Larius Kogoya, Jayapura – The Papuan people have continuously been victims of the militaristic practices carried out by the Indonesian government since 1963. This was stated by West Papua National Committee (KNPB) Chairperson I Warpo Sampari Wetipo at a national seminar titled Realising the Spirit of the People's Resistance for the Right to Self-Determination for the West Papuan People which took place in South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar on Monday January 27.
Wetipo said that the KNPB was born because of militarism in Papua which has never stopped since May 1, 1963. According to Wetipo, in practice, military operations in Papua have not stopped since the West Papuan nation was annexed by Indonesia.
Since then, massive and structured military operations have been carried out throughout Papua. Although the Indonesian government has not officially announced the implementation of martial law in Papua, the security forces have continued to conduct military operations there.
"The state has committed crimes through the Trikora Operation, the Mandala Operation, the Wibawa Operation, the Tumpas Operation, the Sadar Operation, the Ketupat Operation, the Senyap Operation, the Koteka Operation. Up until now we still hear about the Cartenz (Peace) Operation, the Nemangkawi Operation, the Elang Operation, and so on. Papua is a military emergency zone or Military Operation Area [DOM]", said Wetipo when interviewed via WhatsApp on Tuesday January 28.
Wetipo stated that since 2018 there have been sweeps of resident's homes, the burning of churches, schools, the shooting of civilians by the TNI (Indonesian Military) and Polri (Indonesian Police) officers in various regions of Papua. A mass evacuation has occurred in Nduga regency. After that, armed conflicts between TNI/Polri officers and the armed group of the West Papua National Liberation Army or TPNPB have occurred and spread to various regions in Papua.
"The armed conflict between the TPNPB and the TNI/Polri continues to spread across various regions in our homeland, such as in the regencies of Intan Jaya, Yahukimo, Bintang Highlands, Maybrat, Puncak Jaya, Timika, Paniai, Dogiyai, Lanny Jaya, Puncak Jaya, and most recently in Yalimo and Tambrauw regencies. The Papuan people are the main victims", said Wetipo.
Mass displacements have left civilians homeless, relatives lost. Elderly people and babies have died in the middle of the forest. Internally displaced people have also lost livestock, cannot farm and have lost their livelihoods.
The seminar, which was organised by the KNPB Central Management Board together with the Makassar KNPB Regional Consulate, was attended by high school students, university students, youth, and KNPB delegations from Manado, Gorontalo and Tomohon.
The seminar was also attended by representatives of student organisations who are members of the Cipayung Group, human rights and democratic activists, the Makassar Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), the Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI-WP), KNPB activists, the Papuan Central Highlands Indonesian Student Association (AMPTPI) and the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP).
Makassar regional FRI-WP activist Arul reviewed the history of President Sukarno issuing the Trikora Proclamation in Yogyakarta Square on December 19, 1961, part of which was the dissolution of the Papua puppet state created by the Netherlands. The proclamation also ordered a general mobilisation led by Sukarno.
"The impact was a massive military invasion in the West Irian region (West Papua). The independence of the West Papuan people was castrated on December 19, 1961", he said.
According to Arul, the political and economic conspiracy between America, the Netherlands and Indonesia during the struggle for West Irian sacrificed the people and the nation of West Papua, because the people and the nation of West Papua were never involved in the negotiations. "This indicates that the meeting was only held by devils, demons, and witnessed by ghosts", Arul said.
Another Makassar FRI-WP activist, Nyora, said with regard to the problems in West Papua, they do not just see genocide, ecocide and ethnocide. According to Nyora, the main problem faced by the people of Papua is colonialism, racism and capitalism in the land of Papua.
"In short, Indonesia is carrying out practices of colonialism in West Papua. The next, is racism which is very fertile in Indonesia. The practice of racism has been applied from the beginning, since West Papua was annexed into the NKRI [Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia]", said Nyora.
Nyora explained the Indonesian nation as a new colonial power felt that they were superior to the Papuans. In any decision related to political, economic, legal, social and cultural status, the indigenous Papuans have never been involved as subjects.
"So that's where racism was implanted. Indonesia considers the Papuan nation to be backward, ancient, primitive, stupid, weak, poor. That's the colonial character", said Nyora.
The conditions for the people in the land of Papua are getting worse, because of the issue of capitalism. Nyora said that Papua is economically controlled by foreign capitalism and Indonesia is just a dog at their beck and call. This situation results in indigenous peoples experiencing agrarian conflicts which are a serious problem and give birth to new conflicts.
"Indonesia is just a dog at the beck and call of foreign capitalists. Even the customary land is capitalised by the capitalists and local bourgeoisie", said Nyora.
LBH Makassar public advocate Rasak said that the LBH exists to advocate and protect victims, especially the weak who are in need of legal assistance. LBH Makassar has assisted victims in various issues, including Papuan activists who have expressed their views and protested in demonstrations.
"We were once interrogated by Indonesian security forces, 'Why do you advocate the issue of Papua and so forth'. For LBH Makassar, advocating for the weak, the oppressed, colonised people is necessary, [they] are protected by their fundamental rights", said Rasak.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "KNPB: Rakyat Papua Sudah Menjadi Korban Militerisme Indonesia Sejak 1963".]
