Irian Jaya kidnapping

Irian Jaya kidnapping

Last week's kidnapping of 24 people, including seven
westerners, by the OPM rebels in Irian Jaya has focused
international attention on this group as their previous abduction
of two high school students could never hope to do.

Who are the OPM and what is their cause?

In the early 1960s, a small band of indigenous Irianese who,
for various reasons, opposed Irian Jaya's integration into
Indonesia, founded the Free Papua Movement (OPM). This group has
been fighting for independence ever since. In the past they
resorted to low-level guerrilla activities, including small raids
on villages or military posts. Their existence was assisted by
the rugged terrain and the mountainous forests which enabled them
to escape following every raid.

In general their existence and cause went unnoticed, but once
and a while they do make headlines. For example, in 1984 when,
following a failure to start a "revolution" and "to take over
Jayapura", more than a hundred OPM activists fled to Papua New
Guinea (PNG) forcing thousands of villagers to flee with them.
The incident soured diplomatic relations between Indonesia and
PNG to the extent that it took several years before ties returned
to normal.

Anyone with a sensible mind might say that the OPM is fighting
a lost cause because any idea of establishing a separate nation
in Irian Jaya would be certainly rejected by almost all
Indonesians, including the Irianese themselves. But the very fact
that this group has managed to exist for decades, small as it is,
and that it is able to attract new recruits, should come under
closer scrutiny. Without trying to understand their cause and
motives, one will not be able to satisfactorily settle this
problem.

In this context, the recent statement by the Communication
Forum of the Irian Jaya Younger Generation is interesting. Last
week this group said the abduction of the 24 people in Irian Jaya
should be seen as an expression of "accumulated disappointment"
toward the current development in their region on the part of the
people of Irian Jaya, particularly those who live in the central
highland.

The forum said the kidnapping should not be classified as a
separatist action, nor as an effort to undermine the sovereignty
of Indonesia, because it was carried out by a small group of
people who don't understand the concept of having one nation and
one people. The forum also called on ABRI to take a socio-
cultural approach in its effort to release the hostages to avoid
casualties on the part of the indigenous Irianese.

After reading that statement one could wonder: Is the
situation in the region bad enough to push a group of people to
stage a publicity stunt, such as last week's kidnapping, in order
to draw world media attention? But, on the other hand, one cannot
help but to condemn the action for putting the lives of so many
people in danger, while putting our reputation as a nation in the
balance.

With regard to the situation in Irian Jaya, for years we have
heard grumbles and complaints from many Irianese on a wide range
of subjects, from transmigration -- which some have called
"Javanization"-- to the "exploitation" of Irian Jaya, including
the allegation that the traditional laws and customs are ignored
by settlers and investors.

But, could this justify the kidnapping? We don't think so.

Yet, in fairness, we believe that these complaints should be
closely examined, and if mistakes have really occurred, it is not
too late to amend the nation's policy on Irian Jaya.

With regard to the kidnapping, we believe that the Indonesian
Armed Forces will do its best to avoid bloodshed in freeing the
hostages. The safety of the hostages should be the main concern.
The Armed Forces' offer of safe passage to the kidnappers if they
would agree to free the hostages, followed by the military's
compliance to the kidnappers' prompt request that they wanted
four clergymen sent to talk to them, are good examples of this
policy.

Hopefully, in a peaceful manner, we will be able to examine
the roots of this problem thoroughly once the crisis is over.
Obviously we don't want repetition of such incidents, for we
don't want to put our reputation as a nation in the hands of a
group of desperate people ever again.

Yet, if we fail to deal with the "accumulated disappointment",
presuming that it is a reality, we are afraid that we may have to
face more headaches in the future.