Papuans want Solossa's work continued<\/p>\n
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura<\/p>\n
Papuan public figures have called on their people to uphold the
\nspirit of special autonomy in the resource-rich province to
\nrespect the late governor Jacobus Perviddya Solossa who had built
\nand fought for the status during his tenure.<\/p>\n
Solossa, a noted politician from the Golkar Party, died late
\non Monday in what doctors believe was a heart attack. He was 57
\nyears old.<\/p>\n
His funeral is scheduled for noon on Wednesday at the Tanah
\nHitam cemetery in Jayapura, with the ceremony to be presided over
\nby Vice President Jusuf Kalla.<\/p>\n
Deputy of the newly established Papuan People's Council (MRP),
\nFrans A. Wospakrik, said Solossa had contributed much to the
\nbirth of special autonomy in Papua, bringing hope for better life
\nin the underdeveloped province.<\/p>\n
"Whoever replaces him must have an equal commitment to Solossa
\nto make the implementation of Papua's special autonomy a
\nsuccess," Wospakrik told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Wospakrik said Solossa had since 2000 persistently pushed
\ncentral government to apply special autonomy in the province, in
\nwhich pro-independence movements also exist.<\/p>\n
Solossa was appointed governor in 2000 with Constant Karma as
\nhis deputy. A year later, Law No.21\/2001 on Papua's special
\nautonomy was enacted, requiring the establishment of the 42-
\nrepresentative MRP.<\/p>\n
The MRP was recently installed and Solossa's tenure was
\nextended until January, pending the first-ever direct
\ngubernatorial election in the province.<\/p>\n
Solossa had sought reelection under Golkar's flag.<\/p>\n
The special autonomy, Wospakrik said, was a collective
\ncommitment between the central government and Papuans to improve
\ntheir welfare.<\/p>\n
Previous central governments in the Soeharto era had
\nbenefited from mining and energy projects in the resource-rich
\nprovince but locals saw little in the way of development.<\/p>\n
Since the advent of special autonomy, revenue splits from
\nmining and energy projects have vastly increased provincial
\ngovernments' budgets and Solossa's administration has also been
\ncriticized by observers for not doing enough to develop
\ninfrastructure, health care and education in the province.<\/p>\n
Wospakrik said special autonomy was the answer to the lengthy
\nfight of Papuans for independence, which had been waged due to
\nrampant injustices in the area and the central government's
\nfailure to treat Papuans humanely.<\/p>\n
Papuan Tribal Council leader Tom Beanal said he hoped new
\nPapuan leaders would continue Solossa's legacy -- and bring it to
\na new level in terms of quality.<\/p>\n
"We can't afford to take this autonomy for granted by only
\ntaking the funds to implement the (autonomy) status but keep
\npostponing the creation of the support system to make it work,
\nsuch as the bylaws. The MRP (created in the 2001 law) was only
\ninstalled two months ago," he said.<\/p>\n
So far, Beanal said, the granting of the special autonomy
\nstatus had little effect on the Papuan people, which led to a
\nprotest motion by his council in August to give autonomy back to
\nthe central government.<\/p>\n
Ben Vincent Djeharu, a House of Representatives member from
\nPapua, said the next Papua governor needed to work as more than
\nSolossa did to bring special autonomy to the people.<\/p>\n
"The implementation of the status hasn't been impressive ...
\nso I hope that Solossa's successor will have a stronger will to
\nmake it better," the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
\nlegislator said.<\/p>\n
To honor the former governor, people in the Puncak Jaya
\nregency changed the name of a clinic in the area, naming it after
\nSolossa.<\/p>\n
The clinic was built with Rp 19 billion (US$1.93 million) in
\nspecial autonomy funds.<\/p>",
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