Indonesian President Joko Widodo agreed to split Papua and West Papua provinces after met their leaders at the Merdeka Palace today (09/10) - Photo by TheInsiderStories

JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo agreed to split Papua and West Papua provinces after met their leaders at the Merdeka Palace today (09/10). He also accommodating other aspirations such as build presidential palace, place 1,000 new graduation become apparatus, build archipelago dormitory and completing the Palapa Ring project in Papua Island.

“Regarding the expansion province, I say maybe two additional provinces,” he told the leaders during the meeting.

Abisa Rollo, Chairperson of the Papua Regional Representative represent the Papuan and West Papuan leaders delivered nine notes to the head of state. The nine requests submitted to the president are:

  1. Split the province in five indigenous territories in Papua and West Papua
  2. Establish the National Agency for Papua Affairs
  3. Placement of echelon I and II officials in the ministry or government institution
  4. Development of Nusantara Dormitory and ensure the safety of Papuan and West Papua students
  5. Revised Special Autonomy Law in 2020′ National Legislation Program
  6. Issued the Presidential Instruction to increase ASDM in Papua
  7. Acceleration of the Papua Palapa Ring
  8. To approve Papuan women’s and children’s traditional institutions
  9. Build a Presidential Palace in Jayapura city
“Nine aspirations conveyed and praise the Lord he received most of our proposals,” Rollo told reporters by adding Widodo only not responded on the revision of Special Autonomy Law.
He continued, the reason, Papua and West Papua‘ province split to shorten the span of control and weaken the independence movement. While, for the presidential palace, Rollo stated, he already prepared 10 hectares land in Jayapura city.

Widodo itself guarantee that the development of the new presidential place will start to ground starting 2020 and will done in two years period.

As known, president has announced to meet the Papuan leader followed the riots in Surabaya, East Java in the middle of August. The spark for the latest anger appears to have been the detention of scores of Papuan students in Surabaya for bending a flagpole in front of a dormitory during the celebration of Indonesia’ Independence Day on Aug. 17.

Police fired tear gas into the dormitory before arresting 43, with officers calling the students “monkeys” during the operation, Albert Mungguar, one of the activists said at a news conference on Sunday.

Then, Papuan protesters set fire to a local parliament building and blocked streets in the provincial capital of West Papua, Manokwari, by burning tires and tree branches.

Previously, Papua Governor Lukas Enembe said Papuans were angry because of “the extremely racist words by East Java people, the police and military”.

A separatist movement has simmered for decades in Papua, while there have also been frequent complaints of rights abuses by Indonesian security forces.

by Linda Silaen, Email: linda.silaen@theinsiderstories.com

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