Govt warned against gubernatorial election in W. Irian Jaya

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.