Le nouveau réveil papou

An article published late February in a French journal. 

The link to original French article at

 http://cqfd-journal.org/Le-nouveau-reveil-papou

---------------

Revival of the Papuan Liberation Struggle

On December 16, 2009, the Indonesian armed forces murde- red the independence leader Kelly Kwalik, accused of sabo- tage, treason, kidnapping and assassination. Kelly Kwalik, charismatic leader of the Free Papua Movement, was a ma- jor figure in the struggle of the Papuan people. As early as 1963, Indonesia, with the complicity of the United States1, took control of the western part of the island of New Gui- nea, hitherto a Dutch colony, and destroyed any hope for the establishment of a free Papuan nation. Ever since having had their independence denied, the indigenous peoples of this vast and very wealthy territory have suffered, almost continuously, from persecution, displacements, destruction of their homes, torture, rape and assassinations...

Several hundred thousand people have been killed over the past sixty years in what has been denounced as a «slow genocide». Despite the violence of this oppression, and the culpable silence that accompanies it, the Papuans have ne- ver given up the fight, as proven by a tumultuous 2019, mar- ked in particular by mass demonstrations in August and September. Ten years after Kelly Kwalik’s disappearance, the Papuan people are still alive and kicking.

By Nicolas Marvey & Babon Hitam Illustration : David Quertelet Translation : David Connaughton

In 2015, the election of a new president in Indonesia raised hopes that the archipelago had not known since the fall of the Suharto dictatorship seventeen

years earlier. The new head of state, the charismatic Joko Widodo, did not come from the army or the oligarchy
- a first in one of the most inegalitarian countries in the world. On the Papuan side, hope was certainly more measured -the independence organizations called for a boycott of the ballot, but real. Relatively young and pro- gressive, Jokowi, as his supporters call him, had indeed re- peatedly promised to promote greater respect for human rights in West Papua.

In the end, the announced political overture was nothing more than hot air. “The general situation never impro- ves in West Papua; it has even frankly deteriorated since

Jokowi gained power”, confided Novenus Omabak, a Papuan exiled in Australia for almost twenty years, and whose brother Timotius was shot by the Indonesian army in April 2018. “There have been more deaths and environmental destruction in the name of economic development.” In fact, Widodo’s systematic posture has been to promote major infrastructure works - the most colossal and contentious of them undoubtedly being the future Trans-Papua road. This policy is completely out of step with the aspirations of the indigenous peoples, who denounce projects which, above all, serve the interests of the occupying power. 

-------

On the military front, 2019 was a particularly dramatic year. Confronted by the armed wing of the Papua Libera- tion Organization (OPM) -which though still active has been reduced to carrying out sporadic guerrilla warfare, the army’s response, time and again, has been terror. While the use of chemical weapons remains debatable2, there is no doubt about the use of weapons of war against villages. In the central highlands, more than 250 civilians died last year and nearly 52,000 had to flee in the face of brutal repression, according to a report published by the ULMWP, the United Liberation Movement for Papua3. Even today, many people remain in hiding in the forest. 

The Anger of the Papuans
Has Spilled over into the Cities 

What made this past year remarkable was not the resur- gence of abuses committed by the colonial forces which, unfortunately, have been all too common, but the revival of Papuan resistance, as unexpected as it was impressive. Surprisingly, it was a more harmless event occurring thousands of miles from Papua that served as a detonator. 

On August 16, in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second city, lo- cated on the island of Java, the police, supported by an Is- lamist militia, raided the dormitory of Papuan students on the pretext that they had infringed the flag national. They were taken to task, treated as a monyet («monkey» in In- donesian), and assaulted, and 43 of them arrested. These scenes, filmed and relayed via social networks, triggered a cycle of demonstrations that for two months swarmed all around West Papua, bringing together tens of thousands of people, all the way to Timika, where Kelly Kwalik was murdered ten years earlier - quite a symbol. 

These demonstrations sometimes turned into riots. On August 19 in Manokwari, the local parliament was des- troyed by flames. On the same day, Sorong Prison suffered the same fate, allowing some 250 detainees to escape. On September 23, unrest reached Jayapura, the provincial capital, and Wamena, where authorities announced the deaths of around 30 non-Papuans from other parts of In- donesia. The OPM may well repeat that the real enemies are the police, yet it is the presence of numerous migrants, mainly from the islands of Java and Sulawesi, which most significantly attests to the settlement colonization taking place in West Papua4. They or their property have been targeted5, tens of thousands have fled or have been eva- cuated. 

One of the Most Under-Reported Armed Conflicts in the World 

Like everyone else, the Indonesian state was taken by surprise by this surge of anger. Joko Widodo has tried ap- peasement, but his word seems discredited and his room for maneuver is, in reality, very limited vis-à-vis the army. Once again, repression has become part of the daily life of the Papuans: frequent Internet disconnects, the massive reinforcement of military and police forces, hundreds of arrests, including almost all the independence leaders not yet in exile ... And once again, too, the death count has risen, 37 on the native people’s side, among them 17 high- school pupils and college students shot dead during the troubled September 23 events in Wamena. This is proof of the strong implication of Papuan youths in this revolt, de- termined as they are to no longer bow down. Some have sported monkey masks, turning the most common racist insult they face into a sign of pride and unity. 

As always when we talk about West Papua, what most strikes us is the contrast between the gravity of the situa- tion and how little it is spoken of abroad, which makes
it all the easier for Indonesia to continue with impunity. These latest episodes, however, part of the long struggle of the Papuan people, are perhaps, finally, cracking the wall of silence that surrounds one of the least publicized armed conflicts in the world. The ULMWP refers to «very strong support in Indonesia and internationally» and «demons- trations of solidarity in at least ten major cities abroad in August and September». It’s not much, but then again, they started quite a way back. 

From Melbourne, where he organized rallies as president of the local Papuan community, Novenus Omabak makes this call: «Help us recover our independence which was robbed and more importantly, compel the Indonesian go- vernment to end the continuing human rights violations of which the Papuan people are victims.» 

1 The United States had a lot to gain : a major Cold War ally; moreover, access to the region’s incredible riches, starting with the emblematic site of Grasberg, the largest gold mine in the world, and the third largest copper mine. 

2 A year ago, the Australian Saturday Paper accused Indonesia of having used phosphorus bombs against Papuan villages. 

3 The ULMWP is the only pro-independence organization tolerated to any extent by the Indonesian authorities. It provided most of the figures for this article. 

4 « Today there are 35% of the inhabitants who are not of Papuan origin and come from the rest of the Indonesian ar- chipelago. A hundred years ago, it was only 2.5%. In large ur- ban areas, 60% of us are non-Papuan, and it is in these large urban areas that Indonesian settlers dominate the economy. » (Richard Chauvel, professor emeritus at the University of Melbourne, on RFI on 09/15/2019). With both the develop- ment of infrastructures and economic development, coloniza- tion has been accelerating and penetrating into the very heart of Papuan territories, so that in years to come, the native peoples will become a minority in their own homeland, which will be a great threat to their future as a very people. 

5 Several testimonies, however, claim that Papuans also helped threatened migrants, in particular by providing shelter in their homes. 

--------------

Kelly  Kwalik 

The Life and Death of a Papuan Independence Fighter 

Kelly Kwalik was born into the Amungme tribe in 1954 in Tsinga in the mountains at the centre of Dutch New Guinea,. At the age of 6, when he was already an orphan, he took part in the great migration
of his tribe to the plain, on the initiative of the colonial authorities and Dutch missionaries seeking to facilitate evangelization. A gifted student, he obtained a scholarship from the Catholic mission and while studying to become a teacher, he witnessed the suffering of his people in the face of the violence of colonization and the frantic policy of «modernization» of the Papuan people led by Jakarta. 

One year after graduation, his hopes for a job were da- shed, and he joined the guerrillas. In 1977, after becoming general of the Papua Liberation Organization (OPM), he and a hundred men undertook a march of several months through the jungle to convince the mountain tribes to
rise up against the occupier. In July of the same year, he ran a small commando unit that successfully sabotaged the Freeport Company’s mining facilities near Timika, inflicting $11 million in losses to the American firm. The reprisals were terrible as witnessed by the machine-gun- ning of villages from planes and helicopters, the use of na- palm and cluster bombs, the murders, rapes and multiple abuses1. 

The OPM then waged a low intensity war from camps scattered throughout the jungle, which the Indonesian army would never succeed in eradicating. If the indepen- dence organization has never been a real danger to the state, it is nonetheless an ideological threat. « By living in the forest, OPM fighters reject everything that Indonesia represents and practice a form of independence. For many Papuans, the OPM is a source of pride: they are not com- pletely defeated, they resist. »2 

Thirty Years of Guerrilla Warfare in the Jungle 

In 1996, the OPM struck another great blow by kid- napping a group of fourteen young English, Dutch and Indonesian scientists who had come to inventory the flora and fauna of Lorentz Park. For 130 days, Kelly Kwalik
and his group held the hostages in the mountains, in the hope that this would publicize their struggle and gain the support of the international community. The Red Cross played the role of official mediator but then, discouraged by the numerous about-turns of the OPM general, ended up by collaborating with the Indonesian army, which 

--------------

released the hostages after a bloody crackdown3. Kelly Kwalik went into hiding. The OPM had then to limit itself to small-scale actions against symbols of oppression: the army, police and foreign companies. 

In 2002, a shootout on the road from Timika to the Freeport mine killed two Americans and one Indonesian. Kelly Kwalik was charged, without any evidence, while numerous accounts suggested that this was a set-up by the Indonesian military. In a post-September 11 context, the OPM was declared a terrorist organization and the arrest of General Kelly Kwalik became a top priority. He was
a master in the art of disguises and in 2009, days before his assassination, the police still did not have a positively identifiable picture of him. However, thanks to the nume- rous spies paid for by the secret services, the Indonesian Special Forces eventually located the house he was hiding in Timika while recovering from a malaria attack. 

The assault took place on the night of December 16, 2009. Seriously wounded by a bullet, Kelly was transferred to
a police station far from the city where, left untreated,
he died a few hours later. To avoid a popular uprising, a religious ceremony was authorized in the Cathedral of Timika, which was attended by several thousand people from all over Papua. However, the authorities insisted that he be buried in Timika and not in his home village. 

Thus, General Kelly Kwalik lies in this mining town, sym- bol of Indonesia’s stranglehold on Papua, in the middle of a vacant lot, under a brick and sheet metal construction that looks like a chicken coop. This December 16, for 

the tenth anniversary of his assassination, nobody was allowed to visit his grave, which was considered to be too risky given the massive military and police presence in Ti- mika. Crush resistance, control history, organize oblivion: the old colonial recipe. 

An Elusive Character 

Indonesian propaganda has made of him a bloodthirsty terrorist, a marked man. Among Westerners, the hos- tage-taking of 1996 left him with the image of a versa-
tile and capricious autocrat, taking pleasure in making negotiations collapse. «A dirty little bastard, a liar, vicious and selfish» retorted Henri Fournier, the head of the Red Cross, to Daniel Start, an English hostage4. The Australian journalist Ben Bohane also felt disappointed and betrayed, having thought he was with Kelly Kwalik for several months in the jungle in 1996, when in fact he was in the presence of one of the independence leader’s lieutenants. 

However, the women and men who lived with him in the OPM camps remember him as a sweet man, a wise man one could visit to seek advice, a non-violent man deeply attached to traditions, a model of integrity. Today, Kelly Kwalik remains a revered figure, even among the new generations, too young to have known him. 

How can this misunderstanding be explained to Wester- ners? Let Kelly speak for himself : « You Whites are always going forward, and the straight-haired Indonesians do likewise. We, from time to time, like to walk backwards: 

it is our way of remembering. If we only walk forward, then we will experience oblivion. We are aware of our differences, we are proud of them and hold them up as we would our flag. »5 

1 « The Neglected Genocide. Human rights Abuses against Papuans in the Central Highlands, 1977-78 », Asian Human Rights Commission (2013). 

2 « Irian Jaya under the Gun: Indonesian Economic Deve- lopment Versus West Papuan Nationalism », Jim Elmsie, University of Hawaï Press (2003). 

3 See Mark Davis’ documentary, Blood on the Cross, Austra- lian Broadcasting Corporation (1999). 

4 « The open cage. The ordeal of the Irian Jaya hostages », Daniel Start, Harper Collins Publishers (1997). 

5 « Timika Western Papou », Nicolas Rouillé, Anacharsis (2018).
This novel combing fact with fiction provides a good intro- duction to the complexity of West Papua. 

Article published in the French monthly newspaper CQFD in February 2020 

 

The website of the international campaign for the liberation of West Papua : 

www.freewestpapua.org 

1) The Australian left is known for backing Papuan independence – but it wasn’t always this way

2) Over 100 officials in Papua test positive for coronavirus

3) Limited health facilities leave Papua facing tough COVID-19 fight

--------------------------------------------  

https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/the-australian-left-is-known-for-backing-papuan-independence-but-it-wasnt-always-this-way/

1) The Australian left is known for backing Papuan independence – but it wasn’t always this way

April 27, 2020

Dominique Tasevski Dominique Tasevski completed her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) at the University of Melbourne. Her honours thesis examined CPA-PKI relations during the 1950s and 1960s and was awarded the Brian Fitzpatrick Prize for Best Honours Thesis in Australian History. She specialises in Australia-Indonesia relations and Indonesian history and politics. 

For nearly 60 years, successive Australian governments have supported Indonesia’s territorial claim to West Papua, while the Australian left has strongly backed the Papuan independence movement.

The Greens, Australia’s largest left-wing political party, strongly supports(link is external) West Papuan self-determination. The party has condemned(link is external)the actions of Indonesian authorities in the territory, including the 2019 crackdown in which more than 30 people were killed. (link is external)

In February, the party’s leader, Adam Bandt, and former leader Richard Di Natale, wore Morning Star flags on their lapels(link is external) during President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s address to the Australian federal parliament in a display of solidarity with Papuans.

These contemporary acts of solidarity, however, are not representative of the Australian political left’s historic position on West Papua. During the 1950s and most of the 1960s, the Australian left, then led by the Communist Party of Australia (CPA), categorically supported Indonesia’s claims to the territory.

Indonesia and West Papua were both part of the former Dutch East Indies. In 1949, the Dutch acknowledged Indonesian independence, but they continued to rule West Papua. Under the leadership of left-wing President Soekarno, Indonesia sought to annex West Papua.

From the early 1950s onwards, the Indonesian government claimed that the ongoing Dutch presence in West Papua constituted the continuation of colonialism. The Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), the then largest non-governing communist party in the world, supported Soekarno’s policy regarding what it described as the “liberation” of West Papua. The anti-imperialist rhetoric of both President Soekarno and the PKI resonated with the Australian left.

The CPA staunchly opposed Western colonialism and imperialism. In 1954, future Australian communist leader Laurie Aarons led the CPA’s first delegation to Indonesia, which was hosted by the PKI. After this trip, Australian communists began to closely follow the West Papua issue.

From December 1954, the CPA began to publicly express its support for Indonesia’s position, and, in so doing, the party adopted Indonesian government and PKI policy on West Papua. Tribune, the CPA’s national newspaper, even published material from a Soekarno government propaganda pamphlet, issued by the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, which articulated Indonesia’s claim to the territory.

The CPA consequently began to urge the government of Robert Menzies and the federal opposition to adopt the Indonesian policy on West Papua. The party asserted that the Dutch were ruthless imperialists and emphasised the need to maintain strong relations with Australia’s enormous neighbour to the north.

The CPA’s policy on West Papua reflected the position of the Soekarno government, the PKI and 1950s Indonesian anti-imperialist activists more broadly, as opposed to the outlook of pro-independence Papuans, who considered Indonesia’s absorption of the territory to itself be neo-colonialism.

The CPA’s policy also indicated that the party believed that the Menzies government should not alienate Indonesia over West Papua because of the need for a strong relationship with Australia’s largest neighbour. This attitude has also been shared by both Coalition and Labor Australian governments over recent years, much to the frustration of hard-line sections of the left. The CPA adopted this stance as it sought to strengthen its relationship with the PKI, which was a significant political force inside and outside Indonesia.

But the Australian government position, and indeed that of the federal opposition, was to support continued Dutch rule over West Papua because of concerns that Indonesia would attempt to annex the Australian colony of Eastern New Guinea, now known as Papua New Guinea.

In 1962, the Dutch relinquished their claims over West Papua and the Australian government consequently changed its policy regarding the territory. In 1963, Indonesia formally gained control of West Papua and many Papuans immediately resisted Indonesian rule. This was demonstrated by the creation of guerrilla organisation the Free Papua Movement (OPM) in 1965, although the Morning Star flag was banned by Soekarno’s government as early as 1963.

The Australian left, however, prioritised its desire to strengthen relations with the PKI, the third largest communist party in the world, over Papuans’ right to self-determination. The CPA even described West Papua as an “integral” and “inalienable” part of Indonesia. The CPA’s policy on West Papua did not go unnoticed by the PKI leadership and significantly contributed to the development of rapport between the Australian and Indonesian left.

The CPA-PKI relationship was underpinned by a shared political agenda. Documents signed between the parties repeatedly detail their opposition to colonialism. This colonialism, however, only referred to Western imperialism, rather than Indonesia’s policy towards West Papua, which could arguably be described as neo-colonialism.

The parties were thus united in their support of Indonesia’s claims to West Papua. However, the Australian left’s position on West Papua shifted dramatically soon after the fall of President Soekarno.

On 30 September 1965, seven senior members of the Indonesian military were killed. Under the leadership of General Soeharto, the Indonesian army blamed the PKI for the soldiers’ deaths and used the killings as a pretext(link is external) to crush the Indonesian left. From October 1965 to mid-1966, approximately 500,000 to one million Indonesians were killed. The PKI was destroyed.

By early 1966, Soekarno’s leftist regime had collapsed and was replaced by the anti-communist, authoritarian New Order regime. Soeharto’s violent intolerance of the left influenced a major change in CPA policy on West Papua. By 1969, the CPA was claiming that Soekarno’s demise forced Papuans and Indonesians into a struggle against Soeharto.

The distinction between Papuans and Indonesians was a notable reversal of the CPA’s earlier position. The party also recognised the anti-democratic nature of the so-called “Act of Free Choice”, the 1969 UN supervised ballot in which about 1,000 Papuans handpicked by Soeharto’s government were coerced to vote in favour of West Papua’s integration into Indonesia.

In a significant policy reversal, the CPA then begun to label Indonesia’s actions in West Papua as “neo-imperialist” and demanded that Australian anti-colonialists support Papuan independence activists. By the 1970s, the CPA began to support Papuan claims to self-determination.

The CPA’s actions indicate that the Australian leftist movement has had a problematic and contradictory position towards West Papua.

The left ignored the oppressive acts of the Soekarno regime in West Papua and only begun to express concern about the treatment of Papuans following the emergence of the anti-communist Soeharto regime.

Although the Greens are not the CPA’s direct ideological successor, they are the largest leftist party in Australia, and can thus be considered representative of the contemporary left’s general position on West Papua.

The position of the modern Australian political left, encapsulated by the displays of solidarity by Bandt and Di Natale earlier this year, contrasts starkly with the position of the CPA some 60 years earlier.

———————————————————

https://en.antaranews.com/news/146944/over-100-officials-in-papua-test-positive-for-coronavirus

2) Over 100 officials in Papua test positive for coronavirus  

8 hours ago

Timika, Papua (ANTARA) - In a mass antibody rapid test conducted last week, 110 officials have tested positive for the coronavirus infection in Mimika District of Papua Province, the district chief said here today.

The officials are employed with the transportation office, regional disaster mitigation office, public order office, and the Mimika Baru police precinct, Mimika District chief Etinus Omaleng informed.

"Of the total 300 people (who were) tested for coronavirus using the antibody rapid test kits, 110 were found positive. The positive cases have been referred to the hospital for throat swab (tests), and their samples will be further examined by the health research and development office at a laboratory in Jayapura," he explained.

Following the identification of a new coronavirus cluster in the district, Omaleng said, he is planning to set up a quarantine facility for district officials who have tested positive in the rapid tests.

For emergency cases, the Mimika District administration is preparing an athlete dormitory (Wisma Atlet), which would be used as a quarantine facility for not only positive cases, but also patients awaiting test results.

However, the facility is currently equipped to serve fewer than 100 patients.

"It doesn't have enough beds, and 11 bedrooms have leaky roofs and no bathrooms. Therefore, we will repair and refurbish the place before it is used as a quarantine facility, and it will be able to serve more patients," he added.

Besides, the district administration is also planning to turn the Mimika Sports Complex and a Multi-Purpose Community Center in Kwamki subdistrict into quarantine centers.

Prior to the rapid test, the Mimika District administration had confirmed 41 positive cases and three deaths. Meanwhile, 15 of the total COVID-19 patients have recovered from the infection in the district. (INE)

Related news: Papua extends large-scale social restrictions until May 6
Related news: COVID-19 test results come back positive for 124 Papua residents

EDITED BY INE

Reporter: Evarianus Supar/Genta Tenri Ma
Editor: Suharto

--------------------

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/04/27/limited-health-facilities-leave-papua-facing-tough-covid-19-fight.html

3) Limited health facilities leave Papua facing tough COVID-19 fight

Gemma Holliani Cahya

The Jakarta Post

Jakarta   /   Mon, April 27, 2020   /   09:09 am

“I know this might sound harsh for some people but this is the fact; if you do not want to die, do not come to Papua,” Silwanus Sumule, a doctor who works in Jayapura, said in a recent phone interview with The Jakarta Post.

Silwanus is also the spokesperson for the Papua COVID-19 response team.

When the first COVID-19 cases were detected in Indonesia, he knew right away that Papua was not ready to handle the highly infectious disease.

There are only seven pulmonologists and 73 ventilators in around 45 hospitals in the province, according to an official count. Papua also has a very limited supply of hazmat suits and only around 10,000 rapid test kits, at least 60,000 short of what is needed, according to Silwanus.

“We are not ready but we have to be ready with whatever resources we have because the enemy is already here. […] Even in normal circumstances, we have very limited medical infrastructure and a shortage of workers," he said.

Papua restricted entry into the nation's easternmost region, closing down airports and seaports in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19 shortly after the province recorded its first two confirmed cases on March 22.

However, the number of cases has continued to increase with the local government struggling to contain the disease partly because of the difficulties tracing new cases with the limited supply of test kits and personal protection equipment (PPE). 

As of Sunday, Papua had recorded 141 confirmed cases and six deaths, according to the Health Ministry. All were imported cases brought by people who traveled back from Java and Sulawesi.

"So, please don’t come here, do not give us more new imported cases. Let us deal with what we have right now,” Silwanus said.

Read also: Papua restricts entry as concerns mount over lack of facilities to treat COVID-19

In stark contrast, the neighboring province of West Papua has recorded just 16 cases and one death.

However, Silwanus said the lower number of recorded infections in West Papua could also be a reflection of a lack of tracing and testing.

West Papua, according to Silwanus, did not even have a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test machine, leaving it heavily dependent on Jakarta to process both rapid and PCR tests.

Papua, on the other hand, has one machine in Jayapura.

Another issue is that all major hospitals in Papua are located in big cities. With its challenging geographical terrain and lack of healthcare facilities, there are serious concerns over how people in the highlands can mitigate the outbreak once the virus reaches them.

Some cases have been found in several of Papua's remote regions, including one confirmed case in Central Mamberamo regency in the Pegunungan Tengah mountain range and one in Wamena, a city in the Baliem Valley.

“That means the virus has advanced to several areas in the highlands, but we will not give up that easy. We will try to focus on tracing contacts of these cases. We have recorded 130 contacts of the case in Mamberamo,” Silwanus said. “If the virus infected more people in the remote highlands, it would be a serious problem for us.”

Around four weeks ago, Freddy Edowai, 32, a civil servant working in Deiyai regency, also located in the Pegunungan Tengah region, traveled some 130 kilometers to Nabire to visit his wife and child.

He could not return to Deiyai because the Nabire administration had enforced a lockdown and closed the roads connecting the regencies. Deiyai and other remote regencies in Papua, such as Paniai, Intan Jaya and Dogiyai, have also carried out similar measures.

“I think closing the roads is our best option to prevent the virus from spreading to rural areas,” Freddy said. “People can help authorities by staying at home.”

Having grown up in Deiyai, he said the regency had long struggled with access to clean water and basic health care.

Read also: Jokowi moves Papua's 2020 National Games to next year

In Nabire, meanwhile, three confirmed cases have been recorded and authorities are conducting rapid tests on dozens of people under surveillance (ODP).

“We are really working with limited resources. The hazmat suits we have are only enough for the next couple of days,” Frans Sayori, the spokesperson for the Nabire COVID-19 response team, said recently.

Nabire Regional General Hospital is now a referral hospital for COVID-19 that covers at least four other regencies in remote mountain areas.

A number of medical workers have decided to spend their own money to purchase boots, goggles and even raincoats to protect themselves.

“My fellow medical workers asked me to conduct tests on them because they are at higher risk as they are in close contact with confirmed patients and ODPs, but we do not have enough rapid test kits. I have to use them for the ODPs first,” Frans said.

The restrictions on entry into the province have hindered aid distribution in Nabire.

“Some individuals and organizations have told us that they wanted to send help to us, like hazmat suits, but it was hard to reach us," Frans said. “It is understandable to lock down the area. But I hope there will be solutions for aid distribution. Please help us so it can arrive in Nabire."

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases in Mimika regency has gradually surpassed the number recorded in Jayapura city and Jayapura regency, two areas that were hit the hardest at the beginning of the outbreak.

As of Sunday, 41 cases and three deaths had been recorded in Mimika, followed by Jayapura city with 39 cases and three deaths and Jayapura regency with 29 cases and one death, according to the Papua COVID-19 response team. The provincial death toll, however, differed from the Health Ministry’s count.

John Giyai, 41, a resident of Mimika's capital Timika, has stayed at home for a month and not seen his family in Asmat, Papua. He has tried his best to maintain personal hygiene and avoid contracting the disease while in self-isolation.

“If I get infected, I think my chances of surviving are very thin because our health facilities are not ready for this,” John said.

“Authorities said we have to clean up with clean water, but I know there are many people [in Timika] who do not have access to clean water," he said. "They told us to wear masks, but masks disappeared in early March in Timika."

A lack of information from the local government has left people unaware of the threat posed by COVID-19, with John saying he had noticed that some of his neighbors were continuing to hang out in groups.

Read also: 'Political prisoners' turn to UN amid COVID-19 threat

While every region in Indonesia has said it was not ready for the pandemic, Papua is among the most vulnerable provinces.

At 32.8 percent, it has one of the highest rates of stunting in the country, according to the 2018 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas), an indication of micronutrient deficiencies and insufficient hygiene.

Statistics Indonesia data from 2019 also showed that Papua had the highest poverty rate in Indonesia at 27.53 percent.

The COVID-19 disease emerged in Papua not long after a deadly outbreak of communal violence occurred late last year, which observers said could worsen the handling of the outbreak.

A recent report by the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) found there was still tension and that many native Papuans portrayed  the virus as being brought in by non-native migrants and the military, adding to the hostilities and suspicions. IPAC recommended that the government “support the provincial government in its [COVID-19] lockdown efforts, while ensuring unimpeded delivery of humanitarian supplies”.

If you want to help in the fight against COVID-19, we have compiled an up-to-date list of community initiatives designed to aid medical workers and low-income people in this article. Link: [UPDATED] Anti-COVID-19 initiatives: Helping Indonesia fight the outbreak

-----------------------------

Indonesia pushes coal in West Papua despite conflict and past rights abuses

https://www.aseantoday.com/2020/04/indonesia-pushes-coal-in-west-papua-despite-conflict-and-past-rights-abuses/

Indonesia pushes coal in West Papua despite conflict and past rights abuses

APRIL 27, 2020

Indonesia is bringing coal mining to West Papua despite an independence movement that has contested Jakarta’s claims to the region’s resources for almost 60 years and faced violent repression. The region also has a track record of destructive mining and gas projects that have brought few benefits to most local residents.

By Skylar Lindsay

Indonesia is one of the world’s largest exporters of coal and with little oversight, coal mining companies in the archipelago have cleared rainforests and polluted natural resources, often belonging to indigenous communities. On the island of Borneo alone, coal mining concessions already cover more than 3.8 million hectares. In addition to exports, the country has plans to build dozens of new coal-fired power plants, deepening its dependence on coal despite having pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 29% by 2030.

Until now, Indonesia has developed mines primarily on Borneo and Sumatra but politicians in Jakarta and coal mining firms are now turning to Papua, the western portion of the island of New Guinea. The government has granted 25 companies permission to explore for coal in West Papua province and according to Mongabay, four companies are actively attempting to negotiate with local landowners. 

In Papua, natural resource extraction is highly contentious. Indonesia annexed the region in 1969 through a sham vote and the West Papuan independence movement has been resisting Jakarta’s control for nearly 60 years.

The conflict has often turned violent and over 500,000 indigenous West Papuans have been killed. Last August, the region saw the largest protests for West Papuan independence in 20 years. With the region’s history of violent state oppression and deeply-seated mistrust, it is immensely difficult to develop natural resources in a safe and responsible way.

Coal offers few benefits but risks replicating mistakes from other extractive industries

Local residents and the Indonesian government have long known about Papua’s coal deposits, as did Dutch colonizers, but the reserves were previously deemed too difficult to mine and too far from economic hubs. As coal became more profitable and technology improved, mining companies began expressing interest in the area, chiefly around Bintuni Bay, a long inlet on the far west end of the island.

Jakarta’s push to develop natural resources across the archipelago is also part of a strategy to centralize power and control. Decisions about how to manage the region’s natural resources are controlled almost entirely by Jakarta and pressure from extractive industries.

Papuan activists say local communities may see few of the benefits from the new coal development while being forced to bear most of the costs.

Papua is already the site of extensive mining operations, including Grasberg, one of the largest gold and copper mines in the world and worth an estimated US$100 billion. Operated by state-run firm Freeport Indonesia, the mine dumps thousands of tons of waste per day into local rivers and has been linked to human rights abuses.

The West Papuan independence movement considers any project like Grasberg to be a violation of West Papuans’ rights to their natural resources and some groups defend this claim with violence. As recently as March 30, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) attacked the mine and killed an employee, New Zealand national Graeme Thomas Wall. He was at least the seventh person killed in the conflict this year.

Apart from coal prospecting, Bintuni Bay is also the site of a massive US$10 billion gas field. Known as the Tangguh project, the gas field is being developed by BP. But critics say the company has worked with Indonesian security forces to militarize the project and was complicit in human rights abuses, including torture. 

Though BP worked to engage with local leaders and supported many community development initiatives, residents have seen comparatively few benefits from the company’s plans to extract 14 trillion cubic metres of gas. Local residents reportedly refer to BP Tangguh as “the second Freeport.”

Coal does not offer West Papua a path out of poverty

Despite the contentions around Tangguh and Grasberg, the Jakarta government and extractive companies still pitch resource development as a path out of poverty for West Papuans. One in four people in Papua live on less than one dollar a day while the poverty rate in Papua is three times higher than in the rest of the country. 

Last year, gross domestic product (GDP) in Papua shrunk by 7.4%—the lowest growth rate in the country—as national GDP rose by just over 5%. At the same time, mining operations supply significant tax revenues for Jakarta—between 1992 and 2009, Freeport paid US$9.3 billion in taxes.

There is strong evidence that mining and resource extraction will not improve the situation for local communities. A recent province-level study has shown that growth in the mining sector has done nothing to alleviate poverty and that sharp accelerations in mining projects exacerbate poverty. 

Abra El Talattov, a researcher at Indonesia’s Institute of Economic and Financial Development (INDEF), has said the region’s dependence on extractive industries plays a role in its economic struggles. “One of the reasons behind the economic decline in Papua is the decline of its mining industry, the biggest contributor to GDP in that region,” Abra said.

In 2010, Wikileaks released communications showing that US diplomats consider the Indonesian government at fault for West Papua’s “chronic underdevelopment”.

Beyond the question of local benefits, coal mining is a troubled industry in Indonesia. Coal prices dropped last year for the third year in a row, declining 28%. This year, the government told producers to reduce their output in a bid to keep prices higher. But policy solutions only serve to artificially prop up the industry as the climate crisis and cheaper renewables signal its long-term decline. 

Amid the threats of pollution, armed conflict and declining growth, the development of new mines in Papua poses a major risk to local residents as well as mining firms. By excluding West Papuan leaders from the management of their natural resources, coal firms and the Jakarta government risk exacerbating the conflict in the region and recreating the mistakes of the Grasberg mine and the Tangguh gas field.

-----------