Hostage-taking in Papua? Ah well, that had escaped us…
Obviously. This Indonesian province usually goes under the radar. But when it brews, it brews…
What exactly happened?
Two weeks ago, a New Zealand airline pilot, Phillip Mark Mehrtens, was kidnapped by a group of West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) rebels as he prepared to carry passengers. We had no news of him, until images of the poor Kiwi were released on Tuesday, in shorts with a hat on his head, surrounded by his captors.
Is that them in the photo? They seem quite nice…
It’s still funny. Papuans have been fighting for independence for more than half a century, usually without too much damage. But in recent years, the level of violence has increased dramatically. In 2018, 20 workers were killed at a highway construction site (the Nduga massacre). In 2021, an Indonesian officer was assassinated. Other hostage-takings ended badly, following the interventions of the Indonesian army. The political showcase of the movement, the Organization for a Free Papua (OPL), says it “condemns” these slippages, starting with the current crisis, “which harms the cause”, according to its spokesperson Raki Ap, attached to the Countries -Down.
WEST PAPUA NATIONAL LIBERATION ARMY PHOTO, SUPPLIED BY REUTERS
Egianus Kogoya, a young rebel commander from West Papua, sitting on the captured plane of New Zealander Philip Mehrtens
But what exactly do the Papuans want?
Simply independence. A Dutch colony since 1898, West Papua was ceded to Indonesia in 1962. This transfer was validated in 1969, following a controversial referendum sponsored by the UN, in which only 1025 inhabitants of the country participated. island, hand-picked by the Indonesian military. A rigged exercise against the backdrop of the Cold War. Pure and simple theft, according to the Papuans, who have since been fighting for their sovereignty, despite a certain degree of autonomy. In 2019, 1.8 million Papuans signed a petition in favor of independence, around 70% of the population of voting age. But Jakarta is adamant and says Indonesia is “one and indivisible”. Warning: do not confuse West Papua (which is an Indonesian province) and Papua-New Guinea, independent since 1974. The two share the same island.
Say, it’s very small, West Papua! Why doesn’t Indonesia return it to the Papuans? They already have 18,110 islands in their archipelago…
Natural resources probably have something to do with it. West Papua is home to one of the largest gold and copper mines in the world (the Grasberg-Freeport mine), and is a major contributor to Indonesia’s pulpwood and palm oil production, Indonesia being the world’s largest producer of palm oil. Jakarta has been increasing the construction of infrastructure in recent years to increase its operations, which contributes to the increase in tensions in the province. The native Papuans are the first victims of these massive extractions, harmful to the ecosystem. According to a UN report from 2022, between 60,000 and 100,000 Papuans have been displaced by the Indonesian army since 2018. The report also mentions “extrajudicial executions, including of children, disappearances and torture”. “It’s genocide in slow motion,” Raki Ap simply summarizes.
And how is Jakarta reacting to this hostage crisis?
Indonesian Minister of Security and Legal Affairs, Mohammad Mahfud, says his government wants to negotiate a way out of the crisis. But he remains inflexible in the face of the claims of the independence group and says “not to exclude other means” to free the hostage. In a video released on Tuesday, the leader of the rebel group, Elgianus Kagoya, promises that Phillip Mark Mehrtens “will be safe as long as Indonesia does not use weapons, whether by air or by land. “. In short, this does not bode well.
Too bad it’s come to this. But at least this crisis has the merit of drawing attention to a poorly understood cause…
This is the whole problem of the Papuans. Their fight is very little covered by the foreign media, banned from entering the island, as are NGOs and humanitarian agencies. “We talk a lot about our Ukrainian brothers and sisters. But what about the abusive colonization that has caused the death of 500,000 Papuans in 60 years? Nobody talks about it,” laments Raki Ap. Despite everything, he remains hopeful. “The facts speak for us. International law is on our side. We have all the elements to win the hearts and minds of the world. It is up to us to make them aware…”
Sources : Stuff, RFI, UN News, Associated Press, Archyde.com, Vice MagazineMongabay, Digital Mining, Wikipedia, The DiplomatZone Bourse, Watson