The special autonomy granted to Papua is meaningless without an end to gross human rights abuses by security forces there, indigenous leaders said on Wednesday.
Markus Haluk, a spokesman for the Papuan Traditional Council (DAP), said that after 10 years of an autonomy that was only halfheartedly implemented, “conditions remain the same.”
“Instead of protection, several human rights violations have been recorded,” he said. “Whenever an activist speaks out, we’re labeled separatists and charged.”
Markus was speaking in response to statements made on Tuesday by Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa that the government was fully aware of the problems in the restive provinces of Papua and West Papua and was working to find a way to deliver on autonomy.
Markus Haluk, a spokesman for the Papuan Traditional Council (DAP), said that after 10 years of an autonomy that was only halfheartedly implemented, “conditions remain the same.”
“Instead of protection, several human rights violations have been recorded,” he said. “Whenever an activist speaks out, we’re labeled separatists and charged.”
Markus was speaking in response to statements made on Tuesday by Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa that the government was fully aware of the problems in the restive provinces of Papua and West Papua and was working to find a way to deliver on autonomy.
Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Marty said the provinces “need special attention, special empowerment. Autonomy is the way to go.”
But Markus didn’t buy that.
“It’s only lip service without any action,” he said. “I’m not surprised that the government can lie to the rest of the world.”
Papua officially became part of Indonesia in 1969 and has since seen a low-level insurgency. Rights groups say security forces there have killed civilians and imprisoned peaceful activists.
Al Araf, the program director at human rights watchdog Imparsial, accused the government of ignoring the views of the Papuan people.
“The concept was drawn up based on the point of view of the central government with minimal involvement from Papuan leaders,” he said. “As a result, autonomy has failed to contribute to the betterment of Papua.”
He also said the government’s military approach to resolving problems in Papua had backfired.
“Instead of solving problems, it has created new problems of human rights violations and [armed] resistance,” he said.
Araf said the solution was to “start all over again.”
Chris Biantoro, a human rights lawyer with the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said the government needed to propose a more comprehensive solution than autonomy.
“Addressing the problems through autonomy hasn’t been that effective. Many Papuans still live in poverty and suffer from discrimination,” Chris said.
“But before proposing greater empowerment, the government should realize that the problems aren’t centered just on economic and welfare issues.”
He said human rights violations should be resolved first before steps to improve welfare could be taken.
“There are more than 14,000 soldiers posted there,” Chris said. “That figure is inappropriate because Papua has never been a conflict zone.”
More JakartaGlobe Additional reporting from AFP
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