Indigenous Papuan Community of Surabaya Declaration of Support for the Establishment of Special Autonomy Volume II

The Indigenous Papuan Community (OAP) in Surabaya held a declaration and read out a statement of position in order to support the sustainability of Special Autonomy (Otsus) Volume II and the expansion of New Autonomous Regions (DOB) in Papua and West Papua Provinces, Tuesday (21/6/2022).

This declaration activity was attended by dozens of people. Some of the participants who were present held up posters that read, “We Papuan People in East Java Support the Sustainability of Special Autonomy in Papua', 'Otsus Volume II Continues', and 'Otsus and DOB are God's Blessing for the Land of Papua'.
 
The person in charge of the activities, Mika Korwa, said that there were five statements of attitude given by OAP Surabaya. This is in connection with the ratification of the Special Autonomy Law (Otsus) Volume II by the Indonesian Parliament and the government's approval of the plan for the expansion of New Autonomous Regions (DOB) in Papua and West Papua Provinces.

"We are a big family of the indigenous Papuan community who migrated to East Java, especially in Surabaya, we welcome this policy," said Mika, a senior figure in Surabaya OAP.

Furthermore, the statement of his position is also in line with the statement of the Governor of Papua, Lukas Enembe, when he met the Ministry of Home Affairs in Jakarta on 17 June 2022.

“In the meeting, the Governor of Papua supported the expansion for the purpose of developing the welfare of the Papuan people. Likewise, the West Papua Provincial Government together with the regents, mayors, traditional leaders, religious leaders, and all elements of society throughout West Papua Province who unanimously fully support the Otsus and DOB policies," he said.

Therefore, through OAP Surabaya, his party also provides a view, which contains five points of attitude statement. The following is the contents of the declaration:

1) We fully support the ratification of the Special Autonomy Law (Otsus Volume II) which of course has been evaluated and improved in various aspects, because its benefits have been widely felt by Papuans including our younger siblings who are studying outside Papua such as Surabaya, through scholarship programs and various other educational aids.

2) We, the Papuan Indigenous Community in Surabaya, support the plan to divide the region through the mechanism for the Establishment of a New Autonomous Region (DOB) in Papua, because it has been the aspirations of the Papuan people for a long time in the context of equitable development and advancing Papua on a par with other provinces in Indonesia.

3) We invite all elements of the Papuan migrant community wherever they are to jointly support Otsus and DOB for the sake of a prosperous and peaceful Papua.

4) We ask the government to resolve the Papua issue with dignity in order to create a conducive and peaceful situation in Papua.

5) We appeal to all parties, stop provocations and hoax news about Papua, God has made Papua part of the Republic of Indonesia, let's look to the future, build the homeland, build Papua.

"The reading of the points of the statement of attitude was read out by representatives of the participants followed simultaneously by the other participants," said Mika.

The participants in the declaration were a combination of OAP figures, seniority, students, and native Papuan students living in the Greater Surabaya area, such as Sidoarjo and Madura.

Previously, Papua Governor Lukas Enembe in a press release in Jayapura, Saturday (18/6/2022) said that since 2014 his party had proposed the division of Papua Province based on customary territory to the central government.

"The hope is that when this expansion occurs, it will automatically be followed by an acceleration of development and budgetary policies," he said.

According to Lukas, there are now five customary territories and only one law will be discussed, namely, North Papua as proposed.

"When the division of the province occurs, it must automatically be followed by the acceleration of its development according to the will of the central government," he concluded.

SOURCE: https://beritajatim.com/events/komunitas-orang-asli-papua-surabaya-declarasi-support-pemunjukan-otonomi-specific-volume-ii/