Government Urged to Prevent Arbitrary Actions
The screening of the documentary film titled ‘Pesta Babi: Colonialism in Our Era’ has become a subject of intense debate, as it has revealed differing stances between the government and the military in responding to the film’s critique of development projects in Papua. The controversy emerged after several public screenings were disbanded and prohibited in various locations, including university campuses.
Regarding the controversy, Natan Kuwan, Vice Chairman of Pemuda Bulan Bintang for Eastern Indonesia, responded firmly. Kuwan stated that prohibiting the screening of ‘Pesta Babi’ is equivalent to an attempt to hide the injustice and arbitrariness occurring in Papua. “Nothing regarding Papua should be covered up; start acting fairly towards Papua. Do not only showcase its wealth and beauty; the destruction must also be shown so that the world’s eyes are opened to the reality of Papua,” Kuwan continued.
Furthermore, Kuwan highlighted the need to investigate the individuals responsible for disbanding the screenings to uncover rational motives. “Military personnel who disbanded this film must be investigated. What were their motives, authority, or interests? If this was purely an individual initiative, it harms a government that is increasingly being accused of being a subversive regime, when in fact the disbanding was purely the initiative of military personnel,” he added, while also encouraging the youth to attend the screenings.
In alignment with this, the Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correctional Affairs, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, emphasised that the government has never issued any directives or policies to prohibit the screening of the documentary. According to Yusril, the pattern of these disruptions suggests that the halting of the screenings is not a centralised directive from the government or law enforcement agencies.
Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra reaffirmed that the government does not ban the screening of ‘Pesta Babi’ and noted that criticism regarding the National Strategic Project (PSN) in South Papua is a natural occurrence. He stated that resolving conflicts in Papua requires a combination of three approaches: massive development, security guarantees, and social justice.
Conversely, the TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces) assesses that the content within ‘Pesta Babi’ carries a high risk of disrupting the social stability and harmony maintained in Papua. Meanwhile, an expert from Padjadjaran University (Unpad), Rusdin Tahir, emphasised the importance of viewing Papua’s development comprehensively, objectively, and based on official fiscal data to avoid bias. Additionally, the documentary by Dandhy Laksono requires serious attention from law enforcement as it is assessed to potentially contain elements of legal violations.