Recently, the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) has been lying a lot by spreading untrue news (hoaxes), both on online media and social media. ULMWP spokesperson, Benny Wenda issued a statement that the Indonesian government had committed genocide against indigenous Papuans (OAP).
The ULMWP group stated that there had been a slowdown in the increase in population in Papua as a result of acts of genocide carried out by the Indonesian government. However, the actual facts show that the population of Papua continues to increase from year to year. This shows that ULMWP’s accusations are not true. On the contrary, people increasingly have the freedom to practice their own culture and religion without significant obstacles.
ULMWP Executive Secretary, Markus Haluk said that Papua had been colonized for six decades and the majority of Papuans supported separation. Markus also stated that the majority of Papuans dream of independence from Indonesia. ULMWP also created a petition with the aim of attracting international sympathy so that their struggle to liberate Papua would be noticed internationally.
Deputy Chairman II of the MPR, Max Abner Ohee, responded to Markus’ statement that this did not reflect the full voice of the Papuan people. Max also stated that this view was wrong and did not reflect the reality on the ground. Many elements of Papuan society have different views from the ULMWP and are more supportive of unity with Indonesia.
Deputy Chairman of the MPR from the Democratic Party Fraction, Syarief Hasan also opposed the statement made by Benny Wenda regarding the declaration of independence for West Papua. According to him, West Papua is still legal Indonesian territory. He said that the Government must immediately take strong action and be legally processed under the Law of the Republic of Indonesia against the actions taken by Benny Wenda, who declared himself the Interim President of West Papua, as well as his actions in spreading hoax news.
Syarief also said that the actions of Benny Wenda and the ULMWP had violated the UN’s legal decision regarding the results of the Papuan people’s referendum which designated Papua and West Papua as Indonesian territory in 1969. Syarief said that Benny’s steps were not justified by international rules.
Papua and West Papua are legal provinces of Indonesia which are inseparable parts of Indonesia. Meanwhile, the movement that seeks to separate Papua and West Papua from Indonesia is a movement that violates the NKRI constitution and the international constitution. All Papuan people are asked not to be provoked by the ULMWP movement led by Benny Wenda.
It is hoped that native Papuans will not be influenced by this petition, because in fact OAP already feel very safe in carrying out their daily lives together with the regional government assisted by the central government. Overall, there is nothing that makes the Papuan people stressed in carrying out their daily lives.
If there are violations of Human Rights (HAM) they actually originate/are carried out by separatist groups themselves who want to violate the law. The Security Forces only carry out their duties to maintain the security of the Papua region so that it remains peaceful without any disturbance. Their actions have led to politics that want Papua to leave Indonesia. The number of these groups is not significant and does not represent the Papuan people.
OAP must ignore the petition issued by ULMWP, that their movement is only for personal and group interests, not for the interests of the Papuan people. In this way, with the participation of the Papuan people in developing Papua, the Papuan people will be able to stand on an equal footing with other provinces in Indonesia.
Therefore, the Papuan people, both indigenous Papuans who consist of various tribes, and migrant communities living in Papua, work together to develop the land of Cenderawasih so that it can compete with other regions and advance Indonesia.
ULMWP’s accusation of genocide is a cruel lie and slander. In order to refute this, the Government continues to make every effort to develop Papua from all sides, both physically and mentally, and Papua also receives the same treatment as other provinces in the country.
Once again, there is no genocide committed by the government against the Papuan people as alleged by the ULMWP. We must unite with the regional government and central government to develop Papua more advanced for the welfare of its people.
The Papuan people are part of the people of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. The government has committed to paying more attention to the Papuan people. Equal distribution of development and economy throughout Indonesia, carried out by the Government, must continue to be improved. This equitable development is of course a form of the Government’s responsibility and attention to all Indonesian people.
Based on President Joko Widodo’s statement, which emphasized that the Land of Papua is the government’s priority in realizing Indonesia-centric development. Not only does it cost quite a lot of money, but time, energy, thoughts and lives have been sacrificed by the government and security forces to advance Papua and protect its people.
