WEST PAPUA WITHIN INDONESIA

West Papua within Indonesia[edit]

From the first days of Indonesian occupation, the people of West Papua refused to be part of Indonesia and the vast majority of them have pushed for independence ever since. There are regular mass protests throughout West Papua in support of independence but the Indonesian military and police often use lethal force to disperse them. The Free Papua Movement (OPM) was set up to provide a formal resistance towards Indonesian rule. Local and international protest followed the impact of human rights abuses and transmigration by other Indonesians into the region.^[18] Since the 1960s, consistent reports have filtered out of the territory of government suppression and terrorism, including murder, political assassination, imprisonment, torture, and aerial bombardments. The Indonesian government disbanded the New Guinea Council and forbade the use of the West Papua flag or the singing of the national anthem. There has been resistance to Indonesian integration and occupation, both through civil disobedience (such as Morning Star flag raising ceremonies) and via the formation of the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM, or Free Papua Movement) in 1965. Estimates vary on the total death toll of West Papuans by the Indonesian military with wild variation in the number claimed dead. In almost all estimates, under International law the death toll amounts to genocide of the people of West Papua by Indonesia. A Sydney University academic has estimated more than 100,000 Papuans, one sixteenth of the population, have died as a result of government-sponsored violence against West Papuans,^[19] while others had previously specified much higher death tolls.^[20] An increasingly common figure being used is 500,000 people.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Indonesian state accelerated its transmigration program, under which tens of thousands of Javanese and Sumatran migrants were resettled to Papua. Prior to Indonesian rule, the non-indigenous Asian population was estimated at 16,600; while the Papuan population were a mix of Roman Catholics, Protestants andanimists following tribal religions.^[21] The transmigration program officially ended in the late 1990s. An independence congress in 2000 again calling for independence resulted in a military crackdown on independence supporters.

During the Abdurrahman Wahid administration in 2000, Papua gained a "Special Autonomy" status, an attempted political compromise between Papuans and the central government that has weak support within the Jakarta government. Despite lack of political will of politicians in Jakarta to proceed with real implementation of the Special Autonomy, which is stipulated by law, the region was divided into two provinces: the province of Papua and the province of West Papua, based on a Presidential Instruction in January 2001, soon after President Wahid was impeached by the Parliament and replaced by Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri. However, most Papuans refuse any promises of autonomy from Indonesia as they are instead demanding independence, and a free referendum for all Papuans to determine whether they choose independence or not.

UNIQUE TRADITION OF PAPUA

• Barapen

This tradition is one of the oldest traditions in Papua is usually done as a symbol of gratitude and fraternity, but in certain areas, this tradition is also carried in the funeral ceremonies. This tradition is generally known as Barapen. Basically Barapen is a tradition of Papuans who cook some foods such as yams, cassava, meat and vegetables on the stones that have been heated. But, how to cook can not be arbitrary. Barapen will start by setting up a hole to draw up a wood and stone, along with food that will be cooked. After that, the stones that have been collected will be compiled based on the size of the above arrangement banana leaves. Large stone will be placed at the very bottom. On it will be prepared firewood and firewood will be closed with stones smaller. Next is the combustion process to heat stone. Afterwards foodstuffs arranged in such a way on the rock and eat together after being cooked

• Tradition Cut Finger

This unique tradition you can only find in the Dani tribe who live in the Baliem Valley , Papua . This tradition is carried by Dani as a sign of deep grief over the loss of one of their family members who died . Moreover , this tradition must also be taken to prevent re havoc that cause death in the family. This tradition is carried out after the funeral procession with a direct cut off one finger bereaved family members with a knife , ax or machete . Another way is usually done by biting knuckles until breaking up , tied with a rope so that the blood flow stops and knuckles being dead and then the new cut.

Ararem


Ararem tradition is one of the traditions of marriage Biak in Papua tribes that were once a large family was about to escort the groom's dowry to the bride's family . This tradition is carried on foot , carrying seserahan customary form of plates , jars and others.

Interestingly , most of the tradition ararem is done by marching processions waving red and white flag . Until now , there has been no definite explanation why this tradition is always synonymous with the hoisting of the state flag . To be sure , this is what makes it so unique tradition and certainly you can only meet in Papua .

.Mansorandak (Tradition Hit Plates)

Cultural of Papua

Arts and Culture Papua:
            Papua has a lot of arts and culture in it, art and culture is unique and interesting. Here are some of the arts and culture in Papua:
Language
There are hundreds of regional languages ​​that developed in ethnic groups in Papua. Various Various languages ​​makes it difficult to communicate between ethnic groups with other ethnic groups. Therefore, the Indonesian official use by communities in Papua and even up to the interior. But there are people who do not understand Indonesian because of the lack of education in Papua


Traditional clothing
Papua custom clothing for men and women are similar. Wore traditional clothing ornaments such as headdresses be in the form of birds of paradise, bracelets, necklaces, and belts of beads and fringe at the ankle. But there are also tribal communities of Papua are only used in the sheath wrapped her body



Custom home
Papua custom home has a home name Honai, where materials are primarily used to make the house Honai is of wood with and conical roof made of straw or reeds. Honai traditional house has a small door and no windows. Generally Honai house consists of two floors that consists of the first floor to the bed while the second floor is used as a place to relax, eat, and to do handicrafts.




Traditional dance
Papua has a variety of dances that are unique and interesting, such as dance congratulations dating which is a typical dance of Papua describe the excitement in the hearts of the people menyabut distinguished guests who come to their territory. This dance has an interesting movement, dynamic and dilakuakan with spirit



Traditional weapon
Papua has a traditional weapon used to fight the enemy. As Papua dagger made of leg bones cassowary and bird's feathers that adorn the outskirts of the dagger. But there are other weapons are usually used bows and arrows and spears were used for hunting



Typical food
The food is typical of Papua namely sago made pulp, known by the name of papeda. Papuans usually eat together papeda yellow sauce, made from tuna or fish in season mubara and turmeric and lime.

Environment of Papua

West Papua is one of the last great wildernesses on earth. It is covered in virgin rainforest, second only in size to that of the Amazon, and is home to many unique species of flora and fauna such as rare orchids, birds of paradise and tree kangaroos. But just like the people of West Papua, this beautiful paradise is under attack.

The Freeport Mine

The Freeport mine in Grasberg is the largest gold mine in the world. Majority owned by the US mining company Freeport McMoRan the mine is the cause of an environmental catastrophe in the region. What once was a glacial mountain peak is now a giant crater cut deep into the earth. The contents of the mine, almost a million tonnes of waste have been dumped into the river system, poisoning the local environment and destroying the lives of the tribes that lived there. The corruption at the heart of the Freeport mine runs even deeper than the mine itself. Contracts for the mine were drawn up between Indonesia and Freeport McMoRan in 1965 even before the UN shamefully sanctioned West Papua to become part of Indonesia in 1969 – heavily suggesting interested parties has already agreed on the outcome of the 1969 ‘Act of Free Choice‘. Henry Kissinger helped broker the deal and later joined the board of Freeport McMoRan. The surrounding area is one of the most heavily militarised in the whole of West Papua with Freeport openly paying large sums of money to the Indonesian military for “protection”. The New York Times discovered “from 1998 through 2004, Freeport gave military and police generals, colonels, majors and captains, and military units, nearly $20 million. Individual commanders received tens of thousands of dollars, in one case up to $150,000”.

“We’re going to mine all the way to New Orleans.” Jim Bob Moffett, CEO of Freeport McMoRan

Logging and Palm Oil Plantations

Having decimated most of the forests across Indonesia, timber companies have turned to West Papua with a vengeance. Despite a recent moratorium freezing all new permits to clear primary forest, illegal logging is rampant with logging companies paying off the military for protection. But yet another business is now posing an even greater threat to the forest: palm oil for bio fuels. Ironically being produced as a solution to climate change this highly damaging activity involves destroying virgin rainforest and replacing it with monoculture crops which require heavy chemical treatments. Greenpeace Indonesia has noted that every year the rate of deforestation in Papua reaches as much as 300 thousand hectares. Severe deforestation is occurring in southern Papua, particularly areas packed with oil palm plantations. Land is often taken from local people without their full knowledge and leaves them with no livelihoods afterwards, unable to feed themselves and their children.

Educational investment in conflict areas of Indonesia: The case of West Papua Province

Education has become a central issue in West Papua. During the Suharto regime, the Indonesian government paid little attention to educational investment in the province which led to poor educational infrastructure and a shortage of teachers. As a result, the quality of human resources in the province is poor. Since 2001, the adoption of the Special Autonomy Law has seen education emerge as a priority program for local government. Improving the quality of human resources to match standards in other provinces has emerged as a new challenge for the province. The article highlights the critical issues relating to the education system, education investment and policy formulation to support the development of West Papua.

An Overview of Education in West Papua

The educational situation in West Papua in the 1970s was very poor. The lack of school facilities and teachers were the major obstacles to the improvement of the education system in West Papua. To address the anticipated teacher shortages in Papua, the Indonesian government supplied teachers from Java. As a result, massive numbers of primary school teachers migrated to West Papua. The education system was changed from the Dutch system to an Indonesian model. It should be noted that the Dutch used an anthropological model for education which focussed on knowledge within the Papuan context. The Indonesian government introduced a national education system, where teachers acted as pioneers in the improvement of the quality of education in the province.

As shown in Figure 1, the proportion of West Papua population who are were five years of age and over that never attended school or completed primary school was substantial and significant (about 36 per cent); those who completed primary school around 27 per cent; completed junior high school (JHS) and senior high school (SHS) about 16 per cent and 18 per cent respectively; meanwhile only two per cent completed tertiary education. These figures suggested that in 2004, skilled human resources in West Papua remained low due to the small percentage of the total population five years of age over who had completed tertiary education.

Educational problems faced by West Papua

Shortage of Teachers

A teacher shortage particularly at the primary and secondary levels in West Papua meant that not all school-aged children attended school. The Indonesian government recruited teachers from West Papua and other parts of Indonesia with limited success. It was common in remote areas for army and police personnel who were stationed in the area to give technical assistance by teaching in schools.

Teachers are reluctant to teach in remote areas for the following reasons; the first is the lack of facilities and social services such as adequate housing for teachers and limited health care (Puskemas). Teachers often live in houses that belong to local people and it is very hard for teachers if they want to bring their families to the remote area. There are no social services in some highland areas of the province due to a lack of Puskesmas and medical staff. The second is a lack of transportation. It is common for teachers who work in remote areas to use small engine planes where there are only flights to remote area every three months or more. The third is lack of incentives for teachers to work in remote areas. It should be noted cost of living in remote area is expensive compared to that in urban areas. Therefore, without additional incentives for teachers in remote areas, they cannot survive. The last reason is irregular salary payments to teachers in remote areas. They must go to the regency centre to obtain their salary every three to six months, and improper accounting procedures means there is often a salary shortfall (Rumbiak and Mollet, 2002). In addition, surveys from the International Foundation for Election System (IFES) have shown that 35 per cent of 3,450 respondents mentioned a lack of an adequate of number of teachers (IFES, 2003). A significant example of this issue is noted in Bomamani-Pania, where the Catholic primary school has 180 students with three teachers each teaching six classes (UNDP and Government of Indonesia, 1989).

Curriculum

Like other provinces in Indonesia, the West Papua educational system has adopted the National Education System. This means the educational curriculum has been produced by the Ministry of Education in Jakarta and is a national curriculum. This curriculum is a controversial issue for educational experts in West Papua as the standard of curriculum is not designed for rural conditions. This curriculum is an urban standard curriculum designed for areas such as Jakarta, Yogyakarta or Surabaya. As a result, it is not surprising that West Papuan students have great difficulty adjusting to this curriculum. According to UNDP the national curriculum is difficult to apply in West Papua because of the local customs and the low level of basic competence of the students concerned. The students with different ethnic and regional differences receive the same kind of educational curriculum (UNDP and Government of Indonesia, 1989). Up to now, not much has been done to adapt the curriculum and teaching methods to the local context.