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.