2) LEGISLATOR ACCUSES GOVERNMENT OF TRYING TO UNDERMINE MELANESIAN CULTURE
3) SBY HANDS DOWN LEGACY ON PAPUA ISSUES TO JOKOWI
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1) Indonesia’s secret dossier to suppress Papuan independence movement
Jakarta: Indonesian authorities compiled a secret dossier of prominent Papuans that details their "weaknesses" - such as women and alcohol - and outlines a strategy to "suppress" the independence movement.
The secret documents, leaked to Fairfax Media, target religious leaders, political activists and even Papuan university students who live outside the troubled province.
They highlight the Indonesian government's paranoia about the pro-independence movement in Papua and its sensitivity towards claims of human rights violations.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, elected in July 2014, promised to take a new approach to Papua.
He has visited Papua several times, released six political prisoners, including Papua's most famous political prisoner Filep Karma, vowed to stop transmigration to Papua and announced the lifting of restrictions on foreign media in Papua.
However the 2016 Human Rights Watch world report says suppression of the rights to freedom of expression and association in Papua continued.
The "Papuan Action Plan", dated March 2014 - months before Mr Joko came to power - is branded with the logo of the Indonesian State intelligence Agency or BIN and purports to come from the "Deputy-II Chief" of BIN.
The agency said an internal investigation would be "immediately" launched into the source of the documents following questions from Fairfax Media.
"BIN has never issued such a document," said BIN's director for information, Sundawan Salya. "We are an intelligence operation and therefore would never use such an open document."
The dossier lists the strengths and weaknesses of numerous Papuans and describes tactics to "suppress the movement" and "divide and fragment" opinion within the movement.
The pro-independence movement in Papua is especially sensitive in Indonesia given its experience with East Timor, which voted to break away from the republic in 1999.
Markus Haluk, the former chairman of the Central Highlands Papuan Student Association, is one of the Papuans named in the documents.
It is reported that he attends seminars demanding a "liberated Papua" and always criticises government policies.
His strengths are his ability to motivate Central Highland people who are not university educated and create "propaganda via media". His weaknesses? "Money and women".
"I think it's harassment of my pride, my character," Mr Haluk told Fairfax Media. "I have a wife, I am not a playboy. I know there are many ways Indonesia (achieves its goals). It's intelligence strategy, Jakarta's strategy to kill a fighter."
Mr Haluk said he would not be afraid or panic. "My struggle is to save Papuans. I am not sponsored or paid by anyone. And I will keep fighting until the truth is upheld in Papua."
The documents list a "minimal" and "maximal" goal for each Papuan named in the dossier, which authorities hoped to achieve between April and October 2014.
The "minimal" goal tended to be that the person would not contend there were severe human rights violations in Papua or would reject Papuan independence.
The "maximal" goal was usually that the person would support the Republic of Indonesia or support a draft law on enhancing special autonomy in Papua that former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government was trying to push through at the time.
Mr Haluk said he did not consider the intelligence agency's strategy to have been a success.
"Papua has been incorporated into Indonesia since the late 1960s but people are still hoisting the (banned West Papuan national) Morning Star flag in the forests, protests demanding (that) Papua separates from Indonesia are still going on," he said.
Beny Dimara, a prominent religious figure who works with Papuan university students in Yogyakarta, is named in the documents as someone who "follows separatist politics".
However he told Fairfax Media he had nothing to do with pro-independence activities.
"I am a priest and my concern is only one and that is making young Papuans better in their knowledge of God and in their education."
Indonesia has a history of spying on Papuans. Documents from Indonesia's elite special forces unit Kopassus, leaked to Fairfax Media in 2011, revealed members of the small armed resistance as well as ordinary Papuans were under intense surveillance.
The 2006-2009 intelligence briefs revealed informants infiltrated every aspect of daily life, including American tourists being watched while they attended a traditional dance outside the capital Jayapura in case they met with pro-independence groups.
Agus Sumule, a lecturer from the University of Papua, said Papuans are the only ethnic group in Indonesia spied on by their own government.
"Indonesians approach Papuans with racism and a paternalistic attitude," Mr Agus said. "The feeling of being part of Indonesia is not there for Papuans because of the stigma put on Papuans that we are separatists, that we are not able to do things as the Javanese people do, for instance."
A 2015 report by the directors of the Institute for Policy Analysis for Conflict in Jakarta said Papua struggled with some of the lowest development indicators in the country.
"Successive Indonesian administrations have failed to resolve these problems or reduce the grievances that fuel the independence movement," it said.
This was despite the implementation of limited special autonomy since 2001 and vast amounts of development spending.
Last May dozens of activists from the West Papua National Committee, a pro-independence group, were arrested during peaceful rallies in Jayapura.
And the government has still not released results of official investigations into the shooting of five protesters by security forces in the town of Enarotali in December 2014.
Theologian and activist Benny Giay, who is described in the documents as a "prominent clergyman who can influence and can generate separatist enthusiasm", said surveillance was a reality in Papua.
"This is paranoid, this is crazy," he said, when told about the documents. "They are often following us or sending journalists to interview us on certain topics. They will attend press conferences, attend our church meetings."
Dr Giay said Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, had told the world he was addressing Papua but had done little except announce new road construction.
"I told Jokowi it will take generations to build trust because the problem is a lack of trust from Papuans towards the military."
with Karuni Rompies
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2) LEGISLATOR ACCUSES GOVERNMENT OF TRYING TO UNDERMINE MELANESIAN CULTURE
Map of Melanesia – Supplied
Feb 02, 2016
Jayapura, Jubi – A Papuan legislator has accused the central government of using nefarious tactics to undermine the Melanesian culture in Papua and Papua Barat provinces.
Laurenzus Kadepa’s remarks were in response to a statement by Deputy of the Ministry of Political, Legal and Defense Affairs for Domestic Political Affairs, Major General Yoedi Swastono, about the central of Indonesian Melanesian Brotherhood Community (PMMI) that would be established in Manokwari, Papua Barat Province.
Kadepa, a member of Commission I at the Papua legislative council, said, “State institutions are playing tactices to undermine Melanesian culture in Papua. Earlier, there is an attempt to solve the customary institution in Papua by legitimizing the Customary Law Institution to paralyze the Papua Customary Council and Tribal Customary Council (DAP/DAS),” Kadepa told Jubi by phone on Sunday (31/1/2016).
And now appears PMMI, he said. That organization has declared in Ambon, Maluku on 6 October 2015. As a follow up, the Central Government plans to build the Central PMMI in Manokwari.
“Since the beginning, I have questioned what the reason for Papua to sign the PMMI declaration. Until now there has been no study that could be accounted for and stated if Maluku, North Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara are also Melanesian like Papua and Papua Barat,” he said.
He said, the establishment of PMMI was full of the political interest. He concerned it would be a polemic in the future; moreover it is related to race, culture and self-identity.
In the national seminar held by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences in Jakarta last week, as resource person, Yoedhi Swastono who also the Chairman of Papua and Aceh Desk of the Ministry of Political, Legal and Defense, said the government now paid more attention to Papua.
“The domestic cultural development is represented by the Melanesian community in Indonesia. On 6 October 2015, it has declared by five governors of East Timor, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua and West Papua and witnessed by the President Jokowi in Ambon. PPMI is currently under the supervision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Melanesian Culture Center would be established in Manokwari in the term of cultural development,” he said at that time. (Arjuna Pademme/rom)
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3) SBY HANDS DOWN LEGACY ON PAPUA ISSUES TO JOKOWI
Feb 02, 2016
Jayapura, Jubi – Former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yoedhoyono has passed three issues related to Papua to the President Joko Widodo, said the Deputy Chairman of the Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Tantowi Yahya, in the seminar titled “Following Up on the President Jokowi’s Policies for Papua the Land of Peace” held by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences on 27 January 2016 in Jakarta.
“The first is the reconstruction of the Law No. 21 on Special Autonomy to Special Autonomy Plus. Secondly, the conflict resolution in Papua, and the third is multi-sector developments in building both provinces of Papua and Papua Barat to become the prospective provinces,” said Tantowi in the forum.
He added it must be admitted that there is no Indonesian president who paid big attention towards Papua than Jokowi. His several visits to Papua have reflected his commitment in implementing these three ‘legacies’.
“Despites of the first point that is the reconstruction of the Law No. 21 on Special Autonomy, the two other points have been well implemented by the President Jojowi. He developed the infrastructures in Papua that during that time were only considered a dream. However, it then raises many simple questions of who’s going to get benefit from this development. We gathered those aspirations here in the House,” said Tantowi.
However, he thought the development in the economic sector must running along with development in other sectors, including the development of Defense, Security and Culture sectors.
“Disengage one of each sector would never get the concept (of conflict resolution in Papua) that we wanted,” he added.
In the same forum, the Directorate of Culture of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Hilmar Farid, said currently the government desires to build Indonesia from “the marginalized”. This definition of ‘marginalized’, according to him, not only refers to geographical, economical or political problems. The ‘marginalized’ problems must be brought into the ‘central’ communication that often determined the policy over the ‘marginalized’.
“Obviously the culture is the most important sphere in this conversation. And we hope this cultural sphere could be more expanded. That it is not only a “room” but also enters into the main room and to comprehensively affect the handling of Papua problems,” said Hilmar Farid.
He acknowledged during the course of Indonesian history, the cultural approach had often being ignored.
“But, if talking about the cultural approach, we cannot deny the long journey of Papuan history that recorded the tortures, violence and unpleasant things against Papuans. It is now becoming something that so-called by Papuans as a Memoria Pasionis (narrative of suffering),” he explained.
Further, he said this Memoria Pasionis is becoming a grave memory of Papuans that cannot be denied; it must get a place in the ‘central’ conversation. “It is certainly not easy, because many forms of dialogue have been created, but its boundaries were determined by the interest of defense as well as the political interest. If we want to seriously include the cultural element, therefore such a room (Memoria Pasionis) should be opened. And one of the tasks of the Directorate of Culture is about this history which has proved to be centralistic,” said Hilmar Farid. (Victor Mambor/rom)
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