[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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