House accepts special autonomy bill on Papua

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives' consultative body agreed on Thursday to put forward a controversial special autonomy bill for Irian Jaya proposed by Papuan legislators, but at the same time acknowledged that the government's own bill on the subject would remain the primary reference of the deliberation.

Ali Yahya, secretary of the Golkar Party faction, said all factions in the consultative body had agreed to deliberate the bill proposed by 60 legislators.

"The decision was made to break the deadlock between the House and the government over which one of the two bills would be deliberated," he said here on Friday.

Ali conceded that according to the House's internal rules, the bill proposed by the government should have first priority because it was the first bill submitted to the legislative body, but the consultative body had decided to deliberate the bill proposed by the legislators as a means of accommodating the aspirations of the Irianese.

The question of special autonomy law for the easternmost province has been bogged down by the presence of the two bills.

The two bills differ in the approach of special autonomy, with the one proposed by the government being more austere in the granting of special autonomous powers. The other bill was proposed by a team set up by the House.

Ali said the substance of the bill prepared by the Papuan team should be open to possible change in its deliberation in line with the principle of the unitary state and the 1945 Constitution.

"The bill has been accepted with the consequence of possible substantial corrections so that the province under special autonomy will remain an integral part of Indonesia," he said.

He added that the Papua bill would be brought to the House's next plenary session to decide on whether it would be deliberated by House Commission II on home and legal affairs or by a special committee.

Separately, the 10-member team originally appointed by Irian Jaya authorities to design the Papua bill voiced appreciation for the House's decision, saying the team had no objection to possible changes in the bill provided they were in line with the principle of a unitary state and their concept on special autonomy in the province.

Agus Sumule, a team member, however, pointed out that their draft had been prepared after months of in-depth study and a series of consultations with numerous parties in Irian Jaya and Jakarta.

"Our team is not perfect, but any changes likely to be made to the draft law must be based on rational arguments, academic reasons and the concept of special autonomy," he said.

Sumule, also a lecturer on urban sociology at Cendrawasih University in Jayapura, denied the bill's substance was contrary to the principle of the unitary state and the Constitution.

He said that with the special autonomy as stipulated in People's Consultative Assembly Decree No. 4/2000, Irian Jaya must have special authority in managing its own administration, culture and identity.

"We must have our special authority to manage our home in the political, economic, cultural and legal fields. If Aceh, under special autonomy, is given special authority to implement Islamic law, we should be given the same treatment to implement Christianity in this predominantly Christian province," he said.

He said Irian Jaya also had a unique identity that should be reflected by the province having its own flag, symbol, anthem and basic regulations.

"The flag, symbol, anthem and basic regulations constitute the Papuan identity and they are not aimed at separating the province from Indonesia," Sumule said.

Despite the distinct cultural identity, Irian Jaya remains an integral part of Indonesia and the Papuan people accept the Indonesian flag, symbol, anthem and Constitution as their national identity, he added.

Asked about the question of the division of profits from the exploitation of natural resources in the province, Sumule said the provincial administration had requested that 80 percent be allocated to the province while the remainder could go to the central government.

"We have proposed the ratio of 80:20 to allow our lagging province to catch up with other provinces, especially in the educational, transportation and trade fields," he said.

Sumule said the bill also stipulated the need to conduct a thorough investigation into human rights abuses.(rms)