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Testimony of Mr. Octovianus Mote
Founder, West Papua Action Network
President, Papua Resource Center
Founding Member, West Papua Advocacy Team
before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment

September 22, 2010

“Crimes Against Humanity: When Will Indonesia’s Military Be Held
Accountable for Deliberate and Systematic Abuses in West Papua?”

Introduction

Special autonomy in West Papua has failed. This was the conclusion
drawn in November 2007 by several parties: the Papuan Traditional
Council (Dewan Adat Papua), Association of Central Highland University
Students (AMP), and the Papuan Peoples Council (PDP). In June and July
2010, some 20,000 people took to the streets of West Papua and
formally returned the Special Autonomy law to the Indonesian
government.

Background

The dictatorship of President Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for 32
years, came to an end in 1998 amidst a widely-popular reform movement
that swept this island nation. The era of comparative freedom that
came with the end of Suharto’s rule opened up new political
opportunities for the people of East Timor, Papua, and Aceh.
Nationalist movements developed grass-roots support in each of these
territories.

Public demonstrations in Papua, which featured the flying of the
morning star flag, were staged throughout the territory in 1998. A
delegation of 100 Papuan leaders met with President B. J. Habibie in
1999 where they declared their aspirations to leave the Republic of
Indonesia. Thousands flocked to Papua’s capital of Jayapura in May
2000 for the Second Papuan Congress, an event where a leadership for
the independence movement was formally selected. Indonesian officials
decided that offering Papua a comprehensive autonomy package was the
best response to popular demands for an independence referendum. At
the same time Indonesian military terror campaigns, and targeted
assassinations, forced the political movement for independence
underground.

A Toothless Autonomy Package

The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the highest law-making body
in Indonesia, issued the Assembly Decree No. 4/1999 that called for
giving broad powers to local government officials in Papua.  In drafts
of the autonomy bill local Papuan officials were given authority in
all aspects of governance, except with respect to foreign policy,
external defense, financial matters, and the judiciary. A transfer of
authority of this nature had never before been applied in the history
of the Republic of Indonesia. Initially it gave provinces throughout
Indonesia, hope of gaining independence from a top-heavy central
bureaucracy in Jakarta. This autonomy bill was passed into law in 2001
by Indonesia’s Parliamentary Assembly (DPR-RI).  However, the contents
of the final bill left much to be desired. Earlier drafts of the bill
contained many specific provisions that were lost in the final
version.

Indonesian security forces have historically been controlled from
Jakarta with no formal oversight from civilian authorities. A draft of
the autonomy package placed the Chief of Police in Papua directly
under the authority of the Governor. This move was in line with a
national initiative to separate the police from the three branches of
the armed forces: the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. At the time,
policy makers were making moves to limit the role of the armed forces
in domestic affairs. The final autonomy bill kept the status quo with
respect to security policy. The police and military forces in West
Papua continue to operate separately from the Governor, without any
direct civilian oversight. Troop deployments continue to be
coordinated from Jakarta.

In an attempt to end the impunity enjoyed by Indonesian security
forces, a draft of the autonomy legislation contained provisions for
the establishment of an independent human rights commission for Papua.
Plans for an institution with the authority to investigate allegations
of human rights violations and present findings to a Provincial Human
Rights Court of Justice were developed. However, the final autonomy
bill eliminated the key provision of independence of a regional human
rights body. A branch of Indonesia’s National Human Rights Commission
(Komnas HAM) was opened in Papua following the implementation of the
autonomy legislation, without any specific mandate or tasks. The
jurisdiction of the Human Rights Court of Justice was extremely
limited. The new court lacked the ability to prosecute abuses by
security forces and government officials. Impunity for soldiers and
their commanders is still the order of the day in Papua.

Drafts of the autonomy bill proposed a bicameral system of provincial
government: an indigenous council called the Papuan People’s
Consultative Council (MRP) was to be established alongside the
existing People’s Parliamentary Representative Council (DPRP). The MRP
was established, but its role was limited to cultural affairs with no
decision-making power and authority whatsoever. Currently the MRP
merely provides advice to the administration and the DPRP.

Economic Provisions

Article 34 of the autonomy package that was passed in 1999 stipulated
that the majority of revenue generated by the extraction of natural
resources in Papua would be given back to the provincial government
and the people. The bill contained provisions for sustainable and
environmentally sound development programs. Article 42 of the bill
opens up opportunities for participation by local communities in every
initiative of capital investment in their respective regions. An
affirmative action program was established for indigenous Papuans who
wish to pursue higher education, opportunities in government, and
funds for entrepreneurs. The current Governor of Papua, Barnabas
Suebu, recently announced that 100 million Rupiah ($10,000 US) would
be provided to each village in the whole province of Papua as a result
of revenue from the autonomy program.

Failed Implementation of the Autonomy Law

The administration of Indonesian president President Megawati
Sukarnoputri was reluctant to implement the special autonomy bill that
had been passed by the national legislature in 1999. President
Sukarnoputri finally signed the bill into law in 2002. One year later
the Sukarnoputri administration showed ill-will to the implementation
of the autonomy law with the issuance of presidential instruction
number 1/2003 which split up the territory of Papua into separate
provinces. When General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono became the President
of Indonesia in 2004, many Papuans hoped that he would make a genuine
effort to implement the Special Autonomy law.  After Yudhoyono
allocated funds for splitting Papua into separate provinces, the
people lost hope that he would take autonomy in the territory
seriously.

The distribution of the revenue that has flowed back from Jakarta
following the implementation of the autonomy law has been mismanaged.
As a result the primary beneficiaries of the autonomy funds are a
group of Papuan elites who hold various positions in the government
bureaucracy. Governor Suebu has established a team to fight corruption
that consists of police officers, a special court of justice, and
public prosecutors. This team is tasked with investigating allegations
of corruption and prosecuting those who have misused public funds. The
Governor has also implemented new safeguards to prevent further misuse
of funds.  Additionally, Governor Suebu is attempting to prevent the
misappropriation of funds by the security forces.

Recent Evaluations of the Autonomy Law

In 2007 the Governor of Papua formed a team to study the
implementation of the autonomy law. This evaluation team consisted of
members of the Papuan People’s Consultative Council (MRP), scholars at
Cenderawasih University, as well as youth activists from the
Association of College and University Students of the Papuan Central
Highlands (AMP). Mr. John Djopari, a government official who was
formerly the Indonesian ambassador to PNG, served as Chairman of the
Papua Special Autonomy Evaluation Team. The team concluded that the
implementation of the bill had failed. The Republic of Indonesia,
concluded Mr. Djopari, has squandered the funds from the autonomy bill
to form new, unnecessary, district administrative units. The
bottom-line issue is that civilian officials have failed to establish
meaningful and authoritative control over the unruly armed forces
which continue to operate with impunity.

Proposed Solutions: The Role of the International Community

Papuans have lost faith in the will of the Indonesian government to
resolve long-standing grievances: autocratic rule by distant officials
in Jakarta, security forces that continue to operate with impunity, as
well as laws that limit basic political and religious freedoms. The
Papuan Traditional Council (Dewan Adat Papua), a grassroots political
organization representing the 253 indigenous groups in West Papua, has
recently reiterated a call for a dialog between the Republic of
Indonesia and the Papuan people. Such a dialog would only be possible,
according to the Papuan Traditional Council, if it is mediated by a
neutral third party.

Mr. Chairman, therefore we would like to thank you for your recent
letter to President Obama, encouraging him to “make West Papua one of
the highest priorities of the Administration.”  We also thank the
other fifty members of the U.S. Congress who signed this letter—asking
the President to meet with the people of West Papua during his
upcoming trip to Indonesia.  We sincerely hope that the President
takes your request to heart.

Thank you.

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