On racism: parallels between Black-Americans and Papuans in Indonesia
The murder of George Floyd at the hands of policeman Derek Chauvin has proved yet again how flawed the American policing system is, and how, despite repeated calls for change and movements demanding greater racial equality, a blatant disregard for black lives persists. Unfortunately for fellow Indonesians reading this, systemic racism and police brutality are not faraway notions that exist exclusively in Western countries. The mass murder of West Papuans and the way they’re treated in Indonesian society closely mirror that of Black Americans today — yet movements demanding justice for them have garnered significantly less attention. With increasing social media awareness and more Indonesians speaking up about racial prejudice in America, it’s time we recognize similar issues in our own country and the hypocrisy of our selective activism.
In the past few days, thousands of Americans have taken to the streets to protest police brutality. Many protestors, even those kneeling peacefully, have been tear-gassed, arrested, fired at with rubber bullets, fired at with actual bullets, and even plowed into by tanker trucks and cop cars. As Minneapolis goes up in flames and demonstrations in other major cities ensue, we’re seeing generations of pain, oppression, and the consequences of a broken criminal justice system unfold. Despite those who have detracted from the movement by looting and causing destruction, one message prevails: black individuals have suffered disproportionately in American society and the system is in need of urgent reform.
“People protest because power never concedes power. People protest because policies and politicians have failed to protect them. Decades of [peaceful] interventions have failed because the [institutions in power] refuse to do what’s right unless we make them.” Janaya Khan, activist and International Ambassador for the Black Lives Matter Network
Although officer Chauvin has now been charged with second-degree murder, power-abusing police officers have walked free far too often, largely in part due to the doctrine of “qualified immunity” which shields government officials when they violate the law. In Indonesia, the militarization of the police, the lack of accountability for those in positions of power, and widespread racial prejudice have had a similarly detrimental effect on Papuans.
Located in the Indonesian archipelago, West Papua has been fighting for independence since the early sixties when the New York Agreement (1962) was signed. Although this agreement guaranteed West Papua the right to self-determination, it merely facilitated a transfer of control of West Papuan territory from Dutch colonial powers to Indonesia. In 1969, the Act of Free Choice (contemptuously known by West Papuans as the Act of No Choice) was another attempt at solidifying Indonesia’s control over West Papua: an election where 1,025 West Papuans were forced to vote in favor of national unification. In short, this resulted in West Papua being a dependent territory, which, for the past 52 years, has been under non-stop occupation by the Indonesian military.
The driving rationale behind Indonesia’s control over West Papua is its abundance of gold and copper that mining companies such as Freeport, an Indonesian state-owned enterprise, exploit. The Grasberg mine in Papua is among the world’s largest gold and copper mines — contributing billions to Indonesia’s annual government revenue — yet West Papua remains Indonesia’s most impoverished province. Apart from barely reaping the profits of their own natural wealth, West Papuan have also suffered irreversible environmental and social consequences: deforestation, flooding, displacement, as well as food scarcity and disease from water bodies contaminated by mining waste.
As such, instead of the freedom they were once promised, Papuans have faced cultural denigration, social exclusion, political disenfranchisement, and abuse. They live in fear of the Indonesian army — terrified that they’ll be tortured and raped, that their villages will be burned down (soldiers commit arson under the claim that they’re looking for “Papuan insurgents”, which leave West Papuan villagers homeless), or that they’ll be held as political prisoners and forced to serve ten-year sentences simply for raising the Morning Star flag: a symbol of the West Papuan resolve for emancipation, which the army recognizes solely as a symbol of anarchy. There have also been cases of Indonesian soldiers taking “trophy photos”, where they proudly pose — smiling — with the propped-up dead bodies of West Papuans they’ve killed. Despite proof of soldiers committing gross misconduct and abuse of power, there has been no accountability.
“Impunity for human rights violations is commonplace. Accountability mechanisms to deal with police abuse remain weak, and reports of torture by members of the security forces often go unchecked and unpunished. Many victims of past human rights violations in Papua are still awaiting justice.” Amnesty International
The abuse against Papuans does not end with the Indonesian army’s occupation of West Papua. Many West Papuans receive academic scholarships to study in universities in other Indonesian cities such as Surabaya and Jakarta, expecting to find better opportunities and a safer socio-political environment than in their hometowns. Sadly, they continue to be subjected to racist tirades and stereotyping. On the 17th of August, 2019 (Indonesian Independence Day), rumors of Papuan students flushing the Indonesian flag down the toilet and replacing it with the Morning Star began circulating in a university in Surabaya. This led to a mob of offended Indonesians gathering outside the Papuan students’ dormitory — calling them “monkeys” and “dogs” — stereotyping them as “primitive” and demanding that they go back to Papua. Footage of the incident went viral, prompting Papuans in Surabaya to protest against the racism they’ve faced both on campus and beyond.
Soon, the protests spread to cities all across Indonesia, with thousands of Papuan students, activists, and liberation groups demanding a referendum on independence. Over 30 people were killed and countless more were injured. Buildings were burnt down, violence broke out, and police officers hurled multiple tear gas canisters into the university dormitory in an attempt to clear the building. What began as a peaceful protest quickly turned into a series of uncontrollable riots.
Sound familiar?
For decades, Papuans have been denied humanity: exploited for their natural resources, left to rot in jail for voicing their opinions, and treated like second-class citizens in their own country.
“Over time, it has become clear that resistance is not a choice for the people of West Papua — it is their only chance for survival.” Isabela Torres in ‘There is nothing ‘neo’ about the colonization of West Papua’
With the state of the world being as bleak as it is right now, I can only hope that Indonesians who have been vocal about racial discrimination in America will feel just as outraged towards similar abuses in their own country and feel compelled to speak out against it. With widespread government censorship surrounding military abuses, raising national awareness alone will be no easy feat. Still, efforts must be urgently made towards ending the genocide and discrimination of West Papuans, which, if left ignored, would eventually result in the extinction of the entire West Papuan people.
As Indonesians, we cannot preach a “just and civilized humanity” until Papuans are no longer mass-murdered, terrorized, and sexually assaulted. We cannot celebrate “social equity for all the people of Indonesia” until Papuans have reached the same degree of social equity as the rest of us. We cannot praise “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” until we’re truly willing to defend it, irrespective of race and ethnicity. We owe it to Papua to listen and to act.
Note: This article previously stated that Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and that the other three officers involved with Floyd’s death were not yet convicted. Chauvin’s charge has since been upgraded to second-degree murder and the other three officers have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Resources
Articles/websites on Papua:
A master document on Papua (Twitter threads, articles, petitions, films, etc): https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1C0t_k_7yhWjZqtqlq1VZwTesNZAm28ew1YxHpLpa73A/mobilebasic
Changing Womxn Collective’s master document on BLM Action(petitions, funds, reading lists, black-owned businesses list, etc): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MRJstxhueBAoLY5R12lQCfQtTSM8MWAI6q_qUvRQc2M/edit?usp=sharing
Articles/websites on BLM:
