By: Jeremiah Kagoya) *
In an effort to accommodate the aspirations of the people of Papua and West Papua Provinces, President Joko Widodo has assigned TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, National Police Chief Tito Karnavian and BIN Chief Budi Gunawan to open all dialogue spaces in Papua. This meeting is expected to be a new gateway to solving the Papua problem.
The government is ready to listen to all input and demands of the Papuan people, except with regard to the referendum. The government recognizes the importance of constructive dialogue. Dialogue is indeed needed for materials to accelerate development in Bumi Cenderawasih.
The dialogue has been carried out well at the State Palace, where President Jokowi and 61 Papuan and West Papuan leaders met face to face. The 61 Papuan leaders also expressed their aspirations to Jokowi directly, one of the interesting things was, their request that Jokowi build a State Palace in Papua.
Jokowi also agreed with the proposal and will begin construction of a state palace in Papua next year.
Former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Mahfud MD said, in an effort to ease conflicts in Papua and West Papua, he requested that the government prioritize constructive and persuasive dialogue, because mass actions in the two provinces were feared to disrupt national stability.
The dialogue effort is one thing that should be appreciated, the implementation of constructive dialogue will certainly keep the Homeland from the division that is desired by separatist groups. Meanwhile, the policy of limiting foreigners, including Internet access, would certainly not be enforced if the conditions in Papua and West Papua were truly conducive and safe from provocation on social media, if the security and order conditions had become more stable based on an analysis of potential security disturbances.
We certainly know that restricting internet access in Papua and West Papua is something that must be done because the spread of hoaks in eastern Indonesia at that time was still high.
The hoax that is intended not only contains disinformation, but also incitement and intergovernmental sheep fighting efforts that could endanger the unity and integrity of the Indonesian Nation. So that if left unchecked, riots will probably occur again.
In addition, the Government in any country will certainly be difficult to prevent the spread of hoax information, given that it is very easy for citizens to create anonymous accounts to spread slander and excessive reporting. Just imagine if the number of Cyber police had 100 people, then there could be 10 hoax spreaders having 10 to 20 anonymous accounts that could have spread hoaxes and the distribution had already been swallowed raw – raw by citizens, this would be dangerous. The spread of hoax news is certainly dangerous for the Republic of Indonesia.
After the riots in Papua, the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing will soon rehabilitate 10 government offices damaged by riots in Jayapura on 29 August. According to Minister Basuki Hadimulyo, it needs around Rp. 100 billion for the rehabilitation of these offices. Blocking itself is expected to accelerate the process of restoring the security and order situation in Papua and surrounding areas. Usually, restrictions on internet access by Kominfo are carried out to prevent hoaxes or false news related to riots.
Law enforcement related to cases of hoax spreading, incitement, racial discrimination, persecution and provocation during the mass siege of the Papuan Student Dormitory in Surabaya last August, also continued. Police officers have also named suspects and arrested several suspects in the case.
At that time Kominfo succeeded in identifying 2 news hoaxes, namely a photo hoax of Papuans who had been beaten by officials in Surabaya and a hoax that stated that Surabaya Police had kidnapped 2 food delivery people for Papuan students.
If the hoax is not dammed, it will certainly add to the anger of the people of Papua, so that demonstrations can continue and become more violent.
The Indonesian government under the leadership of Jokowi has also carried out various activities and programs in almost all aspects, however, when the issue of racism began in mid-August, parties who wanted a referendum or Free Papua appeared as if all government programs were forgotten.
Of course the government has the strength and ability to be able to solve the problems that exist in Papua.
) * The writer is a Papuan student living in Jakarta
