Refugees From The Pose P-NG Problem

Pose P-NG Problem

The only place that the border between West New Guinea and Australia’s New Guinea territories has any positive existence is on the map. On the ground, it runs through swamps of the Fly River, in the Sepik heads through trackless rain forest, and cuts across jagged limestone ridges in the central Star Mountains.

Nobody can be sure where it is, give or take a few miles.

BUT in July, a big group of native people made one fact quite plain —they did not want to go on living on the western side of it, and became refugees from Indonesia.

With wives, pigs, and all the food they could carry, they made their way overland from borderline villages just east of Merauke to settlements of kinsfolk along the upper and middle reaches of the Bensbach River, in Papua. it took several weeks for the main body of people to cross into what, indisputably, was Australian Territory, but the movement still goes on, and as well as patrol officers can estimate, upwards of 400 men, women and children have changed sides.

Many small groups of West Papuans have crossed the borderline, in canoe and on foot, since Dutch rule ended in October last. Some have been permitted to stay, others u/pi-p Q P nt wv But there never had been anything like the mass movement to the Bensbach River, and the Australian Administration was confronted with a situation it found impossible to control.

First news of the migration was flashed by Patrol Officer S. H.

Cooper, when he found a steady

stream of people heading eastwards through his camp at Weam, a few miles east of the border. Weam had been established late last year to help enforce the “closed border policy adopted as a protection against disease and subversion, from an Indo nesian western half of the island, Like the posts at Vanimo, Imonda, Green River, Amanab and Kiunga, j ts j G b was to screen all migrants, and turn back those without tra ditional rights extending over the in visible border. It was also a keystone j n a quarantine system devised to provide a buffer zone of immunity against the ingress of smallpox and cholera, Vaccinated . . . t A medical team was to Weam to vaccinate ‘he migrants and quarantine their animals Special air drops of thousands of pounds of sup- P. had to be made because the new b £ht aircraft strip a closed b y heav y rams * Meanwhile, with an embarrassing border situation looming, Western District Officer lan Holmes was sent to try to persuade the people to re turn to their home villages. He failed. The westerners expressed

plainly their dissatisfaction with the new Indonesian rule, although it is not clear whether anybody actually claimed he feared for his safety.

As Holmes was talking to one group, a jeepload of Indonesian troops, on border patrol duties, ar rived to try to persuade the Papuans to return. They drove right up to his camp. The Indonesians asked if they could speak to the Papuans, and Holmes invited them to carry on where he left off. But several hours later, they gave up.

The Indonesians spent that night under Australian tents, sharing Aus tralian food, and next day set off along the rough track back to Merauke. Reluctantly, Australia de cided that the unwanted migrants would have to be allowed to stay.

There were ties of kinship between them and the Bensbach people, and they did in fact own some land in Australian Papua.

Quarantined

The newcomers were accepted by the Bensbachs, who actually offered extra land for food gardens. The Ad ministration imposed a strict quaran tine, forbidding movement outside a defined area for six months. It was made clear that menfolk must build houses and establish settlements, and would not be permitted to move to the towns to seek employment.

No news of the movement was re leased by the Port Moresby Ad iministration until all threat of a border “incident” had passed. When it did come, the announcement showed all the signs of having been wrung from unwilling lips. The names of responsible officials were obviously lacking from the statements that appeared in the Press. The De partment of Information offered no information on the situation.

The political situation around Merauke has always been a confused one. Inter-tribal jealousies go back

many years. There is a substantial Indonesian settlement of long-standing and at the same time, the area has been a centre of intense nationalistic feeling. During the “confrontation” period in 1962, Indonesians and pro- Dutch faced each other with anger, and at times with weapons. The United Nations managed to ride out its seven-months interregnum with only one or two incidents at Merauke, but it could do nothing to solve basic issues, and left behind an unstable and potentially dangerous situation.

Earlier Attempts

The refugees to Weam tried to move into Australian Territory 10 months ago, but were then persuaded to adopt a policy of “wait and see”.

Whether they are moving now out of a traditional fear of insecurity or because of repressive Indonesian measures could make a big difference to Australia.

Their presence on Australian terri tory is an affront to Indonesian nationalism, and a continuing chal lenge to the Indonesian claim that Papuans welcomed the end of Dutch colonialism.

The situation has all the ingredients of a major international incident, should Indonesia choose to exploit it. That she has not so far done so, but has in fact apparently publicly ignored the situation, gives some hope for the future.

But Australia should have learnt, from Weam, that its New Guinea ad ministration cannot exist in a political vacuum. Sooner or later, it must stand and talk to Indonesia across the border with West New Guinea.