"The Papua problem is not merely a problem for the military and police to settle."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Chief Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said the government was serious in developing Papua province.

He said the government`s seriousness was , for instance, reflected in the issuance of Law No. 21/2011 on special autonomy and of Presidential Instruction No. 5 / 2007 on the acceleration of development in Papua and West Papua.

"In order to supervise the implementation of the special autonomy and acceleration of development in Papua and West Papua, the government has set up a working unit for the acceleration of development in the two provinces," the chief security minister said here.

He said all these efforts were proof of the government`s seriousness in developing Papua so that it would not lag behind other provinces.

Djoko said the problems in Papua were not merely legal and related to security that could be settled by mobilizing military strength. "Such an assumption is a big mistake ... If the emphasis there now is on law enforcement, it is because security disturbances are still taking place that victimize people and security officers," Djoko said.

He said : "The Papua problem is not merely a problem for the military and police to settle. It is a big mistake to think that we have sent additional security personnel because because of security disturbances there."

He said the Papua problem was not a matter of Jayapura, Abepura, Puncak Jaya and Timika alone, but more and bigger than that. "It is just the same as other regions in the country. Papua must be seen holistically. And the government is serious in managing Papua," he added.

The political situation in Papua of late has been heating up as a result of conflicts, horizontal clashes, skirmishes between securuty forces and armed groups, attacks and shooting incidents that have happened over the past few months.

During the past one month, the frequency of security disturbances rose sharply.
(Uu.A014/HAJM)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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