The election for governor and deputy governor of West Papua for 2011-2016 is just around the corner. The future head of West Papua province must meet several requirements, including being an indigenous Papuan.
Debate has been rife as to how the poll commission determines which of the candidates are categorized as native Papuans.
Recognition of a person as a native of Papua cannot be based only on recognition by one tribe. Recognition must come from all 365 tribes across Papua. Someone who is recognized by one tribe will not necessarily be accepted as a native Papuan by other tribes. They can be called Papuans, but they are not native Papuans.
Article 1 of Law No. 21/2001 on Special Autonomy for Papua refers to Papuans as “people who come from the Melanesian family race consisting of native tribes in Papua and or people who receive and are recognized as indigenous Papuans by indigenous peoples of Papua.”
Currently, it is necessary to clarify the definitions of native tribes in Papua, their original territories and their expansion, kinship history, as well as a mechanism or process for a person to be accepted and recognized as an indigenous Papuan.
What distinguishes indigenous Papuans from Papuans is their right to regulate the land of Papua. Both have the right to process and utilize the natural resources all over the land of Papua. However, only indigenous Papuans may hold the authority to roll the wheels of government in the land belonging to indigenous peoples of Papua.
Papuans want their true blood to lead the region because they are more familiar with the character, socio-cultural conditions and problems in Papua.
Despite all these problems, it should be emphasized that the future leaders of Papua should have a vision to build strong character-based leadership and possess adequate managerial skills. The Papuan leader must be acceptable on all levels of indigenous people and be able to make the right decision to develop Papua.
Cupen Petege
Love Papua People’s Alliance