Autonomy a starting point for Papuan progress

Autonomy a starting point for Papuan progress

Markus Mardius, The Jakarta Post, Mimika

A number of intellectuals and experts called on the Papuan people
to accept the special autonomy arrangement, which they argued was
a starting point for Papua's future advancement.

Speaking during a day-long seminar on Papuan development here
on Thursday, the experts were unanimous in their view that Papua,
rich in natural and human resources potential, was a sleeping
tiger imbued with the energy not only to catch up with other
provinces but also to play a dominant role in the national
economy under the special autonomy scheme.

August Kafiar said the Papuan people, especially the local
elite, should not spend too much time dwelling over the problems
that had put them into a corner over the last four decades but
should rather accept special autonomy status as a golden
opportunity to develop a better future.

"You will remain stranded in a beautiful dream, surrounded by
illusions about the province's richness and potential, but end up
doing nothing to cope with the current problems or to achieve any
advancement.

"The prolonged debate on whether to accept the autonomy
package or to fight for the province's independence will
certainly not bring any positive results as regards improving the
local people's well-being because besides consuming time and
energy, you will remain apart," he told the more than 150 Papuan
government officials, activists, tribal leaders and religious
figures participating in the seminar.

According to August, the province would certainly be subjected
to economic exploitation by neighboring and developed countries
should it secede from Indonesia.

Law No 21/2001 on special autonomy for Irian Jaya, gives more
autonomy to the country's easternmost province to manage its own
affairs in the socio-cultural, political and economic fields.

"Under the special autonomy scheme, the province will gain a
greater portion of the revenue from natural resources in the
province. This is a huge, new income source to help develop human
resources and improve the Papuan people's economic livelihood,"
he said.

He was referring to income form the copper and gold mining
operation run by the giant American company PT Freeport
Indonesia, gas production by British Petroleum, oil production by
various foreign oil companies, and the exploitation of the
province's vast forests.

Kafiar said the provincial administration should issue the
necessary regulations to implement the autonomy law so as to
allow the province to benefit from the special autonomy scheme as
early as possible.

Meanwhile, Eko Budihardjo, rector of Diponegoro University in
Semarang, Central Java, concurred and said that the Papuan people
should forget about the central government's faults and accept
the special autonomy package as a starting point for bringing
about progress in the province.

"We can understand how long you have been ignored ... But,
let's forget it. Please do your best and work hand-in-hand to
implement the special autonomy package so as to develop this huge
province. You have now the authority under the autonomy law to
rekindle your spirit, redefine and rearrange your development
priorities and unify all your energies," he said.

Budihardjo suggested that the development program in the
province should be oriented toward the Papuan people.

"The Papuan people, partly still living in backwardness,
should be simultaneously made the subjects and objects of
development. And education should be a priority of your
development program to allow the local people to benefit from
development," he said.

He warned that the local elite, including nongovernmental
organizations, should not manipulate the special autonomy scheme
so as to enrich themselves, instead of working for local people.

Ichlasul Amal, outgoing rector of Gadjah Mada University in
Yogyakarta, said that the Papuan people should accept the
presence of other ethnic and religious groups in the
predominantly Christian province.

"Religion and ethnic pluralism should be accepted as a strong
point of the unitary state," he said.

He added, however, that the central government should also be
receptive to the province's uniqueness in terms of culture,
religion and other fields.

"The central government should not force Papua to accept what
it wants the province to do but rather should listen to the
Papuan people's aspirations as to how they want to develop
themselves as part of the unitary state," he said.

Irian Jaya Deputy Governor Constant Karma, who led the local
government delegation at the seminar, said that besides giving
priority to education in its development program, the province
was developing a bottom-up democracy as was stipulated in the
autonomy law.

"Besides the provincial legislative council, we will also have
an assembly called the Papuan People's Assembly whose members
will be elected from among local tribal leaders, religious
figures, activists and technocrats so as to absorb the people's
aspirations and design the province's development policy," he
said.

Asked about the priorities under the education program, he
said the provincial government would allocate a bigger portion of
its annual budget to education and give preference to indigenous
people to progress in the educational field as 70 percent of 1.5
million locals were still illiterate.

"But, we need more time and money to do this," he said.