Asia-Pacific
Leaks show Indonesia military abuse
Memos revealed by WikiLeaks show US diplomats aware of extensive corruption and
rights violations in West Papua.
Yasmine Ryan Last Modified: 23 Dec 2010 11:06 GMT
US officials describe the Indonesian military as being a virtually autonomous
government entity in West Papua [EPA]
The US government's decision to renew military ties with Indonesia was made in
spite of serious concerns expressed by its diplomats about the Indonesian
military's activities in the province of West Papua.
Memos from the US embassy in Jakarta leaked to the whistleblowing website
WikiLeaks show that US diplomats hold Jakarta responsible for "chronic
underdevelopment" and for causing instability in West Papua.
WikiLeaks released the cables to the Australian newspaper The Age.
Corruption is rife in the Indonesian army, the US officials acknowledge
repeatedly in the documents.
They describe the military as being a virtually autonomous government entity in
West Papua and are strongly dubious of the Indonesian authorities' assertion of
"justice" in the province.
Deepened security ties
Earlier in the year, the US lifted a 12-year ban on ties with Indonesia's elite
military forces.
Contact was resumed with the Kopassus unit, a decision the US state department
said was based on an improvement in its human rights record.
When the news of renewed military co-operation was announced, activists warned
of the potentially "dangerous" consequences for the Papuan people.
Yet Barack Obama, the US president, went ahead with a state visit to Indonesia
in November, deepening security ties by formalising the "comprehensive
partnership" between Indonesia and the US.
His visit followed the admission in October by Indonesian authorities that the
men who filmed themselves torturing a West Papuan man were indeed Indonesian
soldiers.
"Through this partnership, the two Presidents are opening a new era of
bilateral relations between Indonesia and the United States for the long-term,
based on mutual respect, common interests, and shared values," the White House
said in a statement.
The US cut ties with the military unit under what is known as the Leahy law.
The legislation, approved in 1997, banned US training for foreign military
units accused of human rights violations. It can only be waived if the
Secretary of State certifies that the foreign authorities take "effective
measures" against those suspected of abuses.
'Separatist aspirations' widespread
Yet underneath the public show of confidence, the leaked cables reveal US
diplomats were consistently highlighting human rights abuses in the disputed
territory.
The US government may officially continue to support Indonesia's "territorial
integrity"- Obama reaffirmed this stance during his visit last month - but the
leaked documents suggest it understands the underlying reasons for widespread
"separatist aspirations" among the Papuan people.
The US embassy in Jakarta wrote in a September 2009 cable that "the region is
politically marginalised and many Papuans harbour separatist aspirations".
"Many central government ministries have been reluctant to cede power to the
province. As a result, implementation of the [Special Autonomy] law has lagged
and Papuans increasingly view the law as a failure."
Indeed, an estimated 10,000 Papuans gathered in June to protest the special
autonomy.
Likewise, the embassy's assessment of the reaction to a 2006 riot is clear in
its condemnation:
"It is clear that the police rounded up a miscellany of perceived
trouble-makers and random individuals and that the prosecutors and judges then
railroaded them in a farcical show trial."
The military is actively involved in illegal logging and drug smuggling in
neighbouring Papua New Guinea, according to a government official quoted in a
2006 cable.
Corruption allegations confirmed
Officials from the US mine Freeport-McMoRan (whose presence in West Papua is
contested amongst the local people, who say it is complicit in the repression
of their rights) confirmed allegations that it has paid millions of dollars to
members of the Indonesian security forces to help "protect" its operations.
"Only lightly touched by a scant regulatory regime, and cloaked in the
protection of the military, Freeport has managed to maintain a nearly
impenetrable redoubt on the easternmost Indonesian province as it taps one of
the country's richest assets," The New York Times reported in an investigative
article published in 2005.
One senior mine official confirmed the existence of such payments to Dan
Bowman, the senior vice-president Freeport Indonesia. He told US diplomats a
month after the article appeared that the:
"Main allegations about direct payments by the company to military and
police officials are true but misleading
the military and police did not have
institutional bank accounts into which Freeport could deposit funds, so they
were forced to make payments directly to the commanding officers responsible
for security at the mine."
A cable from April 2007 confirmed that the company was still paying "voluntary
support allowances" to police charged with protecting the mine.
Freeport began mining in West Papua in 1966, three years before Jakarta annexed
the territory.
Foreign journalists are banned by the Indonesian government from travelling to
Papua.
Source:
Al Jazeera
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