Wahyu Setiawan, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) says that the meeting between President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and scores of Papuan figures at the State Palace three days ago failed to resolve the problems in Papua.
According to Kontras Secretary General Andy Irfan, the meeting shows that the central government has no perspective and is confused as it tries to find a strategy to deal with the Papuan problem.
“The other day Jokowi met with a number, with scores of figures, 60 or so people, and then instead discussed nine requests, none of which had any relationship whatsoever with resolving the crisis in Papua”, said Irfan during a press conference at the Kontras offices in Jakarta on Friday September 13.
The nine requests from the Papuan figures included creating new administrative districts in Papua, forming a Papuan national land affairs agency and building a presidential palace in Papua.
Irfan accused the meeting of just being transactional saying Widodo simply used it for image building as if the conflict in Papua had already been brought under control. Yet the fact is that security forces and the police are still conducting operations in Papua.
“Yet security forces continue to arrest civilians, and have still not uncovered the mastermind behind the racist acts in Papua”, he concluded.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Nihil Penyelesaian, Kontras Sebut Pertemuan Jokowi-Tokoh Papua Pencitraan”.]
