Papuan religious leaders call for dialog

Papuan religious leaders call for dialog

Neles Tebay, Pontifical, University of Urbaniana, Rome

At the close of the year 2003 and the beginning of the year
2004, the Papuan religious leaders are united in their commitment
for peace and therefore call for dialog in order to overcome
socio-political problems in Papua Province.

The call was raised in the joint appeal for peace and hope
issued on Dec. 20, 2003.

The appeal was signed by the Jayapura Bishop Leo Laba Lajar,
Rev. Herman Saud as the chairperson of the Council of Christian
Churches in Papua, Zubaer Hussein as the chairperson of the
Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) in Papua, Gunawan Ingkokusumo as
the chairperson of the Buddhist community in Papua, I Made B. the
vice chairperson of the Hindu community in Papua.

They deliberately called for dialog, because the year 2003 was
marked by the imposition of the central government's will and
political engineering resulting in unnecessary conflict among the
civilians in Papua.

Jakarta began with the imposition of its own will upon the
people of Papua in January 2003 by issuing Presidential
Instruction No.1/2003 on the division of Papua into three
provinces, namely the provinces of Papua, West Papua and Central
Irian Jaya.

The instruction clearly violated Law No.21/2001 on the Special
Autonomy for Papua Province, which was signed by President
Megawati Soekarnoputri in October 2001.

The first group to oppose the instruction was the Papuan
religious leaders. They were not opposing the creation of new
provinces. They were simply reminding the government to be
consistent in implementing Papua's autonomy law and form new
provinces in accordance with the law.

It means the creation of new province should be done with the
approval of the Papua Peoples Assembly (MRP) as mandated by the
law.

The religious leaders fully support the implementation of the
law, because it "could give more room for the people of Papua to
manage themselves in a dignified manner so that political, social
and community problems could be settled peacefully."

On the contrary, Jakarta's insistence on imposing its own will
could become the source of confusion, protest, and conflict in
Papua.

That's why after the announcement of the controversial
instruction, they called upon the government to produce the
government regulation for the establishment of the MRP, to
implement Papua's autonomy law consistently, and support the
civilian effort to create the whole Papua as a zone of peace.

Intent on imposing its own will, Jakarta has deliberately been
delaying the issuance of the government regulation for the
establishment of the MRP, although it is very crucial for the
implementation of Papua's autonomy law.

The government only postponed the creation of Central Irian
Jaya province but insisted on establishing the province of West
Irian Jaya province as mandated by Law No.45/1999.

The government officially established the province of West
Irian Jaya, and already installed its new acting governor on Nov.
14, 2003 which clearly marks the official split of West Irian
Jaya from Papua province.

The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has recommended that
the government revise Law No. 45/1999 and Presidential
Instruction No. 1/2003 in line with the spirit of Papua's
autonomy law. Yet, the government is approaching it the other way
around, by revising Papua's autonomy law in order to accommodate
its own goal of splitting Papua into three provinces.

The driving force behind the government's imposition of its
will on the division of Papua is the "incorrect assumption based
on a rigid interpretation of what the unitary state is all
about,"(The Jakarta Post, Dec. 30, 2003).

So, it is not an exaggeration when the Papuan religious
leaders say that the central government "prefers to force its own
will" than to respect how the law works.

On the part of the Papuans, they are now united in their
struggle for the implementation of the Papuan autonomy law, which
has already been passed, as seen during the two-day meeting
hosted by the provincial legislative council, in Jayapura, Dec.
15 to Dec. 16.

Through the meeting, the Papuans pushed the central government
to work out the governmental regulation for the establishment of
Papuan Peoples Assembly (MRP) and to be consistent in
implementing Papua's autonomy law. It also rejected the
implementation of Law No 45/1999 and Presidential Decree No.
1/2003 concerning the establishment of new provinces in Papua.

Since both dissenting parties, namely the government and the
Papuans, keep insisting on their opinion, more bloodshed is
expected in Papua.

In order to settle the socio-political unrest in Papua
peacefully, the government needs to heed the voice of the Papuan
religious leaders. They have no political or economic interests.
Their only concern is how to create peace in Papua.