Papuans awaiting court's verdict on division of the province
Papuans awaiting court's verdict on division of the province
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Papuans have laid their hopes on the Constitutional Court, which
on Wednesday will examine the validity of a law that splits Papua
into three provinces, as the last resort to solve legal and
political problems in the area.
Papua Special Autonomy Defense Team chairman Bambang
Widjoyanto said on Monday he hoped the court would make a
historic decision to accept his group's objection to Law No.
45/1999, which he said was against the amended 1945 Constitution.
The law, which creates the West and Central Irian Jaya
provinces, was also contrary to Law No. 21/2001 on Papua's
special autonomy.
The trial would be important because it would be the first
time the formation of new provinces was tested and the court's
decision would determine Papua's future, he said.
"Not only the political elite but also the people in Papua are
waiting for the (court's) fair and objective decision on whether
the ... two provinces' formation is against the amended 1945
Constitution or not."
Bambang said the law creating the two new provinces had no
legal basis because it was made without the approval of the
Papuan People's Assembly and provincial legislature as required
by special autonomy laws.
The formation of the two new provinces was at odds with
Chapter 18 of the amended 1945 Constitution that required the
formation of new provinces to take into account social customs,
he said.
The issuing of Presidential Instruction No. 1/2003 to enforce
the law forming the two new the provinces has caused friction
among Papuan political groups.
Several Papuans were killed and many others were injured last
year in bloody clashes between two factions who differed over the
formation of Central Irian Jaya.
Following the violence, the government decided to suspend the
new province's formation indefinitely and appointed Abraham
Octavianus Atururo as acting governor of West Irian Jaya.
Defense team member Iskandar said if the court decided that
Law No. 45/1999 was against the special autonomy law and the
Constitution, many legal problems to do with legislative and
presidential elections in the province could be solved.
"The Papuan provincial administration has been involved in
friction with the General Elections Commission (KPU) which has
allocated three House seats to West Irian Java.
"Although the KPU has its local office in the new province,
political parties have yet to register themselves to contend the
legislative election and to submit their candidates," he said.
Bambang also said that a possible conflict in the upcoming
general election could be avoided if the law was declared
invalid.
He said Law No. 45/1999 was orchestrated by a "certain
political party" to break down the dominant Golkar Party in the
region.
This party had economic interests in West Irian Jaya, where
foreign oil giant British Petroleum (BP) was exploring a vast
natural gas field.
"Both the military and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN)
will also lose out if (Law No. 45/1999) is dropped because the
two institutions have economic interests maintaining security in
the new province," he said.