Addressing Papua's problems

Addressing Papua's problems

A former Indonesian minister, who during his career in the
government was deeply involved in handling rebellious provinces,
has reportedly told President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that Papua
will become the next major headache for Indonesia if the
government fails to take a lesson from the decision of the
majority of people in the predominantly Catholic territory of
East Timor to separate from Indonesia in a referendum in 1999.

Citing several reasons, including religion and Papua's vast
natural resources, the former official hinted that the
predominantly Christian Papua will get more support from
Western countries, compared to the predominantly Muslim -- and
also rebellious -- Aceh province.

"Do not ever underestimate the Papua problem. If we continue
repeating what we did in East Timor, it is not impossible
that we will encounter the same problem again," was more or less
what the highly-respected former official had to say about Papua.

It is clear, however, that the international community has
given strong support to alleviating the suffering of the people
of Aceh from the effects of the decades-long military operation
and the tsunami that devastated the province last December. And
now with international support, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and
the government are very close to reaching a peace agreement. We
hope that peace will eventually prevail in the province.

In Papua, although the majority of the population is
Christian, the issue is not just about religion. Some Papuans say
the danger of extinction of ethnic Papuans -- caused by diseases
like AIDS and uncontrolled migration from other islands -- is
more alarming than the religion issue.

What mistakes did Indonesia commit in East Timor? The most
important thing was rampant gross human rights abuses and
disrespect for human dignity, including the people's culture and
basic rights as human beings. Indonesia insisted it deserved
respect from the East Timorese, taking the view that it had
liberated the tiny territory from colonialism and spent money on
development there. What it received from the East Timorese, however,
was fear and hatred because they saw Indonesia acting as a
colonial power, and one that was cruel at that.

We can say that Papua and East Timor are different issues as
from the very beginning of Indonesia's independence in 1945,
Papua was claimed by Indonesia as an integral part of its
territory, although it took 20 years for this to actually come
about. But can we say that right from the very beginning the
Papuans truly felt that they were real Indonesians, who are
treated in the same way by the state as their compatriots who
live outside Papua?

Many Papuans feel that they are treated as second-class citizens.
Their rich natural resources are exploited but their living
standards do not reflect the huge revenues the state has
extracted from their land. Regular, oppressive security
operations and human rights abuses by the security forces and the
government hurt them. And there are no serious efforts being made
by the government to improve the situation.

In reacting to the move by the U.S. Congress to
internationalize the Papua issue, many Indonesian officials and
legislators flew into an apoplectic rage. "Do not ever, ever
interfere with Indonesia's sovereignty," was the typical sort of
response emanating from Jakarta, just like we have come to expect
from ultra-nationalist and narrow-minded people.

The issue here is not whether the 1969 UN-sponsored Act of
Free Choice was legitimate or not, because that is very
debatable. Those who opposed the Act would argue that very few
people participated in the self-determination process and
therefore it was illegitimate. However, we must also remember
that at the time, Papua was still languishing in something
resembling the stone-age so that it is difficult to compare the
situation back then to the current situation.

The central issue is that Indonesia has failed to convince the
Papuans through concrete deeds that they are better off as part
of Indonesia.

This does not mean that the central government never listens to
their aspirations. In 2001, the House of Representatives (DPR)
passed the very generous Papua Special Autonomy Law (No. 21 of
2001), which included the establishment of the Papuan People's
Council (MRP). The international community also hailed this
legislation as it gave a greater opportunity to the Papuans to
run their own affairs. There were high hopes at the time that
Papua's problems could be resolved for good.

But what happened then? The government broke its own promise.
It refused to give the MRP the power mandated by the legislation.
Despite widespread public opposition in Papua, the government
established the new province of West Irian Jaya. It is only a
matter of time until another new province, East Irian Jaya, will
be set up.

The special autonomy arrangement is now practically in
tatters. Again, Jakarta has disappointed the Papuans. So, can we
expect them to ever trust the government again? The international
community supports special autonomy for Papua, but if the
government itself goes back on its own commitments, can we still
demand that foreign countries remain committed to supporting us?