PAPUA: GOVERNORS SWORN IN, SBY VISITS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 009861

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/14/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PP ID
SUBJECT: PAPUA: GOVERNORS SWORN IN, SBY VISITS

REF: JAKARTA 9161 (PAPUAN POLITICAL ROUND-UP)

JAKARTA 00009861 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Daniel E. Turnbull. Reason 1
.4 (b, d)


1. (SBU) Summary. The directly-elected governors of West
Irian Jaya and Papua were sworn in without incident on July
24 and 25, respectively. The inaugurations mark the end of a
long period of strife over the partition of Papua and the
outcome of the March 10 direct elections. President
Yudhoyono's goodwill visit to Jayapura and Yahukimo regency
July 26-29 emphasized themes of development and welfare. End
Summary.

Governors Sworn In
--------------


2. (U) On July 24, Indonesian Home Affairs Minister Mohammad
Ma'aruf swore in Abraham O. Atururi and Rahimin Katjong as
Governor and Vice Governor of West Irian Jaya province. The
pair had won the March 10 direct elections on the PDI-P
ticket with a lopsided majority. The swearing-in was held in
Manokwari, the provincial capitol.


3. (SBU) Shortly before the inauguration, Jimmy Ijie, the
speaker of West Irian Jaya's Provincial Assembly, announced
that the body would soon take action to change the province's
name to West Papua (Propinsi Papua Barat). This proposal,
supported by all candidates in the direct election campaign,
is symbolically meaningful in that it replaces the New
Order-era term Irian Jaya. The change would be approved by
provincial authorities, then forwarded to the central
government.


4. (SBU) On July 25, Ma'aruf swore in Barnabas ("Bas") Suebu
and Alex Hesegem as Governor and Vice Governor of Papua in a
ceremony in Jayapura. The incoming governor promised to
address the problem of unresponsive bureaucrats in provincial
government and to resolve tribal disputes such as the one
ongoing in Timika regency, which has cost several lives. In
a speech at the inauguration, Provincial Parliament Speaker
John Ibo, who had previously sought to block Suebu's
installation as governor (reftel para 3),stated that he was
willing to end the feud in the interests of Papuan society.
Despite lingering concern that supporters of defeated
candidate Lukas Enembe might stage a protest, the
inauguration went off smoothly.


5. (C) Suebu's swearing-in was attended by West Irian Jaya
Governor Atururi, likely signaling an end to the simmering
conflict between the two provinces' elites. Suebu's
predecessor Jaap Solossa had refused to acknowledge the
validity of West Irian Jaya's creation, and was backed in
this by the Papuan People's Assembly (Majles Rakyat Papua,
MRP). Even before the swearing-in, there were indications
that the dispute was winding down. In mid-July, delegations
from Papua, West Irian Jaya, and the MRP held an amicable
meeting on the island of Biak where it was agreed to request
a committee of experts from Cendrawasih and Papua
Universities to make recommendations on solving certain
problems of the Special Autonomy Law. An associate of Suebu
told poloff July 15 that Suebu had a good rapport with
Governor Atururi. The two men have known each other since
Suebu's previous term as appointed governor of Papua and
Atururi's term as regent of Sorong.

Yudhoyono Visits Papua
--------------


6. (U) President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) visited
Jayapura, Wamena and Pasema on July 26-29. In Jayapura, he
was accompanied by his wife and a large delegation including
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie,
Armed Forces Commander In Chief Marshall Djoko Suyanto, State
Minister for Underdeveloped Regions Syaefullah Yusuf, Health
Minister Siti Fadilah Supari, Agriculture Minister Anton
Apriyanto, Transportation Minister Hatta Rajasa, Social
Affairs Minister Bachtiar Hamzah, and Home Affairs Minister
Mohammad Ma'aruf.


7. (SBU) In Jayapura, Yudhoyono met for the first time with
members of the MRP. Previously, SBY had deflected their
requests for meetings, referring them instead to Vice
President Kalla. SBY's discussions with both the MRP and
Governor Suebu apparently centered on implementation of the
Special Autonomy law. In his public remarks, SBY
acknowledged that that the law, which has to date resulted in

JAKARTA 00009861 002.2 OF 002


11 trillion rupiah into provincial and regency coffers, must
be implemented in a transparent way, so that society would
understand how it was being used and not suspect
embezzlement. He said that three years after its enactment,
it was time for the law to be reviewed to see how it could be
better implemented. Contrary to expectations (ref A paras
8-11),SBY did not announce his "New Deal" policy as such
during the trip, but discussed acceleration of development
only in general terms.


8. (SBU) In the mountainous regency of Yahukimo, SBY visited
Wamena and Pasema, where his program highlighted welfare and
development issues. He and the First Lady visited schools,
toured agricultural projects, inaugurated a hydroelectric
plant, and in Pasema attended a harvest festival. Announcing
that the isolated area had overcome the ordeal of the failed
harvest that had led to 83 deaths from malnutrition last
year, SBY formally dissolved the interdepartmental working
group that had been formed to address the crisis. In Wamena,
SBY said that he was accelerating construction of the new
highway connecting the city to Jayapura. At present, 150
kilometers of the 500-kilometer road remained to be
completed, he said.


9. (SBU) SBY deflected calls for creation of a Central
Papuan province centered on Jayawijaya Regency. Among those
calling for the creation of such a province were Jayawijaya
Regent Nicholas Jigibalom and supporters of defeated
gubernatorial candidate Lukas Enembe, a a favorite son of the
region. Implicitly acknowledging the controversy touched off
by former President Megawati's creation of West Irian Jaya
and aborted formation of Central Papua, SBY responded that
creation of new provinces could not be undertaken hastily,
but rather must be studied carefully and factor in the
concerns of all involved parties.


10. (U) A planned opening of a road connecting Papua with
Papua New Guinea, in which PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael
Somare was to have participated, was cancelled at the last
minute, reportedly at the request of the PNG side. The GOI
said that the cancellation was due to "technical reasons,"
not because of concerns about security of the border area.
The TNI has reportedly stepped up patrols of the border area
and cooperation with the Papua New Guinea military since an
attack, allegedly by separatist OPM guerillas, on TNI forces
in the village of Wembi earlier this year.


11. (C) Comment. The inauguration of the two governors marks
the end of a period of strife and indirection in Papuan
politics. 2005 was marked by feuding among the elites over
the partition of Papua into two provinces. With the MRP now
apparently resigned to the existence of West Irian Jaya, and
with the swearing-in of two governors who apparently get
along well, this conflict will likely subside. The
inaugurations also end months of acrimony surrounding the
result of Papua's March 10 direct elections. SBY's visit is
a welcome gesture of goodwill despite its apparent absence of
real substance. Like his Christmas visit in 2004, it shows
his continued personal interest, in contrast to the approach
of President Megawati, who allowed her ministers to devise
conflicting policies that left Papuans disappointed and
angry. End comment.
PASCOE