With its more than 17,000 islands stretching over some 5,000 kilometres, the Republic of Indonesia comprises a multitude of socially and culturally diverse regions with different historical experiences. Preserving Indonesia as a unitary state is a difficult and permanent task in nation-building. With the fall of Suharto in 1998, chances arose that the concept of Indonesian national unity be understood not only as territorial integrity but as the unity of ... read more
After the fall of Suharto in May 1998, his successor President B.J. Habibie initiated a number of reforms to tackle the numerous problems of the world’s fourth most populous nation. One key element was the launching of a decentralisation programme, which President Habibie, as someone familiar with German federalism, considered as an important part of the restructuring process. With Law No. ... read more
From June 4th to June 5th, 2003, the Conference „Autonomy for Papua. Opportunity or Illusion?” took place in Berlin. The Conference was jointly organised by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Westpapua Network, Watch Indonesia!, the German Commission Justice and Peace, the United Evangelical Mission, the Human Rights Desk of the Diakonisches Werk, Misereor, missio Aachen and the Missionszentrale der Franziskaner. Participants came from Indonesia, Germany and other countries and comprised representatives from civil society organisations (NGOs, ... read more
From June 4th to June 5th, 2003, the Conference „Autonomy for Papua. Opportunity or Illusion?” was held in Berlin. The Conference was jointly organised by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Westpapua Network, Watch Indonesia!, the German Commission Justice and Peace, the United Evangelical Mission, the Human Rights Desk of the Diakonisches Werk, Misereor, missio Aachen and the Missionszentrale der Franziskaner. Participants came from Indonesia, Germany and other countries and comprised ... read more
1. German political representatives have been made aware that committed groups in German civil society, that are closely observing the political situation in Indonesia in general and in Papua and Aceh in particular, are prepared to take action and expect the German Government to provide support for an improvement of the human rights situation and to a peaceful resolution of ... read more
The development process in Papua from one political regime to another has evolved very slowly which basically made Papua the most abandoned province in Indonesia. The Papuans live in various ecosystems, spread from the highlands to the lowlands, including the swamps and estuaries areas, each with different social system. These diversities require a special development policy or program. In general, barriers to the involvement of ... read more
One of the reasons for the introduction of the Law on Special Autonomy for the Province of Papua was the fact that there has been a wide gap between Papua and other provinces in Indonesia in terms of socio-economic development. Being one of the richest provinces in Indonesia in terms of natural resources, the Province of Papua has been exploited since its integration into the Republic of Indonesia ... read more
In response to Papuans’ increasingly visible and vocal demands for independence in the post-Suharto period, there have been a series of initiatives aimed at resolving the four-decades-old conflict in Papua peacefully. The first of these efforts was the 1999 National Dialogue on Irian Jaya, a process of dialogue with Terms of Reference signed by Indonesia’s State Secretary and Papuan representatives. Due to a lack of political will on ... read more
Since the Law on Special Autonomy for the Province of Papua, Law No. 21/2001 came into effect on January 1, 2002, its acceptance by both the Papuan people and Indonesian Government officials as a solution to the long-standing conflict between Jakarta and Papua has been far from convincing. It is never an easy task to gain support for a new idea. To obtain popular support and hence ... read more
I. Relevant Provisions from ... read more