By: Rebecca Marian )*
Indonesia is an archipelago that has many exotic places, one of which is Papua. The beauty of nature and cultural diversity in Papua, which has worldwide, also enriches Indonesian culture. The Indonesian government in particular has given more development to Papua. Nevertheless, the superiority of Papua is often masked by the actions of separatist groups demanding an independent Papua.
In dealing with the problems that exist in Papua, the government certainly does not stay silent, one of the efforts to improve the Government of Indonesia is the granting of Special Autonomy (Otsus) to Papua. Otsus is contained in the 1999 State Guidelines (GBHN) which are part of the MPR Decree IV / 1999.
In the GBHN it is written: in the context of maintaining the integration of the nation in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia while respecting the equality and uniformity of the socio-cultural life of the people of Papua, a special autonomous region is stipulated by law, and the settlement of cases of violations of human rights through justice that is honest, fair and useful.
But unfortunately, the special autonomy policy was not carried out as it should. The Indonesian government has continued to use centralized methods in controlling Papua for more than 30 years. The policy was finally considered a political sugar to reduce political turmoil in Papua.
From this experience, the Papuan people remain unsure of any policies provided by the Government of Indonesia. The people of Papua do not want the special autonomy policy or any other policy, what they want is historical rectification and fighting for independence.
In addition, it was noted in 2001 that around 80 percent of families in Papua still live in conditions of underdevelopment in agriculture, economy, education, health and mastery of science and technology. At that time the prices of consumer goods in the city of Jayapura were 45 per cent higher than in Jakarta and far more expensive in remote areas.
For this reason, the Government in the hands of President Jokowi, built various infrastructures for Papua such as the construction of roads, bridges and also uniformed fuel prices throughout Indonesia. Although various development efforts have been intensified, the government still has to protect Papua so that it is not easily provoked by separatist groups.
Humans cannot be evil because of the color of their skin. Humans are evil because of their thoughts and intentions. If the non-Papuan Indonesian people mock the Papuan people as monkeys, then in fact they feel more noble as living creatures than Papuans. Of course this is a crime.
In the context of Papua, insulting Papuans as monkeys is an old-fashioned racism. In Darwin’s theory, monkeys are the development of beings at an imperfect level. That is, have not yet reached the stage of being human. Darwin’s theory in relation to the theory of racism is often used to explain the dominance of whites over colored people, especially blacks.
The first President of the Republic of Indonesia Ir Soekarno never moved from the call “Sabang to Merauke” as a manifestation of the integrity of Indonesia’s sovereignty. Then the problem of Papua is the fixed price.
In his speech entitled “Do not Doubt – Doubt Again”. Soekarno firmly said, Indonesia is the whole archipelago between Sabang and Merauke. This is the legal basis for Indonesia’s demands on Papua.
Asvi Warman Adam as a historian of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), with or without the allure of his natural wealth, Sukarno will still fight for Papua. Because the region is within the scope of national sovereignty.
Chairman of the National Suluh Movement Mahfud MD said, the President of Indonesia since the Sukarno era to Joko Widodo always paid attention to the people of Papua and never considered Papua as a stepchild.
Mahfud even appreciated the steps of President Jokowi who had built infrastructure so that Papua would become more advanced. Jokowi even said that building Papua was not because they wanted to win the election, but because Papua was an inseparable part of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia.
He warned that no party should try to provoke Papua to separate from Indonesia. According to him there is no way for it, because constitutionally, there is no referendum that can be carried out by a region.
For this reason, let us call for Papua and its culture, people and language to be an inseparable part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. This means that Papua is Indonesia and Papuans are Indonesian.
)* The writer is a Papuan student, living in Jakarta.