By : Rebecca Marian )*
The accelerated development of Papua by the Government of Indonesia continues to involve community leaders using a cultural-religious approach so that the improvement of people’s welfare can run well and optimally.
In order to implement the provisions in Article 90 of Government Regulation (PP) Number 106 of 2021 concerning the Authority and Institutions of Implementing the Papua Special Autonomy Policy, the President of the Republic of Indonesia (RI), Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has enacted Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 121 of 2022 regarding the Steering Committee and the Acceleration of Development of Special Autonomy for Papua on 21 October 2022.
It is known that the Steering Committee for the Acceleration of Special Autonomy Development in Papua itself has the task of carrying out synchronization, harmonization, evaluation and also coordination in the context of accelerating the development and implementation of Special Autonomy (Otsus) in the Papua region and is a non-structural institution under the President and directly responsible to President.
The agency is known by the Vice President (Wapres RI), KH Ma’ruf Amin and assisted by several ministries and other institutions. And don’t forget that it also includes one representative from each province in Papua, which they must be native Papuans (OAP) and not come from government officials.
With the Presidential Decree and the establishment of this special agency, it is concrete evidence of the strong commitment and real contribution made by the Government of Indonesia in accelerating development in Cenderawasih Earth so that there will soon be equitable distribution of development in Indonesia and not only seem to be centered on the island of Java, which it will only exacerbate social inequality.
In this regard, the Vice President’s Special Staff (Stafsus), Gatot Prio Utomo stated that the Indonesian Vice President, KH Ma’ruf Amin himself had ordered that the entire agenda for accelerating development in Papua must involve community leaders, including church institutions in Cenderawasih Earth.
According to him, in the process of accelerating development in Papua, it is appropriate and should be able to absorb all the aspirations of community leaders and religious leaders in Papua, so that they can really make a positive contribution and further accelerate the acceleration of welfare development in the Land of Papua.
Due to the direct direction from the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, the government has also built a strategic partnership with the Papuan Church institution, in this case the PGGP Papua/West Papua to absorb aspirations from them. Furthermore, Gatot Prio Utomo expressed his appreciation to Papuan Church leaders.
Not without reason, because according to him they have built peace on Cenderawasih Earth, all priests, synod leaders, churches and other community leaders have played an active role in building community, humanity, nationality and peace.
Then, the Special Staff of the Vice President also emphasized the strong commitment that the Government of Indonesia has to continue to promote a cultural-religious and humanist approach to peace in the Land of Papua, especially with community leaders and church leaders as one of the main stakeholders in Papua’s development.
Because it cannot be denied that according to Gatot, community leaders and religious leaders are important pillars in prioritizing the values of peace and prosperity in Cenderawasih Earth through spiritual, educational and social services, so that they become the vanguard in realizing Papua. peaceful and prosperous.
Meanwhile, the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, KH Ma’ruf Amin himself stated that it was indeed very important to be able to practice the values of love, peace and kindness within the framework of Indonesia, which indeed has a very diverse social background. He appealed to all parties, especially community leaders in Papua to strengthen their commitment, role and good works in order to uphold peace and social harmony, which is an important asset for accelerating development in the Land of Papua because the challenges that will be faced by The future of the Motherland itself will not be light.
On another occasion, the Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri RI), Tito Karnavian hopes that the New Autonomous Region (DOB) of Papua will further accelerate development in Cenderawaih, including increasing people’s welfare and shortening democracy. Therefore, according to him, there is a great need for good cooperation between the government and community leaders, religious leaders and traditional leaders so that the development process in Papua can run well and optimally.
How important is the role played by community leaders in Papua in order to contribute to the success of accelerating development in the Land of Papua, it is undeniable that they must be involved in the policies taken by the Indonesian Government.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Jakarta
