Posts
Evil Mining Company Screws the Natives
Filmmaker Craig Harris and exiled journalist Octovianus Mote
Freeport-McMoRan Corp is destroying the Papuan rainforest
West Papua: Free to Choose
I just saw a no-budget, 20-minute documentary about the human rights struggle in West Papua (formerly western New Guinea - now annexed by Indonesia). The story was so damned compelling that it kicked this writer’s butt enough to start writing Congressmen - as well as writing YOU, my dear Buzzine readers (and please read this article if nothing else).
When New Guinea (the world’s second-largest island - located north of Australia) gained its independence from the Dutch, neighboring Indonesia moved right in with a classic “screw the natives” land grab. The other villain is American-based mega-mining company, the Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Corporation, which, in collusion with oppressive military police, operates a humongous land-stripping and utterly polluting cash machine, with barely pennies going to the very people whose land they ruin. It’s obscene.
Filmmaker Craig Harris, a carpenter by trade and passionate human rights activist, keeps the candle burning with this film-in-progress, as he is attempting to go back to West Papua and film some more. Helping him and the subject of our following interview is Octovianus Mote, Papuan human rights activist, respected journalist in his homeland, and visiting fellow at Cornell and Yale Universities, who now lives in exile in the USA - supporting his family with odd jobs at gas stations and delivering pizza, while trying to finish a book to promote social justice for his people.
Richard Elfman: Tell us a little about your background.
Octovianus Mote: I am a journalist and activist from (West) Papua, Indonesia, now residing in the United States. In 1998, I was appointed by the government of Indonesia as a mediator in the national dialogue on Papua between representatives of West Papuan people and the Indonesian government. Following a meeting with West Papuans and the president of Indonesia in 1999, I was blacklisted and denied the right to travel outside Indonesia. Nevertheless, I came to the United States and have held appointments as a visiting fellow at Cornell and Yale Universities.
RE: Can you give us a brief history of the situation in West Papua?
OM: Indonesia maintains control over West Papua, using military might to deny indigenous people human rights and to quell their demands for self-determination. Since the invasion in 1963, an estimated 100,000 Papuans have been killed by Indonesian armed forces and militias:
Papua is rich in natural resources, including natural gas, oil, minerals, and rainforests. The Indonesian government relies on the taxes from foreign sponsored extraction industries which are devastating the environment and that return few or no benefits back to the Papuan people. The military is directly involved, engaging in illegal logging and acting as security teams for mining companies. Papua is now home to the highest concentration of illegal logging operations in Asia. Widespread logging and mining have a serious impact on the livelihood and traditions of the Papuan people, who rely on the land for survival. Traditional land is continually being cleared, which has created conflict amongst the indigenous people, foreign companies, and Indonesian security forces.
USA-based freeport McMoRan is operating in the world’s largest gold and copper mine in the mountainous home of the Amungme indigenous people, who have always opposed their presence. Freeport pays the Indonesian military $5 million per month to maintain security at the mine. These armed forces and militia groups regularly use torture, extra-judicial killings, and forced detention to block Papuans from protecting their traditional lands and expressing their rights to self-determination. According to Yale University and University of Sydney, West Papua is one of ten nations in world that is facing the possibility of the extinction of its indigenous people if there is no international intervention.
RE: What happened that caused you to flee West Papua?
OM: My neighbor and close relative, Obeth Badii, was found dead in a police office. A couple of days earlier, Obeth warned me about some people looking for me. Military persons had been following me around–although I was guarded by Papuan people day and night, I no longer had freedom to work as a journalist.
RE: Is it difficult, living in exile?
OM: On the positive side, for myself and my family, I have security. My children can go to school without any problems. If I were in Papua, my family and I would be threatened. Having political asylum gives me the opportunity to continue in my human rights work, where I can speak and meet freely. Also, since I have had political asylum, I have had the privilege of being affiliated with Cornell and Yale Univeresities, working with important anthropologists and Indonesian experts. Also, I have greater access to influential people in the US. For instance, I meet with US Congressional people, to whom I give data about Papua.
The negative side of having political asylum is that I feel distant from people, Where in the past, as a journalist, I had close connections to my people, now I have to, in part, rely on other people’s reports. Furthermore, there’s an issue with funding. Back home, I had no problems with funding my work, because I had a consistent job as a journalist. I could give full attention to my work as a journalist and human rights advocate. Additionally, I cannot finish my work (on the genocide project and my book, as well as my lobbying activity) because I have to work - e.g., in a gas station, delivering pizza, and transporting medical specimens. This takes up a lot of my time, but I have to keep my family fed.
RE: What can people - Americans and others - do to help the situation?
1. Call your representatives (Senate and House) to support this issue.
2. Lobby the US government to pressure Indonesian government and military to stop their brutallity in Papua.
3. Lobby US government to bring this case back to UN as part of moral responsibility.
4. Make this issue into international radar through variety of media.
My greatest hope is that the world will recognize West Papua and support the Papuan people so they can live on their land peacefully.
For details and up date, see also: www.freewestpapua.org.
