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Jokowi told to disband UP4B in Papua
Jakarta Post - September 8, 2014
Analysts say the agency has failed to promote fruitful and peaceful dialogue between the central government in Jakarta and Papua, which is needed for development projects to take place in the country's easternmost province.
"It [UP4B] did successfully run a few programs. But, it has failed to implement programs that tackle cultural and political issues, which are fundamental for dialogue between Jakarta and Papua to take place. Dialogue is long overdue," Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) researcher Cahyo Pamungkas told The Jakarta Post on Sunday. Cahyo himself has carried out research on Papua.
Cahyo said that one of the small successes of UP4B was its affirmative action policy in education, which set aside seats for Papuan students at various schools and universities in the country.
According to UP4B data, as a result of the policy, 500 Papuans were given the opportunity to study at numerous high schools in Bali and Java in 2013 while 1,370 students pursued higher education at a number of universities throughout the country.
Sixty-four Papuans joined the Indonesian Military Academy (Akmil) and the National Police Academy (Akpol) thanks to the policy. The program has also allowed 1,875 Papuans to join the police rank.
As part of the strategy to bring prosperity to the region, the government also issued a regulation in 2012 that permitted only native Papuan business owners to make bids on government construction projects to enable local businessmen to join a massive road construction project the government aims to finish by 2014.
But in spite of the development projects, Cahyo said that the central government had never dealt with human rights issues in Papua.
"The government will never successfully develop Papua no matter how great the social and economic plan as long as it refuses to resolve human rights abuses in the region and recognize the locals' political rights," Cahyo of LIPI said.
He said that given the agency's failure to address rights abuses, he suggested Jokowi's incoming government not to extend its term, which would expire in December.
"The new president should instead set up a special unit that would be under his direct oversight to focus on cultural and political issues in Papua," Cahyo said.
In a separate interview, Papua Presidium Council secretary-general Thaha Alhamid cited distrust as the real problem that hampered the peace process between Jakarta and Papua.
"We know that the central government has prepared 'good' [development] programs for us but we can't trust them because they have been imposing what they think is good for us for so long. This breeds distrust," Thaha told the Post. He said that the central government always failed to fulfill its promises.
"Then president Megawati [Soekarnoputri] began rolling out the special autonomy policy, but Theys Hiyo Eluay was also murdered during the year," Thaha said, referring to the former Papuan Presidium Council leader who was murdered in November 2011 for his alleged role in supporting the independence of Papua from Indonesia.
He further cited the prohibition of foreign journalists from entering Papua as part of the effort to prevent the truth from being revealed. "When will you stop suspecting us?" Thaha said.
The Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) recorded that 139 cases of violence had taken place in Papua in 2012, claiming the lives of 40 locals; while 151 cases last year claimed the lives of 106 locals.
Meanwhile, to affirm his commitment to prioritize Papua, Jokowi appointed last week a politician from the National Awakening Party (PKB), Eko Sandjojo, to lead a division that would also focus on Papua.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/09/08/jokowi-told-disband-up4b-papua.html.
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