SBY sends subordinates for Papua dialogue

Development Acceleration Unit for Papua and West Papua (UP4B)Lt. Gen. (ret) Bambang Dharmono says his team plans to invite representatives of all Papuan people, including separatists, for a dialogue.

“I will seek their counsel on how to bring about a better future for Papua,” Bambang said Wednesday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The retired general added that he would first seek ways to gain people’s trust before organizing a dialogue on ways to develop Indonesia's easternmost province, and that local representatives would play a bigger role in implementing better policies in the region.

The UP4B initiative comes after several weeks of heightened tensions in Papua during which at least six people died at the hands of police and security forces attempting to crush local aspirations to form a separate state. The central government has also faced mounting criticism from both the local and international community for its management of the region.

Experts say the tensions were a result of a growing rift between the central government and the Papuan people who have long requested a dialogue with the President himself to discuss the controversial vote under which the resource-rich territory was claimed as part of Indonesia. Yudhoyono, however, has previously stated he will not attend any such dialogue.