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West Papua/Irian Jaya
Impacts on Human Security |
Human Security in West Papua has been significantly threatened by human rights abuses, deteriorating health and education systems, pollution of the environment, transmigration and damage to natural resources.
Human Rights
Since the fall of Suharto in 1998, the central government has augmented its military presence in the province with thousands of new troops, resulting in a number of human rights related problems. For further information on abuses, see West Papua Action and the Human Rights Watch report, Violence and Political Impasse in Papua.
John Rumbiak, supervisor of West Papua’s leading human rights watch-dog, The Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (ELS-HAM), has argued that the fundamental basis of conflict in West Papua/Irian Jaya includes the Papuan right to self-determination, the culture of militarism dominating the province, misguided development policies, the silence of the international community, and the proposals for “wider autonomy” offered by Jakarta for West Papua.
These elements have subsequently resulted, according to Human Rights Watch, in three general categories of human rights abuse. First, the Indonesian ban on pro-independence has resulted in a number of violent incidents in which the police have aggressively attempted to restrain flag-raisings. Connected with the ban and its consequent violence have been periodic attacks on pro-independence centers, such as a clash which occurred in Wamena, capital of the Jayawijaya district, in October 2000.
The riot arose in the wake of threats by the Indonesian authorities to ban all raisings of the Papuan nationalist flag. Although the government had formally postponed the ban, police nonetheless attacked several community centers which had been raising the flag. The raids resulted in several arrests, shootings, and deaths. The Papuan response to the raids was a full outrage. Mobs traveled to Wamena, killing non-Papuan migrants along the way. In the clash between the Papuan mobs and police that ensued at least seven Papuans and twenty-four non-Papuans were killed. Thousands of migrants fled Wamena out of fear for continued Papuan reprisal for the police attacks.
A second type of abuse has been what some have called almost indiscriminate jailings of political figures, a method reminiscent of the Suharto regime. Notwithstanding former President Wahid’s statements on the utility of free political speech, some argue the statutory prohibitions against “spreading hatred” have been dusted off in order to imprison the politically defiant. Regarding such events, ELS-HAM has recorded over 80 cases of summary executions and 500 cases of arbitrary detention and torture between 1998 and 2000. There is also a marked increase in incidences of torture and mal-treatment of detainees, which in some cases have resulted in custodial deaths. Human rights groups charge that the Security Forces intimidate and threaten human rights defenders and obstruct them from performing their duties. The freedom of the press has been curtailed, restrictions have been placed on local journalists while foreign journalists are denied access to West Papua.
A third type of abuse has been the threat of violence which hovers over Indonesian migrants in West Papua/Irian Jaya. A blend of Papuan political resentment, economic disparities, and the relative vulnerability of migrants has resulted in a number of violent encounters between Papuans and migrants, such as the riots in Wamena. Infuriated by the dilution of their culture by transmigration and their environment by Multinational Corporations (MNCs), Papuans have occasionally attacked their more educated and economically advantaged migrant neighbors. Violence towards migrants threatens to continue in impending months as Papuan leaders still have not taken responsibility for criticizing the violence as it occurs.
Although the allowance of political expression continues to be muted, and violence only seems to be escalating, a humanitarian presence is actively operating on the ground in West Papua/Irian Jaya. In addition to international human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, which have made international calls for greater freedoms for the Papuan people, local organizations such as ELS-HAM and TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign in London are also active. Both groups have been consistently protesting the imprisonment of several Papuan leaders (see July 2001 report, Criminalising Politics in West Papua). The following month, Tapol sent an open letter to Megawati urging more humane treatment in West Papua, among other regions. Additionally, PAVO, the Papuan Peoples Centre for Study and Information, launched a campaign in October 2000 to persuade the United Nations and governments to review the Act of Free Choice.
Health and Education
Additional issues impacting the people of West Papua/Irian Jaya include serious health risks. In August 2000, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that close to 40% of the people who had been examined in the Sentani Lake region in Jayapura were diagnosed with tuberculosis. The Healthy Lung Foundation, an NGO operating in the area, plans to establish mobile clinics to provide specialized health care, in cooperation with community health services. Additionally, the provincial Parliament (DPRD) plans to allocate funds needed to improve Jayapura’s hospital. The DPRD is also considering an additional subsidy to the hospital to provide free medication for the economically disadvantaged.
Education in West Papua/Irian Jaya is severely underdeveloped, as the provincial rate of illiteracy is nearly double the national average. The illiteracy rate is approximately 30.5% for the province, with a rate of 81.5% in the highlands district. At the heart of Papuan difficulties with educational development is the plight of children. World Vision International (WVI) in cooperation with UNICEF Jayapura and the provincial government conducted a 2-day seminar on August 6-7, 2001 on the Convention on the Rights of Children. The seminar discussed the promotion of child survival, development, education and protection. One result of the Convention was a recommendation that a section dealing with the rights of children be incorporated into the special autonomy bill currently under review by the Indonesian House of Representatives.
Self-Identity and Multiculturalism
At the core of Papuan claims that they are being robbed of their cultural identity is the government’s official policy on transmigration, Indonesia’s voluntary program for restoring a more even distribution of population to the country. The government hopes that transmigration will lessen the over-crowding problems of some of its major cities, to raise living standards, provide opportunities for new jobs, contribute to the overall development of the nation, and augment national bonds of unity which will realize the Indonesian aspiration of “unity in diversity.”
Despite the apparently positive intentions of the transmigration policy makers, Papuans claim that they have been dispossessed of their ancestral lands, and made to feel like aliens in their own homeland. With the rate of migrants steadily increasing over the past several years, and with projections of growth only on the rise with indigenous Papuans becoming a real minority, there seems little hope for a salvation of the cultural integrity Papuans perceive to be slipping through their fingers.
Many indigenous Papuans, such as forest dwellers like the Moi and Asmat, have lost their traditional way of life due to displacement in favor of creating new settlements for migrants. For other groups, such as the Dani and Mbua, people have been forcibly removed to areas away from prospective mining locations, sometimes in lower altitudes with a low resistance to malaria. See the West Papua Information Kit for further information.
Interestingly, Jakarta would likely not argue with Papuan claims of cultural disintegration as an essential element of the transmigration process, after all, is the creation of a unified Indonesian identity and “one kind of man.”
Whatever the reality of transmigration’s positive impact on West Papua, the survival of Papuan culture is at serious risk. Compounding the problem are the mining and deforestation activities rampant in the region, discussed further below, which have displaced thousands of Papuans from their homes.
Environment
Largely due to its immense natural resources, West Papua/Irian Jaya has attracted multi-national corporations (MNCs) since 1967. Today, West Papua/Irian Jaya ranks as the most polluted province in Indonesia, with severe degradation of its mineral, forestry, and fishery resources. Among the province’s environmental concerns, mining and logging are among the chief sources of worry.
Although there are a number of MNCs operating within West Papua/Irian Jaya, the American company Freeport is conspicuously known as the province’s worst pollutant. Freeport's gold-mining operations in West Papua/Irian Jaya are at elevations of more than 13,500 feet above sea-level in the central highlands of the island where the company has ground 400 feet off the top of one of the mountains. During much of Freeport’s existence at its first primary site, the extent of environmental damage was limited. However, in 1989 the company discovered new ore reserves and the environmental impact of the mine quickly accelerated.
According to a report from American University’s Trade Environment Database, one of the most significant forms of pollution has been Freeport’s disposal of “tailings” which ultimately end up polluting the river system. As stated by the report, “when one visitor recently asked a Freeport security guard if he drinks from [the river], the officer laughed: ‘If you drink that water, you'll die.’”
Additionally, many indigenous Papuans have been threatened by the granting of vast tracts of land to timber companies. These activities are jeopardizing the viability of the one of the world’s largest rainforests, second only to the Amazon. For more information on mining and lumber activities in West Papua/Irian Jaya, see West Papua Information Kit.
Natural Disasters
In addition to the mining and lumber issues hounding West Papua/Irian Jaya, the province is still recovering from an outbreak of fires that scourged the region in 1997. Estimates are that more than a million hectares were scorched. Due to intense smoke, toxic fumes, and a heavy loss of agricultural land, thousands of indigenous Papuans face starvation and death.
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