Drawing up a New Map, towards a New Papua

Drawing up a New Map, towards a New Papua

For two days, on 9 and 10 June, the Majelis Rakyat Papua (Papuan People's Council) held a Consultation together with indigenous Papuan people coming from all over Papua. The Consultation took place at the MRP Building in Kotaraja, Jayapura.

The theme of the meeting was: One Land, One Heart, One Culture.

The Consultation was held in the framework of the implementation of Law 21/2001 on Special Autonomy for the Province of Papua - OTSUS.

The LP3BH was invited by the MRP to produce an evaluation of OTSUS-Papua which has been in force for nine years and to evaluate the activities of the MRP.

The MRP came to the conclusion that developments and social dynamics within Papuan society have resulted in new problems in connection with the implementation of OTSUS in the Land of Papua.

Although OTSUS was intended to be the solution to a number of problems in Papua, the fact is that OTSUS has not been properly implemented; on the contrary, contradictory policies have been pursued and there have been new frictions between the Papuan people because of the ambivalence and ambiguities of the government regarding implementation of the law.

There is a strong impression that the government has neither the goodwill nor any political will regarding governance and development in the Land of Papua.

There are many indications of the lack of good will and political will according to the MRP, as is evident from a number of cases. One is the decision to carve up the Province of West Papua without regard for the mechanisms stipulated in Article 76 of Law 21/2001. Moreover the elections of nine indigenous Papuans to occupy nine extra seats in the DPRP have to this day not been held (see paragraph 6 and paragraph 28 of Law 21/2001) along with Decision 16/2010 of the Constitutional Court. Another fact is the elections of heads of disctricts in the Land of Papua which disregarded the right of the indigenous Papuan people to be prioritised in the recruitment of people to occupy these posts.

The MRP also drew attention to the fact that implementation of Law 21/2001 with regard to (the introduction of) provincial regulations such as Perdasus and Perdasi has not yet happened, while the principles of transparency, participation and accountability have been ignored.

The MRP also drew attention to amendments to Law 21/2001 with the enactment of Government Decision No 1/2008 which was subsequently enacted as Law 35/2008 which is not in conformity with the mechanisms and procedures stipulated in Law 21/2001.

These facts resulted in the MRP, in its role as the state organ charged with playing a part in the running of the provincial government in the interests of creating an advanced, prosperous and just society within the framework of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia - NKRI, deciding to convene a mediation forum to listen to and facilitate the aspirations of the people with regard to social and political developments in the Land of Papua.

During the Consultations, the MRP presented a number of clarifications about what it had achieved so far, in accord with its tasks and authority as the cultural institution of the indigenous Papuan people. This also represented a concrete realisation of the moral responsibilities of the MRP towards the Papuan people.

The dynamics during the two-day meeting were quite heated and the MRP along with all the components of the indigenous people present came to the conclusion that:

SPECIAL AUTONOMY FOR PAPUA HAS FAILED.

It has been a failure because the law has not been implemented in such a way as to deal with urgent and substantive problems in the socio-economic, political and cultural aspects of the lives of the indigenous Papuan people. The reason for this is that no regulations have been enacted to provide the political back-up of OTSUS regarding initiatives by the provincial government while the government in Jakarta has failed to provide any political support for the implementation of OTSUS.

In view of all this, the MRP Consultations held jointly with the indigenous Papuan people agreed to the following recommendations.

1. In view of the FAILURE of OTSUS, the MRP together with the DPRP and the DPRD of West Papua should immediately hand back the Special Autonomy Law for Papua to the Indonesian government in Jakarta.

2. The MRP, together with the DPRP and the DPRD of West Papua, should immediately discuss the methods and mechanisms for handing back the Special Autonomy Law for Papua to the Indonesian government.

3. The MRP, together with the DPRP and the DPRD of West Papua, should immediately urge the Indonesian government in Jakarta to hold a dialogue with the indigenous people of Papua in order to discuss urgent matters in connection with the desire for an INDEPENDENT PAPUA.

In the opinion of LP3BH-Manokwari, these recommendations should be regarded as the joint endeavour of the MRP and the indigenous Papuan people to draw a new map to advance towards a New Papua in accordance with the wishes of all the indigenous Papuan people.

Building this new map can be achieved by means of a DIALOGUE and or a REFERENDUM, in accordance with the wishes of the components of the indigenous Papuan people who attended the Consultation.

It would be very good if all the components of the indigenous Papuan people, under the leadership of the Dewan Adat Papua [Papuan Traditional Council], were to begin to make preparations for holding a Congress of the Papuan people in order to discuss and reach agreement on convening a Congress of the Papuan People in order to agree on the way chosen to achieve a New Papua.

Translated by TAPOL

ENDS

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