A West Papuan pro-independence leader has accused Indonesia of new human rights atrocities this week while the republic has apparently elected a new president with a past record of violations in Timor-Leste and West Papua.
Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto has declared victory in the presidential election on Wednesday after unofficial vote counts showed him with a significant lead over his rivals, reports Al Jazeera.
The 72-year-old former Kopassus special forces commander, who had run unsuccessfully for president twice before, was given a dishonourable discharge in 1998 after claims that his force kidnapped and tortured political opponents of Soeharto as his regime crumbled.
- READ MORE: Prabowo Subianto claims victory in Indonesian presidential election
- Other West Papua reports
He has also been accused of human rights abuses in East Timor, which won independence from Indonesia amid the collapse of the Soeharto regime, and also in West West Papua.
On the day that Indonesia went to the polls — Valentine’s Day, February 14 — Benny Wenda, president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), accused Jakarta’s military of continuing its “reign of terror” in rural West Papua.
“The latest tragedy they have inflicted on my people occurred in the Puncak regency,” Wenda said in a statement.
“Military raids on the February 3 and 4devastated a number of highland villages.
‘Villagers tortured, houses burnt’
“Numerous houses were burnt to the ground, villagers were tortured, and at least one Papuan died from his wounds — though Indonesian control of information makes it difficult to know whether others were also killed.”
Wenda said that “as always”, the military had claimed the victims were TPNPB resistance fighters — “a grotesque lie, immediately denied by the villagers and their relatives”.
Wenda also accused Indonesia of “hypocrisy” over Israel’s war on Gaza.
“We have complete sympathy with [Palestinians over their suffering] in what is happening in Gaza,” he said.
“But Indonesian hypocrisy on Palestine cannot be ignored. They are bringing a legal case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) about Israel’s occupation of Palestine while intensifying their own brutal and bloody military occupation of West Papua.
“They are supporting South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ while conducting their own genocide in West Papua.
Denying West Papuan rights
“They are crying about Palestinians’ right to self-determination while continuing to deny West Papuans that same right.”
More than 500,000 West Papuans have been killed since the occupation began in 1963, says the ULMWP.
In the past six years, more than 100,000 Papuans were estimated to have been displaced, made refugees in their own land as a result of Indonesian military operations.
“Genocide, ecocide, and ethnic cleansing — West Papuans are victims of all three. The world must pay attention to our plight.”
There were no reports of reaction from the Jakarta authorities.
After giving birth at the Yowari Hospital in Jayapura, Papua, Cremilda Kwanimba grappled with physical discomfort. This gave way to joy when she was handed the birth certificate of her newborn son, Gregorius.
“I felt a tremendous sense of relief,” she says while wiping happy tears. "I gave birth at five o’clock this morning, and just five hours later, I had my child's birth certificate in hand, and there were no associated costs whatsoever."
The couple is not alone in this predicament. According to the 2022 National Socio-Economic Survey (SUSENAS) data, the coverage of birth certificates in Papua Province for children under 18 years is 86 per cent, and for those aged between zero and four years, it plummets to 50.26 per cent. These coverage rates are significantly lower when compared to the national averages of 92 percent and 81 percent, respectively.
According to UNICEF's 2019 bottleneck analysis on birth registration, the primary obstacles in Papua include cultural and social challenges, geographical barriers – where the birth certificate is free, but travel costs are expensive – and a lack of awareness about the importance of birth registration and the registration process.
In response to these challenges, UNICEF and partners in partnership with the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas) and the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Strengthening the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) programme in Papua since 2021. The initiative aims to support the national government’s target of attaining 100 per cent coverage by 2024, in alignment with the Presidential Decree 62 of 2019 on the National Strategy for Accelerating Population Administration for Vital Statistics Development and the national target established in the National Medium-Term Development Plan 2020-2024.
The CRVS programme assists provincial and district governments in Papua and targeted districts to execute the CRVS National Strategy. It supports relevant stakeholders and governments to craft innovative civil registration models that are tailored to the Papuan context, using information technology. The programme also improves knowledge and awareness about civil registration and vital statistics among community members and in public places such as early childhood centers and hospitals.
In March 2022, Yowari Hospital, where Cremilda gave birth, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Civil Registry Office in Jayapura District to ensure the processing of birth certificates for every child born at the hospital. As a result, the hospital has set up the Sistem Terintegrasi Pelayanan Adminduk dengan Rumah Sakit (SITANDUK RUSA) platform, an online system that seamlessly integrates population administration services with hospital records.
Since the signing of the MoU, the District Civil Registration Agency Office has issued 122 birth certificates (up to October 24, 2023) for newborns at the hospital.
"Learning from the past, we have now implemented a policy to ensure that the entire birth certificate process is completed within one day," says Herald. "We have also established dedicated counters for the elderly, pregnant women and individuals with disabilities to access our services. We also go the extra mile by reaching out to remote villages to ensure that every child obtains their rightful birth certificate."
Since the new civil registration measures and policies have been implemented in Jayapura District, there has been a notable increase in birth registration coverage. The percentage surged from 85.27 per cent in 2021 to 96.19 per cent in 2022, as reported by the Population Administration Information System (SIAK).
Jayapura, Jubi – The Puncak Jaya Police are currently handling a case of clashes between supporters of legislative candidates in several districts. As a result of the event, at least 62 individuals have been reported injured and are undergoing medical treatment at the Mulia Regional General Hospital.
Confirming the incident, Puncak Jaya Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Kuswara conveyed in a WhatsApp message on Thursday (15/2/2024) that several districts involved in the mutual attacks include Wonwi, Dokome, Yaimo, Pagaleme, Mulia, Yambi, Irimuli, Muara, and Illu.
“The clash occurred in Wonwi District on Wednesday at 10 a.m. Papua time,” he said.
According to Kuswara, the clashes stemmed from a dispute over votes to be given to the legislative candidates they supported. He mentioned that during the clashes, it was observed that the masses used arrows, machetes, knives, and slingshots.
Kuswara emphasized that his party had managed to intervene in the fighting and ensure that the polling situation proceeded safely and smoothly. He added that there were no injuries to security forces or any fatalities during the incident. (*)
Indonesia's foreign policy is expected to remain largely unchanged once Prabowo Subianto takes the reins later this year, meaning business as usual for the country's relationship with Australia.
But experts warn the presumptive new president's personality and questionable past could cause some headaches for Canberra.
Mr Subianto claimed victory on Wednesday after a preliminary "quick count" showed he had garnered about 58 per cent of the vote in the national election.
During the campaign, the 72-year-old had positioned himself as the natural successor to Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, promising to continue with the popular leader's policies.
He even took on Mr Widodo's son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his vice-presidential running mate.
His campaign worked hard to win the youth vote, with a focus on social media, and to rebrand him as a "cuddly grandpa". He demonstrated his signature dance at every opportunity.
However, the former general has a chequered human rights record that for a time saw him barred from entering Australia and could in the future become a sore point in the diplomatic relationship.
Promising continuity
Justin Hastings, a professor of International Relations and Comparative Politics at the University of Sydney, said Mr Subianto's inclusion of substantial elements of the Jokowi administration into his team showed he was "at least promising continuity".
"Given that he's also currently the defence minister, what Indonesia is doing in the defence space is likely what it would continue doing once Prabowo becomes president," he said.
"What that means for Australia is that we see a president who is generally going to follow the contours of existing Indonesian foreign policy, especially non-alignment.
"He's going to be very specifically a pro-Indonesia president — which is not to say he's necessarily pro- or anti-US, Australia or China — but I think we'll see a continuation of what we saw before, of generally good relationships [with all three]."
He said the prospects of Australia and Indonesia achieving an upgraded defence agreement were positive under Mr Subianto, who had also been "less overtly critical of AUKUS" than some other South-East Asian leaders.
"And we certainly have a president who I think has in the past expressed some admiration for China's system, but he's certainly not pro-China in the sense that he's going to make concessions to China," he said.
"While Prabowo has been defence minister, we've seen Indonesia moving to pretty rapidly beef up its defence posture in the Natuna Islands, partially because they're worried that China will make a claim on them."
'Erratic and emotive tendencies'
Vedi Hadiz, director of the University of Melbourne's Asia Institute, said Mr Subianto was "an extremely erratic personality and extremely unpredictable" while also being sensitive to personal criticism.
Professor Hadiz cited as an example Mr Subianto becoming visibly upset during the first presidential debate when he was questioned about his ethics by fellow candidate Anies Baswedan.
"Subsequently at a campaign event he used a Javanese pejorative expression to show disdain for such questions," he said.
"That caused a stir because it was seen as disrespectful towards an opponent and raised questions about his emotive nature."
Professor Hadiz said these "erratic and emotive tendencies" could exacerbate any issues that cropped up in the Australia-Indonesia relationship.
"By definition, it means that he's going to be a bit difficult to handle," he said.
While serving as a military general, Mr Subianto faced allegations (which he has repeatedly rejected) of human rights violations in East Timor.
He has also been dogged by suspicions about the disappearance of 22 activists while he was commander of the special forces under president Suharto in the 1990s.
As recently as 2019, after losing the last election to Mr Widodo, he urged his supporters out onto the streets with six people killed in the subsequent riots.
Professor Hadiz said Mr Subianto would likely react badly to criticism from the Australian public over his "poor human rights record".
Even more worrying was the potential fallout of any new infringements on human rights by Mr Subianto's government.
"Because, I don't think he has much regard for human rights and the Australian government will be under pressure from the public to say something about that," he said.
"You also have to keep in mind that under Jokowi in the last few years there has already been a tightening of the space in the Human Rights area through the passage of several laws, and it is likely that that trend will be taken advantage of by Prabowo, if not pushed further."
Professor Hadiz advised Australia's diplomats to use flattery on Mr Subianto.
"He's very vain," he said.
"So propping him up, boosting his ego will probably work wonders with him."
Not the 'easiest' diplomatically
Nathan Franklin, a lecturer in Indonesian Studies at Charles Darwin University, said Mr Subianto was smart, pragmatic, ultra-nationalist and pro-business.
"Prabowo will definitely be someone that will, on certain issues, be tricky to deal with," he said.
"You know, he's playing a bit of a double game with China.
"He's still very anti-communist — the Communist Party in Indonesia is still banned — but he knows that Chinese money is important."
And he said the "human rights element" would be an ongoing issue Australia would have to deal with.
"Diplomatically, politically, it will probably keep raising its head," he said.
Dr Franklin said Mr Subianto would continue to face heat over his past human rights record, despite his denials.
"He has obviously had training or been advised to just say: 'This has been investigated, and I wasn't involved' or 'my involvement was not to the extent that people are saying'," he said.
Looking ahead, he expected Mr Subianto to crack down on some elements of freedom, including the media, the independence of the corruption eradication commission and the judiciary, and stymie any expansion of rights for LGBTQ+ people and minority groups.
"He understands the importance of the major Islamic groups, and keeping them happy," he said.
"And the nationalistic rhetoric will come out."
Dr Franklin said there were also questions about how Timor Leste would react to Mr Subianto's presidency, and how he would deal with the independence movement in Papua.
"He's not bad for Australia but it would have been easier diplomatically if one of the other candidates was elected," he said.
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