Papua: DAP - Papua On The Brink Of Genocide

The chairman of DAP, the Papuan Traditional Council, Forkorus Yaboisembut, is reported as saying that the process of elimination of the Melanesian Race which is currently turning the indigenous Papua people into a minority in their own homeland does not yet fall within the definition of genocide. But it is the intention of the Indonesian State to bring the indigenous Papuan People to the brink of genocide.

 'It cannot be said that, according to the definition of genocide, that is what is happening, but the situation is moving in that direction,' he said.

He said that the growth in the indigenous population has not increased at all, as compared with what has been happening in Papua New Guinea.

'At the time of Papua's integration into the Republic of Indonesia, the indigenous population (OAP) numbered around 800,000, whereas in PNG it was 900,000.'

Since then, the population of PNG has increased to 7.7 million or more, which is out of all comparison with the growth of the OAP who now number 1.8 million. If there had been no discriminatory measures against the OAP, this would have grown to 6 million. This lower growth is partly also due to several government programmes, such as the Family Planning Programme and the transmigration programme. Added to this is is spread of HIV/AIDS which is undermining the growth potential of indigenous Papuans.

On top of all that, he said, from 1969 until the fall of Suharto in 1998, Papua was a Military Operations Zone (DOM). And now what it happening is the continual violation of human rights.

He accused the Central Statitics Bureau (BPS) of publishing data that does not conform with the reality in Papua. He said that this data serves the interests of the Indonesian state while victimising the OAP.

'The BPS 's intention is to show that there is no such thing as genocide occurring in Papua, They have even been claiming that the indigenous Papuans still comprise the majority in this part of the country.

He also referred to the UN Convention on Genocide which defines genocide as the intentional, systematic elimination of an ethnic group.

Source: TAPOL