Human rights violations continue in Irian Jaya

By Yohanis G. Bonay

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya (JP): The Universal Declaration of Human Rights which is now 50 years old is addressed to all nations to remind them that power is needed only as long as it guarantees the safety of man.

As a member of the UN, Indonesia is morally bound by the declaration. Therefore, the Indonesian nation is also obliged to respect and endeavor to promote the implementation of basic human rights on a universalist basis.

Each person living in Indonesia must feel free to express him or herself and be free from the oppression and extortion of all forms of power.

This freedom is each person's basic right while the exercise of power is a basic obligation of the state which must guarantee the protection of its citizens' rights from all forms of violation either by other citizens or by state officials.

Irian Jaya, Indonesia's easternmost province, is the only one whose history of integration has been based on the spirit of the declaration.

The conflict between the Netherlands and Indonesia over New Guinea's political status ended with the signing of the New York agreement in 1962 in which both countries agreed to transfer sovereignty over political status to the Irian Jaya people through a plebiscite in accordance with international practice.

Irian Jaya came under the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA). In order to realize the self-determination principle, the Indonesian government and UNTEA as required in article XXI of the New York agreement would guarantee the rights of the Irian Jaya people including the right of freedom of expression, freedom of movement, and the right to assemble and to convene.

Here the spirit of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights is clearly recognized. It was based on this spirit that the process of self-determination brought the Irian Jaya people into the Republic of Indonesia over nearly 35 years ago.

The experience of the Irian Jaya people in national life during these 35 years has led them to understand the meaning of the struggle to maintain human values in an independent state. This experience has taught them that there is a denial of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is seen in the government's policies and their application before and after the implementation of the people's self-determination (Pepera).

In that period the Irian people have seen injustice, cheating and engineering at a high level. They also saw the principle of One Man One Vote replaced by a system in which there were 1,025 people chosen by the Indonesian government. Human rights violations in Manokwari in 1965, in Paniai in 1969 and in Biak in 1970 left the Irian people powerless.

This very powerlessness of the Irian people in the process disappointed Ortizanz the UN delegate in the UNTEA period in West Irian when he said: "I must state my disappointment at the implementation of article XXI (1962) on the right of freedom of speech, freedom of movement and freedom to deliberate. Although I tried hard, these matters were not fully implemented. The system of administration carried out at the time was one that was very strict on the population."

After the integration of Irian Jaya into the Republic of Indonesia, development policies were oriented toward economic growth. In line with this the government used the security approach to safeguard stability. The impact of the policy led to human rights violations in Irian Jaya.

In 1977 social upheavals broke out in Wamena, Agimuga and Timika. Human rights violations reoccurred in Sarmi in 1986 and then in PT Freeport Indonesia's operational territory as reported by the Jayapura diocese in 1995. Attendant human rights violations happened in Jila, Bela, Alama and Mapanduma as reported by three churches in the Timika region.

Apart from deaths, injuries to and disappearance of persons, there were violations of women. A woman from Irian Jaya's northern coast said she and her fiancee were stripped naked and forced at gunpoint to copulate in public. They were then photographed together while naked.

In Jila a woman said she was raped while firearms were directed at her. Her brother reported the case to the station commander and was tortured until he fainted.

In Timika in 1994 a woman and her friend were tortured and put in a detention room full of human excrement for one month and two days.

In the current reform era human rights conditions have yet to improve. This year Stepen Suripati, a student of Cendrawasih State University, was gunned down in front of his campus and Karolina Onim was shot in front of the STT campus. Another shooting took place in Biak, resulting in heavy injuries and some deaths. Some bodies are still missing.

The above cases describe the general situation in Irian Jaya since 1962.

The spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was behind the integration of Irian, and the development policies have not been able to place the Irian people on a par with other peoples of Indonesia, because there is no mechanism built by the state to control the effectiveness of its implementation.

For the purpose there must be continual efforts to promote harmony. A condition must be created that appreciates and respects to a higher degree the essence of humanity for each without regard to social status, race, religion or gender. This appreciation is voiced not only in words but is realized through concerns expressed in concrete steps.

The writer is executive director of the Foundation of the Institute for Human Rights Studies and Advocacy in Irian Jaya.