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Papuan special autonomy after nearly two decades: Scholars and religious groups weigh in
The Jakarta Post has asked scholars, religious figures and politicians about their views on special autonomy, which has been increasingly contested as certain key provisions come up for renewal
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The Papuan Student Alliance commemorates what they consider West Papua Liberation Day in Yogyakarta on Dec. 1, 2019. The protesters rejected Papua's special autonomy arrangement with Jakarta and demanded a referendum to determine their own future. (JP/Bambang Muryanto)
T
he special autonomy (otsus) status of Papua and West Papua has been at the core of the central government’s claims that its policies in the provinces are on the right track. But self-determination activists believe the arrangement has become a pretext for Jakarta to exert undue control over Papuans and that it should be rejected.
A number of other voices lie between these poles, and the nearly two decades of special autonomy have had many ups and downs. The Jakarta Post has asked scholars, religious figures and politicians about their views on special autonomy, which has been increasingly contested as certain key provisions come up for renewal.
The following are excerpts from those interviews:
Agus Sumule of the University of Papua in Manokwari
I was invited to Jayapura in 2000 for a gathering with other scholars to discuss special autonomy. One aspect we talked about back then, which did not happen, was revealing historical truths.
I have written reports to evaluate special autonomy, but one thing is the need to talk about Law No. 12/1969 [on the formation of Irian Jaya province, the previous name for the provinces of Papua and West Papua, issued in 1969 after a controversial and contested referendum]. We need to talk about 1969 to end the antagonistic relations between Papua and Jakarta. But otsus has not allowed for such talk. After all this time, hopes of getting the truth about 1969 have been dashed. It is unfortunate, and we need to rectify this in the future.
Agus Sumule wrote an evaluation of Papuan special autonomy in May 2020. It can be found here.
