Indonesia: Hope And Hard Reality In Papua - Briefing Report - Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources

A spike in violence in Indonesian Papua over the last two months underscores the urgency of exploring new ideas to address conflict there.

Indonesia: Hope and Hard Reality in Papua, the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, juxtaposes the vision of a peaceful Papua produced by a conference in Jayapura in July with the reality of conflict in Puncak Jaya, one of the most remote districts.

“President Yudhoyono needs to move quickly to set up a long-delayed new Papua unit with a mandate to cover political as well as economic development issues”, says Sidney Jones, Crisis Group Senior Adviser. “It’s not a guarantee that the situation will get better, but without a fresh approach from Jakarta, it will certainly get worse”.

Crisis Group notes that a series of “indicators” produced by the Papua Peace Conference on 5-7 July could serve as guidelines for public policy at a national and local level. For example, one indicator of a peaceful Papua would be that basic socio-cultural rights of indigenous Papuans are recognised and respected. A policy consequence might be to prepare booklets on customs of different ethnic groups that would be required reading for anyone assigned to Papua, including security forces. Another indicator would be that perpetrators of state violence are brought to trial and sentenced in a way that gives Papuans a sense of justice. The policy prescription would be to ensure that soldiers or police responsible for gratuitous violence are given sentences commensurate with the crime, instead of slap-on-the-wrist punishments for disciplinary infractions. More>>Indonesia: Hope And Hard Reality In Papua - Briefing Report