West Papua JUBI, 24 January, 2012

The Indonesian government's inconsistencies in implementing a whole
number of policies since West Papua was integrated as part of Indonesia
have had a significant impact on the political movement of identity. 
Jakarta has even continued to violated the basic rights of the
indigenous Papuan people

These comments were made by the Rev. Phil Erari, deputy chairman of the
Alliance of Churches in Indonesia  (GKI).

'The special autonomy law , known as OTSUS,  is just one example of the
inconsistency in its policy towards Papua,' he said.

In Erari's opinion, the Papuan people have virtually no confidence the
authority of the Indonesian government. Papuans regard Jakarta as being
incapable of introducing a number of reforms on security, health and
education or mapping the infrastructure of Papua. Added to all this is
the incompetence of the bureaucracy which 'stinks of corruption'.

The politics of identity which emerged in the second half of the
twentieth century was intended to enable the organisation of the masses 
so as to ensure that  the mass of people can identify themselves as part
of the group to which they belong. The group is generally speaking 
based on the same identity of those within the group.

'The political movement of identity in Papua  is an integral part of the
people's affirmative position which must be respected. For many years,
Jakarta has failed to include this as part of the curriculum; this is an
example of  the violation of the right of the Papuan people to get a
decent education,' said Erari.

Meanwhile, Kahar Nobara of Garda-P, the Papuan Democratic People's
Movement, told JUBI that Jakarta has hardly changed at all with regard
to solving the Papuan problem.

'Jakarta has taken no initiatives and its policy in most cases amounts
to nothing more  that responding to incidents, nothing more than
patchwork, without dealing with the root of the problem and without any
radical action for change. This is not democratic, and it displays no
sensitivity  whatsoever,' said Nobara.

He went on to say, in connection with the political movement of
identity, that the nationalism of the Papuan people is an integral part
of their constant sufferings. Ths result of all this is that their
desire for independence  and sovereignty will continue to  grow.

'Jakarta's inconsistencies provide the ammunition for the struggle of
the Papuan people,' he said.