Traditional communities meet in Lombok, demand rights

Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara

Delegates from some 450 traditional communities across the archipelago concluded their second congress in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, with a call for the government to restore their customary rights.

They said in a joint statement here over the weekend that all the major problems assailing the nation at the present time were the result of the continued failure to honor their customary rights.

According to the statement, the social conflicts that had affected a number of regions, including Aceh, Papua, Maluku, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, bribery during gubernatorial elections, environmental degradation and the destruction of the country's forests were closely connected with government policies that deprived traditional groups and communities of their rights.

Nazarius, one of the organizers of the All-Indonesia Traditional Community Congress (Kaman), accused the government of looking down at ethnic groups and ignoring the roles they had played in carrying out the country's development programs.

"The government's main fault is that it has closed its eyes to the ongoing deprivation by many sides of customary rights in favor of business and commercial interests," he said, stressing that the government had yet to recognize their rights to manage their own affairs and to utilize the natural resources found on their customary lands.

"We are waiting for the appropriate time to take action against the government's oppression of traditional communities and the over-exploitation of their natural resources. Such action is urgently needed to uphold our customary rights across the country," he said, adding that the leaders of traditional communities had consistently been excluded from negotiations designed to seek comprehensive solutions to communal conflicts.

According to Nazarius, the government's development policy is incapable of being implemented successfully as traditional and tribal communities have never been asked to participate.

"The government should learn from the recent Timika clashes between those for and against the establishment of Central Irian Jaya province. It is possible in the future that Papuans will take up arms in the traditional fashion to fight for independence," he said.

West Lombok regent Iskandar conceded during the congress that large numbers of people had been deprived of their social, political and economic rights across the country.

"Despite the recognition of the rights of traditional communities by the amended 1945 Constitution and the regional autonomy law, they (traditional communities) still need to have their positions in politics and the law strengthened so as to be able to cope with the adverse consequences of globalization and capitalism," he said.

According to Iskandar, traditional communities, which consist of some 70 million members across the country, should be empowered in line with the government's acceptance of traditional rights, and their recognition by MPR Decree No. 9/2001 on land reform and natural resources, and the human rights law.

Nazarius said the next congress would be held in 2007, but the exact date and venue would be decided on later. The first such congress was held in Jakarta in 1999.

He said that the congress had also resolved to designate March 17 as an annual day marking the national awakening of traditional communities across the archipelago.

The chairman of the congress's steering committee, Djekaat, said the congress also recommended the drawing up of an action plan to preserve the customs and cultures of traditional communities.

"We need regular contact and meetings to share experiences and forge cooperation so as to preserve our own traditions and cultures," he said.