Jayapura, Jubi – Conflict in Papua has increasingly shifted from separatist issues towards disputes over the environment and natural resources, according to researcher Adriana Elisabeth.
Ms Elisabeth, a former researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), which has since been incorporated into the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), said the shift was particularly evident in opposition to national strategic projects in South Papua, where large areas of customary land have been used for development.
"I see a shift in the conflict, from separatism to environmental conflict. Environmental issues used to centre on PT Freeport, but now they have expanded to national strategic projects in South Papua," Ms Elisabeth said.
She made the comments during the launch of the book "Thom Beanal: Lay Pastor, Tribal Leader and Father of the Papuan People" at the MAWI office in Jakarta on Thursday, August 27. The event was also streamed on YouTube and reported by Jubi.
Ms Elisabeth said the issues portrayed in the documentary Pesta Babi were consistent with findings from LIPI research, including research into the struggle of the late Papuan leader Thom Beanal, which is documented in the book written by Markus Haluk.
She said the documentary presented long-standing issues in Papua in a different format, while the concerns raised by Beanal remained largely unchanged.
According to Ms Elisabeth, there are four major underlying issues in Papua.
The first is the history of integration and political identity, including unresolved questions surrounding Papua's political status and its integration into Indonesia.
The second is political violence and human rights violations, with many cases from the past yet to be fully and fairly resolved.
The third is what she described as failures in development policies, particularly in education and healthcare, which she said had not sufficiently empowered Indigenous Papuans.
The fourth is marginalisation and inconsistency in the implementation of special autonomy, which she said had contributed to the economic and cultural marginalisation of Indigenous Papuans.
Ms Elisabeth also criticised a meeting between the so-called Team of 100 and then-president BJ Habibie at the State Palace in Jakarta on February 26, 1999, saying it did not constitute genuine dialogue.
Thom Beanal, who represented Papuan communities at the meeting, called for Papuans to be allowed to determine their own future, including seeking independence or separation from Indonesia.
Ms Elisabeth said the demand was rooted in accumulated grievances arising from Papua's history.
She said President Habibie responded that establishing a new country was not an easy matter and asked the Papuan representatives to reconsider their demands.
Book author Markus Haluk said Thom Beanal had long raised concerns about what he described as genocide, ethnocide and ecocide in Papua.
Mr Haluk described Beanal as a national figure who brought together people with different political positions.
He said Beanal was a humanist who was able to work with different groups while maintaining a strong position as a customary landowner in an area containing one of the world's largest mining operations.
Separately, lawyer and former director of Elsham Papua Aloysius Renwarin raised concerns about the Indonesian government's decision to extend PT Freeport Indonesia's special mining licence from 2041 to 2061.
Mr Renwarin and fellow activist John Rumbiak previously assisted Thom Beanal and other community leaders, including Mama Josepha Alomang, in their legal campaign against Freeport, including proceedings in New Orleans in the United States.
Mr Renwarin said Freeport's environmental impacts and plans for the mine's eventual closure required a comprehensive review.
He said Freeport began mining at Mount Ertsberg in 1973, before environmental impact assessments, known in Indonesia as AMDAL, were legally required.
Indonesia's first environmental management law came into effect in 1982, while technical implementation of environmental impact assessments began nationally following a government regulation issued in 1986.
"From 1973 to 1986 there was no accountability through an environmental impact assessment, so there needs to be a comprehensive environmental review, particularly given the condition of Mount Ertsberg, which has been excavated and turned into a lake at an altitude of thousands of metres," Mr Renwarin said.
He said environmental impact assessments for Freeport were only discussed after mining operations began at Mount Grasberg in 1988.
Mr Renwarin also pointed to changes to the landscape caused by mining waste discharged into the Wanogong River, known as the Aykwa River in the Kamoro language, including sedimentation and changes to the surrounding landscape.
He said further environmental assessments should be conducted for underground mining and the company's eventual mine closure, with the process carried out transparently and in cooperation with local governments.
Ertsberg's production declined during the 1980s and the mine closed in 1988, according to geologist George A. Mealey's book Grasberg: Mining the Richest and Most Remote Deposit of Copper and Gold in the World, in the Mountains in Irian Jaya, Indonesia.
Mealey wrote that the former Ertsberg excavation had become a water reservoir used in ore processing and was known as Wilson Lake.
The Grasberg mine, which replaced Ertsberg, began open-pit operations in 1988. Surface mining was gradually phased out and officially ended in late 2019 after the accessible surface mineral reserves were depleted.
With underground mining continuing, Menuel John Magal, director of the Amungme Indigenous Community Institution (LEMASA), said the company's environmental impact assessment should be revised.
He said Freeport's obligations towards local communities for the period from 2024 to 2041 should be negotiated with communities and incorporated into the company's environmental impact assessment.
Freeport Indonesia's Director and Executive Vice President for Sustainable Development, Claus Wamafma, said the company remained committed to sustainable mining practices and long-term environmental rehabilitation.
He said plans for the post-mining period, including staged implementation and funding, had been prepared and approved by the Indonesian government.
"We have prepared the post-mining plan, including its stages and technical funding arrangements," Mr Wamafma said.
He acknowledged the economic challenge facing Mimika Regency, where mining operations and related activities still contribute significantly to the local economy.
Mr Wamafma said Freeport's social programs in Mimika, Central Papua, were being implemented in collaboration with the local government.