The Special Autonomy Law for Papuans is
actually the embodiment of the central government's
commitment to dialogue and reconciliation efforts
against many disputes and misunderstandings in the
policy process that are taken through alternative
policies that are expected to provide solutions for the
welfare of the Indigenous Papuans (OAP).
Conceptually, special autonomy is part of the
asymmetrical implementation of decentralization in
Indonesia. In a simple understanding, asymmetric
decentralization is not only an ordinary delegation of
authority but also a special transfer of authority that
is only given to certain regions, which in this case is
Papua. Historically, the meaning of asymmetric
decentralization was intended as an effort from the
Central Government in order to protect the Unitary
State of the Republic of Indonesia from separatist
movements that wanted to separate themselves from
Indonesia (Haryanto, Lay & Purwoko, 2018).
The hope is of course that this asymmetric
decentralization policy is able to provide solutions to
all problems in the region which of course require
many roles from stakeholders, both from the central
government, regional governments, police, military,
Community Social Institutions to indigenous peoples
in Papua (Febrianti, Dermawan, & Akim, 2019).
Where every policy in Special Autonomy in Papua
which is asymmetrical decentralization is pursued by
maintaining Indonesia as a unitary state as its basic
foundation (Iryanti, Pangkey & Londa, 2014). Then
every policy instrument from the product of the law
which later gave birth to regional regulations must
accommodate the uniqueness and differentiation of
Papuan culture, history and natural resources in order
to protect all indigenous people in Papua. The aim is
in the context of dialogue and achieving
reconciliation in protecting indigenous peoples and
overcoming conflicts in Papua.
Of course, at the beginning of the implementation
of the Special Autonomy law in Papua, it did not run
smoothly because there were several things that had
to be re-diagnosed regarding equitable development
and affirmative action from the central government.
For this reason, the Special Autonomy Fund for
Papua is one of the progressive steps taken by the
central government to strengthen Papua's capacity.
This instrument was taken of course with measurable
considerations because the poverty base and the
backwardness of Papua from the western part of
Indonesia are the main problems that must be
resolved.
So that Article 1 of Law Number 21 of 2001
concerning Special Autonomy for Papua states that
Special Autonomy is “a special authority that is
recognized and granted to the Papua Province to
regulate and manage the interests of the local
community according to its own initiative based on
the aspirations and basic rights of the Papuan people”.
Departing from this, the regulation is of course
expected to be able to act as a policy that has positive
and strategic value in the context of improving
services, accelerating development, and empowering
all Indigenous Papuans so that progress steps to
compete with communities outside Papua can be
realized more competitively. In addition, Papuan
people from the beginning of the establishment of
Special Autonomy have been able to gain recognition
of their customary rights and local wisdom in every
transition of leadership in Papua. That's why
explicitly, this regulation also emphasizes that anyone
who wants to advance to become a leader in Papua,
be it as Governor or Deputy Governor, Mayor or
Deputy Mayor and Regent or Deputy Regent has the
obligation to respect, protect, empower and maintain
every local wisdom and identity of Papuan people.
During the 20 years of implementing Papua's
Special Autonomy through Law Number 21 of 2001,
on July 19, 2021, the Papua Special Autonomy Law
Number 2 of 2021 was issued as an amendment and
improvement to the previous law. The amendment to
the Papua Special Autonomy Law issued in 2021 is a
step forward for the government and the House of
Representatives towards the dynamics that are
happening in Papua. Not only that, Law Number 2 of
2021 concerning Special Autonomy for Papua is an
evaluation of many policies taken by the central
government as well as the provincial governments of
Papua and West Papua in the framework of welfare.
The paradigm of the Special Autonomy Law No.
2 of 2021 does not only focus on special autonomy
funds, but also the accessibility of the indigenous
Papuan community as a whole. They can feel the
presence of the state as a solution to the problems of
poverty, underdevelopment, development, low
Human Development Index to conflict issues that are
still ongoing. occurred in several areas in Papua that
need to get the attention of every policy maker.
The importance of collaboration between
stakeholders is a major consideration for the passage
of Law Number 2 of 2021 concerning Special
Autonomy for Papua. Collaborative steps between the
central government, regional governments, the
Indonesian National Police, the Indonesian National
Armed Forces, Community Social Institutions,
Academics and Indigenous Papuans or indigenous
peoples are steps that must be carried out in a
participatory no longer passive manner. So that the
indigenous Papuan people who previously acted