News about the possibility that the central government might impose a civil emergency in Papua province has caused strong reactions in several quarters. The source of the news was Effendy Choirie, of the National Awakening Party (PKB), who chaired a closed meeting of Commission I of the House of Representatives.

He is the deputy chairman of the committee assigned to handle matters related to foreign affairs, defense and security, and information.

After the closed meeting some time last week, he told a reporter that the possibility of implementing a state of emergency in Papua province was indeed discussed. He said that a number of commission members returning from a visit to the easternmost province of the Republic were quite concerned about the security situation there.

He himself did not agree that an integrated operation as is being implemented in Nangroe Aceh Darussalam should also be applied in Papua. The current Aceh operation consists of a two-pronged approach, namely a military operation against the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and a social-economic drive to reconstruct destroyed villages and burned down schools.

A civil emergency is the stage before martial law is imposed in a province beset by serious conflict. Under a 1959 law, the president, as head of the Civil Emergency Authority, is given virtually unlimited powers to do whatever is deemed necessary to restore peace and order. Those powers include imposing curfews, news blackouts, banning public speeches and gatherings, isolating certain regions affected by conflicts, and arresting people without a warrant. A provincial governor could be assigned as administrator, although his powers would be limited as the police would have a more prominent role. Effendy himself did not see the necessity of imposing a civil emergency in Papua. In his opinion, the full implementation of special autonomy as stipulated in Law No.21/2001, including the formation of a Papua People's Council (MRP), would be more important.

It is interesting to note that Papua Governor J.E. Solossa, who was a functionary of the Golkar party, has denied that the situation in his province is serious and warrants the imposition of a civil emergency. The governor stated In unequivocal terms that there was no need to apply a civil emergency. "If forced, it would only create possibilities for the spread of Papua separatism caused by human rights violations," Solossa said in a recent statement.

Another critical voice was raised by Bambang Widjojanto, who was at one time director of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) in Irian Jaya (Papua). He also did not see any justification for applying a civil emergency in Papua. As a matter of fact, he thought that it could worsen the situation in the province. According to Bambang Widjojanto the implementation of a civil emergency in Papua would only create new problems, while old problems would remain unresolved. It is an open secret that some observers view the situation in Papua from the conspiracy angle, as a means to weaken the Golkar party in Papua, and to maintain a certain level of conflict in the province in order to postpone the full implementation of autonomy.

Despite the many failings of the Abdurrahman Wahid administration, at least it was very understanding of the wishes and aspirations of the indigenous population of that easternmost Indonesian province. On the other hand, it is not too early to conclude that President Megawati's most serious shortcoming is the political mismanagement of the Papua situation. Sutradara Ginting, a member of the House of Representatives' Commission I known for his wisdom and balanced attitude, has appealed for restraint since no concrete decisions have been made.

Nevertheless, with only six weeks to go before the legislative elections commence and the conclusion in October of the government of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, constant vigilance is warranted to avoid possible unpleasant surprises that could upset peace and order in Papua. In particular, this time Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had better be more alert in order to prevent novel proposals being surreptitiously presented to the President and signed without his knowledge. Papua province should not be allowed to become a hunting ground for intelligence agencies and ambitious party officials.