By : Toni Ervianto *)
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, Again, the chairman of United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has made “an arrogant political manuever for his purposes interest”. In the name of help to end the genocide in West Papua, Benny Wenda and his supporters will be collected thousands signers who wants the genocide in West Papua must be ended.
On their propaganda, collecting signers from each countries has important for West Papua independence. Furthermore, their propaganda has said the West Papua are crying for their freedom.
The Region of Papua that is now becoming the Province of West Papua (Manokwari) and the Province of Papua (Jayapura) were founded through the democratic process as the result of the Act of the Free Choice of Papua in the year of 1969 based on the New York Agreement between The Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Kingdom in 1962. The Act of the Free Choice of Papua as the modification of Referendum of Papua was held in 1969 to be based on the principle of One Tribe One Vote held, supervised and controlled by The United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA). UNTEA was the Representative of the United Nations, consisting of a number of the UN Officials who were staying in Papua for several months preparing the Act of the Free Choice. The right to vote is represented by the leaders of the existing Tribes.
The result of the votes was indicating that the Papuan decided their choice declaring that the Region of Papua to become a part of the territory of The Republic of Indonesia. This result approved and officially reported by UNTEA to the UN Headquarters in New York.
Now – after almost 50 years time-- a number of Papuan people demanded the United Nations to make a decision declaring Papua is one of the autonomous territories in the world and to have the right to decide its status through the referendum. The UN will definitely reject the demand, because the Region of Papua had been a part of the Indonesian territory.
The demand of a group of Papuan to the UN in order to declare the Region of Papua to be an autonomous country separated from the Republic of Indonesia. But we should remember that the Republic of Indonesia has been doing and will keep doing as much as possible for the benefit of Papuan. So it is clear the problem faced by the Region of Papua is not the problem that should be solved by referendum, but the problem of Papua is to develop the region to become advance and modern region.
This article intends to comment article that I see quite provocative and agitative entitled “Genosida sedang terjadi di Papua, Akses PBB dan Media Asing Dibatasi” published in local online media. According to an anonym observer of Papua issue who resides in Papua, the narratives are very provocative and discrediting the Government of Indonesia. The article allegedly intentionally created by a group of Papuan independence movement as a propaganda material to illustrate that Papua is in severe condition, but in reality Papua is quite safe and conducive.
A number of organizations in Papua and West Papua seem to constantly play political maneuver to internationalize the Papua issue by exploiting human rights violations in West Papua and Papua as a central issue, although the Papuan activists are always unable to provide a strong evidence of human rights violations occurring in Papua.
I believe that the existence of or access for foreign journalists, foreign organizations, even the United Nations will help to solve the problems in Papua, yet they might also exploit it as happened before that can be seen in the article that was obviously not a product of journalism or academic writing, because it was full of lies.
However, the press in Papua and West Papua has a significant role to maintain peace and the course of development in Papua, including the integration of Papua into the Republic of Indonesia by promoting peace journalism, not journalism that full of lies, agitating and provocative.
The Special Development of Papua.
Historically the world culture had developed and the difference concerning human life and the people interest, and conflict had embarked to dispute and confrontation. This situation likely could be solved only by the better life of the people. It is predicted the situation of Papua was also in fact resulted by the demand for the better life among the people include those young generation who have realize that the world now is modern life and culture.
As the conclusion, the present generation who are complaining about their life demanding for the better conditions because the former generation never to think about those young generation that would be born and asking for the better life.
The members of ULMWP or NCWP/LNPB are definitely young generation and they are demanding for autonomous status of the Region of Papua and ask the United Nations for Referendum of the Region of Papua. They want to modernize Papua, but they should know demanding autonomous status of Papuan Teritorty and to hold the referendum to become independent Papua are not definitely the way to reach the Papuan prosperity.
All young people the members of ULMWP, NCWP and other progressive NGO should think that now is the time to develop Papua. Accordingly now it is the time to develop Papua and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia the independent country that Papua belong to, to be ready to support to develop Papua or more. The present generation of Papua should stop their adventurer everywhere bringing weapon in the jungle, in the mountain and in the hill as combatant or playing politics exploiting the word human right to attack their own country and government.
The government of the Republic of Indonesia is just wanting the present generation of Papua to develop their ability in order to develop their capability to develop Papua. The Government of the Republic of Indonesia has any interest to develop and modernize Papua.
The main idea of this remarks is just based on the true and genuine heart feeling of all the Government apparatus of Indonesia, the Government genuinely expects all the young Papuan generation of now, members of the ULMWP or the NCWP to stop their opposition activities and asked to develop Papua and The Government of Indonesia is ready to support the framework of supporting the Papuan to develop Papua based on the Law on The Special Development Program of Papua.
Must be clarified
An international communities must know that the step of Papuan independence which will set up by ULMWP with Benny Wenda as their coordinator, actually its had been copied the process of East Timor independence from Indonesia. Every step related to East Timor independence has been copying by Papua separatist group right now such as they were built several organization.
The international communities must known that online petition which done by ULMWP is a tricky online petition. Beware and watch out, if you click their online petition such as you want to click “an illegal”, but in the output you were finished “legal” and its mean you’re supporting their online petition. I think this is a fraud to an international communities and these actions should be punished because Papua’s online petition which is designed with Papua’s separatist supporters has been deceived an international opinion related to Papua’s issue. I suggest an Interpol communities must be arrested Papua’s separatist leader and supporters who had been delivered and provoked an international communities to join with their political actions.
*) The writer had earned his master degree at the University of Indonesia (UI), Jakarta.