Muklis Ali, Jakarta – A visiting US congressman said on Thursday Indonesia had made progress in how it treats the people of Papua, as a rights group accused security forces of killing, torturing and raping civilians in the remote area.
Eni Faleomavaega, the Democrat congressman for American Samoa, has previously criticized Jakarta's policies in Papua and was barred by Indonesia from visiting the area this week.
"I am relieved to see there has been a complete change in the commitment and priorities that the government of Indonesia has taken towards the need of the people of Papua," the congressman told reporters after meeting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Independence activists in Papua – which is made up of two provinces on the western half of New Guinea island – have waged a campaign for more than 30 years to break away from Indonesia, while a low-level armed rebellion has also simmered for decades.
"The fact that the Indonesian government passed special autonomy laws and Papuan leaders were very instrumental in drafting the laws gave Papuans the feeling that they were given more by the government," said Faleomavaega, who chairs an Asia Pacific US sub-committee in Congress and was dressed in traditional Samoan clothing. A 2001 law gives Papua, with a population of 2 million, a bigger share of revenue from its rich mineral and natural resources and more freedom in running its own affairs.
The congressman has previously pushed for the US government to review its recognition of Papua as part of Indonesia.
After being denied a visit to Papua, Faleomavaega met Indonesian lawmakers, Papuan leaders and government officials in the capital Jakarta on his four-day visit.
Separately, Human Rights Watch said in a report that in 2005 paramilitary forces burnt down houses in at least 13 villages in a search for members of a separatist group. It said many Papuans were missing or dead and tens of thousands displaced.
The report said a "culture of impunity" was part of the problem in Papua where it said in the 14 incidents it documented, only one member of the security forces had faced prosecution.
"I think it's a reflection of the lack of serious accountability mechanism within the police and within the justice system towards the police," Joseph Saunders of Human Rights Watch told a news conference to mark the launch of the report.
National Police spokesman Sisno Adiwinoto has denied any rights violations by police in Papua.
"Anyone found to have violated human rights will face the law. No one in the police is immune to the law," Adiwinoto said. "The Indonesian police ensures human rights are upheld in each of its operations; we don't violate them."
Indonesia took over Papua from Dutch colonial rule in 1963. In 1969 its rule was formalized in a vote by community leaders which was widely criticized as political theatre. Jakarta places restrictions on access to Papua for journalists, diplomats and human rights organizations.