Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A delegation of West Papua politicians has blamed Jakarta for the stagnation of special autonomy in Papua and West Papua, saying the two provinces could not properly implement autonomy without guidance from the central government.
"The special autonomy is not just a matter of money," West Papua chief councilor Jimmy Demianus said, "but rather a political commitment to address problems such as reconciliation, human rights violations, natural resource management, health, poverty, defense and security."
His comments came after he led the West Papua legislature delegation in separate meetings with the House of Representatives and Regional Representative Council leadership here on Thursday.
The delegation was here to pressure the central government to issue a regulation in lieu of law for the formation of West Papua province.
Jimmy said special autonomy had not been achieved as expected due to an absence of technical and operational guidance from Jakarta.
The law mandates seven government regulations, "but so far only a single regulation (that establishes the Papuan People's Assembly or MRP) has been issued," Jimmy said. "Consequently, both the MRP and the provincial government in Papua and West Papua can not work to make special and provincial bylaws."
The 2001 law on special autonomy mandates the issuance of at least seven government regulations as technical and operational guidance for reconciliation in Papua, the resolution of human rights abuses, natural resources exploration, population and protection of local cultures.
According to observers, justice and conflict resolution is dependent upon the proper implementation of special autonomy.
Jimmy warned Papua's problems would become more complex if Jakarta did not facilitate the implementation. In the past five years Papua has been under scrutiny for human rights abuses.
Papuans are confused by the newly proposed fragmentation of the two provinces. Students and activists in Papua, disappointed with the stagnation and the proposed formation of four new provinces, staged rallies in Jayapura this week, demanding a referendum on self-determination.
They said the proposed formation of new provinces would allow the Indonesian Military to bring in more soldiers and would damage local cultures.
Spacious Papua is three and half times the size of Java and is populated by 2.4 million people, 50 percent of whom are from Sulawesi, Java and Sumatra. It is home to many mining and forestry companies, including US-based PT Freeport Indonesia.
During recent meetings in Jayapura, Governor Barnabas Suebu admitted the government's progress in addressing social problems and maintaining political stability in the province was less than desirable.
"Despite huge special autonomy funds being allocated over the last seven years, most people are still living in poverty and are uneducated. A bigger part of the funds have been used to finance bureaucracy," Barnabas said.
Political observers from Cenderawasih University in Abepura, Papua, said the Rp 30 trillion allocated to the two provinces this year would not be spent in the public's interest in the absence of technical and operational assistance from Jakarta.