Boni Hargens: The formation of new autonomous regions changes the stigma about Papua

Political analyst Dr Boni Hargens said the creation of a new autonomous region and all components of development in Papua changed the stigma and paradigm of the Earth of Cenderawasih.

"It automatically changes our stigma and paradigm regarding New Papua, which refers to a communal identity and shared ideals of shared prosperity," said Boni Hargens in a written statement received in Jakarta, Wednesday.

Boni, who is also the Director of the Indonesian Electoral College (LPI), assessed that the term New Papua refers to today's and future Papua which is different from previous Papua where everyone's perception only refers to backwardness, poverty, conflict, and separatism.

According to him, the condition of the new Papua is an ideal condition that will continue to be fought for so that the Papuan people can understand their identity, be free from poverty, backwardness and free from all forms of impasse.

"The expansion is a scenario for accelerating infrastructure development as well as human development," he said.

The formation of new autonomous regions in the universal development paradigm is accepted as an alternative way to end the impasse of development, especially in remote and conflict-prone areas.

The expansion is a potential opportunity for the Papuan people to advance themselves in all aspects of life. However, the creation of new autonomous regions is often criticized for giving birth to new petty kings who are in line with the expansion of corruption at the regional level.

On the other hand, he said, the new autonomous regions actually increase the opportunities for supervision and work effectiveness of civil society groups in supervising the running of the government. Every opportunity for corruption and abuse of power will be easily seen and acted upon by civil society or law enforcement.

Member of the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) Dr Toni Wanggai said that the revision of the Special Autonomy Law resulted in at least three major breakthroughs by the central government in the era of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

First, the presence of a special agency for the acceleration of development in Papua and West Papua. Second, there is a green design or a comprehensive master plan for Papuan development, and lastly, the provision of the widest possible political space for the Papuan People with the formation of the DPRK from the appointment route, not the election route.

SOURCE : https://papuabarat.antaranews.com/berita/22109/boni-hargens-pemunjukan-dob-ubah-stigma-about-papua