The easternmost region of the Southeast Asian nation, currently divided between Papua and West Papua, will now be divided into five provinces, with the addition of South Papua, Central Papua and the Papua Highlands.
The government claims the decision will help spur development, improve public service delivery and create more opportunities for Papuans to become civil servants in a resource-rich region that remains one of the poorest. of the country.
Tito Karnavian, Indonesia’s Interior Minister, said after the vote that the main objective of the law is “to promote development in Papua to increase the welfare of the people in Papua, especially the indigenous Papuans. “
But the plan has sparked protests in Papua, which has been seen as a low-level independence conflict since a disputed UN-monitored vote in 1969 brought Papua to power. Indonesian control.
Critics fear it could wrest more power away from the region that is home to some of the world’s largest gold and copper mines.
Veronica Koman, an Indonesian human rights lawyer at Amnesty International Australia, said: “By subdividing Papua into smaller administrative units, Jakarta hopes to divide and conquer identity and antagonism. resistance of Papua.
In an interview with Reuters in April, Chief of Staff of the Papuan People’s Council (MRP) Timotius Murib said the law would lead to an influx of non-Indigenous Papuans into new government posts and has was brought in without adequate consultation, an allegation the government has denied.
Changes to Papua’s special autonomy law last year allowed the central government to create new provinces, prompting the MRP to declare that the change undermined autonomy and submit a judicial review. law in the constitutional court.
Indonesia’s interior ministry said the government would abide by the court’s ruling.
