Papua crucial to Indonesia

This supports the argument in last week's briefing update from the International Crisis Group that the government is shutting down dialogue with Papuans.

Relations between the Papuan elite and the Jakarta Government have never been easy, but Papuan trust in Jakarta is at a low point. The brutal killing of five members of the security forces in the Abepura riots reflects something of the depth of feeling among Papuans, their desperation and the degree of alienation from Indonesia.

Canberra's decision to grant Papuan asylum-seekers visas has exacerbated the Indonesian government's anxieties about Papua and heightened suspicions about Australian interests and intentions. Jakarta's statement notes that: "The [visa] decision justifies speculations that there are elements in Australia that support separatist movement in Papua and in this regard the government of Australia has not done anything to them."

The head of the National Intelligence Agency, Syamsir Siregar, alleged that non-governmental organisations involved in the riots in Abepura earlier this month had links in Australia.

It is not only the alleged activities of Australian NGOs that are suspected by Indonesian officials. The head of the armed forces, Djoko Suyanto, suggested that the asylum-seekers could not have reached Australia without the assistance of Australian patrols and that asylum-seekers from the Middle East were treated differently.

These Indonesian suspicions relate directly to Australia's role in the 1999 international intervention in East Timor. Many Indonesians, inside and outside the government and the military, believe, mistakenly, that an independent East Timor was the preferred strategic outcome for Australia. They suspect that Australia has the same objective with respect to Papua. Frequent and definitive Australian Government statements of support for Indonesian sovereignty in Papua evoke the Indonesian response, "That's what you said about East Timor."

Australia has a vital interest in Indonesia peacefully resolving the conflict in Papua. Indonesians and Papuans need international support to help reduce Indonesia's dependence on violence in its governance in Papua and to accommodate Papuans, their interests and values, in the government of the province. The agreement on Aceh is a model of what is politically possible.