Nivell Rayda & Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – As calls for independence in Papua and West Papua intensify, leaders in the restive provinces have rejected the possibility of talks with the government until it acknowledges human rights abuses and ensures economic development.
"We don't want to talk to Jakarta because Jakarta never wants to talk to us," said Herman Awom, from the Papuan People's Council (MRP), a body set up under special autonomy legislation to protect Papuan cultural values.
"Jakarta does this because they don't want to admit that Papuans are killed through military oppression and they don't want to acknowledge that the special autonomy status... has failed to empower the locals," he said at a Jakarta news conference on Tuesday.
Forkorus Yobiosembut, the head of the Papua Traditional Council (DAP), said Papuans wanted more interaction with the international community.
"We challenge Jakarta to allow international researchers to come to Papua and conduct an investigation into the conditions of the Papuan people," he said.
"Jakarta is afraid because the researchers will certainly find that most Papuans are restless and resent the central government. If there was a referendum, I'm sure that more than 90 percent of Papuans would prefer independence over remaining a part of Indonesia." Papua was granted autonomy in 2001 to suppress calls for independence and to give the provincial administration more power to manage its own financial affairs.
Jakarta later broke it up to create the province of West Papua, which a court ruled was in violation of the autonomy law. Observers and government officials have since acknowledged that autonomy and the split have not helped the provinces develop.
Salmon Jumame, chairman of the Forum for Democracy in Papua, said the government had been inconsistent in its attempts to implement the special autonomy status, leading to growing calls for independence.
"Special autonomy has allowed a massive influx of migrants to Papua," he said. "Papuans are now a minority in their own home and most of them unable to compete economically with the migrants.
"Autonomy has only brought unemployment, poverty and ecological destruction to native Papuans, because the government has failed to implement it properly, with complete disregard for the principles of empowerment."
On Sept. 22, the US Congress invited the Papuan leaders to testify about cases of human rights violations as well as the economic and social conditions of their people. Officials from the US State Department and Defense Department also urged Jakarta to resolve cases of human rights abuses but remained supportive of the autonomy program.
In the latest violence to hit the restive region, two people were allegedly gunned down by police officers at an airport in Wamena, Papua, on Monday.
While there have been conflicting reports about the incident, the Papuan leaders said the men were shot for carrying colored hats that, when worn together by a coordinated group, depicted a map of the province.
The men were said to be anticipating Wednesday's return of the Papuan leaders from their visits to Washington and Jakarta. Thousands in the province are expected to be on hand to welcome the leaders home.
Forkorus said various organizations planned a coalition to unify movements in Papua.
"We've agreed to call the people of Papua to conduct mass prayers and fasting throughout the provinces, which will be conducted simultaneously and regularly," he said. "This is no longer the prayer of a certain group, but the prayer of the entire Papuan people."
However, Velix Wanggai, a presidential adviser for regional autonomy and a Papuan native, called the MRP's decision to halt the talks "inappropriate."
"The MRP is an integral part of the regional administration," he said. "They're the Papuan people's cultural representatives, so they shouldn't get involved in politics. They're also highly dependent on the central government, so it's strange that they've rejected the dialogue."
[Additional reporting from Ismira Lutfia.]