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Papuans urge careful approach in review of Special Autonomy Law
Papuan community leaders and activists have urged the central government to exercise wisdom and involve Papuans in a review of the special autonomy status for Papua and West Papua as Jakarta plans to amend the legal basis
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Workers install lighting at the Mandala Jayapura Stadium in Papua on Nov. 7, 2019. (Antara/Gusti Tanati)
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apuan community leaders and activists have urged the central government to exercise wisdom and involve Papuans in reviewing the special autonomy (Otsus) status of Papua and West Papua as Jakarta plans to amend the Otsus Law.
The law is the legal foundation for the Papua administration to manage its own political, cultural and economic affairs. It was enacted in 2001, before being revised in 2008 to grant West Papua similar special autonomy.
It also stipulates the allocation of special autonomy funds from the central government -- set to stop in November 2021 -- to accelerate development in Indonesia's two easternmost provinces.
Home Minister Tito Karnavian has hinted at the possibility of extending the special autonomy status for Papua and West Papua beyond 2021, with the deliberation of the latest Otsus Law revision having been included in this year's National Legislation Program (Proglegnas) priority list.
John Bunai, a spokesperson for a group of 57 Catholic priests from across Papua that recently demanded an end to the “forced continuation of Otsus in Papua”, now called on the government to open up space for dialogue between Papua and Jakarta.
He said such a space should be an integral part of the process to review what had gone wrong during the implementation of the special autonomy so far.
“We stand by our call to not abruptly force [an extension of the Otsus status] without discussing it with the [Papuan] people,” John, who is a Catholic priest from the Papuan capital Jayapura, said in a recent virtual public discussion.
