World leaders continue to attack Israel over lands they claim Israel is illegally occupying, but they are awfully quiet about the theft of West Papuan lands by the Indonesian government and their foreign partners. An article published by the Jakarta Post a few days ago states:
An Indigenous tribe in Indonesia is at risk of losing vast swathes of ancestral forest after a court threw out its lawsuit against a palm oil firm, rights groups say. The Awyu tribe, whose roughly 20,000 members rely on the land for their subsistence, had sought to freeze the operations of PT Indo Asiana Lestari (PT IAL) in the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua.
JP
This is a massive theft of tribal lands by the Indonesian government in cahoots with it’s foreign partners. The tribal leaders of the Awyu Tribe turned to the court, which is nothing but an agent of the Indonesian government, hoping to stop this land grab and expansion. However, the court sided with the PT Indo Asiana Lestari (PT IAL). The ruling means that the tribe would lose a huge swath of land measuring about 100,000 acres to a private corporation that is apparently working with Jakarta to steal these indigenous lands.
What is this Palm Oil?
It is a “billion-dollar industry in Indonesia, which is the world’s largest producer and exporter of the commodity used in everything from chocolate spreads to cosmetics.” The report stated that Indonesia produces about 2/3 of the world’s Palm Oil product. And the fact that they are in West Papua demonstrated two things: The indigenous lands are suitable for the cultivation of Palm Oil trees, and that the Indonesian government can, by virtue of Indonesian laws, hand them to foreign or local corporations by the stroke of the pen without the consent of the tribes. In other words, it is easy to steal indigenous lands by government order.
Murder for money
It also apparent that the PT IAL is using the Indonesian government and the court to expand its operation. But this is not the only place where Palm Oil companies or planters flexed their muscles. In 2019, various activists, who were protesting Palm Oil expansions throughout Indonesia, were arrested, and two Indonesian journalists, Maraden Sianipar and Martua Siregar, who were critical of similar operations in Sumatra, were found dead. Their demise is a sign that these oil companies would go to the extreme, even murder, to protect their bottom-line. They hired some of the most dangerous security firms to intimidate, even murder critics. As such they operate with impunity; they have has zero consideration for the environment, the lands, the cultural values, and the customs and traditions of the true owners of the lands – the indigenous people of West Papua.
The court’s view
The JP quoted the lawyer representing the tribe’s activists, Tigor Hutapea, as saying that the “court ruled PT IAL’s permit was valid, rejecting the tribe’s argument that the concession had been granted based on a flawed environmental impact analysis.” It appeared that the case was heard with a foregone conclusion. They never questioned or considered any environmental concern of the people, whose lives depend on the land for their lively, regarding deforestation of the land.
It is a fact that tribe’s voices are often silenced or completely ignored in the negotiation process, making their objections worthless even though they are the rightful owners of the lands that the Palm Oil Company acquired with the help of the Indonesian government, and have been denuded of all their natural resources.
The hypocrisy
The sad reality of today’s global affair is that certain lands and lives are not important to the international community. The Indonesian government ironically sent its Foreign Minister to the United Nations to condemn Israel; sent its president to Ukraine to condemn the invasion of that country, but they can take the lands of West Papua, murder indigenous people for speaking up, and acted as if nothing happened. The arrogance is quite telling.
Here at the WPHRC – we condemn this land grab, and we urge the Indonesian government to take into consideration the views and legal arguments of the indigenous tribes of West Papua. They should have a greater voice when it comes to issues pertaining to their lands, particularly issues that have lasting consequences on their livelihood. In fact, the role of the Indonesian government, if Indonesia indeed claims to be the legal occupier of West Papua, is to protect its citizens, not suppressing them at the behest of foreign corporations and their interests.
Say no to the theft of West Papuan lands.