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ICJ Australia acknowledges what is now widely recognised - that the so-called “Act of Free Choice” conducted by the Indonesian Government in West Papua in 1969 was a complete sham. It did not meet the terms of the 1962 New York Agreement between the Netherlands and the Republic of Indonesia, nor did it meet the international standards for a genuine act of self-determination.
After the formation of the Indonesian State in 1949, the Dutch had retained West Papua and had started to prepare the people of that territory for independence, organising elections and recognising a flag. After Indonesia took over the administration of the territory in 1963, they banned the West Papuan flag and abolished the elected representative National Council. Indonesia proceeded to stage-manage the “Act of Free Choice”.
Under the terms of the New York Agreement, Indonesia was supposed to consult representative bodies on the procedure to be followed. Under the agreement, all adults were to be eligible to participate in the act of self-determination, which was to be conducted in accordance with international practice. In fact, Indonesia relied on councils whose members it appointed, to select additional members to ‘represent’ all West Papuans. No democratic elections were held. No referendum took place. Altogether about 1,025 of these selected ‘representatives’ met in eight separate regional meetings under tight military control, where they expressed their wish for integration with Indonesia rather than independence. The UN, which was supposed to advise and participate in the arrangements, in fact looked on helplessly. Australia prevented two West Papuan leaders from travelling to the United Nations in New York to explain this travesty and to present the case for independence.
By these means, the West Papuan people were denied their right to self-determination. Australia has never condemned it.
Since 1969, the West Papuans have been subjected to many human rights violations at the hands of the Indonesian military and security forces, their traditional lands have been occupied by large numbers of transmigrants from other parts of Indonesia, their resources have been exploited mainly for the benefit of others (in particular by the Freeport Mine) and their environment has been degraded by mining activities. The symbolic act of defiance in raising the West Papuan flag carries heavy prison sentences.
As a result of military crackdowns at various times, many thousands of West Papuan refugees have fled across the border into Papua New Guinea, and many remain there. ICJ Australia visited PNG on three occasions to assess the situation of these refugees. (See Seeking Refuge; the Status of West Papuans in Papua New Guinea, Report of the January 2003 Joint Mission of ICJ Australia and the Australian Council for Refugees to Papua New Guinea, 2003, and earlier reports).
Indonesia does not permit independent human rights bodies to visit West Papua, a factor which has prevented ICJ Australia from visiting the province to learn first hand about the situation. In 2001 ICJ Australia was invited by a local human rights organisation to send representatives to observe the trial of Theys Eluay (a West Papuan leader) and others. However, Indonesia refused to grant visas to an eminent ICJ delegation. Later, Theys Eluay was murdered, and it is widely believed that the security forces or Indonesian-backed militia were responsible. Journalists are regularly denied access to the West Papua province. Requests for visits by the special procedures of the (now replaced) UN Commission on Human Rights have had no response.
In 2005 ICJ Australia met in Sydney with a senior office holder of the Fellowship of Baptist Churches of West Papua. He informed us about recent and continuing abuses committed against the people of West Papua by Kopassus (Indonesia’s special commando forces), including intimidation, imprisonment, torture, rape, killings and disappearances. These are fully described in a report he presented to ICJ Australia: Systematic Genocide of the Indigenous People of West Papua under Special Autonomy, Melbourne, 15 April 2005. That representative returned to West Papua and has recently informed ICJ Australia of further violent incidents, threats and intimidation, directed against himself and others.
The numerous violations of human rights committed by the Indonesian forces, including extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, arson, destruction and theft of property, have been well documented, for example:
- Indonesian Human Rights Abuses in West Papua: Application of the Law of Genocide to the History of Indonesian Control, Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic, Yale Law School, November 2003
- Genocide in West Papua? The role of the Indonesian state apparatus and a current needs assessment of the Papuan people by John Wing with Peter King. A report prepared for the West Papua Project at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney, and ELSHAM Jayapura, Papua. August 2005
Special autonomy was offered to the West Papuans by the Indonesian Government, with the prospect that it could provide a new future for them within the Republic of Indonesia. Special autonomy has been seen by certain western governments, including Australia, as meeting the needs of the West Papuans. If pursued in good faith by Indonesia, it may have perhaps given them a real opportunity to determine their own future. But instead of implementing the Special Autonomy law, the Indonesian Government decided in 2003 to divide the province into three. Although the Constitutional Court held the relevant law unconstitutional and invalid as from the date of its decision (11 November 2004), the decision is ambiguous about the legal status of “West Irian Jaya”. The continued existence of this entity appears to be contrary to the Special Autonomy law.
A recent report from the International Crisis Group explains how Indonesia has undermined the autonomy package by dividing the province into three parts and by failing to engage positively with the new Papuan People’s Council (Majelis Rakyat Papua, MRP) - Papua: The Dangers of Shutting Down Dialogue, International Crisis Group, Update Briefing, Asia Briefing No 47, Jakarta/Brussels, 23 March 2006.
Meanwhile the Indonesian Government has continued to build up the militarisation of West Papua and has allowed the threats of violence and actual abuse from the Indonesian military to continue with impunity.
ICJ Australia believes that unless the Government of Indonesia makes genuine efforts to make special autonomy succeed for the West Papuans at the practical level, the demand for self-determination and independence will continue to be a source of unrest in the province and will lead to human rights abuses and further suffering of the people.
ICJ Australia calls on the Government of Indonesia to end the militarisation of West Papua, and to engage with the leaders of the community, including the MRP, in a genuine dialogue about the full implementation of the Special Autonomy package. An independent third party mediator should be called in to facilitate these discussions.
ICJ Australia further calls on the Australian Government to offer assistance in establishing a dialogue between the Indonesian Government and the West Papuans, and in securing the assistance of an independent mediator. It should offer aid and assistance to the West Papuan people in implementing an agreed Special Autonomy package.
In the meantime, Indonesia should open the territory of West Papua to all the UN human rights mechanisms to assess the human rights situation in the territory.
12 April 2006
ICJ Reports and Publications:
Good News for West Papuan Refugees living in PNG - July 2007 - In April 2007, an ICJ delegation met with Ms Wallaya Pura, the UNHCR representative in Port Moresby. Ms Pura has been working actively with the PNG Government to seek the withdrawal of their 1986 reservations to the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. She is hopeful that 5 of the 7 reservations will be withdrawn soon (though perhaps not before the election). [Read More ...]
MEDIA - WEST PAPUA - WHAT NEXT? - 31 May 2006 - The Federal government’s promise to Indonesia to stop West Papuan refugees fleeing to Australia highlights this long-festering humanitarian crisis on our doorstep. ICJ Australia holds a forum on West Papua
REPORT - Seeking Refuge; the Status of West Papuans in Papua New Guinea - Report of the January 2003 Joint Mission of ICJ Australia and the Australian Council for Refugees to Papua New Guinea, 2003
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West Papua 
