[Pro-independence activists from Indonesia's Papua province, formerly known as Irian Jaya, are still agitating for a task force to investigate human rights abuses. Indonesia says human rights is improving in Papua, because of a special autonomy law. But Papuan human rights groups don't share the government's optimism. They say the Indonesian military is running the province.]

Transcript:

Megawati: Speaking in Indonesian....

Fitzgerald: Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri in her annual report to the People's Assembly claiming special autonomy is working in Papua and that the human rights situation is improving there. But Papua's leading human rights group ELSHAM, doesn't share her optomisim.

The special autonomy President Megawati is referring to is supposed to see a larger proportion of funds generated from mining and logging province flow to the province.

ELSHAM director John Rumbiak says autonomy is not working so far, because the military, which is so powerful in the province, has a vested interest in derailing the process.

Rumbiak: "The military basically don't like the idea of autonomy law introduced to Papua, because this autonomy law basically cut off their interest that they had been enjoying in the past three decades. They see Papua as their economic resource base, whether they involved directly in their economic activities or backing enonomic activities in Papua."

Fitzgerald: The military budget from the government meets an estimated 25 per cent of their costs, Mr Rumbiak says the military is running protection rackets and selling its services particularly to large multi-national mining and logging corporations to make up the shortfall like the US firm Freeport McMoRan, which operates the largest gold mine in the world in Papua.

Rumbiak: "At this US transnational corporation Freeport McMoRan, they operate in the highlands of Papua, they have about one battalion deployed in the trans national corporation. So they're involved in the building up checkpoints and monitoring the security situation."

Fitzgerald: They charge individual companies?

Rumbiak: "Absolutely, and the company also have to pay for their facilities including cars, housing and even salaries. The worst part of their involvement in these companies that they end up involving in causing a lot of problems with companies themselves. In March for instance we received a complaint from the head of the state oil company Pertamina in Fakfak complaining about their special force Kopassas [that] they're everytime coming to ask for money from their company, and he's sick of that."

Fitzgerald: General Augus Widjojo who heads the military police faction in the Indonesian People's Assembly says the military's businesses are a necessary part of their operation and they're here to stay .

Widjojo: "They are to give the command a bigger resources to be able to put bigger attention in the work of the soldiers, and that is what we have been doing and what we are still doing in the sense that the return of investment out of these various military businesses are used for scholarships for the families of the soldiers for medicals and for housings."

Fitzgerald: Mr Rumbiak says the military is attempting to have Papua broken into three seperate provinces something which directly contradicts the spirit of the special autonomy deal.

Rumbiak: "They pushed Megawati Sukarnoputri by organising about 240 Papuans meeting with the president, and this meeting organised by the head of the Indonesian intelligence body, including the minister for social political affairs General Bambang, both of them organising this 240 people and meeting with the president, demanding the president to agree on a proposal to divide Papua to be three provinces."

Fitzgerald: Mr Rumbiak says the military is being creative in making business for itself in Papua, by stirring up communal conflict, using East Timor style militias and by assassinating political leaders like the popular Chief Theas Eluay who was killed last November.

In another attempt to provoke violence he says the military has launched a new campaign which has forced a thousand Papuan civilains to flee into the capital Jayapura.

Rumbiak: "They accuse every one of supporting the guerilla activists ... the military also brutally torturung women, they are implicated in sexual harrassment to women along this area."