urgent report on west papua
survival | 24.04.2004 13:47
in west papua the indigenous tribal people have been ruled by indonesia from 40 years. they have been kicked off their land to make way for foreign companies who exploit the land's resources, and killed by racist indonesian soldiers or muslim fanatics
Country: Papua, Indonesia
Population: 2.2 million, in 312 different tribes
Who are they? Papua is the western half of the island of New Guinea, and is officially part of Indonesia. The island as a whole has an extraordinary cultural and linguistic diversity, containing 0.01% of the world's population, but 15% of the world's known languages. The island also has the largest number of uncontacted peoples outside Brazil. Papua is home to around 312 different tribes, including some uncontacted peoples.
How do they live? The central mountainous region of Papua is home to the highland peoples, who practice pig husbandry and sweet potato cultivation. The lowland peoples live in swampy and malarial coastal regions, and live off hunting the abundant game and gathering. Some of the many Papuan tribal languages are related to others, but some are completely distinct from all other languages. The people are ethnically distinct from the Indonesians who control their country.
What problems do they face? All the Papuan peoples have suffered greatly under the Indonesian occupation which has been in force since 1963. The Indonesian army has a long history of human rights violations against the Papuans, and the racist Indonesian soldiers generally view the Papuan people as little more than animals. Papua's natural resources are being exploited at great profit for the Indonesian government and foreign businesses, but at the expense of the Papuan peoples and their homelands. When international companies come to Papua the Indonesian military accompanies them to 'protect' the 'vital projects': with the military there always come human rights violations such as killings, arbitrary arrests, rape and torture. Those Papuans who protest against the Indonesian government, the military or 'vital projects' are even more likely to experience abuses of their human rights.
How does Survival help? Survival is supporting the right of the Papuan peoples to live on their land in peace, by exposing and protesting against the human rights violations they experience and by camapigning for their land ownership rights. It supports Papuan opposition to any harmful projects on their land, such as the pulp plant which Scott Paper planned to build on Auyu land – the plan was abandoned after international protests. Survival is calling for the Indonesian government to enter into dialogue with the Papuan people so that they are able to decide their own way of life and their future.
Population: 2.2 million, in 312 different tribes
Who are they? Papua is the western half of the island of New Guinea, and is officially part of Indonesia. The island as a whole has an extraordinary cultural and linguistic diversity, containing 0.01% of the world's population, but 15% of the world's known languages. The island also has the largest number of uncontacted peoples outside Brazil. Papua is home to around 312 different tribes, including some uncontacted peoples.
How do they live? The central mountainous region of Papua is home to the highland peoples, who practice pig husbandry and sweet potato cultivation. The lowland peoples live in swampy and malarial coastal regions, and live off hunting the abundant game and gathering. Some of the many Papuan tribal languages are related to others, but some are completely distinct from all other languages. The people are ethnically distinct from the Indonesians who control their country.
What problems do they face? All the Papuan peoples have suffered greatly under the Indonesian occupation which has been in force since 1963. The Indonesian army has a long history of human rights violations against the Papuans, and the racist Indonesian soldiers generally view the Papuan people as little more than animals. Papua's natural resources are being exploited at great profit for the Indonesian government and foreign businesses, but at the expense of the Papuan peoples and their homelands. When international companies come to Papua the Indonesian military accompanies them to 'protect' the 'vital projects': with the military there always come human rights violations such as killings, arbitrary arrests, rape and torture. Those Papuans who protest against the Indonesian government, the military or 'vital projects' are even more likely to experience abuses of their human rights.
How does Survival help? Survival is supporting the right of the Papuan peoples to live on their land in peace, by exposing and protesting against the human rights violations they experience and by camapigning for their land ownership rights. It supports Papuan opposition to any harmful projects on their land, such as the pulp plant which Scott Paper planned to build on Auyu land – the plan was abandoned after international protests. Survival is calling for the Indonesian government to enter into dialogue with the Papuan people so that they are able to decide their own way of life and their future.
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