West Papua - News about human rights and developments
No new Provinces in Papua for now
On the 28th December in 2014 the government in Jakarta explained that there will be no new provinces in Papua for now, as the existing two Papuan provinces had not yet succeeded in increasing the wellbeing of the society and would therefore only be a financial burden for the state-budget.
At the moment, Papua is divided into two provinces, Papua and West Papua, these consist of several cities and regencies. As these regions had not succeeded in increasing the wellbeing of their residents, the question was raised to further divide the existing provinces into smaller regions.
„Tanah Mama“ – The struggle of a mother in Papua
„Tanah Mama“ is a movie made by Asrida Elisabeth and tells the story of Halosina, who lives in the Highlands of Papua and struggles to raiser her four children without the support of her husband.
Through the movie, Elisabeth tries to urge the government to not forget about Papua and to try and understand the people of Papua.
The movie was made in a local language of Papua and has Indonesian and English subtitles. It was released on the 8th of January.
Jokowi in Papua
Indonesia’s President Joko „Jokowi“ Widodo celebrated Christmas in Papua, together with his wife and children, the Trade Minister and the Cabinet Secretary.
He visited local markets and visited the ceremony of new markets in Jayapura and Sentani. He also promised to be back for the inauguration of the market in Sentani at the end of 2015.
Jokowi also broke his silence over the case in Paniai of December 8, 2014, where several students were shot. He explained his late comment by saying that he did not want to make a comment as long as he did not have a comprehensive account on the incident and as long as a statement would not solve the problem. Furthermore, he explained, he was going to form a fact-finding team to obtain valid information and find the root of the problem to stop the violence in Papua. He said that it is important to not let these incidents happen again.
He also emphasized on the importance of having a dialogue and listening to the people of Papua in order to improve the situation in Papua.
