LAKSAMANA.Net, February 10, 2005 04:21 AM
Governor Wants Papua Split Into 5 Provinces
Laksamana.Net - The government has reportedly accepted a proposal to divide
resource-rich and rebellious Papua province into five provinces by 2009, despite the
Constitutional Court's recent annulment of a controversial law dividing it into three
provinces.
"We plan to divide Papua into five provinces, namely West Papua, Cendrawasih Bay,
North Papua, Central Mountainous Papua and South Papua," Papua Governor
Jacobus Perviddya Solossa was quoted as saying Tuesday (8/2/05) by Kyodo News.
He was speaking after submitting his proposal to President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono in a meeting at the presidential office in Jakarta.
The governor said his plan to divide the province was based on social, cultural and
geographical considerations, as well as the location of human resources and natural
resources.
He claimed the creation of five new provinces would lead to a more just and strategic
balance in the distribution Papua's resources, thereby boosting the prosperity of the
territory's people.
"The president was happy with this concept and legislation will be drafted for the
formation of the new provinces," Solossa was quoted as saying by detikcom online
news portal.
Analysts suspect the main aim of diving Papua into new provinces is to weaken the
separatist Free Papua Organization (OPM), which has been fighting a sporadic battle
for independence since the 1960s.
Critics say the move to carve up the province is designed to serve the interests of
certain business, military and political groups in Jakarta, instead of the Papuan
people.
There are concerns that splitting Papua will increase resentment of the central
government and hasten the destruction of the province's rain forests, which provide a
major source of income for the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and timber tycoons
with strong political connections.
Solossa did not mention any of the political ramifications of carving up Papua, where
the country's two biggest political parties – Golkar and former president Megawati
Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) – fought a pitted
battle for dominance in last year's national elections.
In the April 2004 general election, Golkar came out on top in Papua with 24.7% of
945,188 votes cast, followed by PDI-P with 8%. The remainder of the votes were
shared among the other 22 parties that contested the election.
In West Irian Jaya province, which was carved out of Papua in 2003, Golkar won again
with 24.8% of 285,032 votes cast, followed by PDI-P with 20%.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democrat Party scored poorly in the two
provinces, winning less than 5% of the vote.
In the September 2004 run-off presidential election, Yudhoyono defeated Megawati in
Papua, where he won 67% of the vote. He also won in West Irian Jaya with 57%.
The upshot is that Golkar is now the dominant party in Papua – a fact that might have
been behind the appointment of Solossa to Golkar's Advisory Council in December.
Golkar is now led by business tycoon Jusuf Kalla, who is also Yudhoyono's vice
president.
Solossa said that despite Papua's abundant natural wealth, some regions have only
limited resources and therefore cannot rely on them for long-term future revenue.
Only certain regions have abundant natural resources, such as minerals, oil and gas,
whereas Central Mountainous Papua and Cendrawasih Gulf are more reliant on
revenue from agriculture, fishing and tourism, he said.
"Because of this, there must be a united commitment for the strategic resources to
be divided and enjoyed for the sake of the prosperity of all people in Papua," he
added.
The governor claimed that dividing Papua would prompt the government to fully
implement special autonomy legislation for the territory, including the establishment of
the Papuan People's Assembly (Majelis Rakyat Papua - MRP) as the highest
law-making body in the province.
"This development does not rule out the possibility of having up to seven provinces,”
he added.
West Irian Jaya, Not Central Irian Jaya
The Constitutional Court in November 2004 overturned a controversial law that would
have divided Papua into three new provinces, but ruled that one of the new provinces
will remain intact.
Constitutional Court head Jimly Asshidiqie said Law No.45/1999 on the formation of
Papua, West Irian Jaya and Central Irian Jaya provinces was no longer valid because
it was unconstitutional.
But he said West Irian Jaya had already been established in line with constitutional
requirements, including the election of local representatives, so it should remain a
separate province.
Many Papuans had demanded the 1999 law be revoked following the enactment of
Law No.21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua, which gives locals with "traditional
rights to special regions" a greater say in running their province.
Efforts by Megawati's administration to push through the formation of West Irian Jaya
and Central Irian Jaya provinces sparked fierce criticism and several deadly clashes.
Background
Reformist former president Abdurrahman Wahid in 2000 passed the legislation
granting Papua greater autonomy and a greater share of the revenue from its vast
natural resources in an effort to reduce separatist sentiments in the territory.
Wahid's predecessor, ex-president B.J. Habibie had in 1999 enacted the law splitting
the province into three, purportedly to accelerate development in the region.
But many Papuans and rights activists saw the law as an attempt to weaken the
province's struggle for self-determination. Wahid opted not to implement the legislation
and instead allowed Papuans to fly the Morning Star flag – the symbol of their
independence movement.
But six months after the fall of Wahid, Megawati in January 2003 issued a decree
mandating the division of Papua.
A study released by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) in April
warned that splitting Papua into new provinces would increase conflict within the
territory and heighten tensions with Jakarta.
Entitled 'Dividing Papua: How Not To Do It', the report said Megawati's decree
effectively ruled out any compromise with the Papuan pro-independence movement
and could lead to more violence. Other rights groups said the decree would encourage
the military to increase its repression in the territory.
Papua Human Rights Institute head John Rumbiak described the Megawati
government's decision to divide the province as an attack on the Papuan people's right
to self-determination.
He also said the division would increase Jakarta's exploitation and militarization of
Papua, as each new province will have a separate military command. Furthermore,
troop numbers will likely be increased and there will be greater military control over
illegal and legal business operations, such as the lucrative resource industries.
Rumbiak warned that social tensions have been exacerbated by the government's
policy of bringing in transmigrants from elsewhere in Indonesia. He also said the
members of the military-backed Islamic terrorist group Laskar Jihad – which is
officially defunct – had been brought into the province.
The Dutch officially left Papua in August 1962 and the region was placed briefly under
the authority of the United Nations. But the Netherlands and Indonesia then signed
the New York Agreements, under which the territory was handed over to Indonesia in
May 1963, on the condition that a referendum on self-determination be held within six
years.
The so-called 'Act of Free Choice' was held in 1969 and 1,062 participants voted
unanimously in favor of incorporation into the Indonesian nation, allegedly because of
threats of violence. Human rights groups and journalists who witnessed the
referendum say it was unfair, corrupt and a sham.
West Papua was formally integrated into Indonesia in 1969 and renamed Irian Jaya.
Irian is an acronym for Ikut Republik Indonesia Anti-Nederland (Join the Republic of
Indonesia Anti-Netherlands), while Jaya means 'glorious'.
Separatists have waged a sporadic guerrilla war against the Indonesian military since
the early 1960s. Human rights groups say thousands have been killed.
Analysts say the division of Papua will do little to improve the territory's prospects for
peace, especially because the military has announced it will quash Papua's
separatists once it completes a massive offensive against rebels in Aceh province.
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