Monthly Archives: November 2024

Papuan indigenous peoples struggle has become much harder after court ruling: Walhi

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Suara Papua – November 4, 2024

Jayapura – The struggle by Papuan indigenous people to save their customary forests from the invasion by corporations and the government has become harder after legal efforts reached a dead end with the Supreme Court’s (MA) rejection of the Awyu tribe’s appeal which challenged the environmental feasibility permit issued to the company PT Indo Asiana Lestari (IAL) by the Papua provincial government.

The court’s decision, as per Supreme Court document number 458 K/TUN/LH/2024, was taken at a deliberation meeting of the panel of judges on September 18. The full document was only able to be accessed on November 1.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Hendrikus Franky Woro, an environmental activist from the Awyu tribe with the Coalition to Save Papua’s Customary Forests, expressed his deep disappointment because the Supreme Court appeal by the Awyu indigenous people, which was an effort to defend their customary forests from the expansion of palm oil corporations in Boven Digoel district, South Papua, now seemed to have been vain.

Woro and the Awyu tribe took their appeal to the Supreme Court after the Jayapura State Administrative Court (PTUN) and the Makassar State Administrative High Court (PTTUN) rejected their lawsuit and appeal.

The legal challenge was reasonable considering that the environmental feasibility permit issued by the provincial government for PT IAL was considered illegal and has a huge impact on the customary landowners and their future generations. This is because the palm oil company is operating on 36,094 hectares of land owned by the Woro clan, part of the Awyu tribe.

In a press release on Monday November 4, Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Regional Executive Director Maikel Primus Peuki said that the verdict adds to the list of bad news for indigenous peoples and local communities who are fighting in courts against the threat of companies damaging the environment.

Woro’s disappointment, according to Peuki, was also felt by the Coalition to Save Papua’s Customary Forests. Peuki also felt the same because the court’s decision to reject the cassation appeal will make indigenous people’s struggle more difficult.

That is why Peuki regrets the Supreme Court’s ruling which seems to give false power to the company.

“The island of Papua is a customary land owned by more than 200 clans living in the land of Papua. This Supreme Court decision seems to give false power to the company. However, the Awyu indigenous people still have the right to their customary forests that have been with them for generations since they first lived in this customary area”, he said.

Walhi Papua hopes that the permit owned by the company will not eliminate the rights of indigenous peoples to their land, because it is clear that the owners of the customary rights have not relinquished their customary rights to anyone.

“We hope that the public will continue to support the struggle of the Awyu tribe and indigenous peoples throughout Papua who are fighting to defend their customary lands and forests”, said Peuki.

It turns out that one of the three judges who tried the case, Yodi Martono Wahyunadi, issued a dissenting opinion.

One of the important points in the dissenting opinion concerns the 90-day lawsuit deadline, which was previously used as a pretext by the Makassar PTTUN to reject Woro’s appeal. In his considerations, Judge Wahyunadi referred to Article 5 Paragraph (1) of Supreme Court Regulation Number 6/2018 which states that the calculation of the deadline only refers to working days. The deadline calculation should also have included local holidays in Papua province.

But considering substantive justice rather than formal justice, Judge Wahyunadi was of the opinion that the court needed to set aside the deadline provision by carrying out a practical invalidation.

Tigor Gemdita Hutapea, a member of the Save Papua’s Customary Forests advocacy team stated, “From the considerations in the dissenting opinion regarding this deadline, we consider the Supreme Court to be inconsistent in applying the rules they make. Even though the Supreme Court regulation is a guide used by the judiciary internally”.

“This Supreme Court’s ruling does not mean that the object of the lawsuit is correct because two judges did not examine the substance. But one [member of the] panel of judges in their dissenting opinion stated that the issuance the AMDAL [Environmental Impact Analysis] was proven not to have accommodated losses in areas where indigenous peoples live, which have been managed and utilised for generations”, said Hutapea.

In the dissenting opinion Wahyunadi said that the object of the lawsuit, the environmental permit for PT IAL, is clearly contrary the principles in Law Number 32/2009 on Environmental Protection and Management, so it must be annulled. Unfortunately, Judge Wahyunadi lost the vote.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “WALHI Papua Sebut Perjuangan Masyarakat Adat Kian Berat Pasca Putusan MA”.]

Source: https://suarapapua.com/2024/11/04/walhi-papua-sebut-perjuangan-masyarakat-adat-kian-berat-pasca-putusan-ma/

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The population of Indonesian Papua opposes the new “Transmigrasi”

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ASIA/INDONESIA – The population of Indonesian Papua opposes the new “Transmigrasi”

Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927

Wednesday, 6 November 2024

Jayapura (Agenzia Fides) – The indigenous population of West Papua rejects the plan of the new Indonesian government to resume the program of internal migration of people from Indonesian islands (mainly Java) to Papua. The planned resettlement program (“Transmigrasi”) aims to encourage internal migration of people from densely populated regions to less densely populated regions of Indonesia. The program was conceived and initiated by the Dutch colonial government, but was taken up and continued again in the last century by the Indonesian government of Sukarno and then from the mid-1980s by the dictator Suharto, only to be suspended in early 2000. 


The Indonesian government of newly elected President Prabowo Subianto has now announced that it wants to “revitalize” ten areas in Papua with a new population “to strengthen unity and provide social support to the local population.” “We want Papua to be fully unified as part of Indonesia in terms of welfare, national unity and beyond,” said Minister of Transmigration Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara. 


The announcement, meanwhile, sparked concern and protests from Papua’s indigenous inhabitants, who fear social and economic problems. West Papua, the western part of the large island of New Guinea, is Indonesian territory and a resource-rich region, but has long been a source of conflict: the indigenous population has denounced abuses and human rights violations by the military for decades. Indigenous groups and student associations in West Papua recall the negative impact of the program under dictator Suharto’s “New Order” in the 1960s: to make room for “settlers,” indigenous land was confiscated, forests were cut down, and cultural traditions were destroyed (so much so that several indigenous groups now speak the Javanese dialect better than their mother tongue). 

The government’s announcement has also raised doubts among local Christian communities, who have called on the government to focus on the needs of the people rather than on a new “colonization.” The Papuan Council of Churches, an ecumenical body that includes leaders of the various Christian denominations, has stressed that the people of Papua are “in dire need of services” and that they “can do without further ‘transmigration.'” “Papuans need education, health care, social welfare and development,” the Council stressed.

 Local religious leaders pointed out that the program perpetuates inequalities rather than promotes prosperity. The phenomenon exacerbates social problems, such as tensions arising from cultural and linguistic differences between the various groups: native Papuans suffer from marginalization and exclusion, and feel resentment towards “foreigners,” who are Indonesian citizens from other islands, as well as a “distance” from the central government in Jakarta. According to official statistics, between 1964 and 1999, 78,000 families moved to and settled in the Papua region thanks to the incentives offered by the government: the program was suspended to respect the principle of administrative autonomy of the various regions of the vast Indonesian archipelago. 

According to the Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics, about 6.2 million people now live in the Indonesian region of West Papua. Persistent tensions that have never abated in Indonesian Papua have created an underlying state of crisis due to conflicts between the Indonesian army and armed separatist groups such as the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) or the Free Papua Movement (which emerged in the early 1960s): today there are still about 80,000 internally displaced Papuans in the conflict areas. The fighting groups claim injustices against the local population. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 6/11/2024)

DR BUDI HERNAWAN – WEST PAPUA – “LET’S BULLDOZE AND OCCUPY THEM NOW!”

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Live Encounters Magazine Volume One November-December 2024.

“Let’s bulldoze and occupy them now!”: dismantling the logic of outsourcing
in the National Strategic Project for Food Estate and Energy in West Papua 
– by Dr. Budi Hernawan

I was privileged to attend two important events in Jakarta on 16 and 18 October 2024 where representatives of the Malind and Ye tribes from the Southern Papua advocate for their rights to exist in their own land against the encroachment of the so-called Proyek Strategis Nasional Food Estate (the National Strategic Projects for Food Estate, hereafter PSN). The first event occurred in the Office of Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and the second in the office of the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference. I am not reporting the details of the events, but I will reflect on the testimonies presented by the indigenous Papuans during the meetings since their narratives encapsulate what the Cameroonian philosopher, Achille Mbembe, calls ‘indirect private governance’ of postcolony (Mbembe 2001: 80) or I would call it outsourcing of West Papua as postcolony.

Mbembe explains that indirect private governance entails “privatisation of state sovereignty performed by private operators for private ends” (Mbembe 2001: 78). The outsourcing of state sovereignty aims not only privatises the means of coercion but also resources and other utilities formerly concentrated in the state. In exercising the state’s coercion against the Papuans, the Indonesian state armed forces remain the main operator on the ground as we will learn from the testimonies below.

However, the absence of a presidential decree that governs a military operation for both combat and non-combat functions as stipulated by Law 34/2004 regarding the Indonesian Military (TNI) demonstrates the ways in which the state has outsourced its power to various units within the Indonesian military without the required legal and legitimate power of the state. As a result, these military units no longer act to protect the nations, the people and the country but the private enterprise.

On the other hand, the privatisation of state power over resources has been translated into encroaching extractive industry that has deeply changed the landscape of Papua and the indigenous Papuans. The state has outsourced its authority to both national and international corporation to dominate the Papuan landscape, body and psyche.

The outsourcing framework is effective to analyse the production of Papua as a postcolony, which Mbembe defines societies that [1] emerged from colonial past and violence. It is [2] chaotic but coherent, governed by [3] political improvisation, and [4] distinctive regime of violence (Mbembe 2001: 102). The postcolony of Papua, however, not only involves a binary opposition of Papua and Indonesia. Rather, it implants ‘the logic of conviviality’ to all Papuans and Indonesians whereby the state, the Papuans and the Indonesians co-exist and share space.

The testimonies

During the two separate meetings, the representatives of the Malind and Yei tribes explained the penetration of PSN to their lives, their land, their forest, their animals in a bitter tone.  They represent some 50,000 indigenous peoples affected by the project (Pusaka Bentala Rakyat 2024: 12). The number is only half size of the population of Setiabudi District, the smallest district in Jakarta[1] but their land that the project has been penetrating is about 10 times larger than Jakarta.

Mama Sinta, a woman elder from Ilwayap District, told the meetings, “We put sasi, coconut leaves, as a sign of blockade but Jhonlin Group [the corporation] doesn’t care. They keep bulldozing our land. We are helpless. We are scared. Jhonlin Group does not acknowledge us. We cannot do anything because the [Indonesian] military are there to protect them. They just shoot at deer randomly. We can only look at from a distance with tears. When we heard that the Regent of Merauke was going to visit us, we told him our rejection of the project.

We told him the destruction and impact that we suffered from the project. We already complained to him but he did nothing. So, we are appalled whom he protects? We reject the corporation, but they already bulldoze our forest, dig up our water fountain, drive away fish, deer, kangaroo, pigs and other animals. So, we came here to Jakarta to raise our concerns to the government ministries here.”

Vincent, another landowner from Jagegob District, continues, “In my area, they plan to grow sugarcane. My clan has already rejected the project. We are a bit better off than Mama Sinta’s situation because we did not deal with the [military] troops. We only deal with Bintara Pembina Desa (Babinsa, low ranking army officers) who go around door to door to tell off people to give up their land. This [action] has caused tension and rift within families. For some families, where brother agrees to receive compensation, his sister opposes or vice versa so they have family fight.”

Simon, the Coordinator of Forum Solidaritas Merauke (Solidarity Forum of Merauke), narrated his story. “Around June-July 2024, we saw a luxury cruise with five decks and helipad belongs to Haji Ihsam harboured in Mariana strait. Towards the end of July 2024, some 100 excavators arrived, and they are now clearing the forest aiming to construct 135 km road with 1 km wide straight from District Ilwayap in the West to District Muting in the East [see the long orange line in the middle of Figure 1]. The excavators are so cruel. They just killed deer by crushing them with their claws just like that. Meanwhile, the army are flying around with choppers and shoot dead at any deer they see are running away from the excavators. Then they collect and bring them to the camp to eat. They never ask for our permission.”Figure 1. Map of Food Estate National Strategic Project in Merauke Regency. Courtesy of Pusaka Bentala Rakyat, 2024.

“The road project is ridiculous. There are many parts on the way are very deep peatland. Boats can even sail through during the rainy season. How come they will build the road? Nonetheless, they already destroy our water. We drink from the swamp. There are lotus flowers and others who filter the water so we can drink it. Now, it’s gone. Other parts are our sacred ancestral ground where not everyone is allowed to enter. They have also been destroyed. So we oppose this project. We already raised this issue with Papua’s People Council (MRP) of South Papua Province but they told us that they know nothing. They confessed that they have never been consulted by the central government or the Regent of Merauke. So, we put sasi adat, symbolic blockade, in every village to tell the corporation that we oppose them.”

Affirming the previous testimonies, Franky Samperante, Director of Pusaka Bentala Rakyat Foundation, explains that the Food Estate project in Merauke is full of secrecy. “We already sent letters to the government of Merauke to request the site plan of the food estate project on the ground of freedom of information. But we only received a list of small companies operating in Merauke unrelated to the food estate projects. They do not comply with free prior informed consent as required. There is no AMDAL (Environmental Impact Analysis), KLHS (Strategic Environment Analysis) and permission of the feasibility of the environment documents”

He also questions the road project that Haji Isam is currently doing [see the long orange line in the middle of Figure 1]. “The road project doesn’t make sense. Where do you find in Indonesia a road with one-kilometre wide? We suspect it’s not only for road but for something else. But we don’t know, and we don’t have information from the government or the contractor because they do not want to tell us. It’s also questionable the role of the military troops with big guns in the field protecting the project”

The testimonies went around for almost 2 hours. At the end, the speakers expressed their gratitude to the audience who paid attention to them because no one in Merauke listened to them. They smile but they are also well aware of that their struggle is far from over.

What is the National Strategic Projects for Food Estate and Energy?

PSN was born in 2016 by Nawacita, the nine vision of the outgoing President Joko Widodo, who was determined to expedite economic development and economic equality in 3T (tertinggal, terdepan, terluar or the most undeveloped, the frontier and the outer) areas through massive infrastructure development (Rasunah et al. 2024: 1). The vision was implemented by various Presidential Decrees and Ministerial Regulations resulted in 341 PSN across 34 provinces in Indonesia during the period of 2016-2024.

The latest Ministerial Regulation No. 8 of 2023 regarding the Fourth Amendment of Ministerial Regulation No. 7 of 2021 regarding the Change of the List of PSN is the one that introduces 10 new mega projects in Papua. Five of them are infrastructure projects, such as Sorong Port, new airport of Nabire, new airport of Siboru and others. The food estate projects in the Regency of Merauke falls under the category of Kawasan Ekonomi Khusus (Special Economy Zone) aiming to produce sugar, bioethanol, and rice (Pusaka Bentala Rakyat 2024: 2).

The logic of the project is not novel. It is a continuation of 2.5 million-hectare MIFEE (Merauke Food and Energy Estate)[2]project introduced by Yudhoyono administration in 2010 but failed to meet its own ambition as initially had claimed. Officially, the government grabbed 1,282,833 hectares (see Figure 2) from the Malind tribe or 25 percent of the territory of Merauke Regency for the project but since it was outsourced to 38 corporations, the size of the occupied land became 1,588,651 hectares (almost ten times the size of London). Nevertheless, the destruction of the Malind’s life is more than real. Half size of MIFEE project was virgin rainforest, which belongs to the Malind tribe. It had been cleared but left abandoned.Figure 2. Map of Merauke Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE). Courtesy of Pusaka Bentala Rakyat, 2024.

A joint investigative report of TEMPO magazine, Pusaka Bentala Rakyat and Trend Asia, “Competing Food Estates in Merauke”, 23 September 2024[3], reveals that Jokowi refused to reuse MIFEE area because he did not want the Democrat Party, Yudhoyono’s political party, would have taken credit, should the project had gone well. Instead, Jokowi expedited the food estate project in Central Kalimantan aiming for food storage and grow casava.

Nonetheless, TEMPO noted that both projects withered away with no result and both Ombudsman and BPK’s audit found huge problems of the project starting from the planning until the implementation stage. The failure of Central Kalimantan projects, however, did not stop Jokowi’s administration. Instead, it prompted Jokowi to issue Presidential Decree No. 15/2024 set up a new task force to expedite self-sufficiency of sugar and bioethanol headed by Minister of Energy and Investment, Bahlil Lahadalia. It did not take too long for Bahlil Lahadalia to act.

He held meeting with various ministries and local government of South Papua and Merauke that outsourced 10 corporations to do the job which resulted in the first planting of sugarcane by Jokowi in Tanah Miring District on 27 July 2024 (Pusaka Bentala Rakyat 2024: 6-7).

But at the same time, then President-elect Prabowo felt that food estate was his idea since 2009 since as the Minister of Defence, he was appointed by President Jokowi as the head of task force of food security. He instructed his Ministry of Defence to find a tycoon who was willing to prefinance the project. They found coal mining entrepreneur Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad also known as Haji Isam, the owner of Jhonlin Group and the cousin of the former Minister of Agriculture Amra Sulaiman. He is the one on the ground now. He is tasked to clear 50,000 -100,000 hectares which costs Rp1 trillion (USD66 millions). Prabowo also revived PT Agra Industry Nasional (Agrinas) which previously failed in the food estate project in Gunung Mas, Central Kalimantan (Pusaka Bentala Rakyat 2024: 10).

In a broader picture of PSN, the recent report of Nalar Institute from Yogyakarta, “Proyek Strategis Nasional: KepentinganSi(apa)? Catatan Kritis Implementasi PSN 2016-2024” (Rasunah et al. 2024) is revealing. Although the report is framed in economic terms, it provides us with in-depth analysis of the inherent contradiction between the Nawacitapromise for economic development and equality and the reality on the ground. The Report argues that construction of infrastructure does not necessarily generate multiplier effects that lead to an increase of people’s welfare. On the contrary, the PSN policy has increased social conflict and environmental destruction. The report from Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria (KPA/ the Agrarian Reform Consortium) explains that during 2020-2023 there are 115 agrarian conflicts eruption due to PSN, which continues to increase exponentially every year; down streaming process in the mining industry has increased poverty; and food estate project seriously damage the environment (Rasunah et al. 2024: 4).

Further the report explains two major detrimental impacts of PSN: social and environmental. In the social sphere, PSN has caused the decline of people’s economy, the rise of agrarian conflict and dispute over land compensation, disruption of daily life activity, threat of the life of indigenous community, and threat to public health and safety. For instance, the nickel project in Sulawesi Tenggara has impoverished the people from 11,17% (2021) to 11.43% (2023) instead of increasing their welfare whereas the similar nickel project in Obi Island in North Maluku has significantly caused air pollution which led to the increase of perspiration infection disease between 2021-2022 (Rasunah et al. 2024: xx).

Similarly, PSN has caused detrimental impacts on the environment. The report found that the most frequently impact of the infrastructure development is the damage of the green ecosystem. This includes destruction of forest and peatland, and reduction of green space. For instance, the construction of Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in Central Sulawesi has sacrificed 8,700 hectares of forest for mining operation and smelter. 90 hectares of forest was cleared to construct Tiu Suntuk dam in the Sumbawa Barat Regency and of course, 2,684,680.68 hectare of forest in the South Papua Province will be destroyed to develop food estate projects as explained above (Rasunah et al. 2024: 4).

If we scrutinise further, the PSN is flawed since its inception since it adopts the logic of outsourcing. The report clearly identifies the flaws in five stages of project design and implementation (Rasunah et al. 2024: 19-21). At the project design stage, PSN failed to meet its promise to redistribute resources. The fact is distribution of resources, and the project puts a heavy emphasis on procedures than substance, which is about people’s consent and participation. The second stage is the agenda setting which lacks legitimate representation of all stakeholders and does not comply fully with AMDAL and KLHS. The third stage, planning and policy formulation of PSN, does not include public consultation, proper dissemination of information to the public, and transparency of information about the project.

The fourth stage of implementation is full of intimidation, blockade from the affected community so the project is delayed which is supposed to be finalised in the beginning of the project. The fifth stage of monitoring indicates corruption of the project funds and there is no follow-up of people’s complaint by the government whereas corporation does not monitor and evaluate of the safety and welfare of employees and implementation of CSR and the environment. In sum, the report argues that the main problem of PSN is all about governance.

Why is it called outsourcing?

If we analyse PSN, the problem not only lies on the failed promise of development, but it is much more disturbing than that. The logic of outsourcing of PSN demonstrates that the Indonesian state treats West Papua as postcolony or no man’s land. The testimonies of the indigenous community shows that they do not exist in the eyes of the government, the corporations and TNI. The indigenous people have told us that they have to accept the dysfunctional state apparatus: Regent of Merauke, the newly established South Papua Province, Papua’s People’s Council (MRP) of the South Papua Province, and the Papua People’s Council (DPRP) of the South Papua Province.

All these institutions have failed to protect them as the legitimate citizens of the South Papua Province. Instead, they have been treated as an alien who does not have any rights to exist. The state has even privatized its sovereignty to the selected corporations to occupy the Malind land and remove their people with the direct assistance of TNI.

The whole policy of PSN is chaotic since the planning stage as the first Mbembe’s criterion of the postcolony characterises. Competing interests to be portrayed as the saviour of food security have been manifested in Yudhoyono’s policy of MIFEE, Jokowi’s policy of PSN and now Prabowo’s PSN follow-up. PSN does not follow the logical and ethical planning, but it has a coherent internal logic, namely growthism and occupation. The promises for economic development and equality of the local community do not match the reality on the ground since the indigenous community have been removed from their ancestral land so the project only benefits corporations as the outsource of the state sovereignty. MIFEE failed but the same logic was adopted in the PSN which only further harm the indigenous community. The policy does not learn from failure in Central Kalimantan or any other parts of Indonesia.

We also found the competing interests among different administrations which resulted in political improvisation to twist regulations as the second Mbembe’s criterion of the postcolony suggests. For instance, the legal requirements of AMDAL, KLHS, permission of feasibility of the environment, prohibition of the involvement of the Indonesian military in civilian affairs, and more importantly, free prior informed consent from the affected community–all have never been fully fulfilled. Yudhoyono, Jokowi, and now Prabowo is determined to be the only game in town so each of them does not tolerate any competition.

Now Prabowo administration is the only one that has a chance to prove. That is why since day one of his administration, various ministeries have declared their determination to make PSN in Merauke a big success. Moreover, Haji Isam, the outsource, is fully mandated and protected to break the ground by constructing 135-kilometre road project to penetrate the Malind land regardless of the opposition of the landowner and serious and permanent destruction to the environment.

Finally, regime of violence, the last criterion of Mbembe’s postcolony, has been manifested in both the massive destruction of the environment and the role of military outside their jurisdiction. Despite all previous failures in other parts of Indonesia, PSN has no hesitation to bulldoze the ancestral land which equals the existence of the Malind while TNI are protecting the PSN, not the people.

The involvement of TNI is not limited to bad apples but as an institution. While such involvement is not novel in the Indonesian history, especially during Suharto’s New Order, it remains disturbing and illegal since Article 17 of Law 34/2004 regarding the Indonesian National Military clearly stipulates that any deployment of the Indonesian Military for non-combat operations requires a presidential decree with the approval of the National Parliament. To date, the continuous TNI’s deployment to West Papua does not comply with the legal requirement and thus poses legality and legitimacy questions.

Transmigration not a solution to Papua problems: Activist

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https://indonesiabusinesspost.com/insider/transmigration-not-a-solution-to-papua-problems-activist/

October 31, 2024 

Reading Time: 2 minutes

  Gusty da Costa Journalist

An indigenous human rights activist has asked Jakarta to reconsider the transmigration program in Papua region as bringing in non-Papuans to the country’s easternmost region will only create new problems and challenges for the native inhabitants.

“My question is very simple, will President and Vice President guarantee the safety and living rights of the transmigrants in conflict area? When they are brought from Java, the Presiden will say that he guarantees their security as the president will deploy military personnel to Papua in huge number,” Papuan human rights activist, Theo Hasegem, spoke to Indonesia Business Post on Wednesday, October 30, 2024.

In reality, there have been a lot of non-Papuan businessmen, ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers, teachers, and healthcare officials killed or shot by members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TNPB) despite the presence of thousands of non-organic security personnel in Papua.

“As a human rights defender, I hope the (central) government will seriously consider the security issue in Papua,” Theo noted.

He was of the opinion that transmigration is not what native Papuans need.

“Papuans need justice, honesty, and the government’s readiness to solve the alleged human rights violations through dignified and authoritative dialog facilitated by a neutral third party,” he said.

Theo underlined that the main problem in Papua is human rights violations that have become an international issue.

He said the Indonesian government should be embarrassed that they used to be put under spotlight and criticized in United Nations (UN) meetings.

“The President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia know that there is a threat of humanitarian crisis in Papua that is difficult to overcome, such as murder, torture, extrajudicial arrests, and arbitrary detention allegedly carried out by Indonesian military and police personnel against indigenous Papuans,” he cited.

At the same time, the West Papua National Army continues to assassinate non-Papuan Indonesians, whom they suspect of being spies or intelligence agents deployed in Papua.

“Without solution of the humanitarian crisis, violent armed conflicts will continue to happen in Papua,” Theo said.

Upon his inauguration as President on October 20, 2024, Prabowo Subianto told the Minister of Transmigration that he is willing to send transmigrants to the eastern part of Indonesia, including Papua, saying that transmigration program is a solution to Papuan issues.

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Papuans decry Indonesia’s transmigration program

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They do not find anything good in President Subianto’s plan to send non-Papuans to the easternmost region

 By UCA News reporter Published: October 31, 2024 11:43 AM GMT

Catholic leaders have warned against the transmigration program of new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in conflict-stricken Papua, saying bringing in non-Papuans to the easternmost region will result in problems for the ethnic people.

After his inauguration on Oct. 20, Subianto announced the program in which transmigrants will be sent to the eastern parts of Indonesia, including Papua province.

The program is intended to realize welfare equality across regions, according to the newly created transmigration ministry, separate from the ministry of villages. 

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The program was unveiled by transmigration minister Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara at a meeting of the House of Representatives – the upper house – on Oct. 29.

“Papua is not empty land. This is land owned by the people,” said Melianus Asso, head of the Papuan Catholic Youth.

“We, the Papuan Catholic Youth, do not need a transmigration program,” added Asso.

 We need education, health, access to clean water, electricity, and other basic facilities, he demanded. 

In a statement on Oct. 30, the Papuan Catholic Youth asked the government to review the new plan, which is part of a national strategic program.

Tino Mote, a member of the Papuan Catholic Youth, said the transmigration program and the rice field project are not in line with “the needs of the local community.”

As a Catholic organization based on the values of Pope Francis’ Laudato si (praise be to you), “we are responsible for preserving the environment,” he said.

He stressed the need to protect indigenous people in Papua.

Stefanus Asat Gusma, the chairperson of Papuan Catholic Youth, said he will “bring this issue to the attention of the president, the ministry and the military which is currently serving in the troubled province.

Augustinian Father Bernard Baru said the migration of non-Papuans has made indigenous people a minority in Papua.

“This [transmigration program] will only worsen the marginalization of indigenous Papuans,” he told UCA News.

He said the program is another way to control Papua.

“In urban areas, immigrants now dominate, while indigenous Papuans live in remote areas,” he said.

Papua has a population of 4.3 million and Christians make up 85.02 percent – Protestants 69.39 percent and Catholics 15.63 percent.

Due to the prolonged conflict, the former Dutch colony is one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia. In March, the province recorded a poverty rate of 17.26 percent, almost double the national average of 9.03 percent. 

Studies by University of Sydney academic James Elmslie have shown that the indigenous Papuan population has dwarfed at 1.84 percent compared with the non-Papuan population which stands at 10.82 percent in the province.

The Papuans want to free their region from Indonesian control, but Indonesia looks to suppress it militarily. The region is home to the world’s largest gold mine, as well as extensive sources of natural gas, minerals, timber and palm oil.

The struggle, ongoing since 1962, is estimated to have killed up to 500,000 people. At least 300 people have died in the last decade.

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Food Estate in Papua Echoes Colonial Exploitation: Economist 

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Reporter Han Revanda Putra October 25, 2024 | 09:12 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – An economist from the Universitas Pembangunan Nasional (UPN) Veteran Jakarta, Achmad Nur Hidayat, criticized the Indonesian government’s food estate plan that has been conveyed by the Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan. The food estate in Papua, he said, perpetuates colonial extractivism—the exploitation of natural resources by foreign companies that occurred in the past.

“Papua is once again exploited for the sake of national development without weighing the potential significant impact on local communities and the environment,” the founder and CEO of the Narasi Institute told Tempo on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.

The food estate project has been running since former President Jokowi’s reign, established in Central Kalimantan, Central Sumba, Gresik, Garut, Temanggung, and Merauke. It’s also included in the 2020-2024 National Strategic Project (PSN) list.

Achmad warned that the exploitation of natural resources often offers no significant benefit to local communities. Papua, with its rich biodiversity and culture, becomes an apparent target of exploitation. Turning 2 million hectares of land into an agricultural field will alter the landscape carefully preserved by Indigenous communities. 

“The history of colonialism in Papua shows that the management of resources by outsiders often overlooks the interests of local communities,” said Achmad, who is now a lecturer at Universitas Indonesia. 

Aside from being minimally involved in decision-making, the indigenous people of Papua are worried about losing their land, as these assets are also crucial for cultural and spiritual values.

“Without clear protection, the food estate in Papua has the potential to exacerbate the existing social and economic inequalities there,” Achmad added.

Achmad suggested a more inclusive and sustainable approach instead of food estate. According to Achmad, agricultural projects should be followed by empowering local farmers and sustainable land management without neglecting transparent supervision.

“Food self-sufficiency can be achieved without repeating the mistakes of our colonial history,” he said. “Papua is not an object but an integral part of Indonesia that must be preserved and respected.”

Minister Zulkifli Hasan previously mentioned the potential of a 2 million-hectare field in Papua, planted with various food crops such as rice, corn, and sugar cane. “Our future lies in Papua,” he said on Monday, October 21, as quoted from Antara.

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Zulkifli Hasan targets food self-sufficiency by 2029, plans to utilize Papua’s land

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October 22, 2024 Reading Time: 2 minutes

 Julian Isaac Journalist

Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs, Zulkifli Hasan, has set a target to achieve national food self-sufficiency by 2029 and utilize idle land in Papua to meet the growing demand for food production.

Zulkifli cited that the idea of using land in Papua for agriculture has been proposed since 2014, highlighting the diminishing agricultural capacity in Java.

“Land in Java continues to decrease, and living conditions are becoming unsustainable due to pollution and sinking coastal areas,” he told a media conference at the Ministry of Trade on Monday, October 21, 2024.

He sees Papua as the future of Indonesia’s agricultural industry and has programmed the cultivation of 600,000 to 2 million hectares of land in the region. The main crops to be planted include sugarcane, rice, and corn.

“We have vast land in Papua that has not been optimized. With everyone’s support and prayers, we aim to achieve food self-sufficiency,” Zulkifli said.

Indonesia’s food demand is projected to rise alongside its growing population. Statistics Indonesia (BPS) estimates that by 2050, the population will reach 328 million, driving demand for key food commodities, including 40-50 million tons of rice.

However, this year’s rice production is expected to reach only 30.34 million tons, a 2.43 percent decline from the previous year, with harvested land shrinking by 1.64 percent.

This underscores the country’s food vulnerability, as local production remains insufficient to meet domestic needs.

According to the Global Food Security Index, Indonesia’s food security score stands at 60.2, slightly below the global average of 62.2.

President Prabowo Subianto has expressed confidence that his administration can achieve national food self-sufficiency within four years. He is optimistic that Indonesia can even become a global food hub.

Prabowo stressed the importance of reducing food imports, particularly in light of potential global crises where countries prioritize their own food needs over exports.

“We must aim for food self-sufficiency as soon as possible. We cannot rely on food sources from abroad,” Prabowo stated in his inauguration address on Sunday, October 20, 2024.

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Firebombing of news organization in Indonesia’s Papua region condemned as assault on ‘media freedom’

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Indonesian police have failed to solve previous attacks on Papuan media workers in recent years.

 Pizaro Gozali Idrus 2024.10.16 Jakarta

An attack on the editorial office of Papua-based media outlet Jubi on Wednesday using Molotov cocktails set fire to vehicles but resulted in no casualties, Indonesian police said.

The latest targeting of journalists in the Indonesian province has been condemned by human rights groups as a renewed assault on media freedom, after previous attacks remained unsolved by police.

Jubi is owned by Victor Mambor, who is a Jayapura-based stringer for BenarNews.

Heram Sectoral Police Chief Inspector Bernadus Ick confirmed an investigation is underway.

“These were indeed Molotov cocktails thrown at the Jubi editorial office,” Bernadus said in a press release, adding that forensic analysis of the materials used in the bombs is underway.

Jubi’s editor-in-chief, Jean Bisay, said the attackers on a motorcycle threw incendiary devices from the road in front of the Jubi office in Jayapura, igniting a fire between two parked vehicles. 

“The flames briefly engulfed the front of both vehicles before being extinguished by two Jubi employees and several eyewitnesses,” Bisay told BenarNews.

Witnesses told BenarNews the assailants had passed by the Jubi premises several times on Tuesday evening, stopping to observe the office, before departing and returning at 3:15 a.m. to throw two objects.

They said two individuals, who were dressed in black and on a motorcycle, appeared panicked and struggled to start their getaway vehicle when trying to flee. 

The Jayapura-based Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI), led by Lucky Ireeuw, said in a statement to BenarNews it “considers this terror a serious threat to media freedom in Papua.”

“The terror faced by Jubi and journalists in Papua has occurred repeatedly but remains unresolved to this day,” he added.

AJI’s 2023 annual report on the state of Indonesia’s media detailed 89 attacks against journalists and media organizations last year, the highest number in a decade.

In January 2023, Mambor, a veteran reporter known for covering rights abuses in heavily militarized Papua, said he was targeted in a bomb attack outside his home in Jayapura. No one was injured in the explosion.

Reporters Without Borders’ annual World Press Freedom Index 2024said the Indonesian military “carefully prevent the media from covering their use of force to suppress separatist protests in the three provinces that make up Papua, which continues to be an information blackhole where journalists cannot work.”

Gustaf Kawer, director of the Papua Human Rights Lawyers Association (PAHAM), urged the police to apprehend the individuals responsible and warned that otherwise it could lead to similar attacks. 

“If left unsolved, the public will wonder who is behind it. Are they outsiders or part of the authorities? I believe it is essential to clarify the perpetrators to prevent future incidents and ensure that the press can operate freely,” he said.

Frits Ramandey, head of the Papua Provincial Human Rights Commission, who also visited the crime scene, said similar incidents targeted local journalists in  2021 and 2023.

“If this is not addressed, the police will be complicit in allowing terror to occur everywhere,” he said

Papua, a region at the far-eastern end of Indonesia, has been the site of armed conflict for decades, driven by a desire for independence among some of its citizens. In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded Papua, which was also a former Dutch colony, and subsequently annexed the region. 

Papua was officially incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 following a United Nations-sponsored referendum. However, many locals and activists have condemned this referendum as a sham, as it involved only about 1,000 participants. 

Despite these concerns, the U.N. accepted the results, endorsing Jakarta’s governance of the region.

Indonesia tribe’s homeland at risk after losing final appeal: NGOs 

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  • AFP 01-11- 2024 08:54 PM

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s top court on Friday rejected an appeal by an Indigenous tribe in its lawsuit against a palm oil firm, leaving it at risk of losing vast swathes of ancestral forest, rights groups said.

The Awyu tribe, whose roughly 20,000 members rely on the land for their subsistence, had sought to freeze the operations of PT Indo Asiana Lestari (PT IAL) in the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua.

But Indonesia’s Supreme Court rejected their final appeal, according to a document published on its website Friday, upholding the company’s 36,000-hectare (89,000-acre) government concession, more than half the size of the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

“I feel heartbroken because I am left with no other legal avenue to protect the land and the people of my ancestral homeland,“ said Awyu tribe plaintiff Hendrikus Woro.

“I am shattered because throughout this struggle, there has been no support from the government, local or central. Who am I supposed to turn to, and where should I go now?” he said in a statement released by the Coalition to Save Papuan Customary Forests, made up of 10 environmental NGOs.

A supreme court spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by AFP about the ruling.

The Awyu tribe’s case drew attention in Indonesia earlier this year after a campaign called ‘All Eyes on Papua’ spread on social media.

“Both the government and the legal system have failed to stand with Indigenous peoples,“ said Sekar Banjaran Aji of the Save Papuan Customary Forest advocacy team.

“The struggle to protect Papua’s customary forests has become all the more challenging.”

In November, a Papuan court had ruled that PT IAL’s permit was valid, rejecting the Awyu tribe’s argument that the concession had been granted based on a flawed environmental impact assessment.

The tribe and environmental NGOs also claim opponents of the palm oil firm’s plans have faced intimidation.

PT IAL did not respond to an AFP request for comment.

Palm oil is a billion-dollar industry in Indonesia, which is the world’s largest producer and exporter of the commodity used in everything from chocolate spreads to cosmetics.

Indonesia produces about 60 percent of the world’s palm oil, with one-third consumed by its domestic market.

Papua lost 2.5 percent of its tree cover between 2001 and 2023, according to Global Forest Watch.

Transmigration not a solution to Papua problems: Activist

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https://indonesiabusinesspost.com/insider/transmigration-not-a-solution-to-papua-problems-activist/

October 31, 2024 

  Gusty da Costa Journalist

An indigenous human rights activist has asked Jakarta to reconsider the transmigration program in Papua region as bringing in non-Papuans to the country’s easternmost region will only create new problems and challenges for the native inhabitants.

“My question is very simple, will President and Vice President guarantee the safety and living rights of the transmigrants in conflict area? When they are brought from Java, the Presiden will say that he guarantees their security as the president will deploy military personnel to Papua in huge number,” Papuan human rights activist, Theo Hasegem, spoke to Indonesia Business Post on Wednesday, October 30, 2024.

In reality, there have been a lot of non-Papuan businessmen, ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers, teachers, and healthcare officials killed or shot by members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TNPB) despite the presence of thousands of non-organic security personnel in Papua.

“As a human rights defender, I hope the (central) government will seriously consider the security issue in Papua,” Theo noted.

He was of the opinion that transmigration is not what native Papuans need.

“Papuans need justice, honesty, and the government’s readiness to solve the alleged human rights violations through dignified and authoritative dialog facilitated by a neutral third party,” he said.

Theo underlined that the main problem in Papua is human rights violations that have become an international issue.

He said the Indonesian government should be embarrassed that they used to be put under spotlight and criticized in United Nations (UN) meetings.

“The President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia know that there is a threat of humanitarian crisis in Papua that is difficult to overcome, such as murder, torture, extrajudicial arrests, and arbitrary detention allegedly carried out by Indonesian military and police personnel against indigenous Papuans,” he cited.

At the same time, the West Papua National Army continues to assassinate non-Papuan Indonesians, whom they suspect of being spies or intelligence agents deployed in Papua.

“Without solution of the humanitarian crisis, violent armed conflicts will continue to happen in Papua,” Theo said.

Upon his inauguration as President on October 20, 2024, Prabowo Subianto told the Minister of Transmigration that he is willing to send transmigrants to the eastern part of Indonesia, including Papua, saying that transmigration program is a solution to Papuan issues.

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