Govt tries to appease Papuans after division<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Trying to ease the mounting controversy over its decision to
\nsplit Papua into three provinces, the government is said to be
\nseeking a formula to ensure fair revenues from exploitation of
\nnatural resources in Papua.<\/p>\n
Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said on Wednesday the
\ngovernment understood that Papuans were rejecting the division of
\ntheir province.<\/p>\n
"Everybody is worried about revenue-sharing, we are going to
\ndiscuss a fair formula to guarantee that all provinces in Papua
\nshare the revenue," Hari remarked.<\/p>\n
Hari however failed to elaborate, saying the matter would be
\nbrought to the Cabinet meeting on Thursday. He said the fair
\nscheme would be further discussed with local authorities during
\nhis visit to inaugurate 14 new regencies in Papua later this
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
The government has come under fire for issuing the
\npresidential decree No. 1\/2003 to enforce the Law No. 45\/1999 on
\nthe division of Papua into the provinces of Papua, West Irian
\nJaya, and Central Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
Legal experts say the decree is a violation of the Papuan
\nAutonomy Law No. 21\/2001 which stipulates that the establishment
\nof new provinces there requires approval from the Papuan People's
\nAssembly (MRP), which was never even consulted.<\/p>\n
The House has urged the government to form the MRP council
\nbefore splitting the province.<\/p>\n
Hari insisted that the division legally took effect in 1999,
\ntherefore it could not affect the special autonomy, which was
\nimposed in 2000.<\/p>\n
Another contentious point was that the special autonomy law
\nstipulates 70 percent of the revenue from natural resources would
\ngo to the local administration.<\/p>\n
The island has two large mining sites, Tangguh in West Papua
\nand Timika in Central Papua, leaving Papua province without any
\nlarge natural resource to finance its development.<\/p>\n
"I know that there have been a lot questions from the province
\nthat does not have Tangguh or Timika and we are going to address
\nthat," Hari remarked.<\/p>\n
The minister will visit the province later this month, to
\nexplain the details to the people about splitting the island to
\nthree provinces.<\/p>\n
Around 3,000 people apparently in favor of the split-up took
\nto streets in Papua on Tuesday. The government claims the split
\nwill "help speed up development".<\/p>\n
Commenting on the rallies, most of which are vehemently
\nagainst the split, Hari said he had not heard reports that the
\nissue would escalate and spark tension among Papuans.<\/p>\n
National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar confirmed Hari's
\nstatement, saying the protests had not yet reached an alarming
\nlevel.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-tries-to-appease-papuans-after-division-1447893297",
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