New unit (UP4B) to be set up in Papua

JUBI, 9 February 2011

New unit (UP4B) to be set up in Papua

A new unit, UP4B -Unit Percepatan Pembangunan Papua dan Papua Barat - a Unit to Accelerate Development in Papua and West Papua - is to be set up in March this year for the purpose of handling a number of political and human rights problems as well as development which is still virtually stagnant.

'As members of the Papuan Peace Network - JDP - we have decided to help the government in setting set up this body,' said Muridan Widjojo of LIPI., the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

Muridan said that LIPI had decided to get involved in this and help the government, in the hope that this new body will not confine itself to dealing only with social and economic issues such as development projects but will also prioritise the issue of human rights violations and the political situation throughout West Papua so that these issues can be properly addressed.

'We hope that the establishment of this body will be supported by all those involved, so as to ensure that it does not confine itself only to social issues but will also deal with the issue of human rights which also needs to be prioritised.'

Muridan also said that the JDP hopes that the UP4B will be able to advance the process of dialogue between the indigenous Papuan people (OAP) and the Indonesian government, mediated by a neutral international party, in order to get to the root of the problem. These problems should not be allowed to go on festering without end which can only mean that stability and the welfare of the Papuan people will continue to be disturbed.

ENDS

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