THE HANDSTAND

JULY 2006


In Remotest Indonesia, Unfinished Business

Fear, Distrust, Insurgency Simmer in Papua

Excerpts from Washington Post Foreign Service
By
Ellen Nakashima
Sunday, June 25, 2006; Page A17

SILIBA, Indonesia -- Here, in the chilly central highlands of Papua, Yumbologon Wandikbo wears nothing but an orange-beaded choker and a covering known as a penis gourd, a custom of his Dani tribe. "When we get freedom," he said with a hint of defiance, "I will put on clothes."

Wandikbo, a tall man with a lithe stride and a touch of gray in his sideburns, paused on a dirt path near about a dozen huts topped with shaggy thatch domes. Snorting pigs rooted around muddy trails. In a free Papua, he said on a crisp, gray afternoon, the young people will go to school and then find jobs.

A simmering dispute over the status of Papua, a region absorbed into Indonesia under controversial circumstances a generation ago, continues to fuel fear, distrust and a low-level insurgency in this remote land of ruggedly beautiful mountains and vast virgin forests on the western half of New Guinea island.

"I have never felt like I was part of Indonesia," said Jelam Wandikbo, a former Dani warrior, sitting cross-legged on the ground in a thatched hut an hour's hike away. This clan elder, with five wives and 17 children scattered across several villages, is a former tribal chief of war and a hero for the enemy tribesmen he killed in his youth. Now, he posts scouts around his hamlet, but not to fight. "I will run to the forest," he said, eyes bright, his body still taut and square-shouldered, "when the government troops come."

For Indonesia, which declared independence 60 years ago, Papua is the last major piece of unfinished business. East Timor, a former province, claimed independence in a 1999 referendum, although international troops were called in recently to halt fighting between the police and armed forces. A three decade-long separatist uprising in Aceh province ended with a peace deal last year, given impetus by the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami. Indonesia insists that Papua is an integral part of the country, a position that almost all foreign governments accept, even as some have expressed concerns over charges that Indonesian security forces have engaged in human rights violations.

The former Dutch colony, more than 2,000 miles east of Jakarta, has the world's largest gold mine and second-largest copper mine, owned by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, a U.S. mining giant. But the villages here are among the least developed in Indonesia. Papua has the country's highest poverty level and the highest concentration of HIV/AIDS. One-third of Papuan children do not attend school. Nine out of 10 villages do not have a health clinic, doctor or midwife.

(The Grand Valley of the Baliem is a vast and magnificently tended garden. In it the Dani spend most of their working lives, and from it they receive abundant and diverse nourishment. The Dani have names for over seventy different kinds of sweet potatoes, which are cultivated in the valley. Certain ones are preferred for breakfast, others for quick nourishment during work and others still for more relaxed eating in the evening. Other vegetables are ginger, taro, cucumber, carrot, greens and yam. Banana is the only cultivated fruit. It is grown exclusively in the village gardens, where it grows tall and tree-like, shading the houses and breaking the force of winds. Tobacco is grown and cured primarily by the men, but is smoked by the women as well. Nearly every adult Dani smokes. Dried tobacco leaves are kneaded and matted down with the palm of the hand. Then the mass is rolled up, twisted slightly. Subsequently the roll is wrapped in banana bark and hung behind the fireplace for a few days to cure further. It is made into cigarettes wrapped in one of the various leaves, usually a spurge, gathered in the forest and dried in presses. Since there are no seasons in the Baliem, agriculture is a continuous activity. The Dani are practically free from the kind of anxiety associated with other less fortunately situated farming cultures. Insufficient rain, floods or pests, which for seasonal planters could easily mean starvation, sometimes occur, but with considerable milder consequences.

www.frankossen.com)

PRESS RELEASE 23 FEBRUARY 2006

WORLD'S BIGGEST GOLDMINE SHUT DOWN AS SOLDIERS GO ON THE RAMPAGE

'My people urgently need the world's help' says Papuan tribal leader.

The Freeport Mine in West Papua - the biggest gold and copper mine in the world - is today in a state of chaos, as Indonesia soldiers reportedly use tear gas and live rounds to attack protesting tribal people. Reports from inside West Papua suggest that at least one person may have been killed.

Last month, West Papua made the news when a 'lost valley' containing numerous new species was discovered. This week, its people are suffering brutally - it needs to make the news again.

On Tuesday, paramilitary police used rubber bullets to disperse local people who were scavenging on the corporation's tips for waste gold. Since their land was taken from them by Freeport, such scavenging has been their only way of making a living. A crowd of 500 people gathered to protest, and blockaded the roads to the mine, shutting down its operations.

Today the mine remains closed - but reports from inside West Papua suggest that up to 500 soldiers have moved in to disperse protesters with tear gas and live rounds.

Papuan tribal leader Benny Wenda, who now lives in exile in Britain, says that urgent action is needed now, before the situation gets worse.

'The Freeport Mining Company already has the blood of my people on its hands', says Benny. 'The company must take responsibility for all the deaths and pain it has caused since 1967, and it must withdraw from our land.'

To interview Benny Wenda, or for further information, contact Paul Kingsnorth, Press Officer, Free West Papua Campaign. 07970 077552. paul@paulkngsnorth.net

Richard Adkerson

Mr. Adkerson is President and Chief Executive Officer of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. He also serves as Co-Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of McMoRan Exploration Co. (MMR).

1217 Burgundy St., NOLA. Ph# 504-529-7508

AND....WELL YOU'D HAVE TO KNOW IT WOULDN'T YOU?....

RIO TINTO LONDON (Part owners of Freeport mine)

Rio Tinto plc
6 St James's Square
London
UK, SW1Y 4LD
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7930 2399
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7930 3249

The Indonesian government, citing security concerns, requires foreign journalists and researchers to obtain special permission to visit Papua and has seldom granted it in recent years.

A Crucial Vote

The village pastor, recalled that in 1969 a special vote was held to decide Papua's future. The vote was sponsored by the United Nations, with U.S. support. An aunt, now dead, told him the elders were coerced into choosing to remain with Indonesia, he said. Studies by academics in the Netherlands and in Britain, as well as declassified U.S. documents, support her contention.

Papua does not suffer from a lack of teachers or schools, but from the unequal distribution of resources, which flow to the cities at the expense of remote areas such as the highlands, the World Bank said.

In an effort to redress long-standing grievances, the government passed a law in 2001 giving Papua, which is about the size of California, greater revenue and decision-making power than other provinces. The government also gives Papua more money per capita than any other province except East Kalimantan.

In the towns and cities, members of the educated Papuan elite have tried to work with the central government to advance special autonomy, which includes the creation of a people's assembly of ethnic Papuan tribal, women and religious leaders. But the council has little clout, and police keep close watch on the leaders and political activists.

Security forces are battling a small, separatist insurgency called the Free Papua Movement, which has tried since the mid-1960s to gain momentum. But it is scattered, ill-equipped and lacking a central command, analysts said. Some activists allege that as many as 100,000 Papuans have been killed since Indonesia took control of Papua in 1963.Theys Eluay, a charismatic leader who advocated separatism through peaceful means, was murdered in November 2001. A military court in 2003 convicted seven soldiers. The longest sentence was 3 1/2 years. A year and a half ago, two men led a peaceful ceremony to raise the Morning Star flag, the symbol of Papuan independence. They are serving 10- and 15-year prison sentences for rebellion.

Interview with Theys Eluay: Theys spoke with TEMPO Interaktif reporter, Philipus Parera.
www.tempo.co.id/harian/ wawancara/waw-theys-e.html

Regarding your meeting with Gus Dur some time ago…

He still opposes our hoisting of that flag. I am extremely disappointed. He deceived the Papuan people and the Papuan Presidium Council. He even suggested that he understood the flags were a cultural symbol. He never mentioned that to us before. We are extremely disappointed with that statement.

Did Gus Dur really say that during the meeting?

Yes. Bu we disagree. I told Mr. President that I reject those words. That is the official Papuan flag, not a cultural symbol.

Could you have misunderstood the president’s statement?

He made the mistake. That is the flag of the Papuan people. Gus Dur knows that it is the Papuan flag, and he never said that it was a cultural symbol. He never used the word "culture" before. Therefore, don’t try to deceive the Papuans. I can’t accept that kind of statement.

When you spoke with Gus Dur about your feelings, how did he react?

He told me that many sides had attacked him. Well, for us, that is his business. But don’t give it (the flag) a stigma. Mr. Marsillam Simanjuntak has called the Morning Star flag a separatist flag. There is no separatist flag. The flag is the official flag.

Did Gus Dur say who was pressuring him?

I don’t need to mention names. You’re supposed to know the answer. But they definitely don’t come from other countries.

Why has the Papuan struggle for independence become more difficult?

I don’t think it’s difficult. Gus Dur doesn’t control Papuan sovereignty. Our sovereignty is in God’s hands. Therefore, we’re certain of victory. We’ll keep fighting without resorting to violence. But, if the government uses force to remove the flags, our human patience has limits.

We only ask the Indonesian government not to pretend that they don’t understand our struggle. Papua has never been Indonesian territory. The Youth Pledge offers some proof. The Youth Pledge mentions Jong Sumatera (Sumatra Youth) and Jong Ambon (Ambon Youth), but the Papuans had no representative in the Pledge. That is Indonesian history, not Papuan. Don’t force us to accept the Red and White (Indonesian) flag or accept the Sabang to Merauke (a city in southeast Irian Jaya) sovereign territory claim. It is a fraud that we will never accept.

What are the opinions of Papuans?

I was still in Sorong (when the president made his remarks). However, I’m convinced that the people shared my feelings. They were angry. The people, like God, can get angry. The president deceived us by first permitting the hoisting of Morning Star flag, then banning the activity. We support the President. But, if he changes his mind like that, why should we support him anymore? We’ve always supported him because we thought he understood our problems.

Can you comment on the Wamena problem?

I don’t need to talk about Wamena. Gus Dur already knows. The impatience of the security forces caused the problem.

According to you, how should the unrest in Wamena be handled?

The police should apologize to the people. They started it. They knew all along that the Papuan people have tribal wars and the like. Therefore, I always say, "Don’t play with fire near gasoline." That’s what happened in Wamena. The local people can go to war over women. In this case the police just arrive and shoot. The police must apologize. They can attend a customary ceremony. They can come before the traditional institutions and request a peace ceremony.

Have you conveyed that suggestion to the government and local security forces?

Why should we do that? There’s an old saying, "the land you step on has sky overhead." If they don’t know tradition, they are wrong.

Are there any other alternatives to a traditional settlement?

The Wamena case should be settled legally. The Police Chief must be dismissed and tried before a military court. The government must allow the hoisting of the Morning Star flags. One flag could be raised in front of the local traditional chief residences. Furthermore, flags should also be permitted on the house of the Papuan Presidium Council Chairman.

Didn’t the President already issue a ban?

We’ll meet the Regional Administrative Assembly (Muspida) again to discuss this matter. You should remember, if the Papuan flags are removed, the Wamena incident could reoccur in all regencies. Removing the flags could incite all Papuans to attack our non-Papuan brothers. Don’t let this happen. The government should take care to avoid another Wamena incident. After we return to Jayapura, we’ll request that the Assembly tell Mr. President not to let the Wamena incident reoccur throughout the province. I am ready to take the lead.

Therefore, you still favor raising the flags in certain places?

Yes. That’s the best way for now. Furthermore, the government should immediately review the history of the Papuan flag. That’s the root of the whole problem. Therefore, we’ll meet Mr. President once again.

What if he still doesn’t grant permission?

Well, I can assure you, Papuan hands will not attempt to remove the flags. If they (the security forces) remove the flags by force, go ahead.

What about Gus Dur’s suggestion to replace the Morning Star flag with another symbol?

The Papuans will never replace their flag. They only have one, the Morning Star flag. That’s final. Let me say it this way, if the Indonesians were asked to change their flag from the Red and White flag to another flag, could they do that? Gus Dur should answer this question first. If their flag can be changed, the Papuan flag can also be changed. This flag is a national flag, not an ordinary symbol.

But, do the Papuans really need independence? What about the special autonomy option?

One result of the Papuan Congress was the government’s obligation to build and develop their people, including the Papuans. But, the Papuans have the right to continue their demands. Freedom and autonomy are two different issues. If the government grants us autonomy, go ahead. It’s their obligation. But, we will never beg them for special autonomy.

Many people say, after special autonomy is given to the Papuans their calls for independence will lessen.

The aspiration will never lessen. Never! Earlier, aspirations for independence were crushed by the threat of armed force. The people who openly supported the Free Papuan Organization (OPM) were captured and killed. The New Order government was very brutal. We were powerless. Well, Suharto has stepped down now and we have openness. We’ve been waiting for this moment to come. It’s not just a matter of legal problems with Indonesia. We have different skin and culture. Don’t force us to be like Indonesians. That’s why we always support the continuation of Papuan history.

What do you mean?

For example, Papua has been free since December 1, 1961. We had the Morning Star flag and Hai Tanaku Papua as our anthem. We also had the name Papua. At that time we were still not part of the Indonesian Republic. We reject the opinion that we’ve always been part of the Indonesian Republic.

Suddenly, we were taken over by Bung Karno (Indonesian first president) with his Trikora (People’s Three Commands). Indonesia never honored our sovereign rights. In the first point of the Trikora statement, Bung Karno ordered the dissolution of the Papuan "puppet" nation created by the Dutch. Implicitly, the statement acknowledged a nation called Papua. Why has this history never been brought to the fore?

But, why did the Dutch surrender Papua to Indonesia at the United Nations?

As I’ve stated before, our rights have never been acknowledged. They (the Indonesians) made that decision abroad without consulting the Papuans. They changed the name to West Irian. The Indonesian government took this matter to the United Nations. In 1962, there was a debate in the UN between Indonesian and the Dutch government. Unfortunately, the Papuans were never involved in the talks. That’s so odd. Why were other nations deciding Papuan problems? Indonesia and the Netherlands violated Papuan human rights. The UN, particularly the US, was also involved. The US had interests here.

The United Nations Secretary-General, U Than, requested Bung Karno to organize the Asian-African Conference. The Secretary-General needed Soekarno’s support to maintain his post. Soekarno asked for a return favor. Indonesia would get West Irian. The US then urged the Dutch to surrender West Irian to Indonesia through the UN. The Dutch had no right to give Papua to Indonesia. We were already independent. How come the Dutch and Indonesia spoke for Papua? For these reasons, the congress delegated the Papuan Presidium Council to organize dialogues and lobbying nationally and internationally.

Where have you lobbied internationally?

We’ve have already begun lobbying. Some time ago, we attended the meeting at the UN together with the Nauru and Vanuatu delegations (two Pacific Islands nations). The presidents of those two countries spoke about the Papuan problem before the UN. One hundred and sixty national leaders attended that UN meeting.

Are there efforts to talk with the Dutch?

There will be in November. We want to ask them why they didn’t declare Papua free in 1961 during the meeting with Indonesia at the UN session. Why has the Dutch government remained quiet all these years? They were historical witnesses.

We will also meet the US government. We want to ask on what basis they created the New York agreement. It was a US concept. They feared that a communist movement would enter the Pacific. Secondly, the US government coveted Papuan riches. They established the Freeport Mine Company, didn’t they? We have heard rumors of a travel ban on all members of the Papuan Presidium Council. Well, if those rumors are true, no problem. We won’t oppose it.

The government intends to divide Papua into three provinces…

Not three, 100 is OK. More important, really, is the return of the people’s rights. After that, we can arrange our own rules. Now, they say Papua still lacks human resources. I want to ask them something. When Indonesia obtained its independence, did it have abundant human resources?

According to rumors, the government once offered you a certain position….

They did. But, it’s not the basic problem. Yes rumors have mentioned that I was offered a certain position. However, I don’t want to talk about that problem. That’s normal for an Indonesian citizen. However, if I accepted the offer, I would have betrayed the struggle.

Did Gus Dur ever offer you anything?

He told me a couple of times that I would make a good governor. But, I told him that I am too uneducated to take that job. I never dreamed of that job. He then said, "I don’t need a clever man to be Papuan Governor. A clever man might deceive the people. People love Mr. (Pak) Theys. So, you suit the governor position." I told him, "Mr. President, thank you very much for your offer. It’s such an honor. But, I can’t accept it."

He asked me three times. I thought it was a joke. He once asked me if I would like to become a Regional People’s Consultative Assembly member. Before that, Akbar Tanjung nominated me as a member of the House of Representatives (DPR). At that time, they were called the Golkar Party. But, I still had the old Golkar card. If I accepted their offer, it won’t be appropriate.

The House of Representatives opposes Papuan independence. They even oppose Gus Dur’s idea to change the name "Irian Jaya" to "Papua"…

Which House of Representatives? We have nothing to do with the House of Representatives. The Papuans look to the Papuan Presidium Council, not the House members. We’re a nation, period. If they don’t understand Papuan history, they should shut their mouths. Many Indonesian people still don’t own sandals. What do the House members do for those people? I tell you, Papua is the "rice plate" of Indonesia. Don’t forget that. Don’t be afraid, we’ll still give donations to Indonesia after we obtain our independence. We don’t have many people and don’t want to be greedy. We want acknowledgement and understanding.

What will you do if the struggle fails?

We’ll definitely succeed. This is God’s Path. All Papuans are praying.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recently announced that he would issue a decree to ensure that the $1.4 billion in special autonomy money that Jakarta sends to Papua is spent wisely, on poverty relief, health and education.

(Further notes from www.frankossen.com
Among the Dani, men are creators while women are the producers. Men conceive and originate; women listen and follow. By western standards, there is a vast inequality between the sexes, especially after childhood. Though industry was evident, in both the male and female worlds, men pre-emptied all the drama and excitement, while women are limited to a routine of drudgery. It would be a mistake to assume that the Dani men do no useful or routine work. Their hands combine the attributes of strength and dexterity necessary for the difficult work of making a new garden, of dredging an old irrigation canal, of weaving a bracelet from fern fibers or of knitting long, ceremonial bands from bark string. Large and powerful men with well deserved reputations as warriors would sit for hours rolling beaten bark into string on their thighs, making skirts from Orchid fibers for their wives. The men’s heavy work is eminently practical. They are the house carpenters, garden makers, ditch diggers and woodcutters. Such labours seemed to proceed in individual spurts. Typically a man might spend an arduous week clearing a ditch in a garden from which he would later harvest a crop. Then for a week or more he might do no heavier task than gathering leaves in the hills for wrapping his small cigarettes.

The technology of the Dani is one of the simplest on the world. The tools are made of stone and bone, wood and bamboo. The raw materials are those of the local environment: wood, grasses and vines. A few of the more exotic materials, such as seashells, furs, feathers and the finest woods, reach the Grand Valley along the native trade routes. Metals, and even pottery, were unknown to the Dani, and only for some twenty years has iron begun to be important in Dani technology. But despite their primitive tools, the houses and gardens of the Dani are complex and sophisticated.

No phenomenon, either real or imagined, is of greater significance to Dani life than their believe in ghosts. The logic of their existence rests on the premise that all happenings are the result of both human and ghostly instrumentality. Like magnetism or gravity, ghostliness is not itself visible except through its manifestations. When a person falls while walking on a muddy path, he will often say that a ghost made him slip, and though he might also say that he saw the ghost, he would not claim that he saw how it had made him fall. The presence of ghosts is as real to every Dani as the company of his family and friends. They are powerful, though not omnipotent in the sense that the living must passively accept their domination. The Dani do not separate themselves from ghosts through fear or ignorant superstition. Still ghosts have certain advantages, which means that in maintaining good relations with them, one must employ magic as well as practicality. Without in any sense being awed by the imagined power of the ghosts, the Dani sprinkle much of their behaviour with ritual or magic acts. Within the logic they have developed to explain such things, the Dani understand that the ghosts are greedier than they ought to be, and they themselves are too often willing to neglect their magical duties and obligations. How else could they explain the repeated occurrence of sickness, bad weather and, most frequent of all, a sort of spiritual disease?

The Dani also have their mythological justification of the fact of death, with a story in which they recount the race between a bird and a snake. It tells of a contest, which decided weather men would be like birds and die, or be like snakes which shed their skins and have eternal life. The bird won, and from that time all men, like birds, must die.

The Dani, as most Papuans, consider pigs the most important living creatures besides people. Pigs mean, above all else, wealth and social importance. To own a large herd is the most desirable of all goals. Only the possession of several wives is as important and usually a man who has many pigs will have more than one wife, for it is pigs which provide men with the economic and social leverage, that enables him to attract and hold together a polygamous household. (Approximately half of the adult men are polygamous.) Whereas the ownership and use of pigs are almost exclusively a male prerogative, their care falls most heavily upon women and children. A man, it would seem, is as must interested in having wives and children to look after his pigs, as he is in having the animals, in order to effort wives and children. Domestic pig meat is the major source of Dani protein, and pig exchange and feasting form the core of every Dani ceremony. )