Special autonomy for Papua hailed
R.K. Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
As many as 50 Irianese religious leaders and local figures expressed on Wednesday support for the government's plan to give special autonomy to the resource-rich province of Irian Jaya.
At a meeting with Irian Jaya Governor Jaap Salosa at the Stata Building in Jayapura on Wednesday, the religious leaders and local figures also promised to disseminate information about the special autonomy law to be officially signed by President Megawati Soekarnoputri during her planned visit to the province on Dec. 22.
According to Salosa, Megawati's visit will be on schedule. "The signing of the special autonomy law will be at the provincial legislative building, while a Christmas celebration will be held at the Matahari Terbit (Rising Sun) building," the governor said.
Protestant Rev. John M. Gobay of the Kemah Injil (Bible Camp) Church, Rev. Ayomi of the Pentecostal Church, Father Jack Mote of the Argapura Catholic parish and Husein Zubeir of the Indonesian Ulemas Council were among the religious leaders.
Rev. Sofyan Nyoman was also at hand representing intellectuals at the meeting, the first of its kind, while Gaspar Sibi, head of the Kayu Pulau tribe, represented the indigenous people.
Rev. Sofyan Nyoman said that special autonomy for Papua (Irian Jaya) was supported because the churches, which were involved in the drafting of the law, would not oppose it.
The special autonomy law, which was deliberated by the House of Representatives (DPR) on Oct. 22, 2001, remains controversial to many, including students and members of the Papuan Presidium Council (PDP), who preferred dialog to special autonomy to solve Irian Jaya problems.
At least 500 students from Jayapura's state Cenddrawasih University took to the streets on Tuesday to reject the special autonomy law and demanded an independence referendum instead.
Father Jack Mote told The Jakarta Post after the meeting that such an emotional demonstration by students could not be considered to represent all the people of Irian Jaya.
"All people should support the government's efforts to create peace and uphold human rights," Father Jack said.
Rev. John M. Gobay said that the demand for special autonomy and independence were understandable. "Some think that special autonomy is a kind of oppression. Therefore they seek independence. It should be explained (to the people of Papua) how the special autonomy law came about. Did it come from the central government or from the people of Papua? Then will we accept it? It's the religious leaders and local figures who should explain all this to the people," said Gobay.
Father Theo van den Broek, a Dutch-born man who is now an Indonesian citizen, said that support and opposition for special autonomy among the (Papuan) people were understandable because information about the government's plan had been inadequate.
He said that the bill on special autonomy for Papua had yet to accommodate the interests of all Papuan people, especially those who wanted Irian Jaya to secede from the unitary state of Indonesia.
"The result is that special autonomy is rejected by those who want a referendum and demand that all rights abuses be properly settled, as well as those who are dissatisfied with the government's poor attention to development in the province," he said.
"However, in a way special autonomy will answer the demands of some of the Papuans who want big changes and better lives," he said.