House urged to drop bill on Irian Java<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Two outspoken legislators from Irian Jaya called
\non the House of Representatives to drop the bill on special
\nautonomy in Indonesia's troubled easternmost province as it
\nfailed to fully accommodate the Irianese people's aspirations.<\/p>\n
Alex Litay of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
\nPerjuangan) and Simon Maori of the Golkar Party said that all the
\nlegislators from the province would resist if the House went
\nahead with its plan to debate the controversial bill.<\/p>\n
\"We will have to conduct a campaign of protest until the bill
\nis dropped from the House's agenda,\" Alex said at the House's
\nplenary session here on Friday.<\/p>\n
He said the bill was opposed by local politicians in Irian
\nbecause they were not involved in its drafting and it was
\nregarded as failing to accommodate the province's aspirations.<\/p>\n
\"The issue of Irian Jaya will never be solved if the
\ngovernment forcibly inserts its idea into the bill and ignores
\nthe province's political aspirations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The bill on special autonomy for Irian Jaya was recently
\nsubmitted to the House but it has yet to be disseminated among
\nthe legislators.<\/p>\n
Maori, who, along with Alex, returned from Jayapura on
\nThursday, said the House should adopt the new bill being jointly
\nprepared by the Irian Jaya provincial administration and
\nlegislative council.<\/p>\n
\"Let the Irianese people channel their aspirations for the
\nprovince through this bill ... the central government should not
\nteach them what they want and need. It is of the utmost
\nimportance that the province remains within the unitary state of
\nIndonesia,\" said Maori, who was applauded by other legislators.<\/p>\n
Maori also said the government should be flexible in putting
\ninto effect the 2000 People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) decree
\nthat sets May 1, 2001 as the deadline for the implementation of
\nspecial autonomy in the province and in troubled Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"It seems impossible for the government to meet the deadline
\nbecause the two bills have yet to be debated. It's better to lay
\nthe groundwork properly rather than face numerous problems
\nfollowing their passage,\" he said.<\/p>\n
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, who presided over the plenary
\nsession, said that it was impossible for the House to drop the
\nbill but the draft being prepared by the Irian Jaya
\nadministration could be taken as the main point of reference in
\ndiscussing the government's bill.<\/p>\n
\"Regarding the May 1 deadline, the House should discuss it
\nwith the government so that the implementation of special
\nautonomy in the two provinces (Aceh and Irian Jaya) will not give
\nrise to new problems,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Akbar said in his speech before the plenary session that the
\ntwo bills were among 14 bills which would be held over from the
\nHouse's third session because of the House's full agenda over the
\nlast three months.<\/p>\n
\"Other bills which have been postponed include those on
\nelectricity, eradication of money laundering, building
\nconstruction and the establishment of 12 new mayoralties and
\nprovinces,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that of the 20 bills listed for the third session, the
\nbill on extradition between Indonesia and Hong Kong was passed
\ninto law last month. (rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/house-urged-to-drop-bill-on-irian-java-1447893297",
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