Jokowi’s Christmas peace for Papua : Will it last long? Dwi Atmanta  ;  A staff writer at The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA POST, 30 Desember 2014

                                                

                                                                                                                       

The Christmas gift came three days late for Papuans this year, but many in the easternmost territory did not seem to mind. What is a more precious Christmas present for them than getting together with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who had promised to care for them on the first day of his presidential election campaign early in June? Jokowi arrived in Papua on Saturday to celebrate Christmas and went on his characteristic field trips across the province and neighboring West Papua until Monday. It was his first Papuan excursion to listen to local people’s grievances and demands since his inauguration in October. There was nothing peculiar about such high expectations as Jokowi set his feet on Papua after a series of bloody incidents, including the shooting of five teenagers by military and police troops during a clash in Paniai regency early this month. Jokowi had refused to comment on the Paniai incident, pending a thorough investigation, and it was his silence on the killings that sparked protests from several Papuan church congregations, which immediately announced their objections to the President’s visit. During the Christmas celebration on Saturday, however, Jokowi broke his silence. He said he had ordered the National Police to thoroughly investigate the Paniai incident. “I want this case to be solved as soon as possible so that such an incident will not recur in the future. We want Papua to turn into a land of peace,” Jokowi told thousands of Christmas revelers. As if to elaborate on the President’s remarks, Coordinating for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno said the Indonesian Military, police and the National Commission on Human Rights were conducting a fact-finding mission to find those responsible for the act of violence. The government’s commitment to settling the Paniai shooting beyond a doubt is understandable given the many cases of atrocities in Papua that have remained unaddressed. But leaving the police and military to conduct investigations into an offense involving their own personnel will only raise the question of credibility because of the risk of conflicts of interest and the spirit of the corps facing the investigators. As has happened in the past, the public will be unable to expect a transparent investigation, let alone justice to be delivered. Jokowi realizes the long-standing practice, but the existing criminal justice system gives him limited options. He can hope the rights body will declare the Paniai shooting a crime against humanity, which will then enable him to order the Attorney General’s Office to bring to justice whoever is held responsible for the killings. The human rights trial, however, will not materialize without the consent of the House of Representatives, which currently is controlled by the opposition. Fair settlement of the Paniai case alone is a daunting job for Jokowi. In fact, Papuans have been waiting for a comprehensive solution to decades of being deprived of their rights in their own homeland, which ironically occurred after their official incorporation into Indonesia through the Act of Free Choice in 1969. For years Indonesia had fought for sovereignty over Papua from the Dutch only to throw the Papuans from misery into ordeal. Reform movements led to the granting of special autonomy for Papua, but no significant changes have happened to the lives of Papuans despite trillions of rupiah having been transferred from Jakarta. Poverty and poor access to healthcare and education for Papuans have continued to plague Papua nearly 14 years after the inception of the special autonomy, which the Jakarta elites believed was a decent retribution for Papua. The generous special autonomy funds handed to Papua and later West Papua correlate with the increasing number of corruption cases involving local public officials in the two provinces. The naming of 44 West Papua legislative council members and the province’s regional secretary Marthen Luther Rumadas and former Papua governor Barnabas Suebu graft suspects recently is just proof that corruption thrives while supervision is lacking in Papua. Papua is a paradox of Indonesian development. Blessed with abundant natural resources, Papua and West Papua are home to regencies that rank among the most impoverished and least developed regions in the country. Recurrent acts of violence in the territory, many of them allegedly perpetrated by separatist groups, only indicate that injustice, inequality and marginalization of local people remain unfinished business for Jakarta, no matter who is president.  Then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised a new deal for Papua after taking office 10 years ago, but his government’s approach in dealing with Papua was the same old story. Jakarta’s recipe to tackle the Papua issue has never departed from “divide and rule”, as was apparent in the forcible formation of West Papua province in 2004 and a plan to create two more provinces and a new military command there.  Like his predecessor Yudhoyono, Jokowi made many promises to the Papuans, including his plan to visit the land three times a year. It seems exaggerated, even if Jokowi hopes his frequent trips to Papua will ensure the development agenda and improvement of public services to run in accordance with the plan. To woo Papuan voters back in June, Jokowi underlined Papua’s importance. Now the country’s leader, he has to show why Papua matters to him and the whole nation and how he will translate his pledges into policies. As happened when Indonesia solved the Aceh problem with dignity in 2005, the central government’s policies toward Papua should be based on respect for the local people, which will require a dialogue between two equal parties. A dignified settlement will need efforts on Indonesia’s part to heal Papua’s past wounds, which of course include a formal state’s apology to Papuans for atrocities and the government’s indifference that they have endured for a long time. The most urgent measure is revising the 2001 law on special autonomy for Papua. Prior to the end of its term in October, the Yudhoyono administration submitted the draft revision, which offers Papuan rebels a part in local politics, reminiscent of the deal accepted by the then Aceh separatist group, or GAM, which formed the Aceh Party. Without assurance of an all-inclusive solution, the long-lasting peace Jokowi will try to create in Papua will never come true.  ●