Fitri Ramadhani, Jayapura – Pope Francis' visit to Indonesia is expected to bring a fresh breeze to the land of Papua. Through his Papal encyclicals the Pope has made calls for environmental sustainability and respect for the dignity of fellow human beings.

Fajar Timur School of Philosophy and Theology (STFTFT) academic Pastor Bernardus Baru believes that Pope Francis' encyclicals are very relevant to the current conditions in the land of Papua. According to Baru, armed conflicts in the land of Papua are related to the practice of natural resource exploitation.

"Many mothers and children have been displaced due to armed conflicts. The armed conflicts are related to the exploitation of natural resources in the land of Papua. The forests are destroyed (on the grounds of development)", said Baru during an online discussion titled The Holy Pope's Visit and the Internationalisation of the Papua Problem on Wednesday August 4.

Baru hopes that Pope Francis will hear the aspirations of the Papuan people and mediate the issue with the Indonesian government. That is to end the armed conflict and exploitation of natural resources in the land of Papua.

"After returning to the Vatican, if possible, the Pope will formulate new steps for ending the armed conflict and the exploitation of natural resources in the land of Papua. Invite Indonesia and the UN (United Nations) to discuss it", said Baru.

Meanwhile human rights activist Veronica Koman highlighted the mobilisation of Indonesian military troops in the land of Papua. She indicated that this deployment was related to the aspirations of independence for Papua.

"Some say the armed conflict is because there are businesses that want to come in (big investors that want to invest their capital in the land of Papua), but it's not just because of that. That's only the side effect. The armed conflict exists because Papua wants to be independent", said Koman, who was also a speaker in the discussion.

According to Koman, the presence of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) can be a bulwark for the preservation of nature in the land of Papua. This is because there are no extractive industry investors that dare to enter zones controlled by the TPNPB because it will definitely be expelled.

"The generals (senior Indonesian military officials) are also owners of corporations in the land of Papua. They (allegedly) continue to maintain the conflict. When there is a conflict, humans (local residents) flee so that the land can be taken over (by corporations)", said Koman.

Koman hopes that Pope Francis at the end of his visit to Indonesia will voice concerns about the situation in the land of Papua. This would be so that the Catholic church in Indonesia become more concerned about the suffering of their people in the land of Papua.

"Hopefully that (the Pope's call) will be a slap in the face the for Catholic church which still lacks (concern about the station facing the Papuan people). The suffering of their congregations cannot be separated from (the impact) of the greed of corporations facilitated by the state", said the Indonesian human rights defender who now resides in Australia.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Agamawan Dan Aktivis Berharap Kunjungan Paus Berdampak Terhadap Papua".]

Source: https://jubi.id/polhukam/2024/agamawan-dan-aktivis-berharap-kunjungan-paus-berdampak-terhadap-papua/