Conflict Management in Indonesia – An Analysis of the Conflicts in ...

The Papua Peace Network (PPN) was established
in 2010 by Father Neles Tebay and LIPI to develop
the capacity of ‘informal Papuan facilitators’ from
across the religious, ethnic and political spectrum.
This was done to support intra-Papuan consultation,
and to help Papuans prepare for a potential dialogue
process with the central government. The PPN is a
group of about 30 Papuan and non-Papuan leaders
representing different factions of the society (30 per
cent are women). Other NGOs have become increasingly
involved in the PPN, lending the initiative
greater legitimacy.
The PPN has approached Papuan leaders, members
of the DPRP and MRP about the prospect of
dialogue and these important interlocutors have
expressed their support. Just as importantly, potential
spoilers within the pro-independence camp
have been engaged so as to build broad support for
dialogue. Some of the youth groups have openly
suggested using violence to attack symbols of state
repression such as police or military posts, and to
refuse dialogue. The PPN has continuously approached
and involved prominent student and youth leaders
in its facilitating team to better promote understanding
of the strengths and the weaknesses of
dialogue as a means of resolving conflict.
Government engagement
Strong objections to dialogue and to the Road Map
have come from different state institutions, particularly
the State Intelligence Agency (Badan Intelijen
Negara or BIN), Ministry of Home Affairs, and
Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and
Security Affairs. They believe that the Road Map,
and dialogue in general, offer too much space for
secessionism and would lead to the internationalisation
of the conflict due to the suggested use of a
foreign mediator. To try and build a consensus in
favour of dialogue, networks of pro-dialogue individuals
in influential positions were developed, slowly
enlarging the constituency in favour of dialogue in
strategically important government circles. In addition
to the Vice President’s Office, the government’s
advisory bodies such as the National Resilience
Institute of the Republic of Indonesia (Lembaga
Ketahanan Nasional or Lemhanas) and National
Resilience Council (Dewan Pertahanan Nasional
or Wantanas) have shown their support for a
dialogue initiative. A number of Ministers as well
as senior figures in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Commission I of the National Parliament have
also shown their support. 117 A parliamentarian,
Hayono Isman, has recently observed:
“Papua should be a priority of the government
and I hope that the problem is solved when
SBY’s presidency ends.” 118
Seeking grassroots legitimacy
through public consultation
Support from the leaders of Papuan factions does
not necessarily guarantee the support of the Papuan
community. Papuan leadership is mostly vertically
stratified, with constituencies confined to narrow
tribal or religious communities. No single leader
enjoys Papua-wide support.
To help leaders maintain support and legitimacy
from grassroots communities, the PPN has supported
a series of public consultations in different
regencies and towns across Papua. These provide a
forum for listening to the grievances of the communities,
explaining dialogue, listening to the communities’
views and identifying criteria for the election
of Papuan delegates in a potential dialogue with
the Government. At each consultative forum, 50
individuals from a wide range of groups are invited
including pro-independence factions, armed groups,
local authorities, Merah Putih groups (Indonesian
nationalists), local tribal leaders, religious figures,
youth leaders and women leaders.
During the public consultations, Papuans have
shown a great willingness to compromise. While
more compromise will be necessary to find middle
ground with Jakarta, the series of consultations
demonstrate that Papua is a less fragmented society,
eager and preparing for genuine dialogue.
Consultations with the Papuan diaspora
The Papuan diaspora consists of different groups in
Vanuatu, Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK and the
US. These groups are fragmented and often compete
with each other. Engagement with the Papuan
diaspora, however, is a critical aspect of developing
support for, and a consensus within the Papuan
community on, dialogue.
117 “Perlu, Dialog Papua” [Papua Dialogue is Needed], Kompas Daily,
19 January, (2010).
118 Isman is a member of Komisi I. He made this remark when he was
on the panel of the book launch of the English version of The Papua
Road Map, August 2010, Jakarta.
An Analysis of the Conflicts in Maluku, Papua and Poso
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