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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESWASHINGTON, D.C. 20515SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA, THE PACIFIC AND THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA (D-AS)CHAIRMANSTATEMENT OFTHE HONORABLE ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGABEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTE“Crimes Against Humanity: When Will Indonesia’s Military Be HeldAccountable for Deliberate and Systematic Abuses in West Papua?”September 22, 2010To my knowledge, today’s hearing is historic.  This hearing is thefirst hearing ever held in the U.S. Congress that gives voice to thepeople of West Papua.Since 1969, the people of West Papua have been deliberately andsystematically subjected to slow-motion genocide by Indonesianmilitary forces yet Indonesia declares that the issue is an internalmatter while the U.S. Department of State “recognizes and respects theterritorial integrity of Indonesia.”  The truth is, this is no issueof territorial integrity or an internal matter, and the record isclear on this point.West Papua was a former Dutch colony for some 100 years just as EastTimor was a former Portuguese colony just as Indonesia was a formercolony of the Netherlands.  Because of its status as a former colony,East Timor achieved its independence from Indonesia in 2002 through areferendum sanctioned by the United Nations (UN), despite Indonesia’sserious objections over East Timor’s right to self-determination.In contrast, in 1962 the United States pressured the Dutch to turnover control of West Papua to the United Nations.  Under theU.S.-brokered deal, Indonesia was to “make arrangements with theassistance and participation of the United Nations” to give Papuans anopportunity to determine whether they wished to become part ofIndonesia or not.In what became known as the Act of No Choice carried out in 1969, 1025West Papua elders under heavy military surveillance were selected tovote on behalf of 809,327 West Papuans regarding the territory’spolitical status.  In spite of serious violations of the UN Charterand no broad-based referendum, West Papua was forced to become a partof Indonesia by the barrel of a gun.According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), “declassifieddocuments released in July 2004 indicate that the United Statessupported Indonesia’s take-over of Papua in the lead up to the 1969Act of Free Choice even as it was understood that such a move waslikely unpopular with Papuans. The documents reportedly indicate thatthe United States estimated that between 85% and 90% of Papuans wereopposed to Indonesian rule and that as a result the Indonesians wereincapable of winning an open referendum at the time of Papua’stransition from Dutch colonial rule. Such steps were evidentlyconsidered necessary to maintain the support of Suharto’s Indonesiaduring the Cold War.”Bluntly put, in exchange for Suharto’s anti-communist stance, theUnited States expended the hopes and dreams and lives of some 100,000Papuans who consequently died as a result of Indonesian military rule. Although some challenge this estimate it is an indisputable fact thatIndonesia has deliberately and systematically committed crimes againsthumanity and has yet to be held accountable.While I have expressed my concern that there is strong indication thatthe Indonesian government has committed genocide against the Papuans,I am disappointed that the U.S. Department of State requested that Iomit the word ‘genocide’ in the initial title I put forward for thishearing.  The State Department requested a change in title based onthe assertion that ‘genocide’ is a legal term.Article 2 of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention andPunishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) defines genocide as "anyof the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or inpart, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group: killing membersof the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of thegroup; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of lifecalculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or inpart; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”This definition of genocide under international law accuratelydescribes the crimes against humanity perpetrated by Indonesia’smilitary, whether the U.S. State Department agrees or not.  But givenU.S. complicity, it is little wonder that every Administration wishesto distance itself from this ugliness.As Joseph Conrad wrote in his book The Heart of Darkness, “Theconquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away fromthose who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses thanourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.”When you look into it too much, nothing about Indonesia’s ruthlessbrutality or U.S. complicity is a pretty thing.  In 2007, I led aCongressional Delegation (CODEL) to Indonesia on the personal promiseof President SBY and Vice President Kalla that I would be granted 5days to visit Biak, Manokwari, and, most importantly, Jayapura, insupport of efforts to implement special autonomy that was approved bythe government of Indonesia since 2001.However, while enroute to Jakarta, I received word that the Indonesiangovernment would only grant 3 days for my visit.  Upon my arrival onNovember 25, 2007, I was informed that I would be granted only 1 dayand that I would not be allowed to visit Jayapura.  As it played out,I was granted 2 hours in Biak and 10 minutes in Manokwari.In Biak, I met with Governor Suebu, and other traditional, religiousand local leaders hand-selected by the government.  Other Papuans,like Chief Tom Beanal and Mr. Willie Mandowen were detained by themilitary until my office interceded.  U.S. Ambassador Cameron Hume andI also had to make our way through a military barricade becauseIndonesia military forces (TNI) had blocked Papuans from meeting withme.  For the record, I am submitting photos showing the excessivepresence of military force.       In Manokwari, the military presence was even worse.  Prior to myarrival in Manokwari, I was told that I would be meeting with theGovernor only to learn upon my arrival that he was in China and hadbeen there for the past 5 days.  Ten minutes later, I was put on aplane while the TNI, in full riot gear, forcefully kept the Papuansfrom meaningful dialogue.  At this time, I would like to share with mycolleagues some video tape of my visit in 2007.       After this experience and upon my return to Washington, I wrote toPresident SBY expressing my disappointment but Jakarta never respondedto my letter of December 12, 2007.  On March 5, 2008, Chairman DonaldPayne of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa joined with me insending another letter to President SBY which expressed our deepconcern about Indonesia’s misuse of military force.  We includedphotographs and a DVD of my experience while in Biak and Manokwari.Again, Jakarta did not bother to reply.       On March 5, 2008, Chairman Payne and I also wrote to U.S. Secretaryof Defense Robert Gates and included a copy of our letter to PresidentSBY as well as the DVD and photographs.  Despite the serious concernswe raised about Indonesia’s failure to live up to its promises toallow Members of Congress access to Jayapura and our request torestrict funding to train Indonesia’s military forces, his reply ofApril 2, 2008 was trite and indifferent, as if West Papua is of noconsequence.  He concluded his letter by erroneously stating, “TNIperformance on human rights has improved dramatically.”  Copies ofthese letters as well as the photographs and DVD are included for therecord.Copies of our materials which we sent on March 6, 2008 to the HouseCommittee on Foreign Affairs, the Senate Committee on ForeignRelations, the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Stateand Foreign Operations, the House Appropriations Subcommittee onDefense, and the Congressional Black Caucus are also included.       In March 2005, Chairman Payne and I wrote to Secretary General KofiAnnan asking for a review of the United Nations’ conduct in WestPapua.  35 other Members of Congress from the Congressional BlackCaucus signed the joint letter and I am also submitting this letterfor the record.       This year, Chairman Payne and I once more spearheaded an effortcalling upon President Obama to deal fairly with the people of WestPapua and to meet with the Team of 100 indigenous Papuan leadersduring his upcoming visit to Indonesia.  Although our letter of June9, 2010 was signed by 50 Members of the U.S. Congress, the U.S.Department of State could not be bothered to send us a thoughtfulreply.  Instead, we received a dismissive letter of August 11, 2010signed by the Assistant Secretary of Legislative Affairs rather thanthe U.S. Secretary of State which sends a clear signal that thisAdministration may not be any different than any other in its responseto addressing our grave concerns about West Papua.  As a matter ofrecord, I am including these letters.Also, I am including a video that due to its sensitive subject matterI cannot and will not show.  The video depicts the violent murder of aPapuan who was killed and gutted by the Indonesian Special PoliceCorp, or Brigade Mobil (BRIMOB), while the victim was still alive andpleading for someone to kill him in order to put him out of hismisery.  This isn’t the only murder.  The late Papuan leader TheysHiyo Eluay was also savagely murdered, and the list of lost lives goeson and on.As Chairman of this Subcommittee, I have been very, very patient.Yes, I realize the importance of the U.S.-Indonesia relationship.Indonesia is the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world andthe U.S. has a strong interest in reaching out to the Islamic world.But our own struggle against Islamist militancy should not come at theexpense of the pain and killing and suffering of the people of WestPapua.  This is not the America I know.       We can and must do better.  In his statement before the UN againstApartheid, Nelson Mandela said, “It will forever remain an accusationand challenge to all men and women of conscience that it took so longas it has before all of us stood up to say enough is enough.”  This ishow I feel about West Papua.It is my sincere hope that today’s hearing will help us find a wayforward.  So far, Indonesia has failed miserably to implement SpecialAutonomy and, as a result, there is a sense of growing frustrationamong the Papuans, and rightfully so.  According to CRS, “migration bynon-Melanesian Indonesians from elsewhere in the nation appears to bea critical part of the mounting tensions.  By some accounts MelanesianPapuans will be in the minority in their homeland by 2015.”       While there is so much more I want to say about the commercialexploitation of West Papua’s renowned mineral wealth which includesvast reserves of gold, copper, nickel, oil and gas and Freeport USA’sown shameful role in this exploitation, I will address these issues inmy questioning of our witnesses.       In conclusion, I want to thank Edmund McWilliams, a retired U.S.Senior Foreign Service Officer, who has been a long-time advocate forthe people of West Papua.  Mr. McWilliams was unable to be with ustoday but he has submitted testimony for the record which will beincluded.       I also want to welcome our Papuan leaders who have flown atconsiderable expense to testify before this Subcommittee.  I presumenone flew at the expense of the Indonesian government but we will findout during these proceedings.  Most of the Papuan leaders who are withus today have lived the struggle.  Others have only recently returnedafter living in Sweden for some 38 years.  They have since returnedhome and reclaimed Indonesian citizenship but I am unclear as to theirrole in a struggle they have given up or never fully lived.  I hope wewill be provided an explanation.       For now, I recognize my good friend, the Ranking Member, for anyopening statement he may wish to make.

SUBMITTED BY alezev@riseup.net;