Long Road to Settling Papua Issue
The demonstrations that Papuans held over two weeks in August were the single largest protest in Papua’s history since it became part of Indonesia.
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The demonstrations that Papuans held over two weeks in August, along the coast and across valleys and mountains in several areas of the province, were the single largest protest in Papua’s history since it became part of Indonesia.
The wave of demonstrations not only spread, but also descended into rioting that claimed lives and damaged public facilities in Papua and West Papua. The demonstrations arose in response to the racial discrimination of Papuan students on 16-18 Aug. in Malang and Surabaya that was committed by a group of people that also involved security personnel. As a result, hundreds of Papuan students studying outside their home province decided to return to Papua for fear of reprisals, as well as in a show of solidarity.
Three options
The series of events has left a number of questions, especially regarding the appropriate solution to the prolonged conflict between the Papuan people and the central government. Three mechanisms have been proposed: a referendum, dialogue or revising the 2001 Law on Special Autonomy for Papua (Otsus Law).
A referendum is the most frequently voiced mechanism among Papuans during the demonstrations in Manokwari, Fakfak, Sorong, Jayapura, Deiyai and Timika. To this day, Papuans contest the referendum that followed Law No. 12/1969 on the formation of the autonomous province of West Irian and its autonomous regencies, which was approved under UN Resolution 2504.
So far, the prevailing national regulations do not provide the space to accommodate this mechanism. Holding a referendum is viewed as a threat to the country\'s sovereignty and territorial integrity, even though this concept of national sovereignty has frequently suppressed human rights in Papua.
Civil society organizations led by the Papua Peace Network (JDP), known for its two key figures Muridan Widjojo (dec.) and Neles Tebay (dec.), propound dialogue as the preferred mechanism. This initiative, which began in the post-New Order era, emphasizes peace in Papua and seeks to facilitate settling the differences between the Papuan people and Jakarta through dignified and constructive dialogue toward mutually beneficial solutions to a number of problems in Papua.
However, other civil society organizations like the West Papua National Committee and the Papuan Student Alliance consider dialogue to be an obstacle, because it would still involve the Indonesia government and its security apparatus with their exploitative interests and repressive policies that make life even more difficult for Papuans.
A 2013 report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict points out a number of weaknesses in the draft Otsus Plus that the two Papuan governors proposed.
It is worth remembering that Papuan youth and student groups are on the frontlines in voicing the injustices against Papua. Therefore, embracing communication and a persuasive approach to these groups is critical to reducing future protests.
Revising the Otsus Law is a last resort for resolving the many problems in Papua. The Papua provincial administration once suggested that an “Otsus Plus” replace the 2001 Special Autonomy Law, which is believed limited in distributing trillions of rupiah in funding, but failing to solve the substantial problems of the Papuan people.
No response to problems
However, a 2013 report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) points out a number of weaknesses in the draft Otsus Plus that the two Papuan governors proposed. One of these weaknesses is that the Otsus Plus is a product of the local elite and thus does not represent grassroots aspirations. Any revisions to the 2001 Otsus Law must consider not just granting substantial authority to the regional government, but also accommodating Papuan aspirations – without giving space to Papuan regional officials to exploit them for their own interests within the framework of the 2001 Otsus, as is the case today.
Moreover, the proposed regional expansion and construction of a state palace in Jayapura that resulted from Jokowi\'s meeting with 61 Papua and West Papua "leaders" on 10 Sept. did not address the critical issues of the discrimination and injustice the Papuan people experience. Therefore, it is unsurprising that the concept of a revised Otsus and other “elitist” recommendations the Papuan community made a few days ago did not gain broad support from the Papuan people.
Starting with the case of racial abuse that occurred last month, can the various government efforts to resolution support the creation of peace in Papua?
Looking at the impossibility of a referendum and the unpopularity of a revised Otsus or the Otsus Plus among Papuans, dialogue becomes the primary mechanism for resolving the problems in Papua.
Two key considerations must be mulled before holding a dialogue between the parties of the conflict: One, regarding the source of dissatisfaction among Papuans; and two, regarding the political and social preconditions that encourage or hinder the implementation of the aforementioned mechanisms.
The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) has identified four root causes of the problems in Papua in its “Papuan Road Map”: the problematic history of Papua’s entry to Indonesia and its territorial status, human rights [violations], the discrimination and marginalization of Papuans, and the failure of development and special autonomy in the province. The recommended solution to these problems is constructive dialogue that involves multiple parties, including those Papuan groups that have different political aspirations from the Government of Indonesia.
Starting with the case of racial abuse that occurred last month, can the various government efforts to resolution support the creation of peace in Papua? The legal and security approaches to settling the problems in Papua have been counterproductive so far, and has instead contributed to sharpening the differences in the views between the Papuan people and Jakarta. The arrests of Papuan youths and activists, the internet shutdown and the emergence of new issues like radical Papuan groups and allegations of foreign involvement, will only give rise to new points of difference and further complicate the process of resolving the Papuan issue.
The prevailing political and social conditions hamper the resolution of several crucial problems in Papua, especially human rights.
Moreover, the welfare approach still tends to focus on fulfilling civil rights and not protecting the human rights of the Papuan people as citizens of this country. The state must grant and facilitate civil rights through improving the quality of public services provided to the Papuan people in a variety of fields, especially education, health and the environment. Human rights, on the other hand, must be protected by the state.
Several cases of human rights violations, especially those that occurred in Wasior in 2001, in Wamena in 2003 and in Paniai in 2014, have not received serious government attention to date. On the other hand, 45,532 residents of Nduga have been displaced by armed conflict since December 2018. A total of 184 refugee deaths have been recorded up to August 2019, the majority among those who fled to Wamena.
The central government tends to ensure welfare through infrastructure development and regular visits to Papua. What is happening in Papua shows that these two policies do not necessarily contribute significantly to engendering strong political loyalty and high trust in the government among the Papuan people. The prevailing political and social conditions hamper the resolution of several crucial problems in Papua, especially human rights.
Reports from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International show that security personnel show a strong trend of impunity in violating human rights in Papua. Even in the 2017 case of the Papuans who were killed in Deiyai, the case was “settled” with the police issuing an apology to the victims\' families. This not only reinforces the impunity prevalent in settling human rights cases in Papua, but also strengthens the Papuan people’s distrust of the state.
Courage from a number of parties is needed to solve the problems of Papua, not only through the welfare and security approaches, but also cultural understanding.
The additional deployment of thousands of security personnel in Papua also needs attention. Restoring security needs to be followed by the psychological understanding of the Papuan people who have been traumatized by the continued presence of security forces. The presence of security personnel revives their collective memory of past state-sponsored violence. Their trauma has even prompted the Papuans to protest, as several community groups have voiced within and without the region. Wisdom is needed to calculate the urgency of restoring stability and security and to address the psychological condition of the Papuan people in conflict areas.
Civil society initiatives
At the same time, initiatives from civil society organizations are a precondition for managing the urgent problems that the Papua people face towards the creation of peace in Papua. Civil society initiatives for resolving cases of discrimination and intimidation that have emerged since the demonstrations are a positive step amid the slow pace of the legal process. The coalition of civil society groups in Jayapura established a public complaints post named "Papua for All" as a response to community reports on at least nine Papuan civilians who were killed during the riots in Jayapura and Deiyai. Civil society groups in Jakarta formed three task forces to respond to the current situation: an investigation and data collection task force, a public campaign task force and a legal assistance task force. The Papuan people’s trust will gradually grow if the government supports these civil society initiatives.
Courage from a number of parties, especially the central government, is needed to solve the problems of Papua, not only through the welfare and security approaches, but also cultural understanding. The symbolic gesture of reconciliation that the Bakar Batu event in Jayapura took, even amidst the arrests, intimidation, terror and security sweeps that the Papuan people continue to experience, indicates that no clear and measurable mechanism exists towards conflict resolution. The country needs to create conditions of fairness and make smart political decisions to gain the trust of Papuans, so that the spirit of reconciliation will have a positive impact on finally resolving the Papua conflict.
Hipolitus Yolisandry Ringgi Wangge, Researcher of Marthinus Academy Jakarta conducting a field study on Papua
