House endorses division of Papua province<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives (DPR) endorsed on Thursday the
\ngovernment's controversial move to divide Papua into three
\nprovinces, thus giving more legitimacy to the government in
\nmoving ahead with the plan despite strong opposition from
\nPapuans.<\/p>\n
The House's approval was given after a closed-door meeting
\nattended by leaders of the nine factions in the House, leaders of
\nthe House defense commission and home affairs commission, and
\nPapua-born legislators Ruben Gobay, Alex Hasegem and Simon
\nPatrice Morin.<\/p>\n
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said that the government's move
\nwas only giving effect to Law No. 45\/1999 on the partition of
\nPapua into three provinces.<\/p>\n
He claimed that Law No. 45\/1999 did not contravene Law No.
\n21\/2001 on special autonomy for Papua.<\/p>\n
\"Both laws are valid ... This means that the division of
\n(Papua) province is acceptable,\" Akbar said after the meeting.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, legislator Effendi Choirie from the
\nNational Awakening Party and independent legislator Astrid S.
\nSusanto urged the House to oppose the government's plan as it was
\nopposed by many Papuans and could worsen the separatist problem.<\/p>\n
However, other legislators, including legislator Sabam Sirait
\nfrom the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and former
\nchairman of the House committee that deliberated Law No. 21\/2001,
\ngave their support.<\/p>\n
Sabam, for instance, contended that Papua was four times
\nbigger than Java island and, therefore, its division into three
\nprovinces was needed to boost development there.<\/p>\n
Over the past days, the Papuan legislators have strongly
\ncriticized the government for dividing Papua into three
\nprovinces, but on Thursday the very same legislators expressed
\ntheir agreement to the division.<\/p>\n
The House's endorsement has given a boost to the government,
\nwith Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno insisting that Papua
\nhad been legally spit into three provinces since the president
\nsigned Law No. 45\/1995.<\/p>\n
\"The split-up was decided before the issuance of the special
\nautonomy law. It's a fait accompli and the present government is
\nsimply giving effect to the law,\" he remarked.<\/p>\n
The minister, nevertheless, gave assurances that the special
\nautonomy law would be implemented in all of the three new
\nprovinces and that the revenue from Papua's natural resources
\nwould be fairly distributed among them.<\/p>\n
\"The public should not worry about their welfare after the
\nsplit as the central government will ensure a fair distribution
\nof revenues,\" Hari added.<\/p>\n
He also disclosed that he would visit Papua later this month
\nto inaugurate 14 new regencies in the province and discuss the
\nsplit with local administrations there.<\/p>\n
\"It should be underlined that it will be difficult to manage
\n28 regencies under the umbrella of one province,\" the minister
\nsaid before attending a limited cabinet meeting on Papua.<\/p>\n
The House on Thursday also recommended that the government
\nhold regular consultations with House to discuss the
\nimplementation of the law on special autonomy for Papua.<\/p>\n
It also urged the government to issue a decree on the
\nestablishment of the Papua People's Assembly as mandated by the
\nautonomy law. This assembly would need to be consulted by the
\ncentral government on any important decisions regarding Papua.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/house-endorses-division-of-papua-province-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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