Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The Indonesian Foreign Ministry said the United States House of Representatives had scrapped from the country's foreign relations bill approved last week a provision highlighting the political status of West Papua and the human rights condition in the province.
"They said they did not want to disrupt the election in Indonesia," ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The bill that was brought to the House on May 14 initially contained a section calling on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to make "a report on the 1969 Act of Free Choice, the current political status of West Papua, and the extent to which the Government of Indonesia has implemented and included the leadership and the people of West Papua in the development and administration of Special Autonomy."
It also required President Barack Obama to file a report describing "the extent" to which the Indonesian government ensures that it has stopped rights abuses in Papua.
Faizasyah said it was not the first time the US congress blocked an effort by a few of its members to question the political status of Papua. "The similar provision was blocked by the Senate in 2006," he said.
The ministry's statement contradicts the report made by the East Timor Action Network (ETAN) and West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) in which they praise the US House for keeping the section on Papua in the approved bill.
"This bill demonstrates that the House of Representatives takes Papuan concerns seriously and Jakarta should also," Ed McWilliams of WPAT said.
John M. Miller of ETAN added: "The House should follow up this important authorization legislation by passing meaningful conditions on US security assistance to Indonesia."
Jakarta is convinced the provision had been discarded. "I have contacted my friend in the US. They have confirmed," Faizasyah said, and questioned the two groups' motive in making such statement.
The US embassy was not available for confirmation on Friday. The amended version of the bill available at the US House's website, however, does not remove a three page section on West Papua.
Indonesia, the bill says, had orchestrated "an election many regarded as a brutal military operation. In what became known as an 'act of no-choice, 1,025 West Papua elders under heavy military surveillance were selected to vote on behalf of more than 800,000 West Papuans on the Territory's political status.
US-Indonesia relations have been improving under Barack Obama's leadership. Clinton and Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda met in Washington early this month to discuss a comprehensive partnership agreement.
Clinton said after the meeting the US wanted to have "closer connections with Indonesia and a military-to-military relationship."