Prioritize Dialogue as A Solution

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Chairman of the Suluh Kebangsaan Movement Mahfud MD (center) has a discussion with Shinta Nuriyah Wahid (second left), Quraish Shihab (second right), Alwi Shihab (far right) and Papuan leader Simon Morin (far left) after they, together with the national figures of the Suluh Kebangsaan Movement, expressed their stance on the development of the Papua case in Jakarta, Friday (23/8/2019). The Suluh Kebangsaan Movement calls for all parties to hold back and actively participate in creating a peaceful situation in Papua as well as law enforcement on those who through racism instigated mass actions in Papua.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Constructive and persuasive dialogue should be prioritized in resolving various problems in Papua. Incidents that hurt Papuans hurt all Indonesians, as Papua is an inseparable part of the country.

“I regret all actions that harass Papuans, no matter what the reason is. For us, actions that harass Papuans are harassment on the dignity of Indonesia,” said Sinta Nuriyah Wahid, the wife of Indonesia’s fourth president Abdurrahman Wahid, at an event held by Gerakan Suluh Kebangsaan (National Enlightenment Movement) in Jakarta on Friday (23/8/2019).

Other than Sinta, several members of the movement led by former Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD also attended the event. They were religious figures Franz Magnis-Suseno and Benny Susetyo, Muslim scholars Quraish Shihab and Alwi Shihab, Indonesian International Islam University rector Komaruddin Hidayat and Gusdurian Network coordinator Alissa Wahid. Papuan figure Simon Morin also attended the event.

The National Enlightenment Movement held the event in the wake of several incidents of racism-imbued hate speech against Papuan college students in East Java. The event triggered protests in several cities in Papua and West Papua. The movement hopes all parties can restrain themselves and actively participate in nurturing peace in Papua.

Mahfud said that, as part of Indonesia, Papua must enjoy equal treatment by the government. Papua must enjoy the same level of development and fulfillment of rights as other provinces.

Mahfud said that Papua had been protected as part of Indonesia since the era of President Soekarno. However, the government still has work to do to resolve persistent sociological and psychological problems in Papua.

Simon said that numerous problems in Papua remained hidden. These include economic equality and human rights abuses, among other problems. “The incidents [protests in Papua and West Papua] were the accumulation of Papuans’ feelings of lacking protection and freedom. There must be dialogue that nurtures trust with Papuans to resolve these problems properly,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a discussion themed “Fostering Unity in the Spirit of Diversity” held at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Friday, there were calls for the military and the police to enforce the law on those committing acts of racial and ethnic discrimination against Papuan students in East Java. Papuan Children Communication Forum chief patron Baharudin Farawowan said this.

Internet access

In order to prevent what it claims to be the spread of hoaxes in Papua and West Papua, the Communications and Information Ministry reduced internet connection speed in the regions as of Friday.

“The government concludes that safety has begun to recover in several cities and regencies in Papua and West Papua. However, the distribution and transmission of hoaxes, lies, provocations and racial attacks remain high,” ministry spokesperson Ferdinandus Setu said.

As of Friday, at least 33 items and 849 URLs allegedly containing hoaxes related to Papua had been identified and verified by the ministry. The so-called provocative content was spread to hundreds of thousands of accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

However, the Indonesian Ombudsman’s Papua office head, Sabar Iwanggin, said that the internet access blockade was discriminatory and not effective in curbing the spread of hoaxes. The authorities should have optimized their cyber patrols to find the hoax spreaders.

Civil rights activists in Jakarta shared similar sentiments. “It is highly unfair and discriminatory if we keep Papuans and West Papuans in the dark due to the government’s limitation of internet access,” Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network executive director Damar Juniarto said.

Damar said that, learning from India’s experience, internet blockades could create more violence during protests in the country.  (MTK/FLO/WAD/ABK)