Papua Needs Improved Welfare, Not Extra Soldiers, Yudhoyono Declares

Jakarta Globe, Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Ezra Sihite, February 23, 2013

Soldiers unload the dead body of their colleague from a helicopter shortly after its
arrival at Sentani airport, in Papua province February 22, 2013. (Reuters Photo/
Ismawan Nugraha)

               

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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says the national government will use a welfare-based approach rather than a military one to keep the peace in Papua after a deadly series of shootings on Thursday left eight soldiers dead.

At a limited cabinet meeting on Friday, the president declared that the government would continue to seek to improve the living standards of Papuans and would not intensify security arrangements in the restive provinces.

“The [security] status in Papua has not been raised, however the law still has to be enforced in any part of the Indonesian islands,” Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, said in a press conference at the presidential palace on Friday.

The government declined to raise the number of officers in Papua but said it was prepared to send additional weapons, if needed, to hunt down the armed group.

“Bear in mind that we have a clear and firm stance on any party who is trying to disrupt public security or refuses to acknowledge the sovereignty of the unitary state of Indonesia in Papua,” Djoko said.

He said he suspected that Thursday’s shootings in Sinak were related to regional elections for which the results will be announced today, and the shootings in Tingginambut were sparked by the opening of new military posts, which made separatists feel uncomfortable.

“Indonesia and the world need to know that the military and police officers were carrying out their job to protect the sovereignty and security [of Indonesia] as well as to protect the people,” Yudhoyono said on Friday.

Former Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the state had proven itself unable to resolve conflict in Papua.

Yusril called on the government to remain calm in seeking to ease tensions in Papua. “The approach should be effective to prevent the situation from getting worse,” he said.

The former minister added that unrest in Papua was similar to that in many other parts of the world, in that it stemmed from dissatisfaction with living conditions.

“No matter what, the integration between Papua and Indonesia is part of history and it has happened. It’s been acknowledged internationally,” he said.

West Papua Regional Legislative Council deputy chairman Jimmy Demianus Ijie said that many Papuans felt they had not benefited from Indonesia’s independence and called for an empathy from the national government.

“We’ve never enjoyed Indonesia’s independence. What we have is only blood and tears,” Jimmy said in Jakarta on Friday, adding that his people were frustrated at the lack of delivery on regular promises of improvements by the government.

Jimmy called on the government to build a dialogue with the Papuan people and not take a heavy-handed approach to security.

“Let’s talk about our unity. Why is the government afraid of opening a dialogue with Papua? Today, there are many military personnel in plain clothes in Papua, as if a big war is happening here,” he said.

He added that Papuan people love Indonesia but want to be freed from poverty and want to look after the interests of their children and grandchildren.

Indonesia officially annexed Papua in 1969 with a UN-backed vote, seen by many as a sham, and tensions have persisted.