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Special autonomy for Papua: The trickery of Jakarta's policy
The new special autonomy law reveals Jakarta's inability to grasp the sociopolitical and cultural context of the Papuan people and their customary lands; instead it is lazily breathing new life into old, racist and specifically Indonesian tropes.
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Papua conflict illustration (JP/Hengky Wijaya)
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or the last 20 years the 2001 Papua Special Autonomy Law has provided a cover for the expansion of a form of "guided democracy''. With the House of Representatives' unanimous decision to pass the revision of the law on July 15, the last vestige of “local autonomy” has now been removed.
President Joko "Jokowi'' Widodo’s government reportedly made a swift decision, accepting the recommendations of the Home Ministry and a special state-sanctioned committee's amendment to the law, causing outrage among indigenous Papuans.
This is part of a revisionist history that overlooks the structural violence, systemic racism and unjust laws that abhorrently distort any notion of democracy in Papua.
These changes were instituted without consent of the Papuans. Article 77 of the 2001 Papua Special Autonomy Law stipulated that any changes to the legislation should be proposed by Papuans through their provincial legislatures and the Papuan People’s Assembly (MRP).
The failure to gain the approval of the Papuans only further widens the gulf of mistrust between Papua and Jakarta.
Under the new law, “special autonomy” has morphed into a policy to “Indonesianize” the land of Papua.
It confirms what has already been happening on the ground. In 2019, the third Regional Defense Command (Kogabwilhan III) was established by presidential decree as an Indonesian Military (TNI) development project to act as a deterrent against Papuan nationalism. Kogabwilhan III, which includes sea, land and air troops, has escalated the brutal military presence in Papua.
