Indonesia's Accusation of a Colonial State Reinforces Socratez Yoman's Position as a Political Priest

Perhaps many parties have talked about the phenomenon that the ideological background is the issue that is most easily used by a person to carry out his goals for certain interests. In Indonesia, how many conflicts have occurred with the background or in the name of ideology which is then attached to religious beliefs to become the emotional 'fuel' of a group of people to do ridiculous things that are harmful without the basis of logic and common sense as human nature to live side by side with another.

In the context of the land of Papua, provocation efforts are still being carried out by someone who is often called a political priest, namely Socratez Yoman due to his actions that tend to deal with politics in Papua instead of serving his congregation so that they can live in peace and harmony. Worse yet, the momentum of the provocation has now been carried out within the scope of the church which should be far from the seeds of hostility.

An article from Socratez Yoman which he called a reflection of the week of August 21, 2022, circulated in partisan online media content called normshedpapua.com. The portal is known to have raised many issues about Papuan independence in the 'package' of church teachings, becoming one of Socrates Yoman's political media. In his writings, he mentions that there are Papuan Indigenous People (OAP) who have been systematically deprived of their human dignity and history of identity and self-respect by colonial rulers of modern Indonesian furans who occupied and colonized Papua. The OAP, which is fostered, maintained and used as an object, lives without a Papuan identity and identity because everything in it is removed and cleaned and the empty space is filled with FALSE ideology and nationalism from the modern colonial nation of Indonesia.

A Pastor's Allegation that Indonesia is a Colonial State

In social and religious life, someone who has been ordained as a religious figure should practice his life by providing services and maintaining the spiritual life of the people which is manifested in the form of shepherding. The pastor is the highest leader in the church. Each pastor is entrusted with the responsibility to organize and lead all members of the congregation to fulfill the mission of Christ's church in the world both administratively and spiritually.

A leader must also focus on the goals of the organization he leads to the maximum. Without a genuine commitment, it will certainly fail to motivate and move the people they lead. This also applies to a church pastor. If a pastor is focused and committed to the mission of the church in the world, the church will be successful in carrying out its mission.

A provocative statement actually emerged from an administrator of the Papuan Church Council in the middle of the government's process of realizing the new autonomous region expansion policy as an effort to advance the land of Papua. A contradiction to the leadership of a religious figure who is at odds with the government and tends to use his position to influence society destructively. He lightly accused Indonesia of being a colonial state against Papua, where according to him there were some OAPs that were maintained to support Indonesia's modern colonial policies. In fact, long before the reflection article was written, he had also said that the expansion policy was a systematic, structured, massive, widespread, collective and integrated machine to destroy indigenous Papuans.

All of these statements are very far from his position and profession as a servant of the people and actually lead to many political issues. As a doctor, priest, and public figure, Socrates should not twist history by pretending not to know the chronology of Indonesia's independence history and its relationship with Papua, even saying that Indonesia is a "colonial" nation, or a modern colonial.

The Government Continues to Intensify Development in Papua

Like not wanting to get involved in all the provocative narratives written by Socratez Yoman. Like the proverbial dog barking the caravan passes, the government continues to show concrete evidence of its concern for the Papuan people through various realizations of various policies.

Young Papuan leader Billy Mambrasar appreciated the government's policy of increasing the scholarship quota for the Education Fund Management Institute (LPDP) for Papuan students. This is realized by the launch of the LPDP Papua scholarship which is an affirmation, making it easier for participants from Papua to be able to obtain scholarships. He also thanked the Minister of Finance and President Joko Widodo because without this affirmation it would be very difficult for Papuan students to get scholarships when they have to compete in general with other brothers and sisters who have better access. Since the launch of the Papuan scholarship, the number of recipients of LPDP scholarships from Papua, which was previously very limited, has now increased rapidly by five times.

From an economic point of view, the Head of the Papua Province Communication and Information Office, Jeri Yudianto stated that in accordance with the President's directive which in 2024 targets 30 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), his party appeals and expects MSME actors to take advantage of digital marketing to boosting growth and a very wide range of buyers.

Meanwhile, the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menkopolhukam) Mahfud MD stated that the government is continuously trying its best to maintain peace in Papua. Various strategies for handling Papua continue to be carried out, one of which is through comprehensive welfare development. The government always makes efforts to approach security without violence and without weapons. For this reason, it is necessary to continue to increase the intensity of dialogue by involving all parties to find joint solutions in the management of natural resources and human resources. Mahfud also stated explicitly that Papua is a legitimate part of the Republic of Indonesia and there is no tolerance for separatism. This is in accordance with the constitutional basis, Act 1969, and UN Resolution No. 2504. Therefore, the government is always involved in maintaining and creating peace for the Papuan people.

Beware of All the Maneuvers of the Political Priest

The various concrete actions taken by the government are clearly far different from the actions of the political priest who only spreads narratives without being accompanied by evidence and facts. Everything that has been done can be concluded as referring to the fruit of his siding with the separatist group with the mission of supporting the independence from Indonesia. So once again, we must be careful about issues that are wrapped in ideology, especially since the perpetrators come from religious leaders who carry missions for certain interests, not the interests of the congregation in general. In the end, the public, especially the Papuan people, must be able to increase their vigilance, especially against the maneuvers of Socratez Yoman who continue to take advantage of his 'priesthood'.

SOURCE: https://time.online/2022/08/22/10018/