Jakarta – House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I Deputy Chairperson Satya Yudha believes that efforts by United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Chairperson Benny Wenda to provoke the Papuan people resemble the scenario by Jose Ramos Horta when he invited the people of East Timor – now called Timor Leste – to separate from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).
Yudha conveyed this in response to a statement by Indonesian police chief (Kapolri) General Tito Karnavian on the issue of Benny Wenda who is intentionally provoking riots in Papua in order to attract international attention during the United Nations General Assembly meeting this month.
Yudha hopes that the Indonesian government can act firmly against Wenda’s efforts so that Papua does not suffer the same fate as Timor Leste.
“His efforts resemble those of Ramos Horta. We have four basic consensuses on the nation and the state, we are already firm about how to defend the NKRI”, said Yudha at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Tuesday September 10.
Yudha is asking foreign parties to stop provoking the Papuan people. He gave the example of political maneuvers by Wenda who is currently gathering support from international parties which has already reached the stage of threatening the sovereignty of the NKRI.
He said that Wenda often spreads fake news about Papua and West Papua and has also met with United Nations representatives to ask for international support.
“Benny Wenda is no longer a WNI [Indonesian citizen] so from the political aspect outside Indonesia, I’m concerned about what he is doing because the movement still exists”, he said.
In order to bring the unrest in Papua under control, Yudha said that there must be a sense of mutual trust between the Papuan people and the government. One of the forms of this trust is embodied in the Special Autonomy (Otsus) funds which have been poured out by the government which should be greeted with a great sense of brotherhood by the Papuan people.
“There is a desire on the part of the government that Papua not separate from the KNRI and grows in prosperity. Otsus funds have been poured in, what remains is for the Papuan people to welcome it with a high sense of brotherhood so that the financial management down to the regents can be done properly”, he said.
[Abridged translation by James Balowski. The second part of the article covered remarks on the management of Special Autonomy funds. The original title of the article was “Manuver Benny Wenda Disebut Mirip Ramos Horta di Timor Timur”.]
