By: Nana Gunawan *)
The addition of the four New Autonomous Regions (DOB) in Papua has succeeded in providing many benefits, especially progress in the field of infrastructure development. Now the four new autonomous regions in Tanah Papua are carrying out regional planning. With the addition of new provinces, equitable development will become more massive so that it can become a strong foundation for the progress and prosperity of the Papuan people.
The formation of the New Province in Papua was carried out based on aspirations that had been expressed for quite some time by the Papuan community and community leaders. It is from these aspirations that the Government considers that the Papua Special Region needs to be implemented to accelerate development in Papua.
Apart from that, the expansion will provide more benefits because the Government has started to build infrastructure according to the needs of the expansion areas. A touch of development must be implemented to further facilitate mobility and improve the economy of the Papuan people.
Young Papuan Mountain Intellectual, Charles Kossay, said that the expansion of Papua was carried out in the interests of the welfare of Indigenous Papuans (OAP). Moreover, Papua has a large geographical area so expansion is needed to narrow down vulnerable government administrative control in the economic, education, infrastructure and health sectors as mandated by the Papua Special Autonomy Law.
This development is of course fully supported by the people of Papua because it greatly facilitates their daily lives, such as the inclusion of electricity, having many representative connecting roads, and the addition of many land routes in Papua. This will have an impact on logistics needs that are easier to obtain, cheaper, faster and more efficient.
Equal distribution must be done so that Indonesia continues to progress and eradicate the Javacentric stigma. Charles Kossay added that young Papuans and Indonesia’s golden generation are optimistic that President Joko Widodo is very serious about developing the progress of the Land of Papua. Because according to him, the Papuan people have the right to equitable development so that they have the same prosperity as other regions.
However, Charles saw that development in Papua was hampered by acts of terror involving the KST Papua group. In fact, this action resulted in the death of a Papuan women activist named Michelle Kurisi.
The terror carried out by KST Papua is increasingly brutal and has become a source of conflict that must be eradicated. Their existence has made civil society miserable and they continue to live in worry. The violence and massacres they commit must be fought against.
Not only attacking civil society, KST Papua also hampers development in Bumi Cendrawasih. They sabotaged infrastructure development in Papua and carried out acts of terror against workers who were working on the Trans Papua road project. This is what prompted the Government to deploy security forces to oversee the construction of the Trans Papua road project.
Meanwhile, Charles Kossay hopes that the KST Papua group will be immediately arrested and processed according to applicable law. The public must not be afraid and afraid in criticizing the actions carried out by KST.
If the KST Papua attack is not stopped, then development in Papua, especially in the new autonomous region, will be hampered and not according to the schedule that has been set. Then, the government will suffer losses because the funds needed will certainly be even greater. Both the Government and the people of Papua will be equally harmed by the actions of KST Papua.
On the other hand, it is hoped that the addition of the four new Papuan autonomous regions will make the people very happy because the government is on their side. When a new province is established, the new government system and development projects will automatically continue to be improved. The Papuan people are very grateful to the Government because there will be many positive changes there.
Buildings in both the education and health sectors will increase in number and expand so that children in Papua do not have to go to other cities to receive education and access health facilities. The distance between the government and society will become closer, and society’s needs will be easier to fulfill.
Therefore, regional expansion in Papua is not just a populist policy, but is a way out for the Papuan people to improve prosperity and achieve development progress in their region.
*) The author is an observer of Eastern Indonesia from the Nusa Bangsa Institute.