Carmel
Budiardjo with John Miller (left) of ETAN and Ze Luis Oliveira at an
East Timor solidarity conference in 2009. Photo: laohamutuk.org
Report – By Andreas Harsono in Jakarta
Democracy Forum Bersatu Rakyat Papua has presented
the title “Eldest daughter of Papua nation” to human rights activist,
writer and publisher Carmel Budiardjo of London in Bali. The event was
attended by several Papuan leaders, including Mama Yosepha Alomang from
Timika, Rev Benny Giay of STT, Walter Post, Federika Korain and Salmon
Yumame of the Democracy Forum.
The event was held in Bali because Budiardjo, as a non-citizen of Indonesia, would have needed a “travel permit” to go to Papua.
Travel resprictions are used by the government of Indonesia to deter
activists, journalists and international diplomats from travelling to
Papua.
According to a press release by Democracy Forum: “Ms. Carmel
Budiardjo, who is now 85 years old, has been showing great commitment
fighting alongside the people of Papua to protect the identity and
ultimate freedom given by God to the people of Papua.” She is considered
of having shown “proven perseverance” in the fight for “the dignity” of
the nation of Papua since the 1970s.
Budiardjo was baptised with the name: Papuaumau (Mee language) or Ati
Venia (Maybrat language) or Bin Syowi (Biak language.) All those words
mean “eldest daughter” in three local Papuan languages. Benny Giay said
“Mother Carmel” is “a Papuan citizen” because of her struggle and
commitment for human rights.
The inaugural presentation was marked by a procession of traditional
dance by students in Bali. As part of the procession Mama Yosepha
presented a painting with an image of Caramel Budiardjo. The painting on
wood bark illustrates Budiardjo with one hand holding the image and
people of Papua New Guinea. An inscription written on her shirt reads
“Papua Carmel Budiardjo: Papuaumau or Ati or Bin Syowi Venia”.
In her speech, Carmel Budiardjo said she was deeply moved and
grateful to the Democracy Forum. She said she would carry on to campaign
for human rights for Papuan people.
Carmel Budiardjo was born in London in 1925. She graduated from the University of London in 1946.
She met with Suwondo Budiardjo, an Indonesian, when they lived in Prague. They married and moved to Java in 1952.
Jailed then expelled
There Carmel worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs.
In 1965 General Suharto took power and imprisoned thousands of
Indonesian communists including Suwondo for 12 years. Carmel herself, as
an economist from the left, was jailed for three years and was later
expelled from Indonesia in 1971.
In London, Carmel Budiardjo founded TAPOL, which is an abbreviation
for “political prisoner,” to campaign for the release of political
prisoners in Indonesia. TAPOL stepped up its campaign with research
about Indonesian military activities and human rights violations in East
Timor, Aceh and Papua.
TAPOL published an important reference bulletin about human rights in
Indonesia from the 1970s until 2008. In 1983, the organisation
published the book West Papua: The Obliteration of a People. Budiardjo also wrote an autobiography, Surviving Indonesia’s Gulag: A Western Woman Tells Her Story.
Budiardjo’s work in the field of human rights has been widely
acknowledged. In 1995, Carmel Budiardjo was awarded the Right Livelihood
Award in Stockholm.
In 1999, the International Forum for Aceh, which is based in New
York, awarded her the title “Tjut Carmel Budiardjo” (the title refering
to her becoming a honorary “Acehnese women”).
According to Nur Djuli of the International Forum for Aceh, “We also
gave her a plaque with a poem in Acehnese language, saying: Reudôk di
glé ujeuën muprœt-prœt, aneuëk guda rœt ôn naleuëng paya. Meunyo lôn
ingat budi gata gœt bak tiep simpang rœt lôn rô ië mata.”
Meaning:
Thunder on the mountain, showering Rains,
A filly grazing grass swamp,
Whenever I recall your Good Deeds,
At every street corners
Tears drop from my eyes.
At every street corners
Tears drop from my eyes.
Carmel Budiardjo has tirelessly worked for people suffering from
oppression by “Indonesian Javanese people.” – to borrow the terminology
of Hasan di Tiro, who is the founder of the Acheh / Sumatra National
Liberation Front. Last year East Timor’s President Jose-Ramos Horta
presented the “Timor Leste Star” to Budiardjo for her “impressive
contribution to peace, to the Timorese people and to humanity.”
In Bali, the event closed with a traditional Papuan banquet of
papeda, fish sauce, petatas, taro leaf and kasbi. Budiardjo was
accompanied by her son and daughter in the ceremony.
Andreas Harson is an independent Indonesian journalist writing on professional and human rights issues. This article was first published on Pacific Media Centre Online.
