Letter from the Dutch Min. of Foreign Affair to the Chairman of the House of Representatives concerning the situation in West Papua.
http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/ministeries/bz/documenten-en-publicaties/kamerstukken/2011/12/22/kamerbrief-over-de-situatie-in-papua.html
Translation Pro Papua
To: De voorzitter van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal
(The Chairman of the House of Representatives)
Binnenhof 4
Den Haag
Date: 22 December 2011
From: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Directie Azië en Oceanië
Postbus 20061
The Hague
Contact: Martine van Hoogstraten
Concerns: the situation in Papua
Our reference: DAO-522
Referring to the request of the Committee of Foreign Affairs* of December 22nd concerning the situation in Papua I inform you herewith.
Although the human rights situation in Papua has improved somewhat in recent years - since mid 2005 no large-scale military operations have been conducted - the number of incidents seems to increase in the last couple of months.
It remains unclear whether these are the results of a growing number of actions of the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (Papua Liberation Organisation, OPM), to which army safety troops are responding to.
The developments in Papua are being discussed by The Netherlands on a regular basis in almost all encounters with the Indonesian government, both bilaterally and through the European Union. In this respect The Netherlands expressed its concern about the severe punishments that were inflicted upon peaceful demonstrators and for hoisting the Morning Star flag. Also in the European Union human rights dialogue Papua is an important issue on the agenda.
As a result of the latest news a large number of talks have been conducted by the Jakarta embassy with the authorities, human rights organisations and with local Papuan activists. In short I refer to the answers on the questions of Member of Parliament Kortenoeven (PVV party), which have been given today. These questions refer to the way in which substance is given to the resolution Kortenoeven concerning Papua.
The Netherlands acknowledge the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Indonesia. The provinces of Papua and West-Papua are a part of the Republic of Indonesia. The Netherlands are striving for collaboration with Indonesia concerning the provinces of Papua and West-Papua in order to implement the Special Autonomy Law for Papua of 2001 (OTSUS).
The task of the recently founded coordination unit UP4B is to accelerate the implementation of the Special Autonomy Law, aiming to promote political, cultural and social economic developments in the provinces of Papua and West-Papua. The unit explicitly demanded from the international donor community support for the action plan that was drafted.
Generally speaking we see a lagging social and economic development in Papua. The social and economic developments in Papua continue to be important issues in the political dialogue. Also the various multilateral programs contribute to an improvement of the well-being of the population in Papua.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Dr. U. Rosenthal
* (Permanent Committee of Foreign Affairs with spokesmen/women of all political parties – Pro Papua)