Papuans demand probe into alleged misuse of special autonomy funds

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Controversy over the issue of special autonomy for Papua has shifted to allegations of the misuse of Rp 5.6 trillion (US$577.3 million) in the government's autonomy fund allocated for the region.

A group of West Irian Jaya politicians demanded on Wednesday that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono form a team to investigate the alleged misappropriation of the state funds, Antara reported.

"The value of the autonomy fund has been Rp 5.6 trillion over the last three years, but the welfare of Papuans has not improved through its usage," West Irian Jaya legislature speaker Jimmy Demianus Idjie said after a meeting with Deputy House of Representatives Speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno in Jakarta.

In connection with the alleged misuse of the autonomy fund, dozens of Papuans grouped under the Irian Development Foundation rallied outside the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta to demand that the government investigate the possible involvement of Papua Governor JP Salossa in the case.

Salossa and other Papuan figures met with the President on Tuesday night for talks on a plan by Papuan tribal leaders to symbolically return the autonomy status because it had not been implemented effectively.

One of the demonstrators, Abdul Warwey, said the foundation had collected evidence of the misuse, which he said involved the governor, agency heads, lawmakers, regents and district heads.

"Many Papuan people in remote areas have not enjoyed the so- termed autonomy fund," Warwey said.

Papua has been divided into Papua and West Irian Jaya provinces following a judicial review early this year by the Constitutional Court of a 1999 law that split the region into three smaller provinces.

The special autonomy law issued in 2001 covers both Papua and West Irian Jaya.

Jimmy said each Papuan family, including those in West Irian Jaya, deserved at least Rp 40 million from the autonomy fund a year if it was channeled directly to the people.

"The fund is huge, but people in Papua and West Irian Jaya are screaming 'we are what we were'. There is no improvement in welfare and public facilities," Jimmy said.

The Corruption Eradication Commission has sent a team to investigate the allegation, but Jimmy said there had been no concrete follow-up action.

"KPK efforts do not satisfy us. The anticorruption drive has not reached Papua and West Irian Jaya," Jimmy said.

Soetardjo said he had written to the President twice, asking him to tackle the alleged misuse of the autonomy fund seriously.

Jimmy was visiting Jakarta along with chairwoman of the provincial elections commission Regina Saway to ask the House to put pressure on the government to allow the gubernatorial election to take place immediately.

The government has delayed the poll from July 28 by one month at the latest, citing unfinished regulations regarding the West Irian Jaya administration.