President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has opened the door for possible dialogue with pro-independence Papuan leaders after a deadly riot hit Wamena, Papua, last week, killing dozens of people and displacing thousands.

"There's no problem [in meeting pro-referendum Papuan leaders]. I will meet anyone who wants to meet me," Jokowi told reporters at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Monday.

Jokowi's statement was made in response to public calls for the government hold dialogues with pro-referendum groups, the National Committee of West Papua (KNPB) and the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) amid the turmoil engulfing the country's easternmost provinces in the past two months.

Wamena, which is located in Jayawijaya regency, saw violent unrest erupt on Sept. 23, when a mob, reportedly of native Papuans, set buildings on fire, destroyed vehicles and attacked people with weapons. At least 33 people were killed in the incident — most of whom were of non-Papuan descent. Authorities said the victims had died of stab wounds or burns.

The speaker of West Papua's Maybrat Regional Legislative Council, Ferdinando Solossa, requested during a forum with Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko on Sept. 24 in Jakarta that the President meet with ULMWP and KNPB leaders.

Ferdinando suggested that the dialogues be held by involving independent, neutral and objective third parties to resolve the issues.

On the sidelines of the forum, Moeldoko told reporters that the government would have to further consider the request, which according to him would require "certain techniques".

The government has accused a Papuan armed group of being behind last week's deadly riot in Wamena, with President Jokowi saying in a press conference on Monday that the armed group had provoked the deadly unrest and dismissing concerns the riot was the result of an ethnic conflict between native Papuans and non-natives.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto, at a separate press conference, said the rioters involved in the Wamena unrest were mobilized by two forces, namely the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and an international organization led by United Kingdom-based Papuan exile Benny Wenda, also the leader of the ULMWP.

Calls for the government to hold dialogues with the Papuans have emerged following weeks of protests in Papua and West Papua after Papuan students were targeted by racial attacks in Surabaya, East Java, in August, but the government has consistently insisted that dialogues must be held without any talk about a referendum, insisting that the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia was "final and undisputed".

An international law expert with the University of Indonesia, Hikmahanto Juwana, said Jokowi should never open dialogue with “separatist groups”, especially in his capacity as head of state because the mere consultation would automatically elevate the groups’ status as belligerent parties.

In international law, belligerency is a term that indicates the status of two or more entities being engaged in a war, which may exist between a state and rebel forces if such rebel forces are recognized as belligerents.

If a state does not recognize an act of rebellion of as belligerence, the rebellion is an insurgency. However, once the status of belligerency is established, the relations are determined and governed by the laws of war.

“In the context of international law, if the president makes contact with separatists, it means that the separatists will become a belligerent party and have the status of being subject to international law,” Hikmahanto told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He said if the groups only have an insurgency status, the state had the right to take “policing actions” against them, “but if it engages and has a dialogue [with the groups], it means that the groups are not just insurgents but rather belligerent parties who have equal status with the state”.

He said it was fine if anyone from the government met and had discussion with the separatist groups in their personal capacity.

“Maybe when Pak Jusuf Kalla is not the vice president, he can make the contacts, but not in his capacity as state representative. He can listen to their aspirations and maybe try to accommodate them,” he said, adding that Jokowi must get approval from the people if he wanted to meet the separatist groups, or at least from the House of Representatives.

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