STATEMENT CONCERNING THE RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION
OF THE WEST PAPUAN PEOPLE
To: THE WORKING GROUP ON INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS
FIFTH SESSION, AUGUST 1987
GENEVA
Agenda item: 4
FREE PAPUA MOVEMENT - ORGANISASI PAPUA MERDEKA
Driebergenstraat 19
Deventer - the Netherlands
Madame Chairperson,
We thank you for giving us the opportunity to talk
about our case: the denial and withholding of the Right of
Self-Determination to the People of West Papua.
At the same time we want to express our feeling that
we ought not to be here. We the West Papuan people belong,
like the people in Papua New Guinea (PNG), to the
Melanesian people. We are ethnically, culturally and
geographically related to the peoples of PNG, Solomon
Islands, Vanuatu, Kanaky and Fiji. At present we are, like
the Kanaky, a discriminated minority under Indonesian,
respectively French, colonial rule. We are determined to
continue fighting for a Free and Independent West Papua.
We would sincerely hope that you would take note of
West Papuan aspirations for Self-Determination.
Madame Chairperson and distinguished members of the
Working Group,
In this paper we want to elucidate our statements
that:
1. THE PEOPLE OF WEST PAPUA ARE NOW ENGAGED IN A STRUGGLE
FOR SELF-DETERMINATION;
2. WEST PAPUA IS ADMINISTERED BY INDONESIA AS A NEO-COLONY.
Ad 1.:
The United Nations has, after having transferred
control of West Papua from a colonial power (the
Netherlands), handed over our country to another colonial
power (Indonesia).
The people of West Papua who were already on their way
to External Self-Determination, to be realized by the year
1970*, were subjected to the Indonesian claim of becoming a
part of the Republic of Indonesia, as proclaimed by the
then-president Sukarno in 1963.
* The West Papuan people as an ethnic unity has the right
to determine its own destiny according to point 2 of the
decolonisation-resolution 1514(XV). The New Guinea
Council, partly elected by the West Papuan people in
1961, had already visualized how the Right of Self-
Determination should be executed.
The instruments used for the conveyance of our country
to Indonesia were the New York Agreement (1962, between the
Netherlands and Indonesia) and the Act of Free Choice
(1969).
The Act of Free Choice was a farce: what should have
been an one-person one-vote consultation of the Papuans
about the future status of their nation, became an
Indonesian steered mockery of the United Nations policy on
decolonisation and self-determination. On this place we
limit ourselves to recalling the violations of the Articles
XVI (presence of a UN-mission), XVIII (method of the Act of
Free Choice) and XXII (rights of the inhabitants) of the
New York Agreement.
In 1969 the present Indonesian president Suharto used
the Act of Free Choice to legalize the incorporation of our
country into Indonesia. The incorporation was subsequently
endorsed by the General Assembly of the United Nations as a
valid exercise of self-determination consistent with the
United Nations Declaration on Colonies.
Examining the procedure of the conveyance of our
country to Indonesia and the procedure agreed upon in the
New York Agreement, we can only but conclude that the
United Nations has made a serious error in its endorsement
of the incorporation. Especially when compared to the case
of South Africa's claim on Namibia, which was rejected by
the United Nations, we are convinced that we have been the
victim of the use of double standards.
Ad 2.:
The Indonesians have never been interested in the
people of West Papua but only in the vast lands and natural
resources. The minerals in our soil and the timber in our
forests are exploited on a large scale by Indonesian and
multinational companies. The amount which the Indonesian
government spends on education, health and other services
for the Papuans, is only a trifle compared to the capital
exported from our country. The revenues of the exploitation
of our national resources end up in Jakarta.
With respect to the Papuans, Indonesia is only
concerned about "civilizing those primitives", so we will
fit in the image of a modern Indonesian state. Bearing in
mind that the right of self-determination should be a
continuous process, it is clear that not only in 1969 we
were denied this right; since the beginning of the
Indonesian domination in 1963, Papuan voices whether it
concerns land rights, human rights, cultural rights or
nationalistic feelings, are systematically suppressed in a
brutal way.
Indonesian tactics to conquer the richness of West
Papua and to subject the Papuans are 1) transmigration of
Javanese into our country, 2) militarization, and 3)
intimidation and brutal violation of human rights.
For many Papuans the only way to safeguard themselves
from an oppressive regime they do not recognize as
legitimate, is to abandon their homelands and seek refuge
in Papua New Guinea.
1. TRANSMIGRATION
Transmigration is the name of Indonesia's ambitious
project to resettle millions of people from the crowded
Inner Islands of Java, Madura, Lombok and Bali, to the more
sparsely populated Outer Islands.
Officially sponsored Transmigration into our country
commenced in 1966, even before the "Act of Free Choice".
The Jakarta government no longer gives overpopulation
as the principal reason behind Transmigration. The
government lists 7 goals for its Transmigration program: to
promote national unity, national security, an equal
distribution of the population, national development, the
preservation of nature, help to the farming classes, and
improvement of the condition of local peoples (Survival
International Bulletin, March 2, 1985).
"What Transmigration has actually accomplished
is very different: The spread of poverty;
forced displacement of indigenous populations
from their homes, communities and lands;
deforestation and soil damage at the rate of
some 200,000 hectares per year; destruction of
local governments, economies, means of
sustainable resource use; forced assimilation
programs; widespread use of military force to
"pacify" areas and to break local resistance
by bombing and massacres of civilians."
(Bernard Nietschmann, Fourth World Journal
Vol. 1, No 2, 1985)
In our view Transmigration is no less than an invasion
program. THE PAPUANS ARE FORCED TO LEAVE THEIR ANCESTRAL
HOMELANDS to make room for the transmigrants. In alienating
us from our traditional lands, it is not only undermining
our economies, but jeopardising our entire cultural
identity, which is built up on the relation between our
society and our ancestral lands.
In many cases our people are threatened, and when they
agree to hand over their land it is out of fear rather than
desire. For instance, in Arso the people were told that
those not releasing their lands would be considered as
members of the
Organisasi Papua Merdeka - OPM, the guerrilla force of
West Papua. In Tembagapura a part of the Amungme tribe was
forcibly relocated by the military into the malaria-
infested lowlands. Those who fled back to their ancestral
lands were arrested and again the military transported them
to the lowlands. As a result of malaria and starvation
women and children were the first to die.
When the Papuans finally give up their lands they are
confronted with the Indonesian government's reluctance to
pay COMPENSATION TO THE TRADITIONAL LANDOWNERS. Due to
discriminatory laws and due to all-pervading corruption in
the Indonesian administration, compensation for loss of
ancestral lands turns out to be trifle. The Irian Jaya
Community Development Foundation has carried out two
detailed studies of transmigration sites which are
incorporated into the Smallholder Nucleus Estate Program:
"No provisions have been made for those local
people who are not accepted for the program
and yet whose lands have been expropriated by
the projects; insufficient land remains in the
hands of the local tribal people to allow them
to practise their traditional system of
shifting cultivation." (G.J. Aditjondro, No. 3
LLAP/YPMD/ IV/1986)
Moreover JOB OPPORTUNITIES OUTSIDE THE TRADITIONAL
PAPUA COMMUNITIES ARE SCARCE FOR THE PAPUANS. Employers,
whether it be the government or private business, prefer
Indonesians above Papuans. Thus where the Transmigration
may bring new economic activities to our country, we the
original inhabitants of West Papua, loose our land, loose
our cultural identity, are about to become a minority in
our own country, and on top of this all: we are being
marginalized in a society we did not choose for.
But how can we expect the Indonesian government to
bother about us, not to mention our involvement and say in
the settling of foreigners in our country, when it is
evident that the TRANSMIGRATION PROGRAM HAS A MILITARY
ASPECT. In his book the former eastern region territorial
commander Lt.-Gen. Kaphi writes:
"Thus the government must plan transmigration
more carefully remembering the great
importance that the program has in overall
development in Irian Jaya. Especially in
strategic areas such as the border regions, it
is obvious that ex-soldiers or soldiers be
settled as transmigrants as a 'buffer-
zone'." (Kahpi, The challenge and the struggle
in the land of the bird of paradise, 1985)
2. MILITARIZATION
Armed Warfare
The oppression of the West Papuan people started
immediately after the Dutch left, in 1962. The then-
governor Eliezer Bonay, who is also with our delegation,
recalls that the prisons everywhere were full. UN officials
reported, discretely, that the local people were "treated
badly".
After 1962 the conflict between the new rulers and the
Papuans only increased. The Indonesian authorities, having
failed to subject us within a short period of time, are
increasing their military activities and in a more brutal
way, in an effort to gain control by sheer military force.
As an example the latest Indonesian military offensive
will be described.
In the last quarter of 1986, under the codename
"Operasi Sate" (Operation Skewered Meat), an offensive was
launched to wipe out the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM).
During this offensive the Indonesian military executed
aerial bombardments, raids and house-to-house searches,
gunfire attacks from naval vessels...(TAPOL, Dec., 1986).
* Because of aerial bombardments around the Wissel Lakes,
in the well-populated central highlands in Wagete and
Enarotali districts, many houses, churches and schools
were destroyed; many people were killed and the survivors
fled into the bush.
* Raids and house-to-house searches along the north coastal
strip, from Ormu through Sarmi to the Memberame River,
have been accompanied by arrests, disappearances,
beatings and rapes.
Because the Papuans have to make room for the
transmigrants and logging and mining operations, the
Indonesians use brutal force against Papuan civilians.
The military actions against the people of West Papua
are the last desperate efforts of a regime that in the eyes
of the people has no legitimacy. Unable to get hold of the
organized resistance, the Indonesians resort to attacking
whole villages and killing unarmed civilians.
Like in Opersi Sate, the targets of the military
attacks are quite deliberate. People are scared because
they do not know whether they will be the next victim.
Being a Papuan seems to be a reason to be treated as a
dangerous enemy.
Biological Warfare
In 1970, the Indonesian government introduced tape
worms into West Papua for the first time in all history.
3. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
The human rights situation in our country is a matter
of grave concern. Amnesty International, the Anti-Slavery
Society, TAPOL etc. continue to receive reports on
violations of the human rights. The following examples, as
reported by Amnesty International, reflect the alarming
increase in extra-judicial executions, torture and ill-
treatment and detention without charge or trial.
Extra-Judicial Killings
Arnold Ap, a distinguished anthropologist who was very
popular among us because he promoted our culture, was
arrested on 30 November 1983. He was held and tortured in
the notorious Panorama Bar in Jayapura. Medio April 1984
the military staged an escape for Arnold Ap and his
companion Eduard Mofu. Few days after, on the beach of
Base-G both of them were subjected to severe tortures
before they were murdered.
After having reported back to the headquarters as the
only survivor of an attack on a military post by the OPM,
Wilhelmus Inday, a Papuan sergeant with the 753-batallion
of the Indonesian army, was killed by the military.
Because of the killing of 2 Indonesian soldiers in
Waena by the OPM, the Indonesian military conducted a
house-to-house search on 14 April 1986. Wantonless they
choose Martin Sani and his wife Sarinah Zoani to blame; the
couple was killed.
Torture and Ill-Treatment of Prisoners
The 12 refugees who were forcibly deported from PNG to
West Papua in October 1985, have been imprisoned and
subjected to torture. One of them, Elias Kareni, had a nail
driven through his toe during interrogation. Isak Waromi,
who was suffering from gastric ailments and fluid in his
lungs did not receive any medical attention.
Prisoners Held Incommunicado
17 Papuan prisoners who were held in the Abepura
prison near Jayapua, are reported to be missing.
Eyewitnesses declared that, in the night of 26-27 January
1986, 11 of them were whisked away in a Hercules airplane.
It is believed that they are held incommunicado in the
Kalisoso prison near Surabaya on Java.
About the disappearance of the other 6 prisoners is no
information at all.
4. REFUGEES *
Because of the events mentioned above (transmigration,
militarization and violation of human rights) many Papuans
have left their homes to seek refuge in PNG.
Since 1962, the escalation between nationalist Papuans
and the Indonesian army has caused a steady stream of
refugees to leave West Papua. By 1979 an estimated 10,000
West Papuans had crossed into PNG. By now most of them have
been naturalized to PNG-citizens.
* Initially our delegation should be accompanied by two
countrymen who recently fled away from West Papua and who
are now residing in a refugee camp in PNG. Unfortunately,
it appeared impossible to get permission from the PNG
authorities to let them have the necessary travel
documents.
Since early 1984 the situation in our country has
deteriorated markedly. Following an attempted uprising in
Jayapura by Papuan nationalists in February 1984, and
subsequent repressive actions by the Indonesian military, a
flood of refugees has poured across the border. By mid '86
there were about 12,000 refugees in 16 camps along the
border; they fled their homes because of Indonesian
atrocities. In August 1986 some 750 new refugees arrived.
They had come from the border village of Kivirok, 2 days
walk from the PNG village of Yapsi. The refugees told that
the Indonesian troops had beheaded Tuberius Uropdane a
catholic cathecist in their village. Others reported the
rape of a number of women, arrests and beatings of men in
their village (PNG Times, 5 Sept. '86).
Not all of those reaching PNG are just from the border
region. Some refugees spent up to 5 weeks trekking to reach
the frontier. Many of the refugees have suffered severely
on the way and some even died while on trek.
The refugee population has at a time peaked at
approximately 14,000 people. Over the past 12 months the
figure declined because refugees returned to their country.
As a result of the "discouragement policy" of the PNG
government several groups of refugees returned "voluntarily"
under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner
on Refugees (UNHCR). For the refugees the situation in the
camps is without any perspective: they are not allowed to
participate in the PNG society, in the camps food provision
and medical care are insufficient (more than 180 people
have died of hunger and hunger related diseases), and the
children cannot go to school (some already since 1984).
According to the UNHCR 2000 people have gone back to
West Papua, mainly to Merauke and Mindiptanah regions in
the south. They were transported in airplanes and put in
so-called relocation camps. Reports have been coming to PNG
of West Papuan refugees who repatriated and were
subsequently tortured to death by the military. In
September 1986, Ancelmus Katua, headmaster of Mindiptana
high school, and Clemens Andomenen, community school
teacher of Inko village, were arrested by the military
KODIM 1707 and subjected to electric shock torture until
they died.
Once they are back in West Papua the refugees are no
longer a case for the UNHCR. But since the UNHCR is worried
about their fate, the churches are asked to monitor and
help.
The situation of the refugees, whether they are
repatriated or not, is serious. We are grateful to the
UNHCR, the International Red Cross and others for bringing
some relief. However, when nothing is changed in West Papua
itself, people will continue to cross the border, risking
an uncertain living in refugee camps.
5. CONCLUSION
In April 1961, the New Guinea Council, partly elected
by the West Papuan people, was installed. The first deed of
the council was to declare that they would work towards
independence. The council came out with proposals how the
process of self-determination should be executed in
accordance with point 2 of the decolonisation resolution
1514(XV) and Article 73 of the Charter of the United
Nations.
It was in this period that political consciousness
developed among the West Papuans on a national level: the
West Papuans should determine their own future as a free
and independent nation.
The shift of colonial rule from the Netherlands to
Indonesia, however, has abruptly broken off the fulfillment
of our aspirations.
By means of harsh measures the Indonesian government
is still trying to subject the people of West Papua.
Transmigration, militarization, human right violations and
the exodus of refugees: these are all signs of the lack of
legitimacy of the Indonesian authorities among the West
Papuan people.
We are determined to continue resistance against
Indonesian domination. The Indonesian authorities are
becoming more and more brutal in order to impose colonial
rule.
When this process is not stopped, a genocide may be
completed: the obliteration of the West Papuans as a
people.
6. DEMANDS
On the above mentioned grounds, we the people of West
Papua demand that it is acknowledged that our country is
administered as a neo-colony, and therefore should be taken
up as a case in the Trusteeship and in the Committee of 24
concerning decolonisation.
We, the people of West Papua, are fighting for our
right to determine our own future, a future without foreign
domination and oppression.
WE DEMAND OUR RIGHT TO EXERCISE EXTERNAL SELF-DETERMINATION
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