No More Militaristic Approach in Papua: Indonesian Gov't

TheIndonesia.co - The Indonesian government agreed to employ a new approach to govern Papua and West Papua Provinces and to rid of the militarism, a long-held approach previously employed to manage the easternmost regions of the country.

After meeting with the newly-appointed TNI Commander Gen. Andika Perkasa at his office in Jakarta on Thursday, November 25, 2021, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD said the government is committed to a new approach for Papua – as mandated by a Presidential Decree.

The new approach, he said, will focus on a ‘comprehensive and synergized’ development to ensure the welfare of the people.

“The principle of the [new] approach is detailed in the Presidential Instruction No. 9/2020 [on Accelerating Welfare Development in Papua and West Papua Provinces] which was later mandated through Presidential Decree No. 20/2020 [on Integrated Coordination Team for the Acceleration of Welfare Development in Papua Province and West Papua Provinces]. In short, the new approach for Papua is a comprehensive and synergized welfare development instead of [using] armory,” Mahfud explained.

In the more technical aspect, territorial operations will replace combat operations. Gen. Perkasa decided to spare the details but emphasized that every decision will be based on the applicable regulations.

“As explained by the Coordinating Minister, I will use the legal basis that have been issued by the government. I will explain the details when I visit Papua next week,” the commander said.

The Chief Security Minister further explained that the new approach seeks to unify all concerning stakeholders to accelerate development in Papua.  He revealed that President Joko Widodo expected to see the creation of a new ‘product’ out of this new approach that can amalgamate the various development progresses made by different ministries and state agencies.

During the meeting, the two top national figures discussed a number of strategic issues related to TNI’s authority and responsibility. Besides talking about the new approach for Papua, they also discussed the handling of serious human rights violations cases in Indonesia.