The Jakarta Post
A group of Papuan students accused the central government of failing in its drive to grant special autonomy to Papua and called for dialogue mediated by a third party to find a solution to the many problems plaguing the province.Marten Goo from the National Forum for Papuan Students said Thursday in Jakarta that the government should review the 2001 Special Autonomy Law for Papua.Article 78 of the law states that the implementation of the law was to be evaluated every year, with the first evaluation conducted three years after the inception of the law.The central government granted Papua special autonomy in 2001 in an effort to win the hearts and minds of Papuans while toning down demands for independence.“Special autonomy was granted because Papuans demanded independence,” Marten said.He added that he believed the government maintained the existing conflicts and even created new con...