Wakol Yelipele on Racism in Papua

West Papua Blog received another statement regarding racism in Papua from Papuan student activist. Please check the statement during a webinar here.

Wakol Yelipele (Chair of Papua Catholic Students Union or PMKRI) stated that racism does not only occur in Papua, but it exist everywhere in all groups. Not only related to Papua. In addition, he considered we must not separate Papua from Jakarta, we must unite as Indonesia.

He made his own movement to invite institutions to jointly fight racism. Wakol also stated that he traveled around Indonesia to solve problems and to unite Indonesia. Wakol put himself as a middle position that does not side with anyone. He prioritises justice, prosperity between regions throughout Indonesia.

According to him what young people need is more teachers, and according to him the government has no control for teachers. He hoped that the regent and deputy regent would encourage indigenous Papuans to study in other regions. According to him the government must prepare the campus with more majors such as fisheries and agriculture.

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.

In 1969, an undisputed vote of about 1,025 representative tribal leaders decided the future of West Papua (a former Dutch colony) as part of Indonesia. The United Nations had overseen and endorsed the result of the plebiscite to return West Papua to Indonesia.

Since the democratization in 1998, especially since 2007, the government of Indonesia introduced elections to increase political participation in Papua and West Papua. Democracy and local elections paved the way for local Papuan leaders to led Papua and West Papua provinces.

There are two provinces in the island, Papua and West Papua and the number of regency (kabupaten) expands from 9 to 34 as well as the two municipalities of Jayapura and Sorong. Majority stakeholders, especially local politicians in the region support the policy of division (pemekaran) in Papua and West Papua.