ULMWP Press Release: “No Eyes on West Papua”

UNITED LIBERATION MOVEMENT FOR WEST PAPUA - ULMWP

International Secretariat Headquarters:

Winston Churchill Street, 1571 Port Vila, Republic of Vanuatu.

Secretariat of the Home Affairs Coordination Headquarters in West Papua:

Address: Jln. Mapilema, No. 11 Wamena Kabupaten Jayawijaya- West Papua. 

Press Release

Number: 009/PAN-02/A-23/ULMWP/EC-1/VI/2024

“No Eyes on West Papua”

For over the past two weeks, social media has been filled with the humanitarian call expressed with the phrase "All Eyes on Rafah." This call has been posted on various social media platforms more than 50 million times, in reaction to the civilian casualties in Rafah due to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict since October 2023. The Indonesian government, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President, has also condemned the Israeli government's handling of the conflict.

In stark contrast to the conflict in Palestine, the situation in West Papua is completely neglected by the national and international public. The conflict and violence in Papua, which have continued since Indonesia's occupation 61 years ago (May 1963-2024), still persist with no significant changes. The legal rejection and resistance against the threat of ecocide among the Awyu Tribe in Boven Digoel and Mappi Districts, as well as the planned 2 million hectares of sugarcane plantations in Merauke District, have garnered attention and opposition. The “All Eyes on Papua” campaign has gained wide attention in West Papua, Indonesia, and the international community.

At this opportunity, we must convey that during the 61 years of Indonesia's occupation of West Papua, the Papuan people have experienced Slow Motion Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, and Ecocide. Meanwhile, President Joko Widodo and his cabinet continue to mortgage Papua's natural wealth to borrow from international donor institutions and countries to pay Indonesia's government debt, which now amounts to 8,338 trillion rupiahs.

The resistance conflict against Indonesian colonialism by the West Papua National Liberation Army has been ongoing since the early 1960s, facing the Indonesian Military and Police. The Representative Office of the National Human Rights Commission (KOMNAS HAM) in Papua reported that in less than six months, from January to May 2024, there were 41 incidents of violence, resulting in 32 deaths and 21 injuries.

The Indonesian government is a member of the UN Human Rights Council and actively calls forp eace at the international level. However, Indonesia's stance on the international stage contrasts with its actions in Papua. Indonesia mediates conflicts in several Asian countries but lacks a roadmap for resolving the conflict in Papua. The Indonesian government always argues that Papua has been given Special Autonomy Status but refuses to evaluate it because it does not want to reveal how the government has destroyed this autonomy. Instead, it forces the extension of the second phase of autonomy amidst the rejection by the Papuan people through peaceful demonstrations across Papua. Indonesia does not even hold meetings with elected representatives in the Papuan People's Assembly or members of the Regional Representative Council. All articles in the new Special Autonomy Law accommodate the central government's desire to destroy Papua as quickly as possible, through the creation of new provinces from 2 to 6 and the deployment of military and police forces to ensure the exploitation of Papua's natural resources under the Omnibus Law, which sells off all resources to capitalists.

Through the administrative expansion program, both provincial and district, this is followed by the addition of Territorial Command Headquarters for both the military and police. By December 2023, Indonesia had deployed 47,261 military personnel in Papua, with around 24,000 personnel mobilized to conflict zones. The administrative expansion in West Papua is a political project of Indonesian occupation to accelerate the destruction of Papuans on their ancestral lands.

So far, there has been no comprehensive approach by the Indonesian government to resolve various human rights violations in Papua. ULMWP regrets the position of KOMNAS HAM and several of their network organizations in Papua, which are busy promoting the establishment of the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" (KKR), based on the Special Autonomy regulation rather than challenging the government that has ignored the human rights crimes they have committed for years. ULMWP views the establishment of the KKR as a covert effort to hide human rights violations in Papua from international scrutiny. "We see it as a way to hide the Papua case from international attention. The KKR only compensates Papuans who are victims of human rights violations with money, while no justice is given. It has been proven in the 2000 Abepura and 2014 Paniai cases brought to human rights courts, the perpetrators were acquitted. Papuans will never get justice in the legal system of the Republic of Indonesia," said Menase Tabuni, Executive President of ULMWP.

The government strictly prohibits access for humanitarian organizations, social workers, andn international journalists to visit West Papua. This policy aims to cover up all human rights violations in Papua. ULMWP has received information about a closed policy plan coordinated through the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs (Kemenkopolhukam), which will take several strategic steps to stop all efforts of the West Papuan struggle. This policy is carried out through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the military, the police, the State Intelligence Agency, and other institutions under the coordination of Kemenkopolhukam. The policy targets the elimination of separatism by 2045, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia.

Considering the situation as mentioned above, ULMWP calls for:

1. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to immediately form a Fact-Finding Mission to investigate various human rights violations in West Papua and review Indonesia's membership in the body, as it has not respected international humanitarian law instruments;

2. The Indonesian government to open access for the Prime Minister of PNG, Hon. James Marape, and the Prime Minister of Fiji, Hon. Sitiveni Rabuka, in line with the results of the Pacific Communique in November 2023 in the Cook Islands, to visit Indonesia for dialogue with the Indonesian government regarding the conflict in West Papua;

3. Melanesian, Pacific, African leaders, and the international community to take concrete and firm action to save the Papuan people from three major threats: Slow Motion Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, and Ecocide by Indonesia in West Papua;

4. ULMWP’s strategic partners and institutions to continue enhancing cooperation to promote peaceful and dignified solutions to the West Papua issue;

5. Victims of human rights violations and the people of West Papua to be wary of the KKR idea promoted by KOMNAS HAM and various other local institutions, as it aims to suppress the campaign and advocacy of the Papua human rights issue at the regional and international levels.

This press release is made for appropriate use.

Port Numbay, June 10, 2024

One People One Soul

Menase Tabuni

Executive President