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Five years of special autonomy have brought no improvements - Human rights situation has got worse

Report by Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy - December 19, 2006

Ever since West Papua's integration into Indonesia in 1969 as a result of Pepera[1], there have been serious problems between the Indonesian Government and the Papuan people. The problems relate to its legal status, to the history and politics which have resulted in economic and social problems. The roots of these problems have resulted in prolonged conflicts between Papuan society and the Indonesian government, which persist to the present day.

The failure to resolve these problems by peaceful means by means of dialogue on the basis of democracy and justice has led to victims falling among the Papuans as well as for the Indonesian government. With both sides unable to accept all this and blaming each other, the result is that there has been an escalation in human rights abuses along with social, health, education, legal, welfare and other problems which have all had an impact on the lives of the community.

With specific reference to human rights which are an important aspect of the right to life, ELSHAM-Papua, which has devoted its attention to defending basic human rights, is in a position to present a portrait of the human rights situation in Papua since the enactment of LAW No 21, 2001 on Special Autonomy for Papua. This law was enacted as the result of a political decision or policy of the Indonesian government which was taken after it had come under intense pressure from the Papuan people from 1995 – 2000 over the question of a Free Papua.

This End-of-Year 2006 Report will provide the general public with a picture of the extent to which the Central Government and the Papuan Provincial Government have protected and empowered the Papuan people in implementation of the Special Autonomy Law, and the good will of Jakarta towards the Papuan people. It will also reveal the extent to which basic human rights have been protected by the above-mentioned Law and by governmental institutions in Papua.

Executive summary

The year 2006 was to have been a year in which, according to Special Autonomy (OTSUS), Papua would be showered with billions of rupiahs and decentralisation would take place. But this did not happen because all this money was not used to empower impoverished Papuans who have continued to be marginalized. In fact what happened was rivalry between the local elite (executive and legislative), the emergence of conflicts and new kind of projects[2], in the struggle for power. During the five years since the enactment of Special Autonomy, there has been no significant change and the human rights situation has only got worse with an increase in the number of violations.

Quantitatively and qualitatively, during just five years of OTSUS, there have been a very large number of Papuan victims:

19 summary executions, (Tolinawimban Gire, Yustinus Murib, Derek Murib, Pastor Elisa Tabuni, Moses Douw, Marinus Kogoya, Sodema Hubi, Mokanineak Kossy, Marius Marian, Yunus Giay), 18 arbitrary arrests, 157 cases of mal-treatment and 2 forced disappearances. Apart from the many human rights abuses which have tended towards a process of ethnic genocide, there have been problems in other areas: minimal attention to healthcare – instead there has been a process of psychological murder of Papuans because of excessive attention to the spread of HIV/AIDS while not providing accurate data about who are the people suffering from the disease, how they were identified and how these people came to be infected by this fatal disease.

With regard to the economy, the markets and banks are controlled by immigrants from outside Papua while the regional government and local businesses have done nothing to empower local people, with the result that Papuans still live in poverty in a land endowed with rich natural resources while OTSUS has been granted trillions of rupiahs.

In the field of education, the beneficiaries are not the economically weak or the poor people; funds for education are instead being used for officials and employees who pin their hopes on educational programmes of any kind to obtain titles, and so long as they are focussed on making money in the province and as long as they graduate with titles such as master of finance, master of consumption, master of transport or whatever. Meanwhile, officials compete with each other to enrich themselves by embezzling the people's money, and corrupting development funds that were allocated for the Special Allocation Fund (DAK), the General Allocation Fund (DAU), Routine Expenditures (ABT) as well as other allocations.

The hopes that were expressed by the central government with international support that the OTSUS Law would change things and improve the living standards of the Papuan people have had the opposite effect; it has destroyed the Papuan people because the governmental institutions and the bureaucracy are inaccessible to the Papuans while nothing has been done to protect basic human rights by the Majelis Rakyat Papua (Papuan People's Assembly) the body which was supposed to be the spirit or soul of Special Autonomy; the fact is that the MRP has been unable to exert any authority because there is confusion about its powers as no implementing regulations (perdasi, perdasus) have been introduced.

With regard to the protection of basic human rights, the Law on Special Autonomy provides no space for the protection of the right to life; in fact it is silent on the matter, with the result that the local government has not devoted special attention to various human rights violations, with the result that arrests, detention, maltreatment and murder have occurred without end[3]

Concrete evidence on the ground shows that no attention has been paid to empowering local institutions such as the Representative Office of Komnas (National Human Rights Commission) HAM Papua, religious bodies, and NGOs in Papua which pay attention to Basic Human Rights; on the contrary, they are viewed with suspicion by the government without any factual basis while humanitarian activities have been politicised as a result of which OTSUS has not become a barometer for the protection of the native population. Rather, the government has been silent on basic human rights and decentralisation in Papua are part of the agenda and reflect the spirit of reformasi as anticipated by civil society in Indonesia, whereas the human rights situation in Papua has been truly appalling in the recent period.

The Human rights situation

1. On 6-7 January 2006, Anthonius Wanmang and others were arrested and detained in Timika by the FBI working in collaboration with the Indonesian police force (Polri). The twelve civilians initially arrested were taken, without being accompanied by any legal counsel, to Jayapura and then, under heavy police guard the victims were flown to Jakarta. Their questioning and arbitrary detention was not in compliance with legal procedures; this was the political bargain made by the Indonesian government with the US government. This case was the price paid by Indonesia for cutting off military assistance from the US and the decision taken by the US and its allies to identify Indonesia as the base for a terrorist global network together with JL and AlQaeda.

On 7 November 2006, the Jakarta district court sentenced Anthonius Wanmang (39) to life, while seven others were also convicted: Jonni Anggaibak and Yohanis Dekme were sentenced to 18 years, Yairus Tsugumol, Ardi Tsugumol and Ishak to one year and six months. One of the eight persons held, Ardi Tsugumol (37), died in police detention. His body is still being held at the police hospital in Jakarta.

Neither the executive nor the legislative branches of the provincial government has given any protection to these cases, and nor has the the MRP done anything. Several human rights NGOs, such as the PBHI, ELSHAM PAPUA and church and student networks have protested to the government about these cases and provided legal counsel in the courts and the prisons. These cases have served political interests of third parties by concealing the role of third parties [4]in order to provide protection for PT Freeport Indonesia and to win the confidence of the US Government, following the severance of military ties, with the result that Papuan civil society has been sacrificed in the interests of the Indonesian state and its most important ally, the USA.

2. On 10 April 2006, Tolinawimban Gire (71) was murdered by a member(s?) of Brimob and the local police in Puncak Jaya during an operation to hunt down people in retaliation for the murder of eight civilians (employees of Jl. Raya Wamena-Mulia company) in Guragi/ Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya sub-district by unknown persons calling themselves members of TPN OPM led by Goliat Tabuni. This case remains unresolved as there has been no evidence regarding the perpetrators of the Guragi incident or about the police who were involved in the killing of TG (71)[5] or about Pastor Elisa Tabuni and moreover the perpetrators have not been dealt with in accordance with the law because the matter never came before a court of law.

As a result of this incident, tens of inhabitants died of starvation in their place of refuge in the jungle 5,000 – 6,000 feet above sea level. The victims also suffered material losses amounting to billions of rupiahs, because their homes, places of worship, their pigs and gardens were burnt down in an operation to hunt down those responsible for the incident which resulted in ten deaths.

In connection with this case, the regional government spent no less than Rp. 2.520.000.000,- (two billion, five hundred and twenty million)[6] for the operation (logistics) and to control the security situation. However, neither the provincial government nor official institutions such as the DPRP and the MRP took any measures to calm the situation or the community in connection with that incident.

3. On 18 January 2006, a Kostrad special team of YONIF 753 ARVITA (Arga Vira Tama) in Nabire shot dead Moses Douw(19) a student at state school SLTP I Wagethe in the village of Wagethe, sub-district of Paniai, Papua Province. Besides the shooting dead of Mozes, three colleagues were injured by gunfire in the incident. No reason for the shooting has been given while the chronology shows that the TNI behaved very brutally and in a discriminatory way in all areas of their operations in Papua. This is because the troops are deployed without appropriate logistical equipment, as a result of which conflicts and violence have been triggered within the community; furthermore, the troops are stationed in places that are very remote from urban centres and become very frustrated.

Neither the regional nor local governments, nor the MRP took any action regarding this incident, and the matter remains unresolved to this day while disregarding the feelings of justice of the families.

4. On 19 July 2006, the Human Rights Court in Makassar acquitted Drs. Johny Wainal Usman (former Brimob officer in Papua) and Daud Sihombing SH (former police officer) in Jayapura on the charge of responsibility for the violation of gross human rights during the bloody Abepura incident on 7 December 2000. Eight people died either directly or indirectly as a result of the brutalities of the police and 105 people were seriously or slightly injured.

Nothing was done to alleviate the sense of injustice of the families of the victims and witnesses and the Indonesian Government provided neither material or immaterial reparations, whereas the two men who were in command of the 25 perpetrators on the ground were praised as 'heroes' for having killed Papuans who were described as separatists and a threat to the integrity of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

Nothing was done to provide legal counsel, logistical support or protection at the location of the court that was trying cases of gross human rights violations, and there was no political bargaining between Jakarta and Papua with the result that Papuans were yet again the victims of trial proceedings in Indonesia. Even though, at the time of the verdicts, the DPRP dispatched experts from Commission A, there was no follow-up whatever with regard to this case.

5. On 16 May 2006,members of the police and Brimob shot dead two citizens named Sodema Hubi (65) and Mokanineak Kossy (47) while two others, Marius Marian (28) and Yunus Giay (26) received gunshot wounds. This incident occurred because of a clash between members of Brimob in Papua and supporters of the former Wamena sub-district chief, Drs. David A. Hubi who was charged by Wamena court for corrupting Rp.10 billion. The case was not heard on appeal which meant that the two accused men were acquitted even though they had caused the deaths of two people. There was no response to this case by the provincial government and the MRP, or by the DPRP, the regional assembly of Papua.

6. On 16 March 2006, a clash between members of the police force and students in front of Gapura campus of Uncen University in Abepura resulted in four members of the security forces falling victim to the fury of the masses, while several persons on both sides were wounded. A military operation following the incident resulted in a student being killed in Tanah Hitam Abepura while hundreds of students disappeared. Although it is generally believed that these students fled to Papua New Guinea (PNG), nothing is known regarding their fate to this day.

AS a result of this incident, twenty or so pupils and students were taken into custody by the police in Papua and then tried to court, where they were found guilty and convicted. The heaviest sentence was 15 years imprisonment while others received sentences of between 7 – 10 years. None of these arrests and court cases were investigated by any officials using their powers under the OTSUS Law, as a result of which the victims and their families feel that they have not received justice and have simply become victims of the Indonesian judiciary in Papua[7]. At the same time, there was unrest in Timika during which Hotel Serathon was damaged, followed by the outbreak of warfare between tribes in Timika which resulted in a considerable number of victims.

7. On 13 November 2006, there was an outbreak of unrest in Puncak Jaya after basic commodities had been handed out, which was followed by the killing of two persons, a member of Kopassus and a retired officer[8].

On the basis of the above end-of year report, ELSHAM-Papua draws the following conclusions:

1) Special Autonomy has not resulted in any improvement in the protection of civil rights (political, economic, social, cultural, educational, health, welfare and basic human rights) for the Papuan people;

2) The OTSUS Law has only brought about a transfer of power from the centre and new forms of corruption in the region and has acted as a boomerang for the native inhabitants; 3) The provincial government in Papua, the MRP and the sub-district governments and town administrations throughout the province of Papua have not worked effectively and efficiently in those sectors that are important to the lives of the community and they have spent billions of rupiahs to accumulate personal wealth, which has resulted in a high level of social jealousy.

4) The OTSUS Law has shown no concern for the interests of the Papuan people and has sown the seeds of genocide in Papua rather than empowering the Papuan people and making them masters in their own homeland.

5) [Local] governments and multinational corporations such as PT Freeport and the LNG project (BP) have supported the process of genocide for the Papuans because no efforts have been made to protect and empower the native inhabitants, but instead, support has been given to third parties to annihilate the Papuan people.

In view of the End-of-Year Report for 2006 and the profile of human rights above, ELSHAM-Papua makes the following recommendations:

1. The provincial government (legislative and executive) should issue a public statement to the people about the 5 years of implementation of Special Autonomy in Papua;

2. The Government and the MRP should speedily take clear steps regarding their rights and responsibilities and make this clear to the people because the people are being sacrificed for the political interests of the govrnment and the political elite;

3. To state clearly whether OTSUS is relevant to the Papuan people in view of the fact that human rights violations continue to occur in Papua without any clear legal protection;

4. There must be clear political will both from the provincial government in Papua and the MRP in the pursuance of their mandate and regarding the sufferings of the people in the name of development.

5. Elsham Papua calls upon the Indonesian Government and TNI/POLRI (the Indonesian armed forces and police) and civil institutions to stop suppressing and concealing the issue of human rights in Papua for political interests. Facts on the ground show that violations of human rights in Papua are increasing year by year, a situation that reflects no concern for the sense of justice of the Papuan people (the victims)[9] in either a material and non-material sense.

ELSHAM-Papua hopes that this report will receive the attention of those concerned who claim to be acting in the name of the Papuan people whatever their political aims and at all times in the Land of Papua.

Jayapura, 19 December 2006
Elsham Papua

[1] PEPERA, the so-called 'Act of Free Choice' This was only formal and juridical. However,during the 1960s, Indonesian troops were mobilised in Papua (West Irian) following a declaration by the Indonesian President in his Trikora speech which brought disaster for the Papuan people.

[2] Every conflict in Papua is engineered by certain elements, and by creating insecurity, action is needed to pacify the situation, which provides the basis for the promotion of officials to new jobs in the government.

[3] The verdict of the Human Rights Court in Makassar, the arrest and detention of Anthonius Wamang and others, the Abepura clashes on 16 March 2006 as well as other cases were ignored by the government. It was busying itself instead with the local elections and foreign investment projects.

[4] See: Report of investigation by Polri (ballistic investigation) carried out by Police General Drs Made Mangku Pastika, the former police chief of Papua

[5] For a chronology of this murder, see the report of the Joint Press Conference of the GKII, the Baptist Church and GIDI on 23 April 2005. [6] See report of the Papuan Baptist Church.

[7] See article, 'All Legal and Political Forces are Suppressed in order to preserve the existence of the NKRI (Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia)' by Diaz Gwijangge, at <http://www.papuapost.com/>www.papuapost.com

[8] See attached media release. [This is available as a separate posting.)

[9] See the verdict of the Makassar Human Rights Court regarding the case of gross human rights violations in Abepura, 2000.

[Translated by TAPOL.]