http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/as00_faleomavaega/enipayneltrtosusilo.html
March 10, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C.-HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS' SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRMEN CALL
UPON INDONESIA TO END UNREASONABLE RESTRICTIONS ON INTERNATIONAL ACCESS TO WEST
PAPUA
In a letter dated March 5, 2008 to Indonesia's President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, Congressman Eni Faleomavaega, Chairman of the House Foreign
Affairs' Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment, and
Congressman Donald Payne, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global
Health, joined forces in calling upon Indonesia to end unreasonable
restrictions on international access to West Papua. The complete text of their
letter is included below:
Dear Mr. President:
In 2005, at your request, we suspended our support for West
Papua's right to self-determination in order to give you time to implement the
Special Autonomy legislation passed by the Indonesian Parliament in 2001. We
welcomed the promise of this legislation and your personal assurances that your
government would finally accord the Papuan people a fair share of the great
wealth derived from Papuan resources. However, after three years, we note that
the people of Papua, through the voices of Papuan religious and civil society
leaders as well in broad public demonstrations, have declared Special Autonomy
a failure.
We are also disappointed that your government has not made
substantial progress in implementing Special Autonomy. While your
administration has designated Special Autonomy funds for Papuan development,
these funds have not reached the Papuan people who, after over four decades,
still lack even rudimentary health and educational services. As you will
agree, effective distribution and utilization of these funds require trained
Papuan cadre and an infrastructure with the capacity to disburse these funds
efficiently and honestly, and this means there is a critical need to develop
Papuan cadre and infrastructure. This need can only be met by a concerted
effort involving your government and international agencies such as USAID.
This is why we have repeatedly asked that you work with the U.S.
Congress and the United Nations, to develop a plan that assures effective
implementation of Special Autonomy. In no way do we believe that throwing
money at the people of Papua for the next 15 or 20 years relieves Jakarta of
its responsibility to educate the people of Papua and help them build the
capacity they need to effectively manage their affairs.
In fact, to leave an uneducated populace without the tools it
needs to rebuild itself is to promote social and cultural genocide, and this is
not right, especially if Indonesia is intent on the United States supporting
its territorial integrity. If Indonesia is intent on the U.S. supporting its
territorial integrity, in turn, Indonesia must be intent on doing right by the
people of Papua. Doing right by Papua means: a) implementing a plan of
success; b) opening your doors to allow Members of the U.S. Congress, United
Nations personnel, and non-government agencies access to Jayapura and the rest
of the province; and c) demilitarizing your approach. Indonesia's reliance on
force for the maintenance of control is counterproductive, and long-standing
abuses by security forces have galvanized independence sentiments among
majority Papuans.
In this latter regard, the January 28 UN report by UN Special
Representative Hina Jilani documents continuing intimidation and abuse of human
rights advocates by an Indonesian military that remains largely unaccountable
before Indonesian courts. Our letter to you on December 13, 2007, which is
enclosed for your information, also specifically addressed the Indonesian
military's use of undue force. Because you never replied to the letter, we can
only assume that you did not receive it or that the concerns expressed were of
no interest to you at the time of your receipt. However, given that Congress
is now contemplating increasing funding to train your security forces,
including KOPASSUS and BRIMOB, we are hopeful that you will now address the
concerns expressed in that letter.
Also, we are enclosing photographs and a DVD which show one
Member's experience with your military while in Biak and Manokwari. Prior to
Congress taking further action to increase funding for your military, we are
sending copies of these photos and this DVD to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert
M. Gates, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, House and Senate
appropriators, Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Members of the
House and Senate Foreign Affairs' Committees. We are also enclosing our
December 13, 2007 letter because we believe it is important for our
Administration and colleagues to know that your government denied a Member of
the U.S. Congress access to Jayapura.
While the photos and DVD do not fully capture your military's
overuse of force during Congressman Faleomavaega's visit, we believe that they
clearly show a pattern of your military's misuse of force. Although your
military stated that this use of force was for the Congressman's protection, we
believe you will agree that no Member of Congress should need hundreds of
military personnel in full riot gear to protect him or her in provinces you say
are safe. Ultimately, Papuans are no threat to Members of Congress. Papuans
are the same as you. They want to be heard. They want to be educated. They
want to live freely and happily. They do not want to be herded like animals,
kept behind police barricades, and silenced at gunpoint.
Therefore, we are hopeful that you will work with us to make the
situation for Papuans more tolerable. We are also hopeful that given our
goodwill and your past assurances that you will grant us immediate access to
Jayapura.
Congressmen Faleomavaega and Payne concluded their letter by
stating, "Continued refusal by your military to allow our access to Jayapura
and other parts of Indonesia will inevitably call into question the seriousness
of your government's assurances to us regarding your intent to implement
Special Autonomy and to end unreasonable restrictions on international access
to West Papua."
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