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Factions reject Benny Wenda’s govt-in-exile
“Today, on Dec. 2, the KNPB has made a decision to reject the interim government declaration,” a leading member of the KNPB, Warpo Sampari Wetipo, said.
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he Free Papua Movement’s military faction, the TPNPB and the urban civilian faction, the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), have rejected the so-called West Papua government-in-exile declared by Benny Wenda, the leader of United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), on Dec. 1 in the United Kingdom.
Both the TPNPB and KNPB are part of ULMWP but they occasionally disagree with other factions’ decisions, including those made by Benny. TPNPB and KNPB members are relatively younger than the activists within the ULMWP.
Sebby Sambom, spokesperson for the TPNPB, which is led by Goliat Tabuni, said Benny had failed to bring unity to ULMWP and accused the exiled leader of failing to mobilize the people as part of their fight for freedom on the ground.
“His claim as the interim president of the West Papua Republic is a result of the ULMWP’s and Benny’s failure [to mobilize Papuans],” he said.
He said the TPNPB did not acknowledge Benny’s declaration because he did it in a foreign country, thus lacking legitimacy from the majority of Papuans. Sebby said Benny could not be the president because he was a UK citizen. International law states a foreigner cannot be the president of a nation, Sebby added.
The KNPB also announced their rejection on Wednesday. “Today, on Dec. 2, the KNPB has made a decision to reject the interim government declaration,” a leading member of the KNPB, Warpo Sampari Wetipo, said.
He said the declaration could undermine the unity of Papuans. “The decision to form an interim government was not based on collective considerations within the West Papuan people’s democratic process,” he said.
Warpo called on Papuan people to remain united and not be provoked by differences between political factions.
On Tuesday, Dec. 1, the anniversary of the 1961 self-declared independence of West Papua, which the Indonesian government does not recognize, Benny proclaimed a government-in-exile and named himself as the interim president.
The government has dismissed claims of Papuan independence and has always asserted that the issue of Papua should not be internationalized.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD said that Benny, although not an Indonesian citizen anymore, had committed treason against Indonesia.
“The government responds through the National Police’s law enforcement. It is a small-scale treason [but still regarded] as a crime against the state’s security,” Mahfud MD said in a joint press statement on Thursday.
Read also: UN calls for full inquiry into Papua violence
Continuing violence and deaths in Papua and West Papua in the past year have caught the attention of the Southeast Asia branch of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The OHCHR has called on the Indonesian government to carry out “thorough, independent and impartial” investigations into a series of violent incidents in the country’s easternmost provinces.
"We are disturbed by escalating violence over the past weeks and months [...] and the increased risk of renewed tension and violence," OHCHR spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said on Monday.
Shamdasani cited several killings of Papua in recent months, such as the shooting of a 17-year-old on Nov. 22 and the murder of pastor Yeremia Zanambani in September.
She said that her office had recorded an increasing number incidents of violence and excessive use of force in Papua following the killing of 19 people working on the trans-Papua Highway in Nduga regency by an armed group in 2018.
The OCHCR also criticized the arrest of Papuan People’s Assembly (MRP) participants in November this year, at a meeting the agenda that evaluated Papua’s 20 years of special autonomy and related funding.
"There is an urgent need for a platform for meaningful and inclusive dialogue with the people of Papua and West Papua to address long-standing economic, social and political grievances. We urge all sides to work to prevent further violence," she added. (ami)
