by Jim Morris 8/31/16LAND WITHOUT BIRDS. ("They all left when Indonesia 'invaded'", government official.)


"The place is under surveillance.” The driver said as the gates were opened for us. “Wait in the car.”
West Papuan activist Filep Karma had recently been released from gaol after eleven years so he was a key person to explain the present situation in Papua. I felt fortunate to have been working at an orphanage Filep patronised and through management happened to get the interview.
Filep has an infectious smile, pleasant manner, and firm handshake. At fifty-seven he looks as though he has suffered no ill-effects from gaol time but his pony-tail and waist-length plaited beard are an unexpected twist. His khaki civil servant uniform has a morning star badge pinned to the front. The same symbol that sent him to gaol; for raising the morning star flag. Only later did the Timor Leste badge on his cap become obvious to me.
Filep sat on the verandah drinking tea with his eighty-one-year-old mother, chatting in Indonesian, until asked the most important question. "Will Papua ever be separate from the rest of Indonesia?”
He looked surprised by the directness of the question. His sparkling eyes dimmed before looking back at the mug of tea held in both hands. Using revolutionary jargon he spoke smoothly for a few minutes but it was apparent that he was deeply divided between his determination to fight for 'freedom' and the knowledge that 'independence' will never happen.
He continued with his history lesson, mostly Cold-War collusion featuring JFK, the Act of Free Choice, the genesis of OPM and concomitant human rights violations over the years; the standard litany of historical grievances.
He agreed that the situation had improved greatly since Suharto's demise, with many reservations, and then he finished with a blunt comment about the Melanesian Spearhead Group’s rejection of the ULMPW (United Liberation Movement for West Papua's) application for full membership which had occurred that day. "They were paid off by Indonesia", he stated dejectedly, referring to Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
Time in gaol probably results in one of two conditions; a determination to make the most of freedom regained, or a strengthened resolve to fight on. Continuing the struggle had a romantic edge, and perhaps it made eleven years in gaol feel less like lost time, but as our conversation meandered it became clear that the clenched fist and morning star badge were really only play-acting. Enjoying a peaceful 'retirement' in the company of his aging mother was obviously a far better option than fighting a losing battle that would only cause more suffering for a great many people.
That day there'd been newspaper reports of clashes in Yogyakarta involving Papuan students demonstrating as part of the ULMPW's separatist agitation. They were there to study but were being used as pawns in a media game. The newspaper articles by activist Benny Wenda were full of hyperbole such as "illegally occupied Melanesian West Papua" and "orchestrated genocide of Melanesians." Activist rhetoric which had nothing to do with the harmonious street scene outside my window.
Filep spoke of Melanesians and Papuans wanting independence as though it was a self-evident truth that they should want to live separately from other Indonesians. Every Indonesian government has worked hard to maintain the integrity of the nation since independence in 1947. There are hundreds of ethnicities and languages in Indonesia so the unity enjoyed by its citizens is a reason for national pride. That monumental struggle to hold the nation together and establish a lingua franca is not appreciated by many outsiders. Even the national motto focuses on the potential for disintegration; Unity Through Diversity.
Since Reformasi, Megawati, Gus Dur, SBY and Jokowi have all applied serious reforms to improve the situation in Papua and reduce the potential for internationalization of the media war by professional trouble-makers.
Asked if the separatist sentiment was motivated by race, or religion Filep denied both suggestions. He even said, "My Muslim brothers want separation as well" which didn't sound realistic; at all. The activist rhetoric is all about "returning to the Melanesian family". The Deputy PM of Vanuatu said "Melanesians (are) being killed by Asians". The influx of Muslims is made ever more obvious by the new fashion for jilbabs, and the numerous new mosques. "We are not Asian, geographically or culturally. We are Melanesian," said Paula Makabory from the West Papua National Coalition of Liberation, so to a large degree the separatist sentiment is obviously racial and religious but it is being described as cultural.
Filep had been affected by the ‘people-power’ demos he’d witnessed in Manila during the early eighties while studying a master’s degree in politics but he also began reminiscing about how much East Timorese freedom fighters had inspired him and his revolutionary comrades. "300,000 people beat the Indonesian Army" he said with a defiant smile; quite erroneously.
By 1980 there were almost no Fretilin left on the ground. They were either dead, in jail, or hiding. Fretilin certainly didn’t beat the TNI, and his "300,000 people" are now 1.3 million with a very uncertain future.
I had to explain to him that East Timor became independent mainly through international embarrassment and confusion caused by Ramos Horta's incessant propaganda, agitation by a global network of activists, pressure from the Roman Catholic Church, the fall of Suharto, and temporary leadership by Habibie.
Filep mentioned human rights violations again so I pointed out to him that the key to East Timor's independence had been the most cynical and lethal media stunt ever pulled off; The Santa Cruz Massacre. He looked puzzled.
The two hundred and forty seven mostly young people who died that day were pawns in a very successful media event that sent irresistibly gory massacre videos around the world and reignited what was a dead issue. The stabbing murder of Major Rudolf Warouw and one other soldier by agent provocateurs as the procession reached the cemetery worked perfectly for the people who planned it, maybe Ramos Horta and Bishop Belo, who will ever know, and even if they didn't intend for so many people to be killed, when it comes to human rights abuses it ranks very highly.
Filep hadn't known about the stabbing murders that ignited the violence. Like most people he'd only heard the story Ramos Horta wanted told. Even in the Dili Resistance Museum, as modern and impressive as it is, the 2,500 killed in the civil war between UDT and Fretelin in August '75 aren't even mentioned, even though it instigated intervention by Indonesia, usually referred to as The Invasion. The description of the Santa Cruz Massacre implies the murderous troops' response was "unprovoked”. In Bishop Belo's autobiography he states, "I must have been the only person in Dili unaware of the procession", even though it passed within a few hundred meters of his home.

Hearing Filep's talk of freedom-fighters reminded me of interviewing Davis Ximenes in Timor Leste just a few weeks before. David is a member of the Superior Council of Defense and Security, and founding member of Falintil. He also did 11 years in prison.
David considered the main achievements of an independent Timor Leste, after 16 years and countless donated dollars, and finally said, "To have their own laws, to conduct society the way they wish." 
He pushed the idea that the nation must remain grateful, “Don’t forget the struggles of fighters like Abel Laresinha, Nicolao Lobato, Rogerio Lobato and Jose Ramos Horta,” stressed David Ximenes.
He stuck to abstract notions of freedom and self-determination even though Timor Leste appears to have been re-colonized by the Portuguese and widespread poverty is obvious. Beyond the bright lights and buildings there are many unresolved issues put on hold as the oil revenue dries up. Street sweepers and garbage collectors haven't been paid for six months, and the East/West divide intensifies.
The ‘Resistance Legacy’ of old Fretilin fighters take turns in enjoying the fruits of office while leading the country toward a very uncertain future. The Xanana Gusmoa personality cult was everywhere I went.
David mentioned the recent demonstrations against Australia and the attempts to shift the maritime border and he expressed confidence that international law would force the change. He kept mentioning the kindness of other countries; their readiness to apply moral suasion. But from my research the median line would deliver less revenue for Timor Leste than the present arrangement because Indonesia would be able to shift to the median line as well, so one of us must be wrong. (I still don't know)
After some gentle probing, for the man is a well-respected figure, neatly groomed, wearing a gold watch and gold-rimmed glasses, he replied to the question, "What will happen when the oil money runs out?" That was the closest he came to looking annoyed, but after a few moments hesitation he expressed confidence that "other countries will continue to be generous toward Timor Leste", and besides, there was tourism, and marble he insisted.
I'd seen the marble quarry in 2000. It was insignificant. So how did he think the tourism industry was going to replace oil revenues when after 16 years there weren't any tourists and it cost $547 to fly one way from Darwin? The nice man was just making it up, delaying the inevitable, and maybe hoping to go to live in Australia with Xanana and Ramos Horta; leaving the Timorese to eat stones.
How the urban poor were surviving I couldn't fathom. Almost 90% of the population are subsisting on gardens and livestock as they had for millennia but in Dili it all seemed like a house of cards. The unit of currency is the US dollar. Almost everything is imported and generally cost more than the same items in Australia. Every business I entered was owned by Chinese. The Catholic Church maintains a stranglehold on society so most women have eight children. Despite the tiny population six hundred and seventy-five people have HIV and seventy-six have already died. The official language used in all schools, universities and government is Portuguese. Why? It's crazy.
The hotel manager, Joe, had spent several years in Melbourne, "Whenever a new PM is elected everything changes", he told me over breakfast. "The Government doesn't have much money now. Work on the tallest building in town hasn't moved for over a year. Everything's really slow. My Dad won a government transport contract but it took him two years to get paid. Corruption is way worse than before".
He explained that 'money' was required to process documents, although for the Chinese there were no zoning laws. It is all about family, he told me. Where you were born."
During 2000 United Nations vehicles were everywhere but now they are gone. Most of the projects have petered out but Portuguese officers still control the army. The GNR, special police intelligence are doing torture. "People are scared of them. They beat them up, do water torture, give them no food." I was told by a journalist at The Timor Post. "What's the water torture?" I asked.
"Just repeatedly plunging the head into a garbage can full of water until they give the right answer." he replied.
One huge, amazing project being built by Chinese workers is a four-lane highway from Dili into the mountains. No expense is being spared and although still under construction it will be a vast improvement on the existing narrow, winding road it replaces. But, once on top the highway reverts to the usual vehicle-destroying single-lane roads that wind their way through the mountains of Timor.
The real story of East Timor is yet to be told but there is a certain urgency in clarifying the situation in Papua so that the same kind of mischief-making that occurred in East Timor doesn't cause a similar tragedy in Papua. There is no way in the world that Papua will ever be independent or separate from the rest of the republic. 
All the agitation and propaganda by fools like Wenda or Australian academics is just scurrilous nonsense that only causes hardship, conflict, and unnecessary stress. Indonesian sovereignty is legitimate and practical; it benefits everyone; especially Papuan Indonesians.
Within ten years the people of Timor Leste may be begging the Indonesian government to allow them to return to the republic. Once the oil has run out there won't be any money. The major companies involved refuse to build any processing facilities on-shore Timor Leste because of the culturally acceptable corruption.
Almost everything is imported because there is no real agricultural industry and the only factory I saw or heard about was a beer factory under construction. There is no tourism industry because the place is dirty, boring and expensive. The government is living out a short-term fantasy. Only a well-connected elite were enjoying the benefits of 'freedom' and even their hold on privilege was tenuous. David had emphasized "the will of the people" so I was wondering how the leaders will react when the 'people' are 'willing' to return to Indonesia. The level of optimism, prosperity and vitality was obvious when I crossed the border into West Timor.
The parallels between East Timor and Papua are obvious but so are the contrasts. Each had a quirky colonial element plus Christianity but East Timor fluked the timing, and anyway, overall it was a liability to the Indonesian government because they'd been pouring in huge amounts for development without any return from resources. The Portuguese had been there for 350 years but there were almost no roads and literacy was 3%.
In Papua no amount of international embarrassment generated by a global network of propagandists, professional protesters, and well-meaning useful idiots would ever cause the Indonesian government to give away such a resource-rich territory.
A bright young academic from Cenderawasih University took me by boat to her grandparent's home on Lake Sentani. Naturally we discussed separatism and she expressed an emotional attachment to the idea, mostly it seemed because many of her fellow students in Yogyakarta had considered the Papuan people to be 'primitive'. “They asked me if we wear clothes!” she said, “and sometimes we were referred to as monkeys”. 
As we glided across the mirror smooth lake, pushed by a very modern Japanese outboard motor, she suggested that "Maybe in 20 years time we could govern ourselves but there still aren't enough Papuan people with the required education to run a country". Again; independence was an idea without any basis in reality.
She took me to her grand-parent's home on Lake Sentani. It was beautiful, but already plugged in to the modern world. I suggested to her that perhaps she was confusing Javanisation with globalization. That 'cultures' were everywhere being homogenized by consumerism. For forty years Indonesia has been on a steady process of modernisation, same as I saw in Papua.
A mixed-race man originally from Sumatra who had worked on development projects for 30 years was fascinating to listen to. In conversation he repeated Sukarno’s famous decree, "Merdeka (freedom), from Sabang to Merauke", he also mentioned that the historically standard form of decolonization included the entire territory of the former colonizer, in this case the Dutch East Indies. So he confirmed my opinion that there was absolutely no chance, or reason, for so-called independence..
Most people don't have any real knowledge of Papua but many have very strong opinions, and that is part of the problem. Traditionally the people lived in small, isolated villages in rugged topography where defence was their primary concern but now they wish to share in the development process so they are doing their best to have airstrips and roads built. Papuans live on the edge of a world of planes, cars, malls and mobile phones; no longer tribal fights and cannibalism.
A missionary who’d spent most of his adult life in Papua was a wealth of information. Talking sometimes in whispers his emotional attachment to the idea of independence was obvious, but he was more like a small boy excited by disobedience. He surprised me by saying "the mountains is where the separatist sentiment is strongest." And he spoke of "training camps". He emphasized human rights violations as the main reason for separatist sentiment and of course too many human rights violations had taken place over the years but now the Indonesian military is very serious about correct behaviour by their soldiers so, unlike the past, all mistreatment of villagers is being punished.
His female Filipino colleague was more pragmatic, "Without Indonesia where will the rice come from?" she asked. The Papuan people had developed a preference for rice rather than yams, sago, and sweet potato.
Filep had gone to gaol in one era and emerged into another. Suharto was gone and Jokowi was pumping money into development. There is no longer any rationale for independence and the era of armed struggle was definitely over.
Papuan activists like Benny Wenda and Herman Wanggai, inspired by Ramos Horta, have made a career out of bad-mouthing Indonesia from 5-star hotels but no amount of campaigning will change the status of Papua or West Papua; and trying to do so will only cause more suffering. The academics that promote independence for West Papua claim 300,000 people were killed in East Timor (it used to be 200,000) and twice I've heard from different people on ABC radio that Indonesia has killed 500,000 people in Papua. Not a single mass grave of any sort has been discovered in either Timor Leste or Papua so I have no idea where the bodies or the bones may have gone. Because there is such an information vacuum it enables some journalists to pretend Papua is dangerous and deadly. They promote the idea that media is restricted, to enhance their own image.
But Papua was very peaceful everywhere I went. There were a few army posts around the place but I didn't ever see a soldier on the street. There certainly isn't a slow-motion genocide as BBC, SBS and ABC imply.
The ABC in Australia broadcasts whatever separatist propaganda that suits their agenda, without questioning its veracity or considering the consequences, yet Indonesian sovereignty is widely recognized by the international community. Whitlam was correct in saying that East Timor wasn't viable as a state and now it is experiencing the limits of charity.
Maybe the 120,000 people who ran away from Dili because they wanted to remain part of Indonesia will be vindicated. At first their refugee camps were in Atambua and Kupang but now they have spread out all over West Timor. After 17 years of squatting, children born and raised in camps, it may prove that  they were right.
As social media becomes more powerful, activists increasingly gullible, and international networks more sophisticated, the internationalization of outrage will build on a foundation of wilful ignorance. As with East Timor the military element was mostly photogenic; people in ragtag uniforms holding weapons to provide a romantic Che Guevara style image. Modern media is essentially voyeurism, and as with sex, violence sells, particularly if the victims have brown skin, wear feathers, and live in exotic surroundings.
Another ex-OPM fighter, Franzalbert Joku, had already put it to me earlier in the day, "I feel great passion for my Papuan people but we need to be realistic. If independence ever did come about, who are the real Papuans? The tribalism and infighting between the coastal and mountain people would produce 27 different countries! It would be total chaos. The time has passed for armed struggle. We need to work together peacefully and intelligently for a prosperous future. Papua will never be separate from the rest of Indonesia."