Category: Opinion

West Papua’s Rise and Defy

by Alex Rayfield

West Papua Rising – Analysis

The raising of the banned Morning Star flag across West Papua on December 1 made two things abundantly clear: political defiance in West Papua is growing and the Indonesian Government is losing control.

Despite Papuans fearing they would be shot if they raised the flag, the Morning Star was raised in Jayapura, Sentani, Manokwari, Sorong, Merauke, Timika, Puncak Jaya, Paniai, Genyem, Wamena and inside Indonesia in Yogyakarta and Jakarta.

The Indonesian government may have banned the Morning Star, stepping back from a constitutional commitment to free speech, but when tens of thousands of people display the flag and it is raised across the country, and when people sing the banned national anthem, “Hai Tanahku Papua” in open defiance of the police, that law is effectively ripped up. What good is law77/2007 outlawing the flag and national anthem if people don’t obey it?

In many places police were powerless to do anything. Video footage shows Indonesian police driving as crowds of protesters wave the Morning Star flag and shout freedom.

Members of the West Papua National Committee, Papuan Peace Network and Congress members marched together holding banners like “STOP COMMITTING HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATION IN PAPUA”, “INDEPENDENCE YES, NKRI NO” (NKRI stands for the Unitary Republic of Indonesia) and “FEDERAL REPUBLIC WEST PAPUA”.

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At many of the demonstrations, the Declaration of Independence was read again in defiance of police and military who looked on. This is the same statement that precipitated fatal shooting by police and military last month when it was read out at the Congress.

A senior foreign correspondent based in Jakarta told me that prior to December 1st police in West Papua were briefed during a phone hook-up not to respond with violence. Not because they love Papuans. Not because they suddenly become supporters of democracy. Not because they decided to serve and protect instead of beat people to a bloody pulp; but because virtually everyone in West Papua has a cell phone.

As one of the key organisers for West Papua Media operating inside West Papua remarked, “the media network across Papua is like a spider web. Now when there is an incident we can quickly get reports across the country and out to the world.”

“The mainstream media in Papua is owned by Indonesians. They publish things that terrify the Papuan community” the same source said. “So our most powerful weapon has become our independent media network.”

It is that media network that has helped turned the Congress and December 1st into a watershed moment.

The killing of nonviolent Papuan protesters at the Congress last month – relayed by phone, facebook, you-tube and mailing lists – has outraged Papuans, leading more to support independence. It has divided political elites inside Indonesia, attracted more third party support for the West Papuan cause, and revealed the ugly face of Indonesian colonial rule in West Papua.

It has widened the circle of dissent and tipped the political scale in the Papuans favour.

In Sorong, for example, even Papuan government civil servants and the retired military members joined the protest, prompting one local organiser to remark that “this really different from previously which always attended by the community.”

The Indonesian government may still have a ban on foreign media in West Papua but when people can send SMS news reports in seconds and photos and film in a matter of hours, a ban on media is also meaningless.

The Papuan people have become the media.

But communication tools don’t make a revolution. They are simply that, tools; necessary to get around the ban on journalists, but not sufficient by themselves to bring about change. That will require old fashioned community organising, urging even larger numbers of people and other sectors of society – inside Papua, Indonesia and internationally – to become involved, and raising the political and economic costs of the occupation.

Technically, of course, the Indonesian government is still in control. Jakarta still makes the political decisions and the police and security forces have the capability and personnel to crush any rebellion – armed or nonviolent. But they have lost moral authority. Papuans are no longer willing to go along with the status quo. The mood is angry, defiant, uncooperative and militantly peaceful.

Senior tribal elders and young people who were shot at last month have decided not to give in to fear. Instead, they went back out onto the streets. They raised the flag. They re-read the declaration of independence. And a big contributor to this courage has been the leadership of the Congress leaders in prison. Forkorus Yaboisembut, the 72year old President of the Federal Republic of West Papua encouraged everyone to celebrate December 1st in whatever way they could, and to do so with determined nonviolent discipline.

However, there was still violence. In Timika the Indonesian military opened fire on unarmed crowds when Papuans raised the Morning Star flag. Four people were wounded (two men and two women). Two of the victims are in critical condition in hospital. In another part of the country a Papuan shot an Indonesian policeman with a bow and arrow. In Puncak Jaya and Paniai in the remote highlands Goliat Tabuni and Jhon Yogi, the two Papuan Liberation Army commanders from those areas, engaged the Indonesian military and police in fire fights, killing two members of the Indonesian Paramilitary Police (Brimob) in Puncak Jaya and sabotaging bridges and burning government posts in Paniai. The overwhelming response by the Papuans, however, was mass unarmed political defiance.

Papuan frustration at the lack of change is as intense as it has ever been. At the same time the Indonesian government’s options are narrowing. For years the Indonesian government could ignore problems in West Papua. It was not worth expending political capital on. But West Papua is quickly becoming Indonesia’s Achilles heel.

Congress and December 1st has created a dilemma for the Indonesian Government. Essentially they have two choices: more repression or political dialogue. More repression will only increase support for independence and further erode Indonesia’s standing. If the government does nothing or does not come up with a credible plan for political dialogue they can expect support for independence to grow. The Indonesian government recently announced they would fast track economic development in West Papua. But this won’t cut it. The Papuans are asking for political freedoms, not more money.

Papuans I spoke to want to be genuine participants in a political process, not objects of policy, and they have lost faith with their own political class who are increasingly viewed as corrupt and unwilling to stand up to Jakarta.

They are disgusted that police who shot dead unarmed Papuans and beat 72 year old tribal elders get a written warning and nothing happens to the soldiers who killed people.

Now as Papuans return to their homes after December 1st many fear that the Indonesian police and military will return to the practice of targeted repression and that organisers and participants will be hunted down, one by one, community by community.

West Papua may not yet be free, but for many Papuans, Indonesia lost their loyalty a long time ago. Now it seems the government is losing their obedience as well.

Alex Rayfield is an independent freelance journalist writing with West Papua Media.

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Dr Neles Tebay statement on West Papua to the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights

Statement to the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights

 

‘Public Hearing on Human rights situation in South East Asia with special focus on West Papua’

 

29 November 2011

By Dr Neles Tebay

Coordinator of the Papua Peace Network and Rector of the ‘Fajar Timur’ Catholic School of Philosophy and Theology, Jayapura

First of all, I would like to apologize for not being able to be with you and among you in this important meeting. I have taken the decision to not coming to Brussels, because the tension in West Papua now is running high. The Papuans are preparing themselves to celebrate 1st of december. More Indonesian security forces are being deployed in West Papua. Many people here are worried and restless. Therefore, I have decided to stay among and with People here in this time of crisis.

I would like to thank you for allowing me to share my observation and opinion about the relationship between Indonesia and West Papua.

The relationship between Jakarta-based government and the Papuans has been and is still being characterized by mutual suspicion and mistrust.

West Papua under Indonesian rule has become a land of violent conflicts.

The conflict derives from different interpretation of the integration of West Papua into the Republic of Indonesia.

Indonesia considers that West Papua is an integral part of its territory. West Papua, then, shpould always be maintained as Indonesia’s territory.

Therefore Papuan resistance is considered as a threat to the Indonesia’s territorial integrity.

The eradication of separatist movement in West Papua has been reason to justify all forms of state violence against the Papuans and human rights abuses committed againat the Indigenous Papuans.

I thinki, more human rights violations will likely continue to happen in the future because thousands of additional troops have been deployed in West Papua and the root cause of the Papua conflict has not been addressed yet .

Menwahile many indigenous Papuans see their ancestral land of West Papua is occupied by Indonesian military. They feel that they have been and are still being colonized by Indonesia.

Therefore they have been raising their resistance against a colonial power on their ancestral land. Their resistance has been manifested through violent and non-violent menas. I see that the Papuans will continue raising their resistance against Indonesian rule by any means.

I think, it is now the time for the central government and the Indigenous Papuans to think about policies to end the human rights violations.

I do believe that more human rights violations are likely to occur in West Papua unless the root causes of Papuan separatism are resolved.

So it is important for the both parties to engage in a constructive dialogue to identify these root causes of separatism and settle them without unnecessary bloodshed.

The good news is that the Indonesian government under the leadership of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Indigenous Papuans have expressed publicly their willingness to engage in dialogue to seek peaceful solutions to the Papua conflict.

President Yudhoyono is commited to settle the Papua conflict through dialogue. He has publicly announced the government’commitment to engage in dialogue with the Papuans to seek better solutions and options to setle the grievances in West Papua.

So, If I may suggest, I would like to ask the European Union, including the European Parliament and the European Commission, to support the Indonesian government’s initiative for an open dialogue with the Papuans to settle peacefully the Papua conflict. The European Union can offer any necessary assistance in order to support the government of Indonesia so that the Papua conflcit can be settled through an open dialogue with the the Indigensous Papuans.

Thank you so much for your understanding and attention.

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Cry for Freedom from the Heart of West Papua

by Kim Peart

Opinion


Thousands of West Papuans march through Jayapura, defying the Indonesian police and military, risking death to call for the freedom, as the Asia-Pacific leaders meet in Bali. (Still image from KNPB video)

When young Australians drape themselves in the Southern Cross flag, they do not risk being shot by the Police or military for doing so, or being sent to jail for up to 20 years.

Once men did die under the stars of the first Southern Cross flag, at Eureka on the 3rd of December 1854, when they dared stand up against oppression and fight for what they believed in. They also gave us the legend of the diggers, which has become adopted by Australian soldiers since those dark days on the Gallipoli killing fields.

Since the Morning Star flag first flew in West Papua on the 1st of December 1961, when 1970 was set as the year for independence, it has been a poignant symbol of West Papuan freedom.

When Indonesia became the new colonial power in western New Guinea in 1963, they destroyed all symbols of West Papuan independence, including all Morning Star flags and began a brutal campaign of suppression aimed at absorbing half of Melanesian New Guinea into Asian Indonesia.

Many times over the years West Papuans have been shot on sight or sent to jail for up to 20 years, for daring to raise the West Papuan flag and call for freedom.

A West Papuan congress, marking the 50th anniversary since the first held under Dutch rule in October 1961, was brutally broken up by police and military with guns, water cannon, whips and boots, when the West Papuans dared to claim that they had a right to self-determination and freedom from Indonesia’s long oppressive rule of their ancient island home. Seven West Papuans were killed, hundreds arrested and many were tortured.

On the 17th of November thousands of West Papuans marched through the streets of Jayapura, calling for freedom, as the leader of the free world, President Barrack Obama met with Asia-Pacific leaders in Bali. Many had the Morning Star flag painted on their bodies, clearly challenging the Indonesian police and military to shoot them, risking their lives to stand in their flag of freedom. [1]

As the 50th anniversary of the raising of the West Papuan flag fast approaches on the 1st of December, we can only hope that further atrocities will be avoided, as West Papuan courage in the face of Indonesian tyranny is strong and their desire for freedom is very great.

The whole West Papuan question could have been settled in 1969, when the United Nations was supposed to help Indonesia run a vote on self-determination. If a true plebiscite had been held, it is quite clear that the West Papuan people would have voted for freedom, just as happened in East Timor when they had the chance to vote in 1999.

Instead of a free and fair vote on self-determination, Indonesia was allowed to run the whole show, selecting 1025 men to be lectured under the shadow of guns, before stepping over a line drawn in the dirt. Is that a vote?

In his recent speech to the Australian parliament, President Obama was very strong on human rights and freedom, declaring, “History is on the side of the free.” and “Prosperity without freedom is just another form of poverty.”

President Obama pointed out how Australia was the first nation to give women the vote and so it should be quite confrontational to all Australian women, all East Timorese women, all women of the World, that not one woman was allow to vote in West Papua in 1969 in “The Act of Free Choice”, more often referred to as the Act of “No” Choice, or the Act “Free” of Choice.

The United Staes member of Congress, Eni Faleomavaera, writing with Donald Payne in an article published in The Jakarta Post on 18 November, called for the 1969 referendum on independence to be re-examined.

“In his statement before the UN against apartheid, Nelson Mandela said, “It will forever remain an accusation and challenge to all men and women of conscience that it took so long as it has before all of us stood up to say enough is enough.” The same can be said of West Papua. In 1990, Nelson Mandela also reminded the UN that when “it first discussed the South African question in 1946, it was discussing the issue of racism.” On the issue of West Papua, we believe we are discussing the same.” [2]

Why did Australia so willingly go along with the colonial hand-over of half of Papuan New Guinea to Indonesia in 1962? Was it because we were still living under the White Australia policy and hadn’t yet given all Australian Aborigines citizenship and the right to vote?

Are we grown-up and mature enough now to look at the West Papuan issue and see that an injustice has been allowed of the most monstrous proportions? Will we wake up and do what is right, follow the lead of United States congress members and call on the United Nations to explain why the West Papuan people should not be permitted the vote that they were cheated of in 1969?

Our silence on this issue may only mean the continuing echo of bullets in West Papua, as Indonesia continues to beat all thoughts of freedom from the West Papuan heart and kill many more while doing so.

It was another United States president, Woodrow Wilson, who said in 1918, “No right anywhere exist to hand people about from sovereignty to sovereignty as if they were property in a game.”

The West Papuan people were handed from Dutch to Indonesian colonial rule as if they were property, as if they were slaves. Will the World continue to tolerate this absolute betrayal of human rights, or finally decide that the West Papuan people are deserving of liberty?

In 1962 the Indonesian Government signed an agreement in New York, which stated:

“The eligibility of all adults, male and female, not foreign nationals to participate in the act of self-determination to be carried out in accordance with international practice,”

This did not happen. The West Papuan people were cheated of their right to self-determination in what was no more than a fraudulently manipulated sham vote to steal half of New Guinea from the rightful owner.

It is an odd coincidence that the first Southern Cross flag was also raised for the first time on the 1st of December 1854. It was perhaps this unusual convergence of dates that drew a West Papuan, John Rumbiak, to Eureka in December last year to participate in the dawn vigil beneath the Southern Cross.

Has the moment now arrived when Australian’s will find the heart and courage to stand up and call on all our politicians to act on West Papua and join an international movement to bring justice and a free choose to the people of West Papua?

Many Australians once worked along-side the Dutch preparing West Papuans for independence and many still live who remember those days. We helped to built the expectations of the West Papuan people sky high for freedom and then walked away like it never mattered.

If we now decide that it is high time to do what is right and allow a fair go for the people of West Papua, then we may begin to see the way toward our own full independence as a nation, with a new Southern Cross flag to fly in our skies and even consider the anniversary of the raising of that first Southern Cross flag as a more appropriate national day for Australia.

[1]  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-17/west-papuans-demand-referendum/3676732

[2]  http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/11/18/to-indonesia-step-and-end-systematic-abuses-west-papua.html

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West Papua: How to lose a country

November 23, 2011

by Jason Macleod

with This Blog Harms at Crikey

When Julia Gillard meet Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono in Bali on the weekend West Papua barely got a mention. Although the text messages inside West Papua went into overdrive with the rumour that the reason Australia and the United States were stationing 2,500 U.S Marines in Darwin was to prepare for military intervention in West Papua.

I told my friends in West Papua it wasn’t true.

But then I got thinking. Actually Australia is doing a lot to help Indonesia loosen their grip on the troubled territory. Not by design of course. But the effect is much the same as if the Government suddenly adopted a radical pro-independence policy.

Confused? Let me explain.

Last month the Indonesian police and military fired live rounds into an unarmed crowd of civilians in West Papua, killing five. The Army and Police then tried to make out that it wasn’t them, that what had taken place was a coup by the Papuan Liberation Army; that it was the Papuans who were doing the shooting. Yudhuyono tried to sell Obama and Gillard a version of that story in Bali on the weekend. That might have washed twenty years ago but in this age of social media and smart phones it is much more difficult to hide the evidence.

Since the killing of five Papuans on October 19, the wounding of scores more and the arrest of six Papuan leaders, international media coverage of West Papua has spiked and Indonesia’s international standing has taken a beating. The Army, Police and President’s denials and attempts at cover-up have not helped the government’s reputation.

The killings have also generated outrage and division within Indonesia. And October 19 was not an isolated incident. A series of shocking acts of torture of Papuans by the Indonesian military have been captured on video and recently released. And when I speak of outrage I am not talking about protests from human rights groups. National legislators from a range of Indonesian political parties have begun to publicly criticise the Indonesian military, police and even the President over the government’s policy, or lack of it, in West Papua. Even the cautious Indonesian Bishop’s Conference urged Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono to hold a third party mediated dialogue without delay.

Indonesian critics recognise that the political crisis in West Papua is spiralling out of control and that the central government and the security forces are making things worse. Indonesian journalist Bramantyo Prijosusilo writing in the Jakarta Globe went as far as saying that the “powerful forces bent on forcing Papuans to separate from Indonesia are none other than the central government, especially its military and police force.”

He has a point. West Papua teeters on the brink of open rebellion. After the shooting on October 19 one student previously uninvolved with politics told me “if the police and military thought they could shoot us dead like animals and we would somehow stop pressing for freedom, they are wrong. We don’t care about the military; we don’t care about the police. We are not afraid anymore.” Days later he was on the streets along with 3,000 other Papuans calling for a referendum.

This is not just about political insurrection. The economy is on the brink as well.

Consider the massive Freeport/Rio Tinto gold and copper mine. Eight thousand mine workers there have been on strike since July. Freeport’s pipeline has been cut in more than 20 places, the company has been unable to deliver on its contracts, the local government in Mimika which depends on revenue from the mine to supply services is cash strapped, and Freeport itself is losing billions.

That could mean Australian jobs are affected. Over 800 Australian companies supply the mine through Cairns and Darwin. The Australian owned company International Purveying Incorporated sends everything from Toyota’s, heavy mining equipment, and frozen beef dinners to Freeport every few days.

How long shareholders and investors will put up with heavy loses and adverse economic risk is any ones guess. But it won’t be forever. And it is not just Freeport / Rio Tinto that is in the firing line. BP, Clive Palmer’s nickel businesses in Raja Ampat, and logging interests are all the target of a torrent of anger from landowners. CEOs like Palmer and Freeport’s Bob Moffet may not ask the Indonesian government to negotiate with Papuans demanding political freedoms but sooner or later shareholders and investors will demand just that.

So how is the Australian government responding to these shifting power dynamics? Well that is the problem. They are not. The government’s position is the same as it has always been: continued support for the Indonesian military / police unhinged from any tangible improvements in human rights such as guarantees of free speech, release of political prisoners or moves towards supporting political dialogue.

No matter what side of the political fence you sit this is not smart policy.

For years Papuans have been telling our leaders that Special Autonomy had failed, that the Freeport mine was a source of conflict, and that the military and police were killing them. Just in case we were not paying attention they described the situation as “slow motion genocide”.

So for those realists out there who think an independent West Papua would be a mistake, here’s some free policy advice: stop funding the armed group splitting Indonesia apart.

Giving a blank cheque to the Indonesian military while there is continued suppression of political freedoms in West Papua is the surest way for Australia to help Indonesia lose a country.

It seems the Australian government might be eager to usher in freedom in West Papua after all.

 

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How the National Government Is Encouraging Papua to Break Away

Exceptionally powerful article appearing the Jakarta Globe: a must read for all Indonesians who are concerned for Papua, either for or against.
Bramantyo Prijosusilo | November 22, 2011

Transparency and accountability are universally accepted as the cornerstones of good governance. With neither present in Papua, we can be sure that the natural riches of the region will never come to benefit local communities, but will rather bring about the so-called “resource curse” in the form of economic, cultural, social and political strife and ecological disaster.

The massive destruction caused by Freeport-McMoRan, the American mining conglomerate, can now be witnessed by anyone with an Internet connection thanks to Google Earth. The continuous stream of stories of torture and murder that leak out of the region is proof that people are unhappy and that the national government is acting less than honorably there.

What the central government claims about goings-on in Papua cannot be trusted because its claims can be disproved immediately. Since the act of free choice in 1969 (called “the act of no choice” by Papuans resisting Indonesia’s “occupation”), the western half of Guinea island has been covered by a “batik curtain.” Foreign independent journalists are banned from working there freely, as are international NGOs.

However, with the advance of information technologies and the fact that more and more Papuans are receiving modern education, the contemptuous treatment of indigenous people at the hands of the nation’s police and military is becoming more and more difficult to conceal. Gleaning information on Papua from the Internet it becomes obvious that there are powerful forces at play in Papua that are bent on reaching the point of no return — where either all Papuans must be exterminated, or a second and more honest “act of free choice” is conducted, for the world to witness the true aspirations of the people of Papua in terms of their relationship with the Indonesian state.

The powerful forces bent on forcing Papuans to separate from Indonesia are none other than the central government, especially its military and police force.

Since the brutal murder of Papuan leader Theys Eluay a little over 10 years ago, the world has seen how Indonesia has yet to reform its approach to the issue of Papuan independence. As we near Dec. 1 — the date that Papuans consider to be their independence day — the world is fearfully expecting to witness more state violence against Papuans peacefully expressing their aspirations. Indeed, in the past few months we have witnessed attacks on journalists and peaceful protestors, including the still unclear circumstances surrounding the latest fatal shooting of eight gold prospecting civilians in the Paniai district.

On the issue of the Freeport workers on strike demanding better pay, the world witnesses how the central government’s actions toward the Freeport strikers differs from the government of Peru’s reaction toward the same sort of strike at a Freeport mine there. While the government of Peru visibly takes the role of a mediator that holds the interests of its own people foremost, Indonesia appears to unashamedly play the role of Freeport’s guard dog, and without hesitating to release live ammunition on its own people.

The recent armed police and military raids of Papuan students’ dormitories in Java and Bali are an indication of what is likely to come on Dec. 1. The recent Papuan voices that have leaked out thanks to the Internet indicate that there are plans for at least a “Morning Star” flag rising in Papua on that date. Although the government has cracked down hard on similar events in the past, it is unthinkable to imagine that the people of Papua have been cowed into submission by these repressions. Just as Indonesian youth defied the Dutch colonialists in the early 20th century and continued to raise the “Red and White,” so will the youths of Papua. After all, most Papuan youth leaders were educated in Indonesia, so they fully understand that perseverance pays and aspirations for independence cannot be stifled by force. Yhe more Indonesia uses force to keep its hold on Papua, the stronger its independence movement will become.

Papuan activists can also see how Islamists in Indonesia can actively work to destroy the country not only with impunity, but also with the tacit support of the state and members of the government. The Islamist party, Hizbut Tahrir, for example, openly agitates for the fall of the republic to build a global Islamic caliphate in its place, but the authorities tend to aid and support it rather than take action to hinder its activities. Islamists in the country openly work for the resurrection of the age of the Islamic caliphs, or at least work toward their version of Shariah being enshrined as state law, but even though these activities are in blatant contempt of our constitution, the government has never done so much as lift a little finger in defense of the republic and its principles in the face of these orchestrated attacks.

Therefore it is natural that activists from Papua feel that they are being continuously discriminated against, for they receive the harshest treatment for the simple activity of raising a flag.

So who is it that is working hardest to compel Papua break away? Are the people of Papua to blame for objecting to having their sacred lands ripped apart by corporations making profits for shareholders far away? Are they to blame if they do not trust Indonesia’s capacity or intent to develop the country along the lines of the constitution?

If Indonesia wants to keep Papua as part of the family, it needs to clean up its act, especially in curbing Islamist treason and protecting minorities. It also needs to open up Papua to the world and come clean and apologize for the wrongs it has inflicted on the people there. As Dec. 1 approaches, we can expect that the national government will try to further alienate Papuans to a point where the only way forward will be through a sea of blood.

Bramantyo Prijosusilo is a writer, artist and broadcast journalist in East Java.


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