RACISM AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF INDONESIAN COLONIALISM IN PAPUA

 Development for the well-being of the population is a classic term from the colonial lexicon.

Today, the Indonesian government likes to present the Trans Papua as a model of successful development. This highway enables residents of the port city of Jayapura to reach Wamena, a town in the high mountains of Papua, in just a few hours.

But there's one shameful fact that the Indonesian government has never acknowledged: its development projects have been carried out at the expense of the indigenous Papuans. At this rate, their civilization could become extinct within a few years! Currently, of Jayapura's 400,000 inhabitants, only 12,000 are indigenous.

Unfortunately, the Indonesian view of Papuans has not changed since 1961: from the presidency of Sukarno to that of Jokowi, Papuans are considered sub-human, primitive and lacking in civilization. In the eyes of these Indonesian leaders, the koteka (penis case) and the honai (traditional hut) are the mark of a backward civilization!

Given what Papuans have suffered over the last sixty years, I can say that the Indonesian occupation of Papua is based on racism. This racism is expressed in the following four ways:

1. Military operations: since Papuans are considered subhuman, there's nothing wrong with killing them.

2. Disregard for Papuans' right to independence: this even contradicts the preamble to the Indonesian constitution, which states that independence is the right of all nations and that colonialism must be abolished worldwide.

3. Development that ignores man and nature: Papuan philosophy considers nature to be an integral part of humanity. The Indonesian occupation of Papua is therefore not only a crime against humanity, but also against the environment.

4. Creation of new provinces and imposition of special autonomy projects: all this was done without consulting the Papuans. Despite numerous protests, the Indonesian government insisted that these operations continue.

Today, if you ask a Papuan what he wants, he will most likely answer that he wants independence. Indeed, Papuans have never asked for money or special autonomy. All they want is respect for their human dignity!