2) No More Propaganda in Papua
3) Papuans win peace awards for saving non-native Papuans during Wamena riot
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1) Would Political Dialogue on Papua Be on Top of Jokowi's Agenda?
BY :JUSTIN L. WEJAK
OCTOBER 17, 2019
Jokowi should facilitate a political dialogue with Papuans while at the same time continuing to build and improve infrastructures on the island. (SP Photo/Joanito De Saojoao)
I
n August this year, the entire nation was again shocked by the recurrence of racial abuse against Papuan students in Surabaya. As reported, the verbal abuse was committed by authorities and local mass organizations who called the Papuans "monkeys," "pigs" and "dogs." The abuse was a reaction to an allegation that the Papuan students in Surabaya damaged an Indonesian flag on Independence Day, Aug. 17. This allegation remains unconfirmed.
In revenge, as we know, violent protests took place across the island of Papua. Arguably the Papuan protesters did not particularly target people of certain races; there were rumors to the opposite. Clearly the Papuan protesters wanted to send a strong message to the whole nation that racial abuse and discrimination shouldn't be tolerated. A nation proud of its diversity must take a strong stance against any form of racism.
Unfortunately, the protesters failed to also send a message that violence of any form must not be tolerated. As we've seen, the Papuan protesters across the island reacted violently to the violence against some Papuan students in Surabaya. Here the idea that violence shouldn't be avenged with more violence remains a challenge.
Ideally, and it remains a hope, this "action-reaction chain" has to be broken. This may not be easy to do, particularly if the problem is deeply rooted in history and culture.
But what needs to be done is to ensure that reactions, particularly the violent ones, are prevented in order not to exacerbate tensions. Failure to do so means the country's proud belief in the culture of harmony and religion of peace remains merely a belief with no meaning in real life.
East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa's initiative to apologize to the Papuan victims of racial abuse is greatly appreciated. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo also expressed his discomfort about the case and disapproved of the violent reactions in Papua. He then urged all parties to restore calm and peace. He called a few Papuan elites and representatives to come to the Presidential Palace to talk about the case, aiming to cool down the heated reactions among the public.
But, are these enough to resolve the problems in Papua? The issue is much deeper than seen on the surface. The racial abuse experienced by the Papuan students in Surabaya in August, and particularly the subsequent violent reactions in Papua, reflect a much more complex problem.
Partly for that reason, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called upon the Indonesian authorities to initiate a dialogue with the Papuans. This dialogue is absolutely important because, as she implies, the Papua issue has historical roots, and therefore the issue needs to be confronted and resolved, hopefully once and for all.
The tensions in Papua in the wake of the racial abuse have been managed. But more tensions in and with Papua could recur any time in the future if the deep-seated problem remains unresolved.
Historically, the way West Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in the early 1960s was controversial. Even more controversial was when through the Act of Free Choice in 1969, West Papua remained part of Indonesia.
Many West Papuans then and now feel that it wasn't really their free choice at all to be integrated with Indonesia. Consequently, there has been a long struggle for independence led by the separatist movement OPM (Free Papua Organization).
Hypothetically, if the Papuans seriously request a referendum now, what would the UN do? Would the UN try to persuade Jakarta to allow the Papuans to have a referendum? Many Papuans I know would like another opportunity, but unlike the one in 1969, to freely determine their own future – whether to remain part of Indonesia or to be apart.
The question is: would Jakarta allow that opportunity?
The UN call for the Indonesian government to engage in dialogue with the people of Papua in response to the violent reactions in August is of course greatly appreciated, but at the same time, it may be seen as an act of washing their hands of their past mistakes.
Regardless of these past mistakes (and whose mistakes?), the Papua issue is too serious to be ignored. It needs to be tackled through comprehensive dialogue.
But, would a political dialogue on Papua be on top of Jokowi's agenda in his second term in office?
I doubt it. Jokowi wouldn't make a political dialogue with Papua his top priority. His priority is to try to fulfill all his key promises as outlined in his vision and mission statement. Among them to complete the Trans Papua Project as a way to make Papua more accessible and reachable, and to make Papua more competitive economically.
To the government, endeavors to break down the isolation of and in Papua are as important as (if not more important than) efforts to engage in a political dialogue with the Papuans concerning their past and future.
Jokowi is capable of doing both. He can facilitate a political dialogue about the Papua issue while at the same time continuing to build and improve infrastructures in the country's easternmost island.
And if he chooses to begin a political dialogue on the Papua issue, then it is crucial that all stages and processes are carefully planned and followed through.
Thorough discussions about the history of Papua chaired by historians are key in understanding the complexity of the Papua issue. All Papuans must also be open and honest about their hopes for the future of Papua.
It should be understood that political dialogue is a complex process, politically and psychologically. It takes place in many forms and at all levels of society, facilitated by a variety of actors. It is a "multi-level dialogue" that ideally fully engages everyone to reach a consensus on critical challenges, such as the future of Papua.
No doubt, Jokowi has a lot on his plate at the moment. It seems he is getting overwhelmed by protests and expectations. But with the right people in his new cabinet, I believe he will complete his second term in office with pride in his achievements. He would then be remembered truly as an “Infrastructure and Dialogue President”.
The title could be his legacy.
Justin L. Wejak is a lecturer in Indonesian Studies at Asia Institute, Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne.
Justin L. Wejak is a lecturer in Indonesian Studies at Asia Institute, Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne.
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2) No More Propaganda in Papua
18 October 2019 12:30 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - If the government is serious about finding the best solution to the Papuan problem, the communication and informatics ministry should support the endeavor by Facebook to rid the site of computer-generated propaganda about Papua. One way is to trace the source of the funds and the people behind the spreading of this information about the situation in Papua and the pro-independence movement there.
So far, Facebook has only announced that propaganda about Papua on its network originates from InsightID, a social media consulting company based in Jakarta. It is this company that has paid for advertisements to spread information which were published on 69 Facebook accounts and pages as well as 34 Instagram accounts. At the beginning of October, all these accounts were closed. An investigation by the magazine uncovered efforts by InsightID to conceal its digital traces.
Before being closed down by Facebook, the network was active in promoting information from a number of bogus news websites. The value of ads related to their content is totaled US$300,000 or around Rp4.2 billion. However, these sites often imitate the look of credible news sites, and some of them even disguise themselves as news websites well known in Papua. Although they use the English name ‘West Papua’, which is identified with the pro-independence movement, much of their content promotes programs and activities of the Indonesian government in the areas of economics, social affairs and politics in Papua.
The move by Facebook closing these accounts deserves support. Social media should be an arena for open conversations on issues important to the public. The quality of our interactions on social media will decline if there are fake accounts, bots or other computer-generated content intentionally made to promote a particular opinion. This kind of propaganda will only add to the confusion and could even worsen the conflict.
Other social media companies should take the same kind of measures. An investigative report by the UK’s BBC and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute uncovered a network of bots on Twitter also spreading false information as part of pro-Indonesian government propaganda about Papua. Their network was also supported by bot accounts on Twitter that amplified messages from their main account.
The computational propaganda phenomenon that makes use of automatization and bot accounts, algorithms designed to ensure massive distribution of information, and the use of big data to target a particular group of people is a significant threat to democracy. Research by the Oxford Institute that was released at the end of September also found that this trend was present in around 70 countries with different variations. If this is allowed to continue, this way of spreading information will reduce public trust in the media and other democratic institutions.
Therefore, the government must not remain silent. The funds and resources used by InsightID cannot have come only from that organization. The brains behind it and the supplier of funds must be exposed. The propaganda that they released is very dangerous at a time when the security situation in Papua is still very tense after the bloody clashes in Wamena and Jayapura in September.
Facebook’s endeavor could also become a model for ridding the platform of disinformation campaigns. After all, it has been proven that the way the government and the police seemed to be using the provisions of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law as a way of censoring context judged to be hoax, in fact, threatens our freedom of expression.
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3) Papuans win peace awards for saving non-native Papuans during Wamena riot
Bambang Muryanto The Jakarta Post
Yogyakarta / Fri, October 18, 2019 / 08:00 pm
Pastor Yason Yikwa and Titus Kagoya, a civil servant from Tolikara regency, Papua, holding the 2019 Pelopor Perdamaian (Pioneer of Peace) awards. (kompas.com/Yustinus Wijaya Kusuma)
Two native Papuans have been awarded Pelopor Perdamaian (Pioneer of Peace) awards for their roles in saving the lives of non-native Papuans during the bloody unrest in Wamena, Jayawijaya regency, Papua, late last month.
Pastor Yason Yikwa and Titus Kagoya, a civil servant from Tolikara regency, received the awards handed over by Social Affairs Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita during a ceremony held in Prambanan temple complex in Yogyakarta on Wednesday.
Yason sheltered more than 500 non-native residents inside the Panorama Baptist Church complex as well as inside an orphanage and the office of the orphanage’s foundation in Phike, Hubikiak district in Jayawijaya, when the riot broke out on Sept. 23.
“There were people coming after them and I said ‘don’t touch them, much less hurt them, you better kill me instead of hurting them’,” the pastor said as he recalled his experience.
He said the mob then left the complex and the non-Papuan residents, most of whom had their houses and shop-houses burned by the rioters during the unrest, were safe as they took shelter there.
Titus, meanwhile, helped non-native residents with other young people by cutting down trees to block the road leading to Mawampi village in Wesaput district, Jayawijaya to prevent the mob from wreaking havoc in the village.
“We put [the trees] down in the middle of the road so that no outsiders could get in,” he said.
With the help of his younger brother, Kagoya then asked the non-native Papuans to hide inside the village. He even provided his house as a hiding place, which sheltered around 80 people coming from Toraja in South Sulawesi, Madura, and Java.
Titus stood guard outside the village with other young men to prevent the mob from getting in.
The turmoil that occurred on Sept. 23 saw mobs, reportedly comprising native Papuans, setting hundreds of buildings, houses and cars on fire and violently attacking residents. At least 33 people, mostly non-native residents, were killed during the riot.
Thousands of Wamena residents feared for their safety following the violence and sought shelter at the military and police headquarters, among other places, while over 15,000 non-native Papuans fled the province and returned to their respective hometowns outside the country’s easternmost region.
Agus applauded Yason and Titus’ efforts in saving the lives of the non-native Papuans and called them both “heroes”.
“They helped people regardless of ethnicity, religion and race; they were even willing to sacrifice their lives for the people’s safety,” the minister said.
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