Reiner Brabar, Jayapura --- The presence of the Republic of Indonesia in the Land of Papua is considered to have caused the indigenous Papuan people to continue to experience suffering on their own ancestral land.
This statement was asserted by protesters from the Papuan People's Liberation Movement (GempaR) and the Papuan Student Movement (Germapa) when they held a peaceful demonstration to commemorate World Indigenous Peoples Day at the Abepura traffic circle in Jayapura city, Papua, on Monday August 10.
One of the action participants, Markus Dogomo, said that so far state policies have been unable to provide a sense of security and protection for indigenous Papuan people.
"The presence of the Indonesian state makes the Papuan people suffer on their own land", said Dogomo during the action.
According to Dogomo, the Papuan people do not need a military approach to solving various problems in the Land of Papua. He called for all military troops to be withdrawn from Papua.
"The Papuan people do not need protection by the military. Apart from Allah and nature, all military troops [should be] immediately be withdrawn", he asserted.
Dogomo also touched on government development programs including National Strategic Projects (PSN), which have the potential to threaten the living space of Papua's indigenous people.
He asked the government to stop PSN programs entering the Papua region.
"The Land of Papua is not Indonesian land, so the Indonesian president's program related to PSN in the Land of Papua [must be] stopped immediately", he said.
Encourage indigenous solidarity
Meanwhile, another participant in the action, Yuli Bunai, said that commemoration of World Indigenous Peoples Day was a momentum to convey to the world the importance of solidarity in fighting for the rights of indigenous peoples.
According to Bunai, this struggle covers various aspects, from economic, social, cultural to recognition of the political status of indigenous peoples.
She said that protecting these rights is important to maintain the self-esteem, identity and sustainability of an ethnic group.
Bunai continued emphasising that the indigenous Papuan people have experienced trauma for decades due to conflict and the security approach that the state continues to implement in the Land of Papua.
"Since Indonesia forced the Papuan people into the framework of the NKRI [Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia], Indonesia has never provided safe space for indigenous people in Papua. For more than 60 years indigenous Papuan people have lived in trauma because this country has always used identity politics and a militaristic approach", she said.
Bunai also highlighted the management of natural resources in Papua. She believes that economic interests and the exploitation of natural resources are more dominant than the development of human resources and the protection of the existence of indigenous communities.
"During Indonesia's occupation in Papua, the state only thinks about profits from the exploitation of natural resources. They did not think about human resources and the existence of their indigenous communities", said Bunai.
The commemoration of World Indigenous Peoples Day was used as a momentum for GempaR and Germapa to once again voice the issue of customary land, protection of indigenous peoples, the presence of security forces, as well as various development policies which were considered to have an impact on the living space of the Papuan people.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Massa Aksi: Kehadiran Negara Indonesia Membuat Masyarakat Adat Papua Menderita".]
