More protests over Papua split

More protests over Papua split

SURABAYA: Dozens of Papuan students staged a rally outside the Surabaya City Council on Thursday to protest Jakarta's move to split Papua into three provinces, saying it would sow disunity among the people.

Chairman of the Surabaya Papua Student Union Nicodemus said that all Papuan students rejected the addition of two new provinces.

"Some of the Papuan people oppose the plan, so we, as part of them, are here to support their aspiration," Nicodemus said.

In January, President Megawati Soekarnoputri issued a decree dividing the resource-rich region into the provinces of Papua, Central Papua and West Papua.

Jakarta hopes to provide more accessible public services to the 2.4 million Papuans who live in an area about three times the size of Java.

But the move also meant a sharp revenue cut for the previously single provincial capital, Jayapura, and its surrounding areas.

A number of civil rights and student groups have since staged rallies against the division. "It's better not to divide the province; it will only divide the people of Papua," said Nicodemus. -- Antara