Eni Faleomavaega is the Representative to the US Congress of the
Pacific-Island territory of American Samoa. He is a member of the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs and a prominent supporter of
self-determination for West Papua.
His visit was timed to
coincide with the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali in December and
followed the Government’s refusal to allow a visit in July 2007 [see
TAPOL Bulletin, No. 187, p. 8]. It was the Congressman’s understanding
that he would visit the towns of Biak and Manokwari and, most
importantly, Jayapura.
In a letter to President Yudhoyono dated 13 December, he said:
‘I was deeply disappointed that upon my arrival I was again denied
entry into Jayapura and that my time was reduced from 5 days to only
two hours of actual meetings with the leaders and people of Biak and
Manokwari due to supposedly security concerns.’
‘Such a decision…begs the question if all is well throughout the
provinces of Papua and West Papua, why is security a problem at all?’
Overpowering military presence
He described how, during a meeting in Biak, the highly respected tribal
chief, Tom Beanal, was detained by the military. Papuans who had
gathered in the streets in Biak ‘were denied the opportunity to meet
with us, and US Ambassador Cameron Hume and I had to force our way
through a military barricade just to meet with the Papuan people who
had to walk several miles from the airport and wait in the hot sun
because Indonesian military forces (TNI) barred them from meeting with
Ambassador Hume and me.’
‘I was deeply disturbed by the overpowering military presence, which I
felt was completely unnecessary,’ Faleomavaega said.
It was even worse in Manokwari, he recalled. He was told that he would
meet the Governor of West Papua province only to learn on his arrival
that the Governor was in China.
‘Nonetheless, Ambassador Hume and I were put in a car, without any
escort and with only a single traffic police unit in front. While we do
not require special privileges, we were very aware that our delegation
was not given the necessary escort because the TNI was intent on
deceiving the Papuans who had gathered on the streets waiting for us.’
‘Arriving at the office of the Governor who was in China, and after
meeting for less than 10 minutes with the Vice Governor, I was told
that due to weather and security concerns, I would need to depart
immediately. In no uncertain terms, I was told by the TNI military
leaders that Ambassador Hume and I were not welcome in Manokwari.’
Faleomavaega and Ambassador Hume were driven back to the airport
without official escort or accompaniment, meaning they were placed in
unfavourable circumstances.
‘While I felt no danger whatsoever from the Papuans who were unarmed
and only wanted to meet with us, I was very uncomfortable that the TNI
military was so bent on not allowing even a conversation to take place.’
‘It was my hope and understanding that I would be able to meet with the
people and leaders of both provinces but, when I saw how heavily armed
that the TNI military was, I knew that the military had no intention of
honoring the commitment that President SBY and I had made in Jakarta in
July of this year.’
Papuans intimidated, harassed and abused
Referring to his promise to support President Yudhoyono in his efforts to implement special autonomy, Faleomavaega said:
‘…as long as the TNI military forces of Indonesia continue to deny
Members of Congress real access to the provinces of Papua and West
Papua, especially Jayapura, it will be difficult for me to support the
goals of Special Autonomy when clearly the Papuans in these two
provinces are still being intimidated, harassed and abused by the TNI.’
‘Likewise, I do not consider two hours in Biak and 10 minutes in
Manokwari as access. Until I am allowed to visit Jayapura, as I have
been promised, and until I am allowed to meet with the people of Papua,
as President SBY and I agreed, I cannot in good conscience inform my
colleagues in Congress that progress is being made to implement the
Special Autonomy Law which has mostly remained dormant since 2001 and,
since for the past 60 years, until President SBY's leadership, the
government of Indonesia has done absolutely nothing to help the Papuan
people who only want to be treated humanely.’
‘…whether or not we move forward is entirely up to President SBY and
those who control the activities of Indonesia's TNI military forces.’
Letter to UN Secretary-General
In a letter to UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, dated 14 February
2008, Faleomavaega and fellow Congressman, Donald Payne, expressed
their growing concern about human rights violations and ‘the tight
restrictions placed upon journalists, human rights activists and
diplomats trying to obtain access to West Papua’.
‘As you know, nongovernmental organizations, the media and foreign
officials can act as witnesses to and bulwarks against human rights
abuses as well as agents of change. So, the failure of these
individuals to gain unobstructed access to the country hinders Papuans'
stories of human rights abuse, quashing of civil liberties and
inability to express their right to self-determination from coming to
the fore,’ they said.
The two Congressmen called upon the UN Security Council to ‘address the
security concerns posed by human rights abuse in West Papua’ and to
appoint a senior official to pursue senior-level dialogue between the
Indonesian Government and Papuan leaders to be mediated by a Security
Council representative.
The concerns about unreasonable restrictions on international access
were repeated by the two Congressmen in a letter to President Yudhoyono
dated 10 March 2008. The letter also drew attention to the failure of
special autonomy and the misuse of force by the military epitomised by
Faleomavaega’s experiences during his visit.