Govt planting 'time bomb' in Papua with policies

Govt planting 'time bomb' in Papua with policies

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

ridwan@thejakartapost.com

After the Acehnese, Papuans are seemingly the second group of
people most opposed to the recent appointment by President
Megawati Soekarnoputri of home minister Hari Sabarno as the ad
interim coordinating minister for security and political affairs,
replacing Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. This is because Hari is
considered in Aceh and Papua one of those most responsible for
the conflicts in the two provinces.

Compared to Hari, Susilo was seen as wiser and more
accommodating in attempting to resolve the conflicts over the
last four years. Hari is likely to have greater difficulty in
dealing with Papua during his stint as top security minister
because of his ambiguous policies in the past.

Hari and the chief of the Armed Forces Intelligence Body
(BIA), A.M. Hendropriyono, both retired Army lieutenant generals,
have been called to account for numerous problems resulting from
the issuance of controversial Presidential Instruction No. 1/2001
and the review of Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua.

The two officials are seen as highly influential in the
issuance of the presidential instruction and the review of the
special autonomy law.

To some analysts, Susilo was the more competent and wiser
leader, patiently listening to the people's aspirations. Papuans
have expressed skepticism about the province's future under Hari,
who is now expected to feel freer to implement his ambiguous
policies in the province.

The issuance of Presidential Instruction No. 1/2003 to enforce
suspended Law No. 45/1999 regarding the province's split into
three separate provinces, and the ongoing review of Law No.
21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua are ticking time bombs
waiting to explode.

The splitting up of Papua is supported by the Indonesian
Military (TNI) for business reasons and by Megawati's Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which wants to end the
Golkar Party's domination of the province.

Papuans are angry not precisely because of the presidential
instruction, but by the way the large province was divided in
violation of the Constitution and by the enactment of the two
conflicting laws. They have accused the government of trying to
phase out Papuans as an ethnic group.

Although the official announcement of the new Central Irian
Jaya province was suspended following bloody protests by
indigenous people in August 2003, Papua has already been divided
with the formation of West Irian Jaya province and the naming of
Abraham Octavianus Atururi as acting governor.

Moreover, the new province has been separated from Papua with
regards to the organization and administration of the upcoming
general election, a move that in the eyes of Papuans is further
proof of Jakarta's attempt to erase Papua's identity.

It is indeed unfair that a presidential instruction has
overturned a decision by the People's Consultative Assembly that
recognized Papuans' constitutional right to maintain their ethnic
identity, as stipulated in the special autonomy law. The
government's half-hearted commitment to enforcing the law has
increased social unrest and confusion among the Papuan elite.

Security authorities, politicians and religious leaders in
Papua have recently warned the central government of Papua's
increasing resistance and the possible failure of the elections
in the province, after the government insisted it would go ahead
with splitting up the province and the review of the special
autonomy law.

During the New Order era, Papuans people were united in
defying Jakarta because president Soeharto did not try to hide
his government's policy of looting Papua's abundant natural
resources and taking strict action against those who protested.

The ambivalence with which the current government has treated
Papua has added new problems to old, unresolved issues, which
could generate more communal clashes that claim more Papuan
lives.

Megawati should bear in mind that the current approach her
government has taken to solve the Papua issue has proven
extremely unpopular and has only strengthened the Papuans'
distrust of the government. It will be too difficult to resolve
the problems in Papua if the people see themselves only as
objects that can be abused at the whim of the government.

From the series of unpopular policies the government has
passed, the nation's leaders apparently have misunderstood the
main problems in the province. In other words, the government has
lost the momentum to solve all of the past problems in the
province. It has underestimated the complicated problems and has
failed to learn from its mishandling of East Timor.

The Papuans' anger with the central government was voiced by
more than 1,000 tribal leaders who gathered in Biak last month.
Besides opposing the splitting of the province, the tribal
leaders also called for the UN to investigate past human rights
abuses, including the murder in November 2001 of proindependence
leader Dortheys Hiyo Eluway.

If the government wants to regain the trust of Papuans, it
should form an independent team to identify the relevant issues
in Papua and commit itself to accepting the team's
recommendations for resolving these issues.

The government should not feel it is losing face if the team
recommends it revoke all the conflicting policies, enforce the
special autonomy as it is, bring to court all past human rights
abusers and help create a feeling of safety among Papuans.

And now would be a good time for the government to take such
popular policies, to regain the trust and the political support
of the people, especially in Aceh and Papua, ahead of the
upcoming legislative and presidential elections.