By: Rebecca Marian)*
The public needs to be aware of foreign intervention in the Papua issue. Papua is part of Indonesia and will never stand alone as a country.
In international relations, Indonesia positions itself as a neutral party, neither extreme left nor right. Indonesia associates with any country and is respected by the international community. However, despite getting along as well as possible, there are parties who actually attack and intervene, especially in the status of Papua.
One of the parties who are keen to intervene in Papua is Vanuatu, a small country near the Fiji Islands, in the Pacific Ocean. The delegation from the archipelagic country attacked the Indonesian delegation at the 76th UN Session in 2021. They allege that there have been violations of human rights (HAM) in Papua so that the territory must be liberated.
The Indonesian delegation immediately responded and replied that there was no such thing as a human rights violation. The accusation is just a heinous slander because there has never been a mass murder or colonization as claimed by Vanuatu and others.
The public must be aware of foreign interference in the Papua issue, especially those who live on the Earth of Cendrawasih. Not all foreign parties are friendly, in fact there are those who deliberately raise the issue of Papua again in international forums, with the aim of getting support for a free Papua.
Jim Peterson, a researcher from Leperssi stated, “We must be aware of the involvement of foreign parties in the propaganda of an independent Papua. I also support the TNI to take firm action against any party that supports separatist groups.”
Apart from Vanuatu, there are other parties who provoke foreigners to support Papuan defections. Benny Wenda, Chairman of the OPM (free Papuan organization) once garnered support from the community in London, England. He held demonstrations and demanded free Papua. He even wooed senior designer Vivienne Westwood to support the demo.
Diaspora (Indonesian people abroad) must straighten this out, because they are unofficial ambassadors for Indonesia. They can explain to people abroad that Benny’s actions are wrong, because he is a rebel. After all, Benny is no longer an Indonesian citizen.
People in Indonesia are asked not to be provoked because that is their goal, to disrupt Indonesia’s sovereignty. The presence of the apparatus in Papua is to protect the community with the Cartenz Peace Operation, so that the separatist and terrorist groups, known as KST, do not disturb civilians. With security from the apparatus, the people feel safe from KST.
It is not true that the presence of the apparatus actually scares the public, because they have come to secure Papua. The presence of the army and police is to maintain the sovereignty of the country. Not to change the face of Papua to be like in Tanah Rencong, when there was an Aceh military operation area that was in effect during the New Order. So, residents outside Papua should not be provoked by foreign slander.
Papua is part of Indonesia and is legal, both under national and international law. According to national law, Papua became a province in Indonesia, because the majority of the people wanted to join Indonesia, after a popular vote was held in 1969. Meanwhile, according to international law, the entire territory of the former Dutch colony belongs to Indonesia, including Papua.
People in Papua are also expected not to be provoked by foreign parties, because they are Indonesian citizens so they must be loyal to the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. The government has provided a lot of infrastructure for Papua, especially in the era of President Jokowi’s administration, the indigenous people there are very concerned.
We must be wary of foreign intervention that wants to interfere in the Papua issue. Papua is an official province in Indonesia and will never be independent. The reason is because the area is already legal in the eyes of national and international law.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Jakarta
