Govt tries to appease Papuans after division
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Trying to ease the mounting controversy over its decision to split Papua into three provinces, the government is said to be seeking a formula to ensure fair revenues from exploitation of natural resources in Papua.
Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said on Wednesday the government understood that Papuans were rejecting the division of their province.
"Everybody is worried about revenue-sharing, we are going to discuss a fair formula to guarantee that all provinces in Papua share the revenue," Hari remarked.
Hari however failed to elaborate, saying the matter would be brought to the Cabinet meeting on Thursday. He said the fair scheme would be further discussed with local authorities during his visit to inaugurate 14 new regencies in Papua later this month.
The government has come under fire for issuing the presidential decree No. 1/2003 to enforce the Law No. 45/1999 on the division of Papua into the provinces of Papua, West Irian Jaya, and Central Irian Jaya.
Legal experts say the decree is a violation of the Papuan Autonomy Law No. 21/2001 which stipulates that the establishment of new provinces there requires approval from the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP), which was never even consulted.
The House has urged the government to form the MRP council before splitting the province.
Hari insisted that the division legally took effect in 1999, therefore it could not affect the special autonomy, which was imposed in 2000.
Another contentious point was that the special autonomy law stipulates 70 percent of the revenue from natural resources would go to the local administration.
The island has two large mining sites, Tangguh in West Papua and Timika in Central Papua, leaving Papua province without any large natural resource to finance its development.
"I know that there have been a lot questions from the province that does not have Tangguh or Timika and we are going to address that," Hari remarked.
The minister will visit the province later this month, to explain the details to the people about splitting the island to three provinces.
Around 3,000 people apparently in favor of the split-up took to streets in Papua on Tuesday. The government claims the split will "help speed up development".
Commenting on the rallies, most of which are vehemently against the split, Hari said he had not heard reports that the issue would escalate and spark tension among Papuans.
National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar confirmed Hari's statement, saying the protests had not yet reached an alarming level.