West Papuans forced out by PNG government

Wednesday, August 7, 1996 - 10:00

By Linda Kaucher

The Papua New Guinea government has agreed to cooperate with Indonesia to return 3500 West Papuan refugees, who have already rejected voluntary repatriation.

An agreement between PNG's foreign minister, Kilroy Genia, and his Indonesian counterpart, Ali Alatas, announced in Jakarta two weeks ago, was cause for alarm for the people in the East Awin camp, the "official" refugee camp inside the PNG border.

According to sources in PNG, the agreement was made after an ultimatum by the Indonesian military to return the refugees to West Papua ("Irian Jaya") or to integrate them into PNG.

It also came just after the United Nations High Commission for Refugees closed its Port Moresby office, believing that PNG would allow the refugees to settle in the country.

The agreement, concerning a large number of refugees so close to our shores, received very minimal coverage in Australia.

Another 10,000 West Papuan refugees are just inside the PNG border, in "unofficial" camps or camped by the sides of roads. As "unofficial" refugees, these people do not receive any UN assistance, such as health and education services. The future for them is unclear.

In April the Port Moresby UNHCR liaison officer, Bernard Boyer, stated, "Theoretically, refugees, as with any other person residing for over 10 years in the country, should be allowed to apply for citizenship or permissive residence status, but while the government granted such citizenship for refugees who arrived in the '70s, it did not respond to such demands by refugees who arrived in PNG following the 1984 upsurge in Irian Jaya".

According to Boyer, the UNHCR at the time believed, "The PNG government is planning the introduction of the new PNG refugee policy which is to allow freedom of movement, opening the door to free health and education for refugees. After some three years' wait, our office has good reason to believe that this policy is close to being adopted."

Speaking of refugees voluntarily repatriated, Boyer told a human rights forum in Port Moresby in December 1994, "The Indonesian government approves the UNHCR's list of returnees, but does not give a commitment not to arrest".