Papuans demand probe into alleged misuse of special autonomy funds
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.