Jayapura – The Papuan Council of Churches (PCC) suspects that there is a faction within government circles in Jakarta that does not want the land of Papua to be safe. This suspicion was conveyed by the PCC Moderator Reverand Dr. Benny Giay during a press conference in Sentani, Jayapura regency, Papua, on Friday May 30.
Giay said that the allegation is not without reason. Because the former President of the Republic of Indonesia for two terms, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or SBY conveyed this to him during a meeting at his private residence in Cikeas, Bogor, West Java, in December 2012.
According to Giay, at that time Yudhoyono said "The situation in Papua is like that, because we are being regulated by a system run by 'hard-line elements in Jakarta' who do not want to have a dialogue".
"That's why the title of this pastoral letter is like that (Hard-line elements in the government are keeping Papuan separatism from dying/disbanding)", said Giay.
He said research results by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences or LIPI conducted from 2004 to 2008 concluded that there are four root problems in Papua. The results of the research were published in 2009 through a report by the LIPI Papua Study Team in a book titled "Papua Road Map."
The four root problems in Papua based on LIPI's research are first, the problem of the history and political status of Papua's integration into Indonesia.
Second, the violence and human rights violations that have taken place in Papua since 1965 through military operations with almost no accountability from the state.
Third, feelings of discrimination and marginalisation resulting from the exclusion of Papuans in the formulation of development in their land, and fourth, the failure of development in Papua.
Giay said that various groups including the church were initially optimistic that the government would prepare steps for peaceful dialogue between the parties in Papua and Jakarta or the government to resolve the four root problems based on the results of LIPI's research.
"(But) once again this good intention was thwarted by 'hard-line' elements of the government in Jakarta", he said.
According to Giay, the head of the LIPI Papua Study Team at that time, the late Muridan Widjojo, was invited to an academic discussion by a state institution dealing with security and politics.
However, when they arrived at the discussion venue, the parties actually interrogated Widjojo, which was seen as their way of rejecting the "Papua Road Map" book.
"Since 2008, the 'hard-liners in Jakarta have won. Those four root issues (the four root problems in Papua) have been maintained and allowed to continue to radicalise Papuan nationalism, which is used at any time for military operations. In the end, it has resulted in the genocide of the Papuan people, who now number only one million", said Giay.
The PCC is also inviting all groups to stand together to call for a dialogue and negotiations to resolve the conflict in Papua, and also supported the message of the former vice president of the Republic of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla, who once stated "although it is not easy, peace in Papua can be achieved, depending on the government".
"The peace dialogue referred to is peace negotiations, including stopping military operations, armed conflicts and the exploitation of the Wabu Block or other natural resources", he said.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "DGP Menduga Ada Pihak Yang Tak Ingin Tanah Papua Aman".]
Source: https://jubi.id/polhukam/2025/dgp-menduga-ada-pihak-yang-tak-ingin-tanah-papua-aman