Laily Rahmawaty, Suharto, Jakarta – The Indonesian Police (Polri) is planning to raise three new provincial police forces following the ratification of bills on the establishment of three new provinces in Papua into law on Thursday.

"It (the creation of the new provincial police stations) will go through a process and planning. Of course, Polri will take it into account once the new provinces are formed," chief of the public information bureau at the public relations division of the National Police, Brigadier General Ahmad Ramadhan, said at the National Police Headquarters here on Thursday.

Polri's planning division will plan the technical procedure for creating the new provincial police stations and later report it to or seek directives from the State Administrative Reform Ministry, he informed.

The House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Thursday passed three bills on the establishment of three new provinces in Papua into law during a plenary session at the Parliament Complex here.

The three bills concern the establishment of South Papua, Central Papua, and Papua Pegunungan provinces.

House Speaker Puan Maharani said the bills reflect the DPR's legislative support to ensure the rights of Papua people and the even distribution of development gains in Papua.

She expressed the hope that the passage of the bills into law will benefit the Papuan people, in accordance with the ideals of the Indonesian nation, and ensure the community living in the eastern part of Indonesia enjoys socioeconomic benefits through infrastructure development.

Meanwhile, DPR RI Commission II chair Ahmad Doli Kurnia said that the three provincial bills were drafted according to Law No. 2 of 2021 on Special Autonomy for Papua Province.

Article 76 Paragraph 2 of the law allows the government and the parliament to establish new autonomous regions to expedite equitable development, improve public services and residents' welfare, and bolster the dignity of the Papuan people, he pointed out.

Political, administrative, legal, social, and cultural aspects, as well as human resources, basic infrastructures, economic abilities, and the aspirations of the Papuan people have been considered during the bills' drafting, the legislator said.

Source: https://en.antaranews.com/news/237109/three-new-provincial-police-forces-planne