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Letter to Condoleeza Rice on current developments in West Papua
RFK Memorial West Papua Advocacy Team - January 4, 2006
Secretary of State
Condoleeza Rice
US Department of State
2201 C Street
NW Washington, DC 20520
Dear Madame Secretary:
The West Papua Advocacy Team at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights wishes you a safe and successful upcoming journey to Southeast Asia. We write you out of a particular interest in your visit to Indonesia.
As we have expressed to you in previous communications (most recently in our letter of 29 November 2005), we are deeply concerned by current developments in West Papua. We strongly urge that in your discussions with senior Indonesian government leaders, you encourage them to pursue a senior-level dialogue with Papuan civil society and local officials regarding long-standing Papuan calls for the demilitarization of the province, fair distribution of the benefits flowing from the exploitation of Papuan natural resources, and protection for Papuan civil and political rights. Given growing death threats and other intimidation faced by human rights advocates, including those who have assisted the FBI in the Timika case, we also urge you to underscore the importance the US attaches to their safety.
Your recent decision to restore full military relations between the US and Indonesian military imposes a moral burden to pursue vigorously and transparently the long-delayed military reform that you and your assistants contend will be facilitated by this action.
That reform is most urgently needed in the context of the continued and expanding repression meted out to Papuans by the Indonesian military.
Recent statements by the Indonesian government regarding its intentions to deploy a new Kostrad division to West Papua, coupled with multiple, credible local reports of an expanding military presence in West Papua, indicate a substantial militarization of that province. This militarization cannot be explained in security terms inasmuch as there are no credible foreign or domestic security threats there.
Rather, the ongoing deployment of Indonesian army and navy personnel appears to follow the pattern of previous deployments to Aceh and other areas dominated by the military. That is, it is intended to facilitate the military's exploitation of local natural resources and the repression of the local people. In addition, government travel restrictions continue to obscure these abuses.
In particular, we are concerned by the continued unaccountability of security forces before Indonesian courts for systematic abuse of Papuans' human rights as in the recent failure to punish those responsible
for the Abepura incident, the jailing of peaceful dissenters such as Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage, and lack of any progress to act on the Wasior and Wamena investigations. We are also deeply troubled by recent revelations regarding collusion of the Indonesian military with US firms such as Freeport-McMoran which has facilitated human rights abuse and environmental degradation.
We trust that you will make clear to Indonesia's leaders that continued improvement in US-Indonesia relations depends in part on their serious attention to the above matters.
The West Papua Advocacy Team at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights will continue to monitor the human rights situation in West Papua and would welcome the opportunity to discuss our concerns with you and/or your staff upon your return from Indonesia.
Sincerely,
Emily S. Goldman Senior Program Officer
And the RFK Memorial West Papua Advocacy Team:
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