Papua: A Zone of Peace

Neles Tebay Pontifical University of Urbaniana Rome

On Dec. 1, the Papuans made two fundamental decisions, namely to declare Papua as a zone of peace and to claim Dec.1 as the Papua's Day of Peace. The declaration was publicly announced on that day in a speech by the deputy chairman of the Papuan Presidium Council (DPD), Tom Beanal.

The idea of establishing a zone of peace in Papua was initiated in February by the Papuan tribal chief council (Lembaga Musyawarah Adat/LMA) during their congress in the capital of Jayapura. In their closing statement, the LMA declared that "the indigenous Papuans are committed to making Papua a territory which is free from violence, oppression and grief."

One can easily understand why the Papuans are committed to peace just by looking at the history of Papua for the last 40 years.

The Indonesian government has conducted various military operations in Papua since 1963: Operasi Sadar, or Operation Consciousness (1965-1967); Operasi Brathayudha (1967-1969); Operasi Wibawa, or Operation Authority (1969); the military operation in Jayawijaya district in 1977); Operasi Sapu Bersih I dan II, or Operation Clean Sweep I and II (1981); Operasi Galang I dan II, or Operation Reinforcement I and II (1982); Operasi Tumpas, or Operation Annihilation (1983-1984); Operasi Sapu Bersih, or Operation Clean Sweep (1985).

Most of the victims of these operations were civilians.

The security approach was implemented intensively when Papua was officially declared a military operation zone (DOM) until 1998.

With the DOM policy, the whole territory was under military control, and some regions in Papua were even closed to the public. Papuans living in provincial regions were strictly controlled by security forces, who closely monitored their movements, actions and words. When villagers wanted to visit their families in other villages or go to a city, they were required to obtain written permission for travel from the military or the police, to whom the also had to report upon their return. Life, in their experience, was like living in prison.

All Papuans were under suspicion of being either a member or supporter of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), and a Papuan could be killed easily anytime, anywhere, at no cost and for no reason.

Indeed, thousands of Papuans were victims of extrajudicial killings, charged as being "separatists" and found guilty without being tried in a court of law. Even today, this security approach is still in operation.

Due to such military operations, many Papuans have been victims of unlawful killings, intimidation, torture, arbitrary detention, rape and other forms of oppression.

It is the desire of the Papuans to live with dignity on their own land, where they would no longer be treated as separatists, but as human beings. The desire for peace has thus become the main obsession for Papuans, so they welcome any and all policies or programs from any country or institution that would contribute to establishing Papua as a zone of peace.

This is also why the Papuans have rejected the presence of, the recently disbanded, Laskar Jihad -- whatever their motivation -- and the establishment of an East Timor-type militia, called Satgas Merah Putih (Red-and-White militias) in Papua.

In the name of peace, the Papuans have demanded the Indonesian government to withdraw thousands of its combat troops, including the Army's Special Forces (Koppassus), deployed in the province. The Papuans have also been calling for a genuine dialogue with the Indonesian government to end the conflict peacefully.

Papua's effort to create a zone of peace has the full support of all of parties in the province.

Up until now, the only institution which has rejected the idea of a peaceful zone in Papua is the Indonesian military (TNI).

According to an article by local daily Cenderawasih Pos in its Sept. 30 issue, Papua military commander Maj. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon has said that the term "zone of peace" is used by those who want to secede from the Republic of Indonesia.

According to Simbolon, who was in East Timor before it claimed independence from Indonesia, a zone of peace is an agreement made in a conflict-torn region. In Papua, the conditions were not relevant, he insisted.

"There is no conflict in Papua. Everything is going well and smoothly, so why is it necessary to create a zone of peace in Papua when peace already prevails (there)?" Simbolon said.

Establishing a zone of peace is not the sole responsibility of Papuans and others who live in Papua, but demands an active participation of all parties, including government and security forces, both in Jakarta and in Papua.

This is why a Papuan delegation -- consisting of religious leaders, the Papuan tribal chief council, the provincial legislative council and NGOs -- led by John Ibo, chairperson of the Papuan provincial council, has called upon President Megawati Soekarnoputri to declare West Papua as a zone of peace.

However, the central government has not responded to the Papuan's call for peace.

The central government must have the political will to support civil efforts to bring peace to Papua.