Govt warned against gubernatorial election in W. Irian Jaya

Ridwan Max Sidjabat and Nethy Dharma Somba The Jakarta Post/Jakarta/Jayapura

Papua's provincial leaders have expressed concern over a rumor that the central government will include West Irian Jaya province on the list of more than 95 regions that will hold direct elections of regional heads this year.

The inclusion will apparently be ruled in a government regulation set to be issued in the near future.

"If the rumor becomes a reality, a new and serious problem would emerge in the province because this would negate Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua, the Constitutional Court's decision on the troubled province and the newly issued Government regulation No. 54/2004 on the Papua People's Assembly (MRP)," said Anthonius Rahail, the chairman of the Special Team for the Empowerment of Special Autonomy for Papua.

West Irian Jaya was split from Papua province by the government last year.

Rahail called on the home ministry -- which is currently preparing the draft regulation on the direct elections of regional heads -- to comply with Government Regulation No. 54/2004, which prohibited the central goverment and the provincial administration from making any decision on West Irian Jaya province after its disputed establishment last year.

Chapter 73 of Government Regulation No. 54 authorizes the Papuan governor, provincial legislature and the MRP to seek a peaceful solution for the troubled province of West Irian Jaya.

"The Papuan people will accept it if the three local institutions finally decide to recognize the new province," said Rahail, adding that the home ministry should suspend administrative activities in West Irian Jaya until a permanent decision on the province's fate is reached.

A gubernatorial election will be conducted in West Irian Jaya only if the new province's existence is accepted by the MRP, he added.

Following prolonged tension between Jakarta and Papua, the Constitutional Court annulled in November certain chapters of Law No. 45/1999 on the formation of Irian Jaya and Presidential Instruction No. 1/2003 on the law's enforcement, which was fully supported by the home ministry, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN).

In a separate development, Rev. Phil Errari, a team member who accompanied Rahail in the press meeting, said the Papuan provincial administration was still preparing bylaws to enforce Government Regulation No. 54 on the MRP, which is scheduled to come into effect in May.

"The MRP will have 42 members or three fourths of the provincial legislative council, comprising 14 tribal leaders, 14 religious figures and the same amount of women," he said.

According to the government regulation, the main mission of the MRP -- the members of which serve five-year terms -- is to protect Papua's indigenous people and their basic rights.

Like the People's Consultative Assembly, the MRP is obliged to maintain the Indonesian unitary state, comply with the amended 1945 Constitution and all laws, preserve Papuan culture and its cultural values, promote religious tolerance and empower women in all fields.

Separately, scholar and chairman of Cenderawasih University Research Center, J.R Mansoben, has urged that the recruitment of MRP members be carried out in a transparent manner.

He said all elements of the Papua provincial community should be represented in the MRP, in order to avoid potential conflicts.

Papua province has 250 tribes, which have for years been self- governing.