatism, in the territory of the other
Party;"
Although not stated this article (2.3) is
likely a direct reference to West Papua. The impact the treaty would have on
the issue of West Papua and ties with the Indonesian military was raised in a
large number of the submissions to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT).
Sensitivities
over West Papua
The background to why West Papua is of such
significance in this treaty although never mentioned, is the fact that in
January 2006, 43 West Papuan asylum seekers arrived in Australia causing a deterioration in relations with Indonesia
when they were granted Temporary Protection Visa’s. Jakarta was becoming
concerned about growing support for West Papua in Australia and with the
memories of the Australian lead International Force for East Timor (INTERFET),
Indonesian was guaranteeing its sovereignty over West Papua, thus article 2.3
(above). This article is also a
potential attack not only on freedom of speech in Australia but also on the
right of civil society organisations to protest. In fact the Indonesian embassy in Canberra
has tried to invoke the Lombok Treaty in
August 2008, when Embassy officials tried to stop a West Papuan cultural event
in Canberra. In a Radio Australia report (Ist August
2008), the
Australian Capital Territory government confirmed the Lombok treaty was raised
in a meeting about a cultural event being held by people in Canberra from Papua
and West Papua.
In October 2013, Prime Minister Abbott was in Bali for the
APEC conference and made the usual statements we have come to expect from
Australian governments i.e. he reiterated his support for
Indonesia's sovereignty over West Papua. At the
time three West Papuans climbed into the Australian consulate in Bali
calling on the Abbott government to pressure Indonesia to release all Papuan
political prisoners. The activists left the consulate soon after entering
it. Tony
Abbott said the activists left the consulate of their own accord after a “lengthy discussion” and warned
Australia would not be party to protests aimed at undermining Indonesia's
authority over West Papua. “We have a very strong relationship with Indonesia
and we are not going to give people a platform to grandstand against Indonesia.”
However, in November an article in the
Guardian (21 Nov.) reported that
“Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade have now confirmed consular staff in Bali threatened to call the police
if a group of West Papuan activists did not leave the Australian compound”. The
article reported that DFAT officials conceded the West Papuans were in fact
told police would be called if they refused to leave the consulate. They
officials were appearing before a Senate estimates hearing in November and that
answer came in response to a series of questions from
the Greens senator Richard Di Natale, who has expressed concern about
the safety and wellbeing of the activists since the incident
On his first visit to Indonesia the Prime
Ministeralso said the ''government of
Australia takes a very dim view, a very dim view indeed, of anyone seeking to
use our country as a platform for grandstanding against Indonesia. We will do
everything that we possibly can to discourage this and to prevent this.''
Before it lost office, Labor was also
attacking activists who support West Papua. Sen. Bob Carr accused people who
advocate self-determination rights for West Papuans of misleading the
indigenous people of Indonesia’s Papua region. Carr made the comment during a
Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee hearing on his
government’s response to ongoing human rights abuses in West Papua.
In an article on
the Lowly Institute’s blog, The Interpreter, Peter McCawley wrote an item on “Peter Cosgrove's views on Indonesia”. A piece which also mentioned Ambassador Greg
Moriarty: http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2014/01/30/What-Peter-Cosgrove-thinks-about-Indonesia.aspx
Our ambassador to
Indonesia, Greg Moriarty believes '...a stable, strong and prosperous Indonesia
is also vital for Australia’s prosperity and security. Indeed as a neighbouring
country – Indonesia's continued stability and unity is a core interest for
Australia'.
Of course not
many people would disagree that we should try and get on with our neighbours
but the question is how much can we ignore human rights abuses that are going on
next door? For all the talk about spying
on Indonesian and asylum seekers, there is really only one major 'rub point' in our relationship with Indonesia
and that will be West Papua. Yes, Indonesia has made great progress towards
democracy since the fall of Suharto but not in West Papua. Prime Minister
Abbott also said on his visit to Indonesia in September last year, 'I admire
and respect what you and your government have done to improve the autonomy and
the life of the people of West Papua and I am confident that they can have the
best possible life and the best possible future as a part of an indissoluble
Indonesia, as an integral part of Indonesia.'
The Papuans would
not agree with our Prime minister. AWPA urges the Australian Government to call
on the Indonesian Government to release all West Papuan political prisoners
unconditionally, as a sign of good faith to the West Papuan people.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.