Understanding those who have agreed to ruin and those to develop West Papua
Recently, some media have agreed to raise West Papua’s issues around aspects such as the quest for independence and the resolution of the alleged human rights violation in the region. Among other related articles, The Guardian raises its expectation that the recent Pacific Island Forum (PIF) would help bring West Papua’s issues to the UN and that Pacific countries could find the way how to punish Indonesia for allegedly degrading West Papua. Another media, the Diplomat raises an open discourse that the independence quest for West Papua is what has been the concern of both West Papuans and people in the world. These media seem to care about the past of the region. Unfortunately, they have no clue about the future of West Papua, and their perspectives can even seriously ruin it.
Obsolete understanding
The Guardian, through one of its journalists, shows how the inclusion of West Papua’s issue in the recent PIF was a win for those who support the cause so far. It hints that it is right that Pacific leaders show their care toward the issues and stand up for the allegedly violated rights of West Papuans. It praised how Vanuatu ‘successfully smuggled’ Benny Wenda, chief of United Liberation Movement for West Papua or ULMWP, into their delegation to take part in the formal communique during the forum.
The Diplomat published an article which generally tells how life in West Papua is continuously haunted by human rights violations. It hints such approval that the region should be set apart from Indonesia for some reasons including the fact that it is a non-Muslim majority region and the dark past of the relationship between the Indonesian government and some West Papuans.
Trying to convince that there had been a quite trajectory for the region’s quest for freedom, unfortunately, those media seem, instead, to keep adding another mistaken way of understanding how West Papua and its people are developing right now. The media cannot forgo and comprehend any info and news about the development in the region because it seems, as time goes on, their understanding of West Papua is starkly becoming obsolete.
Their claims over West Papuan issues repeat over and over where they always include the info that since 1969, West Papuans have sought to obtain independence. In the case of the Free West Papua efforts, they praised how organizations like the Independent Papua Organization or OPM and ULMWP become key pro-independence organizations that should propel the separation of West Papua from Indonesia because its people are predominantly Christian and Melanesian “unlike Muslim-majority Indonesia”.
Adding to that, they claim that repressive rules are still running and continuously violate West Papuans’ rights until now. Last but not least, they praised at the fullest how figures especially Benny Wenda, as if he is the supreme leader of West Papuans and whatever he says, there goes what all West Papuans also say.
They think they care
At the heart of it, these media seem to try their best to show how they sincerely care about the welfare of West Papua and West Papuans. They beg their viewers’ attention that West Papua needs their bits of help, and actions should be taken as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, as these media think they are caring about West Papua, the region just keeps just developing. When they beg for attention, many people have, instead, arrived in West Papua to help propel the development in the area. They come from different backgrounds. Both Indonesians and foreigners have helped teach West Papuan kids and provide them with free healthcare. They are also not only civilians but also from the security forces where military teachers and doctors voluntarily help West Papuans gain better access to knowledge and medical treatments.
A lot of foreigners have, in fact, have been residing in West Papua and mingle with locals peacefully. Some even established schools and libraries for free and ensure that they can provide the best education for West Papuans.
Others initiate social movements to help the region become cleaner. Individuals like Suku_Dani repeatedly invite West Papuans, regardless native or not, to continuously clean the area. Alongside many civil society organizations, they help eradicate illiteracy by teaching some West Papuan adults to read. Organizations and programs like Indonesia Mengajar, Wahana Visi Indonesia, Kitong Bisa, and SM3T have sent teachers, doctors, and nurses to West Papua at their own cost.
Most recently, a few foreign educators from various universities across the globe came to West Papua with the assistance from Kitong Bisa for a couple of weeks to do multiple activities from teaching kids to having social activities like picking trash and sharing sessions.
These people and volunteers have done a lot for the region because they have hopes that West Papua has tremendous potentials to grow and develop like other provinces in Indonesia and other areas in the world. They believe that their actions can help the possibilities manifest.
One can see how they are unlike the aforementioned media and their contributors and journalists that are stuck — or deliberately make their minds stuck — and even fail to think about positive things about West Papua. Unfortunately, these media fail to comprehend and cover any good news from West Papua, the potentials of the region and its people and choose to, instead, keep spreading negative and pessimistic news and info about the past.
Believing the wrong man
Furthermore, besides failing to foresee the future, these media cannot see how many people are racing to do their best to help better West Papua. Instead, they cling to and worship figures like Benny Wenda that they believe a kind of the sole leader of West Papua and cite almost every single word of this person and believe that all of them are true.
They believe that Benny Wenda’s voice is the voice of all West Papuans. Whereas, that person has been detached from West Papua for as long as he lives. This person is never an elected representative of West Papuans. Based on nothing, not even a survey, they blatantly in many occasions and articles cite Benny Wenda’s statement as if it is the statement of all West Papuans.
In fact in West Papua, there have been Native West Papuan leaders who are provincial governments in Papua (The Provinces of Papua and West Papua) who are directly and democratically elected by West Papuans. These local governments of Papua have been engaging in the regional forums, such as Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).
Ditching such info and facts, those media praise the presence of organizations like OPM and ULMWP as representatives of West Papuans. Whereas, these organizations have never agreed on even one thing about their struggle, let alone vision and missions. Recently, Benny Wenda randomly sent a press release claiming that he has become an army leader of all existing armed factions in the region that he united.
Soon after being released, though, OPM and other armed factions expressed out their blatant rejection over any claims in the release. They even condemned Benny Wenda and ULMWP for using them for evil individual gain and fame. They also emphasize that ULMWP has never had the right to claim to be the leader of West Papuans. Unfortunately, these kinds of info never come up comprehensively on the media and probably are kept away as they may ruin the media’s perspective that for any reason, what they should cover is only negative news about West Papua.
Free to criticize the government
One, then, can ask whether the West Papuan independence movement a legitimate independence movement in the view of the Indonesian government. Of course not! You are not kidding, aren’t you?
Any sovereign countries, even these media’s nations, will condemn any independence movement within their countries. Such action is, of course against any existing legal rules and regulations there. It does not uphold the existing rule of law and thus has to be fought. However, discussions and talks about that may, to some extent, be allowed.
In Indonesia, it is a fact that many demonstrations and discussions have been held by some organizations regarding the issues of West Papua’s independence. Some even blatantly accuse the Indonesian government of violating human rights in West Papua. But, as long as these activities are done peacefully and academically, the government has shown lawful and peaceful responses. But whenever they are done violently, illegally and unlawfully, one will not argue why security forces need to take actions against them.
Last year a demonstration on free West Papua issues was held right in front of the presidential Merdeka Palace — the office of Indonesian president. The activity gained permission from the security authority and the demonstrators enjoyed their time voicing their opinion.
But recently, another demonstration was held in Malang, East Java, Indonesia about the same issues on free West Papua. It turned out the action did not gain permission from related authority and went violent. Security forces came in to intervene but unfortunately some civilians, all are locals, were hurt as demonstrators threw rocks at random direction as they went violent. Unfortunately, info like this seems never to be covered by the aforementioned media.
Believing West Papua
To sum up, the above media, individuals, and organizations think they care about West Papua. But instead of bringing about positivism and optimism, they keep spreading negative and pessimistic news about the region. They think they better West Papua, but instead, their way of thinking and any pieces they produce keep adding negativity to the area which is holding people back from planning to come help West Papuans. As this piece explains, those kinds of media, alongside the movements and the people they praise are nothing but detrimental to the future of peaceful West Papua.
Some people and media like what you are reading now, though, have decided to come up and collaborate with West Papuan kids, youth, and adults to develop the region better together. Because, we believe in the bright future of West Papua that it can become prosperous and advanced just like other regions in Indonesia and the world. (*)
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