Timikans hang high hopes for rights body

Timikans hang high hopes for rights body

JAKARTA (JP): Residents of Timika in Irian Jaya urged the
National Commission on Human Rights to come and probe the unrest
that hit the town recently, a call which was promptly answered by
the rights body.

A local church source said tension had dissipated but the
involved tribes were still hopeful that the feeling of security
could be restored with the commission's visit.

Four Ekari tribesmen died prior to and during the unrest in
Harapan Kwamki Lama village last week. Two died reportedly
because they fell off a moving vehicle on Aug. 20 while the other
two were shot by troops attempting to curb the riots on Aug. 22.

"The presence of security personnel here is so strong that we
feel uneasy," the source told The Jakarta Post by phone. He
estimated that about 1,000 members of the military and police
were deployed in the town with a population of 50,000.

Local military officers could not be reached for comment.

The deputy chairman of the rights commission, Marzuki
Darusman, said the body will send a team to Timika tomorrow.
However, contrary to the church source's hope, the team will not
be conducting an investigation; instead, the delegation will just
"familiarize" itself with the surroundings.

"It's just a familiarization visit, and besides, we're making
the visit because of the local people's expectations," Marzuki
told the Post in a separate interview yesterday.

The team will consist of Samsuddin, Bambang Soeharto and
Marzuki himself. The commission's last visit to Timika was in
1995, which Marzuki said was different from the one the
commission was about to make.

"We made the 1995 visit because there was (a reported
violation of human rights) that we needed to probe, while
tomorrow's is just a friendly visit," Marzuki said.

The local source contacted yesterday said that members of the
tribe were hopeful that the commission would look into the unrest
as "one of the many local problems" rather than as "just another
incident".

Wide press coverage was given to the town 80 kilometers south
of PT Freeport Indonesia's Grasberg mining in Tembagapura last
week.

The influential Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi)
alleged recently that the unrest was related to a glitch in the
disbursement of Freeport's one percent trust fund intended to
boost local community development.

Last year, tribal warfare erupted over the share of the fund.
Twelve people died in the unrest.

Walhi's executive director Emmy Hafild told the Post
separately yesterday that the core problem in Timika was Freeport
and the local government's failure to understand what the local
tribespeople want.

According to Emmy, the local tribespeople -- especially the
large Amungme and Kamoro tribes whose ancestral land is the
current Freeport mining site -- should be involved in deciding
what was the best for them.

The population of Amungme and Kamoro is 15,000 and 16,000
respectively.

"Building schools and health facilities is not enough, because
these people are of an egalitarian nature and need recognition
and the opportunity to actualize their potential," Emmy said.
(aan)