1) KNPB rejects any form of violence in struggle for Papuan independence

2) Why do the Papuan people reject the creation of three new provinces?

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http://www.indoleft.org/news/2022-07-25/knpb-rejects-any-form-of-violence-in-struggle-for-papuan-independence.html

1) KNPB rejects any form of violence in struggle for Papuan independence

Suara Papua – July 25, 2022

Ardi Bayage, Yahukimo – The West Papua National Committee (KNPB) rejects violence in the struggle for West Papuan liberation. This was conveyed by KNPB spokesperson Ones Suhuniap on Saturday July 23 when speaking with Suara Papua.

Suhuniap asserted that the KNPB rejects all forms of violence in the struggle to liberate Papua from Indonesia's colonial grasp.

His remarks were in response to a video circulating on social media recently showing a red flag allegedly belonging to the KNPB that was being held by several youths after decapitating a civilian in Korowai district, Yakuhimo regency.

"We the KNPB reject violence in the West Papua national liberation struggle. Because of this, no one at all is allowed to use the KNPB's name or use the KNPB's symbols in acts of violence in Papua in the name of Papua independence", he asserted.

According to Suhuniap, the KNPB struggles through peaceful means in urban centres by prioritising the values of humanitarianism in a democratic way without violence. This is the principle of the KNPB's struggle.

"We call for a MSN or national civil strike as resistance without violence. Anyone who lives in the land of Papua from Sorong to Merauke who feels oppressed, they are our friends", he said.

Suhuniap continued saying the KNPB struggles against racism and is against SARA (racial, religious and ethnic conflicts) in the struggle for national liberation.

"We strongly condemn acts of violence committed against civilians whether they are indigenous Papuans or non-Papuans in the name of Papuan independence", he said.

The KNPB declares that the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) which fights in the jungles, and the TNI (Indonesian military) and the Polri (Indonesian police), are not allowed to kill civilians whether they are indigenous Papuans or non-Papuans who have come to seek a livelihood in West Papua.

"The struggle for Papuan independence by the Papuan nation is not because we hate the Indonesian people who are in Papua, but our enemy is the colonial system and practices in West Papua, capitalism and global imperialism along with militarism in Papua", he said.

In the name of humanity the KNPB conveys its condolences and condemns any act of violence against civilians committed in the name of Papuan independence.

"In the case of the killing of a non-Papuan in Korowai, if they are a civilian casualty it means that we condemn this inhuman action. Because we do not yet know the clear chronology [of what happened] and whether they were non-organic military or a civilian casualty", said Suhuniap.

On the incident in Korowai, he said, to this day the KNPB does not know what the motive was, who the perpetrators were or whether the victim in Korowai were killed by the TPNPB or another party in the name of the Yahukimo regional TPNPB.

"Because to this day we do not know of an official statement from the Yahukimo [TPNPB] Kodap [defense command area] on the alleged civilian killing", he said.

According to Suhuniap, in the video published on social media related to the Korowai case, there were two flags visible, namely the Morning Star independence flag and a flag made of red cloth which is alleged to be KNPB's organisational flag.

"With regard to that red flag if it really was the KNPB flag then it would mean that we must explicitly ask the party concerned to take responsibility and immediately clarify the red flag", he asserted.

Suhuniap claimed that if it was truly the KNPB's flag the KNPB will be asking what the perpetrators' motive is and why TPNPB Yahukimo commander Bocor Sobolim is showing the KNPB flag.

"Is this part of a plot by a certain party from the perpetrators to paint us into a corner and criminalise the KNPB as a criminal organisation like the Kisor Maybrat case in 2021. Even if the red flag was actually the KNPB's organisational flag, then we ask the perpetrators to immediately make an apology and a clarification. Because we in the KNPB do not use violence in the struggle", he said.

The KNPB, he said, sees the killing of an Indonesian who was allegedly a civilian in Korowai as giving the impression it is a plot to criminalise the KNPB.

"Because in terms of the organisational structure of the KNPB in the Yahukimo region, there is no basis or KNPB sector in the Korowai area. So what is the motive and the aim of the perpetrators in displaying the red flag which is allegedly the KNPB's organisational flag? If it is actually the KNPB's flag, then we ask that the perpetrators take responsibility", he repeated.

KNPB central office has called on all 32 KNPB regional offices and all KNPB members throughout Papua to always struggle peacefully in urban centres in accordance with the KNPB's principles of struggle which are stipulated under the organisation's rules.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "KNPB Menolak Kekerasan dalam Perjuangan Papua Merdeka".]

Source: https://suarapapua.com/2022/07/25/knpb-menolak-kekerasan-dalam-perjuangan-papua-merdeka/

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Apologies for the delay in posting this - JB.

2) Why do the Papuan people reject the creation of three new provinces?

Arah Juang - July 14, 2022

Demonstrations against the creation of three new autonomous regions 
(DOB) have flared up in different parts of Papua: Sorong, Kaimana, 
Yahukimo, Wamena, Nabire, Jayapura and Merauke. The TNI (Indonesian 
military) and the Polri (Indonesian police) have responded by brutally 
repressing the actions with two protesters shot dead in Yahukimo, 
violently blocking rallies in Sorong and Nabire as well as verbally 
abusing and beating protesters and seizing rally materials. Police 
behaved in a similar way in Jayapura.

In Indonesia meanwhile, anti-DOB demonstrations have flared up in Ambon, 
Ternate, Manado, Bali, Kupang, Malang, Yogyakarta and Jakarta, with the 
majority of demonstrations being initiated by Papuan youth.

During a rally in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta, Papuan students 
and other solidarity activist took turns in demanding that the DOBs be 
cancelled, calling for the Special Autonomy (Otsus) Law on Papua to be 
revoked and slamming the Gajah Mada University (UGM) for being the 
intellectual actor behind the policies through its Papua Task Force Team 
which has released several studies supporting Jakarta's creation of DOBs 
in Papua.

The West Papuan people reject the DOBs because, first, the DOBs are 
being created arbitrarily by Jakarta, not in the interests of the West 
Papuan people. The carve up of West Papua represents an agenda the 
central government has had for some time in order to silence demands for 
independence.

A Home Affairs Ministry Directorate General (Ditjen) secret document 
from the National Unity and Social Protection Agency (Kesbang Linmas) 
dated June 2, 2000 and designated Official Memorandum Number 
578/ND/KESBANG/D IV/VI/2000, which were issued based on Papua caretaker 
governor radiogram report Number 190/1671/SET/dated June 3, 2000, reads:

"Regionally planed operational conditioning and development of 
communication networks [will be carried out] in response to the 
political goal of Irian Jaya (now Papua) becoming independent and 
separating itself from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. 
The operation will be implemented in all regencies and municipalities in 
Irian Jaya reaching into remote areas by accelerating the regional 
expansion of Irian Jaya and the formation of new regencies and 
municipalities as needed".

Jakarta's enforced agenda was strongly opposed by the West Papuan people 
but Jakarta responded by assassinating prominent independence leader 
Theys H. Eluay. In November, ten days after Eluay's murder, Jakarta 
unilaterally enacted Law Number 21/2001 on Special Autonomy (Otsus) for 
Papua, This was followed by the imposition of Presidential Instruction 
Number 1/2003 on the Formation of West Papua province. Despite the 
Constitutional Court ruling on November 11, 2004 that the decision to 
create West Papua province was not legally binding, because of Jakarta's 
ambitions the creation of the new province was forced through and stands 
to this day.

Then in the lead up to the Special Autonomy Law expiring there was an 
outbreak of demonstrations throughout Papua condemning the racist 
actions of reactionary groups and the police against Papuan students in 
the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya in 2019. A people's 
movement developed to demand political independence by occupying 
government buildings and flying the Morning Star independence flag. 
Jakarta responded to this by deploying thousands of TNI and Polri troops 
to Papua and suddenly recruiting 61 people dubbed "Papuan figures" as 
puppets to support Jakarta's interests.

On October 30, 2019, Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian claimed that 
the creation of DOBs in Papua was supported by the results of an 
intelligence study. As a result of this study, some 183 proposal for 
regional expansion in Indonesia were ignored and Papua was prioritised. 
This is despite a moratorium on regional expansion as a consequence of 
inadequate state finances.

Second, this is Jakarta's politic of "divide and conquer". Papua 
University anthropologist I Ngurah Suryawan in his book "Broken Souls" 
(Jiwa Yang Patah) noted that the horizontal conflicts in Papua were a 
creation of the Indonesian government through the local political elite, 
who acted as an extension of Jakarta's hands in implementing the 
Indonesian government's policies in the land of Papua.

The brutality of the Indonesian capitalist regime which has killed and 
destroyed Papua's natural environment for more than 60 years has 
resulted in Indonesia loosing it's authority in the eyes of the Papuan 
people. So in the context of forcing Papua to remain part of the 
Republic of Indonesia -- aside from sending insane numbers of military 
troops -- the regime has also tried to split and divide the unity of the 
Papuan people. And based on intelligence analysis, the tool which is 
most effective is regional expansion.

Regional expansion, according to a book by West Papua Baptist Churches 
Reverend Socrates Sofyan Yoman titled "The Disappearance of the 
Melanesians", has divided the Papuan people based on region, tribe and 
clan. The narrative of the highlands verses the lowlands, the civil wars 
in Yalimo, Timika, Nduga, Yahukimo, Maybrat, South Sorong and all of the 
new regencies formed by Indonesia which are taking place at the moment 
are "horizontal conflicts" manufactured by Jakarta.

The regional expansion being forced through by Jakarta is not to improve 
development but to split and divide the unity of the Papuan people. This 
is because Jakarta is aware that if the unity of the Papuan people is 
maintained it threatens them. So, as said by Papuan academic Sendius 
Wonda, one of the ways to do undermine this is by forcing through 
regional expansion so that the Papuan people's unity is destroyed and 
Indonesia can more easily control Papua and steal its natural resources.

Third, regional expansion in Papua does not even meet the government's 
own criteria and will instead threaten humanity and the natural 
environment. The basic conditions for the creation of DOBs is the size 
of the population, financial capacity and the size of the region. Based 
on National Statistics Agency (BPS) data for 2020, the total population 
of the two provinces in Papua is less than 6 million, with 4.3 million 
people in Papua and 1.13 million in West Papua province. Even if 
Jakarta's argument for regional expansion is to bring prosperity to the 
Papuan people, does the problem of poverty only exist in Papua?

BPS data for 2021 shows that there is also extreme poverty in Java. So 
if it is true that regional expansion is the "medicine" to end poverty, 
it is East Java with a population of almost 50 million which should be 
broken up, not Papua!

The forced creation of DOBs in Papua will open the door for migrants 
from outside to occupy Papua. Data shows that indigenous Papuans in 
Papua province have declined from 3 million and in West Papua province 
on 48.7 percent of the population are indigenous Papuans and the 
remainder migrants. The DOBs will widen this gap.

Then there is financial capacity. An October 2020 study by the 
Cenderawasih University (Uncen) on the planned DOBs concluded that none 
of the regions in Papua fulfilled the requirements for regional 
expansion because none of them had a locally generated revenue (PAD) of 
over 50 percent and still relied on transfers from the central 
government. The Uncen study even concluded that existing regencies such 
as Nduga, Mulia, Yahukimo ad the Bintang Highlands should be 
reintegrated back into their original regencies. In West Papua province, 
Maybrat, the Arfak Highlands, Tambrauw and others should also be 
reintegrated because their PADs are only 2 percent.

So regional expansion in Papua only adds to Indonesia's financial burden 
and in the end the country's debt will increase further. The regime is 
keen on creating DOBs in Papua as part of the bourgeoisies' strategy to 
legalise massive investments in Papua to exploit Papua's natural wealth 
on the pretext of "supporting development".

In addition to this, the forced regional expansion in Papua will be 
followed by expansion of the police units and the TNI's 
extra-territorial commands starting from regional military commands 
(Pangdam) and regional police (Polda) down to sub-district military 
commands (Koramil) and sectoral police units (Polsek).

A study by I Made Supriatna found that in Papua 40 people are already 
being monitored by one military officer. Regional expansion equals 
strengthening the grip of militarism over freedom to travel, express an 
opinion or for Papuan people to gather.

Finally, Papua's land area. On the pretext that Papua is three times the 
size of Java island, Papua can be broken up into several DOBs. But who 
is regional expansion for if the population is so small?

Fourth, regional expansion is not a solution to the armed conflict in 
Papua. The Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) concluded that there 
are four basic problems in Papua: the marginalisation of indigenous 
Papuans, the failure of development, state violence and human rights 
violations, along with Papua's political status, which for Papuans has 
still not been finalised.

The marginalisation of indigenous Papuans is clearly a result of the 
massive influx of migrants from outside of Papua. Regional expansion 
will worsen this.

On the problem of violence and human rights violations, between December 
19, 1961 and 2000 there have been 15 consecutive military operations 
launched in Papua. According to author and journalist Gemima Harvey, 
some 500,000 Papuans have been killed during these operations.

Military operations are still continuing in Nduga, Intan Jaya, Lani 
Jaya, Oksibil, Yahukimo and Maybrat, and in almost all parts of Papua 
violence occurs every day. The latest report by Amnesty International 
revealed that between 2018 and 2021 some 95 civilians were victim of 
violence committed by the TNI or police. This does not yet include those 
which have fallen victims since 2000. The principle perpetrators of this 
violence are the TNI and police. So the regime should be withdrawing 
these personnel, not creating DOBs which will only increase the number 
of troops.

On the issue of Papua's political status, the struggle over Papua 
between Indonesia and the Netherlands in the 1950-60s is the root of the 
Papua conflict which continues to be challenged and fought for by the 
West Papuan people.

Through Indonesian diplomacy mediated by the imperialist United States 
-- which had ambitions to control the huge gold deposits in West Papua 
-- on August 15, 1962 the New York Agreement was signed in New York. 
This treaty, which did not involve a single West Papua representative, 
led to the 1969 UN sponsored referendum known as the "Act of Free 
Choice" in which 1,025 handpicked tribal leaders were coerced into 
voting for integration with Indonesia.

This is the basis for the West Papuan people's call for a referendum to 
determine their future.

[Translated by James Balowski. This is an abridged version of a longer 
article by Arah Juang titled "Mengapa Rakyat Papua Menolak DOB?".]

Source: 
https://www.arahjuang.com/2022/07/14/mengapa-rakyat-papua-menolak-dob/

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INDOLEFT News service

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