Another fine mess in Papua

Another fine mess in Papua

The Constitutional Court could not have come up with a worse
decision when it ruled that the carving of Papua into three
provinces was illegitimate while also recognizing the presence of
the new West Irian Jaya province as a fact of life. This ruling
is sowing more confusion into an already confused state of
affairs in Papua.

The source of this latest controversy is a January 2003
instruction by then President Megawati Soekarnoputri to establish
three new provinces out of Papua as mandated in a 1999 law
enacted during the administration of President B.J. Habibie.

But this law, according to the Constitutional Court, was
effectively annulled when Megawati enacted in November 2001 the
special autonomy law for Papua. The court deemed her instruction
for the creation of West Irian Jaya, Central Irian Jaya and
Eastern Irian Jaya provinces as equally invalid.

But the court said it also recognized the presence of the West
Irian Jaya province because the regional apparatus -- an
administration, and an elected legislative council and the
region's elected representatives to the People's Legislative
Assembly in Jakarta -- had been created. The court ruling,
however, puts a stop to the creation of the other two new
provinces.

Going by the Constitutional Court ruling, we are now left with
two provinces in the western half of the New Guinea Island: West
Irian Jaya covering the Bird's Head region of the island, and
Papua, covering the eastern and heartland of the Papua territory.

Also going by the court ruling, West Irian Jaya is considered
an illegitimate province. Here is a province that was conceived
by Habibie and born into this world, with some inducement, during
Megawati's presidency. It is now left to President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono to raise this illegitimate child. Such an awkward
status is bound to haunt the province in years to come.

The court ruling has also left many unanswered questions.

What happens to the special autonomy law which treats Papua as
one single province? Would the Papuan People's Council, whose
creation is mandated under the special autonomy law, have the
authority to speak on behalf of West Irian Jaya too? Or, God
forbid, would the Papuan people have to negotiate all over again
to secure a new legislation for its special autonomy status?

Time will tell how Papua and West Irian Jaya will emerge out
of this huge mess.

But this episode confirms what many Papuans believe or have
long suspected: that Jakarta is bent on interfering in the
affairs of Papua, even as it promises to give greater autonomy to
this backward but resource-rich province. The status of Papua as
a special autonomous region today is only in name.

This is a problem that could have been prevented had Megawati
heeded appeals from Papuans in 2003 to stop the process of
establishing the West Irian Jaya province. The fact that she went
ahead with this "divide-and-conquer policy" suggests some hidden
agenda on her part, or on the part of parties behind the move.

Papuans will now turn to President Susilo to resolve this
issue in the best possible way. In the October presidential
election Papuans overwhelmingly voted for him instead of
Megawati. He owes them that much. Let's hope he will not
disappoint them.