Explaining the Papuans wish to secede from Indonesia

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.