NEWSVU [Vanuatu], Thursday, March 27, 2003
DPM Vohor says Vanuatu will not sell Indonesia its cattle
DPM Vohor says Vanuatu will not sell Indonesia its cattle at the cost of West
Papua's Freedom
"We may not have the resources to support their struggle, but we could remember
them in our everyday prayers. For when we talk about their struggle we must always
use their name that is very dear to them, West Papua"- Vanuatu Prime Minister
Walter Hayde Lini address at the United Nation in 1984.
By Ricky Binihi
The opening of the West Papuan People's Office in Port Vila amidst pressure from
Indonesia reaffirms the vow Vanuatu entered into with other colonised indigenous
people of the South Pacific over 23 years ago - Vanuatu will support them in their
struggle for Independence once it gains its freedom.
Vanuatu has lived up to its reputation as the Champion for the cause of the colonised
people even if that meant that decision could cost Vanuatu millions of vatu worth of
cattle export to Jakarta.
Deputy Prime Minister Serge Vohor was unruffled over the prospect of Indonesian
withdrawing its decision to buy 30,000 heads of cattle each year from Vanuatu.
(Indonesia's Ambassador to Vanuatu, Arizal Effendi said in 2001 Jakarta was
prepared to buy beef from Vanuatu.)
"No money in the world can buy off our right to speak out against injustice and the
right for self determination by the oppressed indigenous people," Mr Vohor said during
the inauguration ceremony held at the Chiefs' Nakamal Wednesday.
He also said he would raise the West Papua Independence issue with the Secretary
General of the United Nations Mr Kofi Anan this year.
Mr Vohor has been unrelenting in Vanuatu's determination to have West Papua re
inscribed on the agenda of De-colonisation Committee, or what is called the
Committee of 24.
So committed is Vanuatu's support for West Papuan independence that Mr Vohor
confidently said Vanuatu could accommodate West Papuan refugees in the event the
Papua New Guinea turned them away. PNG and West Papua share the same border.
Recently the Deputy Prime Minister has managed to rally the support of the Asian
Caribbean and Pacific Countries and the Association of French Speaking countries to
throw their weight behind Vanuatu's bid to have the United Nations backing for West
Papua Independence
But perhaps the most important accomplisment achieved by Prime Minister Edward
Natapei's government is to include a West Papua delegation to the South Pacific
Forum in New Zealand later this year.
"West Papua treasures the long standing relationship and the never wavering support
the people of Vanuatu, the government, custom chiefs, Non-Government
Organisations and the Church have given to our struggle for Independence," the West
Papua Representative for the United Nations lobby, Mr Rex Rumakiek, told more than
50 people who witnessed the historical occasion.
A press statement issued by the West Papuan People's Office says the launching
marks the opening of a new chapter in the long and hard struggle for the people of
West Papua for freedom, self-determination and independence. This symbolic
occasion also confirms the long established relationship and support by Vanuatu for
the struggle of their fellow Melanesians and Pacific islanders to be free from
Colonialism.
Mr Rumakiek dedicated the new office to the memory of West Papua Independence
leader John Mombor and "tens of thousands of freedom fighters who paid the price of
struggle with their lives." The new office is situated at Tasiriki, an outskirt of Port Vila.
Mombor was killed in Jarkarta, allegedly by Indonesian Special force known as
Kopassus. (The Kopassus has a record of involvement in human rights abuses in
West Papua).
In an earlier interview with another West Papua Representative living here, Mr Andy
Ayamiseba brushed aside claims that the differences of opinions among
Independentist groups in West Papua could hamper their cause for Freedom.
Instead Mr Ayamiseba was quick to point out the new office will accommodate the
two major organisations leading the struggle, OPM and PDP. (OPM is a national
umbrella organisation of three political parties and 10 resistance organisations. PDP
on the other hand supports the OPM long time lobby for the review of the so called
Act of Free Choice of 1969).
It would seem Vanuatu's Foreign affairs Minister is now praised among the
disadvantaged people of the South Pacific as the champion for their struggle.
But Mr Vohor refused to be in the limelight alone saying the Vanuatu position on the
independence of its "Melanesian brothers in West Papua" was pioneered by the
Father of Independence, Father Walter Lini. In Lini's view, the Pacific will only be at
peace with the granting of independence to the remaining colonies and the recognition
of the rights of indigenous peoples. Mr Vohor had praises also for former Prime
Minister Sope and Mr Natapei for sticking up for West Papua and pursuing that
national vision. At the Millenium summit in 2000, Sope said the UN has made a
mockery on the fundamental principles on human rights and self determination clearly
enshrined in the charter of the UN by not honoring the 1969 Act of free Choice.
The immediate task before the Vanuatu government and the newly opened West
Papuan People's Representative Office is to get the South Pacific Forum grant the
Special Autonomy Status to West Papua.
A West Papua leader, Mr Victor Kaisiepo told Port Vila Presse last September,
"Political independence will be meaningless if we do not control our economic
resources."
According to the Unrepresented Nations and People's Organisation, West Papua is
rich in natural resources: gold, silver, natural gas, copper, and timber. The Indonesian
government has been taking full advantage of those resources, while few profits are
returned to West Papua.
That should explain why Jakarta is reluctant to give West Papua its Independence.
But who can defend the UN Charter that stipulates the right to self determination and
protect the nations from oppression and colonialisation.
History:
The Papuan people and culture existed on the island for thousands of years, until
1546 when the Spanish ?discovered? the island and named it Nueva Guinea (New
Guinea) because of the resemblance between the indigenous people and the people
in Guinea (Africa). In 1828, with the establishment of Fort du Bus, the western half of
the island became a Dutch colony. In 1963, the Indonesians took control of the
territory with the understanding that after six years a referendum (known as the Act of
free Choice) would be held, in which the West Papuans would decide their own
status. The Act of Free Choice took place in July-August 1969 as scheduled, but the
election was ?stage managed? by the Indonesians, who used a combination of
bribery and brute force to persuade the 1,025 local delegates to approve the
continuation of the Indonesian occupation of West Papua. Ignoring the failings of the
electoral process, the UN passed a resolution on November 19, 1969 endorsing the
Indonesian occupa! tion of West Papua. In 1973, West Papua was renamed Irian Jaya
by the Indonesians, and up to this day the indigenous peoples are not allowed to call
themselves West Papuans.
History of Conflict:
Since the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM, the Free Papua Movement) proclaimed
the independence of West Papua on 1 July 1971, there has been a continuous
struggle against the Indonesian oppression. Men and women organized in a guerrilla
are presently resisting the Indonesian army; 10,000 had to flee to the other side in
1984 and many are still living in refugee camps along the border with Papua New
Guinea. Even in those camps, the refugees cannot be sure of their safety: the
Indonesian army was reported to have crossed the border many times, while tracking
down OPM- fighters.
A severe and direct threat to the survival of the indigenous peoples of West Papua is
presented by the Indonesian population transfer programs ( transmigrasie ).
Indigenous communities were forced to be relocated and immigrants were transferred
from densely populated islands to the so-called outer islands. The influx of sponsored
and of so-called spontaneous migrants threatens to create a situation in which the
Indonesian settlers outnumber the indigenous populations and take their places in the
economic and social sectors.
During the last 30 years, vast areas of West Papua have been granted as
concessions to multinational, transnational and Indonesian mining, oil and logging
companies without consultation with, or approval of, the indigenous peoples who have
inherited these lands from their ancestors who held them for 40,000 years. Many
indigenous communities- who have little contact with industrialization or large-scale
commercial activity- have been forcibly removed from their ancestral lands or made to
leave through intimidation and bribery to make way for the exploitation of natural
resources.
Moreover, the operations of the mining companies, particularly PT FI in West Papua,
have caused enormous tension, which has often led to wars between the tribes in the
area.
The lands of the Amungme, for instance, have been mined for gold and copper since
1967 by a subsidiary of the US based Freeport McMoran Copper &Gold. Throughout
the years the Amungme people have conducted a non-violent fight against the
company. In April 1995, the Australian Council for Overseas Aid produced a report
denouncing the killing of 37 West Papuans by the Indonesian army while they were
demonstrating peacefully.
In late January 1997, two Amungme PT FI employees abducted and raped three Dani
women in a container. This sparked violent conflict between members of the two
groups in which six people died and 52 were wounded. The Indonesian troops
stationed there did nothing to intervene; instead they attended the 'spectacle', taking
pictures. Less than two months later, more violence broke out involving hundreds of
local people, when Nduga men tried to rob two members of the Amungme tribal
council, LEMASA, in Kwakmi Lama. The Indonesian troops again did nothing to
prevent the killing that followed in a two days fighting. Six or more people were killed.
Many people regard these incidents as a symptom of the social ills created by the
mining companies? presence in the area. (source UNPO).
|
