Court issues unclear ruling on Papua

Court issues unclear ruling on Papua

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Constitutional Court was established in 2003 to provide legal
certainty in the face of conflicting laws, but its ruling on
Papua's division on Thursday is likely to create more legal
ambiguity in the country's easternmost province.

The court ruled on Thursday that Law No. 45/1999 on the
establishment of Central and West Irian Jaya provinces violated
the Constitution, but at the same time it recognized the
existence of West Papua province.

"The province is factually effective as proven by, among other
things, the existence of the West Irian Jaya administration as
well as the West Irian Jaya legislature council and the election
of members of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD)," a
panel of nine judges said.

The Constitutional Court, however, did not recognize Central
Irian Jaya because it has neither a legislature, regional
administration or DPD members.

One judge, Maruarar Siahaan, said the annulment of Law No.
45/1999 would have to be followed by the annulment of all legal
and factual consequences of the law, including the establishment
of West Irian Jaya province.

Law No. 45/1999 also deals with the establishment of North
Maluku province, as well as the regencies of Mimika, Paniai and
Puncak Jaya, and Sorong municipality, all in Papua.

Several Papuan figures, including Papua legislature chairman
Jhon Ibo, filed a judicial review seeking to annul the central
government's decision to split Papua into three provinces. The
government took the decision without consulting with the
legislature, as required in Papua's special autonomy law.

Under the special autonomy law, any decision to partition the
province must first be approved by the yet-to-be-established
Papuan People's Council.

The Constitutional Court's decision immediately drew strong
criticism from senior constitutional law expert Sri Soemantri,
who called the ruling "completely weird".

"What then is the legal basis of West Irian Jaya province? If
the court declares Law No. 45/1999 violates the Constitution, how
can it approve the establishment of a province that has no legal
basis?" Sri Soemantri told The Jakarta Post.

He suggested the decision was politically motivated and warned
that the ruling could create problems for any future divisions of
Papua.

Bambang Widjajanto, the lawyer for Jhon Ibo and the other
Papuan figures who filed the judicial review, said the court's
ruling "creates more trouble for Papuans".

Constitutional Court president Jimly Asshiddiqie said the
verdict was effective as of Thursday. West Papua province was
established with the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 1/2003
by former president Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Jimly also said the government must honor Law No. 21/2001 on
special autonomy for Papua should it wish to further partition
Papua.

Most Papuans, particularly university students and non-
governmental organization activists, have bitterly opposed the
partition, which they see as an effort by Jakarta to divide and
conquer Papua, where a low-level secessionist movement has been
fighting for independence since the 1960s.

Three people were killed and dozens others injured in clashes
between supporters and opponents of the new provinces in 2003.

Both the National Intelligence Agency and the Indonesian
Military have thrown their weight behind the partition, which
they believe will facilitate operations against the secessionist
movement there.

Papua, with a population of 2.4 million, is three-and-a-half
times bigger than Java, which is divided into four provinces,
plus Jakarta.