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It's 'the murder of Papuans': Local council rejects plan to establish new provinces
A local assembly said the proposal only benefits the Jakarta elite and does not make anything better for Papuans.
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State-owned electricity operator PLN workers repair a power pole in Wamena city, West Papua, where violent unrest in late September disrupted the city's electricity supply. (PLN/PLN)
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apuan People’s Assembly chairman Timotius Murib said on Wednesday that the assembly had rejected the government’s plan to create two more provinces in the country's easternmost region.
Previously, Home Minister Tito Karnavian said that he already received proposals from local figures regarding the establishment of two new provinces, namely South Papua and Pegunungan Tengah Papua. If the plan is approved, the new provinces would take territory from the region's two existing provinces: Papua and West Papua.
Even though the government is still imposing an overall moratorium on the establishment of new provinces and districts, Tito said that the government would consider the Papuan proposal.
However, it turned out that the Papuan People’s Assembly, a state-sanctioned representative council consisting of Papuans, did not agree with the plan.
“To this day, [the assembly] will never approve recommendation for the new provinces as stipulated in Article 76 of [Law No. 21/2001 on] Papua Special Autonomy Law,” Timotius said.
He said that according to the article new provinces can only be created after receiving approval from the assembly and the provincial legislative councils. He said the two institutions would only give their approval after assessing social conditions, human resources, financial capability and possible development in the future.
After examining the aforementioned determining factors, he said the assembly has concluded that it is not the right time to form new provinces. The assembly also noted that the previous establishment of West Papua province, as well as a new regency, did not make a positive impact for the locals from political, economic and cultural perspectives.
