UCLA International Institute, June 2004
Indonesian Rule Weighs Heavy in West Papua
Patsy Spier tells of campaign to investigate Indonesia's role in her husband's
murder; John Rumbiak calls for independence for the island peoples.
Rashaan Meneses
Papua National Congress, May-June 2000, calls for reconsideration of annexation by
Indonesia.
West Papua is the little-known western half of the large island of New Guinea and a
province of Indonesia. Its history and culture are dramatically different from the rest of
the Indonesian archipelago, and currently there is a movement to separate from
Indonesia and obtain independence.
This was the topic of discussion on May 24, 2004, when UCLA's Center for Southeast
Asian Studies hosted the forum "U.S. Involvement in the History of West Papua and
the Human Rights Situation Today." The speakers included John Rumbiak, a leading
Papuan human rights defender and advocate for self-determination, Patsy Spier, a
survivor of a West Papua ambush that took place in 2002, and Harold Green, a
representative of the West Papuan Action Network (WPAN).
The highlight of the event was a screening of the documentary "Land of the Morning
Star" produced by Australian journalist Mark Worth. The film was a comprehensive
overview of the history of West Papua and included rare archival footage of both
historical and more recent political events. Situated on the island of New Guinea
located just north of Australia, West Papua is part of the second biggest island in the
world and houses the world's only permanent glacier on a tropical island. A quarter of
the world's known languages, some 800 dialects, are spoken in New Guinea. In 1883,
the Dutch colonized the western half of the island. Later in the 1950s, under pressure
from the United States, Australia, and Indonesia, the Dutch government was forced to
relinquish control of West Papua.
The film demonstrated that in August 1962, after a series of closed-door negotiations
known as the "New York Agreement" and held at the United Nations, it was
determined that the Dutch would transfer sovereignty of West Papua to the United
Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA). Ironically though, not a single West
Papuan was invited to participate in these talks. Despite the agreement, in 1963
Indonesia seized control of West Papua and renamed it West Irian (Irian Jaya).
A Rigged Election Opts for Integration with Indonesia
Included under the "New York Agreement" was the "Act of Free Choice" wherein
West Papua was slated to hold a national vote to determine whether West Papuans
wanted independence or preferred "integration with Indonesia." Held between July 14
and August 2, 1969, the vote was clearly not representative since only 1,025
handpicked electors were allowed to vote under the observation of armed Indonesian
militia. These electors allegedly chose "to remain with Indonesia" and since that time
the political climate in West Papua has been both violent and tumultuous.
The film described some of the tensions that have built up since West Papua's
incorporation into Indonesia. West Papua is a large territory and historically has been
relatively underpopulated. Indonesia has taken advantage of this fact and currently it is
estimated that 770,000 migrants have moved from other islands in Indonesia to West
Papua. Many of them are Javanese that were either officially sponsored or encouraged
by the Indonesian government, under the Transmigration Program, to relocate
because of overpopulation on their own home islands. The Transmigration Program
has put a tremendous strain on the people and the land of West Papua. There are
continual culture clashes between the migrant Muslim Javanese and the indigenous
non-Muslim Papuans. West Papua also suffers from widespread land encroachment,
land clearance, and both legal and illegal poaching, all of which are quickly depleting
the natural resources of the island.
The Indonesian government has continually used extreme measures to suppress the
West Papuan dissent from their policies. Many of these measures are seen as
blatant human rights violations bordering on genocide. For example, in 2001, the
leader of the Papuan Intertribal Council, Theys Hiyo Eluay, was murdered. A trial for
the murder found members of the Indonesian military elite responsible. The soldiers
admitted killing Theys in order to prevent him from declaring Papuan independence.
The Indonesian court gave the perpetrators a minimal sentence of only two years in
jail.
A West Papuan interviewed in the documentary claimed that since Indonesian rule
began almost all West Papuans have had at least one relative beaten, raped, tortured,
or killed by the Indonesian Armed Forces. The official count of those who have died
since the "Act of Free Choice" is 100,000 but likely estimates are somewhere near
the number of 800,000. West Papua has the highest HIV rate in Indonesia and much
of it is due to the ongoing harassment that Papuan women face from soldiers as well
as the severe lack of health services in the region.
The Murder of Rick Spier
There are foreign casualties in West Papua that have fallen at the hands of Indonesia
as well. Patsy Spier, a U.S. citizen, is a survivor of an ambush that took place in
West Papua on August 31, 2002. Her husband Rick Spier and two other teachers,
including the superintendent of the school where they taught, were killed in the
ambush. Spier's group was picnicking in a mountaintop region where the mining
corporation Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold operates. Freeport, based in Louisiana,
is the world's largest gold and copper mine, and its presence in West Papua has
taken a tremendous toll on the people. It is reported that the mine earns one million
U.S. dollars per day and less than .01% of the profit is shared with the local
communities. The mine itself has caused the destruction of traditional fisheries and
local water sources. Meanwhile under the "Contract of Work," an agreement signed
between Freeport and the Indonesian government, Freeport was granted "broad
powers over the local population and resources, including the right to take land and
other property and resettle indigenous inhabitants."
Since her husband's death, Spier has been working tirelessly to pressure the U.S.
government to conduct a thorough investigation into the attack. She has had various
meetings in Washington, D.C., and has talked with Deputy Secretary of State Paul
Wolfowitz and FBI Director Robert Mueller. Spier said that "Washington really has no
clue. They don't know anything," and "it's hard to get the U.S. to look at foreign
policy. It's already a mire of U.S. policy in Southeast Asia. So it's been frustrating
work."
Despite the many challenges, Spier has already made tremendous strides in getting
U.S. recognition and action. Since she began her educational outreach, the FBI has
now visited Indonesia five times to conduct their investigation into the killings. In
November 2003, Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colo) and Senator Russell Feingold
(D-Wis) drafted legislation that would prohibit Indonesia from receiving military training
funding until the U.S. State Department determined that the Indonesian army has
cooperated with the FBI in the investigation. Spier reported, "The Indonesian
government is cooperating, although no one in Indonesia is currently conducting their
own investigation."
Concluding her talk, Spier firmly stated, "There is something positive that has to come
out of my husband's death. I don't know if the Indonesian government was
responsible; that's why I'm pushing FBI involvement." As Spier explained, it's not only
that she wants justice for her husband's death. Her real concern is what the
Indonesian government "is doing to West Papua and the people in the villages. Unlike
them, I have a voice. I can speak up. Through the investigation it will come out as to
why it occurred and who commanded it and carried it out so that that we can stop it
from happening again."
A month after Patsy Spier's UCLA talk, on June 25, the Foreign Operations
Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Appropriations
voted to endorse a bill that would extend the existing ban on military funding for
Indonesia until the State Department determines that the Indonesian military and
government are cooperating with the FBI's investigation into the August 2002 ambush
that killed Rick Spier, another U.S. citizen, and an Indonesian in West Papua. The bill
would also unconditionally continue the ban on foreign military financing of weapons
sales and other assistance to Indonesia.
At the May UCLA forum, John Rumbiak defined the problem of West Papua as "an
issue of human dignity." Rumbiak had just returned from an international speaking
tour on the subject of West Papua, spending four months in Europe, traveling in
Finland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. He was pleased to find interest in the U.K.
because the country's biggest oil-producing company, British Petroleum, has a base
in the area and is concerned about regional instability.
Rumbiak is determined to spread the word and to "transform suffering to victory."
Rumbiak described some of the obstacles to a genuine democratic sounding of public
opinion in West Papua: "There needs to be a process for West Papuans to talk
amongst themselves since there are 250 tribes. We don't want an East Timor. It's a
process of building trust and confidence among conflicting parties." As Rumbiak
explained, the situation is tricky and only further complicated by the U.S. war against
terror. "Right now it seems that the world community is a bit ambiguous towards the
situation. One thing that would educate international decision making is exposing the
brutality taking place."
The West Papuan Action Network is currently forming local chapters throughout the
U.S. Interested parties can email WPAN at wpan@redwire.us.
Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Date Posted: 6/25/2004
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