Papua (province) - Government

Government

The province of Papua is governed by a directly elected governor (currently Barnabas Suebu) and a regional legislature, DPRP (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Papua). A government organisation that only exists in Papua is the MRP (Majelis Rakyat Papua / Papuan People's Council), which was formed by the Indonesian Government in 2005 as a coalition of Papuan tribal chiefs, tasked with arbitration and speaking on behalf of Papuan tribal customs.

Indonesian governance of Papua is recognised by the United Nations and practically all members of the international community. As in the other provinces of Indonesia, the central government in Jakarta has a strong influence in Papua. Papua was a major beneficiary of a nation-wide decentralisation process started in 1999 and the Special Autonomy status introduced in 2002. Measures included the formation of the MRP and redistribution of resource revenues.

In 1999 it was proposed to split the province into three government-controlled sectors, sparking Papuan protests. In January 2003 President Megawati Sukarnoputri signed an order dividing Papua into three provinces: Central Irian Jaya (Irian Jaya Tengah), Papua (or East Irian Jaya, Irian Jaya Timur), and West Papua (Irian Jaya Barat). The formality of installing a local government for Jaraka in Irian Jaya Barat (West) took place in February 2003 and a governor was appointed in November; a government for Irian Jaya Tengah (central) was delayed from August 2003 due to violent local protests. The creation of this separate central province was blocked by Indonesian courts, who declared it to be unconstitutional and in contravention of the Papua's special autonomy agreement. The previous division into two provinces was allowed to stand as an established fact.

In January 2006, 43 Papuan asylum seekers landed on the coast of Australia and stated that the Indonesian military is carrying out a genocide in Papua. They were transported to an Australian immigration detention facility on Christmas Island, 360 km (224 mi) south of the western end of Java. On 23 March 2006, the Australian government granted temporary visas to 42 of the 43 asylum seekers (the 43rd, who had a Japanese visa at the time of his arrival, received an Australian visa in early August 2006). The asylum seekers were granted visas on the basis of "well founded fear of persecution." Later, several of these refugees returned to Indonesia, saying they were "disillusioned" with the group. On 24 March 2006 Indonesia recalled its ambassador to Australia in protest at the granting of the visas .