The visit is the latest of his many trips to the region since he took office two years ago, all part of his outreach to Papuans, 70 percent of whom voted for him during the presidential election.

The new airport has extended the list of infrastructure programs that his administration has initiated in the region. The government is also finalizing a plan to set up a special body that will be given authority to integrate infrastructure and development programs in Papua.

But questions remain as to whether Papuans have been entirely won over by his efforts. The region continues to face security challenges with frequent shootings conducted by armed civilian groups or members of the security forces.

A recent study by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) found that Jokowi’s infrastructure programs have failed to garner support from Papuans because of their lingering and deep-rooted distrust of the central government.

Violations of freedom of expression for Papuans, human rights activists say, have continued to occur in recent years. Indeed, Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Paulus Waterpaw has issued a non-legally binding maklumat (announcement), to remind protesters of the consequences of exercising their freedom to voice their opinions if they involve calls for independence.

Students who join such protests will receive a criminal record on their police clearance letters (SKCK), which will hamper them in getting jobs in the future. “I am well aware that all people have rights. But keep in mind that they also have obligations. One of them is to maintain the unity [of Indonesia],” Paulus said.

Paulus admitted that human rights violations, some of which have been considered gross abuses, had occurred in the resource-rich land. He claimed that his headquarters had investigated 11 cases of alleged human rights violations since 1996 but found only three that met the criteria of rights abuses.

These include a 1996 military operation to rescue 12 foreign and Indonesian scientists abducted by the Free Papua Movement (OPM) in Papua’s hinterland of Mapenduma; the killings of civilians by military and police personnel in Wasior in 2001 and the unresolved shooting of five civilians in Paniai in 2014.

Maj. Gen. Yoedhi Swastono, the deputy for domestic political coordination at the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister, believed that the number of human rights abuses could be higher. Therefore, to properly identify the cases, the office has set up a joint team to work on the resolution of abuse cases.

Yoedhi told The Jakarta Post that the team was headed by law professor Indriyanto Seno Aji, who has been working closely with team members comprising representatives from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and law enforcement bodies as well as Papua’s customary councils and rights watchdogs.

“The joint team is tasked with listing all incidents that have occurred in Papua and identifying which are rights abuses and which are not,” Yoedhi said. “Follow-up actions will depend on the results”.

The team, which was established on April 25 is scheduled to complete its task by Oct. 25.

LIPI coordinator of Papua studies Adriana Elizabeth has said that acknowledging the abuses and making efforts to resolve them are essential for the government to achieve its development goals in Papua.

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