Explaining the Papuans wish to secede from Indonesia

By Neles Kebadabi Tebay

This is the first of two articles exploring the resentment of the people of Irian Jaya (Papuans) which was fostered by the adverse government practices during Soeharto's 32-year-long authoritarian rule.

ABEPURA, Irian Jaya (JP): Papuans, already anxious about their existence as an ethnic group, are helplessly watching as they are outnumbered by incoming outer islanders.

Newcomers accounted for 30 percent of the province's urban population in 1980, but the number doubled to 65 percent seven years later. The trend has continued unabated; in 1990 the total population in Irian Jaya was 1,648,708.

The anxiety of the Papuans stems from a number of factors. The migrant influx soared when the government designated Irian Jaya as one of the transmigration destinations following its integration with Indonesia in the early 1960s. Highways were promptly put in place for the transmigration sites, thereby facilitating overland communication.

Some transmigrants came to the country's easternmost province through the plantation nucleus estates (PIR) program. Slowly but surely, transmigration sites developed into towns with ballooning populations. Other arrivals were migrants who took advantage of the much improved scheduling of passenger ships.

Papuans saw the people from other provinces get rich quickly, a reality which influenced their view of the migrants. They found that outsiders -- albeit not all of them -- came to Irian Jaya not to educate the Papuans, but to make a living. Money and riches were their main target.

"They come only to look for money" or "They only come to find and steal the natural riches, not to educate the Papuan people," are oft-repeated complaints of the Papuans.

It is obvious that the migrants played a dominant role in the society. New migrants excelled in trade, bureaucracy, services, construction and contracting in virtually all major towns. It inevitably fostered envy among the community groups.

Unlike the Acehnese, the Papuans never knew when Irian Jaya was made a Military Operations Region (DOM), except that it ceased to be one on Oct. 5, 1998, when then Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Wiranto made an announcement to that effect.

Its status was subsequently changed to that of "security in critical regions" (PDR).

One thing is clear: the military operations have been going on for a long time. In 1977 military operations took place in Jayawijaya regency, and were extended to Enarotali in Paniai regency in 1978 and 1979, and to West Biak in 1988 and 1989.

Thousands of Papuans were slaughtered by the military under the pretext of killing the enemy or members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM). The military, because it killed enemies of the Indonesian state, did not feel guilty about the killings, and even went so far as to justify the action.

The alleged methods of killing make for horrifying reading. Some were said to have been killed by having their bodies slashed with razors; others died after a hot iron bar was inserted into their anus. Some of those killed reportedly had their flesh made into satay, which was fed to their families; wives were forced to eat their husbands, and children to eat their fathers.

When the DOM policy was in force, every Papuan, regardless of his profession, was always considered an OPM member. He was automatically an enemy of the Indonesian state and his or her every word, deed and movement were suspected and monitored.

Although no survey has been made, the victims of the operations were numerous. Former Trikora military region commander Maj. Gen. Amir Sembiring admitted there were victims, but did not recognize human rights violations.

Although the DOM status has been revoked, the price of a Papuan's life is worth less than a chicken. To kill a chicken, one must buy it first, but a Papuan can be killed at no cost. Papuans like to say, "The cheapest thing in the land of Papua is the life of a Papua man".

It is not surprising the villagers are afraid to see or meet TNI members.

It is said the military operations were turned into illicit business ventures or projects for numerous parties. Therefore, leaders of the so-called Security Disturbance Movement (GPK) are protected to keep the military "projects". The existence of OPM figures provides justification to continue with intimidation, torture, beatings, terrorization, forced labor and even the slaughtering of innocent civilians. Many women have reportedly been raped by military personnel.

These experiences are a daily reality for helpless Papuans, but the actions seem to be justified by the authorities. They have caused Papuans to live in deep fear, a fact which has been admitted by the National Commission on Human Rights.

Papuans are afraid to go to the fields, the church and to express themselves. Creativity and critical thinking have been paralyzed. Justice is a dream for the Papuans while injustice is a daily staple for them.

Papuans are also put under intense mental pressure. Presumption of innocence is a well-known legal term, but what is applied to the Papuans is the presumption of incompetence. People from other provinces, with a few exceptions, have the view that Papuans are wholly incompetent.

The prejudice is reflected in derogatory terms like stupid, primitive, dirty, black or prodigal. The presumption of incompetence is applied generously. A mistake or failure in carrying out one's duty, however trivial it may seem, is a justification for the prejudice.

The prejudice is alive and deep rooted. Coupled with collusion and nepotism, the prejudice shelved the Papuans at the bottom level of the bureaucracy. Strategic positions in the government are almost exclusively occupied by non-Papuans.

Before the political reform era, Papuans were conditioned to accept all policies and treatment from the authorities, Aspirations and opinions of Papuans about the development of the Papua land were never heard. All decisions and development programs were undertaken by the central government.

Papuans' ancestral land was plundered on the pretext of national development, their forests expropriated and exploited. The people were beaten, intimidated, tortured and killed. They were helpless to fight for their rights.

If a Papuan dared to claim his rights he would always be labeled an OPM member, a GPK supporter or antigovernment and antidevelopment. He was confronted by the big power called the state.

These labels provided justification for the authorities -- supported by the military -- to beat, torture, detain, imprison and even kill Papuans. The authorities thought the actions were right because it was for the sake of national development in the province bordering Papua New Guinea.

For the Papuans, the labels were frightening, and they toed the line of the authorities.

Mere suppression of the people does not seem to provide enough satisfaction. The culture, too, must be destroyed. There are more than 250 ethnic groups in Papua, each with its own characteristics.

Exploitation of local cultural expressions and values has been conducted by the authorities and businesspeople. The Asmat, Kamoro and Baliem cultures have been exploited in the interest of particular people and groups, or on behalf of cultural promotion.

The destruction of culture is committed both by the government in the name of development, and the churches in the name of evangelization. There was a servant of God who told this writer that the community in a certain region had no local culture.

Highly respected customary leaders are also exploited. They are used in the interest of those seeking power or to defend their power. The most serious problem is that the majority of the community leaders are not aware that they are being used in the interest of other people.

While in other provinces people freely express their inner feelings through regional songs, the Papuans are not allowed to do so. There are no written prohibitions, but the condition created and experienced by Papuans is one of fear to express themselves through regional songs. If there is a group trying to preserve regional songs, their music is politicized as an expression of separatism. The stigma of separatism makes the Papuans afraid of expressing the beauty of nature, love and their experiences through songs in their vernacular.

Many Papuans have been intimidated, beaten, tortured and killed only for having sung Papuan songs. Papuans are allowed to sing songs in whatever rhythm and language (keroncong, dangdut) and other music from other regions and provinces, except in the pidgin (Papua New Guinea) rhythm and language of Papua.

Now with the change of the political climate in Indonesia, the possibility has been created for the Papuans to express their inner feelings through their songs.

Papuans have been taught to call themselves "Indonesians of Irian Jayan origin", and are not allowed to call themselves Papuans. They cannot even refer to themselves as Irianese. If there is somebody who dares to give his identity as a Papuan or an Irianese, he will be marked as a supporter of the OPM.

Papuans are also not allowed to call themselves Melanesian. As Melanesians, they are perplexed: Must they call themselves Malays? After all, would it not invite suspicion if they called themselves Malays?

The writer teaches at the Fajar Timur Higher Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Abepura, Irian Jaya.