Experts seek to dispel distrust between governmenr and Papua
Experts seek to dispel distrust between governmenr and Papua
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A seminar featuring respected intellectuals, analysts and
religious leaders has urged the government to lift Presidential
Instruction No. 1/2003 on the formation of two new provinces in
Papua, and conistently enforce Law No. 21/2001 on special
autonomy for the resource-rich province to help solve the
increasingly complex issues.
The day-long seminar organized by the Centre for Strategic
International Studies (CSIS), Frederich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and
Papua Special Autonomy Team (TOKP), also sought the possibility
of establishing an independent special team to bridge the
widening distrust between the central government and Papua.
Former Papua governor Barnabas Suebu said Papuans no longer
had confidence in the central government since Jakarta appeared
to have no real solution to prolonged and perceived injustices
and has made it more complicated with the issuance of the much-
criticized presidential instruction to partition the region.
"The only way to regain Papuans' confidence is to annul the
presidential instruction and implement the special autonomy
consistently to let Papuans tackle their home affairs, control
their land and settle past human rights abuses," he said.
He insisted that the situation in Papua, especially on the eve
of the upcoming general elections, would be worse and more people
would be killed as long as Jakarta still treats Papuans as
objects in its policies, "and, sooner or later, Papua will face
the same fate as Aceh."
Jakarta's apparent rationale for splitting Papua was so it
could put more pressure on or factionalize the Free Papua
Movement (OPM) and suspend a full implementation of the special
autonomy law which leaders now say could, in its full
enforcement, eventually lead to complete separation a la East
Timor.
The Constitutional Court is still examining Law No. 45/1999 on
the split, the enforcement of which was suspended by former
presidents B.J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid. In addition, the
instruction contradicts the 2001 special autonomy law on that
point, so President Megawati's instruction may be invalid.
Chairman of the Communion of Churches in Papua Rev. Herman
Saud and historian Anhar Gonggong asserted that the very concept
of one Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke was not accepted in many
regions, including Papua and Aceh, and those people do not
consider themselves as an integral part of Indonesia.
On the other hand, the people in other provinces could learn a
lot from Papuans on how to become Indonesians, because unlike
those living in remote areas in Java, most Papuans could speak
Indonesian (as opposed to just Javanese), even though the region
was not part of the 1928 Youth Declaration (One Indonesia... One
language...), said Herman.
He said he was proud of Papuans and to be Papuan and
Indonesian simultaneously, although 50 percent of Papuans are
still living below the poverty line and others are still living
in the "stone age".
Sabam Siagian, former ambassador to Australia questioned the
interests of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), Home
Minister Hari Sabarno and the Indonesian Military (TNI), all of
whom seemed to be behind the issuance of the controversial
presidential instruction endorsed by Megawati last year.
Sabam went on to say that the Papua issue would remain as long
as Jakarta made no changes to help Papuans in the province and
continued in not showing goodwill to settle the problems.
Former foreign minister Ali Alatas emphasized the importance
of establishing a national body to identify all the problems that
Papuans are facing.
Citing three fundamental mistakes that have contributed to the
increasingly complex issue, he said it could not be solved unless
the government found the political will to do it.
His three-mistake theory comprised the following: "First, we
lost the momentum to settle all past problems before the
presidential instruction was issued. Second, we underestimated
the complexity of the issues, and third, we have not learned from
the mistakes we made recently, like East Timor and Aceh.
"Therefore, we probably need a sincere facilitator, who could
be a direct subordinate of the top security minister, to figure
out what we can do to settle the problem," he said.
Political analyst Ikrar Nusa Bhakti of the Indonesian
Institute of Sciences, claimed that Papuans had no objections to
Papua being slashed in three, provided it was conducted in
compliance with the law and done gradually.
Jusuf Wanandi, a co-founder of CSIS, suggested that the
proposed establishment of a special team or appointment of a
special facilitator be conducted by the current government
despite the busy upcoming election schedule.
Sydney Jones, the coordinator of the International Crisis
Group identified BIN, the Home Affairs Ministry and TNI as three
real obstacles to a full implementation of the special autonomy
as well as a comprehensive solution to the prolonged issue.
Eye-box: Identified problems in Papua:
1. human rights abuses
2. security disturbances
3. illegal take-over of communal lands
4. transportation and communication problems
5. poverty and undevelopment
6. qualified human resources shortage
7. conflicts among 300 tribes
8. corruption
9. widening social disparity
10. conflicting laws and policies on Papua