Tribratanews.polri.go.id-Jayapura.The Ondofolo of Sentani, which is also the Papua's community figure, Yanto Khomlay Eluay, thanked the central government that has listened to the Papuans in fighting for the Special Autonomy continuity in Papua on Monday (9/8/2021).
"I'd like to say thank you because Papuan people and I have succeeded in fighting for Special Autonomy until it has reached the central government so that the Special Autonomy is agreed and continued. This is the government's form of attention to the Papuans", Yanto Eluay said.
He continued that a thankful ceremony is required as their role as the traditional community is celebrating the attention of the central government to the Papuans in ratifying the extension of Papua Special Autonomy Law.
"I also reprimand the central government who held the thankful ceremony itself in the context of Special Autonomy extension. The one who should do it is the traditional communities and local figures. It looks not great", he said.
However, Yanto Eluay continued, Papuans must support the regional government's decisions, such as in Jayapura to held the ceremony. It is the form of Papuan's pride in succeeding Special Autonomy extension.
In relation to the ratification of Law No. 22 of 2021 about Special Autonomy for Papua Province, which is the revision of Law No. 21 of 2001 about Papua's Special Autonomy, the local and traditional communities saw that the law made by the government has the social characteristics. The law is something beneficial for the welfare development of the Papuans, either in Papua or West Papua provinces. Therefore, they, as the traditional community, thanked the extension of Special Autonomy.
"We saw that this is a blessing for us Papuans. Law No. 22 of 2021 accommodates articles on the involvement or development of traditional communities in the regency/city's special legislative assembly. This is one of the articles that we saw as pretty good in the newly-ratified law, in which the aspiration that we have fought all along has been accommodated and answered. This law has been ratified by an agency with the same level as the ministerial level", he said.
This ministerial-level agency is the solution because the old Special Autonomy Law regulated the governor's handling, and Papuans know that the public did not feel its effect. People also received information that much Special Autonomy budget are being misappropriated or missed the target, but there are no evaluations regarding those problems, especially the officials who misappropriate the fund. Therefore, Yanto hoped the ministerial level agency could handle the Special Autonomy fund directly so that if any misappropriation was found, the perpetrators could be punished.
"(I hoped that) the Papuan natives get the attention so that the Special Autonomy extension could directly pass the policies and funds to the people from this ministerial-level agency. It should trickle down to all more than 500 tribes in Papua, so we hope that this fund could be poured by this special board to the villages by the chieftains so that Papuan villagers could feel the government's policies in enhancing Papuans' welfare, mainly in the fields of health and education", he continued.
Therefore, Yanto said, they really supported Papua's Special Autonomy status extension and hoped that Papuans are ready to cooperate with the government in the context of the implementation of the special autonomy extension.
