The issue of West Papua genocide or ethnic extermination by the authorities is still coloring the issue of Papua. This issue has warmed up again ahead of the visit of the delegations of Foreign Ministers from the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) countries to Papua.
Actually, organizations are still “guarding” this issue because it is an old one. It is for an independent Papua to put the Indonesian government in the hot seat with the rest of the world.
West Papua Genocide Statement by the Papuan Customary Council’s Chairman
Let’s look at the statement of Forkorus Yaboisembut (Chairman of the Papuan Customary Council). He is currently serving a sentence in the Abepura Prison in Papua due to the act of treason he committed three years ago.
He declared the establishment of ‘the state of West Papua’ in a forum called the Papuan People’s Congress in Zakeus Field, Abepura, Papua.
Orang Asli Papua (OAP) cannot be said to have experienced a West Papua genocide, but OAP is heading that way,” Forkorus told in early March two years ago.
The OAP had a total population of around 800 hundred and several thousand individuals in 1969. At the same time, PNG is approximately 9 hundred thousand people. He also admitted that currently, the growth of the native population of PNG is around 7.7 million people, while the number of OAP is still at 1.8 million.
According to Forkorus, the current population of OAP should be around 6 million people if there had not been a process of ethnic cleansing or genocide (Jubi, October 15, 2012).
If we don’t critically read Forkorus’ statement above, we will spontaneously agree with Forkorus’ accusation.
No Media Broadcasts About West Papua Genocide
If a genocide in West Papua occurs, the national and international media will broadcast the facts, not silence them, because the media’s job is to report facts, not opinions and fantasies. Delusion of validation to elicit empathy from the local and global population.
If it is true that there has been a West Papua genocide, why don’t Papuan people throughout Indonesia run away for fear of being executed? Why are native Papuan students still studying in Papua and other provinces in Indonesia still carrying out their daily activities?
What does KOMNAS HAM Say?
The Commissioner of the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission, Sandra Moniaga, stated that in 2016 Papua was not only an emergency for freedom of expression. As concluded by the Setara Institute survey, Papua was also an emergency for human rights, which had nothing to do with genocide.
Sandra said the victims in Papua varied. Gross human rights breaches, violence against women, violence against children, confiscation of land, and other forms of abuse have victims.
Additionally, since genocide is not a fact, even if it is said that there is evidence of a grave breach, this does not mean that there has been genocide.
There is No Genocide in the Land of Papua
According to a statement from the OPM group, the sluggish development of the indigenous Papuan population, which by this point should have reached 5 million people like the population of Papua New Guinea, is evidence of genocide.
Not 2 million people like today. It is an unscientific and stupid statement. Why is another person’s place or country used as a reference for population growth? What’s worse, they claim that the addition of indigenous Papuans is slow because there are indications of genocide.
One of the signals from the indigenous Papuans, who are also OPM leaders, is the issue of the poor population increase of indigenous Papuans. They do not want to marry of their ethnicity and race.
Not to mention other Papuans who are not married to native Papuans, which automatically no longer exist as native Papuans as they want.
Additionally, the OPM must know that the existing regional leaders in Papua are Papuan individuals. It indicates that native Papuans are in charge in Papua. Would they have the courage to end the genocide if it occurred?
Wrapping Up
There was no West Papua genocide by the government against the Papuan people. To develop Papua, we have teamed up with the regional and national governments. Leave the thought of leaving the country of Indonesia as the OPM did.
Ignore the petition offered by the OPM, that their movement is only for their interests, not the interests of the Papuan people. Thus, with the participation of the Papuan people in developing Papua, the Papuan people will be able to stand on par with other provinces in Indonesia.
