The newly installed members of the Papuan People’s Assembly (MRP) have been urged to stay away from the political domain and instead focus on their main task of protecting the rights of indigenous Papuans.
Speaking in his remarks at the inauguration ceremony of MRP members in Jayapura on Tuesday, Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said as a cultural institution MRP must not enter practical politics.
“It must instead focus on protecting the rights of indigenous Papuans based on a respect for the local customs, women empowerment and stabilization of religious life,” he said.
Seventy-three of 75 MRP members were inaugurated. They have been elected from Papua and West Papua provinces.
Agus Alue Alua and Hana Hikoyobi, who were chair and vice chair for the 2005-2010 period, were not among the gallery. The former died on April 8 while the latter was said to have not yet met administrative requirements.
Gamawan asked for a silent moment at the start of the ceremony as tribute to Agus Alue.
Gamawan expressed hope that the elected MRP members would improve cooperation between the governors and the Papua and West Papua Local Legislative Council in completing the unfinished special and provincial bylaws.
He said there were 21 provincial bylaws and 14 special bylaws to make but so far only eight special and 10 provincial bylaws were complete. “They will have to be finalized soon for approval,” he said.
The inauguration ceremony was held under tight security over rumors that rallies would be conducted by groups opposing the MRP and Papua special autonomy. Threats did not materialize.
Sr. Comr. Rudolf A. Rodja said a 758-personnel joint force had been deployed to secure the event.
“This is a big moment. We need to provide special attention to security,” he said as reported by Antara.
The buildup to the inauguration was tense with a group of people demanding the special autonomy status granted to Papua be returned to the central government.
Responding to the demand, Wolas Krenak, an MRP member, said that the special autonomy status should not be returned but evaluated.
“We have had special autonomy implemented for 10 years. It is time to evaluate it. That way we can determine the right policies so that everyone prospers in the special autonomy era,” said Wolas, also a senior journalist with Suara Pembaruan daily.
He said other programs that MRP would focus on included finishing all the special and provincial bylaws. “This will be our priority during our five-year term,” he said.
Gamawan told MRP members to study further the substance of the 2001 law, which was later revised to the 2008 Law on Special Autonomy for Papua to better cater to the needs of the local people.