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Papua: Deal or no deal?
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Papuans take part on a parade in Surabaya, East Java province, on December 1, 2018, during a commemoration of the independence day of Papua from Dutch colonial, which is then commemorated every year by separatists as a symbol of their freedom from Indonesia. (AFP/Juni Kriswanto)
F
oreign “actors” are supporting Papua’s armed secessionists, according to Tantowi Yahya, but he won’t name names: “I believe this because the movement has become more orchestrated.”
Doing what — gunrunning, gold smuggling? Are they working from Australia or New Zealand, where the former TV entertainer is now the Indonesian ambassador? Tantowi jokes away attempts to put flesh on the straw man.
“It’s like someone in the room makes a smell,” he said. “Everyone knows it’s happened but no-one will say they’re responsible.”
But the multi-talented quizmaster from Who wants to be a millionaire? and Deal or no deal (both on RCTI TV last decade) wouldn’t have his present job if Jakarta’s foreign policy gurus didn’t see New Zealand as the locus of suspects.
The ambassador’s responsibilities also include Samoa and Tonga. Some Pacific Islands, particularly Vanuatu, have been backing Papuan independence.
Tantowi is an ideal pick to soften perceptions of a harsh administration; who wouldn’t join the famous Country and Western singer, composer and guitarist’s fan club?
This present gig is probably his toughest; pulling an applauding Kiwi crowd for a Papuan Country Road, however well crooned, is all uphill. Despite his business and music successes (he once sold 10 million records), Tantowi knows fame is fickle when good intentions get twisted. In 2013 he visited Palestine and Israel, reckoning Indonesia could help with the “two-state solution” to the conflict so people can live “free of fear”.
