Jayapura, Jubi – Community representatives of the Intan Jaya Regency have expressed their rejection of the government’s Wabu Block mining plan during a hearing with Commission VII – dealing with energy affairs – of the House of Representatives on Monday, March 28, 2022.
The meeting at the House’s Nusantara I Building in Jakarta was also attended by Papuan lawmakers, representatives of tribal chiefs from Intan Jaya, the Intan Jaya Indigenous Community Institution, traditional leaders, and students from Intan Jaya.
“We asked the House to urge the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources to cancel the Special Mining Business License for the Wabu Block mining by PT Mind Id and PT Antam in Intan Jaya,” said Intan Jaya Advocacy Team Leader Bartolomeus Mirip in a written statement to Jubi.
Mirip said his party had followed the escalated violence in Intan Jaya in the past three years. He concluded that the armed conflict between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Police and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) kept increasing. This situation has resulted in dozens of people being killed and thousands more displaced.
“These violence and armed conflicts are closely related to the government’s plan to exploit the Wabu Block gold reserve. Indigenous people and the TPNPB reject the mining plan,” said Mirip.
In fact, his party suspected that the government had responded to such rejection by deploying large numbers of non-organic security forces to Intan Jaya. As the TNI and police do not understand the local culture, it is not uncommon for allegations of violence against civilians to occur.
“This increased violence has resulted in Indigenous Peoples losing their basic rights, especially the right to live, the right to be free from all forms of violence, and the right to obtain public services such as education and health,” he said.
Meanwhile, rights NGO Amnesty International Indonesia has also asked the Indonesian government to cancel the plan to exploit the Wabu Block gold reserve as it was considered to increase the risk of human rights violations.
Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid, in his written statement on Friday, March 25, 2022, emphasized that the Wabu Block mining plan was only feasible if the government had consulted with and obtained informed consent from Indigenous Papuans in the area.
On March 21, Amnesty International Indonesia published a report entitled “The Gold Hunt: Wabu Block Mining Plans Risk Aggravating Human Rights Violations in Papua”. The report concludes that the risk of human rights violations in Papua will increase if the government realizes its mining plan on the Wabu Block. This analysis is based on the escalation of violence in Intan Jaya since the government announced plans to mine the Wabu Block.
“We ask that our findings be read by relevant parties including President Joko Widodo,” Usman said. (*)
