Resentment triggering unrests in Irian: Expert

Resentment triggering unrests in Irian: Expert

By Imanuddin

JAKARTA (JP): Respected anthropologist Koentjaraningrat blames
the government's ill-considered development approach and the
cultural chauvinism of Indonesians in general, for the recent
unrests in Irian Jaya province.

The former lecturer at the University of Indonesia said that
riots which rocked several cities in Irian Jaya, Indonesia's
easternmost region, claiming the lives of four people last month
were caused by an accumulation of resentment and dissatisfaction
among Irianese people.

"They are resentful because...most Indonesians look down on
them," he told The Jakarta Post recently. He pointed out that
even the most educated people think of Irianese as merely
primitive tribes.

"That's not true. Even back in the early 1960s, Irian Jaya
already had a Ph.D holder, a rare thing then in Indonesia," he
said.

Koentjaraningrat cited as another example a number of Irianese
who were sent to study in the Netherlands in the 1970s and
graduated on schedule, while students from other parts of
Indonesia had to ask for extensions or even failed completely.

"Many Indonesians make fun of Irianese physical features,"
said Koentjaraningrat. "People will say to a non-Irianese just
returned from Irian: 'how come your hair did not turn curly?' or
'you're dark now, just like an Irianese'".

"This type of joke is insulting to Irian Jayans," he said.

Koentjaraningrat went on to blame the government who, back in
the 1970s, tried to make the locals more "civilized" by launching
the "Operation Koteka". Local people, who were still unclothed
and wore koteka, penis sheath, were handed clothes.

"This made many Irian Jayans, especially educated ones,
angry," he said.

Koentjaraningrat, who last year received a Fukuoka Asian
Cultural Prize for his significant contributions to the
establishment and the development of anthropology in Indonesia,
said he had tried to advise the government against the operation
then.

"Modernization should occur on its own course. Gradually.
There should be plenty of time for the Irianese to prepare
themselves to greet changes," he said. "Don't force Irianese
people to be like the rest of the Indonesians. Let time change
them."

He said there was also the matter of pluralism to be
considered; every region in the province has its own
characteristics which should be handled differently.

On March 10, residents of the mining town of Timika attacked
office buildings and houses belonging to the giant copper and
gold mining company PT Freeport Indonesia.

Four people were killed in riots apparently triggered by
rumors that a local resident had died after he was hit by a
Freeport car a few days earlier. The rumors were later proven
groundless; the man was alive and only needed two days of
treatment in the company's hospital.

The second riot occurred in the Irian Jayan capital of
Jayapura a week later. Thousands of youths went on a rampage
shortly after the arrival of the body of separatist leader Thomas
Wapay Wanggai, who died in Cipinang prison in East Jakarta on
March 12 earlier this year.

They were reportedly outraged because the authorities
prevented them from paying their last respects to Wanggai, a
former lecturer at the local Cenderawasih University convicted
for proclaiming in 1988 an independent West Melanesia.

The situation has now returned to normal, but there was
apprehension among many people that similar unrest may occur in
the province in the future.

"Irianese people are actually really warm-hearted people. Look
how well they have been dealing with the transmigration program,"
Koentjaraningrat said.

Gap

"Many local people feel that the government and Freeport have
robbed them of their land," he said. "The current Freeport mining
site used to be formerly the cemetery for their ancestors."

"Both the government and Freeport management should have used
better approach before starting the mining operation," he said.

Tom Beanal, a local activist of the Amungme tribe in Timika,
told the Gatra weekly magazine that the government and Freeport
failed to consult the local people even when the construction of
the mining site was still in early stages.

Leader of the majority of Irianese tribes in Timika, Videlis
Zanggonau, told social researchers from the Indonesian Institute
of Sciences recently that most Irianese feel that they are not
free citizens.

"Irian has been colonized by PT. Freeport Indonesia," he said.
"We have an elementary school in our neighborhood, but only up to
third grade, while Freeport has established a foundation that
guarantees education for its employees' children until junior
high school".

Peter Songgono, head of the Ilaga tribe, also in Timika, said
the local people are now used to the gap between themselves and
Freeport employees.

"Freeport employees have luxurious houses, while local people,
who live in the mountains around the Freeport mining area, don't
get anything," he said.

Chairman of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid
Institute (YLBHI), Bambang Widjojanto, said the Irianese took to
rioting because of their feeling of helplessness competing with
people from other provinces.

Both Koentjaraningrat and Bambang blamed the existing economic
gaps between provinces.

"Many Irianese feel like second-class citizens in their own
country," said Bambang, who worked as a lawyer in Jayapura for
seven years.

Koentjaraningrat called for a careful and thorough handling of
the conditions. He suggested that, for instance, the government
send anthropologists to study local people before embarking on
any development projects.

Without such precautions, "we may lose Irian", he said.