Jakarta accused of ‘hijacking’ MSG mission to West Papua

Up to 30 activists were arrested during the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) visit to the West Papua provincial capital of Jayapura on 13 January. Supporters of West Papuan independence say the visit was hijacked by Jakarta to thwart the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL) bid to join the MSG.

Police denied the arrests, claiming the protesters were taken into custody for “questioning” because the rally was illegal. The Tabloid Jubi said that 42 West Papuans were detained.

Following a closed meeting at his office, Papua Governor Lukas Enembe called on the Papuan people not to dwell on alleged past human rights violations because Papua is now “more open”, emphasising that the MSG visit was primarily to promote bilateral, cultural and economic relations.

West Papua was annexed by Indonesia from the Netherlands in 1969. Since that time, it is estimated that as many as 500,000 Papuans have been killed by Indonesian security forces. Sydney University’s West Papua Project reports that the situation is approaching genocide. Papuan activists want self-determination for their people; joining the MSG is seen as a step towards this goal.

The MSG is made up of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) – a pro-independence group from French-ruled New Caledonia. The MSG has promoted regional decolonisation, and in recent years Vanuatu has strongly supported West Papuan independence.

Indonesian handouts

For the first time at an MSG leaders’ summit in Noumea in June, the WPNCL was invited as an official guest. Indonesia, which has MSG observer status, was also present. The meeting was to decide on the WPNCL’s membership application, but a decision was delayed thanks to Indonesian lobbying of Fiji, the grouping’s current chair.

The summit ended with an endorsement of the “inalienable rights of the people of West Papua towards self-determination” and efforts to raise concerns about atrocities with Jakarta. It was announced that a foreign ministers’ visit to West Papua would take place within six months, ahead of a decision on WPNCL’s membership.

Jakarta has since been working hard to woo Melanesian leaders individually. In June, PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato led a delegation to Jakarta to hold business talks instead of attending the MSG summit. The three-day visit concluded with the signing of an extradition treaty and commercial and civil agreements. Rights activists slammed the treaty, saying it would be used to expel thousands of West Papuans who have fled to PNG.

In August, a visit to Jakarta by Solomon Islands Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo resulted in agreements on technical cooperation, trade commitments and people-to-people relations. According to a report by the Solomon Star, senior officials on the delegation received US$25,000 each from Indonesia.

In January, Radio New Zealand International reported that Indonesia donated US$500,000 to the soon to be established Regional Police Academy in Fiji, which will be used to train police from MSG countries.

PNG’s Pato said that the MSG recognises the success of “special autonomy” in Papua. Fijian Foreign Affairs Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola was quoted by the Jakarta Globe as saying, “We fully respect Indonesia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and we further recognise that West Papua is an integral part of Indonesia.”

Vanuatu objects

Vanuatu withdrew from the scheduled foreign ministers’ delegation at the last minute and, along with the FLNKS, sent only special envoys. Foreign Minister Edward Natapei said the mission was unlikely to achieve what MSG leaders wanted, which was to meet with West Papuan groups – including leaders of pro-independence movements.

Vanuatu also took exception to a joint statement prepared by the MSG and Indonesia because it failed to mention the purpose of the visit or anything to do with the plight of West Papuans. “Just one day before we were to depart Vanuatu to travel to Indonesia, we got the program of the visit, which neglected, it did not involve a meeting with civil society, it did not involve a meeting with the West Papuan people, the leadership in West Papua, who are concerned about human rights and who could give us more information about the WPNCL that is based in Vanuatu. We realised that in fact it was being hijacked by the government of Indonesia to work on another issue, which was to promote economic ties and development cooperation with the government of Indonesia. We felt that we were going to fail in the mission”, Natapei told Radio Australia.

Liputan6.com reported that a group of West Papuan students in Jakarta tried to block a vehicle transporting MSG delegates, calling on the ministers to cancel the meeting with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and condemning the MSG for failing to heed the wishes of the West Papuan people to join the MSG.

Despite the earlier pledge to support West Papuan independence, following the meeting with Yudhoyono in Jakarta on 15 January, the MSG delegation made it clear it would not interfere in Indonesia’s “internal affairs”.

In a joint statement, Indonesia and the MSG concluded they “supported respective sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, consistent with the Charter of the United Nations”. PNG’s Pato said they had formed “a definite opinion” on “a certain” membership bid that would be forwarded to the MSG leadership.

Vanuatu’s Natapei believes it is now unlikely that the WPNCL will obtain MSG membership. “Considering that the three [other] leaders of MSG have been in Indonesia and they have entered into some agreements with the government of Indonesia, I believe it’s going to be a lot more difficult this time to try and push this agenda forward”, he told Radio Australia.

[For the latest news and information on Indonesia and West Papua, visit the Asia Pacific Solidarity Network website at asia-pacific-solidarity.net]