The establishment of a team tasked with the acceleration of development in Papua offers the government a challenge to prove its commitment to the impoverished region .
Called the Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B), the team is expected to stem the lingering skepticism nurtured by local people since the implementation of special autonomy in Papua in 2001.
“The UP4B should be able to demonstrate good performance and meet people’s expectations as mandated in its special status law,” Yusak Reba, program coordinator of the Institute for Civil Empowerment, told The Jakarta Post in Jayapura on Friday.
“Failure would further aggravate the crisis of confidence between Papua and Jakarta. Papuans have deemed special autonomy a failure and the government has formed the team to become like a saviour, so it has a major challenge ahead,” he said.
Many Papuans see the team as part of the government’s desperate efforts to mask its shortcomings in the implementation of the Special Autonomy Law.
The team’s program to promote its mission in Manokwari, West Papua, ended up in disarray on Thursday when the gathering was forcefully dispersed by a group of people.
They claimed the UP4B was not necessary after special autonomy had failed in its own mission to bring greater prosperity to the Papuan people.
Yusak is among the few who still harbors hopes about the team.
A lecturer at Jayapura’s Cenderawasih University law school, Yusak said he expected the UP4B to bring about positive changes in Papua despite the pessimism from various quarters, which he added was understandable, given past experiences when many policies implemented in Papua effectively marginalized Papuans.
“I am still hopeful and expect that over the next three years, there will be tangible, positive outcomes for the Papuan people,” he said.
He however criticized the structure of the UP4B as it lacked implementation power and only possessed a coordination function, leaving regional administrations and the central government fully responsible for bringing about positive change.
The central government, said Yusak, was expected to be serious in following up recommendations from the UP4B at the ministerial level.
“The UP4B’s reports will be meaningless if they are not acted upon by the central government. The key to success, therefore, is in the hands of the central government,” he said.
It is hoped that the UP4B’s presence will help to resolve various underlying issues in Papua.
“The shooting incidents in Puncak Jaya regency have been taking place for a long time. We have reported them to Jakarta but as yet there has been no concrete action to resolve the issue. Resolving the issue with more weapons, or sending more police and military personnel is not effective and will not stop the violence.
“We need the right solution so that people can live peacefully and not live in fear. We hope the UP4B can find the best solution for every party,” Puncak Jaya regency councilor Nesco Wonda said in Jayapura.