Papua: A Zone of Peace

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.