[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 120 (Friday, September 11, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H7613-H7614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SPECIAL COUNSEL INVESTIGATION BLATANTLY UNFAIR
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to take a moment today to
express my feeling for the whole process of the special counsel's
investigation of the President for the past 4 years that got us where
we are today, and that is that it is blatantly unfair.
Mr. Speaker, 4 years ago the independent counsel began investigating
what is known as Whitewater. Well, some of us know what it is in the
independent counsel's report. Indications are that after 4 years of
investigations and $40 million of taxpayers' money, no crimes related
to Whitewater were committed by the President.
So how did we get from there to where we are today? The independent
counsel took it upon himself to expand his investigation to allegations
presented to him that the President had an extramarital affair. With
tapes in hand, he went to the Attorney General asking for authority to
continue to expand his investigation, which she granted. Today we have
a report within our jurisdiction, and I fail to see why we are in such
a rush to release it without giving the President--
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will suspend.
The gentleman must be reminded that there should be no references to
the President or personal allegations in any debate or discussions on
the floor of the House.
The gentleman may proceed.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I believe I was saying it in the third
person; I was not making it directly to any person in particular.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. If the gentleman will suspend, references or
inferences are not to be made on the floor of the House and should be
avoided. The gentleman may proceed.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, such an approach seems fair to me, and
I regret that the rule being offered today does not offer that
consideration to the President.
Indonesia's Human Rights Violations Against the People of West Papua
Mr. Speaker, once again I would like to call the attention of my
colleagues to an ongoing struggle presently being waged many miles away
in the Pacific by the people of West Papua New Guinea, or Irian Jaya,
as it is known by the Indonesian government. In July, the attention of
the world was focused, however briefly, on the immense tragedy caused
by the Tsunami which caused the devastation of the coastal villages of
Papua New Guinea.
In the western half of the same island, some miles away, agonies of
another sort were being experienced by the people of Papua New Guinea.
It is not my intent, Mr. Speaker, to detract in any way from the horror
and the misery inflicted on the people of Papua New Guinea by the
disaster which wiped out their coastal villages. Rather, my concern is
that we should not forget the devastation wrought by our own fellow
human beings.
Mr. Speaker, I have spoken on previous occasions about the history of
the people of West Papua and about their struggle for independence from
Indonesia. On July 3, Indonesian armed forces fired on pro-independence
demonstrators at a university in Jayapura, the Capital of West Papua.
On July 6, more than 100 people were wounded and at least 3 people were
killed when Indonesian armed forces fired on a crowd of pro-
independence demonstrators on the Island of Biak.
Since 1962, Mr. Speaker, the people of West Papua have been under the
occupying authority of Indonesia. Over the past 3 decades the use of
excessive and lethal force has been a feature of the Indonesian armed
forces' response to both peaceful and armed opposition by the people of
West Papua.
{time} 1245
The recent events in West Papua have only served to underscore the
brutality with which the aspirations of the West Papuan people are
being suppressed by the new regime which took power after the
resignation of President Suharto.
Mr. Speaker, the recent violence of the Indonesian government against
the people of West Papua is part and parcel of a long history of
Jakarta's oppression. Papuan people are not Indonesians, they are
Melanesians. Their country is not naturally a part of Indonesia, which
is more than 2,300 miles away across the ocean, with many island
nations in between. West Papuan languages, religions, history,
identity, and customs are their own, and bear no relation whatsoever to
the rest of Indonesia.
These two nations were cobbled together in 1969 to serve the foreign
policy interests of our own Nation and its ally, Indonesia. Indonesia
took over West Papua New Guinea in 1963, suppressing the West Papuan
New Guinea dreams of freedom and self-determination. There was no
natural reason for this union, so it should come as no surprise that it
is unraveling.
Since Indonesia took over West Papua New Guinea, the native people
have suffered under one of the most repressive and unjust systems of
colonial occupation in the it 21st century. The Indonesian government
has waged an ongoing war against the ``Free Papua movement'' and their
supporters since the 1960s. The civilian populace that has objected to
Indonesia's plans for development in West Papua has suffered similar
oppression.
Mr. Speaker, incredible as it may seem, estimates are that between
100,000 to 300,000 indigenous Melanesians, West Papuan New Guineans,
have been killed or have simply vanished from the face of the earth
during the years of Indonesian occupation. I hope my colleagues will
appreciate the suppression and the problems the West Papuan New
Guineans are now going through with the Indonesian government.
Mr. Speaker, once again I would like to call the attention of my
colleagues to an on-going struggle presently being waged many miles
away in the Pacific by the people of West Papua, or Irian Jaya as it is
known by the Indonesia Government. In July, the attention of the world
was focused, however briefly, on the immense tragedy caused by the
Tsunami which devastated the coastal villages of Papua New Guinea.
[[Page H7614]]
In the western half of the same island, some miles away, agonies of
another sort were being experienced by the people of West Papua. It is
not my intent, Mr. Speaker, to detract in any way from the horror and
the misery inflicted on the people of Papua New Guinea by the disaster
which wiped out their coastal villages. Rather, my concern is that in
the midst of the devastation wrought by nature we should not forget the
devastation wrought by our fellow human beings.
We can only respond after the fact to the devastation brought by a
Tsunami. We have the opportunity to respond with more immediacy to the
devastation which is caused by our fellow human beings.
Mr. Speaker, I have spoken on previous occasions about the history of
the people of West Papua and about their struggle for independence from
Indonesia. On July 3rd, Indonesian Armed Forces fired on pro-
independence demonstrators at a university in Jayapura, the capital of
West Papua. On July 6th, more than 1000 people were wounded and at
least three people were killed when Indonesian Armed Forces fired on a
crowd of pro-independence demonstrators on the island of Biak.
Both of these demonstrations were peaceful, Mr. Speaker. They
expressed the desire of the people of West Papua for a just resolution
to the matter of their political status. Human Rights Watch has called
for a full investigation into the shootings in Biak, where 140 citizens
have been detained by the government and where there are reports that
wounded detainees are being denied medical care and that their families
are not being allowed to visit them.
Since 1962, the people of West Papua have been under the occupying
rule of Indonesia. Over the last three decades the use of excessive and
lethal force has been a feature of the Indonesian Armed Forces'
response to both peaceful and armed opposition. The recent events in
West Papua have only served to underscore the brutality with which the
aspirations of the West Papuan people are being suppressed by the new
regime which took power after the resignation of President Suharto.
Mr. Speaker, the recent violence by the Indonesian Government against
the people of West Papua is part and parcel of a long history of
Jakarta's oppression. Papuan people are not Indonesian, they are
Melanesian. Their country is not naturally a part of Indonesia, which
is more than 2,300 miles away--across the ocean, with many island
nations in between. West Papuan languages, religions, history, identity
and customs are their own, and bear no relation to those of Indonesia.
These two nations were cobbled together in 1969 to serve the foreign
policy interests of the United States and its ally Indonesia. Indonesia
took West Papua in 1963, suppressing the West Papua people's dreams of
freedom and self-determination. There was no natural reason for this
union, and so it should come as no surprise that it is unravelling.
Since Indonesia took over West Papua, the native Melanesian people
have suffered under one of the most repressive and unjust systems of
colonial occupation in the twentieth century. The Indonesian military
has waged an on-going war against the ``Free Papua Movement'' (OPM) and
their supporters since the 1960s. The civilian populace that has
objected to Indonesia's plans for development in West Papua has
suffered similar oppression. The thousands of killings associated with
the expansion of the freeport copper and gold mines in West Papua are
testimony to the brutality of the Jakarta central government.
Incredible as it may seem, Mr. Speaker, estimates are that between
100,000 to 300,000 indigenous West Papuans have been killed or have
simply vanished from the face of the Earth during the years of
Indonesian occupation. And this pattern of annihilation is being
continued by the regime of Mr. Habibie, despite initial promises of
reform.
The current Government of Indonesia continues to choose a policy of
repression, a policy which disregards the rights of the indigenous
people of West Papua. Mr. Speaker, the tragic situation in West Papua
is of great concern to me. The recent shooting over the pro-
independence demonstrations in Jayapura and on the island of Biak, the
violent responses which we have seen to pro-independence demonstrations
in towns and cities all across West Papua indicate that this new regime
is prepared to continue the repression of the past.
One half of Papua New Guinea is still reeling from the worst natural
disaster to hit the island in recent memory. Whole villages and the
lives of the people in them have been completely obliterated, wiped off
the face of the Earth. In the other half of the same island, the people
of West Papua are suffering another form of devastation. Their identity
as a people is being obliterated by a brutal regime thousands of miles
away.
I would hope that all my colleagues would join me in urging the
Indonesian Government to cease these violations of human rights and
instead take immediate steps to review the political status of West
Papua. The new regime in Indonesia has an opportunity to correct the
mistakes of the past, not repeat them. It seems to me that we have an
obligation to lend our support to this effort, and I urge my colleagues
to protest in the strongest possible terms these continuing violations
of basic human rights by the new Government of Indonesia.
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