Papuan Students in Banten Reject Call for Referendum, Support Special Autonomy

Students to Papuan students throughout Banten rejected the provocation of the referendum echoed by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) and the Free Papua Organization (OPM). They support Papua as part of Indonesia.

"The declaration that we students and from the solidarity of Papuan students and students throughout Banten we carry out in order to support the Special Autonomy program volume II which was launched from the central government for the land of Papua," said the Coordinator of the Papu Student and Student Association throughout Banten, Hanok Simes.

According to Hanok, a referendum rolled out by a group of people could not be implemented because Papua was legally included in the territory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

"Then in my opinion the referendum question cannot be done because juridically, Papua is part of the Republic of Indonesia and cannot be separated and is constitutionally legal," he said.

They then expressed support for the special autonomy system because it was considered to have a greater impact on Papuans. The Papua Special Autonomy Fund is considered to have an impact on education, health and infrastructure development.

"Meanwhile, in the health sector, the government prioritizes the special autonomy budget for improving health services, both in cities and in remote and remote areas," he said.

The Otsus program has had an impact on development in Papua. The infrastructure built so far is the result of the Special Autonomy funds disbursed by the central government for the development of Papua.

"Also through the Special Autonomy Program, local governments can build infrastructure such as bridges, roads, and other facilities and infrastructure, including empowerment programs for indigenous Papuans," he said.

Previously, the announcement about West Papua was made by Benny Wenda on his Twitter account, Tuesday (12/1). Benny Wenda took advantage of the moment of December 1, which the OPM claimed was West Papua's independence day.

"Today, we announce the formation of our Provisional Government of #WestPapua. From today, December 1, 2020, we begin implementing our own constitution and reclaiming our sovereign land," wrote Benny Wenda as seen yesterday.