Contradictions in Papua

Contradictions in Papua

Buried somewhere in the lengthy, state-of-the-nation speech by
the President, made on Aug. 15 to the House of Representatives,
was a casual reference to the situation in Papua.

The fact that President Megawati Soekarnoputri used the term
"Papua" instead of "Irian Jaya" indicates that she was aware of
the existence of Law No. 21/2001. In fact, she signed that law,
which established special autonomy in Papua province. Apparently,
she was also aware that two conflicting laws are currently being
applied at the same time in the easternmost province of this
republic -- the other being Law No. 45/1999 on the creation of
new provinces in Irian Jaya, which was signed by President B.J.
Habibie.

The President stated in her Aug. 15 speech, to quote the
official translation, "a variety of approaches continue to be
adopted to lead to a more positive direction, though politically
such steps still require further scrutiny, particularly in
harmonizing the perception and vision of the special autonomy and
the enlargement of the regions in that province."

This particular quote should be considered the understatement
of the year because it was President Megawati herself who in
January this year signed Presidential Instruction No. 1/2003 on
the formation of West Irian Jaya province, based on Law No.
45/1999. In other words, she has created the current messy
situation in Papua that now, she said, required "further
scrutiny" in order to "harmonize" the resulting contradictions.

Ironically, in that document the governor of Papua province,
Jaap Solossa, was instructed to assist the new governor in
Manokwari, the capital of West Irian Jaya province, in expediting
his new duties.

This must be mind-boggling, not only for specialists in
Indonesian administrative law, but also the public at large. In
her reference to Papua province, as contained in the Aug. 15
speech, the President appealed for a constructive solution to
overcome the messy situation that she had created. According to
the official translation of the Aug. 15 speech she said, "We
absolutely want to resolve those matters as soon as possible."

One would expect that the President had decided to seriously
heed the recommendation submitted by the recent People's
Consultative Assembly regarding the Republic's easternmost
province. That recommendation is very much the result of pressure
from the regional representatives' faction in the Assembly, and
consists of two points: First, the government and the House of
Representatives should revise Law No. 45/1999 and Presidential
Instruction No.1/2003 in order to harmonize the two with the
spirit of Law No. 21/2001. Second, to implement Law No.21/2001 on
special autonomy for Papua province in its entirety and
consistently, and to speed up the issuance of the required
government decrees in order the realize this law, especially with
regard to the formation of the Papua People's Assembly.

It is interesting to note that, according to a news item from
Timika, the formation of the province of Central Irian Jaya will
be declared on Aug. 23. This newly created province will be the
new administrative location for the giant U.S.-registered copper
and gold mining company, Freeport McMoran. The chairman of Mimika
regency council stated, "The people continue to press for and
support the establishment of the province of Central Irian Jaya."

In the meantime, the Indonesian Military (TNI) Headquarters
(HQ) in Cilangkap, Jakarta, has launched a social-psychological
campaign in order to create the impression that a crisis in Papua
has been caused by the allegedly subversive activities of foreign
agents. Col. D.J. Nachrowi, information chief of TNI HQ stated
last Wednesday that the current situation in Papua had the
potential to lead to an act of separatism within the Unitary
Republic of Indonesia. "We have discovered about 20 foreigners in
Papua disguised as journalists or representatives of non-
governmental organizations, who are involved in sub-rosa
(clandestine) activities," the colonel said.

He was only reflecting the subjective views of some of his
senior officers, such as Minister of Home Affairs Lt. Gen. (ret)
Hari Sabarno, who some time ago stated, "Instituting the Papua
People's Assembly" (as stipulated by Law No. 21/2001) is
virtually to create a state within a state."

We wonder indeed what the President had in mind when she
stated that she intended "to resolve these matters as soon as
possible." Will she submit amendments to the House of
Representatives in order to soften some parts of Law No. 21/2001,
which some of the generals in her entourage viewed as too
progressive?

Or, mindful of the forthcoming elections, will she ignore that
elegant, constitutional path and go ahead with the formation of
new provinces in Papua?

The contradictory approaches in the political handling of the
Papua situation and the attitude of disregard for the
consequences caused by implementing two mutually contradictory
laws have indeed given rise to concern that political stability
in Papua will be negatively affected. Therefore, if the
nationalists in the government of President Megawati
Soekarnoputri -- whether in the Cabinet or the intelligence
services or among the TNI leadership -- are sincere in their
determination to preserve the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, then
the recommendations regarding Papua as submitted by the recent
Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) should
be accepted as a policy platform.

To ignore these recommendations effectively means to show
disrespect for the deep-seated political aspirations of the Papua
people. That very act would itself weaken the Unitary Republic of
Indonesia.