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Don’t force special autonomy on us, Papuan priests say
A group of priests has urged Jakarta to begin peaceful dialogue with Papua and the presence of a neutral third party.
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Two children walk across the pier of the Klademak crossing port in Sorong, West Papua, on April 1. (Antara/Olha Mulalinda)
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group of 57 Catholic priests from across Papua Island have demanded that the government put a stop to the “forced continuation of special autonomy [Otsus] in Papua”.
The spokesperson of the group, John Bunai, a Catholic priest from the Papuan capital Jayapura, urged the government, policymakers and local administrations in a press conference last week to evaluate how the Otsus Law is enforced and to assess whether it has helped improve the lives of Papuans.
The law on special autonomy in Papua and West Papua provinces was passed in 2001 during the administration of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri to guarantee Papuans the right to manage their own region politically, economically and culturally. It also stipulates the allocation of special autonomy funds, valid for 20 years.
As the funding will stop next year, the House of Representatives has included deliberation of Papua’s special autonomy status in this year’s National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) priority list – the bill of which was proposed under the government’s initiative. Home Minister Tito Karnavian said the government was considering extending Papua’s special autonomy status, as reported by kompas.com.
In January, Tito urged lawmakers to immediately deliberate the bill on the grounds that the Otsus fund would accelerate Papua’s development and help resolve the issue of discrimination in the province.
“What the government has forced [on Papua] are [special autonomy] funds. But what Papuans need is not simply funds; they instead need their lives, education, safety, health and welfare. That’s what they need, not billions of [rupiah],” John told The Jakarta Post on Friday evening.
Read also: 'They label us with degrading prejudices': How Papuan students deal with everyday racism
