TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Hostage stalemate doesn’t change, only reinforces tension in Papua
The case of Papua displays that the special autonomy merely empowers corrupt local elites and sidelines dissidents.
Change Size
Fallen hero: Army soldiers carry the coffin of their dead friend on Nov. 27, 2023 at Adi Soemarmo Airbase in Boyolali, Central Java. Four Army personnel were killed on Nov. 26 during the latest shootout against an armed rebel group in Nduga, Papua Highlands. (Antara/Aloysius Jarot Nugroho)
I
t has been almost 10 months since the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) abducted New Zealand-born pilot Philip Mehrtens on Feb. 7 without significant attempts or a clear indication from the Indonesian government about their path to release him.
Before his departure to Australia in July, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo emphasized his commitment to resolving the hostage situation through negotiation and other undisclosed means. Meanwhile, the TPNPB has rejected the central government-led initiatives and still prefers to involve a third party for the release
The stalemate merely confirms the failure of the state-imposed special autonomy to provide stability in Papua as violence keeps occurring and displacing thousands of indigenous people. The kidnapping of the Susi Air pilot does not change the course of the conflict either. In fact, it shows the ineffectiveness of counterinsurgency in securing the Papua Highlands and a commitment problem to resolving the country’s longest political conflict.
The current situation indicates a lack of genuine will on the state’s part to terminate the conflict. This reluctance could be traced back to 1969, when the government held a referendum that failed to represent the interests of indigenous Papuans. Although the government has undertaken various development programs in Papua, securitization of political discontent as an existential threat remains the state’s primary point of reference for suppressing dissent.
In 2021, the government extended the controversial special autonomy for Papua without wide and meaningful consultation with Papuans. In early 2021, more than 100 Papuan organizations united to reject the continued autonomy and transfer of funds. The special autonomy has failed as Papua remains the poorest region and violence is still rampant.
The new Special Autonomy Law only marks the recentralization of the authority over financial, institutional and political matters in dealing with social, political and economic problems in Papua. The new law also aims to coopt Papuans, especially the youth, to compete for financial support and bureaucratic positions.
The concept of autonomy is rooted in granting substantial power to diminish conflicts and provide stability through effective self-government for aggrieved minorities while maintaining the cohesion of the host state. Although the regency administration has budgeting and bureaucratic controls, the significant power rests with the governor, who controls and manages various pressing problems in a territorially concentrated area.
