Papua is an integral part of the Republic of Indonesia, the Papuan people firmly reject separatism
By : Adrianus Bonay )*
Papua is an integral part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) and cannot be separated for any reason. The Papuan people also have high nationalism and do not want to be invited to become independent. So that Papua’s status as a province in Indonesia is legal and cannot be questioned by unscrupulous individuals. Apart from that, the Papuan people are very proud to be part of Indonesia because they feel that Papua will be an integral part of the Republic of Indonesia forever. Even though Papua only became part of Indonesia in 1963, the people are very pro-Indonesian and have a high spirit of nationalism. They do not want to be invited to defect by separatist groups such as the Free Papua Organization (OPM).
The government also emphasized that it would never hold negotiations with OPM regarding the group’s request to liberate Papua from the Republic of Indonesia. In fact, not only does it continue to defend the territory in Papua, but the government is also fully committed to being able to eradicate any party that wants to take even a small part of this nation.
Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, KH. Ma’ruf Amin emphasized that the demands put forward by OPM for Papuan independence were completely irrelevant. He also said that the actions carried out by the separatist terrorist groups could not represent the problems in Papua at all, but only a handful of certain groups had bad intentions and goals for the Papua region and people.
The current government continues to work hard to resolve existing problems, even taking firm action against individuals who carry out hate speech against Papua. Although it cannot be denied that there are still obstacles, Papua’s conditions continue to get better. As for the separatist groups, they do not contribute, and only divide and cause unrest among the Papuan people. Then almost 99.5 governments in the world recognized and respected the integrity of Indonesia, and emphasized that Papua was part of the Republic of Indonesia. Apart from that, Papua is now politically free, and there have been presidential elections, regional elections and special autonomy rights have been granted, and the government continues to implement affirmative action policies by making every effort to fulfill basic rights, including human rights.
Various accesses are also fully provided, such as providing fuel at the same price as in other regions in Indonesia, transportation and infrastructure access continues to be built, and health services continue to be provided. Meanwhile, the OPM, which continues to campaign for Papuan independence, has never actually contributed to Papua, on the contrary, they have carried out acts of terror and violence that have resulted in casualties among the community. This group’s actions are also tantamount to disrupting security stability and hampering the development that the Papuan people should be experiencing by now.
Apart from that, the Papuan people are expected not to be too carried away by old issues created for the benefit of small groups, but to focus more on the future, because old issues are often not based on facts. Then currently progress in Papua has been extraordinary, especially in the era of the government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) which focuses on improving the quality of Human Resources (HR) and infrastructure development. So that Papua becomes a region that has great potential for progress in all fields. Therefore, the Papuan people must continue to support all efforts made by the government to advance and achieve equitable development in the Papua region.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army (KSAD), General TNI Maruli Simanjuntak, also emphasized that the Land of Papua is an inseparable part of the Republic of Indonesia. The United Nations (UN) closed the decolonization of Papua on May 1 1963. In this way, the easternmost region of Indonesia is an inseparable part of the Republic of Indonesia forever. Then he also invited us to work together to maintain conduciveness and security in the Land of Papua so that development can be implemented and felt by the community. Furthermore, it is hoped that the public will no longer trust certain groups that are still trying to separate Papua from the Republic of Indonesia. Because activities involving the issue of ‘Free Papua’ carried out by a certain group of individuals are only for their personal and group interests, and are far from the interests of society at large.
The same thing was also said by Papuan Youth Leader, Ali Kabiay, who said that the integration of Papua into the Republic of Indonesia was a gift from God, so it should be guarded as well as possible by all parties. So far, Ali views the high intensity of President Jokowi’s visit to Papua as showing the government’s love for the land of Papua. This love is demonstrated by the government’s focus on development in eastern Indonesia, such as the capital of the archipelago, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua.
According to Ali, OPM’s anarchic actions, such as burning down hospitals and markets, actually hamper development in Papua, both economically and human resource development. Ali also believes that OPM’s actions not only hinder development in Papua, but also destroy the development that has been carried out so far by the government for the community.
)* The author is a student from Papua who lives in Yogyakarta
