Apriadi Gunawan, Tanjung Gusta, North Sumatra – Participants of the fifth congress of the Indigenous People's Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) on Saturday evaluated President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's nine-point priority agenda, known as Nawacita, coming to the conclusion that it had not yet served the interests of indigenous people in Indonesia.
AMAN Congress organizing committee head Arifin Monang Saleh said the evaluation of the President's Nawacita was one of important agenda items up for discussion during the congress.
The congress' participants evaluated six points of the Nawacita program, he said, including the implementation of Constitutional Court (MK) ruling No. 35 on customary forests, the deliberation of the indigenous people bill, the establishment of a national commission for indigenous people, the settlement of conflicts in customary communities and the implementation of a law on customary villages.
"The six Nawacita points related to indigenous people in the country have not yet been realized. We very much regret this," Arifin told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the congress in Tanjung Gusta, Deli Serdang regency, on Saturday.
The results of the Nawacita evaluation by congress participants will be further discussed in the commission for recommendation, resolution and declaration.
"We will announce what they [indigenous people] have recommended to realize the Nawacita program at the end of the congress," said Arifin.
The last agenda item of the congress, which will end on Sunday, is the selection and inauguration of the National AMAN Council and AMAN secretary general for the 2017-2022 period. (ebf)