Bintang Papua, 5 July 2011
EVERYONE AGREES THAT DIALOGUE IS THE BEST WAY
The Papua Peace Conference which was held on the initiative of the Papua Peace Network and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, LIPI, and took place at the Cenderawasih University was opened with a keynote speech by Minister-Coordinator for Politics and Law, Djoko Suyanto and addressed by eight other speakers.
Report by Jainuri, Bintang Papua
The striking thing was that the participants were agreed that dialogue is the best way to resolve the Papuan problem with dignity.
However, there were many ideas about the concept of dialogue. Does this mean internal dialogue among Papuans,or dialogue between Papuans and the people who have come from outside, or dialogue between the Papuan people and the Indonesian government facilitated by a neutral body such as was the case with the dialogue between GAM, the Acehnese Freedom Movement, and the central government. There were many different views among the participants.
The minister-coordinator who came to Papua especially to attend the conference was invited to explain his perception about Papua, a Land of Peace.Others who spoke included the governor of Papua, the chief of police of Papua, the military commander of Military Command XVII who was represented by the chief of staff/Kasdam, the chairman of the Alliance of Baptist Churches in Papua, the Bishop of Papua, and the chairman of DAP, the Customary Papuan Council
The minister-coordinator said that differences of opinion or differences of ideology should not resolved by violence which would only be divisive and spread feelings of animosity.
'A resolution without violence (dialogue) is in line with the spirit of democracy as the way to resolve differences,' he said. He went on to say that democracy that has been in place since the reformation in 1998 has transformed the process of democracy. ' In the era of reformation which has been underway for the past ten years, people's aspirations have been given space and are guaranteed by law.' But in giving express to their opinions or aspirations, people should not violate the law. 'People should express their aspirations in a civilised fashion.'
This means recognising the rights of other people. 'That is to say, this should be done by peaceful means without infringing other people's interests.'
The Governor of Papua, Barnabas Suebu, made an even firmer statement to the effect that dialogue is the best way to solve all conflicts. 'The history of Papua is replete with conflict, some of which emerged naturally while others were deliberately created.'
'The Papuan people are full of character which has lead to many paradoxes. 'While bureaucrats are very happy with all the money made available under the special autonomy (OTSUS) law, the people have been living in poverty and complaining loudly about this.' On the one hand, there is a feeling of strength of everyone together while on the other hand we are divded among ourselves which makes us weak,' he said. 'Another paradox is that there are horizontal conflicts and social conflicts within the community.' As regards the way to overcome these unfortunate conditions, the only way is through dialogue, he said. 'It's no use crying about all this; we must sit down together and look for the way out; the best way out is by preserving genuine peace,' he said. This is the way to ensure people's welfare and justice for everyone.'
He went on to say that dialogue is the very essence of the culture of the Papuan people. 'Dialogue in the best way, the dignified way, the way that safeguards us against having to make unnecessary sacrifices. 'This forum is a forum for dialogue and we must find the best criteria, the best way forward to resolve the conflicts that continue to exist.'
The chief of police Police Inspector-General Bekto Suprapto, expressed similar views. and the chief of staff of Cenderawasih XVII, Birgadier-General Hidayat R. talked about what he thought was the best way to achieve a peaceful Papua.
During the second session, religious leaders were given the opportunity to speak. This included the Bishop of Papua Leo Labaladjar and a representative of the Papuan Muslim Council, Tony Wanggai, who presented their opinions about the role of religion, the essential ingredient of which is universal peace.
During the third session, the discussion became more heated with speeches by the Rev. Socrates S Yoman, chairman of the Alliance of Baptist Churches in Papua , and the chairman of DAP, the Customary Council of Papua, Forkorus Yoboisembut. Much of what they said during their speeches was greeted with loud applause as an expression of agreement with what they were saying..
Socrates spoke about what he thought was the key and basic problem in Papua. 'I would like to express my appreciation to the chief of police Bekto Suprapto in identifying one of the problems in Papua, that is the differences of opinion about how Papua was incorporated into NKRI, the Unitary Republic of Indonesia., the difference of opinion between the central government and the Papuan people. This is the root of the problem,' he said .
He said that the way to resolve this problem was by dialogue betwen the Indonesian government and the Papuan people, mediated by a neutral third party. During these discussions, nothing should be said about Papua Merdeka or about Papua as an integral part of NKRI. All talk of status should be excluded, he said, as was the case when the Indonesian government held talks with GAM, the Free Aceh Movement, some time ago.
A demonstration took place during the conference
While the conference was underway, the Komite Nasional Papua Barat, the National Committee of West Papua, organised a demonstration during which they expressed their rejection of the conference. This was because it did not include all components of the indigenous Papuan people. After Rev Socrates held a meeting with them during which he expressed his support for the aspirations that had been expressed by this group of about fifty people, he promised to pass on their aspirations. On hearing this, the demonstrators dispersed peacefully.
[Translated by TAPOL]