West Papua

My Lords, I too add my congratulations to the noble Lord, Lord Harries, on securing this debate, particularly following the media reports over the festive season that suggested tensions are increasing. Indeed, there are claims that a force of between 2,000 and 5,000 military and police mobile brigade personnel are currently undertaking an operation in the Punjaya region. I hope that the Minister will be able to comment on these very concerning claims in her response. No doubt she recognises, as did the noble Lord, Lord Judd, that some nationalist groups fear that Papua could become the next East Timor. That has a significant bearing on today's debate. Papua, a name adopted in 2002, is currently a province of Indonesia. It refers to what some of your Lordships might remember from days at school as the region known as Dutch New Guinea during the colonial era. Papua—nee Irian Jaya—became a province of Indonesia following a UN supervised Act of Free Choice in 1969, the legitimacy of which, as the noble Lords, Lord Harries and Lord Griffiths, have already highlighted, remains disputed. As your Lordships are aware, West Papua was the major beneficiary of a nation-wide decentralisation process started in 1999 and the special autonomy status introduced in early 2002. Measures included the formation of the Papuan People's Council and redistribution of resource revenues. Those measures were welcomed but we are frustrated and disappointed, along with many Members of your Lordship's House, by the continuing failure regarding the implementation of the special autonomy law. We on these Benches believe that the full implementation will lay the groundwork for a long-term resolution to the growing crisis in West Papua and will offer stability for the province. What recent steps haveHer Majesty’s Government taken to encourage the Indonesian Government to proceed with the special autonomy law? Can the Minister inform the House whether the Prime Minister raised the issue during his visit to the country last year? We could not have had a debate today without mentioning the human rights situation in Indonesia. There can be no doubt that it has dramatically improved, for which the administration should be commended. However, there is still a very long wayto go. Significant concerns continue to surround violations by the Indonesian armed forces, restrictions on access to Papua for journalists and NGOs and a number of cases where prisoners have been convicted for treason for displaying the Papuan flag. Many of your Lordships will find it very difficult to consider that Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage have been jailed now for 15 and 10 years respectively for peacefully raising the independence flag, and yet army officers convicted of involvement in the murder of the Theys Eluay, the independence leader, in 2001, received only three years. What steps are Her Majesty’s Government taking to ensure that there will be a public debate regarding the human rights issues in Indonesia and in particular guaranteed open access for NGOs and journalists? What consideration has the Minister given to the calls for the Papuan People’s Council to be fully involved with the central Government of Indonesia in working towards an acceptable solution? This has been a most interesting and detailed, if specialised, debate. As my right honourable friend William Hague said: "““We have the privilege of living in freedom. But with that privilege comes the responsibility to use our liberty to speak up for those who are denied it””." It is important to consider West Papua within both its historical and current context, as much as we have great sympathy with many of the concerns raised today—indeed, we share some. However, we do not believe that meaningful dialogue with the Government of Indonesia can take place on the basis of calls for Papuan independence. We support the UK Government in respecting the territorial integrity of Indonesia. We are not calling for the independence of Papua, but for an open, inclusive and frank discussion and the full implementation of the special autonomy law. We value our good relationship with Indonesia but we believe that it is dragging its feet on this issue. The Government could and should press harder to find, through dialogue, a peaceful, just and dignified resolution.