Big Papua protest criticized<\/p>\n
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura<\/p>\n
A senior lecturer from a university in Papua, Bambang Sugiono,
\ncriticized a massive protest earlier on Friday that rejected the
\nSpecial Autonomy Law for Papua province.<\/p>\n
\"There is nothing wrong with the Special Autonomy Law because
\nall the rights of Papuans, which have been neglected for a long
\ntime, have been incorporated under the law. The fault is with the
\nlaw's implementation,\" Bambang, a lecturer at Cenderawasih
\nUniversity in Jayapura, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Instead of demanding that the law be scrapped, the protesters
\nshould have demanded that the implementation be corrected, said
\nBambang. \"It is like a car that has just been released from a
\nfactory. When you find a problem with the car, you'd better fix
\nit rather than throwing away the car,\" said Bambang, a member of
\nthe team that drafted the Special Autonomy Law.<\/p>\n
Bambang was commenting on a protest participated by at least
\n10,000 Papuans on Friday that demanded the government review the
\nSpecial Autonomy Law that was enacted in 2001. In the biggest
\nprotest to date, the protesters also demanded that the government
\nhold national and international dialogs to solve Papuan problems.<\/p>\n
They said that the Special Autonomy Law, which provided
\ngreater power for the local government to manage its own affairs,
\nhad failed to improve the life of Papuans and therefore, it had
\nto be rejected.<\/p>\n
Although he criticized the protest, Bambang said that it was
\nuseful feedback for the central government. \"The central
\ngovernment has received the necessary input from the protest to
\ntake strategic measures to improve the implementation of the
\nautonomy law, which in turn would improve the life of Papuans.\"<\/p>\n
Bambang also explained that the protest took place because the
\ncentral government had failed to properly inform the public about
\nthe Special Autonomy Law. Similar comments were also shared by
\nRev. Edi Togotli, the chairman of Keerom Regental Churches.
\n\"Papuans learn from the media that the Special Autonomy Law has
\nbeen adopted and trillions of rupiah have been given to Papua,
\nbut they remain poor. Where has the money gone?\" said Edi.<\/p>\n
Edi confirmed a statement by President Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono that the central government would establish a small
\nteam to evaluate the implementation of autonomy in the province.<\/p>\n
The team would trace where the fund has gone, whether it has
\nreally been used to spur development in Papua or instead has gone
\ninto the coffers of local government officials, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The team should be honest. Instead of seeking data from the
\nlocal government officials, they should seek information from
\nPapuans to determine whether the autonomy has been able to
\nimprove their lives,\" said Edi.<\/p>\n
The protest, which came just weeks after U.S. Congress members
\nproposed a bill questioning Papua's incorporation into Indonesia,
\ndid not explicitly demanded for an independent Papua. However,
\nthe protest cannot be taken lightly as it can be the seed for
\nfurther efforts to achieve an independent Papua.<\/p>\n
The struggle has been given a boost after the U.S. bill
\nquestioned the validity of the process leading to the 1969 Act of
\nFree Choice in Papua, when a group of some 1,000 selected Papuan
\nleaders voted unanimously to become part of the Republic of
\nIndonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/big-papua-protest-criticized-1447893297",
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