A student writer believes greens are trying to preserve West Papua as an archaic backgarden for Westerners disillusioned by modernity.

Wednesday 2 April 2008
Is West Papua being eco-colonised?
A student writer believes greens are trying to preserve West Papua as an archaic backgarden for Westerners disillusioned by modernity. Lee Jones

Independence movements, once determined to win self-determination by force of arms, have increasingly come to rely on appeals for Western intervention to win freedom on their behalf. Rather than demanding our respect as self-determining peoples, independence movements have learned to depict themselves as victims, to appeal to Western prejudices and paternalism – with the result that, for instance, people in Kosovo are still not trusted to run their own affairs without our supervision (1). Now, in an effort to win backing for independence from Indonesia, West Papuans are even appealing to environmentalism.

West Papua was integrated into Indonesia in 1969 via the ‘Act of Free Choice’, a stage-managed consultation of tribal elders, stitched up in advance by Indonesia, the United States, the Netherlands and the UN to produce this outcome. Like other outlying areas of Indonesia, West Papua’s resources were pillaged by powerful Javanese interests and foreign investors like the notorious Freeport mining company, while its people were brutalised by the Indonesian military. The Papuan people have seen little benefit, mostly continuing to live in tribal settlements in grim socio-economic conditions. The Organisasi Papua Merdeka (Organisation for a Free Papua), armed with bows and arrows, was no match for Indonesian troops. Faced with armed defeat, the movement decided to focus entirely on seeking international support for its little-known struggle (2).

Benny Wenda, head of Demmak, a council of tribal leaders, and the Papuan face of the Free West Papua Campaign (FWPC), is based in Oxford, England. He says the OPM’s attempts to win outside support has meant moulding the movement into a form that the ‘international arena’ finds acceptable. Most obviously, this means stressing attachment to non-violence and parliamentary democracy (despite Wenda really favouring ‘tribal democracy’, when pressed). But in today’s political climate, it also means appealing to green sensibilities. In his talks around the Britain, Wenda, a political refugee who suffered torture by Indonesian soldiers, emphasises not merely the suffering inflicted on his people, but also on the birds-of-paradise and the world’s second-largest rainforest, arguing that a ‘genocide’ is being inflicted on nature.

This has attracted some rather strange bedfellows for the FWPC, many of whom are less motivated by a political commitment to self-determination than by a romantic vision of Papua as an arcadian idyll to be preserved at all costs. This includes an organisation called Friends of People Close to Nature (FPCN), who have produced various films promoting the West Papuan cause, which Wenda tours with. Their ‘ethos and statement of principles’ celebrates hunter-gatherers for their ‘non-exploitative relationship with the natural world’ whose ‘unique cultures’ need to be ‘preserved’ from ‘the ideologies of “progress” and “growth” and absorption in the global economy’. Tribal peoples, it argues, ‘are not looking for “equal opportunities” but the[y] just want to be left alone, to live as they always have done’.

They deride economic development for producing ‘a banal, homogenous pulp’, ‘eating at McDonalds, watching the satellite TV and listening to pop music on a Sony Walkman… Material abundance breeds iniquity and spiritual despair’. FPCN’s goal is actually ‘to reverse the process of development’, claiming ‘we should learn from [West Papuans’] reverence for nature… their ancient wisdom’. Its ‘preferential support’ is reserved for those who wish to ‘retain their traditional lifestyles’, and development aid is ‘categorically opposed’ while Western-style schooling is derided for its ‘false choices… the greed it teaches and the potential to pollute and erode distinctive cultures… We need tribal peoples far more than they need us. “They” show us how we once lived in harmony with nature and how we might live again.’ (3) This praise for archaic culture is also echoed by Survival International, which aims to ‘explain the contemporary relevance of their way of life’ (4).

The idea that modern society should be modelled upon stone-age conditions flows directly from environmentalists’ self-loathing attack on economic development. For some greens, primitive tribal peoples are much better than we destructive Westerners at living in harmony with nature in a sustainable fashion. Little wonder that the FWPC’s backers include environmental campaigns like Watch Indonesia!, Indonesian Friends of the Earth, and Down to Earth: the International Campaign for Ecological Justice in Indonesia. West Papua’s mystical aura as the ‘last place in the tropics’ even attracted the attention of arch-green George Monbiot in his book Poisoned Arrows (5).

These people do not support West Papua’s struggle for self-determination as a good in its own right. Indeed, some of them would likely withdraw their ‘preferential support’ if Papuans decided they wanted instead to dominate nature through rapid industrial development – the only way any people has successfully overcome poverty. Rather, they support the idea of man living in a primitive state of ‘harmony’ with nature, and that is what they admire about Papuans. Environmentalists frequently attack developmental projects in poor countries, because they do not think they should develop. It is far easier to hold back development in the global South than to turn the clock backwards in the North. To this end, they push notions of ‘sustainable development’ and ‘appropriate technology’ – often primitive, medieval devices like rope water pumps and ploughs.

There is a revealing similarity between Papuan mysticism, which arises directly out of their subsistence lifestyles, and environmentalists’ dogmatic refrain that there needs to be a balance between man and nature, which apparently Western audiences reject (6). ‘We know how to balance the ecosystem’, an OPM representative tells an Eco-Action activist. ‘I cannot say “this is my plant and I want to take it” – in my culture I must wait for instructions to take it’. He says that Indonesians who say ‘This is my power, I can take whatever I want’ are ‘breaking up our culture’. These ‘instructions’ come from the ‘landlords’ of the forest who are not the Papuans themselves, but ‘spirits’ (7). This sort of subservience of man to nature and spirits must be like manna from heaven for Western greens who want to see people bow down before Gaia.

However, it’s far from obvious that tribal people really reject the massive benefits of economic development and just want to live as they always have done. And yet, indigenist-environmentalists may exercise a pernicious influence on independence movements looking for Western support wherever they can find it. Independence leader Benny Wenda reveals that ‘before I thought, when I was inside [West Papua], people holding the radio, for instance, torch, for instance, car, for instance – “OK, I want that one!” When I came out, and I learned from those people, those groups. And then I compare, OK, what’s fit for my people? What’s good for my people? … Now I also give the message inside, OK, this is how the development can affect your way of life… So I always now educate my people.’

The FWPC’s Richard Samuelson implies that these efforts to (re)educate Papuans are legitimate since ‘the propaganda that Indonesia has put out over the years’ encouraging Papuans to ‘become modern’ makes it impossible to tell how much their desire for modernity ‘is a natural reaction when you see healthcare, or a car, or something that you actually, as a human being, you say, wow, I’d like to have that’, and ‘how much is the impact of that propaganda’. Indigenist ideology thus claims access to a tribal mindset unsullied by the dirty hands of modernity.

Some West Papuans are understandably wary of development, since it has historically been of a deeply exploitative form, imposed by people seen as invaders and occupiers. But Wenda carefully reserves the right for his people democratically to decide on appropriate forms of economic development after independence. The danger, though, is the way that indigenist-environmentalists’ rejection of modernity plays on West Papuans’ rejection of domination. For Wenda now, the sort of development that is desirable is one that ‘fits’ Papuan culture: ‘We need to have a balance between our nature and what kind of development… Any idea, any campaign, any movement, I can feed it into my bag, I can bring it to West Papua. “OK, this is mobile, this is computer, this is clothes,” and then people can choose, “OK, this is good for us, OK, maybe bush knife or shovel”… That is my dream one day.’

The greens’ exploitation of West Papua is a far cry from the demand of Sukarno, Indonesia’s own revolutionary independence leader, speaking at the founding Bandung conference of the Afro-Asian Peoples’ Solidarity Organisation in 1955; he called for ‘the subordination of everything to the well-being of mankind’ (8). West Papuans undoubtedly deserve the right – denied to them in the past – to determine their own political futures, free from external interference. But they also surely deserve the right to achieve a better standard of living than one limited, if indigenists get their way, to the import of bush knives and shovels.

Lee Jones researches Southeast Asian politics at Nuffield College, Oxford. See his website here.
Source: http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/printable/4944/

By Damien Kingsbury, Associate Head (Research) of the School of  International and Political Studies at Deakin University and author  of "The Politics of Indonesia"

Entering its tenth year since the fall of the authoritarian President  Suharto, Indonesia has progressed towards consolidating its  democratic system, respecting rule of law and resolving ethnic grievances.

Notably, after a couple of false starts, the direct election of  President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono helped consolidate Indonesia's  reform process. Yet despite this progress, Indonesia retains a blot  on its democratic and human rights record; that of West Papua.
 
There was some hope after 2001 that Indonesia's process of political  and economic decentralization would allow West Papua a degree of  genuine autonomy.

On paper, the "special autonomy" package offered to West Papua, and  Indonesia's other formerly troubled province of Aceh, looked to  address many outstanding issues.

Yet as has since been noted by many observers, West Papua's "special  autonomy" status has been methodically undermined until it has become  next to meaningless.

In particular, dividing the province into three provinces, later ratified by Indonesia's constitutional court as two, destroyed much of the substance of its autonomy package. A proposal to create even further provinces even further diminishes the original "special autonomy" package.

Meanwhile, since the redeployment of troops following Aceh's successfully negotiated peace settlement, West Papua has seen a significant build-up of soldiers and paramilitary police. The human rights situation, while not at record bad levels, has consequently deteriorated.

Underlying West Papua's problems with Jakarta has been the means by which the territory was incorporated into the state in 1968. In this, a little over one thousand hand-picked village leaders were compelled to ratify West Papua's forced incorporation into Indonesia in 1963. This process was sanctioned by the UN, but has since been discredited.

West Papua was not only constructed by many Indonesian leaders as central to completing their nationalist project, but the wealth it generates has since underpinned Indonesia's economy.

As a largely self-funded institution, Indonesia's military, the TNI, also has a major economic stake in West Papua, and for both reasons is profoundly opposed to its separation.

Yet for a wealthy province, most West Papuans are poor, have abysmally low levels of education, health care and other development indicators.

And, as Melanesians, West Papuans are looked upon by malay Indonesians with attitudes ranging from pity to contempt. Many Indonesians, in particular in the military, regard West Papuans as being less than fully human, which has exacerbated human rights abuses.

Following the Aceh peace agreement which has seen that province prosper in peace over the past two years, many West Papuan political leaders hoped for a similar resolution.

In order to achieve this, last year the province's disparate political groups, including the Free Papua Organisation (OPM), came together under an umbrella organization, the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL).

The word "liberation" in the WPNCL's title refers to freeing West Papuans from oppression, not necessarily separating from Indonesia.

However, to date, President Yudhoyono has refused to talk with the WPNCL, at least under international mediation, perhaps fearing political backlash from the often fractious and self-serving politics of Jakarta.

Yet following from Aceh's relative success, such a process might offer a means of resolving Indonesia's outstanding separatist issue while significantly improving the lives of a people who have been treated as second class citizens.

 From an international perspective, such a resolution would remove a significant impediment from relations with Indonesia, particularly with Australia and the United States.

The West Papua issue retains the potential to destabilize bilateral relations, especially in Australia was faced with accepting another boat-load of West Papuan asylum seekers. Last year's Lombok Treaty does not trump Australia's international and humanitarian obligations to legitimate refugees, and the West Papuan issue continues to come up with members of the US Congress.

It is in Indonesia's interests, and those of its friends, to see the West Papua problem disappear. This cannot happen by sweeping it under the carpet, as with East Timor until the fateful referendum of 1999.

Rather, the problem of West Papua will only disappear when the government of Indonesia decides to seriously address the myriad issues that have bedeviled the territory.

The international community has a role in monitoring events in West Papua, at least as best it can given the continuing restrictions on travel there. And the international community might, as with Aceh, have a role in mediating and overseeing the implementation of any future agreement.

In this, Indonesia can build on its success in Aceh, which brought the government international accolades including Nobel Peace Prize nominations. The question really is, though, whether Indonesia is still serious about reform, or whether the gains of democratization will again be allowed to slip between it political fingers.


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Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Human Rights for West Papua

Freeport-McMoRan Corp is destroying the Papuan rain-forest
Richard Elfman, Editor In Chief

Santa Barbara International Film Festival

West Papua: Free to Choose

I just saw a no-budget short film at the SBIFF, a documentary about the human rights struggle in West Papua (formerly western New Guinea--now annexed by Indonesia). The story was so damned
compelling that it kicked this writer's butt enough to start writing Congressmen--as well as writing YOU, my dear Buzzine readers (and please read this article if nothing else).

When New Guinea (the world's second-largest island--located north of Australia) gained its independence from the Dutch, neighboring Indonesia moved right in with a classic "screw the
natives" land grab. The other villain is American-based mega-mining company, the Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Corporation, which, in collusion with oppressive military
police, operates a humongous land-stripping and utterly polluting cash machine, with barely pennies going to the very people whose land they ruin. It's obscene.

Filmmaker Craig Harris, a carpenter by trade and passionate human rights activist, keeps the candle burning with this film-in-progress, as he is attempting to go back to West Papua
and film some more. Helping him and the subject of our following interview is Octovianus Mote, Papuan human rights activist, respected journalist in his homeland, and visiting fellow at Cornell and Yale Universities, who now lives in exile in the USA--supporting his family with odd jobs at gas stations and delivering pizza, while trying to finish a book to promote social justice for his people.

Richard Elfman: Tell us a little about your background.

Octovianus Mote: I am a journalist and activist from (West) Papua, Indonesia, now residing in the United States. In 1998, I was appointed by the government of Indonesia as a mediator in
the national dialogue on Papua between representatives of West Papuan people and the Indonesian government. Following a meeting with West Papuans and the president of Indonesia in 1999, I was blacklisted and denied the right to travel outside Indonesia. Nevertheless, I came to the United States and have heldappointments as a visiting fellow at Cornell and Yale Universities.

RE: Can you give us a brief history of the situation in West Papua?

OM: Indonesia maintains control over West Papua, using military might to deny indigenous people human rights and to quell their demands for self-determination. Since the invasion in 1963, an estimated 100,000 Papuans have been killed by Indonesian armed forces and militias:

Papua is rich in natural resources, including natural gas, oil, minerals, and rainforests. The Indonesian government relies on the taxes from foreign sponsored extraction industries which are
devastating the environment and that return few or no benefits back to the Papuan people. The military is directly involved, engaging in illegal logging and acting as security teams for
mining companies. Papua is now home to the highest concentration of illegal logging operations in Asia. Widespread logging and mining have a serious impact on the livelihood and traditions of the Papuan people, who rely on the land for survival. Traditional land is continually being cleared, which has created conflict amongst the indigenous people, foreign companies, and Indonesian security forces.

USA-based freeport McMoRan is operating in the world's largest gold and copper mine in the mountainous home of the Amungme indigenous people, who have always opposed their presence. Freeport pays the Indonesian military $5 million per month to maintain security at the mine. These armed forces and militia groups regularly use torture, extra-judicial killings, and forced detention to block Papuans from protecting their traditional lands and expressing their rights to self-determination. According to Yale University and University of Sydney, West Papua is one of ten nations in world that is facing the possibility of the extinction of its indigenous people if there is no international intervention.

RE: What happened that caused you to flee West Papua?

OM: My neighbor and close relative, Obeth Badii, was found dead in a police office. A couple of days earlier, Obeth warned me about some people looking for me. Military persons had been following me around--although I was guarded by Papuan people day and night, I no longer had freedom to work as a journalist.

RE: Is it difficult, living in exile?

OM: On the positive side, for myself and my family, I have security. My children can go to school without any problems. If I were in Papua, my family and I would be threatened. Having
political asylum gives me the opportunity to continue in my human rights work, where I can speak and meet freely. Also, since I have had political asylum, I have had the privilege of
being affiliated with Cornell and Yale Univeresities, working with important anthropologists and Indonesian experts. Also, I have greater access to influential people in the US. For instance, I meet with US Congressional people, to whom I give data about Papua.

The negative side of having political asylum is that I feel distant from people, Where in the past, as a journalist, I had close connections to my people, now I have to, in part, rely on
other people's reports. Furthermore, there's an issue with funding. Back home, I had no problems with funding my work, because I had a consistent job as a journalist. I could give
full attention to my work as a journalist and human rights advocate. Additionally, I cannot finish my work (on the genocide  project and my book, as well as my lobbying activity) because I have to work - e.g., in a gas station, delivering pizza, and transporting medical specimens. This takes up a lot of my time, but I have to keep my family fed.

RE: What can people--Americans and others--do to help the situation?

1. Call your representatives (Senate and House) to support this issue.
2. Lobby the US government to pressure Indonesian  government and military to stop their brutallity in Papua.
3. Lobby US government to bring this case back to UN as part of moral responsibility.
4. Make this issue into international radar through variety of media.

My greatest hope is that the world will recognize West Papua and support the Papuan people so they can live on their land peacefully.

Start:	Mar 26, '08 4:00p
End:	Apr 10, '08
Location:	Vanuatu

Barangkali untuk kelima kalinya, pertemuan Papua Barat antar aktivis dan pemimpin ditunda kembali.

Kali ini penundaannya barangkali sebulan kedepan.

[Letter sent by two senior members of the Committee of Foreign Affairs. - JMM/ETAN]

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WASHlNGTON, DC 20515

TELEPHONE: (202) 225·5021

HTTP:// WWW.FOREIGNAFFAIRS.HOUSE.GOV/

February 14, 2008

The Honorable Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary-General, United Nations
799 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017

Dear Mr. Secretary-General:

We are writing to express our deep and growing concern regarding rising reports of human rights violations in West Papua. These reports come against a backdrop of decades of abuse by Indonesian security forces targeting the Papuan people.

The upsurge in violence has come on the heels of the June 5 -12, 2007 visit to West Papua by Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ms. Hina Jilani. These threats and harassment appear to be specifically focused on Papuans who met with Special Representative Jilani. In her report to you, Ms. Jilani noted "harassment and intimidation" of human rights defenders. Moreover, as noted by Ms. Jilani, security forces in West Papua enjoy impunity from prosecution for human rights abuse and corruption. Juan Mendez, UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, described, in 2006, West Papua as being among those countries whose populations were 'at risk of extinction'.

We are also concerned about the tight restrictions placed upon journalists, human rights activists and diplomats trying to obtain access to West Papua. As you know, nongovernmental organizations, the media and foreign officials can act as witnesses to and bulwarks against human rights abuses as well as agents of change. So, the failure of these individuals to gain unobstructed access to the country hinders Papuans' stories of human rights abuse, quashing of civil liberties and inability to express their right to self-determination from coming to the fore.

On June 24, 2004, twenty US Senators urged former Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the General Assembly to appoint a United Nations Special Representative to Indonesia to monitor and report on the situation in West Papua. The letter also urged that the Special Representative also "make recommendations regarding steps the UN Security Council and General Assembly might undertake to end the troubling and deadly conflicts" there. Events in West Papua have reached such a dangerous level that it is important for the UN Security Council to take action. The deteriorating human rights conditions in West Papua have led directly to a significant flow of Papuans across international borders, notably to Papua New Guinea and Australia. Papuans have also sought and received political asylum in the United States and in Europe. It is critical that the UN Security Council address the security concerns posed by human rights abuse in West Papua.

United Nations involvement in West Papua extends back to 1962. The UN was charged with helping implement the 1962 "New York Agreement" which guaranteed Papuans the right to participate in an "act of self-determination" to decide whether they wish to remain or sever ties with Indonesia. A referendum that clearly presented this choice never took place. In fact, thirty-seven Members of the US Congress wrote a letter, in 2006, to Mr. Annan requesting that the UN review its action accepting the "Act of Free Choice."

We are also concerned that notwithstanding assurances by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that his administration would address long standing Papuan grievances and implement Law No. 21/2001 on Special Autonomy, security and other Indonesian central government officials in West Papua have failed to carry out reforms.

Understandably, Papuan officials, civil society leaders and Papuans overwhelmingly have rejected the failed Special Autonomy policy of the central government. They have instead rightly called for an internationally mediated dialogue between Papuan officials and civil society and senior Indonesian government officials to discuss such concerns as the demilitarization of West Papua, Papuan self-determination and transmigration of Javanese into Papua.

We welcome the recent adoption of the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights ofIndigenous Peoples which calls for the elimination of human rights violations and for combating discrimination and marginalization against indigenous peoples. In that spirit, we urge that the Security Council appoint a senior official with responsibility to pursue the creation of a senior level dialogue between the government of President Yudhoyono and Papuan government and civil society leaders to be mediated by a UN Security Council representative.

Sincerely,

Donald M. Payne
Member of Congress

Eni F.H. Faleomavaega
Member of Congress

Start:	Feb 4, '08 03:00a
End:	Feb 8, '08

A talk by Benny Wenda and Richard Samuelson of the Free West Papua Campaign

Monday, 4th February at 7.30pm
Friends Meeting House,
Thomas Street
All welcome

[Comment: The use in the earlier part of this posting of the name Irian Jaya is very regrettable. This is the name which Suharto concocted for West Papua, surely in an attempt to erase the identity of the Papuan people as an ethnic group. TAPOL]

PNG Post Courier
February 6, 2008

By Emmanuel Pok

The problems posed by Irian Jaya and its continued incorporation into Indonesia remain considerable.

The indigenous Irianese the West Papuans are ethnically and culturally quite different from the other peoples of Indonesia.

In 1969, an Act of Free Choice was conducted in which the Irianese voted in a referendum on whether they wanted to remain with Indonesia or become a separate autonomous state. However, as the referendum was taken under Indonesian supervision and control, with few safeguards to ensure that the Irianese would be given a fair opportunity to exercise their choice, charges of Indonesian vote rigging abound. Irianese nationalists, who were determined to fight for an independent Irian Jaya, formed the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM or Free Papua Movement). During the early 1970s, sporadic armed clashes occurred throughout Irian Jaya, between the Indonesian authorities and West Papuan freedom fighters.

The OPM continues to operate from bases in The Netherlands, Senegal, and Papua New Guinea, and partly as a guerrilla force throughout Irian Jaya particularly in the region near the Papua New Guinea-Irian Jaya border.

The OPM dissension with the Indonesian Government is based on several grievances, including:

* forced territorial incorporation into Indonesia;
* cultural imperialism;
* loss of identity;
* alienation of land; and
* political repression.

The Indonesian Government is determined to consolidate control over Irian Jaya and integrate the area into Indonesia, for economic, symbolic, and security reasons. Politically, if Irian Jaya was granted autonomy, other dissatisfied regionally-based minorities could potentially follow suit.

The Trans-Irian Jaya Highway is being built along the length of the border with Papua New Guinea in an attempt to cut off the OPM from its support in Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific region. Currently, the international community considers Irian Jaya as a province of Indonesia. The United Nations has notregistered it as an independent state, which has been a continuous problem for the West Papuans. The international community generally regards the conflict between the Indonesian Government and West Papua as internal within the Indonesian governing body. Consequently, the West Papuans are burdened with many political challenges.

Political representation

The West Papuans represent themselves in the Indonesian Government but they have little say in any decision-making.TheIndonesians dominate the Government and the political bureaucracy, mainly because of the West Papuans fight for freedom against the Indonesian military. Political representation and liberty for the West Papuans is strictly guided.

West Papuans are not allowed to participate in Indonesian political issues, talk politics in public, or conduct awareness campaigns concerning their struggle for independence. It is not
tolerated by the Indonesian Government, and people involved in such activities are arrested by the military.

To escape this persecution, West Papuans have sought refuge mainly in the Pacific Island regions, but also other parts of the world. As Papua New Guinea is the closest neighbour, refugee camps have been set up along the borders, at Vanimo, West SepikProvince and in Western Province.

Participation in the Pacific Island Forum

The Pacific Island Forum is an important association and regional integration of all independent Pacific nations that come together to address issues concerning the region. West Papua has never participated directly in the Pacific Island Forum, although it has claimed to be part of the Pacific region. West Papua has always been enthusiastic about participating in the South Pacific Forum, but have never been given a chance, and no indigenous West Papuans have been represented in the forum. West Papuan participation is through indirect representation, which is mainly through petitions. When West Papuans think that an issue needs to be discussed in the forum, they forward it through a petition.

In every forum, the West Papuans always have a petition. On some occasions, peaceful demonstrations occur just outside the location of the forum to remind the forum members that West Papuans are still struggling and need the Pacific Island countries support.

Most of their petitions receive scant response, and the Forum takes very little action. West Papuan issues are not given priority, probably because Irian Jaya is seen as a part of
Indonesia. Also, the member states of the forum have many oftheir own conflicts and debates to deal with, so the West Papuans petitions receive only limited attention.

In 2003, a representative of the West Papua New Guinea National Congress (WPNGC) was sent to participate in the forum, and present a petition. He was refused entry. Further, his request
to be an observer was also rejected. However, the Kanakys of Vanuatu were given the opportunity to be observers at the forum, and this is seen as unfair.

Apart from Papua New Guinea, there are other Pacific Island countries that recognise the struggle that West Papua is facing:

* Nauru: Nauru is a very good supporter of the West Papuans. The Government of Nauru has brought the issue of West Papua to register with the United Nations, which was a bold move.

* Vanuatu: The Government of Vanuatu has taken a firm stand to support the West Papuans. The refugees have set up an office in Vanuatu, and the chiefs and the whole population are behind West Papua.

* Solomon Islands: Some refugees have entered the country and the government officials are very supportive. At one stage, the West Papua struggle was addressed on the floor of Parliament.

* Fiji: Fiji has supported the West Papuans in their campaigns. When Fiji was the chair of the Pacific Forum, West Papua's struggle was included on their agenda.

Indonesia and Papua New Guinea have good trading relations, have signed several agreements, and have a friendly relationship. However, the West Papua issue could potentially affect this bilateral relationship. Many West Papuans escaped political discrimination and migrated to Papua New Guinea. However, the Papua New Guinean Government has never made any attempt to address this illegal migration. The current group of West Papuans who are camped at the Boroko police station are one example. The time has come for Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Island countries to address the West Papua Issue .

The West Papuan struggle for independence began in the 1960s, and they are still struggling to attain their ambition. One may ask why it has taken so long for the West Papuans to be politically free, compared to East Timor.

West Papua has many organisations and groups that are pushing for a single goal independence and there are many internalpolitical and power struggles among the leaders of those groups.
Originally, it started as the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM or Free Papua Movement), but a lack of indigenous unity has divided this once powerful movement. Leaders had a variety of interests
apart from the fight for independence . Currently, there areless than 15 West Papuan movements. Lack of unity is oneweakness that is hindering their pursuit for independence.

If the West Papuans stood solidly together in a single organisation and collectively pushed for independence, then they would have a greater impact. The West Papuans are not receiving
favourable responses from the Pacific Island Forum, possibly because the member nations see that they are divided. There aremay be other issues that are impeding their progress. However,
it is up to the West Papuans to devise strategies that will motivate and pull together the interests of their fellow PacificIslands countries, and win collective support for their cause.

Emmanuel Pok is a cadet researcher in the political and legal studies division at the National Research Institute.

Start:	Feb 26, '08 10:00p
End:	Feb 29, '08
Location:	Vanuatu

Terjadi untuk ke sekian kalinya, penundaan pertemuan pemimpin Papua Barat yang rencanannya diadakan di Port VIla, akhir januari dan awal februari 2008.

Surat Penundaan dimaksud ada di PapuaPost.com

Documents and Information on West Papua

Upacara Perubahan nama TPN keTRPB, saat pengibaran bendera

Upacara Perubahan nama TPN keTRPB di Komando Pusat Pertahanan TPN/OPM awal 2007

Upacara Perubahan nama TPN menjadi TRPB di Markas Pusat Pertahanan TPN./OPM awal 2007

West Papua National Anthem (Audio)

West Papua National Anthem: text and audio files

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY
Catholic PRWire

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, OCTOBER 5, 2007 - Franciscans International hosted a two-day meeting for the faith based network on West Papua – a concert of NGOs promoting peace, justice and human rights in the region. Along with Franciscans International, the network consists of Justitia et Pax Netherlands, ICCO, Cordaid, Geneva for Human Rights, the West Papua Netzwerk, the United Evangelical Mission and other renown Christian organisations with grassroots constituencies in West Papua. The Geneva rendezvous gave the NGOs an opportunity to share information on developments in West Papua and to discuss future advocacy strategies.

"The faith-based network on West Papua represents the strongest ecumenical actors - Catholic and Protestant - coming together on human rights issues at the international level as one unified block”, said Chris Duckett, Franciscans International’s advocacy officer for West Papua. “Because churches is naturally interested in peace as an initiative, this [collaboration] was particularly important.”

Created in 2003, in response to a call from West Papuan religious leaders, the faith-based network aims to direct the international community’s attention towards West Papua’s beleaguered people and environment.

West Papua’s allure to the Indonesian government is evident. The island is home to two million people, divided into 245 tribes, accredited with speaking 15% of the world’s known languages. It is hailed by environmentalists as one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world, with a rainforest is second in size only to the Amazon in Brazil. But West Papua’s seventh seal is that it is, quite literally, worth its weight in gold.

The island’s colossal gold and copper resources are harvested by the Freeport Mine, said to be protected by the Indonesian military. In 2001, the Indonesian government implemented a Special Autonomy law, pledging majority of the mining revenue to West Papuans. The locals, however, are yet to receive their share. Oppressed by an often brutal Indonesian army; the Papuans are struggling to claim their economic and cultural rights.

Yet, for a region so rich in both natural resources and conflict, West Papua has gained little international attention.

“West Papua is very remote so it does not enjoy widespread coverage in the European media”, explained Chris Duckett. “Often, faith-based NGOs, with their grassroots connections, are the primary source of information on West Papua.”

Franciscans International has spent the past six years advocating on the behalf of West Papuans at international treaty bodies such as the Human Rights Council. The Geneva office of Franciscans International gets first-hand information on human rights abuses in Papua from their grassroots constituency - the Office for Justice and Peace in the Diocese of Jayapura. The information is then brought to the attention of international organizations by Franciscans International’s advocacy team. “You can view our work as a Franciscan diplomatic service, where our capital is Jayapura”, Duckett summarized. “My ‘foreign minister’ is a Franciscan friar and human rights defender.”

Other members of the faith-based network echoed Duckett’s emphasis on disseminating information on West Papua. “Since communication with Papua is difficult and trustworthy information is scarce, it is difficult to discern rumors from facts”, said Marijn Peperkamp, Coordinator of Peace and Reconciliation Programs at Justitia et Pax Netherlands. “This is why”, she added, “meeting each other as a network, on a regular basis is necessary, not only to be inspired, but also to get a shared feeling of urgency and to act upon it.”

The faith-based network will have plenty to act upon this year. For the 2008 universal periodic review for Indonesia, the network is working jointly to produce an NGO report on the plight of the West Papuans. “Our goal is to put West Papua on the UN agenda”, said Elin Martinez, Franciscans International’s West Papua advocacy intern. “Gross violations of human rights occur there all the time, but are not given any international attention.”

The network, however, acknowledges that its goals must go beyond just publicizing the grievances of the West Papuans. Duckett believes that the network’s main goal must be to “find ways in which a culture of peace can be encouraged in the region”.

The faith-based network’s special guest - Judith Large, Associate of Conflict Resolution at the Crisis Management Initiative- recommended some ways to engender peace. In a thought-provoking lecture on mediation, Large suggested that environment could be the issue to put West Papua on the international agenda.

“We can engage Indonesian government on issues such as national habitats, indigenous people, ecosystems, re-examining deforestation, and more”, Large explained. “Papua can be symbolic for the Indonesian government. Environmental concerns can give them more legitimacy with west, because these issues are on the global agenda right now.”

Large was however, quick to admit the optimism of such a strategy. “I am not being too idealistic”, she concluded. “It will be difficult, but reframing the West Papua question in terms of the environment would give the international community a supranational goal to work on, one that could benefit everybody. It may not be an answer, but it is an opportunity.”