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New law to end Papua legal dispute
The government will issue an emergency government regulation within the next two months to justify the formation of West Papua province, which has been a source of tension between Jakarta and Papua for the last five years
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The government will issue an emergency government regulation within the next two months to justify the formation of West Papua province, which has been a source of tension between Jakarta and Papua for the last five years.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Tuesday the regulation, or Perpu, would provide a legal basis for West Papua province and resolve all problems related to the establishment of the new province, which was declared illegitimate by the Constitutional Court in 2003.
"The Perpu will acknowledge West Papua and synchronize it with the Papua province under the existing 2001 law on special autonomy for Papua," Yudhoyono said after meeting with Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu, West Papua Governor Abraham Atururi and representatives from the Papua legislature and the Papua People's Council.
The President said the new regulation would bring clarity to the legal status of West Papua as a separate province in the country's easternmost territory, which is rich in natural resources but among the poorest regions of the country.
"We just need to create legal certainty so that the development of the two provinces will run well," Yudhoyono said.
Yudhoyono, last August, issued a presidential instruction to accelerate development in Papua and West Papua provinces. The instruction calls on the central government to spend Rp 22 trillion, mainly on infrastructure.
The President said the government approved a recommendation from the Papua administrations to establish a coordinating board to monitor and evaluate the use of state money channeled by the government to the Papua provinces.
Yudhoyono said he would issue a presidential decree on this matter.
"West Papua will receive an appropriate portion of the government money," the President said.
Currently the Papua administration controls the special autonomy funds allocated for both provinces.
Regarding the possible formation of new provinces and regions in Papua, the President said he would consult with the House of Representatives and Regional Representatives Council.
"We are very cautious about regional divisions. We have seen that the establishment of new provinces or regions has indeed caused setbacks because natural resources have been exploited instead of being used to improve people's welfare," Yudhoyono said.
In a meeting led by Vice President Jusuf Kalla in mid-February in Jayapura, the governors, mayors and regents of Papua and West Papua provinces agreed to propose an emergency government regulation to break the impasse over West Papua.
