Papuans’ trust in Jakarta staked on new team

Papuans may lose their confidence in the central government should a team forged by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono fail to perform in accordance with the 2001 Law on Special Autonomy in Papua.

The government-sanctioned Presidential Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B) is, as the name suggests, tasked with accelerating development in the provinces.

“The UP4B has to deliver a good performance as stipulated in the Special Autonomy Law. Otherwise, it will only make Papuans lose their confidence in Jakarta,” the Institute for Civil Strengthening program coordinator, Yusak Reba, told The Jakarta Post in Jayapura, Papua on Friday.

He said the central government’s commitment to Papua and West Papua would be tested through the UP4B, which had no authority to execute policies but was responsible for making regional administrations and central government better coordinate with each other.

Yusak, who is also a lecturer at Cendrawasih University’s School of Law, said that many expected much from the UP4B although others were pessimistic since numerous central government policies applied in Papua had failed to make Papuans feel Indonesian.

“I’m still hoping that [the UP4B] will deliver concrete results within the next three years, results that Papuans can feel,” he said. (mtq)