Chief of Indonesia’s People’s Consultative Assembly: Embrace them to develop Papua Together
Looking at the grim development in West Papuan region recently, The Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) leader Bambang Soesatyo said that he wants the government and law enforcement officials to continue to prioritize persuasive efforts to overcome the problem.
“(Regarding) what happens these days, they (the pro Papuan independence fighters) are our people that we need to embrace again. We (should) invite (them) to build Papua together,” said the man who is commonly called Bamsoet, while visiting the Papua Bangkit Stadium, Jayapura, Papua, last Tuesday (3/ 3/2020).
As reported by Tribunnews, according to him, one of the goals of his visit to Papua was to find a solution to the security problems caused by the Papuan independence group. He is there to make sure that any military measures have not yet become an option to resolve the problems.
“Because our goal here is to also want to encourage a permanent (problem) resolution of Papua with an approach to justice, welfare, and culture,” said Bambang.
For your information, in West Papua region now, the Indonesian government is not applying a military emergency. To this end, the Police is the one who is first and most responsible for any safety reasons. Meanwhile the military presence there is a support.
But no one can deny that the long, and dark history of the region with the Indonesian military can never be forgotten. Whatever the situation, people there will always have negative precedence over those who hold arms which in case of Indonesia the police and the armed forces may often look alike.
The history and the current development in West Papua always add the complexity of social situation there. Diverse approaches have been taken by various entities either they are pro or contra Papuan independence.
Nevertheless, Bamsoet stressed that the development process in Papua, he continued, must continue so until there is no longer a stigma that Papua is a disadvantaged region in Indonesia.
He also invited all parties to work together to create and maintain a conducive security situation in Papua. “(In the end), we all Indonesian people that have the same interests (to develop this country) so that (there will always be) peace in Indonesia and also in the world,” he said.
