Governor John Tabo asserts that tribal warfare must not occur in Highland Papua

Wamena (ANTARA) - The Governor of Highland Papua, John Tabo, has emphasised that tribal warfare must no longer occur throughout the Highland Papua (Papeg) region.

“In accordance with the results of our collective agreement, from this moment on, there must be no more tribal warfare in the entire Highland Papua region,” he stated in Wamena on Monday.

According to the Governor, tribal warfare must cease because it destroys familial ties, kinship, and the brotherhood shared among all ethnic groups in the region.

“We request that security forces take firm action if any members of the community continue to engage in additional movements or tribal warfare within the Highland Papua region,” he added.

He explained that, following directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, the province will immediately draft a Special Regional Regulation (Raperdasus) and a Provincial Regional Regulation (Raperdasi) regarding the prohibition of tribal warfare in Highland Papua.

“We will oversee this process. Following the instructions of the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Ribka Haluk, that the Raperdasus and Raperdasi must be drafted by the Papua Highland People’s Representative Council (MRP), we will accompany them alongside the Ministry of Home Affairs,” he said.

He further added that, moving forward, the resolution of any legal issues must utilise positive law and can no longer rely solely on customary law.

“For the people of Highland Papua residing across the eight regencies: in the future, the resolution of any problem in this region must use positive law so that tribal warfare does not occur again,” he concluded.