Papua governor-elect Lukas Enembe has said he will immediately reform Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua so that the law brings greater welfare and benefits to Papuans.
“I will review what is obstructing the special autonomy. This is my
priority,” he said in Jakarta on Wednesday. “I have met with President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to talk about the reforms.”
Lukas, who is also former Puncak Jaya regent, said he planned to make major changes in Papua through the special autonomy.
Special autonomy has been implemented in Papua since 2001 but many people feel they have yet to see any benefits.
Most political rallies and demonstrations in Papua highlight the failure of special autonomy to bring prosperity for Papuans.
A
member of the Papua Legislative Council, Thomas Songgonauw, urged the
home affairs minister to swiftly install the new governor and vice
governor so that the provincial administration can run smoothly.
He
was referring to the Constitutional Court’s decision to reject a
lawsuit filed by five pairs of gubernatorial candidates who lost the
Jan. 29 gubernatorial poll.
Meanwhile, leader of the Congregation
of Churches in Papua, Rev. Lipiyus Biniluk asked all Papuans to unite
in developing a better Papua for the future.
Separately, Depok
City Police have named Bogor Regent Rachmat Yasin a suspect for
campaigning for the West Java gubernatorial election without official
leave.
Depok City Police chief of detectives, Comr. Febriansyah
said the police had submitted a dossier to the Depok Prosecutors’ Office
on Rachmat’s alleged violation of Articles 116 (4) and 80 of Law No.
32/2004 on general elections.
The articles regulate off-schedule campaigning and acts of public officials which benefit a candidate.
Based
on the articles, Rachmat could be jailed for between one and six months
and fined between Rp 1 million (US$103) and Rp 6 million.
Febriansyah said the police had questioned Rachmat on Monday before submitting the dossiers to prosecutors.
As
chairman of the West Java branch of the United Development Party (PPP),
Rachmat campaigned on Feb. 16 for incumbent governor Ahmad “Aher”
Heryawan and his running mate Deddy Mizwar in the Bilabong residential
area in Bojonggede, Bogor regency.
While Bojonggede is within the Bogor regency, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Depok City Police.
PPP
formed a coalition with the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) to nominate
Aher-Deddy who were declared by the West Java General Election Committee
(KPUD) to be the winning candidates.