Home > South-East Asia >> West Papua

Papuans and police/TNI officers fall victim to misguided government policy

Statement - March 17, 2006

Papuans and officers of the Police Force and TNI (Armed Forces of Indonesia) have fallen victim of the Misguided Policy of the SBY/Kalla government.

May we first express our sincere condolences for the deaths of three members of the Police Force and an officer of the Armed Forces (TNI/AU - Air Force) during clashes in front of Cendrawasih University, Abepura on Thursday. We are also deeply concerned about the dozens of Papuans and members of the Police Force who were seriously injured.

Violence continues to be the method used to resolve conflicts, particularly in Papua.

This tragedy need never have occurred had the officers not forcibly removed the blockade in the road set up by the students and other Papuans. This triggered anger from the people with the result that a bloody conflict was unavoidable.

The police, most of whom whom were lower ranks who almost certainly knew nothing about the cause of the conflict between the people and PT Freeport Indonesia, fell victim to the lack of clarity from the government in dealing with the demands regarding to the presence of Freeport. A conflict that is between the people and Freeport turned into a conflict between the people and the police/armed forces.

The conflict between the Papuan people and PT Freeport has being going on for many years, and a high level of violence has been used. Yet up till now, the SBY/Kalla government still has no concept of how to respond to the demands of the Papuans. The government has failed to take seriously demands for a re-negotiation of the Contract of Work which Papuans consider to have provided neither justice nor prosperity for Papuans who are still underdeveloped and poor.

The accumulation of anger unnecessarily resulted in lives being lost, and this will continue to happen if the same methods are used again in future.

Responsibility for this situation rests with the central government which has the authority to respond to the demands being made by the Papuan people with regard to Freeport.

The use of excessive force which resulted in a bloody clash is set to continue, with the sweeping (searching) of people's homes and the campus of Cendrawasih University, as happened to the Secretary of the Pepera Front, Selfius Boby, the organisation that led the protest action demanding that Freeport be closed down. The use of excessive force will make it even more difficult to resolve the Papuan problem.

We therefore wish to state as follows:

• We call on the police in Abepura and throughout Papua to exercise restraint and not to engage in acts of revenge. The rule of law must be applied for both sides. Sweeping operations and arrests should end.
• We call on the Papuan people and students to refrain from actions that could undermine their struggle to demand justice from Freeport and the SBY/Kalla government.
• We will support the struggle of the Papuan people to demand justice as long as this is done by peaceful and well-organised methods.
• We call on the SBY/Kalla government to meet the demand of the Papuan people for the temporary closure of Freeport in order to avoid further escalation of the conflict. The Contract of Work should be re-negotiated to ensure that it conforms with the principle of justice. In the absence of such an approach, the potential for bloody conflicts and acts of violence, both by the Papuan people and students as well as by the Police Force and the TNI, is bound to remain.

The deployment of more Police and TNI forces to Papua will only hide the true nature of the problem. The territory of Papua must not be militarised, for this will only lead to yet more victims from the civilian population and members of the police force.

The people of Papua and members of the police force should not become victims as happened to the Acehnese people who suffered from the policy of a Military Operations Zone (DOM) at the time of the New Order and during the period of 'Reformasi'.

Jakarta, 17 March 2006

• HS. Dillon
• Hendardi
• Romo Benny Susetyo
• Franky
• Sholahudin Wahid
• Dita Indah Sari
• Sukardi Rinakit

Click here for archive of statements and press releases