Muridan calls on govt to do more for Papuan people (26 Aug 2008)

Kompas - Senior LIPI researcher Muridan Widjojo has called on the government to
provide more opportunities for the Papuan  people so as to enable them
to make more progress. He said the government should give more
opportunities to the local government to handle local issues in
accordance with the aspirations of the people there.

'The government is only concentrating on exploiting the natural
resources  without giving the appropriate amount back to the region for
its  advancement.'

He said that as the largest source of revenue to the state, Papua should
enjoy the same facilities as those provided for other regions, both in
terms of infrastructure and basic needs.

As an example, he said that it is now possible for the Acehnese to have
local parties and six parties have already been set up there but it has
not been possible to do this in Papua.

The presence of local parties would meet the aspirations of the Papuan
people in developing their own region. Throughout the ten years of the
reformasi era, the Papuans have not experienced any improvements, he
said. 'Conditions there are still stagnant,  nothing has changed. The
government rarely pays heed to their aspirations,' he said.

He said he was convinced that Papua would develop provided all law
enforcement agencies, political parties and leadership in the districts
and towns were in the hands of Papuan people. This would give them a
similar sense of mission and vision to develop their region.