Neighbours

Early this month, there was a news headline in the Jakarta Globe titled “Indonesian Court Indicts Papuan Five Activists for Treason”. The indictment of the five activists was solely for the raising of an outlawed Papuan flag and declaring its independence.

In recent times, violence has increased exponentially in Indonesia. Last year, local Papuans working at Freeport McMoran‘s Grasberg mine in West Papua, one of the world’s biggest copper and gold mines, went on a month long strike over a  pay dispute.

Local workers demanded the company increase their salary and bring it in line with what the company pays its workers in other countries.  As a consequence three people were killed, more than 90 were injured and around 300 participants were arrested by the Indonesian security forces.  In the same year, there were several unrelated attacks and killings carried out by the security forces against civilians.

Such harsh responses from the Indonesian security forces have been prevalent ever since the annexation of the province in 1963 and punitive tactics have intensified since the break away of East Timor from Indonesia in 1999 through the United Nations supervised referendum.

East Timor’s secession from Indonesia has been an embarrassment for Jakarta. In consequence the policy of maintaining the unitary state of Indonesia is sine qua non. Jakarta does not want to see West Papua follow the same path as East Timor.

Human Rights Watch Report 2012stated that even though over the past 13 years Indonesia has made great strides in becoming a stable and democratic country, human rights concerns remain. The report further claimed that despite senior officials publicly asserting that the state has done all it can to protect human rights, in practice they seem unwilling to take the steps necessary to punish those responsible for abuses.

The report subsequently noted, for example, in January last year, despite video evidence of six soldiers involved in brutally torturing two Papuans, the tribunal tried only three of the six soldiers from Battalion 753, on lesser military discipline charges.

Since joining Indonesia, many Papuans have been subjected to various forms of human rights abuses. Mass atrocities have been widely documented. Writing for LowensteinInternational Human Rights Clinic Yale Law School, Brundidge, et al (2004) argued that since the annexation of West Papua by Indonesia, Papuans have been faced with numerous human rights violations at the hands of Indonesian security forces. 

The author further argued that the Indonesian military and police have constantly carried out arbitrary and mass detentions, rape, sexual harassment, intimidation, torture, and other cruel and inhuman treatment ranging from electric shocks, beatings, pistol whippings, water torture, and cigarette burns,  to confinement in steel containers.

Other systematic programs include resource exploitation, destruction of Papuan resources and crops, compulsory and often uncompensated labor, transmigration, and forced relocation. These have caused pervasive environmental harm to the West Papuan region.

Such claims have been widely verified by numerous human right reports documented by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group, local and international government organizations and others. Despite public condemnation from rights groups, those claims seem to be unheeded by the Indonesian government.

At present, it is estimated that around 400.000 Papuanshave lost their lives as a result of protracted conflict in West Papua. Though the human rights abuses are widespread, the response from the international community has been muted.  The ability of the Indonesian government to offer western companies an advantageous  trading environment has, in turn, silenced western governments like the USA, United Kingdom, Australia and others, when it comes to human rights issues.

Despite being the closest neighbor to Indonesia, the Australian government has been silent over the issues of West Papua. There were not even public condemnations from the Australian government on the recent brutal crackdown in West Papua.

Indeed, in the aftermath of the incident, Richard Di Natale, Australian Greens Senator for Victoria, expressed personal concerns over the unfolding crisis in West Papua and urged the Australian government to call on the Indonesian government stop the violent acts against innocent civilians. In spite of such calls, there was little reaction from the Australian government.

Today economic cooperation between Indonesia and Australia is strong and worth around A$12.9 billion in 2010, and bilateral investment worth around A$ 4.5 billion in 2008 (DFAT, 2012). This amicable cooperation is undeniable yet unprecedented given Australia’s acrimonious diplomatic relations with Jakarta over its peace keeping mission to East Timor in 1999. However, some Australian policy makers now believe that maintaining and fostering good ties with Indonesia is far more important than interfering in Indonesian domestic issues. 

 There are two reasons why the Australian government should take human rights, peace and security issues in West Papua into consideration when dealing with the Indonesian government. 

Firstly, being a member of the United Nations, Australia has played  a leading role in upholding human rights instruments which include the right to life, freedom from torture, cruelty, degrading treatment, unlawful punishment, the right to a fair trial and the right to an adequate standard of living.

In addition, Australia has also signed a number of international treaties, for example, the Convention against Torture (CAT), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and others. Being a party to these treaties, Australia is bound to take necessary actions to ensure the rights of individuals are protected. Australia’s perceived role in protecting human rights has made the country renowned as a safe destination for those who flee their homelands due to conflict.

Although such actions are welcomed, Australian responsibilities should extend beyond its borders when deemed necessary. While trade cooperation has brought benefit to both Indonesia and Australia, this economic cooperation should not be pursued at the expense of human rights issues. Addressing human rights issues in West Papua is not just a matter of principle, but also of assuming responsibility as a responsible member of the international community.

Secondly, being located close to Papua New Guinea, West Papua and Australia are geographically bound. This implies that Australia’s long-term survival depends on establishing sustainable peace with its neighbors and that any future instability within the region will have ramifications for Australian peace and security.  As stated earlier, even though Indonesia has made significant strides in democratization, peace and security remain fragile.

Issues such human trafficking, money laundering, terrorism, the rise of religious fanaticism, environmental problems and others continue to pose challenges to Indonesia and its neighbors. In recent times, Indonesia has become a transit point for people smuggling, including facilitating illegal migrants destined for Australia. In 2006 the arrival of 43 West Papuans seeking asylum in Australia signaled to the Australian government, that unless immediate actions are taken to address the issue, they will pose a challenge to Australian national security.

Certainly some will argue that these problems can be addressed through enhancing military cooperation with Indonesia.. Nonetheless, failure to address the root cause of the problems will further exacerbate the issues, and undoubtedly pose challenges to Australia. While recently the Australia government expressed concern about the increased number of boat people from the Middle East arriving on its seashore, addressing security and human rights issues within its border is equally important. Failure to do so will have adverse effects on its own long term peace and stability.