The Role of the Church in a Changing Society: A Case for Human Rights Action

 

February 2002

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Melanesian culture

3. Social change

4. “The Aspiration for Freedom” (“Aspirasi “M”)

5. Human Rights

6. The Role of the Church

7. Conclusion

7. Bibliography

8. Discussion

1. Introduction

This paper aims to discuss the role of the Church in West Papua¹ with regard to human rights action in the context of West-Papua. West Papua has experienced the past few years fast political and social change. Since 1998 a new freedom movement has emerged, the so called “aspiration for freedom.” (“Aspirasi ‘M’ =Aspirasi Merdeka) .There has been an extensive mobilisation of Papuans of all walks of life: students, farmers, intellectuals, church ministers, youth, women. All over West PauaSecurity posts have been established (Pos Komando or Poskos) and given up, after being told to do so by the police. Following this satgas (Satuan Tugas = task force) were formed to maintain order at the large demonstrations that continue to take place.. The Papuans who in the past were hardly visible in public life, were not allowed their own different identity, have reasserted themselves. They now express pride to be different. Papuans also, for the first time, began to speak openly about serious human rights violations they experienced the past 40 years. This they now call their “memoria passionis”.² Ordinary church members, ministers and church leaders, have played an important role in the freedom and emancipation movement. In the Suharto era (1965-1998), it was virtually impossible to bring out into the open anything, which could be construed as a criticism on the Government. The Church was then really not in a position to join in any action to defend human rights. This has now changed.

I argue that the struggle for human rights is central to the Gospel, and that it forms a central task for the Church. The freedom struggle of the Papuan people poses a dilemma for the Church. Should it support the demand for freedom and follow the aspiration of the vast majority of the Papuans. Freedom could be seen as a basic right, following from the principle of the sovereignty of the people and the right to self-determination of every nation. Or should the Church accept a neutral position on the issue of the freedom struggle, stressing the separation of Church and State. This last option would probably satisfy those church members, especially in the towns, mostly immigrants, who do not want independence for West Papua.

2. Papuan culture

Papuan culture is part of Melanesian culture, a culture area which stretches from the Raja Ampat Islands to Fiji. There seems to be no other area in the world has a larger diversity of languages, cultures, societies. Beyond this diversity we can also observe a unity in the form of political organisation. The traditional political structure is participatory and democratic. There is considerable participation of everybody involved in decision making. The leader is usually elected. Sometimes there are several leaders who function at the same time, but have different roles. The clan heads have an important role in the council with the leader. Such a loose, non-hierarchical and participatory structure can also be seen in modern organisations dominated by Papuans, like the Gereja Kristen Injili (Evangelical Cjhristian Church) in Papua or the STT-GKI (Theological College of the GKI).

There is also a unity in Papuan religion and cosmology. There are two basic concepts at a deep level: ‘dualism’ and ‘balance.’ There is a basic dualism in the cosmos and at times even an antagonism, such as between male and female, light and dark, day and night, sun and moon, land and swamps or land and sea, the coconut palm and the sago tree, etc.. In religious ceremonies, such as the large pig feasts among i.a. the Dani, Yali and Me of the Baliem valley or the Dema celebrations of the Marind-anim in the South, this basic dualism is temporarily overcome. ‘Balance’ is also expressed in the concept ‘reciprocity’. This is the basis of traditional law. It is, in effect, an effort to make a balance between two opposites, to have harmony between people among themselves, , between people and nature and between the world of the ancestral spirits and gods and the world of human beings.

For the Papuan theologian Kemung (:15-16) from PNG the principle of “receiving-giving” is the key concept of Melanesian culture. It means reciprocity, mutuality, generosity, community, koinonia, relationships and exchange. All this is expressed in the Kate language of the author in one concept ‘nareng-gareng’ Other Melanesian languages have also one concept to express the same meaning. This ‘nareng-gareng’ is the basis of a Melanesian contextual thgeology. It should also be the basis for the Missio Dei of the Church into the world.

In traditional culture there is not such a thing as individual human rights. Only the members of one’s own language group were considered real human beings. The term used to indicate one’s own tribe or language group often just means ‘human beings’, ‘humankind’. The basic values of Melanesian society express respect for others. This is implicit in the concept like nareng-gareng, or gotong-royong (shared communal activities), which imply balance, community, sharing, which is also basic to the concept of human rights.

3. Social change

With the coming of Christianity in West Papua since 1855 the traditional value system changed. The concept of reciprocity did not disappear, but added to this were concepts like faith, surrender to God, self sacrificing love, to give and not to expect something in return. With Christianity also Western values were introduced like individualism. The choice for Christianity was offered as an individual choice. Individuals had to follow the catechesis lessons and pass them before they could get baptized. This was in agreement with Pietism, which stresses the emotional and personal aspects of religion. and Reveil, which stressed personal piety and brotherly love. Both Pietism and Reveil were at the roots of the missionary movement, which send missionaries to West Papua. Christianity was also the door to a much wider world. Love and fellowship now transcended the small tribal and clan units. In the process of conversion at first instance clan interests may have played a role. In the course of church building different clans and tribes met in mission schools, at presbytery and synod meetings.

Christianity came to be linked with the Papuan identity. The Church also became one of the first institutions where Papuans could take decisions by themselves, in relatively democratically organized groups.

Before the 1950s mainly the Missions were active in West Papua in the area of education, church building, and the local economy. The interest of the Netherlands-Indies Government was mainly “to show the flag,” to prevent other colonial powers to come too close to its colony it prized so much. There was little interest to develop West-Papua. These were the fringes of the Empire, the very end of “the Great East.” The real interest of the Dutch was in Java and Sumatra with the large coffee, tea, rubber and sugar plantations, and the tin mines and oil wells. Only from the mid 1960s the Netherlands Government began to invest in education, health services, road making, with the aim to lead the Papuans to self rule. This was cut short by the integration with Indonesia in 1963. From 1970 onwards Indonesia gets heavily involved in the area in mining, agriculture, communication, education etc. The 5 Five Year Plans from 1969 to 1994 aimed to have more than 2 million immigrants settles in West-Papua, which by 1969 had about 750,000 inhabitants. The target was not reached, but in 2000 West-Paua had a population of over 2 million, with probably between 25 and 30 % newcomers. The population in West-Papua is growing fast. In 1980 the net migration was 79.000 and in 1985 131.000. (Manning, Chris 1989: 20). In the period 1980-1985 the population of West-Papua increased by 4,4 %, while the growth in Indonesia as a whole was 2,3 % a year. The urban population increased even more between 1980 and 1985: 5,6 % a year. (Manning: 15). A sizeable part of the migrants, 44 %, consists of the so-called “transmigrants”, send to West-Papua with the support of the Ministry of Transmigration. Most of these are Javanese Muslims, coming for rural Java. The number of Muslims in West-Papua increased from 255.747 in 1988 to 414.550 in 1996. As a percentage of the total population the Muslims went up from 17 % in 1988 to 20 % in 1996. (Irian Jaya in Figures, 1996: 199). 30 Years ago there were hardly any Muslims in West-Papua. Besides the official migration there is the free migration. These migrants are from areas, which have already longer contacts with West-Papua like Seram and Ambon, Ternate, the Minahassa, Makassar and Toraja land (Middle Slaws). But also Chinese, Batak people and Javanese arrive here as free migrants, either as government officials, army personnel, or as entrepreneurs. These ethic groups often have a very specific role in the economy. The Buginese from Makassar are very dominant at all the markets (“pasar”), where they have virtually a monopoly. Ambonnese are found in education and in government. Menadonese from Minahassa, North Sulawesi, in trade, Batak people in the police and in the army, Chinese as owners of supermarkets and hardware shops, Toraja people in carpentry, Madurese as haircutters, Javanese in the roadside food stalls (“warungs”).

The fast extending infrastructure, a prime target for “development” of the Suharto period, of roads, airway connections, telecommunication, higher education, especially benefits the migrants, the “people from outside”. Each newly built road, like the road from Nabire to Enarotali, or from Jayapura to Lereh, results in a new influx of migrants. The Papuans themselves also increasingly are becoming migrants. They have to get involved with money economy, whether they like it or not. In some areas there is already a scarcity of land like in Paniai. But the Papuans from the interior, the Baliem valley, the Star mountains, the Wissel lake area (Paniai) are lagging behind compared with the migrants from outside, with regard to level of education, language skills, economic skills, work discipline, and work experience. This threatens to lead to a division in society between lowly educated and paid Melanesians and more skilled and better-paid immigrants. The Papuans threaten to move into a vicious circle of unemployment, raising their children without a perspective, drunkenness, involvement in crime. This leads to prejudice and finally to discrimination against the Melanesians. In this way the Papuans could become second-class citizens in the land of their birth.

Islam is, generally speaking, a new religion in West Papua. Before 1970 there were hardly any Muslims. In 1996 there were 415,000 Muslims. Two third of these (272,090) live in Sorong, Merauke and Jayapura Regencies and in Jayapura City. (Irian Jaya in Figures 1996: 199, Table 4.4.1). Islam, being the majority religion of Indonesia, has because of that a special status. Many government officials are Muslim and tend to give government grants to Muslim organisations. From the 1970s the churches saw the coming of Muslim migrants, often helped by the Government with loans, land and housing. They saw the building of mosques and Muslim prayer houses with government grants, wherever there were even a small number of Muslims, in areas which up to then had been 100 percent Christian. Christians feared op beccome a religious en even a persecuted minority in the labnd whre before they had a complete majority. Every violations of the religious freedom in the archipelago, send fear to the Christians in West Papua. The church burnings in Sitobondo led to an official protest by the chairman of the Synod to the Governor of Irian Jaya.

5. “The Aspiration for Freedom” (Aspirasi “M”)

There is a relationship between the preaching in the Church and the struggle for freedom of the Papuan people since people from outside began setting up an administration since the late 1940s.

The Gospel message includes a message of liberation from sin and oppression. It clearly states that all human beings are created equal, whatever their ethnicity, skin colour, level of education etc. In the struggle images of the Bible are used, especially from the Exodus. When the Team of 100 went to Habibi to ask for freedom it evoked the image of Moses and Aaron going to pharao asking to let the people of Israel go to their promised land. The Papuans in a spontaneous effort at a local, contextual theology identify themselves with the people of Israel. In Indonesia, which has a Muslim majority, West Papua is the only provinces with a Christian majority.

In Indonesia it was compulsory for every citizen and every institution, including the churches to agree with the official ideology of Pancasila.Criticism of this ideology was punishable by law. Since the “reformasi” this changed. Aherence to Pancasila remains a requirement, organizations are now only being asked not to be 妬nconsistent_ with it rather than to base their group ideology on it.³

In the Suharto era the Church was still left with some autonomy. It has its own, democratic, system of government and members meet and discuss things in the congregations, the presbyteries and the synod general meetings. The Government tried to get a foothold in the Church. The Governor, Head of the Police and the Head of the Army were usually Christian. Government and army officials were always visibly very much present at important church gatherings and were offered the opportunity to address the gathering, in order to provide the Government’s and the Army’s exegesis of the “signs of the time.” As an example, Governor Freddy Numberi called, in October 1998, on the Christian segment of Irian Jaya’s population to accept God’s divine will that their land became an integral part of the archipelago through the Act of Free Choice which was, according to him, the final solution to the dispute over the province between Indonesia and the Netherlands. “Let us not reject God’s will,” he said.⁴ In this way the governor put himself on the gown of the church minister, disregarding a strict separation between church and state.

The margins within which the Church could operate and claim its autonomy, were except in purely dogmatic issues, very limited. The power of the Church is in the network it has, a system of communication, opportunities to celebrate together, to meet together and decisions together as on Synod and Presbytery meetings. In the Orde Baru, the Suharto era (1965-1998), hardly any criticism of the Government was allowed.

The longing for freedom, the “Aspirasi M”, has a long history. In traditional society people felt free as the social structure was based on consultation. Decisions are not taken alone but in consultation with all parties involved. In case one did not want to support the decision one was free to follow one’s own course. The unity of society was in shared myths, shared rituals like the large pig feasts, having a sacramental character, the wars, with changing allies, the peace making ceremonies, the exchange of brides, trade etc. In the Northern parts of West-Papua the myth of Koreri has been always very active. This myth expresses the hope of a new time, when there will be an abundance of goods and when there will be peace and harmony. One time the mythical Saviour figure of Manseren Mangumbi will retrun from the West where in ancient time he went. The Me people of Paniai have a similar myth where Koyeidaba is the Saviour, who once will return. When there is stress and difficulties this myth pops up and a prophet (konoor) announces the immediate coming of the Saviour and the good times. In the Baliem the experience with a central government, mainly by people from outside the Baliem, is quite recent. The original communities were very small, based on kinship. The groups were rules by egalitarian leaders, chosen by the community, the so-called “Big Men.” In Orde Baru Indonesia, however, every and any form of dissent and protest was immediately repressed with an excess of violence. A principle of Melanesian culture is that there always should be a balance. This means that every injury and every death has to be compensated by another injury or another death. As an alternative damages could also be compensated by payments. Within the context of the existing impunity of the security forces, who were the perpetrators, the people could not get any redress. Complaints could even lead to further intimidations and threats. This meant that the victims and their relatives remained with the feeling of hatred, of anger, of frustration and of trauma at the injustices done to them. These feelings could explode. They definitely form an important causal factor in the present discontent with Indonesian rule the past 37 years.

 6. Human Rights

We could, like the early advocates of civil and human rights see these as “self evident.” We could also, as theologians, look for a theological basis of human rights. The Bible does not know a ough there is not a concept “human rights” , but there many clear references that human rights, as being part of the justice God wants for His people, belongs to the nucleus of the biblical message. Human beings are created by God. This means that they are dependent on God, their Creator. That means also that no human being can ever usurp the authority of God over one’s fellow human beings. He/she cannot play God over other fellow human beings and decide about their life or death. Neither does he/she have the right to inflict cruel and degrading punishment, or apply torture. Human beings belong to God. The Gospel teaches us an immense respect for every human being, whatever his or her status in society. The Gospel shows a preference for people who, from human perspective, are marginal. Still they have a major place in the salvific plan of God with humankind. Prophets were called from behind their ploughs to speak the Word of God to rulers. Simple Galilean fishermen were selected by Jesus to follow Him and become Apostles, leaders of His Church. The poor Lazarus, who spent his whole life begging for some food, was elevated above the rich man. Jesus identifies himself with those who suffer. At the Last Judgment “the King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of theleastof these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40 NIV) “He will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of theleastof these, you did not do for me.’ (Matthew 25:45 NIV). In those who suffer and those who are forgotten by the world we meet Jesus.

Jesus Christ died on the Cross to save sinners. This fact alone should already lead us to an immense respect for every individual, whatever his or her background, status, race, language, level of education as Jesus found him or her worth to shed His life for him or her. In Christ there is no room for any discrimination, for any consideration that particular groups are inferior as “ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28 NIV). There is a similarity which is not coincidentally similar to Art 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status.”

God gave humans freedom, when He created them. They have the possibility, the room, to make a decision for or against the Lord. This freedom is one essential difference between humans and animals. Human rights are also directly relevant to the Church, as the Church itself needs freedom of speech and opinion to be able to do its work well. It needs the freedom of opinion, the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech, the freedom to worship in order to do its work well in the area of catechesis, preaching, the diaconate, having a church service, mission work, evangelisation etc. If the Church self can not function without these freedoms and rights it is clear that it should also be willing to fight for these rights if they are violated anywhere, whoever is the victim and whoever is the perpetrator.

Human rights have already a fairly long history, long before they, like at present, were considered “universal’, that is considered valid for every human being, independent of race, level of development, nationality, sex etc. Human and civil rights became part of the American Declaration of Independence of 1776, which stated “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creature with certain unalienable rights, that among these are the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” No arguments were given. The authors were of the opinion that “these truths are self evident.” In 1789 the French accepted a “Declaration of the Rights of Man” as binding for the new Republic. Gradually more countries began to include these rights in their Constitutions. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights accepted by the General Assembly of the United Nations aimed to make these rights truly universal, binding for every member nation of the United Nations Organisation. The Declaration emerged from the struggle of the Allied Nations against Germany and Japan, with their ideologies of racial superiority, aimed at world domination.After the War tribunals were set up and Japanese and German leaders were accused of “Crimes Against Humanity”. These include “murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population before or during the war, or persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds …”⁵ The Tribunals established universal jurisdiction. This means that national sovereignty can not be used as an exculpation for crimes of these nature. It also means that perpetrators can be brought to court in any country, as General Pinochet discovered when he went to Britain for a medical treatment. It is also valid for those responsible for the mass murders of the Tutsi in Rwanda and the atrocities committed by Serbians in Bosnia. Also when the national laws give immunity to these perpetrators they can still be arrested when they go abroad.

In a world where information is spread with the speed of light through new electronic media it is of essential importance that ordinary citizens, including NGOs and churches get involved in creating an awareness to prevent human rights violations. Every individual should feel responsible, as a human being, to try to prevent human rights violations anywhere in the world. A neutral, objective and reliable international organisation like Amnesty International could provide the framework for such an action. A careful analysis of the ethics of the Nazis teaches us that, generally speaking, it is fairly easy for ordinary people to become perpetrators of human rights violations. (Haas, Peter J 1988). Early action when human rights violations are detected, can prevent a situation to grow from bad to worse. The conclusion of Haas (1988: 223) with regard to the Holocaust is that “(n)ormal people ended up doing wicked things because their society and culture failed to define their acts as evil. The problem of evil is one of human culture, one that occurs when people are left to construct their own societies in the absence of God.”

It is striking to note that even in such a climate as that of Nazi Germany during the Second World War there were still people who stuck out their necks and stood for their principles. In many cases they got respect and in some cases could even prevent human rights violations to take place.

Human rights violations emerge in a climate of impunity. Perpetrators are not persecuted. They set, because of this, a bad example to follow for others in his or her group. The Nazis (1933-1945) had a very explicit ideology with its idea of a “Herren Volk” (people of Lords, the German race) and its rejection of Jews and Gypsies as an inferior race, ready to be liquidated. The same is the case with the regime of Pol Pot in Cambodia (1975-1979), the apartheid (separate development) regime in South Africa (1948-1991), Brazil (1964-1985), Chile under Pinochet (1973-1989) or Argentine under the colonels (1976-1983), In the three Latin-American countries military took over the Government, human rights violations took place, including detention without trial, torture, and “disappearances” (illegal killings by security forces). Anti-communism was the underlying ideology.

 7. The Role of the Church

The Church has a contribution to make in the area of human rights as it is witnessing its message of the Good News to the poor and rejected. In the Suharto period (1965-1998) the Church and any other institution had to follow the policies of the Government. Dissent and criticism was discouraged or punished severely. In various ways the Government and the Army tried to get control over the Church, by rewards and punishments. There were hardly any ways the Church could express discontent or criticisms.

The Church in general has a mission to the world. It has to be “salt and a lamp” (Matthew 5:13, 14)

The Church can make an impact. The Dutch Reformed Church, the leading church of the Europeans in South Africa, declared racism a sin in 1986. This led to the change of mind of President De Klerk, abolishing apartheid and opening the way to a majority government in South Africa. Church leaders like Allan Boesak en Desmond Tutu played a leading role in the struggle against the injustice of the apartheid regime. The Dutch Reformed Mission Church, led by Boesak, came with a new confession, the Belhar confession, to provide a theological basis of the struggle against apartheid. It strongly condemned, based on the Gospel, any separation or discrimination of humans. It concluded that “the Church must … stand by people in any form of suffering and need, which means, among other things, that the Church shall witness against and strive against any form of injustice, so that ‘justice may roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream’ , that the Church as God’s possession must stand where he stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged; that in following Christ the Church must witness against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interest and thus control and harm others. Therefore we reject any ideology which would legitimate forms of injustice and any doctrine which is unwilling to resist such an ideology in the name of the Gospel. We believe that, in obedience to Jesus Christ, its only Head, the Church is called to confess and to do all this, even though authorities and laws forbid them, and even though punishment and suffering be the consequence. Jesus is Lord.”⁶

Desmond Tutu became after the dismantling of apartheid the chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, an essential step in the building of the new South Africa. The Commission was established in 1995 with the aim of reconciling all South Africans to their experience of apartheid by establishing the truth about its history. The Commission criticized the role of all the country’s main political parties during the apartheid era, but by far the strongest criticism was directed at the National Party and its implementation and enforcement of the apartheid system, which was described in the report as a crime against humanity.⁷

Especially in the field of ideology critique, social values and ethics the Church has an important contribution to offer. It is the duty of the Church is to preach and to live the Gospel. For human rights is a major criterion to judge governments and states, from a Christian perspective. This does not necessarily mean that the Church gets involved in politics. But it can and should plead on behalf of the weak, the voiceless, the victims, whatever their faith, ethnicity or nationality. Even in the era of 途eformation_ there is still work to do. Amnesty International at least states in a recent report to the Indonesian Government: “… a climate of impunity persisted. Prosecutions of members of the security forces for human rights violations continued to be the exception rather than the rule. Those who were brought to trial were generally from the lower ranks and were given light sentences. Many cases of past human rights violations remained unresolved.”⁸

7. Conclusion

It seems important for the churches of West-Papua to work together in the area of human rights education, human rights action. The churches, in view of their extensive local networks and their international contacts, are the most suitable to engage in these activities. Amnesty International, as an objective and neutral organisation could be of importance in this context, for instance by promoting the establishment of local support groups and a section in West-Papua. In countries where there is no effective mechanism to enforce rights public opinion is the only way to prevent human rights violations by appealing to the conscience of the offenders. This is done by writing letters, sending emails, spreading information to the offending governments, and to governments and organisations that could influence them to stop human rights violations.

Discussion

1. Should the churches in West Papua do an effort to use the democratic space now available to initiate, a grass roots investigations of human rights violations, in an effort to record the “memoria passionis.” This could help to bring about reconciliation. It could also help to create human rights awareness with common people, in order to prevent human rights violations in future.

2. Should the churches initiate a special human rights education project, to train its members to become aware of human rights violations and how to report these to national and international human rights organisations. Amnesty International could give assistance with such a project.

Bibliography

Documents on Mission, 1985, Pretoria: Unisa

Haas, Peter J 1988. Morality after Auschwitz. The Radical Challenge of Nazi Ethic, Philadelphia: Fortress Press

Irian Jaya in Figures1996, Jayapura, 1997: Statistical Office of Irian Jaya Province

Manning, Chris 1989

Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation

http://www.antara.co.id/rx/art/eng/curr/national/1998/10/10/ANT3000.html

Numuc Z. Kemung 1998. Nareng-gareng. A Principle for Mission in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea, Erlangen: Erlanger Verlag fuer Mission und Oekumene, 228 pp., (World Mission Script: 5)

Addresses of human rights organisations:

Amnesty International, International Secretariat,
1 Easton Street, WC1X 0DW, London, United Kingdom

Email: info@amnesty.org

URL: http//:www.amnesty.org

Amnesty International, Malaysian Section