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Letter to Condoleezza Rice on the accelerating deterioration of the human and civil rights environment in West Papua

The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, West Papua Advocacy Team [Washington D.C.] - August 10, 2005

The Secretary of State
The Honorable Dr. Condoleezza Rice

Dear Madam Secretary:

The West Papua Advocacy Team at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Human Rights Center wishes to call to your attention the accelerating deterioration of the human and civil rights environment in West Papua.

Separate visits by language-qualified Team members in recent months have verified reports by Papuan civil society leaders and respected human rights organizations which tell of continuing military operations in the central highlands area which have killed dozens of civilians, left burned homes and churches and forced thousands into neighboring forests or to squatter status in neighboring towns.

Military-imposed travel bans have prevented humanitarian assistance from reaching these displaced persons. The central government continues to pursue a massive military buildup in West Papua, with publicly stated goals of increasing the troop presence in West Papua by 12,000 to 15,000 troops. Such a buildup, which would bring total force deployment to between 30,000 to 40,000, is unjustified by any conceivable security needs. The Indonesian military describes the tiny armed Papuan opposition to Indonesian rule as comprising only 600 individuals with 150 modern weapons. Moreover, there is no external threat in the region. This militarization of West Papua contradicts the desire of Papuans, expressed by civil society leaders, for a demilitarization of the area and its transformation in to a "zone of peace."

We strongly urge that the US government draw on its substantial influence to encourage the Indonesian government to demilitarize West Papua and pursue dialogue with Papuans, including Papuan civil society, to address their legitimate concerns and grievances.

We also urge that the US government, in conjunction with other members of the international community, take concrete action to address both the immediate and long term humanitarian needs of the Papuan people, including the pressing needs of those displaced by ongoing military operations, the growing epidemic of HIV/AIDS as well as other chronic health concerns exacerbated by the failure of the central government to provide minimal health care for the Papuan people.

The central government's pledge to introduce "special autonomy" in West Papua nearly five years ago has gone unimplemented. In violation of that pledge, the central government has instead sought to divide West Papua into multiple smaller provinces without popular consultations and has to establish a politically meaningful "Papuan Peopleb(tm)s Council." Moreover, since "special autonomy" was first proposed, the level of corruption and killing of civilians by security forces has grown. According to information from a broad range of Papuan contacts and monitoring of media reports, there are plans for large peaceful demonstrations over the next few days culminating with multiple such gatherings on August. Demonstrators are expected to express popular support for a decision by the Papuan Customary Council to reject the central governmentb(tm)s offer of "special autonomy." We are concerned that the ongoing military buildup in West Papua and the continuing formation of military-backed militias, could presage a violent crackdown against these peaceful demonstrations.

We urge that the U.S government monitor these developments closely and join with the international community to caution the Indonesian government prior to August 15 to ensure that the Indonesian military does not take violent repressive action against peaceful Papuans exercising their legal civil and political rights. It is vital to insist that the Indonesian military conduct itself responsibly and with restraint, particularly given its sordid history of repression of peaceful political protest previously in West Papua, East Timor, the streets of Jakarta and elsewhere.

Recent visits by Advocacy Team members also confirm that central government policies are continuing to marginalize the Papuan people. The central government continues to provide extensive informal support to the migration of peoples into West Papua. This informal continuation of notorious "transmigration" policies displaces Papuans from their native lands and local employment and severely undermines self government.

The consequent communal tensions pose the prospect of conflict, as has been provoked in other regions of Indonesia such as in parts of Kalimantan, the Maluku Islands, and parts of Sulawesi in recent years.

We strongly urge that the State Department in its annual human rights report Indonesia examine the consequences of the inherent discrimination against Papuans entailed in government organized or supported transmigration. We also urge that US humanitarian and development assistance address the disparities in well being and opportunity faced by the Papuan people.

Since the annexation of West Papua, so-called "Act of Free Choice in 1969, now widely seen as coerced and fraudulent, the Indonesian government has extracted great wealth from West Papua through destructive exploitation of its great natural resources, while at the same time returning little of this vast wealth to the Papuan people. It has employed the military to intimidate the local population whose resistance to oppression and exploitation has been overwhelmingly peaceful. Reputable sources contend that over 100,000 Papuans have died as a direct consequence of Indonesian repression. Analysis of demographic trends suggest central government neglect has accounted for even greater pressures on the Papuan people. The various Indonesian regimes, most notoriously the administration of the dictator Soeharto, have evaded international scrutiny for their abuses in West Papua by preventing international monitoring of developments there, barring UN Human Rights Commission monitors, international journalists, international parliamentary representatives and scholars from travel to and within West Papua. Even under the more democratic governments of the post-Soeharto era, such travel is administratively problematic.

We strongly urge that the US government use its strong influence to encourage the Indonesian government to relax controls on international travel to and within West Papua, especially to sure access for those seeking to provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance and to monitor human and civil rights.

Finally, we also urge that the US government undertake a systematic review of its own role in the Indonesian government's coerced annexation of West Papua in 1969, and of US support in succeeding years for Indonesian government repression there, to include provision of lethal military equipment to the Indonesian military which it used to repress the Papuan people. In the course of pressing for Indonesian military and civilian government accountability for crimes against humanity in West Papua, the US government should set a good example by examining and acknowledging its own accountability with regard to that legacy of abuse.

We wish to extend our sincere best wishes and offer our support to you and your staff in your challenging work, particularly with regard to the protection of human and civil rights.

Respectfully,

The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights - West Papua Advocacy Team*

cc:

Deputy Secretary Robert Zoellick
Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill
Assistant Secretary (Acting) Glyn Davies
Ambassador Pascoe

Members: Charles Farhadian, Emily Goldman, Eben Kirksey, Edmund McWilliams, Octavianus Mote, Miriam Young

The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights - West Papua Advocacy Team 1367 Connecticut Avenue NW.

Suite 200.
Washington, D.C. 20063.
Tel. (202) 463-7575
 

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