Campaigns for Papua: Myriad concerns, issues

Campaigns for Papua: Myriad concerns, issues

Neles Tebay, The Jakarta Post, Pontifical University of Urbaniana,
Rome

It is important to launch a diplomatic approach to the
governments of the foreign countries for defending the
territorial integrity of Indonesia, including Papua.

However, the Indonesian government should not underestimate
the Papua campaign launched by either national or international
organizations in foreign countries.

Before facing the challenge raised by the organizations, the
government needs to be informed of their concern and campaign
regarding Papua.

The total number of the organizations is gradually increasing
every year in many countries. Their campaign for Papua is picking
up momentum with annual meetings now being held.

These organizations have different concerns regarding Papua.
Some of them clearly support the exercise of the right to self-
determination in Papua.

Some others are more concerned with human rights issues. For
them, human rights regardless of religion, race, culture, and
political aspiration, should be respected by all. And the
government is determined to defend and promote human rights.

So when human rights are violated in Papua, even with the
reason of maintaining the territorial integrity of Indonesia or
to crack down on a separatist movement, they will raise their
voice of protest. They will condemn perpetrators, and lobby their
own government to put more pressure on Jakarta. This is not
identical with supporting advocators of independence for Papua.

Some other organizations are more interested in peace. They
want to see all people, including the Papuans, live in peace.
Therefore anything potentially threatening peace is rejected
strongly.

They also search the root causes of the Papua case and urge
the Indonesian government to settle them peacefully. They know
that true peace not only means the absence of conflict and war,
and that it can reached only by peaceful dialog with respect for
human rights. Many of them do not really care if Papua becomes an
independent state or remains under Indonesian rule. As long as
there is no lasting peace, then they raise their voice for the
sake of peace in Papua.

Some organizations are more interested in environmental
issues. So if there is environmental destruction in Papua, they
will not keep silent.

Each organization has its own network with other organizations
either within their own countries or in other countries.

Consequently, the news about violations in Papua is
distributed quickly through Internet. By so doing many more
organizations come to know about the Papua case. It is not
surprising, then, if many more organizations are getting involved
for the sake of peace, justice and human dignity in Papua.

Despite their different concerns, they are united in one
conviction that human rights violation is not an internal affair
of a particular country and cannot be justified for any political
interest.

They also study the link between human rights violations,
peace, environmental destruction, human life and dignity.

The joint statement issued at the third International
Solidarity meeting on West Papua held in London, in October 2002,
manifests the accommodation of the different concerns.

The meeting in which more than 20 organizations from 15
countries participated, confirmed their "full support for the
exercise of self-determination by the people of West Papua, a
right belonging to all peoples in the world."

They also called on the Indonesian government "to enter into a
process of peaceful dialog with the West Papua leadership,
including the Papuan Presidium Council, and mediated by a third
neutral party."

The meeting called on the international community and the
Indonesian government "to support the proposal of the Papuans to
declare West Papua a Zone of Peace."

For the sake of peace, the organizations urged "the Indonesian
Government to withdraw the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) and
Mobile Police Force (Brimob) from the territory of West Papua."

They called on all member states of the United Nations "to
request UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to review the UN's
conduct in relation to the discredited "Act of Free Choice" in
1968-1969, which was part of a fraudulent attempt to legitimize
West Papua's take-over by Indonesia."

They were "deeply concerned at the further deterioration of
the human rights situation in West Papua. Leading human rights
activists have received death threats following their efforts to
investigate the killing in August 2002 of three employees of the
Freeport mining company, and their discovery of evidence which
suggests members of the Indonesian army were involved."

The meeting stressed "the urgent need for UN human rights
monitors to visit West Papua and called for an independent team
of experts to investigate the assassination last November of
Theys Eluay, the chairman of the Papuan Presidium Council."

They called on the international community "to press the
Indonesian government to prevent the violation of the human
rights of West Papuans, including their economic, social and
cultural rights, by transnational companies including Freeport
McMoran, Rio Tinto and BP and by the Indonesian system of
granting logging concessions on indigenous customary lands."

Many more organizations will join and unite efforts to
campaign for Papua, when they know that the human rights
violations in the past are not addressed, that human dignity is
disrespected, and that people in Papua are not experiencing
lasting peace, and that environmental destruction continues.

In the fourth International Solidarity meeting for West Papua
in 2003 that will be held in a Pacific country, they will
evaluate their work and determine a new campaign agenda for West
Papua.

The Indonesian government cannot do much to stop such
campaigns for Papua unless their recommendations are addressed.

It is also true that these organizations do not represent
their respective governments. However, it does not mean that they
cannot influence their governments.

One thing is sure that due to their campaign, many more people
and organizations, perhaps the governments too, in foreign
countries are and will be getting to know about the Papua
conflict.

It is a challenge for the Indonesian government to peacefully
solve the Papua conflict by addressing the real problems and its
root causes through a genuine dialog with the Papuans, while
avoiding violence in Papua.