Broken promises in Papua<\/p>\n
The opinion section (page 7) of The Jakarta Post, on Aug. 28,
\ncarried an illustration by its cartoonist (TS) depicting the
\ndisappointment of the population of West Irian or Papua about
\nempty promises made by government officials in Jakarta to bring
\njustice and prosperity to the region. They decided to establish a
\nthird controversial province, which almost led to a tribal war,
\ncausing five people to be killed unnecessarily. When and how the
\nissue will be resolved in the long term is something that
\neverybody anxiously awaits.<\/p>\n
But the cartoon has for me a special significance,
\ncoincidentally. Readers of the Post may still remember that
\nabout two years ago a comment appeared in the letters column on
\nthe formation of a watchdog for broken promises by leading
\npoliticians and government officials. One of them even
\ncongratulated the initiators of the movement, wishing them luck.
\nHis name was D. Chandramouli, himself a prolific letter writer.<\/p>\n
Perhaps many at that time were still frowning at the
\nobjectives of such a moral organization calling itself the
\nBarisan Penagih Janji or Watchdog For Broken Promises. Now that
\nso many people are running for high government office in the next
\ngeneral elections such a watchdog may turn out to be a useful
\norganization. The number of people getting disillusioned because
\nof broken promises has indeed increased. The latest example has
\nbeen the formation of new provinces within West Irian as a means
\nof giving greater autonomy to the regional administrations. There
\nwere arguments for and against the formation of a new Central
\nIrian province, which led to two people dying and many being
\nwounded.<\/p>\n
The central government in Jakarta has said that those
\nagainst the formation and those in favor should settle
\ntheir affairs through consultations and not resort to
\ndirectly proclaiming the new province, without the
\napproval of the central administration. But those in
\nfavor of proclaiming the new Central Irian province
\nargued that they had waited for too long to get the
\npromises implemented and that they did not want to
\nlisten any longer to broken promises.
\nIn a sense it was through a small bloody revolt that
\nthe central administration was reminded of its promise
\nto broaden the autonomy.<\/p>\n
GANDHI SUKARDI
\nJakarta<\/p>",
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