Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Nearly 1,000 Papuans from all walks of life began a two-day meeting sponsored by the local legislative council on Monday to seek a solution to the central government's controversial decision to split Papua into three provinces.
The policy has encountered strong rejection from local people across Papua and triggered week-long clashes between groups supporting and opposing partition, killing at least five people and injuring a dozen others.
Papua Governor J.P. Salossa opened the meeting, calling on all Papuans to articulate their thoughts on the division policy. "I believe that we, Papuan people, have to share all things regarding this land by promoting dialog. If I, as the governor, am confused on how to govern this territory following the controversial policy, then how about my people?" he asked.
"On the one hand, the central government will consider that I'm standing against it if I refuse to implement the policy, but on the other hand, people may think that I am violating the mandate to enforce the autonomy law in this land," Salossa said as quoted by Antara.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri has been criticized for making a blunder as she issued in mid-August Decree No. 1/2003 to accelerate the creation of West and Central Irian Jaya provinces. Irian Jaya is the former name of Papua.
The decree was to implement Law No. 45/1999 on the formation of West and Central Irian Jaya and North Maluku provinces and of Paniai, Mimika, Puncak Jaya and Sorong regencies.
Implementation of the law was delayed by former president B.J. Habibie due to strong opposition from Papuans, and his successor Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid maintained the postponement.
Gus Dur later introduced Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua, which recommends the establishment of the Papua People's Assembly (MRP), which would have the authority to approve or reject any important decisions on the province.
As of today however, the MRP has not yet been established and the central government was even reviewing the political role of the assembly.
"I don't mind if the government insists on splitting Papua into three provinces, but its implementation should ensure the enforcement of the autonomy law as well," Salossa said.
Like the governor, Papua legislative council speaker John Ibo was among those opposed to the partition. Ibo urged the government to cope with the arguments for and against the policy correctly by brushing aside their own interests; otherwise, it could spark new problems in Papua.
"We hope that after hearing arguments from all the Papuan people, we can construct a strategic policy to develop this land and promote harmony among communities," he said on the sidelines of the meeting.
Papua council had allocated Rp 1 billion (US$113,363) from the 2003 budget to finance the meeting.
Present included noted constitutional law expert Sri Soemantri who also criticized the policy and argued that it failed to promote basic principles in the country's legal system.
"The government could not just arbitrarily implement Law No. 45/1999 without taking into consideration Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua. From the legal point of view, the law on special autonomy for Papua has stronger grounds than the previous legislation," Soemantri said.
To prevent more problems, he proposed the government set up a team, consisting of officials from the central government and the provincial administration and local community figures, to settle the issue.
"It is the right time for the country to implement the autonomy law because it accommodates the aspirations and basic rights of the Papuan people, who have long been dealt with unfairly," Soemantri said.
The mountainous, 411,000-square-kilometer territory has a population of about 2.2 million, and is rich in natural resources. Papua has experienced sporadic armed insurgences that have sought independence since Indonesia took control of the territory in 1963 from Dutch colonialists.