Ten thousand Papuans criticize special autonomy implementation<\/p>\n
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post\/Jayapura<\/p>\n
At least 10,000 Papuans stormed into the office of the Papua
\nprovincial legislative council in Jayapura on Friday, demanding
\nthe government to review its Special Autonomy Law.<\/p>\n
The protesters, in one of the largest such demonstrations ever
\nin the province, claimed that the special autonomy was a total
\nfailure as it had failed to live up to people's expectations in
\nPapua.<\/p>\n
The protesters started at Trikora Field in Abepura in the
\nmorning, and from there, they marched to the legislative
\ncompound. Due to fears of clashes, many schools, offices and
\nshops were closed as the protesters made their way through
\nJayapura city, some 25 kilometers from the Trikora Field. Other
\nshops and residents along the way prepared food and water for the
\nprotesters, who also were demanding justice.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators, some wearing traditional Papuan attire,
\ncarried a coffin covered with black cloth bearing Otsus (special
\nautonomy), which meant that special autonomy had failed to
\nimprove the life of Papuans. Besides demanding the government to
\nhold national and international dialogs to solve the Papuan
\nproblem, the demonstrators, led by the secretary of the Papuan
\nTribal Council, Leo Imbiri, also demanded the Papuan provincial
\ncouncil members convene a plenary session and formally reject
\nspecial autonomy.<\/p>\n
Responding to the demand, speaker of the Papuan provincial
\ncouncil Jhon Ibo argued that it was premature to say that the
\nSpecial Autonomy Law was a failure as it was just a few years old
\nand the implementation process was still ongoing. Ibo rejected
\nthe demand for a plenary meeting, but he promised that the
\nprovincial council would intensify dialogs with the Papuan Tribal
\nCouncil in order to discuss the future of special autonomy.<\/p>\n
Leo stated that special autonomy was the best way for Papua to
\nimprove, but he argued that parts of the implementation had not
\nyet lived up to people's expectations. First, he said, the
\ngovernment was sluggish in issuing the Presidential Decree on the
\nPapuan People's Council. It was finally launched three years
\nafter the Special Autonomy Law was issued in 2001, which brought
\ndisappointment to many Papuans. The Special Autonomy Law provided
\nmore authority for the provincial administration to manage its
\nown affairs, while the central government retained some powers
\nsuch as in the matters of security and international affairs.
\nAnd second, Leo protested, the government approved the
\nestablishment of West Irian Jaya province, which effectively
\npartitioned Papua province and violated the 2001 law. The
\noriginal 2001 law states, however, that the establishment of a
\nnew province must be approved by the Papuan People's Council,
\nwhile in fact, West Irian Jaya was set up before the MRP was
\nfounded. Protests against the Special Autonomy Law, were not only
\nheld in Jayapura but also in other areas in Papua, such as Sorong
\nand Biak, although far fewer people took part.<\/p>\n
The massive expression of disappointment comes just weeks
\nafter some members of the U.S. Congress proposed a bill
\nquestioning the validity of the process leading to the 1969 Act
\nof Free Choice in Papua, when a group of some 1,000 selected
\nPapuan leaders voted unanimously to become part of the Republic
\nof Indonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ten-thousand-papuans-criticize-special-autonomy-implementation-1447893297",
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