West Papua: West Irian Jaya Renamed
Despite having received provincial status, this decision may not automatically resolve
Below is an article written by Ridwan Max Sijabat from The
The government has issued a regulation officially renaming West Irian Jaya province to
The director general for public administration at the Home Ministry, Sojuangon Situmorang, said the regulation, issued on April 18, gave the Papua and
"While publicizing the new provincial name, anyone and any side can use both names until the new name is used permanently as of April 18, 2008. The new name, proposed by the residents of West Irian Jaya, is aimed at identifying the social entity and ethnic group of Papua," he told a media conference here Monday.
He said that
"The presence of West Irian Jaya was acknowledged by the
Despite its establishment in 2003 and subsequent provincial legislature in 2004,
"But all regencies and municipalities in
He asked the government to revise the special autonomy law and the subsequent Presidential Instruction in order to synchronize the two and provide a permanent solution to the row over the new province.
Papua has received a total of Rp 12.53 trillion (US$1.37 billion) since special autonomy was implemented in the province in 2001, but a large part of the funds have reportedly been embezzled by local officials.
Local administrations in Papua and
Affordable education and health care are hard to come by, while those who live in remote mountain areas remain isolated because of the limited and expensive transportation facilities. Aircraft are still the only form of transportation that can reach the remote parts of the two provinces, whose combined size is three and a half times that of Java.