Papua's integration into RI final: Dutch lawmaker
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Fri, October 21 2005,
A Dutch parliamentarian called on the international community to stop questioning the status of Papua as the territory's incorporation into Indonesia under the United Nations-sanctioned 1969 Act of Free Choice was final.
""Like Maluku, Aceh and other territories of the Indonesian archipelago, Irian Jaya (Papua) is an integral part of Indonesia. The Netherlands therefore will not support any separatist movements,"" Hans van Baalen said in a seminar held to observe the 77th anniversary of the Indonesian Youth Pledge here on Thursday.
Van Baalen, a legislator from the Netherlands Party for Freedom and Democracy, was responding to the findings of the Drooglever study on Papua in the Netherlands and U.S. House of Representatives Resolution No. 2601, both of which questioned the validity of Papua's integration into Indonesia.
The study by Prof. Drooglever was commissioned by the Dutch government at the request of the Dutch parliament to establish the historical facts of what happened in Papua, and has inspired several non-governmental organizations to question the formal transfer of what was then Dutch New Guinea through the United Nations to Indonesia in 1969.
Meanwhile, Resolution 2601, which was endorsed by the U.S. House of Representatives in July, and is still awaiting approval from the U.S. Senate, would, if passed, require the U.S. government to seek clarification on a wide range of foreign affairs issues, including the Papua question.
Hundreds of Papuan people staged a demonstration on Thursday in Jayapura, the capital of Papua, to protest UN's decision to give Indonesia control of the province in 1963, and approve the result of the 1969 Act of Free Choice, which they said was undemocratic.
Van Baalen said the Drooglever study should not affect the good bilateral relations between Indonesia and the Netherlands. Instead, the two countries should enhance their ties for mutual benefit.
""The Netherlands as a founding member of the EU can be a gateway for Indonesian products to Europe and can lobby for the abolishing of EU import duties and quotas for Indonesian products. Indonesia as a co-founder of ASEAN can do the same for the Hague's interests in the region,"" he said.
Theo L. Sambuaga, an Indonesian legislator from the Golkar Party, said the government should work hard to improve the welfare of the Papuan people to help eliminate secessionist sentiment in the resource-rich province.
""The Papua issue will continually emerge as long as the government does not fulfill its obligation to ensure development, empower the people and uphold the rule of law in the country's easternmost province,"" he said.
According to Theo, the government should speed up development programs to allow the province under its special autonomy status to catch up with the more developed provinces.
Jimmy Demianus Ijie, speaker of the West Irian Jaya provincial legislature, blamed Jakarta's confusing policy for the increasing demands for Papua's secession from Indonesia.
""The differing powers in Jakarta should sit at a roundtable with all Papuan figures to seek a comprehensive solution to the Papuan issue, and consistently implement it,"" he said.
He was of also of the opinion that Papua's integration into Indonesia was final ""but the remaining problem is that most Papuans have been treated as second-class citizens in their own homeland.
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Australian PM’s offer for Papua raises suspicion,
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Sunday, July 07 2013,
Kevin Rudd: (JP/Jerry Adiguna)Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s commitment to help develop Indonesia’s easternmost region could instead lead to more abuses of Papuans, an activist warns.
Papua was among the three main issues discussed during the third Indonesia-Australia Annual Leaders Meeting between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Rudd at the Bogor Presidential Palace in West Java on Friday. The two other issues were people smuggling and economic cooperation in the beef and cattle sector.
“Given the trends of the series of cases in the past, we can see that almost all human rights cases in Papua were rooted in economic motivation. Corporations operating in Papua, particularly foreign ones, for instance, use soldiers for security, a measure that increases the chances of human rights abuses against locals,” the coordinator of rights group National Papua Solidarity (NAPAS), Zely Ariane, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
With Rudd standing beside him at a joint press conference after Friday’s meeting, Yudhoyono expressed concern over rampant “propaganda” spread by Papuan separatist activists in many countries who advocate independence by “exaggerating alleged human rights violations by Indonesian military and police”.
“I told the Australian prime minister that any Indonesian soldiers or police officers found to commit violations will definitely be punished or brought before a military tribunal,” Yudhoyono said. “But to be honest, in the recent past, those falling victims were Indonesian Military [TNI] personnel and police officers.”
In his speech at the conference, Rudd not only reiterated Australia’s recognition of Indonesia’s sovereignty over Papua but also offered help to speed up development in Papua and West Papua provinces.
“I, as the prime minister of Australia, will do everything I can to support [Yudhoyono] in this direction.”
Issues concerning Papua were not expected to be broached by those attending the media conference. “According to information I received, it was Prime Minister Rudd who raised the issue,” presidential spokesman for foreign affairs Teuku Faizasyah told the Post.
Zely alleged that Rudd’s statement was a further indicator of the wish of Australia’s businesses to invest in Papua, particularly in the mining sector. “The door for foreign investors has been opened by the government via its MP3EI [Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Development],” she said.
Foreign investment in Papua, she said, would not address the core problems in Papua. Massive projects would not only be prone to corruption but would also widen economic gaps and marginalize Papuans more, she added.
Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said that starting this year, the government would prioritize MP3EI projects in the eastern provinces, including Papua and West Papua.
“Projects in natural resources and energy will be boosted,” Hatta said. “But exploration projects must also contribute to the acceleration of local economies by establishing centers of growth around the projects,” he added, brushing-off Zely’s opinion.
Of the total MP3EI investment of Rp 545.76 trillion (US$55.12 billion) set for this year, almost a half or Rp 204.56 trillion will go to Papua, West Papua, Maluku and North Maluku provinces.
Issues surrounding Papua have always been politically sensitive for Indonesia, while to Australia, it is the long-unstoppable flow of asylum seekers that is at the heart of its domestic political interests.
(Zo als je kunt lezen, iedereen is geinteressert in wat het voormalige Nieuw Guinea heeft aan te bieden wat grondstoffen en mineralen aan gaat, maar ze lappen de Papuans aan hun laars) sik's opinie.
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