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| West Papua's "Morning Star" Flag |
By Sally Andrews
Will the Indonesian president’s reform agenda address human rights concerns in the troubled province?
As one of his first official actions as Indonesia’s president-elect, Joko Widodo announced his intention to build a presidential palace in West Papua. As one of the most impoverished regions in the archipelago, with the highest levels of HIV/AIDS in Indonesia, sluggish economic growth and continued difficulty in accessing healthcare, skepticism surrounding the utility of Widodo’s gesture has not been unjustified.
Early indications of Widodo’s position towards allegations of indigenous massacres, impunity for military violence, and the ongoing separatist tensions would seem to suggest that “Jokowi,” as he is popularly known, is adopting a development approach to Papua: Focus on growth, invest in basic infrastructure, and hope the accusations die down. Even from this angle, however, questions as to why Papua’s resource-rich territories have remained entrenched in permanent under-development continue to plague the regime. With high profile Melanesian activists, international human rights agencies, and a vibrant online independence movement calling for a referendum in the Papuan provinces, the success of Jokowi’s presidency may ultimately hinge upon how he manages “the Papuan problem.” A recent visit, in which he questioned the accuracy of a report offered by local security forces on recent violence, represents a glimmer of hope that perhaps Jokowi will break with the policies of past Indonesian leaders.
Claimed as colonies of the Netherlands in 1828, modern Indonesia and West Papua were occupied as part of the Dutch East Indies trading empire until World War II. After two young nationalists, future president Sukarno and future vice president Mohammad Hatta, seized the chance to declare the independence of Indonesia in August 1945, international mediation eventually compelled the Dutch to recognize the new nation at the 1949 Hague Round Table Conference. The Netherlands ceded control of the vast archipelago, with one important exception; the Dutch declined to grant jurisdiction of West Papua to Indonesia.
Read the full story at The Diplomat