HAPPENINGS AROUND THE WORLD n HAPPENINGS AROUND THE WORLD n HAPPENINGS AROUND THE WORLD n HAPPENINGS AROU Human Rights Abuses IN WEST PAPUA

By Socratez Sofyan Yoman I

ndonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world with a population of 237 million people. Christians are

a minority at just 9.80 percent while the Muslim population is 87 percent. Indonesia consists of different ethnic

groups such as Malay, Chinese, Indian, Arabian and Melanesian. When differences between the groups are not properly managed, these differences create conflict. As an example, there have been conflicts between the Dayak people of Sampit in Central Kalimantan and newcomers from Madura in Java. On February 18, 2001, about 500 Madurese were killed and one hundred thousand houses burned. The conflict was caused by a lack of economic access. Economic resources were said to have been controlled by Madurese, the newcomers. Since the 1990s, conflicts among

religious groups have become common. Religious conflicts between Muslim and Christian communities took place in the Moluccas Islands between 1999 and 2002, Poso in 2009 and West Nusa Tenggara in 2011. Conflicts between different Islamic

sects have also escalated since 2005. Front Pembela Islam, an Islamic organization, bans other Islamic sects such as Jamaah Ahmadia

and Jamaah Islamiah in

Indonesia, contending that these sects hold to false Islamic teaching. Ethnic and religious conflicts often

take place in Java. Conflicts occurred in Jakarta in May 1998, Solo in Central Java on May 14 and 15 of 1998 and in Medan in 1998. These were influenced by ethnic, religious and economic causes. Reports by the Indonesia Human

Rights Commission show that each year an average 52 percent of conflicts stem from social causes, 21 percent from political differences, 15 percent over natural resources and two to eight percent from other conflicts.

Repression in West Papua The people of West Papua are of

Melanesian origin and have been living on New Guinea Island since 5000 BC. Beginning in 1828,

the Dutch colonial

government took over West Papua. In 1961, West Papua began preparing for full independence from the Netherlands. However, Indonesia started a political campaign to annex West Papua in 1963 and gained control in 1969 with the help of the United States and its allies. Since Indonesia’s control over West

Papua, human rights abuses have occurred in different forms. Many of these abuses have not been documented because international journalists and international human rights workers have not been allowed to visit West Papua. The Asia Human Rights Commission,

based in Hong Kong, reports that about 5,000 to 10,000 Papuans were killed between 1963 and 1997. From 1977-1988, about 4,146 people were tortured, shot and killed in the Central Highlands of West Papua in what the Indonesian military called the War of 1977. More than 20,000 West Papua refugees

live in Papua New Guinea (PNG), which shares the same island with West Papua. Some West Papua fighters live in other countries such the United Sates, Australia, Vanuatu and the Netherlands. Inside West Papua, several Papua independence

Conversion from one faith to another will become illegal. . . . “We seek your prayer at this moment for our country.”

largest number of seats in the Constituent Assembly election held in April of that year. Hindu nationalist parties and their supporters have since been agitating for the country to rescind its status as a secular state.

threatening

“Extremist Hindu demonstrators are the churches,” said another

Baptist leader. “They have stoned the Itahari Baptist church at night. Many churches have been threatened by them.”

Approximately 40 persons died

during protests by mainly minority ethnic groups who fear discrimination as a result of the constitutional changes. The constitutional crisis comes even

while the country is in the process of recovering from a devastating earth- quake in April of this year that left more than 8,800 dead, injured more than 21,000 and caused some US$5 billion in damage.

leaders have been killed, such as Theys Hiyo Eluway Yustinus Murib, Jawan Wayeni and Arnol Up. Indonesia controls all natural resources

without developing the local population, while most Papuans live in poverty.

Cultural Destruction Under Indonesian occupation, West

Papuans are not free to preserve their cultural identities. Arnold Ap, an emi- nent musician and anthropologist, was murdered in 1987. His music group, Mambesak, sang different songs in the local languages. Since then, there has not been another group like Mambesak. Many mosques and Islamic religious

education centers have been built as West Papua is being populated by Muslims from other provinces in Indonesia. For example, the Center of the Asia Pacific Muslim Studies is being built in the west of Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province. Indonesian troops have been deployed

on the PNG-Indonesia border. Troops are also heavily present throughout West Papua. This has restricted the free movement of civilians. Public spaces for Papuans are limited. A new military head office is being built in Manokwari. The Indonesian Central Government

imposes policies and rules that marginalize the Papuan people. The central government offered the province special autonomy but it has not been properly implemented. Special autonomy was presented as a solution to Papuans’ demands for independence. As part of the special autonomy law, the Papuan Customary Council proposed Papuan symbols such as a flag. The flag was mandated by the central government in 2005 but is now banned as it is considered to be against Indonesian sovereignty. Missionary activities in West Papua

are controlled by the security forces. Since the 1980s, missionary access to the region has been restricted. Christians, including Baptists, have experienced intimidation, torture, rape, murder, etc., committed by the Indonesian government. International human rights workers and

international journalists are not allowed in West Papua. Everything that happens in West Papua is closed to the outside world. Socratez Sofyan Yoman is president of

the Fellowship of Baptist Churches of West Papua.

OCTOBER/DECEMBER 2015 23