About Papua

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About Papua

genocide of the indigenous, (predominantly) Christian population

Elizabeth Kendal
Principal Researcher and Writer for the
World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)

Did you know that over recent years Papua has been subjected to:

- an increased TNI troop presence;

- a deadly crackdown on Papuan pro-independence leaders and activists as well as human rights monitors;

- isolation caused by the effective closure of the province to foreign journalists and rights monitors;

- an escalation in HIV and AIDS infections due to AIDS infected prostitutes introduced by the Indonesian military;

- an increase in harassment and provocation from the TNI;

- an increase in Islamist intimidation and threat;

- a dramatic shift in ethnic and religious demographics (especially in the west), which affects political outcomes;

- and that these combined are working to elicit the slow genocide of the indigenous, predominantly Christian Papuan population.

that Papuans have lost all confidence in the Indonesian government.

Our immediate desire must be for to indigenous Papuans to have human rights and religious liberty with peace, dignity and security.

WEA RLC acknowledges:

that the Act of Free Choice, as unjust as it was, has resulted in Papua being incorporated into Indonesia. As such, Indonesia now has (so to speak) the high ground. As the old adage goes: 'Possession is nine-tenths of the law', although this in reality relates not to any issue of 'law' but to the age-old rule of 'force';
that Indonesia has no intention of letting Papua secede, and that there are several reasons for this:

- Papua is an enormous source of wealth for the Indonesian government and the Indonesian military;

- the nationalistic zeal stoked by East Timor's independence has made the subject of Papuan independence politically untenable, with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidency relying on his ability to keep Indonesia together;

- the loss of East Timor has led to Papua becoming the focus of pro-Indonesia militias (with nationalist motivations), domestic and foreign Islamic jihad militias (with religious motivations), and the Indonesian military (with both power and financial motivations). Thus, Papua is crawling with well-armed men willing to fight until the mountains flow blood, just to keep Papua as part of Indonesia.

In the light of the above, WEA RLC acknowledges that while the status quo is not acceptable:

a serious push for independence by Papuan independence activists and fighters could well lead to internal unrest across Indonesia, destabilising the world's largest Muslim emerging democracy, as well as serious conflict in Papua, resulting in massive bloodshed and loss of life amongst Papua's already traumatised indigenous population.

Therefore: WEA RLC proposes that an authoritative body be established to work for a peace and rights settlement for the Indonesian province of Papua, and monitor its implementation.

This body would be similar to the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that brokered peace and autonomy for Southern Sudan. It would need to include elected representatives from Papua, high level delegates from the UN and the governments of Indonesian, Australia, PNG, USA, UK, Netherlands, Vanuatu and Nauru, and possibly from the EU and NZ.

This body would have the leverage and authority required to pressure the Indonesian government to live up to its obligations and honour its commitments, in particular to autonomy for Papua.

Issues that require immediate attention are -

TRANSMIGRATION: the rapidly shifting demographics of Papua, which is a consequence of the Indonesian government's transmigration policy which is designed to Javanise and Islamise Papua by demographic means. By this strategy the indigenous Papuan population is being submerged and diluted. The aim is that they should be rendered politically powerless and culturally invisible – it is a policy for death by demographics.
TNI and ARMED MILITIAS: the militias must be banned and disarmed, and non-residents who have traveled to Papua purely to fight (especially foreign jihadists) must be expelled. The TNI should be at the very least reined in and their presence minimised. With peace, a civilian police force would eventually maintain security.
AUTONOMY: negotiations could begin with the implementation of the Special Autonomy Law, especially the reversal of the illegal division of Papua, and fresh elections for the Papua Presidium so that it is able to represent the Papuans.
MONITORS: Papua must be opened up to foreign journalists and human rights monitors.

The situation in Papua will only improve if international actors are prepared to pressure Indonesia to make it happen.

Churches should be encouraged to pray and advocate to this end. The future is another day. What is important today is that peace, dignity, human rights, security, and autonomy are restored. After the betrayal and the decades of indifference, the international community owes this to the Papuans. It is matter of justice. It is a matter of morality. It is a matter of human dignity and liberty.

WEA RLC
28 April 2006

Elizabeth Kendal is the Principal Researcher and Writer for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC) www.worldevangelical.org/rlc.html. This article was initially written for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis mailing list. - Elizabeth can be contacted by e-mail at rl-research@crossnet.org.au.