Ten thousand Papuans criticize special autonomy implementation
Ten thousand Papuans criticize special autonomy implementation
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post/Jayapura
At least 10,000 Papuans stormed into the office of the Papua
provincial legislative council in Jayapura on Friday, demanding
the government to review its Special Autonomy Law.
The protesters, in one of the largest such demonstrations ever
in the province, claimed that the special autonomy was a total
failure as it had failed to live up to people's expectations in
Papua.
The protesters started at Trikora Field in Abepura in the
morning, and from there, they marched to the legislative
compound. Due to fears of clashes, many schools, offices and
shops were closed as the protesters made their way through
Jayapura city, some 25 kilometers from the Trikora Field. Other
shops and residents along the way prepared food and water for the
protesters, who also were demanding justice.
The demonstrators, some wearing traditional Papuan attire,
carried a coffin covered with black cloth bearing Otsus (special
autonomy), which meant that special autonomy had failed to
improve the life of Papuans. Besides demanding the government to
hold national and international dialogs to solve the Papuan
problem, the demonstrators, led by the secretary of the Papuan
Tribal Council, Leo Imbiri, also demanded the Papuan provincial
council members convene a plenary session and formally reject
special autonomy.
Responding to the demand, speaker of the Papuan provincial
council Jhon Ibo argued that it was premature to say that the
Special Autonomy Law was a failure as it was just a few years old
and the implementation process was still ongoing. Ibo rejected
the demand for a plenary meeting, but he promised that the
provincial council would intensify dialogs with the Papuan Tribal
Council in order to discuss the future of special autonomy.
Leo stated that special autonomy was the best way for Papua to
improve, but he argued that parts of the implementation had not
yet lived up to people's expectations. First, he said, the
government was sluggish in issuing the Presidential Decree on the
Papuan People's Council. It was finally launched three years
after the Special Autonomy Law was issued in 2001, which brought
disappointment to many Papuans. The Special Autonomy Law provided
more authority for the provincial administration to manage its
own affairs, while the central government retained some powers
such as in the matters of security and international affairs.
And second, Leo protested, the government approved the
establishment of West Irian Jaya province, which effectively
partitioned Papua province and violated the 2001 law. The
original 2001 law states, however, that the establishment of a
new province must be approved by the Papuan People's Council,
while in fact, West Irian Jaya was set up before the MRP was
founded. Protests against the Special Autonomy Law, were not only
held in Jayapura but also in other areas in Papua, such as Sorong
and Biak, although far fewer people took part.
The massive expression of disappointment comes just weeks
after some members of the U.S. Congress proposed a bill
questioning the validity of the process leading to the 1969 Act
of Free Choice in Papua, when a group of some 1,000 selected
Papuan leaders voted unanimously to become part of the Republic
of Indonesia.