Govt tries to appease Papuans after division
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.