Response on West Papua

The Saturday Paper’s article titled “Chemical weapons dropped in Papua” (December 22, 2018–January 25, 2019) is a good example of misleading and false news, channelling baseless allegations against the Indonesian government and the real and progressive situation in Papua. Armed separatists in Papua have conducted heinous crimes including murder of innocent civilians. Their latest act is the execution of 19 innocent workers on December 2, 2018 who were in Nduga building the Trans-Papua Highway, while four more civilians are still held hostage. In response, the Indonesian government formed a joint police and military taskforce to conduct law enforcement operations in the area, in accordance with the prevailing laws and regulations, on December 4-15, 2018. As a compliant member of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Indonesia possesses no chemical agents as listed in schedule 1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention; while the schedules 2 and 3 chemical agents are used for strictly peaceful purposes. Such have been confirmed by 19 OPCW inspections since 2004. Hence, no Indonesian apparatus has ever been in possession or utilised any chemical weapons. The Indonesian embassy in Canberra deplores the irresponsible reporting of The Saturday Paper. The two writers failed to “cover both sides” and have not requested clarification at all. – Billy Wibisono, first secretary political affairs, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia

MAXINE BENEBA CLARKE is The Saturday Paper’s poet laureate, and the author of The Hate Race and Foreign Soil. She is a winner of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Poetry.