New Zealand could help a colonised people solve their problems with Jakarta, writes Maire Leadbeater.
OPINION: My introduction to West Papua was flying for many kilometres over the vast grey tailings deposition area created by the infamous Freeport McMoran gold and copper mine.
The flight from Bali to the capital, Jayapura, stopped briefly at Freeport’s Mozes Kilangin Airport, in Timika. The mine has brought immense wealth for its multinational owner and the Jakarta government, but for the local tribal people only pollution, displacement, poverty and militarisation. It has been the same story for the exploitation of territory’s other rich resources, especially its virgin forests.
In Jayapura the economic and social marginalisation of the indigenous Melanesian Papuans is immediately obvious. Papuans are now close to becoming a minority in their own land as a consequence of decades of high migration from other parts of Indonesia.
Papuan women sell their beautiful crafts and their produce from a mat spread out on the steps in front of the glitzy supermarket or at the night market on land used by day as a car park. At the Yotefa market near the capital, migrants seemed to have cornered the market for every kind of commodity and are even - to the dismay of the Papuans -selling betel nut (pinang) - a traditional taonga of Papuan culture.
You also cannot miss the level of security presence; policemen and soldiers seemed to be everywhere; in restaurants and shops, driving or walking through the town. In the rural areas it was the same. I visited a small village of perhaps 30 or 40 houses – with no electricity, no phone, no running water and no transport service - but its very own military post keeping track of everyone.
In Jayapura, the immaculate Brimob base was particularly formidable. Five tank-like vehicles, two armoured buses and one shiny new anti-terror vehicle equipped with water- cannon were lined up on the parade ground facing the main street.
I saw the vehicles deployed -waiting in readiness in central Jayapura while a 50-or-60- strong “Reject autonomy” demonstration took place at the provincial parliament building. Fortunately, on this occasion there were no arrests, but it would be hard to overestimate the courage of those who gather knowing that their actions are being monitored.
Media attention
Few journalists are able to get visas to go to West Papua so it doesn’t often hit the news headlines, but when I visited in November international media attention was relatively high. This was largely down to the wide distribution of a video clip graphically depicting the brutal torture of two Papuan farmers by the security forces. One of the victims cries in agony as a smouldering stick is held to his genitals.
The spotlight also turned on New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully in October when he visited Jakarta to launch an Indonesia-New Zealand Friendship Council. Challenged about the video, he merely “welcomed” the undertaking given to him by Indonesian Foreign Affairs counterpart that there would be an internal investigation into this crime.
To widespread international outrage, a military court has just handed down token sentences of 8-10 months for “disobeying orders”. The three soldiers won’t even be discharged.
New Zealand has had a consistent foreign policy position on West Papua since Indonesia annexed the territory in 1969 under the highly contested “Act of Free Choice” which Papuans refer to as the “Act of No Choice”. It is an expedient policy based on maintaining a good bilateral relationship with Indonesia, rather than on human rights.
In the last few years New Zealand has restored its defence training ties with the Indonesian military and commenced training the West Papuan police in community policing strategies. Papuans I met were sceptical and sometimes hostile towards these schemes. Hardly any indigenous officers are involved and police, like the military, are viewed as part of the coercive structure of a repressive government.
But now there is a new opportunity for New Zealand to change course. Papuan leaders have been working to unite the many groups working for political change. For some the idea of sitting down to dialogue with Indonesia after decades of killings and conflict is anathema, but the call for peaceful dialogue with Indonesia is gaining wide support.
Father NelesTebay, an academic and key architect of the work to persuade Indonesia to talk to accredited representatives of the Papuan movement, is a wonderfully persistent and patient man. He told me that New Zealand is often mentioned as a possible mediator based on our past success in helping to broker an end to the brutal conflict between the Bougainville resistance and the government of Papua New Guinea.
Peace talks
Beginning in 1997, New Zealand hosted a series of peace talks – the first of which was a reconciliation meeting involving only the Bougainville factions. There was an infusion of Māori protocol into the process which enabled bitter grievances to be aired safely as trust was slowly developed.
Indonesia remains reluctant to talk about dialogue, but Father Neles is undeterred and notes that Indonesian President has suggested “constructive communication” with the Papuans. For Indonesia as well as for New Zealand dialogue could be more “expedient” than spiraling violence.
There is goodwill towards New Zealanders. I met former political prisoner Yusak Pakage, who says he owes his early release last July to an Amnesty International campaign that involved many New Zealanders. The “crime”? Yusak and Filep Karma raised the banned West Papua Morning Star flag during a peaceful demonstration in late 2004.
Amnesty continues to advocate for Filep and many others in jail for daring to express their political aspirations. I shared stories about New Zealand campaigns including our opposition to the Super Fund’s investment in Freeport.
One day I was in an area largely converted to growing palm oil explaining to tribal elders that we had held demonstrations to protest about imports of the endangered tropical hardwood kwila. I began to describe the costume we made to depict a cassowary only to have a real live cassowary bird pointed out to me!
I met some of the traditional, church and student leaders whose names had been published as part of a blacklist drawn up by Kopassus.the Indonesian Special Forces. US journalist Alan Nairn had just leaked a document outlining plans to infiltrate civilian institutions and to target key individuals identified as “enemies of the state”.
The Rev. Socratez Yoman, leader of the Baptist Church in West Papua, visited New Zealand in 2006. Despite his name being at the head of this scary list, he greeted me warmly and told me he was undeterred from speaking out on “ justice, peace, equality, democracy” on behalf of God’s people.
Maire Leadbeater is the spokeswoman of the Indonesia Human Rights Committee. This article was first published in The Dominion Post.
