Restoring trust in Papua<\/p>\n
The Constitutional Court, established on the basis of the
\ndecision of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), is
\ncurrently engaged in reviewing the legal contradictions that are
\naffecting the province of Papua. Some prominent figures of that
\nwesternmost Indonesian province have submitted what they consider
\nto be an inconsistency resulting from the issuance of
\nPresidential Decree No.1 in January 2003. That decree, which
\nrefers to Law No.45\/1999 signed by President BJ Habibie, among
\nother things, mandates the division of the province of Irian Jaya
\ninto three new provinces, namely West, Central and East Irian
\nJaya.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, however, a new law was signed on Nov. 21,
\n2001 by President Megawati Soekarnoputri, namely Law No.21\/2001,
\nunder the designation of the Special Autonomy Law for the
\nProvince of Papua. The conceptual thinking behind that law was
\ninitiated and developed during the administration of former
\npresident Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid, and embodies the open
\nattitude and reformist views of Gus Dur. Of course, Papuan
\nintellectual and societal leaders contributed their thoughts and
\nopinions, which to a large degree were adopted by a special
\nworking committee of the House of Representatives (DPR), chaired
\nby Sabam Sirait of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
\n(PDI-P). The progressive character of that law is demonstrated in
\nChapter 4 on the establishment of a Papua People's Council.
\nArticle 76 stipulates that the creation of new provinces in Papua
\nmust have the approval of the Papua People's Council and the
\nProvincial Legislative Council (DPRD I). However, the formation
\nof the People's Council has been repeatedly postponed because the
\ngovernmental decree required for the implementation of Law
\nno.21\/2001 is not yet forthcoming.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Presidential Decree No.1\/2003 was issued and
\nthe province of Irian Jaya West was created. The birth of the new
\nprovince of Central Irian Jaya was postponed because of the
\nfierce protests that erupted in Mimika regency. As might have
\nbeen expected, the educated sector, as well as informal
\ntraditional leaders were dismayed by the issuance of Presidential
\nDecree No.1\/2003. The moderates among the province's societal
\nleaders, who had been pinning their hopes on Special Autonomy Law
\nNo.21\/2001 -- as a judicious instrument for accommodating the
\naspirations of the local population while still remaining within
\nthe framework of the Republic of Indonesia -- found that they
\nwere cornered. Nevertheless, they stayed within the law, and
\nspearheaded by a member of the Papua Provincial Legislative
\nCouncil, John Ibo, submitted the case to the Constitutional
\nCourt.<\/p>\n
The point that should be emphasized in this case, however,
\nconcerns more than the legal contradictions that are currently
\naffecting Papua, and have caused much administrative confusion in
\nthat province. More important, is the element of trust that has
\nbeen lost, as was pointed out by Jayapura Bishop Leo Labalajar.
\nIn his testimony before an open session of the Constitutional
\nCourt presided over by president Jimly Asshidiqie, the bishop,
\nwho has served the Jayapura diocese for more than a decade, said
\nthat the people of Papua expected the central government to trust
\nthem to manage their own lives and culture. He was of the opinion
\nthat there would be less conflict in Papua if the central
\ngovernment implemented the special autonomy law in their
\nprovince, especially by the formation of the Papua People's
\nCouncil.<\/p>\n
However, Home Affairs Minister Hari Sabarno had at one time
\nsaid that the formation of such a council would be tantamount to
\nthe establishment of a state within a state. He apparently
\nconveniently ignored the clear stipulation in Chapter 4, Article
\n23, of the special autonomy law, which clearly states that it is
\nthe task of the Papua People's Council to maintain the Papua
\nProvince within the domain of the Republic of Indonesia. Since
\nthe resignation of Gen.(ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Hari has
\nbeen assigned as acting Coordinating Minister for Political and
\nSecurity Affairs. If it is true that Hari -- as has been reported
\n-- has presented the President with a draft governmental decree
\nthat would alter the structure and the authority of the Papua
\nPeople's Council, then an odd situation would be created whereby
\na legal product of lesser weight would amend a law that had been
\napproved by the House. We are also concerned about the
\npossibility of Hari annulling his predecessor's decision and
\nproceeding with the establishment of the Central Irian Jaya
\nProvince.<\/p>\n
With the legislative election scheduled for April 5, we are of
\nthe opinion that President Megawati's government should restrain
\nitself in introducing new decisions on Papua. It would be better
\nto resolve all matters concerning Papua Province on the basis of
\nLaw No.21\/2001, and to entrust the implementation of solutions to
\nthe newly elected House and the incoming government, after it is
\ninstalled in October. In the meantime, it would be prudent for
\nthe Constitutional Court to decree an interim adjudication
\nstipulating that the present government should maintain the
\npresent legal status quo in Papua Province, lest newly enforced
\ndecisions stir up more social disturbances in that westernmost
\nprovince.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/restoring-trust-in-papua-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}