Govt must be 'consistent on Papua'
The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Jakarta
The central government must consistently implement the Special Autonomy Law in Papua in order to help quell the demands for independence for the resource-rich province, provincial governor Jacobus Perviddya Solossa said.
He said that special autonomy was aimed at effectively restoring the dignity of the Papuan people.
"The special autonomy granted by the central government in 2001 to counter the secessionist movement and make amends for past mistakes is actually a form of internal self-determination. It is aimed at lifting up the dignity of the Papuan people," he said at the launching of his book here on Monday.
The book entitled: Otonomi Khusus Papua Mengangkat Martabat Rakyat Papua di Dalam NKRI (Papuan special autonomy improves the dignity of the Papuan people within the Unitary Republic of Indonesia) was based on his dissertation for his doctorate from Padjadjaran University, Bandung, West Java, in May.
The book launch comes as top central government officials are struggling to overcome renewed demands both in the province and overseas for the separation of Papua from Indonesia. The Papuan people long suffered as the central government had been accused of pillaging the province's natural resources, while economic development remains scant and human rights abuses rampant.
But despite the introduction of special autonomy more than four years ago, resentment lingers as the central government has been accused of inconsistency, particularly as regards the 2004 decision to partition Papua into two provinces: Papua and West Irian Jaya. The recent launching of a report in the Netherlands questioning the validity of the UN-sponsored 1969 "referendum" on the integration of Papua into Indonesia provides new ammunition for the secessionist movement.
The central government last week was forced to cancel the first regional election in West Irian Jaya amid protests from Papuan leaders, including those sitting in the newly-established Papuan People's Council (MRP), a powerful political body representing the interests of Papuan people, who said that the creation of the new province violated the Special Autonomy Law as Papuan leaders had never been consulted.
Solossa said that old problems had resurfaced over the last few months as the central government was inconsistent in implementing the Special Autonomy Law, which provides greater power for the Papua administration to manage its social and economic affairs, and a greater share of the revenue raised in the province from natural resources.
"For example, the government has not disbursed payments from the General Allocation Fund (DAU) on time; the government has not provided special funds for infrastructural development; and has not been transparent about how much its gets from natural resources," said the governor.
"These kind of problems would not emerge if the government set up a truth and reconciliation commission and held fair trials of those guilty of violating human rights, gives more special autonomy funds and provided better education and health services," he said.
He said Papuan people had no objection to the province's partition provided this was done in consultation with the Papuan people.
"Papua, which is 3.5 times bigger than Java, should be developed into five provinces and the government should appoint a coordinating minister or a senior governor to ensure coordination among the provinces," he said.
Meanwhile, in Jayapura, capital of Papua, Hermanus Indow, chairman of the Front for the Establishment of West Irian Jaya, called on the MRP to give a positive response to Jakarta's recent move to prepare an umbrella law for the province to allow it to hold a gubernatorial election.
He also said the MRP should treat the new province as the equal of Papua and facilitate dialog to ease differences and gaps between the two provinces.