Conflict Development in Papua and West Papua in the Perspective of Development of Conflict Prevention, Negotiation, and Peace
The conflicts that occurred in the Papua region are still occurring gradually and have not reached an agreement on their peace with the government. The conflict resurfaced in 2019 when Papuans held demonstrations in various regions to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the 1962 New York Agreement between Indonesia and the Netherlands on August 15. The demonstration was held for the first time in Manokwari which ended in chaos and as many as 169 demonstrators were arrested and 30 people were arrested because they were injured. Not only in Manokwari, but these demonstrations were also carried out in other big cities such as Jayapura, Sentani, Malang, Ternate, Ambon, Sula, and Bandung which also ended in chaos, but not in Yogyakarta and Jakarta.
The day after the rioting, the Papuan student dormitory Kamasan III was surrounded in Surabaya, causing 43 residents to be detained in the dormitory. The siege was allegedly carried out by the TNI and Polri, which was accompanied by the destruction of various dormitory facilities, the release of tear gas, and racial abuse against the dormitory residents. The reason for the siege was that the students allegedly destroyed the red and white flag, removed it, and threw it into the sewer. However, the students admitted that they did not know anything about the incident and finally the Surabaya Police Office decided to send the 43 students home after the investigation was carried out. Then, the incident turned out to have an impact on the Papuan people and triggered massive demonstrations in Manokwari and Jayapura. (CNN Indonesia, 2019)
It does not stop here, the conflicts that have occurred in the Papua region are still happening even in 2020. This conflict stems from the riots that occurred in Nduga, Papua after the killing of dozens of employees of PT. Istaka Karya on Mount Kabo by members of the Free Papua Organization (OPM) in December 2018. This caused thousands of civilians in Nduga Regency to decide to evacuate under the Humanitarian Team formed by the Nduga Regency Government. As of August 14, 2019, 182 Nduga refugees had died due to cold, hunger, and illness. (CNN Indonesia, 2020)
Currently, there are TNI and Polri troops in Nduga Regency whose function is to supervise and secure the population to avoid attacks from armed groups. Then, on February 26, 2020, there was another shootout between the Armed Criminal Group (KKB), led by Egianus Kogeya, and the TNI-Polri at the TNI post in Koteka, Nduga Regency. As a result of the action which lasted for about 10 minutes, a Brimob member and two residents were shot. This shooting action was carried out when the stone burning ceremony was held which was 300 meters from the location of the post. (BBC Indonesia, 2019)
From what is known about the conflict in the Papua region, this incident can be seen from the perspective of the Development of Conflict Prevention, Negotiation, and Peace. Basically, conflict prevention and negotiation are included in conflict management before finally achieving peace. Conflict prevention and resolution can be identified through a dynamic framework involving five main components according to Ichsan Malik (2014), namely: escalation, de-escalation, conflict factors, conflict actors, stakeholders, and the political will of the authorities. (Zuhdi, 2018)
Furthermore, according to Marc Howard Ross (1993), conflict management is the efforts taken in order to direct the problem in a certain direction which may or may not produce an end in the form of conflict resolution in the form of calm, positive, creative and consensus. An approach that leads to the conflict management process refers to the communication patterns of actors and how they can influence the interests and interpretations of the conflict. (Safitri, 2018)
One form of conflict prevention is negotiation. Negotiation is an interaction carried out by an interested person/group trying to fulfill a need or achieve an agreement to be achieved with another person/group who is also trying to fulfill his/her needs. The strategy of conducting negotiations is to obtain a wise agreement, is an efficient and effective method, and improves or at least does not damage the relationship between parties. Negotiations must be carried out in safe conditions so that everything can be communicated properly.
Furthermore, if conflict management has succeeded in bringing the parties to a resolution of the conflict, then there comes a situation where the parties to the conflict decide to reconcile. According to Galtung (1998), peace is a state of social justice that can be created through equal opportunity, fair distribution of power and resources, equal protection, and impartial law enforcement. Peace can be a condition in which the parties to a conflict agree to commit to not being in a situation that triggers a conflict again.
What has happened in the Papua region regarding the prolonged conflict has actually been done to prevent conflict, however, this has not been able to reduce the potential threats that can always occur. One method of conflict prevention is the arrival of the TNI-Polri which aims to secure the community from recurring conflicts. The presence of these officers did not make Kelompok Kriminal Bersenjata (KKB) or Criminal Armed Group members fearful and the community still did not feel safe because until now, the same problems still occur even though the government has made efforts to protect them with direct supervision from the TNI-Polri.
Therefore, it is necessary to implement other conflict prevention methods so that conflicts in the Papua region can be resolved. The military approach that has been carried out by the government does not seem to have any meaning in the eyes of the KKB members so that until now, attacks aimed at the apparatus are still being carried out. This is as stated by Komnas HAM’s Deputy Head of External Affairs, Sandrayati Moniaga, that it is time to replace the use of coercive methods with a new approach that is humanist and based on human rights. One way is to take a dialogue approach as a new approach to conflict resolution efforts.
Sandrayati emphasized that the dialogue that will be held is not just a meeting between the President and Papuan leaders, but rather a strategic approach to discussing problems, finding common solutions so as to build binding agreements between conflicting actors. Dialogue must be carried out in an inclusive manner by involving many parties (not only the government and parties from Papua), such as academics, human rights activists, and other important actors. The dialogue must discuss all the root causes of the problems that have occurred, including social, political, human rights, and other issues. It is hoped that this dialogue approach can be implemented comprehensively. (Ristianto, 2019)
The dialogue approach recommended by Komnas HAM is a forum for negotiations between the Indonesian government and Papuan people who are involved in the conflict. Negotiations can be carried out when both parties have conveyed their respective wishes so that a solution can be agreed upon. The approach through dialogue can also help the Government of Indonesia know what the Papuan people want and what they have not achieved and what they have not felt.
By conducting negotiations in a dialogue approach as a form of conflict prevention, conflict management looks more profitable because it involves all parties rather than a military approach, which seems government-centric. Through dialogue, the government has carried out three stages of conflict management, namely approach, understand and overcome. The Indonesian government approaches and understands the roots of the entire conflict in the dialogue brought up by the Papuan people in conflict, they can resolve it by negotiating and getting recommendations from other parties involved, such as academics and human rights activists.
It can be said that the negotiation method in the dialogue approach is an effort to achieve the peace that the current Indonesian government should undertake to resolve the prolonged conflict in the Papua region. There is nothing wrong with trying something new, compared to sticking to something that has been implemented for a long time but has not paid off.
