Irianese leader seeks special autonomy<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The sooner the central government gives Irian
\nJaya special autonomy, the better Jakarta's chance of silencing
\nthe demands for independence emanating from the province, a
\npolitical leader in Irian Jaya said.<\/p>\n
The deputy speaker of the Irian Jaya provincial legislature,
\nJohn Ibo, blames the increasing support for secession among the
\nPapuans, as the province's natives refer to themselves, on the
\ncentral government's failure to address the demand for autonomy.<\/p>\n
\"The central government should know that the Papuans do not
\nneed or expect special autonomy at the level of discussion. They
\nwant to see and experience this status materialize in the
\nprovince,\" Ibo told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.<\/p>\n
He said the speedy implementation of autonomy in the province
\nwould convince Papuans to remain a part of the republic.<\/p>\n
Irian Jaya is home to one of the world's largest gold mines.
\nAlleged human rights violations and unfair revenue sharing from
\nmining activities have cause many in the province to demand
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
The 700-member People's Consultative Assembly, in its General
\nSession last October, endorsed the proposal to grant the natural
\nresource-rich provinces of Aceh and Irian Jaya special autonomy.<\/p>\n
Ibo said the government's failure to follow up the Assembly's
\ndecision and draft a law and operational regulations to implement
\nthe special autonomy showed it was not serious in resolving the
\nissue.<\/p>\n
The government's recalcitrance is also manifested in other
\nmatters, according to Ibo.<\/p>\n
First, based on the unique nature of Irian Jaya, the
\nprovincial legislative council proposed to the central government
\nthat four deputy governors be appointed to the province. \"But as
\nof today, there has been no response,\" Ibo said.<\/p>\n
Second, he said, the legislative council requested the central
\ngovernment to provide Irian Jaya Rp 350 billion of the Rp 2
\ntrillion of financial aid set aside in the state budget for the
\ncountry's provinces. \"However, the central government never
\nreplied.\"<\/p>\n
He said Papuans hailed President Abdurrahman Wahid's approval
\nof Irian Jaya being renamed Papua. \"But there have been no steps
\ntaken by the government or the House of Representatives to
\nofficially adopt the name.\"<\/p>\n
Ibo warned that if Jakarta continued to procrastinate, Papuans
\nwould lose their trust in the government. \"Further delays in
\nimplementing the special autonomy in Papua will only fuel the
\nalready strong demand for establishing an independent state in
\nthe territory.<\/p>\n
\"The government has the obligation to carry out development in
\nIrian Jaya. If it fails to fulfill the needs of the Papuans, the
\npeople's demand for independence will grow.\" (eba)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/irianese-leader-seeks-special-autonomy-1447893297",
"image": ""
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