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.