President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has reiterated that he will not
pursue dialogue with any party intending to push for a referendum or
plebiscite in Papua.
“We can engage in dialogue to achieve
progress on development, people’s welfare and justice. I constantly have
dialogue with their leaders, but there is no room for discussion about a
referendum or the like,” Yudhoyono stressed as he spoke in front of
around 1,000 students from the Indonesian Military (TNI) Commando
Institute and
National Police Field Officers Institute at the TNI Army Officers Institute in Bandung, West Java, on Friday.
Yudhoyono’s
statement was in response to a question from one of the students
regarding the government’s stance regarding the frequent human rights
violations allegedly committed by military and police personnel in
Papua.
Yudhoyono said the tasks carried out by the TNI and
National Police in Papua and West Papua were part of overall efforts to
uphold security and justice in the Unitary State of the Republic of
Indonesia (NKRI).
“The duties of the National Police and the TNI
in Papua are to maintain security, protect residents, combat crime and
uphold the law as part of their state duties,” he said.
During
the occasion, Yudhoyono denied the notion put forward by some foreign
entities that the conflict in Papua was due to the stifling of freedom
of speech.
“If there is a movement in Papua to split, it’s called
separatism; it’s not freedom of speech. It is against the spirit to
maintain state sovereignty, including Papua,” he said.
A
referendum, the so-called Act of Free Choice, was held in Papua between
March and August 1969 at the end of the Dutch era. The results claimed
that the majority of Papuans freely chose to have Papua become part of
Indonesia. The United Nations ratified the results of the referendum in
its assembly the following November.
According to Yudhoyono,
since he took office as President, he had actively strengthened
diplomacy with countries in the Pacific region, such as Australia, New
Zealand and Papua New Guinea, plus the United States, regarding matters
on geopolitics in the region.
“Whenever we draw up a memorandum
of understanding [MoU] in the framework of a strategic partnership,
there are always explicit statements from these friendly nations that
they fully support our sovereignty and territorial unity,” he said.
Yudhoyono
added that the Papua plebiscite conducted by the United Nations in 1969
clearly showed that the region was part of Indonesia, and that the
result of the poll was final.
“We must respect the political process implemented by the UN,” he added.
With
regards to the possibility of violence and violations of basic human
rights by TNI or police personnel, Yudhoyono said any party that
violated the law would face sanctions in accordance with the law.
“I
have repeatedly told military and police personnel not to act
excessively, not to break the law or violate human rights. Those who
violate the law, such as professional soldiers in the Middle East, will
face sanctions. At the same time, the state should not assign a task to
soldiers or police that is unauthorized or has the potential to violate
human rights,” he said.
Yudhoyono added that the government had
given real attention to Papua in the form of policies. Since 2005, he
said, a militaristic approach to quell conflicts had been replaced with
an approach more concerned with people’s welfare and the wellbeing of
communities.
“We have granted special autonomy [to Papua]. In
2011 alone, Rp 6 trillion [US$642 million] of the country’s leftover
budget of Rp 26 trillion went on education, while the rest went to
Papua, West Papua, Maluku, North Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara. We are
serious about improving the welfare of our brothers in Papua,” he said.