Jayapura, Jubi – Church leaders said President Joko Widodo’s plan to visit Papua at the end of this year wouldn’t yield a positive impact on Papua, even more so if he’s only scheduled to meet with the officials just like his last visit.
The president of GIDI, Dorman Wandikbo, said if Jokowi wanted to resolve the root of problems in Papua, he shouldn’t meet with Papuan officials, but with church leaders.
“The government in Papua is cheating on them as well as those in Jakarta, they are also cheating on us. Because of this behavior, the problem would never been solved. If Jokowi wanted to know about the reality occurred in Papua, he should meet us. Poor him, he comes to Papua for the third times but only meet those certain people. It’s the same,” Dorman Wandikbo when answering the Jubi’s query at the press conference at the Kingmi Synod Office in Jayapura City on Friday (18/12/2015).
According to him, every time the president came to Papua, the church leaders who are considered being critic had never been invited. If there are religious, community and customary leaders came in the meeting, it was only selected people.
“Why? Because if we came, we would reveal what was really happening in Papua. Those who came are already been set up. It’s hard to invite us. It’s just waste of time if coming to Papua without resolution. Many interests are involved. Coming to Papua is also for certain interest. The Indonesian Government has failed to build the indigenous Papuan,” he said.
The Chairman of Kingmi Church Synod, the Rev. Benny Giay similarly said meeting with Jokowi is like throwing salts to the sea. The situation in Papua would never be changed.
“I wonder if he was able or not to understand what happens on the ground. Perhaps the problem is the information never reached him, in particular the Paniai case. We can help Jokowi if he needs data,” Giay said.
The Rev. Socratez Sofian Yoman from Papua Baptist Church said from year to year, the case in Papua would never been resolved, for example, the murder case of Papua leader, Theyis Eluay. The perpetrators got their promotion instead.
“Jokowi’s visit to Papua would resolve the problems in Papua. He needs not to come to Papua, but he needs to indicate his seriousness to resolve the problem in Papua. The State is not capable to build the indigenous Papuan,” Yoman said. (Arjuna Pademme/rom)
