Megawati comforts Papuans on Christmas

Megawati comforts Papuans on Christmas

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura

President Megawati Soekarnoputri celebrated Christmas in Papua
and marked the granting of concessions under the special
autonomous status to help improve the welfare of Papuans.

Accompanied by a number of her Cabinet ministers and her
husband, Taufik Kiemas, Megawati joined thousands of Christian
Papuans and local officials in celebrating Christmas at the
sports stadium in the provincial capital of Jayapura.

The President, along with a local singer, sang her favorite
song, My Way, to express her gratitude for the gradual
improvement in security and order in the province. She said
security and public order were needed to develop the province.

"We have to stop condemning one another and each side has to
stop all security disturbances so that we can continue to develop
the province to help improve people's welfare. Under the special
autonomous status, Papua has to progress in all fields," the
President said in her speech during the ceremony.

Megawati was referring to the cancellation of her visit to
celebrate Christmas in the province last December.

It was Megawati's first visit to the easternmost province
since she became President. She visited Papua in 2000 when she
was vice president.

Megawati and her entourage left Jakarta on Wednesday and spent
a night in Biak before proceeding onward to Jayapura on Thursday.

The President considered her visit very important amid the
increasing demand for the territory's separation from Indonesia
following the collapse of former president Soeharto's New Order
regime in 1998 and rampant human rights abuses in the province.

Despite the quelling of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), many
Papuans, who mostly live in primitive conditions in remote areas
of the large province, have demanded a referendum in protest of
rampant human rights abuses and exploitation of their natural
resources, especially during the New Order era.

Demand for the territory's independence has been increasing
due to what Papuans say is a lack of the government's will to
bring human rights perpetrators to justice and to cope with what
they call "unfair treatment".

Many Papuans have been angered with the murder of
proindependence figure Dortheys "Theys" Hiyo Eluway in Nov. 2000.

In response to mounting demand for independence, the
government granted special autonomy to the province to allow it
to have greater authority over its own affairs.

Under Law No. 21/2001, the province receives 70 percent of the
government's income from the exploration of its natural
resources. Papua receives Rp 6 trillion (US$665,000) in revenue
from copper and gold mine company PT Freeport Indonesia, in
addition to revenue from oil exploration in the province.

The province will also receive more income from the
exploration of liquefied natural gas (LNG) through the Tangguh
project in Manokwari, of which its initial development was
officially launched by the President in Jayapura.

Besides providing job opportunities for thousands of Papuans,
the province will also receive a larger portion of the
government's revenue from the exploration of LNG.

Papua Governor Jaap Solossa said Megawati's visit to the
province was meaningful, and added that her visit was proof to
Papuans that the central government was paying serious attention
to the province.

Bishop Ferdinand Sahadung stressed that peace was the true
meaning of Christmas and that all sides should bear in mind that
conflicts in the province could be solved peacefully and without
weapons.

He said the government had deployed many soldiers and spent
money on buying guns to kill its people, but the conflict remains
unresolved.

Besides efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully, the
government should focus on developing Papua, as a majority of the
population live in poverty, he said.

"The government should develop public infrastructure, such as
roads, markets, schools and churches, and invite more investors
to develop the province. It should issue a policy that gives
indigenous people more access to education and to help them find
a better way of life," he said.