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n a bold move to fulfill his campaign pledge, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo opened access for foreign journalists and international organizations to enter Papua and West Papua. The move was immediately welcomed by journalism associations at home.

'€œForeign journalists, as of today, are allowed to enter Papua as freely as they enter other provinces [in the country],'€ Jokowi said on the sidelines his visit to attend a harvest ceremony in Merauke, Papua, on Sunday.

During his presidential campaign last June, Jokowi pledged, if he was elected, to remove restrictions barring foreign journalists and international organizations from entering Papua and West Papua. At that time, Jokowi argued there was nothing to hide in Papua and that Papua was safe.

On Saturday, the President granted clemency to five Papuan political prisoners and said that the government wanted all parties to build Papua together using a new approach focused on welfare and development.

Jokowi has also ordered the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police to stop using repressive security approaches in Papua, saying the two forces could instead teach children in schools, or build roads in the border areas in Papua. Engaging in dialogue with the Papuan people, Jokowi said, was one of the key measures to build mutual trust.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno said the police and military were ready to adopt a welfare and development approach in Papua.

'€œNo, [I'€™m not worried] since now [we are] using no longer a security approach, but a welfare and development approach,'€ he said.

However, Jokowi refused to comment on the Paniai shooting incident last December in which five civilians were killed.

Tedjo responded that the Paniai incident would be resolved. '€œThe spirit is to resolve complicated past problems so that we can move on and work together to build the country.'€

Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto said foreign journalists no longer had to request special permission from the Foreign Ministry to report on Papua. '€œThis will be just the same as making news reports in other regions.'€

For the past decade, journalists intending to report on Papua had to fill out permission request forms, which needed approvals from various government institutions. Any foreign journalists caught making news reports without permits could have faced criminal charges.

In 2014, French journalists Thomas Dandois and Valentine Bourrat were arrested and jailed for not having the proper permits to report in Papua. The journalists were caught trying to make a documentary on a Papuan separatist movement.

The Indonesian Press Council responded to Jokowi'€™s move, saying it showed '€œa good political will'€ on the part of his administration.

'€œWe appreciated the '€˜political will'€™ by the government to be transparent to the international community. We urge related parties, such as immigration and the police, to follow up [on the president'€™s order] right away,'€ Nezar Patria of the Press Council said on Sunday.

He encouraged foreign journalists to make use of the new policy by reporting balanced information on Papua internationally.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) also expressed appreciation for the new policy.

'€œThe President'€™s announcement is most welcome, albeit overdue. Those who are concerned about events in Papua and keen to follow its development can at least be reassured that a free media will be able to report there,'€ the IFJ'€™s Jim Nolan said.

The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) appreciated the decision, but reminded Jokowi to fulfill his promise. (saf)