Papuan council want changes in special autonomy status

Papuan council want changes in special autonomy status

Tiarma Siboro and ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta/Surabaya

Top members of the Papuan Tribal Council (DAP) met with Vice
President Jusuf Kalla on Friday and asked the government to
immediately hold a significant review of its special autonomy
policy in the province, otherwise the campaign for independence
of the resource-rich province would become stronger.

The Council has set Aug. 15 as a deadline for the government
to decide on whether it would review the policy -- a deadline
that also has been set by the Council to return the autonomy
policy to the central government, which they claim had been half-
hearted in bringing justice and welfare for Papuans.

"The Vice President expressed his understanding as he was of
the same opinion as us. He agreed that a critical review of the
implementation of the special autonomy law in Papua is
necessary," a representative of the Council, Ferdinand Tetro,
said during a press conference at the office of the Legal Aid
Foundation (LBH) in Jakarta.

"He (Kalla), however, has not yet given any promises about a
dialog that the government may pursue, but we hope that all
parties, ranging from the government, the legislators and the
local figures in Papua can sit together to discuss the fate of
our province," Tetro said.

The meeting with the Vice President took place ahead of the
Council's Aug. 6 to Aug. 15 congress to review the three-year
implementation of Law No. 21/2001 on the special autonomy for
Papua, which is aimed at providing greater administrative power
to the local legislators and greater shares of revenue from the
territory's natural resources.

The congress, which will take place in the provincial capital
of Jayapura, will review the policy on special autonomy and focus
on three main topics: rights abuses, political status and
economic development.

The delegates to the congress will also discuss the issue of
Papua's history, particularly with regard to how it became a part
of Indonesia.

The issue on Papua has once again made headlines, following
the proposal by the U.S. House of Representatives on a bill,
which if it becomes effective some said may provide stronger
international support for the separation of Papua from Indonesia.

Experts have said that in a bid to quell international support
for the independence of Papua, the central government must act
quickly to fully implement the autonomy law in Papua and help
accelerate economic development in the province, which has long
been neglected by previous administrations while its valuable
natural resources have been exploited.

The Council, however, refused to say whether their move to
hold the congress was related to the latest developments in the
U.S. Congress.

"We just want to see justice in Papua and we want the central
government get more serious in dealing with humanitarian issues
in our territory," Council member Andi Manobi said.

Separately, director of Indonesia and Timor Leste Affairs at
the U.S. consulate in Surabaya, Angela R. Dickey reiterated an
earlier statement made by other U.S. government officials, that
the U.S. supports the integrity of Papua within Indonesian
territory.

She said the Papua issue had been brought up by only a few
groups of Congresspeople, and it would not affect the political
support of the U.S government with regard to Indonesia's
integrity.