Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister of Politics, Law, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD on Thursday's press conference said that the Indonesian government will never let go of Papua and asserts that the many attempts to declare independence will be fought by the government.

"Papua's unity, either the Papua Province or West Papua with the unitary state of the republic of Indonesia [NKRI] is final. There are no other paths, independence is non-negotiable," said Mahfud MD today.

This was specifically mentioned by him in addressing the recent conflict that has sparked again in Papua's Intan Jaya region between security forces and armed criminal groups.

Mahfud claims violence have unfortunately reemerged again as December 1 nears, which is the commemoration day for Papua's separatist groups.

"And now it has happened again as there are several people there that want to separate themselves [from Indonesia]. It is unknown if they are provoked by foreign nationals or whether it has come from within the region," Mahfud MD said.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1391934/mahfud-md-papua-as-part-of-indonesia-is-non-negotiable