On Papuan asylum seekers

Much has been said about the recent row between Indonesia and Australia over the granting of visas to 42 Papuan asylum seekers. A lot of Indonesians were outraged by this and responded with various actions, from the recall of our ambassador to loud demonstrations outside Australia's embassy.

While I think Australians are discriminating in their asylum granting process (it took years for Iraqi and Afghani asylum seekers to even get their appeal processed vs the two months that it took for the Papuans) I believe the outrage is misplaced.

The real outrage would be how for so long Papuans have been subjected to humiliation and violence at the hands of our military (TNI). It's no secret that Papua's resources are being exploited by the central government while they see very minimal improvement in their daily lives. Companies like Freeport have made billions of dollars, while destroying the lives of Papuans living around the mine with unprocessed waste. The only beneficiary is the central government and TNI generals who received millions of dollars of protection money from Freeport (as recently disclosed in the New York Times).

Are we even supposed to be surprised when Papua wants independence in the face of all this injustice? My fellow Indonesians, be angry at our government. Let them know that Papuans deserve to be treated with respect, deserve to enjoy the wealth of their land, and deserve protection, not oppression from our armed forces.

I applaud President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for his success in bringing peace to Aceh. Unless he succeeds in doing the same in Papua, don't be surprised if the separatist movement there grows.

BUDI AKBARSJAH
New York