Papua liberty will not get international support

Papua liberty will not get international support

The week-long Papuan People's Congress ended in Jayapura on
Sunday with a declaration that the easternmost province of Irian
Jaya is no longer part of Indonesia. Political researcher Ikrar
Nusa Bhakti of the National Institute of Sciences (LIPI) sees the
declaration as unlikely to win international support.

Question: Do you consider the recent declaration of the Papuan
People's Congress legitimate?

Ikrar: Any party can say whether it is legitimate or not.
However, recognition of its legitimacy should not come from the
Indonesian government but from the international community.
Instead of saying that the congress was not legitimate, the
government should have said that any part of Indonesia is not
allowed to declare independence from the republic.

Q: But President Abdurrahman Wahid has said the government could
not recognize the congress' results because it was attended by
foreigners, while Papuans who are against independence had been
denied from participating in it. Your comment?

I: The presence of foreigners at the congress should not make any
difference as long as they were there just witnesses or
observers.

On the absence of prointegration Papuans, I can say that they
didn't dare to attend because they were intimidated and
terrorized. In their campaign, proindependence Papuans have used
not only words but also physical actions against prointegration
people.

Q: Do you expect the congress would win international support for
Papua's declaration?

I: It will be very difficult for them to get international
support because as long as the United Nations (UN) still
recognizes its resolutions No. 1752 of 1962 and No. 2504 of 1969,
Papua will be internationally recognized as being under the
sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia.

Resolution No. 1752 of 1962 demanded that the Netherlands hand
over its sovereignty of Papua to Indonesia through the United
Nations Temporary Executive Authority, while resolution No. 2504
of 1969 endorsed the plebiscite's results, confirming that
Papuans supported integration into Indonesia.

Q: But the congress rejected the resolutions on the grounds that
Papuans were never consulted...

I: They cannot say that the resolutions were illegitimate because
they were approved by the UN members through voting, in which the
majority of them expressed support and none of them were against.
Only a few of abstained.

If the congress participants claimed that Papuans were not
consulted, they should have blamed the Netherlands which did not
allow them to partake. However, some of the Papuans actually
participated in some negotiations preceding the resolutions.

Q: Is it possible for individual countries, like Australia, for
example, to support the independence of Papua?

I: They can do so, but as long as there are no countries
demanding the UN to revise resolutions No. 1752 of 1962 and No.
2504 of 1969, the UN will never review Papua's decolonization.

Q: If they have no prospects of international recognition, why
are they continually demanding separation from Indonesia?

I: Several reasons have encouraged them to do so. Previous
governments, particularly the New Order regime, assigned too many
Indonesians from other provinces to take over bureaucratic
positions from Papuans on the grounds that certain positions must
be held by officials with appropriate educational backgrounds.

This has inhibited the chances of Papuans, most of whom are
lowly educated, from getting high-ranking positions in their own
province.

The government-supported transmigration of people from other
islands to Papua has also edged out the competitiveness of
Papuans' businesses on their own land.

Furthermore, the military's strong repression against those
suspected of rebellion has also offended the Papuans.

However, there might be a mastermind behind the congress, who
wants the military to return to power ... Investigation,
therefore, is necessary to find out who was actually behind the
congress.

Q: Now that the Papuan People's Congress has called for
international support for its declaration, can the government
take legal or military action against those actively involved in
the congress?

I: The government will have no legal basis to take action against
them because the law on subversion has been lifted, while the
Constitution of 1945 does not have any clause forbidding any part
of the country from declaring independence.

Military action cannot be introduced either, as long as the
activists do not undertake any military provocation. Moreover,
any repressive action would be counterproductive.

Q: Then what measures should be taken by the government?

I: The government must provide facilities, so that Papuans can
improve their participation in local bureaucracy and the
military, as well as economic, technological and educational
development. Papuans must also be given opportunities to take
part in national development outside Papua.

Such measures are important because more and more Papuans are
getting rational. They realize that what they need is not
territorial freedom but freedom in the sense of humanity.

To find measures acceptable to all parties concerned, the
government must sponsor dialogues with Papuans. (Rikza Abdullah)