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.