Jokowi Agrees on Provincial Division in Papua, West Papua

During the session, they demanded the President carry out the administrative division to five areas. However, Jokowi only agreed on two or three regions.

“I agree, but perhaps it will not be five, but two or three regions,” Widodo said.

According to the president, a thorough study is necessary to commence a regional division as there are regulations concerning the matter. “This requires a study because it is ruled by the law, and I’m pleased to hear the suggestion from grassroots,” he added.

A total of 61 Papuan and West Papuan consisted of religious figures, customary figures, communities, and students attended today’s session.

They proposed nine demands to Jokowi, viz. provincial division, the formation of a national agency for land affairs, recruitment of Papuan as echelon I and II in ministry offices, and construction of a national dormitory for Papuan students across the country.

They also asked for an amendment of law on special autonomy to be listed in the 2020 national legislation program, issuance of presidential instruction about promotion of temporary workers to be civil servants (PNS), immediate resolution of eastern palapa ring in Papua, inauguration of customary institutions, and construction of state palace in the province.

Notes

Located on the western half of the island of New Guinea and long racked by a simmering violent separatist insurgency, Papua encompasses Indonesia’s two easternmost provinces.

A former Dutch colony, West Papua was formally incorporated into Indonesia in 1969, after an undisputed vote of about 1,025 representative tribal leaders. The result of the plebiscite was overseen and endorsed by the United Nations.

Since the democratization in 1998, especially since 2007, democracy by mean of elections has been introduced to increase political participation in the two provinces. The fact that the leaders of Papua and West Papua provinces are democratically elected by the people has strengthened the legality of the region as a province of Indonesia.

During the Abdurrahman Wahid administration in 2000, aside from changing the province name from “Irian Jaya” to “Papua”, Papua gained a “Special Autonomy” status, a political compromise between Papuans and the central government.

The political will of politicians in Jakarta to proceed with the implementation of the Special Autonomy was formalized in 2001 with the special autonomy law.