[nasional_list] [ppiindia] The Netherlands and Indonesia are not happy
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org>
- Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 07:09:13 +0100
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**http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,1653477,00.html
Indonesia dispatch
Masters mind
The Netherlands and Indonesia are not happy with a study that questions their
actions over West Papuan sovereignty, writes John Aglionby
Tuesday November 29, 2005
This Thursday, December 1, marks the 44th anniversary of the West Papuan
people's declaration of independence from their Dutch colonial masters. The
residents of the western half of New Guinea island have, however, never ruled
themselves because nine months later, in August 1962, the Dutch, via the United
Nations, handed over control of the resource-rich territory to Indonesia.
That move was given international legal sanctity following a referendum seven
years later, called the Act of Free Choice, of 1,025 of the approximately
700,000 Papuans. Since then no major nation has ever questioned Jakarta's right
to rule West Papua.
This may soon change following the publication this month of a study
commissioned by the Dutch government into the history of the area. Written by
Dr Pieter Drooglever of the Institute of Netherlands History, the 740-page Een
Daad van Vrije Keuze (An Act of Free Choice), leaves little doubt that the vote
was, as the UN under-secretary general in 1969, Chakravarthy Narasimhan, said
in a 2001 interview, "a whitewash".
"[The UN representative] Ortiz Sanz was not allowed to play any part in putting
together the electorate and was given the smallest possible role in the
implementation of the referendum itself," Dr Drooglever wrote in an English
summary of the Dutch-language book.
"In the opinion of the Western observers and the Papuans who have spoken out
about this, the Act of Free Choice ended up as a sham, where a press-ganged
electorate acting under a great deal of pressure appeared to have unanimously
declared itself in favour of Indonesia," he continued.
In an interview with Guardian Unlimited, Dr Drooglever said he found that in
"the whole set up of the plebiscite there was no freedom of speech". How close
Dr Drooglever got to the truth can be guessed by the reaction in both the Hague
and Jakarta. Dutch foreign minister Ben Bot refused to formally receive the
report - it had been commissioned by his predecessor in 2000 - and reportedly
described it as "superfluous". An Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman, Yuri
Thamrin, viewed the study as "an academic work" but of no "significant
substance". "The status of Papua as an integral part of Indonesia has already
been recognised by the world, including the Netherlands itself," he said.
John Saltford, a British academic who wrote one of the last major studies of
West Papua, said Dr Drooglever's book "will have a profound effect". "He could
have been a lot more circumspect and tried to blur the issue," he told Guardian
Unlimited. "The difference here [compared to other books] is that it was a
Dutch foreign-ministry commissioned report."
Papuan independence campaigners, in contrast, rejoiced at its publication. A
rally to mark the event in the West Papuan capital Jayapura was harshly
suppressed.
Benny Wenda, an activist who has been granted political asylum in Britain, said
the Drooglever report has "opened a door". "Now Papuans' actions have to be
focused around keeping this door open and at on it till victory," he told
Guardian Unlimited.
Jakarta's treatment of West Papua over the decades has been characterised more
by brutal repression and rampant exploitation of the natural resources than
developing the people's welfare.
Dr Drooglever estimates "tens of thousands" of Papuans have been killed in
Jakarta's attempt to suppress opposition to Indonesian rule. Tens of thousands
of troops are stationed in West Papua to contain a tiny armed separatist
movement which the Dutch academic believes poses no threat to Jakarta.
Last week, the military announced that a new division of some 10,000-15,000
troops of the elite strategic reserves would be created specifically to be
based in West Papua. Foreign journalists and most researchers and aid workers
are banned from Papua but, ironically, tourists are not.
Dr Drooglever believes the military, which has to find some 60% of its own
budget, has such a heavy presence there for ulterior motives. "There's a lot of
money available in the territory and the troops go where the money is," he told
Guardian Unlimited.
The territory is home to the world's largest gold and copper mine, run by a
subsidiary of the American firm Freeport-McMoran, and the Anglo-American oil
giant BP is developing a massive natural gas field which is expected to be
generating revenues of around £55m a year.
In recent years government revenues to West Papua have more than tripled as a
result of a massive nationwide decentralisation programme. But the World Bank
reported in a study this month that despite this - and the fact that Papua
(Jakarta does not use the word West in its official name) is the second
wealthiest province in the nation - the poverty level, at 40%, is double the
national average, one third of the children do not attend school and nine out
of 10 villages do not have basic health service with a health centre, doctor or
midwife.
The UN's Aids organisation, UNAids, has identified it as having an HIV epidemic
that is all-but out of control.
After the Indonesian dictator General Suharto fell in 1998, the government
promised special autonomy to the region and a law was passed to that effect the
following year. But it has still not been fully implemented and Jakarta has
repeatedly violated its provisions, as recognised by the country's
constitutional court.
No major governments or the UN have spoken out about the Drooglever report so
the chances of the Papuans using it to generate international momentum remain
very slim.
The author himself believes Papuans will have to set their sights lower than
independence. "I think they will have to be happy when an administration is set
up that's not dominated by the military," he said.
Email
john.aglionby@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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