Transcript
VICTOR YEIMO: They claimed that KNPB planned for this declaration. But yesterday (Tuesday) our secretary-general, Ones Suhuniap, clarified it to the media that we, the KNPB, didn't take responsibility for the event. But I don;t know why the police came suddenly and they broke our office and they arrested our members.
JOHNNY BLADES: The secretary-general, he was among those arrested?
VY: Yes, Ones Suhuniap, he is the secretary-general of the KNPB.
JB: This declaration plan, who is behind it?
VY: I think it is the black propaganda [indistinct] for our focus after we unite inside the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, that is why there are people used by Indonesia to make propaganda, they can blame the event (as being) co-ordinated by the KNPB, so they can criminalise our activities. But this declaration doesn;t come from the ULMWP or the KNPB or any other organisation. That is why we think this is their propaganda. why the propaganda? Because today Jakarta, they're committing a new military operation in Timika now. There's a very, very brutal operation still going on in Tembagapura (district of Mimika regency) now. That is why I think this is the [indistinct] by Indonesia to manipulate, to concentrate all media on Jayapura case.
JB: There's a lot that's been going on in Timika...
VY: Because the guerillas, the (West Papua) National Liberation Army (TPN), they've already declared that they will focus on the Freeport (lucrative gold and copper mine in Papua province) because they want to give the effect, they want to make influence to the international that Freeport is the root of the problem. That is why they are only focussing on Freeport.
JB: And what's the KNPB's relationship with the TPN these days?
VY: As you know that they use violence. We don't use violence. We are a non-violent organisation. There is no connection between us and them. But we have one goal for the self-determination. We also support the international. But we want people of west Papua to bring this struggle to the peaceful means. But as you know, guerillas, they think it is better to die and fight for freedom than every day we die. That's their commitment, and already they declared war on Freeport, because, as you know, they will never accept what Indonesia and the United States of America been already use our natural resources as a bargaining for political and economic. So that's why they want to take control and they want to make this problem to be felt by the international community.
JB: These people who were arrested, what was the charge?
VY: It's not really clear. Ones (Suhuniap), they questioned him about the declaration event. He had already clarified about it. But another one is about... a KNPB meting for all the regions, a meeting in Wamena, one month ago - they questioned about that event too. The third one is about me, what is my position. Also another thing is because they find some bullets in our place. But you know we never put any bullets in our office, but they put it and they take it again and want to show, want to criminalise us.
JB: There were some big demonstrations in Papua back in 2015 and 2016. The KNPB seems to have been laying fairly low since then. Is that for a reason?
YV: Yeah, we want to evaluate our movement. This is not about how we can co-ordinate or about demonstrations. But the important thing is how we can manage people, how we can manage the organisation, how we can make the people power. We focus on how we can stand the capacity within our organisation. But we'll come back and bring people to the movement again. We still believe in non-violence method.
JB: What do you think about the reported dialogue process that some Papuan civil society, church and customary leaders have recently entered into with the president of Indonesia, dialogue about Papua?
YV: I think they have missed about the aim of the dialogue. I think that Neles Tebay's project is already moderated by Jakarta. Thwere is not any objective from the dialogue. Like before they want to bring all political parties to the international level, like MSG (Melanesian Spearhead Group) like whether we can bring Indonesia to the MSG and the ULMWP. But when Neles Tebay's project came to Jakarta, Jakarta, they want sectoral dialogue, it means they supplied, they bring it out from the objective of the dialogue. The people want dialogue is how they can bring Indonesia and West Papua to sit down together at the United Nations. But this objective is already failed, from my view, because what Indonesia perspective is, they want to make our case to be an internal case, internal problem. We don't want that. Our problem is not an economical problem, or an internal problem by Indonesia. No, our problem is an international case. What we can bring Indonesia to the international level and sit down together, face by face, talk together in MSG or the next level like the United Nations... about the political status of West Papua, not about the economy and other problems. Dialogue will not give us the solution, but a referendum is more... it's the final solution, democratic and final solution: whether we can still integrate with Indonesia or whether we want freedom. This is the final decision. we want to decide the future of West Papua through a referendum.
