Setyo Budi – The Jakarta-Papua dialogue is a test of political will for the Indonesian government and the West Papuan leadership in their search for a long-lasting, peaceful resolution to the question of West Papua. Initiated by Dr Neles Tebay, the coordinator of Papua Peace Network in 2003 the dialogue is intended as an avenue for reconciling two conflicting interests: independence versus integration.
The dialogue process is based on a recommendation by the Indonesian Institute of Science – the Indonesian government's think tank – and its "Papua Roadmap" that was developed in 2007. It calls for a dialogue between Jakarta and key Papuan leaders, including the provincial government, traditional and ethnic leaders, religious groups, women's organisations and NGOs. Indonesian politicians and top military officials consider the project ambitious. The dialogue is framed as a free and frank discussion, covering such issues as the 1969 Act of Free Choice and other sensitive political matters.
Reactions from both sides have been mixed. A US diplomatic cable recently released by WikiLeaks shows there was disagreement among Indonesian officials about the proposal. Dated 9 March 2009, it shows that the Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, A.S. Widodo, opposed the idea despite then Minister of Defence Sudarsono's encouragement. Opposition also came from the Ministry of Home Affairs and "most of the Indonesian intelligence and security agencies". The cable continued: "They rejected any attempt to review the Act of Free Choice or other sensitive issues [as] the dialogue could challenge the most fundamental value of Indonesian nationalists and the unity and territorial integrity of Indonesia. Hard-line nationalists will likely do all they can to stop it".
Opposition to the dialogue continues. It was evidenced in presentations by top Indonesian officials at the conference "Make Papua a Land of Peace", which was held as part of the preliminary process of the dialogue in July this year at the University of Cendrawasih, Aberpura. Djoko Sujanto, Indonesian Minister-Coordinator for Politics and Law, dismissed the conference theme, painting a rosy picture of a peaceful Papua. He did not recognise any human rights violations by the Indonesian military against West Papuan civilians.
As pointed out by Richard Chauvel, an academic and author of several books on West Papua, who attended the conference, "His speech fundamentally opposes the theme of conference". Sujanto called on statistics to prove that West Papua is peaceful. But this statement begs a question about the number of troops deployed in West Papua, which far surpasses other parts of Indonesia. Impartial Jakarta-based Human Rights Monitor reports that to date there are thirty thousand security personnel in West Papua. Fourteen thousand are under Cendrawasih regional command, the rest under Jakarta command. If the national liberation army, the Free Papua Organisation (TRN/OPM), does not pose a threat to the region, might business interests account for such deployments?
In another leaked cable, dated 1 Oct 2007, Berty Fernandez, a Department of Foreign Affairs official seconded to the provincial government to handle border issues, said "the Indonesian Military (TNI) has far more troops in Papua than it is willing to admit to, chiefly to protect and facilitate TNI's interests in illegal logging operations". He added, "The governor had to move cautiously so as not to upset the TNI, which he said operates as a virtually autonomous governmental entity within the province".
Shooting incidents between TNI and OPM rebel groups as well as human rights violations perpetrated by TNI continue, particularly in the Central Highlands region. The latest shooting incident took place in Paniai on Indonesian independence day, 17 August, when John Magay Yogi, a twenty-three-year-old field commander of the TPN/OPM Region IV and his rebel group ambushed police headquarters in Komopa, a sub-district of Agadide, seizing two SKS rifles. The incident was followed by a shoot-out at 1.55 am the same night around two villages close to the Paniai capital, Madi. Yogi's rebel group later attacked the police and army headquarters.
As a result hundreds of Indonesian army and police officers have reportedly been deployed by air and land to the Paniai district. The incident generated fear among local people, who have deserted their homes to live in the jungle. They are afraid of the heavily armed troops who are present in the town, and do not want to become casualties.
Since the attacks the police have also been intimidating the local population. Yuven Tekege, a West Papuan political activist said that one of the police commanders in Paniai sent an SMS to the district administrator calling for two residents to be 'captured, tortured and killed or buried alive' for allegedly being members of the OPM.
Yogi comes from a family with a history of opposition to the Indonesian government. His father, Tadius Yogi, was in charge of Territorial War Commands (KODAP) IV in Nabire and Paniai. His rebel group is one element in the West Papuan struggle that opposes the dialogue process. "I am ready to wage war with traditional weapons. I reject any dialogues with the Indonesian government, and I want UN troops deployed in Papua", Yogi has said.
Rex Rumakiek, Secretary General of the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation, believes Yogi's proposition is not effective and is too costly. "Negotiation with Indonesia is the best way to solve the conflict. The Papua congress in 2000 also decided that negotiation is the way forward." Rumakiek was selected at the conference as one of five Papuan representatives in the Jakarta-Papua dialogue. Like Rumakiek, the other four live abroad.
At the end of the conference delegates produced a declaration that emphasises, among other points, the importance of "dialogue between the Papuan people and the Indonesian government, mediated by a neutral third party". The involvement of a third party was perhaps not expected by the Indonesian government. After all, the government wants to define the conflict as a domestic issue – and this is likely to confirm Indonesian nationalists' worst fears.
The conference showed up a gap in perceptions about the nature of the conflict between Indonesian officials and West Papuans. While government officials offered informal "constructive communication" without clearly articulating what they had in mind, activists responded with a demand for a much more formal dialogue. "The conference reveals that the strength of independent sentiment in Papua among that section of the population is as strong now as it was ten years ago", said Chauvel. Chauvel feels that the Special Autonomy Law, Jakarta's response to try and persuade Papuans to move away from independence, has failed. Under that law, enacted in 2001, the provincial government assumed responsibility for all matters except for foreign affairs, defence and security, fiscal and monetary policy, religious affairs and justice. The Special Autonomy Law also required that Jakarta give the provincial government a greater portion of the revenue from Papua's natural resource exports.
Diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks show that both Papua and Jakarta have failed to follow through on this matter. There is a lack of trained personnel and administrative structures to assume the new responsibilities and lack of coordination among Papuan leaders over priorities and corruption related to mining and forestry concessions.
At about the same time that Sujanto was delivering his speech in Puncak, three soldiers from Infantry Battalion 751 were shot, one while on patrol and two at their post in Kalome, Tingginambut. On 12 July two soldiers from Battalion 753 and a civilian were wounded in another attack in Kalome, while several civilians were wounded as the TNI were searching for the perpetrators. Anton Tabuni, secretary-general of the OPM for the Central Highlands region claimed responsibility for the attacks, which he said in a press conference on 5 August were "a way of showing to the world" that the struggle for West Papuan independence is here to stay.
The National Committee for West Papua is another group that rejected the dialogue process. They have argued that the goal should be a referendum not dialogue. Demonstrations organised by them on 2 August were attended by thousands of West Papuans in Jayapura and other cities in West Papua. The demonstrations coincided with a seminar on the 1969 Act of Free Choice held in Oxford, organised by International Lawyers for West Papua. To date there is no a formal government response to the conference outcome, but Rumakiek is hopeful that the dialogue will go ahead. "We will keep talking to Indonesia as a friend, as a neighbour", said Rumakiek. "The international community also wants Indonesia to engage in the dialogue."
International pressure worries the nationalists in government. East Timor has set a precedent for Indonesia. And perhaps for this reason the Indonesian Special Forces, Kopassus, has spied on human rights activists and government officials in West Papua and abroad. Recently documents were leaked that range from internal briefings, presentations, teaching tools and intelligence products such as daily and quarterly Kopassus reports to a paper "Study on the Claim of the Historical Correction of the Act of Free Choice" on the status of Papua under international law.
These approximately 500 pages of documents from 2006 to 2009 include detailed reports of military surveillance of civilians and provide military perspectives on social and political issues in the area. Most are from Indonesia"s Kopassus and the Cendrawasih military command in Jayapura. 'The Kopassus documents show the deep military paranoia in Papua that conflates peaceful political expression with criminal activity", stated Elaine Person, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, in the organisation's press release.
One of the documents, "Anatomy of Papuan Separatists", reveals that Kopassus has classified public seminars, demonstrations and press conferences as pro-separatism activities. It contains detailed information about organisational structures, figures in the OPM and NGO activists. Prominent West Papuan leaders such as Barnabas Suebu, the Governor of Papua province, John Otto Ondamawe, Rex Rumakiek, and Benny Wenda are noted as being under surveillance. US senators, New Zealand members of parliament, Australian politicians, journalist and academics were, similarly, listed as under surveillance. A separate document describes a surveillance operation in 2011, which makes it clear that such surveillance continues to this day.
What the Indonesian military is doing is familiar to activists. During the struggle for independence in East Timor, the Indonesian military used surveillance to monitor and control the movement of Falintil guerrilla fighters, human rights activists, students and others, including the church. Later the military also set up militia groups to intimidate those who supported independence. A similar process is happening in West Papua.
A local source has said that a new militia organisation, Malenesia Papua for Indonesia, was formed early this month. It is suggested that this is a step taken to counter the current political situation in the region. Eurico Guterres, a notorious East Timorese militia leader who now resides in Indonesia, will work with this organisation. In East Timor militia members who were recruited, trained and aided by TNI were used to fight those who struggled for independence. This conflict was then used as justification for military intervention.
The timing of the formation of new militia coincides with the organising of Papua Peoples' Congress III that will be held in October this year. Five thousand people are expected to attend the congress from Indonesia and abroad. Koffi Annan, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Pope Benediktus XVI and Desmond Tutu will be invited as keynote speakers. The congress is designed as an avenue for West Papuans to decide on future development in the region and to empower indigenous Papuans in all aspects of life. The congress will be used to formulate a strategy for the West Papuans' future.
As a strategy to bolster the dialogue with Indonesia, the West Papuan leadership has lobbied diplomats from various countries. They have used the latest Pacific Island Forum as an avenue to promote interest in the situation in West Papua. The outcome so far seems positive, with the New Zealand government saying that in principal it will be ready to facilitate the dialogue.
Another positive outcome of the Forum for West Papuans came from the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, who stated that the issue of human rights is something that should be discussed with the Decolonisation Committee of the United Nations General Assembly. Although this is a very positive indication of movement forward for West Papuans, the impact will not be immediate. Because any such process will be implemented through recommendations of member countries and before passing through the United Nations Assembly, as noted by Rex Rumakiek, 'It has a long way to go'.
[Setyo Budi is an Indonesian journalist who has reported on East Timor. He now lives in Chewton.]