[Marxism] West Papua report by the ICG

[clintonf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

"?Both external and internal misconceptions of Papua are difficult to dislodge 
because they contain kernels of truth?, says Francesca Lawe-Davies, 
Crisis Group South East Asia analyst. 
?The most useful assistance the international community can provide to Papua 
is development aid to strengthen local institutions and deliver basic 
services?, 
says Sidney Jones, South East Asia Project Director.
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4364&m=1


The report provides a valuable insight into how the status quo will be 
defended in the months ahead. For example: 

1. The directly elected governors of Papua and West Irian Jaya, the two 
provinces 
within the broader territory of Papua, are indigenous Papuans, as are the heads 
of 
all 29 districts.

Comment: A similar claim could have been (and was) made about East Timor.

2. The TNI has over 12,000 troops in Papua, and there are between 2,000 and 
2,500 police. (Crisis Group interview, diplomatic source, June 2006. )

Comment: So the author(s) are relying for a crucial claim (that Papua is not 
highly militarised) on an unverifiable assertion by an anonymous source. 

3. the tiny Indonesian socialist Partai Rakyat Demokrat (People?s Democratic 
Party, PRD), 
whose platform supports a new referendum for Papua

Comment: The PRD (as I understand it) calls for a discussion that occurs 
in a non-coercive atmosphere, and says that any ballot that occurs without 
such a genuine discussion would be distorted.

It continues, and so will I, in due course.

CF



________________________________________________
YOU MUST clip all extraneous text before replying to a message.
Send list submissions to: Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism