How to address obsolete Issues amongst the Papuans

How to address obsolete issues amongst the Papuans

by Sando Sasako Jakarta, 17 October 2017 Any means of communications as a matter of fact is a propaganda tool. It can take the forms of audio, video, visual, symbols, drawings, or writings. The message it conveys and delivers surely sided to the interests and benefits of the communicators. Some contents indeed only cover and report the notorious false balance. That is the main idea and the sole purpose of any means of communications.

Such media manipulation applies in most industries and practices. It does not necessarily confine to and within the news industry. It’s also been applied in the science industry. Justification merely serves the communicators’ intentions and motives, either vaguely implicit or explicit blatantly. The internet has unleashed anyone to freely disseminate and distribute any information without reserves, checks, and balance.

The powerful social media has buried and drowned the mainstream media. It’s been happening all over the world. The credibility of news propagated by most media has sunk and hit the bottom of the ocean floor and won’t recover for good. Anyhoo, the false balance in any message can be easily identified and extracted by highlighting the weights of key words repeated and/or significant words that emphasise the sentences and paragraphs.

Universal Issues in Papua Some issues may indeed unveil the existence of a tip of the iceberg. Some others may exaggerate and exacerbate an inversed pyramid. To raise empahty and symphaty in regard to the injustice conditions felt and suffered by the locals and indigenous people, nothing is better than the universal issues, that is the natural environment and social environment.

The humanity aspects in life vary socially. Lemhanas coined the tenets and terms in the abbreviated ipoleksosbud-hankamnas. It is the short for ideology, politics, economy, social, culture, defense, and security of a national. The indicator is simply measured either quantitatively and/or in quality scale.

In a structurally governmental manner and/or economic sector, what matters most for modern human is health and education.

Some time ago in the past, the professional jargon used was sandang (clothes), pangan (food), papan (house). Whilst the latins love the term of mens sana in corpore sano, a sound mind in a sound body.

The good and health physical body can bear and content the good and health psyche, thinking, and mind. Some logics and rationales should reside on top on sentiments, feelings, emotions.

Some violence actions and treatments in regard to inhumane, non-humane labels, stigma, and status are easily applied to the police and armed forces as they were caught in the acts by the naked public eyes. The universal terms are then erected and buzzed easily in the social media. There is and are abuses and violations to the human rights in this case, case B, case C, and so on.

Generalisation and oversimplication come to the rescue. Of course, the rescue and salvage actions and operations only apply and confine to reinvigorate the obsolete and cheap issues. They are called obsolete and cheap as the news and analysis presented have never been made in-depth, but shallow.

Statistics of quantity and quality are merely facts.

Some on-site surveys and visual presentations may be of use. Of course, the facts should be original, genuine, not fabricated, not doctored. It should be presented as is. Any case presentation should be thorough, systematics, chronologics, and covering all aspects. Minority reports of incidents should be addressed and taken care as well. Yet, doubts will always rise in regard to some omissions, planted and/or surplanted evidence, fake witnessing.

How to address obsolete issues amongst the Papuans Some Peaceful Resolutions To address and counter these obsolete and cheap issues, the authorities are to remain transparent in reporting and presenting the real progress and advancement in making a better living and livelihoods of the locals and indigenous people. Some periodic reporting is highly advised. Accountability should also be addressed.

The rhetorics of cultural protection should be addressed carefully, as it embalms the aculturation in progress. Some cultural identity has been kept and preserved, ideally. Some Papuan cultural identity has to clash with the national identity of Indonesia. The symbol and flag of the morning star (venus, bintang kejora) has been embraced and epitomised by the locals and indigenous as their sacred and truly identity, existence, and beingness.

The holiness of venus has then been exploited by a separatist movement party named by OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka). OPM is ain’t different with any other resistant groups. These dissenting individuals have been fed by some degree of dissatisfactions with the existing rulers, directly and indirectly, either internally and personally generated and/or externally induced.

Their exiled position, status, opinion, leadership surely generates political intrigues and establishes some cabals by actively plotting some jiggery-pokery, focusing more on eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

The representation of locals and indigenous has been touted throughout the region. It lent to the establishments of MRP (Majelis Rakyat Papua) and DPRP (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Papua).

Chart – Human Development Index in Indonesia, Papua, Papua Barat, 1996-2010 Source: BPS

Chart – Human Development Index in Indonesia, Papua, Papua Barat, 2010-2016 Source: BPS

Above all, economic injustice has been the ultimate causalities that is relatively easy to measure and count. The resource-rich region has generated the notorious profound of jealousy amongst the locals and indigenous people. It does not confine only to the Papuans, but the world. The central government is forced to be transparent and accountable in the revenue sharing scheme.

Some economic disparity should also be addressed. Economic policy implementations should address the welfareness and well-being of the Papuans in general. Some eufemism is required to not use the term of poverty alleviation. Some degree of standard in modern urban livelihood may apply to the locals and indigenous people, even in remote areas. The broadband internet access is an example.

Some other indiscriminations should have been applied, practiced, and presented in the real life and on day-to-day basis. Any occurred violence and/or non-humane actions should have been reported impartially. The idea of independence and separatism should have been communicated, taught, and practiced. National identity should have been prioritised on top among other things.

Other Papua readings written by Sando Sasako 20120524, Papua yang Sarat dengan Isu Politik dan Kolonialisme, http://bit.ly/2yZVCbb https://www.scribd.com/doc/108759807/Papua-Antara-Politik-n-Kolonialisme 20120615, Sistem Kepemimpinan Tradisional Masyarakat Papua, http://bit.ly/2zhY0ZV https://issuu.com/the1uploader/docs/sistem_kepemimpinan_tradisional_mas 20120615, Penjaminan Mutu Pendidikan Anak Suku Terasing di Papua, unpublished.