Papuans distrust anything from the government

Papuans distrust anything from the government

Neles Tebay, Rome

The Ministry of Home Affairs announced last Wednesday that the
Papuan People's Assembly (Majelis Rakyat Papua/MRP) would be
established on Oct. 15, as required by the Papuan Special
Autonomy Law (No. 21/2001).

In order for the MRP to function properly and effectively, the
government needs to be aware of the fundamental problem that must
be settled.

This problem is related neither to which Papuans should become
members of the MRP nor how the elections should be conducted, but
rather concerns the government's understanding of Papua Province.

For, on the one hand, the MRP is being established for Papua
Province, but, on the other hand, the central government employs
two different understandings of Papua Province.

The first understanding of Papua Province is based on the
Papuan Special Autonomy Law (No. 21/2001). In article 1(a) of
this Law, Papua Province is defined as Irian Jaya Province after
the granting of special autonomy within the framework of the
Unitary Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

It means that this legislation recognizes only one province in
the western part of the island of New Guinea, which is Papua
province (known as Irian Jaya before the enactment of Law No. 21
of 2001).

The province is confined by the Pacific Ocean to the north,
Maluku province and the Arafura sea in the south, the provinces
of Maluku and North Maluku in the west, and the state of Papua
New Guinea in the east.

The government also has another definition of Papua Province,
however. This second understanding of the province is based on
the decision made last year by the Constitutional Court to
recognize the existence of West Irian Jaya province.

The Court did not formulate any definition of Papua Province.
But it offered a different understanding of Papua Province from
that contained in the Papuan Special Autonomy Law.

The court implied that there are two separate provinces in the
land of Papua, namely, Papua and West Irian Jaya.

Since President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in his speech in
August has legitimized the existence of West Irian Jaya province,
Papua Province in the eyes of the government, then, no longer
covers the entire western half of the island of New Guinea, but
only the eastern part of it. In another words, it includes only
the eastern part of Papua province as defined in the
Papuan Special Autonomy Law.

The government still employs these two different definitions
of Papua province, as manifested in various statements. By saying
that the government is still committed to implementing the Papuan
Special Autonomy Law, the state should actually stick to the
definition of Papua province given in the legislation. However,
at the same time it has legitimized the existence of West Irian
Jaya province and therefore embraced the meaning of Papua
Province implied in the Constitutional Court decision.

That's why, with regard to the election of the MRP in Papua
province, the government could be asked: For which Papua province
is the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) being established? Is it
for the Papua province as defined in the Papuan Special Autonomy
Law or for the Papua province created by the Constitutional Court
and legitimized by the government?

If the government applies the first definition of Papua
province (that given in the Papuan Special Autonomy Law), this
will have certain consequences as regards the election of the MRP
members.

First, all regencies in Papua, including those of West Irian
Jaya province, should be allowed to participate in the MRP's
election.

Second, the MRP should be based in Jayapura as the capital of
Papua province.

Third, allowing the Papuans from West Irian Jaya to take part
in the MRP election means the government should not acknowledge
the existence of the province. Therefore, the government should
not form another MRP to be based in Manokwari, the capital of
West Irian Jaya province.

Fourth, if the government persists in recognizing West Irian
Jaya province, then people may ask: Why does the government allow
people from West Irian Jaya to select MRP members not for their
own province but rather for Papua Province, and not based in
Manokwari but in Jayapura? How about the status of West Irian
Jaya then?

The second definition of Papua province will also have certain
consequences as regards the election of MRP members.

First, if the second definition of Papua Province is applied,
the government should no longer recognize the Papuan Special
Autonomy Law, or its definition of Papua Province.

Second, the government should issue a new legal foundation for
Papua province as the definition of Papua province based on the
Constitutional Court's decision is totally different from that
given in the Papuan Special Autonomy Law.

Third, if the legal basis for the election of the MRP members
is the Papuan Special Autonomy Law and this legislation is to be
discarded, then the government should terminate the MRP election
process underway at the moment.

Fourth, the decision of the Constitutional Court provides no
legal foundation for the creation of an MRP both in Papua and
West Irian Jaya provinces. Therefore, if Jakarta intends to
continue with the MRP election process, it should provide a new
legal foundation.

If both definitions of Papua province are applied at the same
time, as is being done by the government at the moment, the
situation in the land of Papua will only become worse. For it
continues to perpetuate tension, conflict and division among
the Papuans. The government, in turn, appears to be the
source of the confusion and conflict, as well as the primary
cause of the failure to implement the Papuan Special Autonomy
Law.

More problems will continue to emerge because of the
government's betrayal of Law No. 21.

Consistency and faithfulness in upholding the law, then, is
the main thing that Papuans want from the government.

The writer is a postgraduate student at the Urbaniana
Pontifical University in Rome.