To date, 7th September 2020, the Papuan People’s Petition (PRP) continues to make its way throughout West Papua, Indonesia and abroad as a call for rejection of the extension of the Special Autonomy (Otsus) in West Papua. Since its launch on July 4, 2020, there are 45 civil organizations from various components jointly expressing support of the PRP. Three supporting-organisations are the solidarity network from Indonesia, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea (PNG).
This jointly-response in the past two months by the Papuan people signals affirmative action and reveals facts to the Government of Indonesia and the rest of the world that Otsus is only a manufactured trade-off of the continued denial and manipulation of the Indonesian colonial Government against the aspiration of the Papuan people to exercise the fundamental right to self-determination in the territory of West Papua.
Due to this political manoeuvre by the colonial regime of Indonesia, for 19 years (2001-2020) the implementation of Otsus has failed miserably. It has proven to have failed to protect, impartial, and empower the Papuan people. On the contrary, the reality exacerbates and threatens the existence of the customary land and its people. Hence the Papuan people must expose the facts and declare that Otsus must not be continued and demand the right to self-determination of the Papuan people.
We have witnessed Indonesia response in a normative political manoeuvres to the demands of the West Papuan people, namely, 1) Deployment of massive military forces to West Papua, 2) A play-off tactics of splitting and dividing Papuan people against one; as well as mobilizing counter petitions, launching of population census data, coercing and recording people conveying statements of support for Otsus.
In addition, 3) Creates a diversion of opinions and strategies for sectoral conflicts through in-take of public servants (CPNS), expansion program, local regency election (Pilkada), national sporting-event (PON), investment, restriction of access to Freeport workers, and also 4) Simplification and domestication of Otsus as if it is only about the Special Autonomy Fund and the strategy of issuing a replacement government regulation The Otsus Law (Perppu). Lastly, 5) Launch of hoax propaganda, especially through Jakarta-funded buzzers or bots influencers.
The following are our response to this situation:
- We call on the Indonesian Government to stop all its political manipulative tactics, and for Indonesia to immediately push for a peaceful and productive solution to resolve this root cause of the conflict in West Papua, that is based on its international obligations in realizing the right of self-determination accorded within the UN charter.
- We call on the member states of the United Nations and the international community to immediately urge Indonesia to end the continuation of Special Autonomy in West Papua and to encourage the people of West Papua to determine their own-fate and its legal and political status under international law.
- We convey to a handful of Indonesian colonial bureaucratic elites in the People’s Assembly of Papua and West Papua (MRP – MRPB), People’s Representative Council of Papua and West Papua (DPRP – DPRPB), the Governor of Papua and West Papua, the Special Autonomy Special Committee, the Regional Representative Council (DPD) and the House of Representative of Indonesia Republic (DPR RI) delegates from Papua in Jakarta to immediately stop one-sided compromises to continue Otsus in any form or to frame it in any other name. The fact remains that the legitimacy of the status of Otsus is utterly and unreservedly in the hands of the West Papuan people. Give it back to the people, and let the people determine it.
- We express gratitude to the people of West Papua for the successful act of choice to enhance the PRP, and to convey for us to remain vigilant as we take critical stance against all incitement, offers and tactics of the Indonesian authorities and their accomplices, who do not want to resolve the roots causes of West Papua’s political impasse peacefully and democratically. We hope that the people will be aware, unite and continue to fight in peace and with dignity.
We are the People Determining our Struggle!
Victor YeimoSpokesman of Petisi Rakyat Papua+6281240931004 (Whatapp)facebook.com/petisirakyatpapua