Papua: Jakarta's Plan For Dialogue With Papua Must Synchronise With Local Papuan Politics

Translated from Indonesia by TAPOL; original below

KontraS, ANBTI, IKOHI, Imparsial, Foker LSM Papua, Setara Institute, HRWG, Komnas Perempuan, FNMPP, IPPMAUS, Forum Papua Kalimantan, PGI, Walhi, JIRA, LBH Pers

Jakarta's Plan for Dialogue with Papua Must Synchronise with local Papuan Politics

 We welcome the plan for a Jakarta-Papua dialogue that is now being pursued by the Indonesian Government.

Peaceful dialogue is the only dignified way to resolve all the political and humanitarian problems that have persisted in Papua to the present day. A dialogue between Jakarta and Papua can also be an indicator of the government's seriousness in protecting and complying with the basic rights of the Papuan people.

 However, we request that the entire process of dialogue should take full account of the aspirations of the Papuan people. In taking the dialogue process forward, we ask that the government consistently protects and complies with the basic rights of the Papua people by ensuring that that there is no repetition of violations of the Papuan human rights. The government should review the presence of the TNI security forces and the under-cover security operations that continue to occur.

On the other hand, we also call for the local political situation in Papua to be reviewed along with the Papua-Jakarta dialogue that is to be undertaken by the government. Building the confidence of the Papuan people in the seriousness of the government is a basic condition before a Jakarta-Papua dialogue can be held.