To Indonesian President Joko Widodo, State Palace

Respectfully,

Once upon a time, President Joko Widodo said he would put an end to uncertainty and commit to a sustained transition to create a way forward for an outstanding Indonesia, reaffirming the ideology of the Pancasila and Trisakti principles of Indonesia’s independence movement.

Once upon a time Joko Widodo spoke of his vision for a sovereign, independent and singular Indonesia, based on the practice of community mutual aid known as ‘gotong royong’. To shape this vision as a path to change, he came up with nine priorities, which he called Nawacita.

Today (22 January 2016) we have read or listened to the President as he launched stage 3 of the ‘Investment Creates Jobs’ programme in Wonogiri, Central Java. The government announces that 10 factories and private companies were involved in this programme,comprising eight foreign investors and the other two from Indonesia. Three of these companies have operations in the Land of Papua: PT Nabire Baru in Nabire and PT Bio Inti Agrindo in Merauke (in Papua Province), and PT ANJ Agri Papua in South Sorong, West Papua Province. All three are investing in the oil palm plantation business.

We, as Papuan Indigenous People and activists in civil society organisations, are both anxious and angry at the President’s programme, because it does not meet our dreams of security or development for the Land of Papua. It is certain that the decision to go ahead with this programme was taken without dialogue or a collective decision-making process with the Papuan people. This programme has turned away from the promised ideological path and the system which values participative decisions, steered away from the path towards an outstanding Indonesia and has fallen back into the shackles of a neoliberal economic system which benefits the wealthy few and impoverishes the vast majority.

In our experience, there is ample evidence that the presence of these companies has yet to fully bring any meaningful social or economic benefits that would lead to a higher quality of life for Papuan indigenous people and the natural environment. The Land of Papua has been turned into a playing field where investors and the officials who support them are free to extort, as the indigenous people become mere spectators and, as conflict breaks out, become victims of human rights violations. Because of this, this programme will cause further pain to those of us who demand change and justice.

Mr President, these three companies have been in conflict with local communities since they first started their operations, because they use underhand tactics of manipulation and intimidation, are involved with forest crimes, use fire to clear land, clear areas which are local people’s food sources, cut the forest in sacred sites and destroy the cultural rituals which are part of indigenous Papuans’ lives. The presence of these companies also brings conflict, and criminalisation as indigenous landowners are arbitrarily detained under various accusations or are stigmatised as OPM guerilla fighters, in a way that diminishes Papuan people’s dignity. Indigenous communities are exposed to violence, leading to human rights violations. What’s more, two of the companies mentioned are currently facing legal processes as a result of community complaints: PT Nabire Baru in the Jayapura administrative court and PT ANJ Agri Papua in the Sorong District Court.

These companies which the state has chosen to prioritize also don’t help to improve the situation of women in the villages, rather they make it worse. Sources of clean water disappear or are polluted, making women and children more vulnerable to illness. The community are further from areas they can garden, harvest sago or go hunting in the forest, which makes it harder for them to access quality foodstuffs, and they easily fall victim to diseases such as anaemia, whooping cough, malnutrition and rheumatism, which attack women and children first since their work inside and outside the house has become more demanding. Violence towards women is still a serious problem in our land, and is aggravated by the arrival of companies, as the community’s access is limited and they feel threatened by rules and verbal aggression from police, military and company security guards.

A serious threat from this programme is that it will bring thousands of workers from outside Papua which will add to the social, economic and political pressure on Papuan indigenous people, whose fundamental rights are still not protected or respected. What’s more, bringing in workers without changing the low wage structure and with poor protection for workers’ rights will not only create structural problems, but also cause horizontal disputes with local communities and increase pressure on the environment.

We take the view that this programme has back-tracked from the promises of nawacita and ignores indigenous Papuans’ constitutional rights. The government has failed to bring about or create a feeling of security amongst indigenous Papuans, it just takes the side of private companies, even when they are breaking the law. This programme demonstrates the government’s inability to develop Indonesia from the periphery and weakens village development. It had discarded the dream of building Indonesia based on linkages of a sovereign and autonomous popular economy. It has diverged far from the wellbeing-based approach which Papuans had imagined.

Because of this, we request that the President calls a halt to this programme that conflicts with a sense of justice, is out of place in a popular economy framework and has the potential to stir up conflict. In particular, we ask the President the following: First of all, examine the permits and operations of corporations that use forest, land, mining or marine resources, and bring to justice and punish those companies which have clearly violated indigenous Papuans’ fundamental rights or violate legal regulations, causing losses for the nation. Secondly, review the various cooperation agreements between companies and police or military to guard their area. Thirdly, develop policy for a just and sustainable people’s economic empowerment, accelerate and expand the creation of schools and specialist education, increase teaching staff, and health centres and quality medical staff in Papua. Fourthly, a meaningful dialogue involving the whole of Papuan society including the grassroots, to elaborate any plans for development and use of natural resources in the land of Papua together.

So ends this open letter. We hope that the President will act wisely in his decisions and meet our requests. Thankyou

Jayapura, Papua,

22 January 2016