Obama, Indonesia and Papua

By Oktovianus Pogau*

Obama has already cancelled twice a visit to Indonesia. First, a State visit scheduled from 22 to 24 March 2010 was cancelled as he had to focus his attention on the efforts of getting the Health Insurance Act through U.S. Congress.

Second, the White House again cancelled a planned visit by Obama because he had to devote his full attention to resolving the crisis of the leaking British Petroleum (BP) oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico.

And, for the third time, the number one man in Uncle Sam's country is planning to make a visit to Indonesia. Among the issues which will be discussed, there will be the question of the military co-operation between the United States and the Indonesian military forces (Kopassus).

It is certain now that Obama is scheduled to visit Indonesia for two days and one night, namely from 9 to 10 November 2010.

Obama as a role model

If one looks at the two trips to Indonesia that Obama had to postpone, one sees that it was simply because he chose to solve problems inside his own country. He decided to prioritize the State agenda for the benefit of his own people.

In addition, Obama realizes fully that he became the number one man in a country like the United States because he was elected directly by the people; and not through money politics, money laundering and so forth, practices which are common in a “democratic” country such as Indonesia.

The following question then arises: is there any leader in this country who can follow the example and the behavior of Obama?

On Monday 4 October 2010, Wasior District in West Papua was smashed to smithereens after a flash flood hit the region. Six days later, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was scheduled to visit this area but he abruptly canceled his visit.

On Wednesday 13 October 2010 to be precise, President Yudhoyono visited Wasior in West Papua. But strangely enough, he visited the place and talked to the flood victims for only three hours. That was too short a time for such a visit

As for Vice-President Boediono, he visited Sleman District in the special region of Yogyakarta, where victims had fled the bursts of Mount Merapi. He spoke with the refugees for only five minutes and after that he continued with his journey, even though the refugees had been waiting for him since early morning.

And not to mention the members of the respected House of Representatives who are merrily preparing their trip to go abroad to engage in comparative studies. Would it not be more decent and noble for our honorable councilors to visit the tsunami victims in Mentawai?

We ask ourselves: is this model of government, and of representatives, one which cares for the people?

We would not be wrong if we were to expect that the visit of President Barack Obama to Indonesia will provide important lessons for the leaders of this country, including for the representatives of the people in Parliament. These lessons would enable them to pay attention to basic human rights and to the needs of the citizens of this country as a whole in the event of a disaster.

Obama and Papua

During his childhood years which Obama spent in Indonesia (from 1967 to 1971) Papua was a “volatile” area. It was not clear at the time whether Papua was going to become an independent country or whether it would be part of Indonesia. A number of military operations had been carried out in Papua, with the aim of seizing the territory from Dutch colonial rule.

But then the question arises: why did Obama not mention the matter of Papua and its people in the book which he wrote? Why did he not write about the easternmost province of Indonesia, where PT Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. is operating today, a multinational company owned by the United States?

Maybe he just did not know that the area was inhabited by people of the Melanesian race, a race which shows very similar traits to his own traits, and which most probably have the same origins. Or perhaps he was too small to think of such matters, let alone think about Papua which was very far away, an area out of reach of the mass media.

And this time around, during his State visit to Indonesia, will Obama talk about the humanitarian crisis in Papua?

Several international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International, often call on the international community for the resolution of the recurrent cases of Human Rights violation perpetrated by the Indonesian military in Papua.

A few weeks ago the Indonesian public and the rest of the world were shocked as they were shown a video depicting images of torture, which was circulated on the Internet on YouTube. The video was entitled: "Indonesian Military Torture and Ill-Treat Indigenous Papuans." This video showed how members of the Indonesian military brutally tortured two civilians who were suspected of being members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM).

The benefits of the visit

The visit of the president of a country with super power status will hopefully bring important benefits. The bilateral co-operation between Indonesia and the United States, a relation that has existed for a long time, can be increased further.

In addition, there are great expectations as to how the humanitarian crisis throughout Indonesia will be discussed, in particular the situation in the Moluccas and in Papua. During their meeting, both Obama and SBY need to be aware that many military officers who should be protecting and nurturing the community instead often commit inhumane acts.

As long as their rights are still being violated, peace will never become a reality and conflicts will continue to take place in Indonesia. Hopefully the meetings between Obama and SBY will have an encouraging outcome which will contribute to the enforcement of human rights throughout Indonesia, especially in Papua. Wellcome Obama!

* Oktovianus Pogau is an Alliance of Papuan Students activist.