”After so many years have passed on this cause, it is important to point out the reasons why we are here at this moment.
For almost 60 years, up to 500,000 Have been killed in West Papua. We could probably say it's the largest scale violence against indigenous peoples in the Pacific. When you look at those numbers, no other place has experienced such violence.
But, in the last year in particular:
* Tens of thousands have been displaced from the Nduga region, up to half the population by some estimates, as well as thousands of non-Papuans, who fled after riots in Wamena
* Violent eruptions in August and September, have left dozens dead, both Papuan and non-Papuan
* Meanwhile, across Indonesia, Papuan students experiencing racial abuse and discrimination - called monkeys, dogs and pigs
* Small scale but widespread violence, torture and killing by police and security forces, much of which is unreported - and probably what we hear is just the tip of the iceberg
* This is due to the severe media and humanitarian restrictions by the Indonesian government, that they have put in place
* There is also the continuing deforestation and desecration of land, ancestral domain and environment on a large scale, which contributes to climate injustice
* Tens of thousands have been displaced from the Nduga region, up to half the population by some estimates, as well as thousands of non-Papuans, who fled after riots in Wamena
* Violent eruptions in August and September, have left dozens dead, both Papuan and non-Papuan
* Meanwhile, across Indonesia, Papuan students experiencing racial abuse and discrimination - called monkeys, dogs and pigs
* Small scale but widespread violence, torture and killing by police and security forces, much of which is unreported - and probably what we hear is just the tip of the iceberg
* This is due to the severe media and humanitarian restrictions by the Indonesian government, that they have put in place
* There is also the continuing deforestation and desecration of land, ancestral domain and environment on a large scale, which contributes to climate injustice
In summary, this is my personal analysis, but I believe others would share this, this is one of the coal-face of indigenous peoples struggles around the world. According to UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Vicky Tauli-Corpuz from the Philippines, she has noted an increase in killings, criminalization and repression of IP rights advocates and environmental defenders over the past year.
This is probably related to the expansion of surveillance states using artificial intelligence technologies that allow governments to monitor and undermine activists in real time, as well as recent elections in Indonesia and [the] appointments of military officials accused of orchestrating violence in the past against Indigenous Peoples.
What this all tells us is that indigenous peoples are really on the front lines of these struggles against authoritarian regimes who are seeking to entrench their power and access the resources that are needed to do so.
So that’s the sad reality, but it’s not all a sad reality. And we need to remember the good news from the last year.
What is the good news? The good news is:
* Growing student movements that are resisting forces of violence, militarization, climate injustice and oppression
* A resurgent Indigenous Peoples rights movements across the world
* The emergence of alternative governance and radical community-building efforts as forms of constructive resistance
* This is not just protest and resistance, but the reconstruction of the alternative to what we are calling for, that deepens and actualizes the vision of social justice and egalitarian societies
* Finally, the climate justice movement has been using increasing sophistication leading to changes in the infrastructure of finance, investment and lending - [thus] the corporations behind the corporate economy are being challenged by the climate justice movement in very creative ways.
* Growing student movements that are resisting forces of violence, militarization, climate injustice and oppression
* A resurgent Indigenous Peoples rights movements across the world
* The emergence of alternative governance and radical community-building efforts as forms of constructive resistance
* This is not just protest and resistance, but the reconstruction of the alternative to what we are calling for, that deepens and actualizes the vision of social justice and egalitarian societies
* Finally, the climate justice movement has been using increasing sophistication leading to changes in the infrastructure of finance, investment and lending - [thus] the corporations behind the corporate economy are being challenged by the climate justice movement in very creative ways.
The question is, regarding West Papua, will we be, in the coming year, will West Papua and our efforts be on the list of good news or bad news?
When I was flying here, I saw an advertisement on the flight that had a woman standing on the edge of a bridge, she had a bungee cord tied to her ankle, and she fell off, it was an add for tourism, and the tag line was, “Live more, fear less.”
So the question for us is, “are we living more,” doing what is life giving? And, “are we fearing less” are we pushing forward in the face of these challenges. And really, for indigenous peoples and Papuans, they are standing on the edge of that precipice and they don’t have a safety net below, and the don’t have a bungee cord tied to their ankles. And so we are here to help keep them back from that precipice.”
-Jeremy Simons, Message given at the hand-over of the 1,000 Voices for West Papua petition to members of parliament in New Zealand, December 3, 2019.
